All is Fair in Love and War

31

Mateo sat at the dinner table poking around at the food on his plate. Gabriella approached and saw his plate was still full. "What's wrong baby?" She asked. He set his fork down and looked up at her. "Mom, why isn't Taylor here?" He asked. Gabriella stayed silent for a moment, unsure what to say, she sat down and took a deep breath. "I'm not seeing Taylor anymore." She replied.

Mateo looked confused, "What do you mean?" Gabriella nervously messed with the sleeve of her shirt as she tried to figure out how to explain everything to him. This is exactly what she was afraid of when she got into this mess. She didn't want him to get attached and hurt when things ended badly. "She...well we're fighting in a match." She began to explain. "Why are you going to fight?" Mateo asked.

Gabriella stayed silent unable to speak. "Mom, please just tell me the truth." He softly spoke, the innocence and concern in his eyes was enough to break her heart. "Her team had this planned from the beginning. They wanted us to fight and they wanted to find something to use against me so I would agree to a fight." She explained. "Like what?" He asked. She stared at him and faintly smiled, "You."

A frown and look of confusion came over his face, "Why me?" He asked. Gabriella reached over and gently held his hand, "You know I love you and would do anything to protect you. So I had to keep you a secret for your safety. If I put you in danger in any way your dad would've had everything he needed to have you taken from me. So to keep you secret I agreed to the fight they wanted."

Mateo stared at their hands in silence. "So I don't think we'll be seeing her around anymore baby." Gabriella stood up, "Now please try to eat your dinner." Gabriella walked back into the kitchen and froze when she heard Mateo speak up, "I want to go."

Gabriella turned back confused, "What?"
"I want to go to the match with you." He said. Gabriella shook her head, "Absolutely not."

"Dad can't do anything to us anymore. I want to  go. Please?" He begged. Gabriella sighed and looked away. "I want to be there for you mommy, please." He pleaded. "Fine." Gabriella sighed in defeat. Mateo softly smiled. "Now eat your dinner before it gets cold." She playfully scolded and walked off.

——

Taylor sat in her living room as Ian rambled on in excitement about the upcoming fight and what this would mean for their careers. Taylor barely cared to pay attention and stared off lost in her own thoughts. "Make sure you keep working hard at it champ. We got this match in the bag. I'll see you later." Ian dismissed himself and left.

Wes watched him leave and looked at Taylor who remained silent and consumed in her own thoughts. "So you're really going through with this?" He asked. "We don't really have a choice anymore do we." Taylor replied. "But Taylor-" Wes was quickly cut off. "She's my opponent. That's all she is." Taylor coldly replied.

Wes stared at her in silence. "You're willing to hurt the woman you love?" He asked. "I don't love her." Taylor quietly replied. "Then why did you testify on the witness stand for her?" He replied. Taylor stared down at her hands, "I was just trying to do her a favor."

"Yes, a favor for beating her ex's ass because he hurt her and her son and would've taken him away from her." Wes replied. "What the hell do you want me to say Wes?" Taylor said in annoyance, "Do you want me to sit here and cry over a woman who made it abundantly clear she hates me and wants nothing to do with me anymore?"

Wes stayed silent. "Do I cry over the fact that I lost the only family I had? That I fucked everything up?" She said fighting to hold back the tears in her eyes. "So you're really doing this?" He asked. Taylor sighed and looked off. "I guess I am."

The two sat in silence for what seemed like eternity. Wes sighed and stood up, "I'll see you at the gym bright and early then?" He shifted the conversation, understanding Taylor didn't want to be pestered about it anymore and he didn't want to see her cry. "Yeah." She quietly replied. "Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow." He said gently squeezed her shoulder in passing as he dismissed himself and left.

———
Mateo sat off on a stack of gym mats coloring his book while Gabriella threw punches at the boxing bag. Marcos watched Mateo from across the room, "So he's back home for good?" Marcos asked. Gabriella stopped for a moment to glance back at Mateo and nodded before continuing to throw punches.

Marcos gently bit his lip in thought and looked at Gabriella. "It's pretty cool Taylor testified and helped you get him back." Marcos said. Gabriella slightly winced at the mention of her name and stopped throwing punches. "Can we not talk about her please." Gabriella mumbled.

Marcos glanced at Mateo and back to Gabriella. "Gabby is this really what you want to do?" Marcos asked. "Do I have a choice?" Gabriella rhetorically asked. Of course she didn't, she signed the contract and a deal was a deal. "We can still find a way to call all of this off." Marcos said.

"The fight is next week." Gabriella replied. "You can still call it off." Marcos replied. "No, I can't. Do you know how much money I'll have to owe for forfeiting? Do you know how bad that would fuck up my reputation? Not a chance I'm calling it off. She doesn't seem to be doing it so why should I?" Gabriella walked off and grabbed her water bottle and took a sip.

"So if you had the chance to call this all off with no consequences would you?" He asked. Mateo slightly glanced toward them and continued to color, pretending he wasn't listening to their conversation. Gabriella stared at Marcos and without hesitation replied, "No."

"You actually want to fight her?" Marcos questioned. "Yes." Gabriella replied. Marcos stared at her shocked by her blunt response. "You got Mateo back, Damien is finally out of your life, and you still want to fight her?"

"This is more than that." Gabriella replied as she took her gloves off. "What more could this be about?" Marcos asked. "She lied to me." Gabriella glared. Mateo slowly colored as he continued to listen. "She was using me from the fucking start and her and Ian just wanted to get something on me because I refused to fight." Gabriella argued, "So I'm sorry that I can't forgive her so easily just because she testified for me. It was her fucking fault Mateo got taken in the first place it's the least she could've done."

Marcos stayed silent for a moment. "I understand you're upset and you have every right to be, but do you really think she doesn't actually love you or at least care about you?" He asked. "She doesn't love me or care about me. No one who loves you would ever do anything to hurt you." Gabriella replied. Her words looped in Mateo's head like a broken record. No one who loves you would ever do anything to hurt you. Taylor hurt her, but he didn't want to believe she was the heartless monster everyone painted her out to be. She couldn't be.

"So if it's a fucking fight she wants, then I'll make sure it's a fight she won't forget." Gabriella said before storming off toward the locker rooms.