All is Fair in Love and War

27

The doorbell went off and Gabriella went to answer. She opened the door and Damien let himself in. "You called?" He asked as he looked around and back at Gabriella. The bruises on his face weren't as bad anymore, but they were still visible. Gabriella took a deep breath and shut the door. "Yes." Gabriella said. "What do you want?" He asked.

"Mateo." Gabriella replied. Damien crossed his arms and stared at her in silence. "She's not around anymore. It's what you wanted. Now give me Mateo back and stop this crap." Gabriella glared. A smirk crept on his lips and he laughed. He cornered her against the wall and had his hands firmly gripping her waist. She felt her heart race from the fear but she stayed firm and stared him down. Control.

"It's going to take a little more than that..." he said as his hand touched under her chin and turned her to look at him. "To get him back." He said. Breathe. She took a deep breath to calm herself down as she kept her gaze locked on him. "What do you want." She glared. He smirked and messed with the waistband of her sweats and pulled her in. "You know exactly what I want."

She turned her head away as he leaned in to her ear. "Like old times. You give me a little pleasure, and I'll agree to sharing Mateo again." He whispered. He gripped her waist and softly chuckled. "I'll be a better lay than what she was. I'll make sure to get your mind off her." She tensed up as his hand moved up to fondle her.

Strike. Before she knew it she struck him across the face with full force. He was on the ground holding his cheek, stunned over the fact she actually hit him. She glared down at him as he looked up at her. He slowly got up and stared at her for a moment. "That's how you want to play it? Then I'll see you in court." He glared. Gabriella stayed firm and stared him down as he left the house. Once he was gone she shut her eyes and let her guard down and felt the warm tears of frustration and relief rolling down her cheeks. She knew doing that was a risk but she was just tired of being afraid and letting him have control of her. She was tired of feeling like anyone had control over her

-
Taylor showed up to the gym early to get started on training. She barely got any rest last night. She hadn't been sleeping well the past few weeks. Wes saw her enter the gym and noticed the tired look on her face from lack of sleep. "Morning." She said as she set her things down. "You alright?" Wes asked. "No, but that's not new. Are we going to start training?" Taylor asked.

Wes stared at her for a moment. "Just tell Ian you don't want to do it." He replied. Taylor looked off as she put her wrapping on her hands. "She already agreed to the fight." Taylor replied. "Is this really what you want to do?" Wes asked. Taylor silently wrapped her hands and put on her training gloves. "It's what I'm supposed to do. It's like Ian said, I'm a fighter, I have a title and legacy to protect and I can't just let myself get side tracked like I have been." She said.

"So you're saying all of that was a mistake?" Wes questioned. "It was a distraction. I let myself get sidetracked." Taylor replied. Wes stared at her unconvinced, "So Mateo? Everything you had with Gabriella? It was all just nothing?" He questioned. Taylor avoided looking at him, "Can we just get started on training?" Taylor sighed and walked off to warm up.

"Why are you lying to yourself?" Wes asked. Taylor looked back at him, "I'm not." She replied. "Bullshit. You practically moved in with her and were playing second mommy with her son. You expect me to believe it was nothing?" He said. "Why do you care?" Taylor said growing aggravated. "Because I don't think you actually want to go through with this." Wes said.

"She already agreed." Taylor replied. "Does that mean you're going to do it even when you don't want to?" He questioned. "I don't back out of a fight. What would it look like if I backed out of this? Do you know the mockery they would make out of me for it?" Taylor replied.

"So your title is more important than the woman you love?" He asked. Taylor tightly clenched her fist and looked off, "I don't love her." She muttered. "And denial isn't just a river in Egypt." He replied. "Ian wanted me to get her to agree to a fight. Everyone's been wanting to see that fight. That's what I'm giving everyone. Maybe then everyone will finally fuck off about someone taking my title and questioning my ability as a fighter. I'll finally cement my legacy as one of the best fighters in the league." Taylor said.

Wes stared at her arms crossed. "And if you hurt her that kid will never look at you the same, the public's opinion of you being some cruel monster won't change, and you'll never forgive yourself as much as you try to lie to yourself and act like you don't care about her." He replied. Taylor stayed silent. "All I'm saying is, those contracts aren't signed yet. It's not too late to change your mind." He said. "Get started with your warms ups and I'll be back to work with you." He said walking off. Taylor watched him walk off and frowned as she went off to get started on her warm ups.