The Truth

Nyra's Pov

   The first thing I heard was laughter,..Loud, Annoying, Infuriating laughter!!

I groaned and buried my face deeper into the pillow, whoever was laughing by this time of the night deserves imprisonment. Frr!!

Then the laughter came again, deliberately Closer this time.

"Strongest woman in the City of Vancouver"

I froze…that voice.

"Honestly, Tutor Nyra, I was expecting you to wake up at sunrise and start yelling."

“Oh Kaizen …get up sleepy head”

“You're late for lectures”...

 He is mimicking me…My eyes snapped open.

Kaizen sat on the couch across the room, one leg thrown over the armrest, Coffee in one hand.. looking way too pleased with himself.

The sunlight pouring through the windows nearly blinded me, I looked at the clock, blinked, then looked again.

Then I screamed from my room. 

"OH MY GOD!"

Kaizen nearly choked on his coffee.

"It's eleven."

"ELEVEN?!"

I launched myself out of bed, straight to the living room. I immediately regretted it because 

Every muscle in my body protested.

Kaizen burst into laughter.

"Relax."

"RELAX?"

I pointed dramatically toward the window, my hair was scattered all over my face, my eyes were slightly swollen due to the fact I slept terribly late….

"Normal people have attended lectures already."

He shrugged.

"Exactly."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we're not normal people."

I grabbed the nearest pillow on the couch and launched it at him.

"Lazy jerk."

The pillow hit him squarely in the face.

He caught it, Smirked.

Then threw it back.

Kaizen enjoys pillow fight.

"Curious cat."

"Criminal."

"Scholarship girl."

"Underground wrestler"

The smirk disappeared, Immediately….

Silence.

The atmosphere changed.

Both of us felt it because Last night returned fresh memories replaying..The arena…The blood…The money ... .The fear.

Kaizen sighed heavily and sat upright.

"No more jokes."

I saw how tired he really looked, the dark circles beneath his eyes, the bruises, the cuts, the exhaustion…

He wasn't pretending anymore.

"Come sit."

I hesitated, then obeyed…even though I hadn't washed up my perfume still lingered in the air, before going to bed when we arrived at the penthouse, I had to freshen up and cool off.

The couch suddenly felt too small, too quiet and too serious.

Kaizen stared at the coffee in his hands as if deciding how much of the truth I deserved.

Finally…

"The underground arena isn't just fighting."

My heartbeat quickened.

"I saw that"

He nodded.

"There are hundreds of thousands of dollars moving through that place every week."

My eyes widened.

"What?"

"Betting."

He leaned back.

"Sponsorships."

"Illegal deals."

"People paying to watch violence."

I remembered the crowd, some professors I have once met, the cheering, the money….an everything.

Suddenly I felt sick again.

"How long have you been doing it?"

His jaw tightened.

"A while."

"That's not an answer."

"A few years."

My stomach dropped.

"A few years?"

He looked away.

"My mother's treatment became expensive…tremendously expensive"

Silence.

"The hospital bills started growing."

Another silence…..

"Dad stopped helping us, but I had to fight for legal rights till he assisted with our tuition and allowances. Nothing for my mum's treatment"

His voice remained calm, that kind of calmness people use when discussing pain they've lived with too long.

"So I started fighting."

“That was the easiest way to get money. I just have to endure the pain.”

The simplicity of the sentence broke my heart….as if it had been an ordinary choice…as if survival had become a hobby.

"You could've died."

A bitter laugh escaped him.

"I still can."

I hated that answer.

“Please don't say that”

I hated how casually he said it, I hated that he'd accepted it…

For several moments neither of us spoke.

Then, "Why fight?"

His eyebrow lifted.

"What?"

"You could do something else"

The words escaped before I could stop them.

"You live in a penthouse."

"You drive luxury cars."

"Your father owns half the city."

"YOU shouldn't be suffering?"

Kaizen laughed, not happily, not bitterly, 

Just sadly.

"Because none of it belongs to me."

The answer hit harder than expected.

"My father's money has always come with conditions."

His eyes darkened.

"And my mother isn't one of his priorities."

Something painful flashed across his face, gone almost immediately but I saw it…the pain, disappointment, the anger.

Years of suffering physically, living solely on body pains drugs, just to stay fit.

Suddenly...everything made sense, why he hated discussing his about father, Why Auren cried…

Why Sylvara smiled even when she was sick….

They'd been abandoned long before the divorce became official.

I lowered my gaze.

"I'm sorry."

Kaizen shook his head.

"Don't be."

Then unexpectedly, he smiled… a real smile.

"Besides."

"What?”

"You almost got kidnapped out of curiosity."

My jaw dropped.

"That was YOUR fault."

"My fault?"

"You literally run a secret fight club."

"I don't run it."

"You participate in it."

" So the Chairman Runs it?"

"No details."

"Alright"

I grabbed another pillow.

Kaizen immediately raised his hands.

"Violence again."

"You're lucky you're injured."

"I know."

The laughter that followed felt lighter and warmer.

Until Kaizen's phone suddenly vibrated thrice

His smile disappeared almost immediately.

The color drained from his face which I noticed.

"Kaizen?"

No answer.

His eyes remained fixed on the screen.

“Shit”

A feeling of dread crawled down my spine very slowly.,....

"What happened?"

Then finally, his voice came out barely above a whisper.

"They've never contacted me directly before."

My heart stopped.

"Who?"

Kaizen looked at me sadly. 

For the first time since the arena..I saw genuine fear….the fear of something much worse.

Then he turned the phone around.

A single message glowed on the screen..

ARCLAIR AUREN IS A GENIUS, I CAN ASCERTAIN HIS OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE.

Underneath it...Another message appeared

WE'RE ON OUR WAY. 

3 hard knocks, Kaizen freezes…Immediately he signals Nyra to hide in her room.

Nyra freezes.

Every soul knows the Penthouse, hiding doesn't even feel safe anymore. 

Then a voice comes through the door:

"Open up."

"We're here for Auren”