Chapter 10

So that was my plan for the bright new day (note the sarcasm):

1. Getting out of bed.

2. Drive to the police station with the little hope that maybe they would help me find Ellie's mother.

3. Go to the gym to train Logan's wife, Adele.

I know that I shouldn't damage my body even more, but training doesn't involve running and using a lot of energy, so I should be fine. I decided to wear black high shorts with a simple dark yellow t-shirt.

I had to wait for Ellie to wake up, so in the meantime, I went downstairs to make her breakfast. After a few minutes of me trying to decide what to do, I heard crying upstairs. Ellie. I ran to my bedroom and saw something very unexpected.

Kevin was standing next to my bed with her in his arms, trying to calm her down. When he saw me standing by the door, he looked down at Ellie quickly, trying to avoid eye contact.

Asshole.

"Why are you in my room?" I asked him when the crying got louder.

"Do I have to answer this question?" He asked without meeting my eyes.

"She won't stop crying." He said, now looking into my eyes.

"Try to sit down on the bed and talk to her," I said, suppressing myself that I was trying to help him. I needed to show him that I was not one of his whores, but I felt like talking to him. I needed him to talk to me. He took my advice and sat down on my bed with Ellie on his lap, facing me.

She stopped crying and she stared into my eyes, studying me. The look of innocence in her eyes was slowly starting to break my heart and I decided to look away, now at Kevin. He was looking at me too, studying my body, looking up and down.

"You are not going to the police." He suddenly said, understanding that from the way that I dressed.

"Don't start Kevin." I rolled my eyes at him and walked to Ellie.

"I missed you blondie," I said as I bent down to the same eye level as her.

"Did you have a bad dream?" I asked her and she shook her head.

"So why did you cry?" I asked her with a sad expression on my face.

"Hungary". She pointed at her stomach and whispered.

"What do you want to eat?" I asked her as her eyes were starting to look happy again.

"Pancakes!" She screamed.

"Pancakes it is then." I moved my eyes up to Kevin's. His eyes were eyeing me dangerously.

"You are not going, Mariana," he declared.

"Try my asshole."

"Asshole, asshole." Ellie sang over and over again.

The asshole gave me the look of 'do something, but who am I to tell her to stop?

"Well, I can't disagree with that."

I stood up and walked downstairs, leaving the door open with a broad smile on my face.

I made pancakes.

It was an amazing experience.

That was an understatement.

It wasn't.

I carefully put the mix of milk, eggs, sugar, and flower on the pan, trying to make the perfect circle when suddenly I felt something wet on my head. I turned around to see Ellie laughing like crazy in the asshole's arms, and the asshole smirking.

Kevin Jones was smirking.

It reminded me of the first time I saw him, the first time I heard him laugh. But the weird liquid that was on my head made it kind of hard to focus on my thoughts and I went back to reality.

"What did you do Kevin?" I asked him in an unpleasant tone.

I have been mad at him, ever since yesterday. Ever since I met him.

"I didn't do anything, it was Ellie." He said as his smile got wider and pointed at Ellie.

Ellie's laugh got even louder now and I was trying my best not to smile.

"Sure you didn't." I rolled my eyes and touched my hair.

I took my hand down and saw it.

It was an egg.

There is a fucking smashed egg in my hair.

I glared at Kevin and, without even thinking about my actions, I took an egg from the counter and broke it on his head. Ellie was hardly laughing and this time I gave in and laughed with her. Kevin glared at me this time and I found myself laughing harder at that.

He put Ellie down and came closer to me, trapping me between him and the counter with his hands. He was close, really close. He looked me in the eyes, but it was not a glare, it was something different. He bent down a bit, still without breaking the stare, and moved his head so it was closer to mine.

His lips were close to mine. He is going to kiss me, the man that I hate is going to kiss me. His head got closer and closer and, instead of feeling his lips on mine, I felt his stinky hair on my lips.

Ew.

I pushed him back, disappointed by the outcome, and I swear he could see that. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I am not one of his whores, I told myself over and over again, so humiliated by what just happened. But I was acting like one was what the other side of my brain just told me.

Fuck.

"I didn't know you liked kissing assholes, Mariana." He got closer and whispered in my ear.

"Don't. Call. Me. Mariana." I said and punched him in the chest every time I took a break.

"How many times do I have to tell you that before you fucking stop?!" I asked with so much anger and looked into his eyes.

"And about kissing assholes, I will never kiss you, Jones."

With that, I bent down and went under his arm, trying to get as far away from him as possible.

"Turn off the fire, we will skip breakfast, Ellie. I will get you whatever you want on our way to the police station, I promise."

I took her in my arms after I washed my face with the sink water, ready to walk out of the door and get out of that miserable house. Before I could even touch the door handle, Kevin was blocking it, again. We were staring at each other for a moment before I put Ellie down on the floor. It was going to be a long fight and I knew it, my back didn't need to know it either.

"You are kind of blocking the door, Jones," I told him and tried to keep my voice normal.

"You are kind of pissing me off, Mariana." He, too, tried to keep his voice normal in front of Ellie.

"You know I will walk out of this door after all. Nothing that you say is going to change my mind. Just make it easy for me and move!"

I tried to move him with my hands by pushing him aside. Even though my hands were freaking strong, I couldn't, he was way stronger for my liking.

"What if I say that you will lose your job if you walk out of this damn door today or any other day without my permission?"

Oh.

"I promised her I would find her mother," I said quietly.

"I told you already, I would find her."

I took Ellie's hand, leading her upstairs. The kiss that we almost shared meant nothing to him, he just wanted to humiliate me. That's also why he is calling me Mariana, to humiliate me.

Why am I here?

Did my parents sell me to him?

Do I need to pretend to be his wife in public?

Who even came up with this crazy idea of me marrying Kevin Jones?

What is going on here?

Why am I always choosing to stay back and wait for time to heal everything?

Why wasn't I looking for answers before?

Can anyone please tell me what I am doing wrong?

* * * * * * *

After a few hours of listening to Princess Sonia, or whatever her name was, I decided to head to the gym.

I will finally work! Finally!

I left Jane and Ellie alone and headed downstairs with a blank grey t-shirt and simple black Adidas shorts. I will finally be able to get out of this house!

I didn't see him downstairs and I was wondering if I should tell him that I was leaving the house. Screw him, I am not telling him anything, he is not my husband.

I took a taxi, and there I was, in the gym. The smell of the machines and sweat made me remember why I love coming here so much.

The gym is my home, it will always be. I put my straight dark brown hair in a high ponytail and started to train Logan's wife, Adele. She was beautiful, with bright red hair, and shining blue eyes. From the moment she met Logan, he didn't let her go back home until she finished the sessions with him. It looked like he cared too much about it, but I am not the person to judge.

I train her twice a week, and all I can tell you is that she is OK.

I do see the kindness in her eyes, but she never talked to me, she was so focused every time I talked about training, but we never got the chance to talk more. She started hitting the board that I had in front of me while I moved him faster and faster as time passed.

Then, we moved on to fighting each other. The hits weren't that strong, so we can both go out of the gym without any bruises. She was getting better each time, and I was kind of proud of myself because of that.

Her punches got a lot stronger, and she knows how to kick and protect herself. I thought about her techniques of how to getting out of complicated positions while fighting, but we still have to work more on that. We took a break and I took my chance to go and get water.

I walked to the water fountain and there I saw him, standing with Logan. Even though he didn't even look at me, I knew that he was mad and I stayed in my place, not able to move.

His eyes were wandering around the gym while he talked to Logan and they landed on me. Well, nothing there goes. His stare was too intense and I had to look at anything but him, but I felt like his eyes didn't let me, his eyes were pulling me into him.

Before I knew it, he walked fast towards me and I started to run. I ran around the gym. Literally. I ran around the different machines and weights and he ran after me.

He was trying to catch me, but I didn't let it happen. My moves were quicker and my running was faster.

At some point, when I realized what was going on, and why every single person in the gym was staring at us, I started to laugh.

I was suddenly laughing so hard, people were looking at me like I was crazy, which I don't deny. The laughing took the rest of my energy and I lay on the floor, waiting for him to come and punch me.

Unfortunately, something worse came.

"Say goodbye to your job."