All is Fair in Love and War

32

Taylor leaned her head against the window of the SUV heading toward the arena. Ian was in the front seat rambling on and on about the fight and she was barely listening. She's never been this nervous and unhappy about a fight before. She was always confident and ready to take on anyone in her way.

Gabriella was just another competitor now and it was a difficult pill to swallow. Taylor never thought of her competition this way before. She never humanized her opponents until Gabriella, they were all just cocky shit talkers who wanted the fame, glory, and money. Gabriella was different. Gabriella didn't care about the fame or the glory. She only cared about taking care of her son. She has a genuine purpose, which only makes this fight all the more difficult to get motivated for.

They approached the back of the arena and came to a stop. "Time to go champ." Ian said as he got out of the car and opened the door for her. She sighed and got out swinging her bag over her shoulder and tucking her hands into her hoodie pockets.

Ian walked ahead oh her with her security detail while Wes walked alongside her. "You got this." Wes reassured as they walked. Taylor faintly smiled and glanced over at him. Her smile dropped as she saw Gabriella making her way toward the back entrance with Mateo at her side. Mateo's eyes widened with slight joy as he and Taylor locked eyes. Taylor felt her heart racing with a mix of excitement and anxiety.

Gabriella saw Mateo looking off and caught Taylor's gaze. Taylor gave a faint smile. Gabriella put her sunglasses on to avoid her gaze and pulled Mateo along to avoid her. "She brought him?" Wes questioned. "Yeah." Taylor whispered and looked off. Wes looked at her concerned. "Are you sure you still want to do this?" He asked. Taylor shifted around with discomfort. "Let's just go." She mumbled and caught up with Ian.

——
Mateo was running around the locker room shooting nerf guns with Marcos while Gabriella was getting ready. Marcos lost him for a moment and looked around concerned, "Mateo?" Mateo popped out from around the corner and shot one of the nerf bullets at his head. "You little..." Marcos laughed and proceeded to chase him around the locker room while Mateo. "Marcos managed to corner him and tickle him. "Come here you're on time out for that one." Marcos said as he swung Mateo over his shoulder while he was in fits of laughter.

Gabriella entered the locker room and softly smiled. "What's going on here?" She asked. "Your son is a little menace and shot me in the head." Marcos joked and set him down. "I won." Mateo smiled. Gabriella smiled and sighed. "Ready?" Marcos asked. Gabriella tossed Marcos her hand tape and sat down as he walked over and proceeded to wrap her hands with the fighting tape.

"Ready?" Danny asked. Gabriella looked over at him and took a deep breath and exhaled. "Yeah." She replied. "You know I don't want to put pressure on you for this one. But there is a lot on the line for you here. This is one of the biggest fights of your career." He said. "I know." Gabriella softly replied. "But this isn't just any fight. This is the fight that will make or break your career, Gabby. If you lose this it can do some serious damage to your fighting career." He added.

Gabriella stayed silent and watched as Marcos wrapped her hands. Mateo silently listened and watched their conversation. "It's not just gonna damage your career, that woman practically kills people in the ring. She could leave you a vegetable." One of the men on her team said. "Ow." He winced as one of the other men punched his arm to shut him up.

"This might just be my last fight anyways." Gabriella replied. "What?" One of the men asked with concern. "You're accepting defeat already?" He questioned. Gabriella sighed, "I'm not accepting defeat. I'm considering Mateo. Everything I've done has been for him and now that I have him and don't have to worry about Damien. I just want to settle and raise my son, I can't be doing this forever...not if I want to be there to see him grow old and meet my grandchildren. I can't be risking it anymore."