Chapter 37
A few hours later–ILLEGAL FIGHT CLUB – 7:45 pm,
I sigh in front of the place I know so well I’ve spent countless hours here. Sometimes celebrating victories, other times nursing bitter defeats.
I remember the first time I set foot here,
I was only twelve when my father forced me to come and made me fight a sixteen–year–old girl who weighed at least twenty kilos more than me.
I held back my tears because I knew I was doomed,
Khalid made it clear that if I lost, he’d personally make me pay.
So I fought her, brutally, under the screams and cheers of the crowd betting on one of us
It was my first fight and my first loss. She destroyed me, but the worst was yet to come.
My father whipped me with a riding crop. I wasn’t allowed to cry because “tears are for the weak,” yet I suffered so much that day.
And all that bullshit became my everyday life.
Khalid never had limits. I’m deeply involved in illegal fights for my father Bruises, fractures, broken arms, stitches, and all the other crap…
I endured it all for him. Because of him. I got beaten by my father, and then I got beaten for him. Ironis, right?
“You’re not weak, inara.” I’ve repeated that sentence to myself so many times to try to believe it
I sit down, my gaze fixed on the ring in the middle of the room.
In a few hours, this room will be full of the worst kind of men and women, all paying big to watch a brutal fight between me and my opponent.
I’m fighting another woman named Ikram. I’ve fought her before and always managed to beat her, even though I admit she’s really good.
Time passes.
9:08 p.m.
After changing, Khalid enters my locker room and looks me up and down. I stare back warily while his predatory smile spells nothing good.
“I know I can’t lose, no need to remind me.
He looks around to make sure we’re alone, then steps closer.
“Actually, that’s what I came to talk about,”
“What do you mean?”
“I want you to lose.”
1widen my eyes and stop wrapping my hands.
I try to find some trace of a joke in his eyes, but he’s dead serious.
“You’re joking“”
“I want you to lose.”
Chapter 37
“Why? You’ll lose a lot of money!
“All these idiots are betting on you because you’ve already beaten her several times.
Am I surprised he’s rigging fights? Of course not
I have every chance to win! Bet on me and you’ll get a good payout!““”
“It wouldn’t even be half of what I’d get if she wins.”
“If I don’t defend myself, she’ll destroy ine to get revenge for all the times I beat herd”
“You’ll find a way to survive, but you’d better lose.”
She’s going to kill me, obliterate me, wipe the floor with me.
“You realize what you’re asking?”
“Obviously.”
“She disfigure me or leave me disabled!”
He shrugs.
If bet on her. I’ll win a lot more
“I don’t want you to defend yourself so that in your next fights, the bettors think you’ve lost your edge. Then I’ll collect a big cut”
I bite my lip and look away, I’m going to get crushed for a few bits.
“You’d better not disappoint me or I swear I’ll throw your precious Maria into a basement with rats for an indefinite period while brutalize her.”
I hate him with every fiber of my being.
He leaves the room with a smug little smile.
I could die for Maria.
if I have to take the hits to protect her from them, I’ll do it
Alexander
“We missed the beginning!”
Aymen dragged me into the back of a nightclub that hosts illegal fights. I don’t know why I followed him when hate this kind of crap. I guess it’s to kill time. I really don’t have time to waste on things that bring me nothing
I hear the screams and shouts of all the spectators cheering for the two fighters as if their own lives depended on it.
It’s impossible to see what’s happening in the ring, the place is packed.
“I think it’s women fighting”
Women? I knew I should’ve stayed home, trying to find more pieces of my puzzle.
How can anyone enjoy watching women light to the death?
I push my way through the crowd to see the two lighters in action.
I reach the front of the ring with Aymen beside me.
08:19 Wed, 20-A00
Chapter 37
I blink to make su I’m seeing what i think I’m seeing
“Alexander? Isn’t that…
tara? What the hell is Daddy’s little princess doing in an illegal fight? She’s the last person I would’ve expected to see
What’s more surprising is that she’s literally getting destroyed by her opponent
I watch the fight closely, especially Inara. She’s exhausted and drenched in sweat. She’s having trouble breathing and her body looks like it’s about to collapse, she can barely stay on her feet.
Her opponent doesn’t give her a break and keeps landing blows while she doesn’t even try to defend herself What the hell is this?
The other woman shoves Inara violently into the ropes, and she slams into them. She tries to run to counterattack, but the other gratis her by the hair and slams her to the ground with force.
Inara takes punches to the face without even trying to break free from the grip of her opponent, who is banging her head against the floor
She tries to grab her hair but fails and keeps taking hit after hit…
“She’s not that tough, your little doll.”
“Shut the fuck up, Aymen.”
He doesn’t reply. I’m sure that bastard is smiling,
I can’t look away from Inara. She’s really in bad shape, on the verge of passing out. Her face is a mess.
After a few minutes, the fight finally ends under the crowd’s shouting, who clearly had all bet on Inara but are visibly disappointed since her opponent won by a landslide.
The fighter proudly smiles at her fans after being declared the winner. Khalid’s daughter heads to her locker room with difficulty.
She lost on purpose.
