Chapter 3

Paul woke up as bright light shined through the window of the hotel room he was in with his wife. He looked down at her sleeping soundly next to him. The rays of sun shined on her face, highlighting the bruise that he had caused to appear on her flawless face. He felt horrible for hitting her. He kept telling himself that it was her fault. It was always her fault.

He got up and went into the bathroom after grabbing a towel. He turned the shower on and stepped inside, feeling the hot streams of water pelt his body. He loved his wife, he really did.

But if you love her so much, why do you keep hitting her? an ever-present voice inside his head asked him.

"I don't know!" he said, frustrated as he started to wash.

But he knew. He felt guilty and paranoid. He was cheating on Stephanie with someone he'd met at work and he was so paranoid that maybe she was out doing the same thing. He was worried that maybe she would find out and divorce him. That was the last thing he wanted, for her to find out and divorce him. He genuinely loved his wife, and the fact that she owned a portion of the WWE had nothing to do with it. She had been so innocent and sweet when he'd met her, and she'd blossomed into a feisty little hellcat. He really did love her. But there was no way he would be able to explain why he was cheating on her with Torrie Wilson. No way...

She'd never understand.

She'd divorce him in a heartbeat.

If he thought about it, he knew that there was probably another man out there, one who would treat Stephanie a hundred times better than he was treating her. But he wasn't going to let her go.

Every single time she stayed out late, he always thought the worst, that maybe she was fooling around with another guy. And every time she got back and told him where she had been, he would hit her. Every time. He never meant to, he was just the kind of guy who spoke better with his hands than with his mouth. But he kept wondering why... If he loved her so much, why he couldn't control his temper when it came to her...

He sighed and got out of the shower. He threw a towel carelessly around his waist and walked out of the bathroom after brushing his teeth and shaving. He looked over at the bed and noticed that Stephanie wasn't there.

"Steph?" he called, walking through their suite, looking for his wife.

"I'm in here. I just ordered room service for you," Stephanie replied in a tired voice.

He walked into the front room and saw her sitting on the couch with her hand up to her cheek. "Ouch," he said, sitting beside her and looking at the big ugly bruise on her face. "Once again, I'm really sorry for that."

"Don't worry about it," she said, not looking at him.

"Like I said, it won't happen again," he promised, touching her hand. "Now... Do you have something that could cover that up? I don't want people to start wondering where that bruise came from."

"I have some makeup," she said quietly. She stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go get a shower and get ready. We have a big day ahead of us."

"Yeah, we sure do," he agreed. "Raw is tonight."

"That's right," she said, then headed into the bedroom to grab some things and then into the bathroom to take a shower.

He watched her go, feeling disappointed in himself. He was really sorry that he had jumped to conclusions and hit her that way. She didn't deserve it, not any of it.

He heard his cell phone ringing and hurried into the room to grab it. Then he hurried back out to the front room and answered it, not bothering to look at the Caller ID.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Morning, baby," Torrie Wilson said over the phone.

"What are you doing calling this early?" he demanded.

"It's eleven, baby," she said. "It's almost time for lunch. I don't think it's really all that early."

"You're right...But why are you calling?" he asked.

"I just wanted to hear your sexy voice," she whispered. "You know you're the one factor in my life that really brightens up my day."

"I know," he said in a low voice. "You brighten up my day, too."

"Where's Stephanie?" she asked suddenly.

"I thought I told you never to say her name!" he exclaimed irritably.

"I'm sorry... But where is she?" she asked again.

"In the shower," he said. "What's it to you?"

"Think you could sneak out for a few minutes undetected?" she asked, a mischievous note in her voice.

"I'm the master at sneaking around," he said. "Of course I can. Let me slip on some clothes."

"Slip on some clothes?" she asked slowly. "What are you wearing right now?"

"Just a towel," he answered honestly.

"Mmmm, that sounds good. I can picture you now..." Her voice trailed off for a minute. Then, she seemed to find her voice again. "Get here fast. You know where I'm at."

"Ok, I'll be there," he agreed, then flipped his phone shut and hurried into the bedroom to slip on some clothes. Five minutes later, he slipped out of the luxury suite after scrawling a note to his wife and headed straight for Torrie's room just a few floors away.

In the elevator, he leaned against the wall and covered his face with his hands. What was he doing? The doors opened and he stepped out, bumping into a man who was on his way in.

"Oh, excuse me," both men said.

Paul realized who he had bumped into and his eyes became little angry slits. It was Chris Irvine, a man he really disliked. He didn't even know why he hated him so much, but he didn't even need an excuse. It was just natural. He stared at him with a look of pure hatred on his face until the elevator doors closed, then shook his head as if trying to clear away any thoughts of Chris from his mind. No use in ruining his day before it really started.

He knocked twice on Torrie's door. She opened the door and he quickly walked inside, shutting the door and locking it behind him. She was in his arms almost faster than he could lock the door, kissing him like she hadn't seen him in ages.

"I'm so glad you're here," she gushed. "After last night..."

"Missed me, did you?" he asked, smiling at her.

"Always," she said emphatically. She took his hand and led him to the bedroom. "Come on, we don't have long."

"We have a while. I told...her...I'd meet her at the arena," he said, not able to bring himself to say his wife's name while in the presence of the other woman.

"That's great!" she exclaimed, practically running now.

He followed her into the room, wondering again why he was doing this, knowing that he could be ruining everything with Stephanie. But then she kissed him again and all thoughts of Stephanie vanished from his mind...