THE FIGHT

You're never going to properly know somebody. People will always take you by surprise, sweetie.

***

CHAPTER XXIV

*****

DANIEL WENT ON a business trip.

You would think that he'd personally tell me since I had spent the last seven nights with him in his room, but I remained as oblivious as any other maid and only learnt of his departure after he had gone.

In fact, it was the one person that I didn't want to talk to that delivered the news to me. I already knew my day wasn't going well when she had asked me to come into her room with her, but it only got worse when she had delivered the news of Daniel's endeavours.

I had two things to worry about now; what I was going to do to occupy my time now that he was gone and how the hell Celeste, the fiancée, knew about this before I did.

Even though he didn't want her as a wife, he clearly valued her as a person more than he did me.

I sighed, shaking my head free of my thoughts as I turned to look at my outfit in the mirror.

I had spent the last hour in Celeste's room, modelling her clothes for her as she claimed that I had a nice figure, although small.

That was the reason why I found myself in a white, loose-fitting, off-shoulder romper with a thin, brown belt around my waist. Although the colour complimented my skin tone, the outfit looked like I was a small kid in my mother's clothes.

“Try this one on.” Celeste threw the next outfit in my face, not caring if I caught it or not.

With a sigh of silent frustration, I stripped out of the outfit I was in, taking advantage of the fact that she was too engrossed with looking for something in her suitcase to watch me.

I pulled on the yellow dress with tropical flowers printed onto it, feeling surprised as it was actually a bit snug around me. It was off-the-shoulder too with yellow ruffled sleeves.

“Wow.” I whipped around and looked at the redhead as she kept her eyes on me. “That nasty uniform does you no justice.”

“Thank you,” I said shyly, turning back to look at the dress in the mirror.

It hugged my curves delicately, pronouncing them but not in a flashy way. It seemed classy and when I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw a mature woman instead of a ditzy young girl.

It brought memories of better days back. When my closet was filled with sophisticated clothes with more than hefty price tags. Not all of them were designer brand, but they still had quality and were specifically made to highlight my shape. My mother always made sure I looked my best.

All of that went to shit after I moved here. I hadn't set eyes on good quality clothes in a long while and for the first time, I actually started to miss my old life.

“It was always a bit tight on me,” Celeste said, coming up behind me as her reflection appeared in the mirror. I met her eyes. “It looks better on you. You should keep it.”

I looked away quickly, wiping my clammy hands on the dress as my heart rate sped up due to the sudden surge of memories. I shook my head from side to side and did one of the few things that my mother thought me that actually stuck.

Deny gifts.

“No. It's fine. I don't—you don't. It's yours,” I mumbled, stumbling over my words as she smiled at me.

“And it's absolutely useless in my wardrobe. I'm being serious. Keep it because if it's not you, it's the bin.”

I fisted the cotton material of the dress and turned back to face the mirror.

It wasn't only the fact that it was Celeste, the woman I disliked, that was giving me the dress. It was also the fact that if I kept something so elegant, a part of me would crave more.

I would revert back to my old self and start spending money on better fitting clothes. I would revert back to that girl who worshipped fashion with her entire being and dreamed of becoming a designer again.

I didn't want to be her because she was the reason I was me now.

But Celeste was relentless. She didn't let me leave the room without the dress hanging off my arm and I found myself, later that day making a special spot in my wardrobe and hanging it there.

“That's a pretty dress,” Anna said from behind me as I nodded, staring at it in admiration. “Where did you get it from?”

“It was a gift,” I answered vaguely before turning back to her with a small smile on my face. “Do you want to go shopping with me? On Sunday?”

“I'm sorry, babes, I'm working,” she said, shrugging her shoulders as I pouted. I forgot that we were off on different days.

“Fine then. On Saturday? How about that?”

“And how are you going to get an off day on Saturday?” Anna asked.

I stared at her for a second before shaking my head and turning back around to the dress triumphantly.

“That's up to me. Just say you're down to shop with me and I'll see the rest through.”

There was a short silence before she made a small sound that made me turn to her. With a curt nod of her head, I felt the smile on my face grow even wider

“Be ready by ten. I can't wait.”

I lunged towards her, wrapping my arms around her small frame as she toppled onto the bed. We both let out loud giggles, just lying there and spending time with each other.

***

It was the next day - Thursday - and I had found myself completely lost on how I was going to switch my day off from Sunday to Saturday. There was no way I was going to go to La Bruja and negotiate with her.

The only reason I got Sunday off was because I had decided to only have one day off in a week and so she let me choose what day I preferred. That was way back when I was a young, dumb teenager.

Four years later, I was the first name on her hit list and I knew there was no way I was going to get my way without any outside influence. Maybe if I could get Emma to request for it on my behalf. Or maybe I could—

My thoughts were suddenly cut off as I felt a harsh sting on my butt. I whipped around almost instinctively, ready to slap whoever it was behind me, but the culprit had anticipated it and grabbed my wrist before I could leave a red handprint on his face.

I glared at Miguel, wanting to just dig a whole and bury him in it. How much of an asshole did one person have to be?

“What the fuck was that for, asshole?” I asked, beating my free wrist into his chest until he went ahead and grabbed that one too.

“What was what for?”

He had the audacity to smirk at me as I kicked him and tried to pry my arms away from. Without breaking a sweat, he took the two of my wrists in one of his hands and used his free hand to grab my cheeks, squeezing them in as I looked at him.

“Has boss gotten tired of you yet?”

“You asshole!” I lunged my whole body into him, wanting to knock him off, but suddenly someone grabbed my shoulder and yanked me away from him.

“What's wrong? What's going on?” I attempted to barge past Anna to beat the smirking man up, but she stood as firm as a stone wall in front of me, stopping me from fighting him. “Calm down! You can't honestly being trying to fight a man that's three times your size.”

“I don't care. He slapped my ass.”

“I didn't do anything.”

“You fucking liar!” I almost yelled. Before Anna could stop me, I slipped off my left shoe, picked it up and sent it firing in his direction.

His eyes went ablaze in anger, as it hit him square in the face. Anna glared at me superficially but before she could say anything, Miguel had started spewing bullshit again.

“It's not like you should be complaining. Even if I did fucking slap your ass, isn't that what sluts like you are here for?”

“Excuse me?”

I cut Anna off my barging past her human barrier and squaring up directly in front of Miguel. I buffed out my chest and bumped it into him as I glared right into his eyes. “Why don't you say that again, idiot?”

“Araceli, stop this. You're going to get hurt.”

“Who's getting hurt?”

All of our eyes simultaneously snapped to the door to see who had decided to input in our conversation. It wasn't necessarily private as we were having it in the middle of the sitting room where anyone could just stroll in and see us.

Even if anyone was to stroll in though, the last person I had expected was it to be Daniel and his father, Lucien, who I hadn't heard much from since his arrival. I didn't think they would be back from their trip so soon, but if it was in the country, I guess it made sense.

“Are any of you going to answer me?” Lucien asked as we continued staring at him like deers caught in headlights.

He strolled fully into the sitting room, letting the two guards who probably accompanied them on their trip come in after him and walk off to wherever they wanted to go.

“Miguel slapped Araceli,” Anna stuttered out like a nervous fool.

“'s butt. Araceli's butt. He slapped my ass,” I corrected her, making her slap her palm against her head at her own mistake.

“I don't even know why we're still here, boss,” Miguel said, taking a step back from my tense form once he realised how close we were. “I don't see how any of this still matters.”

“It still matters because—”

“Araceli.” Anna yanked me away from Miguel again as I had started to push him. She shot a sharp glare my way. “Don't try and fight him.”

“Don't stop her.”

We all turned around to look at him. Even his own son watched him in confusion as he seemed like he was thoroughly enjoying the show. “You want to fight him?” he asked, his dark eyes meeting mine. “Then fight him.”

“If you have any regard for your safety, I'd advise that you don't come anywhere near me, little girl. I will not hesitate to rip you in half.”

The threat was very obviously there, but I couldn't help the strong urge to beat him up. Even if Miguel did end up hurting me, I wouldn't go down without leaving a red scratch mark on his face.

“Araceli. Come here,” Daniel said, not agreeing with his dad at all.

I felt more compelled to listen to his orders than his father's, but his father was clearly on my side. Even if for the wrong reasons.

Even then, I took a step back from Miguel and made to walk to Daniel, but Lucien shot a sharp glare at me. “I said fight him. Fight him so you'll finally be put in your place. You're just a woman in this house.”

What did he just say? That I was 'just a woman'? Well, of course I was, I didn't want to be a man. Imagine having to be the same gender as Miguel.

I glared at him, wanting to make him eat his words as I looked to the grinning man in front of me. I may have been smaller, but I knew how to play dirty. If the fight wasn't fair, I was going to play dirty.

“Well then, bitch? Aren't you going to hit me?” He smirked down at me.

I folded my arms over my chest, scheming a plan in my head quickly before carrying it out.

I moved as fast as a viper and laid a slap on his cheek, the sound of it echoing around the empty room. Apart from Anna's gasp behind me, the room stayed quiet.

Until he started laughing. “Is that it? That's all you can do?” He started advancing towards me. “I'm thinking that when I'm done with you here, I should put you to use—”

Before he could finish his sentence, I bent my arm and jammed my elbow into his jaw, making him cup his face in pain. I didn't hesitate any longer. I grabbed his head and swiftly brought it down as I lifted my knee and smashed his face in.

When I knew he was significantly disoriented, I jammed my knee again into his stomach twice before pushing him down onto the floor.

He was going to get up soon and properly put me in my place, so I hurriedly picked up my shoe, slapped him across the face with it before putting it back on and grabbing Anna's hand.

“Think twice before you go grabbing someone else's ass again,” I sneered before dragging her out of the room, not even bidding the two bosses goodbye because I was pissed at the other one.

“That was—”

“I know. You're angry at me for fighting,” I said as we walked down the hallway towards her room.

“No! I mean, I'm a little upset, but I'm glad you gave him what he deserved. I just think it's so much worse if he went around doing that to other girls, you know?” she asked as I nodded in agreement.

“I know.”

“Yeah. I understand that I can't change you. I've always been aware of that. But it's now that I realise that I don't want to either.” She stopped and turned me around to face her. “No matter what you've done and what you will do, Ara, you're heart is pure. You're a good person.”

Everyone seemed to think that. I didn't know why I couldn't either. 

*****

I'm posting a bonus chapter sometime between this update and the next so expect it.

You don't have to read it - you'll still get the story if you don't - but it's from Daniel's POV and kind of foreshadows to the next chapter which will be a massive breakthrough in Daniel and Araceli's 'situationship'

I swear after the next chapter, I start packing on the action like too much icing on cake. You're going to hate me.