Epilogue
One Year Later . . .
The training facility looked nothing like it had the day Lyrius, Dakoda, and I climbed onto that rescue boat.
The broken windows were gone. The water damage was gone.
The place had been rebuilt from the ground up, and I’d finally turned it into that rec center I’d been thinking about for the longest. Now the building was home to an after-school boxing and recreation program for kids who needed somewhere safe to go.
A place to train. A place to learn. A place to stay out of trouble.
The kind of place I could’ve used when I was younger.
As a part of it, a few blocks away, Lyrius had opened up Azalea’s first youth residence.
The program gave runaway teens, homeless youth, and kids aging out of the system somewhere safe to land while they figured out their next steps.
I looked out at the crowd gathered inside the gym.
Kids filled the front row. Parents, volunteers, sponsors, and community leaders filled the rest. My eyes immediately found Lyrius.
They always did. She stood near the ring with Dakoda beside her.
A year later, seeing them together still did something to me.
The last twelve months had been the best of my life.
I’d become the heavyweight champion of the world, got a new publicist, won the rematch, and celebrated in the ring with my son sitting on my shoulders and my girl crying at ringside.
Life wasn’t perfect, but it was damn good.
I climbed through the ropes and grabbed the microphone. The crowd quieted.
“First off, shout out to y’all for being here.
” A few cheers went up. “A year ago, this facility almost didn’t make it.
Today, we’re officially opening the Knockout Youth Center.
” Applause filled the room, and I waited for it to settle.
“This place gave me a second chance when I was younger. Now it’s gonna do the same thing for somebody else. ” More applause.
“We got tutoring, counseling, and sports programs, and if these kids need somewhere to stay, Lyrius and her team got that covered too.” The crowd immediately started clapping. “Actually, come here.” Her eyebrows pulled together.
“No.”
The crowd laughed.
“Lyrius.”
“Daddy, she not listening,” Dakoda announced. The gym exploded, and I laughed.
“Bring your little self up here too.” Dakoda didn’t need to be told twice. He practically ran into the ring. Lyrius followed behind him, shaking her head. The second she stepped through the ropes, somebody handed Dakoda the sign we’d hidden behind the corner post. He held it up proudly.
WILL YOU MARRY MY DADDY?
The entire gym lost their minds, and Lyrius froze, then she slowly turned around. By the time her eyes found me, I was already down on one knee. Her hand immediately flew to her mouth.
“Dakota.”
“Hey, Bad.” I took her hand, and tears immediately filled her eyes.
“A year ago, I thought my life was falling apart.” My thumb brushed across her knuckles.
“Turns out it was just starting.” She shook her head and laughed through her tears.
I kept going. “Everything about us started wrong. We met under bad circumstances. We spent years apart. We survived things that should’ve broken us.
” My eyes found Dakoda, then moved back to her.
“But somehow, we still ended up right here. You gave me a son. You gave me a family. You gave me a reason to believe in something bigger than myself. And if I get another fifty years, I wanna spend every single one of them with you.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Lyrius Anderson, will you marry me?”
“You really put me on the spot in front of all these people.” She wiped at her face and laughed. The crowd laughed, and her eyes found mine again.
“The day I met you, I knew I was in trouble. I knew every plan I had for how I thought this was going to go was already falling apart. If this last year taught me anything, it’s that choosing you will never be the wrong decision.
” She smiled. “I’ll say yes to you a thousand times, Dakota Knox. ” Another tear fell. “So yes.”
I slid the ring onto her finger and pulled her into my arms. The gym erupted. Dakoda started jumping up and down. Nia was crying, and even Jaylen was wiping tears.
“Damn!” he yelled. “I thought this was a grand opening.” The crowd laughed.
“Boy, hush.” Pops smacked him upside the head. I couldn’t stop smiling. For the first time in a long time, everything felt exactly like it was supposed to. And somehow, I still wasn’t done.
“You know . . .” I pulled back just enough to look at her, and her eyes narrowed immediately.
“What?”
“You said you’ll say yes to me a thousand times.”
“Okay?” Confusion crossed her face, and I looked toward Pops and then back at her.
“How do you feel about saying it one more time?”