Daddy’s wild girl

Chapter 19

Bella woke up long before sunrise, the events of yesterday still burning in her mind. She couldn’t go back to sleep. Instead, she quietly slipped out of bed and started working out right there in the small dorm room — push-ups, squats, planks, burpees — anything to make her body stronger. Sweat dripped down her face as she pushed herself harder, breathing heavily through gritted teeth.

Molly groaned from her bed, rolling over and squinting at her through half-closed eyes.

“Bella… it’s 4am in the morning,” Molly mumbled, voice thick with sleep. She glanced at the clock beside her bed. “We don’t even have class until 10. Why are you torturing yourself?”

Bella didn’t stop moving. “If I have to get stronger, I need to workout,” she replied, voice determined. “I’m tired of being weak. Tired of getting pushed around.”

Molly yawned loudly and pulled the blanket over her head. “Alright… do you. Just try not to wake the whole floor.”

After nearly an hour of intense exercise, Bella’s muscles burned and her body was soaked in sweat. She quickly grabbed her towel and headed to the shared bathroom for a long, hot shower.

By 8am, the dorm room was filled with morning light. Bella sat on her bed, freshly showered and dressed, but still feeling restless. She hadn’t left the room since yesterday’s hallway incident, and the thought of stepping outside made her stomach twist with anxiety.

Molly finally stirred, stretching with a big yawn. “You’re really going all out, huh?” She sat up and grinned. “I already ordered breakfast for both of us. Nigerian jollof rice and chicken — extra spicy. We just have to go pick it up from the little store outside the gate. Come on, it’ll be good!”

Bella froze. The idea of walking across the academy grounds again made her chest tighten with fear.

“Well…” Bella hesitated, shifting uncomfortably. “Maybe later.”

Molly noticed the change in her expression immediately. She tilted her head, studying Bella for a moment before sighing softly.

“No worries,” Molly said gently. “I’ll go get it myself. You stay here and rest.”

She grabbed her purse, slipped on her shoes, and headed for the door. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes. Don’t open the door for anyone, okay?”

Bella nodded weakly. “Thanks, Molly.”

The moment the door clicked shut, Bella let out a long, heavy sigh and sank down onto her bed. She hugged her knees to her chest, staring at the stone wall.

She hated this — feeling trapped in her own dorm room, too scared to even walk outside to get food. This wasn’t living. This was hiding.

Her mind drifted back to her mother’s words on the phone last night… and the sounds of kissing and moaning in the background while she was crying for help.

Tears prickled at her eyes again, but she blinked them away.

“I can’t keep living like this,” she whispered to the empty room. “Hiding in here every day, scared of my own shadow.”

She stood up slowly, fists clenched at her sides.

“Once I’m done getting stronger… I won’t run anymore. Even if it means becoming someone they fear.”

Bella walked over to the small mirror on the wall and stared at her reflection — tired eyes, determined expression, faint bruises still visible on her arms.

She had made her decision.

She would meet Reyes today.

And she would start learning how to fight back.

Here’s the clean, natural continuation of your scene:

Molly had almost made it to the small store outside the academy gate when she came across Ethan and his crew beating up another poor freshman in one of the side alleys. The kid was on the ground, curled up while they kicked and laughed. Molly sighed heavily but kept her head down and walked faster, hoping they wouldn’t notice her.

She wasn’t that lucky.

“You there!” Ethan’s voice rang out behind her.

Molly pretended she didn’t hear him and kept walking, earpods still in her ears.

Ethan gave a quick signal to two of his friends. They immediately jogged ahead and blocked her path, forcing her to stop.

“Didn’t you hear when I called for you?” Ethan barked, walking up to her with that signature arrogant smirk.

Molly sighed again. She slowly pulled out one earpod, then the other, tucking them into her pocket. “Do you need something?” she asked calmly, looking up at him.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed for a second, then he stepped closer. “You there.”

“Yes?” Molly replied, keeping her voice neutral.

“Don’t you know you shouldn’t have earpods in when someone is calling you?”

“I didn’t hear you,” Molly lied smoothly.

“Whatever.” Ethan waved it off. He looked her up and down. “You’re the roommate of that girl, right?”

Molly blinked innocently. “What are you talking about?”

“Uhm… what’s her name again?” Ethan muttered, snapping his fingers as he tried to remember. He looked back at Molly. “What’s your roommate’s name?”

Molly paused for a second, then answered carefully.

“You mean Bella?”

A cruel smile spread across Ethan’s face the moment the name left her lips.

“Yeah… Bella,” he repeated slowly, like he was tasting the word.

“Where is she?” Ethan asked, scanning the area with narrowed eyes.

He and his friends had been hanging around the path leading to the dorms, clearly waiting. When Molly appeared alone, his smirk turned sharper.

“I haven’t seen her out for long. Is she scared to come out?” Ethan chuckled, and his friends joined in, laughing like it was the funniest thing they’d heard all day.

Molly kept her expression neutral. “I have no idea where she is. If you’ll excuse me, I have an order to get.”

She tried to walk past them, but two of Ethan’s friends immediately moved to block her way.

Ethan raised a hand, stopping them. “Let her go.”

The boys stepped aside reluctantly. Molly didn’t waste a second — she walked straight past without looking back, clutching her purse a little tighter.

As soon as she was a safe distance away, Ethan’s smirk deepened into something darker, more calculated. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, staring in the direction of the girls’ dorm.

“She’s hiding in her room like a scared little mouse,” he muttered, mostly to himself. “That’s fine.”

One of his friends raised an eyebrow. “So what now? We just wait?”

Ethan’s smile grew slow and cruel.

“No. I’ve got a better plan. If she wants to hide… we’ll make sure she has nowhere left to hide.”

He pushed off the wall, already turning to walk away.

“Come on. We’ve got work to do.”

Molly stepped into the small Nigerian restaurant just outside the academy gate. The familiar smell of spices and sizzling chicken greeted her immediately.

“Welcome, Molly!” the lady behind the counter called out with a warm smile. “Your order is almost ready.”

Molly smiled back. “Thanks, Aunty. I called in for two plates of jollof rice and chicken — extra spicy.”

While she waited and chatted lightly with the staff, the door opened again. Amelia walked in with two of her friends — Lila and Sophia — all three of them dressed like they were going to a photoshoot instead of just grabbing food.

“Why did you decide to eat in an African restaurant?” Lila asked, wrinkling her nose slightly.

“I’m eating in a Nigerian restaurant,” Amelia corrected her with a bored tone. “There’s a difference.”

“What’s the difference?” Sophia asked.

“Not all African food is the same, gosh,” Amelia replied, already walking toward the counter. “I like the jollof here. It actually has taste.”

Molly, who had been minding her own business, rolled her eyes hard when she heard Amelia’s voice.

Amelia’s sharp eyes immediately spotted her. A fake-sweet smile spread across her face.

“Oh look who we have here… little miss Molly.”

Molly sighed, not even trying to hide her irritation. “What do you want, Amelia?”

“Oh, I just wanted to say hi,” Amelia said innocently, tilting her head.

“Well… bye,” Molly replied flatly. She grabbed her bag of food the moment it was handed to her, turned on her heel, and walked out without another word.

Back in the dorm room, Bella was nervously arranging her bed for the third time, trying to keep her hands busy. Her stomach growled loudly.

“Finally… Molly is back, I’m starving,” she muttered to herself when she heard a knock on the door.

Bella hurried over and pulled the door open with a small smile. “Finally—”

The words died in her throat.

Ethan stood there, leaning casually against the doorframe, that same cruel smirk on his face.

“You,” Bella breathed, shock and fear flashing across her face.

She immediately tried to slam the door shut, but Ethan’s hand shot out, stopping it easily with his palm. He pushed it back open without much effort, stepping halfway into the room.