Stephanie rode quietly in the limo. She ignored every bump along the way. She simply stared down at her wedding ring, twirled it around her manicured finger.
"Is Hunter capable of killing someone? Maybe he knew he wouldn't have KILLED Stone Cold….That's ridiculous. If you plan to run a man over, you know you are running the risk of KILLING him? My God… What if Hunter is capable of anything?"
The one thing that turned her on about her husband was now scaring the life out of her.
The night she discovered what Hunter had done, she ran. She ran straight for the front door. Only to see his big hand slam it shut, right as she had slightly opened it. He begged her to stay and hear him out. She begged him to let her go. She explained she needed space and time to think. Space. That's the last thing he had given her. Her phone had been blowing up non stop with his name popping up on it. And she wasn't even going to acknowledge the random black car that had been following her around all week.
"We are here, ma'am." The driver spoke to Steph as he held the door open for her to get out. Dear God how long has he been standing there?
She climbed out of the car and looked up at the arena RAW was at tonight. Here it goes.
It wasn't as big of a deal to be angry at Hunter on camera. But when she has to pretend everything was ok…for the sake of Hunter. This was going to be difficult.
She walked as slowly as she could, her suitcase rolling behind her, tripping over the large electric cords. And in too quickly of a minute, she stood in front of their dressing room door. Theirs. Understatement. She was stung with the coldness of the doorknob as she turned it and watched the door swing open.
There stood HHH and Rikishi. Whispering like school girls.
"Stephie." Hunter said looking startled by his wife's abrupt arrival.
She just stood there with her lips tightly pursed. She just stared pass them and broke her stare. Walking into the room was the most uncomfortable Stephanie had felt in a long time. At that moment, she realized that she was not only upset about her husband's actions, but upset with having been left out. She felt betrayed. Did this mean she was ok with what he did? Confusion was bringing on a headache.
Hunter stared at his wife as she ignored his presence. She stood there pretending to unpack her suitcase onto the couch. He knew she would never understand all this.
And that's why…He could never tell her why he really ran over Stone Cold.
"Rikishi, I'll catch up with you later man." Hunter still kept his steady glare on his wife. Rikishi nodded and quickly exited the room.
Hunter walked up to Stephanie stalkingly and wrapped his arms around her waist…pushing himself against her backside.
"Talk to me baby." He whispered into her ear as she steadily channeled her energy towards pretending to unpack.
Hunter hated being ignored. Especially from his wife. It drove him mad and she knew it. Which only aggravated him.
"DAMMITT STEPH LOOK AT ME." He yelled stepping back and spinning her around.
Stephanie glared at him for a second. Her temper rising. She felt the hotness in her face.
"What Hunter? What the fuck do you want me to say? You want me to tell you I'm terrified of you? You want to hear that I feel SO fuckin' betrayed by you? OR Do you just want me to come skipping in here acting like you DIDN'T try to kill another man?" She released. But was quickly interrupted.
"Keep your fuckin voice down!" Hunter seethed at her as he ran to her and covered her mouth.
"Baby, you should never be terrified of me." He slowly removed his hand from her mouth seeing the genuine fear in her eyes. "I live everyday to make sure you are ok."
Stephanie began calming down. Her chest wasn't heaving as bad. Her face had returned to a normal color. And she saw the sincerity in Hunter's eyes. He did love her.
"Do you at least regret it, Hunter?" she asked in a low tone.
"I can't." Hunter replied hanging his head down.
"Why can't you regret something like that. Just tell me you regret it Hunter. It was before us. I can understand if it was just some horrible mistake you made before you met me." Steph begged him, grabbing his hand and putting it in hers. She did not want this to ruin them but she wasn't sure what she could live with.
"It was before us. But if I hadn't done it, Steph…" He looked up, deep into her eyes, "We wouldn't be here."
Steph stood there, still holding her husband's hand. She was now rubbing the tip of her finger along his wedding band. What did he mean by that? Did she even want to know any more. Now she regretted ever inquiring about all this.
"We…as in you and I". She asked him staring down at the ring.
"Yes." He lifted her face by tipping her chin. "I have wanted you for a long time, Stephie. I wanted you to get back at your father, but, like I have told you a million times…I have wanted you for a long time. I had a plan to get you for a long time. Stone Cold found out about my plan. To get you. And to Marry you. He was going to stop me. I had to do this. For us." Now Hunter had both his hands cupped around Stephanie's face staring deeply into her eyes.
"Don't you see….I wasn't planning on killing him, Steph. But I would kill for you if I had to." He leaned down and passionately kissed her. Steph kissed back but felt like everything but her lips were frozen. When Hunter pulled away, she simply stood there.
"I have to get ready for tonight. I'll be back in a bit. Want some coffee?" He asked stroking her hair. All she could do is manage to nod.
"Ok, Baby. I'll be right back." He leant down and kissed her forehead. "I love you."
Stephanie stood still until she heard the door shut. She turned and looked at the door her husband walked out of. Hunter probably left feeling he had calmed her down and reassured her. And no blame to him. It usually was that easy for HIM to convince HER of anything. But this time. This time didn't quite work. He left his wife standing there uneasy.
