Chapter 3
Bittersweet
Maybe she had been a little too harsh to him...
From the moment she woke up, Natalya couldn't help but feel guilty about what happened last night. She remembered the moment where Cesaro confessed his love for her in the cafeteria; she hadn't expected it in a hundred years, really! She had no idea what to think when she heard it, she looked so hard for words to say to him, but she couldn't find any. The Canadian Diva was completely confused by all of this. She admitted it, Cesaro was a great guy, they had such pleasant conversations with each other and he was always friendly towards her, but love...? No, Natalya didn't feel anything for Cesaro. They were just good friends, that was all. She was already in love with Tyson, she had been in love with him for as long as she could remember. Marrying him was a dream coming true. She had to get out of the cafeteria, it became too much for her, she needed fresh air! That's why she left the Swiss alone there, she had to clear her head. Walking through the hallways helped a little bit, it didn't last long before she got called up for her match with Alicia Fox. But during the match, the Canadian Diva had a hard time getting her mind off from the incident in the cafeteria, she was lucky enough she didn't botch any moves. There was no time to express her true emotion on live TV, if she would break down right there in the ring it could possibly cost her career and the wrestling websites would be drooling all over that. Natalya forced herself to put on a forced smile when she won the match, it had to cover up everything. But as soon as disappeared behind the curtain, the fake smile disappeared. The confusion had turned into dander. What the hell was Cesaro thinking?! He knew damn well she was married! She had tried to talk some sense into him, there was no possibility she could ever be dating him while she was still with Tyson. Tyson was the one she loved, not Cesaro! And then he had the guts to insult him! That's what made Natalya's blood boil. He had no right to talk like that about her marriage, what the hell did he know about what was going on?! The Hart Family Diva was about to slap the Swiss right across the face, but she controlled herself and told him to leave. Even after she exited the stadium and ended up in her hotel room at the end of the night, she was still seething with anger. She hid it from Tyson and didn't tell him anything, to prevent making things only worse.
But now, sitting at the dining table in the hotel's restaurant, joining her husband for breakfast, she felt guilty for what she had done.
Like she said, Cesaro was a great guy. He was a good friend, he was never rude towards her and always interested in what she had to say. She once asked him if she didn't drive him mad with her constant stories about her cats, but he had smiled, shook his head and told her he didn't mind them at all. And Natalya could see he was being sincere. Yes, she admitted it, her relationship with Tyson hadn't been this great lately... but she was determined to make it all right. A marriage is not always that smooth, that's what she learned from an early age. Her parents couldn't always be nice to each other, but that was all part of a marriage. She had to put up with it and she accepted it.
Ruining her friendship with Cesaro was the least thing she wanted. That's why she wanted to apologize to him, hopefully he would accept the apology and they could move on. But knowing that your friend and the tag team partner of your husband is in love with you... would things ever be the same again between them? Possibly not. But Natalya wanted to restore the friendship nonetheless.
After breakfast, she put on a tank top, sweatpants and a pair of sneakers and tied her hair into a ponytail. She told Tyson she was off to the hotel's gym to work out; perhaps Cesaro would be there as well. Heading towards the gym, she hoped everything would be alright again between her and the Swiss again.
'Did I really overreact?' Natalya asked herself before entering the gym.
The hotel's gym wasn't really that crowded. A couple of wrestlers and Divas were already working out, running on treadmills and lifting weights, all wanting to look as good as possible when they would perform in the ring. Right now, none of them would care about the damaged friendship between Cesaro and Natalya, no, they were probably too busy with their own problems. There were more important things going on for them than worrying about the Swiss and the Canadian Diva. The sounds of dumbbells clanging and feet thumping on the treadmills and occasional grunting echoed throughout the entire gym. Natalya looked around, hoping Cesaro would be here. And much to her relief, she spotted him. There he was, sitting on a bench with his headphones plugged into his ears, lifting a pair of dumbbells. The Canadian Diva almost could swear she saw bags under his eyes, couldn't he sleep because of what happened last night? This slightly fueled Natalya's guilt more. Would he still be mad at her? Natalya decided to give it a shot anyway.
She tapped on Cesaro's shoulder; the Swiss looked up immediately. He put down the dumbbells and pulled his headphones out of his ears. Somehow his eyes had something emotionless, as if the fight had drained all emotions out of him... and maybe even his love for Natalya.
'Hey...' Natalya softly said. 'I'm really sorry for what happened last night. I didn't mean to end up like that.'
'Look, you don't have to apologize.' Cesaro sighed. 'I'm guessing it was mostly my fault we had that fight. I know how much you care about Tyson, so maybe I shouldn't have said all those things about him in front of you. It was just that... I honest to God care about you, Natalya. I had seen so many times how unhappy you were because of the things he did, I couldn't stand it anymore. I want you to be happy, Natalya.'
'Cesaro...' The Canadian Diva sat down next to him. 'I appreciate the fact that you care about me and my happiness. You are an awesome friend, you really are. But Tyson is the man I love, I don't want to give up on our marriage. We have been together for so many years, Cesaro. We have been through so much together. If I give up on our marriage right now, then all those years and all the effort would be all wasted. I want to fight for my marriage, do you understand?'
The Swiss nodded. He could imagine something in that; if you would be together with somebody for a lot of years and went through so many things, you wouldn't give up on your lover that easily. He would be willing to fight for his relationship with Natalya as well if he had one with her, he would do anything for her.
'All I wanted for you was to be happy, Nattie.' the Swiss said. 'And I thought... I could be the one who could make you happy and help you.'
'You don't have to worry about me, Cesaro. I will figure out my own problems with Tyson. Like I said, I really appreciate it that you care about me, but I will solve my problems by myself. I will be okay, you don't have to be afraid about that.'
'Just to let you know...' Cesaro scooted a little bit closer. 'If you need any help, you can always count on me. Right now you are the most important thing to me, I would never forgive myself if I wouldn't be there for you.'
Natalya gave him a small smile. 'Thanks, that's very sweet of you.'
Cesaro smiled back at the Canadian Diva. He was happy things were resolved now, but unfortunately, judging by what she said earlier, it meant she still wanted to continue her marriage with Tyson. He knew Natalya was a strong woman, but when she told him not to worry about her problems, an uncomfortable feelings developed in his abdomen. He wished he shouldn't worry about her, but that was impossible; he just cared too much about her. Trying to ignore the feeling in his abdomen, he decided to try his best to not to worry that much. If he truly cared about her, he would listen to her. Fine... he would do it for Natalya. But if things between her and Tyson would really get out of hand, he wouldn't be afraid to step in and defend her, no matter what.
Now Natalya was more reassured about her friendship with the Swiss.
She hoped he would understand...
