Garcìa

chapter 3

"A deal?" Valentina asked with disbelief.

"I'll help you get out of here. Get back your company and you'll help me bring down Elijah. We both want him gone, so why not combine forces?" Rafael suggested.

"How would you even help me get out of here?" she asked him, mulling the deal over in her head.

"I'll tell you everything there is to know about him and help you plan an escape plan. As much as I would love to take you away right now, it would be too suspicious. If we can form the right plan, you could run away when he gets back. This will lead him to think you'll be on foot. But instead you'll have a car to drive away from the house and a plane to take you anywhere you want. I'll lent you cash to get you somewhere until the blow of you escaping has flown over." he explained. "And I'll teach you some self defence. So you can defend yourself against him if he provides struggle."

"I-" Valentina started but she was struggling to form a response.

The truth is, this was a great offer. They had a shared enemy. She had no power as of right now and he did. He could get her away from here, far away. Possibly to Europe. Yeah, to her grandparents. The information on Elijah would also prove to be useful in going against him. And the self defence will make her stronger and more confident. It really was a great proposition. She didn't think she'd get an offer like that again.

"Alright. When do we start?" she finally said to Rafael.

"We can start today by sharing information on Elijah while I teach you the basics of self defence. He has a gym here, right?" he suggested.

"Yeah, the gym is downstairs." she replied.

"Alright. Have some breakfast while I go home to fetch some workout clothes." he said and she nodded before he disappeared.

She shook her head before heading into her closet. She found some workout clothes and put them on. She brushed her hair into a ponytail before putting on some gym shoes. She made her way downstairs and was immediately greeted by the smell of breakfast. She heard chattering and figured the workers were all chatting away in the kitchen. She entered the kitchen and found them all talking and laughing with each other. Valentina smiled before going over to Sarah to leave a kiss on her cheek.

"Good morning." she greeted the woman.

"Morning sweetheart. What are you up to today?" the woman asked while eyeing the workout clothes.

"Uhm, Rafael is going to teach me self defence." Valentina mumbled while grabbing breakfast.

"Elijah's son?" Sarah asked with disbelief.

"Mhm. He was here just now. He made me a deal to help me escape." Valentina explained.

"Oh that's wonderful sweetheart." the woman said with honest happiness.

Sarah had always wanted a way to help Valentina escape but she couldn't do much. She was glad Rafael would be helping the girl she had grown to see as her own daughter.

"He will also share information about Elijah so we can bring him down together." Valentina added.

Sarah smiled warmly at the young woman before excusing herself to start on her chores. Valentina wished her goodbye with a smile. She knew Sarah would be more than happy for her. She would often talk about wanting to help escape but Valentina knew she couldn't do much because of whatever Elijah held against the woman. But she appreciated the effort nonetheless.

After finishing breakfast, Valentina washed her dishes before making her way to the gym downstairs. She spent her time here working out but never self defence. She looked around the gym but no sign of Rafael yet. She decided that she would warm up with some stretches before they would start.

A few minutes later, Rafael walked in with shorts and a short sleeved t-shirt. Valentina noticed how he was pretty muscular and quite handsome but shrugged off the thoughts. It wasn't the time or the place or the person she should be interested in.

"Have you ever done any self defence?" he asked her once he was in front of her.

"Nope." she replied.

"We'll start at the beginning." he said and she nodded.

And that's how they spent a whole hour training the basics for self defence. They bickered a lot. Rafael would continuously say she wasn't taking it seriously while she truly was trying her best but she found it to be more difficult than expected. They would bicker for a few minutes before resuming to the task at hand. At the end of the hour, Valentina was exhausted. She dropped on the ground before gulping down her water.

"Why didn't you live with your father?" Valentina decided to ask.

"Because I'm an adult." he replied stiffly.

"No, I mean four years ago. You can't be much older than me. Meaning that you would have lived at home four years ago." she elaborated which caused him to sigh.

"My dad did some things to my mom and sister, I got them out and I lived with them in another house before moving out two years ago." he explained, his demeanour changing to guarded.

"You have a heart after all. You know for always being so cold and rude." she said while softly pushing his shoulder a little.

"Never said I didn't." he replied to which she rolled her eyes.

"No, but you can be pretty rude. For example when the maids came in to ask if we needed anything. You could have been a little nicer than saying 'No, leave us'. It's rude." she explained to him before standing up.

"I don't care." he said.

Valentina rolled her eyes. For a man who offered her to help, he sure as hell was rude most of the time. In her eyes, he was a rude teacher as well. He never smiled or laughed either. He sure was guarded and that's what she got out of an hour.

"When will we meet again?" she asked him so they could start their planning.

"I'll be here tomorrow morning around eleven. We can train, share information and form a plan." he said while they made their way back upstairs.

"Alright, deal." she said and they shook hands before he left through the front door without saying goodbye.

Such a rude man, she thought.