Seraphina’s POV 1


    “I’m in,” I said again, because once wasn’t enough. Because I needed to hear myself say it twice to believe I was actually doing this insane


    thing. “I’ll do it.”


    Rico’s smile stretched wide across his face. Satisfied. Victorious. Like he’d known all along I’d break.


    “I knew it,” he said, pping his hands together once. “I knew you’d say yes. The moment I saw you in that alley, taking down that drunk


    bastard, I knew you had it in you.”


    My stomach twisted. “Had what in you?”


    “The hunger.” His eyes glittered in the harsh warehouse lights. “The desperation. The willingness to do whatever it takes to survive.”


    God, he made me sound like some kind of animal. Maybe I was.


    “Look, Sera.” He stepped closer, his voice dropping to something almost gentle. “I’ve been doing this for fifteen years. I can spot talent,


    sure. But more than that, I can spot fighters. The ones who don’t quit when it hurts.”


    “I don’t know if that’s me,” I admitted quietly.


    “Trust me. By the time I’m done training you, by the time you step into that ring for real, you’re going to be the best goddamn female


    fighter this circuit has ever seen.”


    The words should have made me feel better. Should have given me confidence or hope or something positive.


    Instead, they made me want to throw up.


    What the hell was I doing? Twenty–four hours ago, I was scanning groceries and pretending my life was under control. Now I was


    agreeing to get punched in the face for money.


    “Hey.” Rico’s voice cut through my spiral. “You still with me?”


    “Yeah.” I forced myself to focus. “Yeah, I’m here.”


    “Good. Because we’ve got a lot of work to do. Training starts tomorrow. Six AM sharp.”


    Six AM. Of course.


    “There’s just one thing,” I said before I could lose my nerve.


    Rico raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”


    My hands were shaking again. I shoved them in my pockets so he wouldn’t see. “I need to ask you for a favor. A really big favor.”


    “I’m listening.”


    The words stuck in my throat. Pride and desperation wrestling for control of my tongue. Desperation won.


    18.30


    167 Chapter 167


    “I need money,” I said, the wordsing out in a rush. “Not the fight money. I mean, I need that too, but I need money now. Today.


    Before tomorrow morning.”


    Rico’s expression didn’t change. “How much?”


    “Four hundred and fifty dors.” My voice cracked. “For rent. Myndlord is evicting me if I don’t pay by noon tomorrow.”


    Silence.


    God, this was humiliating. Here I was, begging a stranger for money like some kind of-


    “Why are you short?” Rico asked.


    The question caught me off guard. “What?”


    “Why don’t you have rent money? You work at that grocery store. I saw the uniform when we first met.”


    Heat flooded my cheeks. “I got… scammed. By a coworker. She borrowed money from me for a bus ticket home, said she’d pay me back


    by Friday. She never did. And then my boss docked my pay for damages I didn’t cause, and-”


    “And now you’re broke,” Rico finished for me.


    “Yes.” The word tasted like failure. “I have forty–seven dors in my bank ount and andlord who’s going to throw all my stuff on the <fnf4d5> The source of th?s content is find?novel</fnf4d5>


    street in less than twelve hours.”


    More silence. Rico studied me with those sharp, calcting eyes. Probably doing the math on whether I was worth the investment.


    “I’ll pay you back,” I said desperately. “I swear. Once I start fighting, once I win some money, I’ll pay you back every cent. And if the


    fighting doesn’t work out, I’ll find other work. I’ll do whatever it takes. Just please-”


    “Stop.”


    I shut my mouth so fast my teeth clicked together.


    Rico reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone. “How much did you say you needed?”


    “Four–fifty for rent. But honestly, I could use a little more. For food and-”


    “Let’s make it an even two thousand.” ”


    I stared at him. “What?”


    “Two thousand dors.” He was already pulling up his banking app. “Should cover your rent, get you some groceries, maybe buy some


    proper training gear.”


    My brain short–circuited. “I can’t take two thousand dors from you. That’s too much!”


    “I’m offering two thousand.” He looked up from his phone, his expression serious. “Sera, if you’re going to do this–then you need to be


    able to focus. You can’t focus if you’re worried about where you’re sleeping or what you’re eating.”


    “But I’ll owe you-”


    167 Chapter 167


    “You’ll owe me a fighter who shows up on time and gives me everything she’s got in training” He went back to his phone, typing


    something. “Consider it an investment.”


    An investment. In me. In my ability to get beaten up for entertainment.


    “I don’t know what to say,” I whispered.


    “Say you’ll quit that grocery store job and focus on training full–time.”


    I blinked. “What?”


    “The grocery store.” Rico looked up again. “You need to quit. Today. Tonight. As soon as possible.”


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