My Alpha Mate's Christmas Gift novel Chapter 44

　　After the match ended in the Black Cat's victory, she retreated back to her changing quarters where she took a slight shower and changed back to her normal wear, a grey hoodie with skinny jeans. She went on to the manager's office, who was expecting her.

　　“You did a fine job tonight… As always!” He grinned widely, showing his yellow teeth, evidence of an unhealthy dental care.

　　“Yeah, sure… You're just happy you made a lot of money as usual” She retorted as she rolled her eyes to his commendation.

　　“Of course I am. After all, first and foremost I am a businessman.” He responded, still looking cheerful.

　　“Of course. Are we done with the idle chatter?” She asked, stretching her hands toward him to receive her share of money.

　　“Heh, you’ve grown so cheeky these past months. I can't believe you’re the same little girl who approached me those months ago” He said, using his hands to caress the locker which was fixed on top of the desk he sat behind. He brought out a key from his breast pocket and unlocked it.

　　“I was never a life girl. You’d do well to know that” Roxanne said in a threatening tone.

　　“Yeah, yeah. Sheesh” He let out with a knowing smile

　　Bringing out a couple of ten dollar bills, he counted 50 and placed it on the table in front of her.

　　“Here, that’s your cut,” He said.

　　As usual, Roxanne merely collected it, without even counting the notes or properly checking to confirm. She put the bills in her hoodie pocket hole and left the office without a single word. Of course, she knew that he earned way more than the amount he gave her, but that didn’t matter much to her. As long as she kept fighting, she would be satisfied.

　　Looking around her to make sure no one was watching her, she silently left the Underground Wrestling Centre. She didn’t know, however, that she was actually being watched.

　　“Roxanne…” A voice called at her from behind.

　　She froze as she heard those words and her eyes widened in shock. Not only was she surprised to hear her name, she also recognized the voice of the one who called her. Her mind raced and a million questions popped into her head as she began to consider, in fright, what she was going to do.

　　Deciding to ignore the voice, she continued moving, not turning back to see the face of the man who called her. However, in her slight moment of hesitation, Donald had already gotten close to her and grabbed her hood, drawing it down so her face was revealed.

　　“H-Hey!!!” She protested as she held the hood, trying to cover her face back, but it was too late. As she turned back instinctively, her eyes accidentally met Donald's and a shiver ran down her spine as she met his stare. He had so many questions, she tried to open her mouth to explain herself, but her lips quivered and her hands trembled as she stood, frozen on that single spot. Donald merely stared at her, not uttering a word, however, his expression said a lot.

　　After being in this position for so long, Roxanne quickly put the hood over her head again and ran off, leaving her coach in the dark, empty path. That night Roxanne got home and crashed into beds not knowing what to do. She couldn’t even sleep as she turned from side to side, with muffled expressions of worry. This continued until the following day.

　　After what happened, she decided not to go to the gym anymore, however, since it was already part of her everyday life, a habit she could not so easily break, as she left school in deep thought and worry, she found herself directly in front of the gym, walking there unconsciously.

　　After several deliberations within herself, she decided to muster up the courage and face her coach.

　　“How long?” He asked her.

　　“How long have you been doing it?”

　　“Erm… It's been five months now, ``she replied.

　　“F-Five?” Donald let out, flustered, but quickly regained his composure.

　　“Why are you doing it? Do you need the money that badly?” He asked.

　　“N-No, not really” She responded.

　　“Then why…?!” He asked.

　　“W-Well… How do I put this?” She said nervously.

　　In the end, she ended up divulging her reasons to him and he paid rapt attention to her words. After he heard this, he tried to reason with her. He didn’t judge her, however, he tried to dissuade her from continuing her night escapades, however she strongly refused.

　　After trying many times over, he finally gave up on trying the usual approach. Since she was so adamant in her pursuit, and he knew the kind of situation she was in… The emptiness she felt. So, he decided to make sure to minimise the damage she would be exposed rk if she continued in her reckless pursuit.

　　“Fine. I understand and know that I can't stop you from doing this, and I also think it is important to you and your personal growth. But, I can’t just stand by and watch you get hurt.” Coach Donald said.

　　“You mean…”Roxanne said with her eyes brightening up.

　　“From now on, I’ll be teaching you, not my boxing, but also wrestling. Of course, you can use certain boxing techniques in wrestling, but you also need original and wrestling focused moves. If I teach you this, it should help you to reduce the danger you get exposed to if you decide to continue with this crazy path.” He explained to her.

　　Roxanne’s eyes brightened as her coach said this. She felt relieved and honestly overjoyed. Her coach understood her, he respected her decision. He also didn’t judge her, something her mother might have been fine with. She felt at ease and was happy at the time. He trained her even more rigorously, kept up with her performance, and followed her to the underground Wrestling centre.

　　However… That Friday, two days ago, I decided to call it quits. He couldn’t bear to continue encouraging their dangerous and unhealthy lifestyle. After watching her last match, the semi-finals of the Underground Wrestling Belt Match, he made up his mind. The fight worried Donald, and even Roxanne, for a moment didn’t know what to do. The opponent was stronger than she imagined, and even though she eventually won, she felt that she was cutting it close.

　　She had never felt so heartbroken since her father died when he told her those words… When he told her he wasn’t willing to support her anymore. A fight where she risked her life, or at least, her safety, just for thrill… He couldn’t support it.

　　But that didn’t mean she would stop! After winning the semifinals, her final match for the season was coming up after two weeks. She wasn’t going to miss it for anything. It would be the first complete season for her, and she intended on winning it all. This was also one of the reasons she had to escape at all costs… Her belt was waiting for her to claim it… And she wasn’t going to go down now, not to the man who challenged her half assed.

　　“You're going down now!” She muttered to herself as she looked at the strange man who still stood, defending the door and Rita behind him, in a corner.

　　She would win, just like always!