Principessa (Book II of The Stepbrother)

Chapter 15: Maxim

Haden

"Haden, be calm and strategic. You go out there full of emotion and you are sure to lose. Be smart, you don't want Ella to suffer because you couldn't control your anger." I snapped my head in grandpa's direction as my eyes turned to slits.

"He will die before he can even take one step towards her." The nerve of him anyway. Ella wouldn't be in any danger at all if he didn't bring her here! Maxim climbed into the ring, his eyes trained behind me.

"Such beauty. I will be happy to use her as my prize." He made eye contact with me and the rage I felt increased. I knew he was trying to get under my skin, trying to throw me off. But what he and my grandpa didn't understand was that when it came to Ella, no one could throw me off my game. 

"Be careful Max, I'm known to not be the most rational person when it comes to that woman." My voice had no emotion and I could see Grandpa and Luca's heads snap to me.

"Haden, focus on the fight." Grandpa warned. I turned to look at him before my eyes darted to Ella. I relaxed a little at seeing Micah and Enzo next to her. The worry was still on her face but I knew that wasn't going to go away. My baby always worried about me.

I gave her a small smile and her shoulders relaxed slightly as she returned a small smile. I turned my gaze back to Grandpa. The tone of my voice, only one other time this tone came out.

"My focus would've been on the fight had you not betrayed my trust dear grandfather." Luca kept his eyes on me as he knew me better than anyone. This was it, after today, there was no more of a relationship between Grandpa and I.

My attention got pulled to the officiant as he began to go over the "rules". Which was none really. It was simple, fight and the first to go down unconscious loses. No rules on what was or wasn't allowed outside of no hits to dicks and gorging eyes.

The bell rang and Maxim went in for full attack, amateur. I dodged his punch and immediately hit him with an upper cut. He stepped back, a look of surprise on his face before he let out a chuckle.  

"Oh so the rich kid does know how to quarrel. This should be fun." He says bouncing on his toes. 

"You talk too much." Was my only reply. 

"I won't be doing any talking later when my lips are wrapped around that pretty little thing of yours cunt tonight." As if a reflex, my arm jabbed out and hit him square in the nose. Blood began to pour from his nose as he looked at me dazed. 

"Maxim what the fuck are you doing! Fight son!" A man yelled who I am guessing was his dad. Maxim wiped the blood from his face and got back in his stance. He threw another punch, I dodged it but was instantly hit with a jab to the chin. Good hit. 

I shook it off. I needed to know how hard he hit anyway. It was a good powerful hit, but nothing I couldn't take. He went for another punch and I caught his arm, bending it in a way an arm should never bend. He let out a groan as my foot slammed into the back of his leg, causing him to buckle to the floor. 

The room was loud. I could hear the different men yelling at us from both sides. I blocked them out as Maxim somehow untwisted his arm and flipped us, throwing me to the ground. A groan escaped me as he laid powerful hits to my side. 

"HADEN!" I knew that panicked voice. It was Ella. I turned my head to see Micah and Enzo pulling her away from the ring, I could see the tears falling down her cheeks. Maxim took advantage of my slight distraction, landing a hard punch straight to my face. I felt the blood trickle down the side of my eye.

"She's literally perfect. I'm going to enjoy ruining her." Her sneered. 

"Over my dead body." I nipped before headbutting him in the face. He instantly flew back and more blood rushed from his nose. Maxim wasn't a small guy, but I learned over the years that it didn't matter how big someone was. What only mattered was how well they could take a hit.