The red-lipped vixen watched as her boyfriend talked with Gia. Her eyes narrowed at just the idea, however she kept her temper in check. Not only did she have many of her co-workers around, but the bosses were present as well. There was no way she'd risk her career over a second of jealous rage.

Jealous. The word tumbled in her mind over and over. No, she wasn't jealous... was she? Sure, Gia was gorgeous. Full lips, full chest, full hips. Legs that were long and sexy. Golden-bronze hair, and tanned skin. And all of it, Nicole was certain, natural. Gia was one of those women who made the fact that she was beautiful effortless. She was sure that Gia never spent a day tanning or getting her hair dyed. It was purely natural when it came to Gia. Of course John would fall for someone so naturally, effortlessly beautiful. And that's what bothered her the most.

She saw Gia touch John's upper arm before laughing. And it seemed like he could laugh with her about anything. Hearing a sigh next to her, she could feel her twin sister's thoughts invading her mind.

"What, Brie?"

Brie shook her head. "Nothing."

"I know you're thinking it," Nicole snapped. "Just say it."

"You don't have to be such a bitch, Nicole," Brie said, the only thing calming her was the hand of one WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan being placed on her arm.

"Don't argue," he then gently said.

"Okay, I won't," Brie promised, taking a deep breath. "If Nicole stops being a bitch."

"Whatever, Brie."

"You don't even know her," Brie started, not being able to bite her tongue at her sister's attitude. "All you see is a female talking to John and you want to be mad at her."

"That is not true. John talks to a lot of of women, and it doesn't bother me," she defended.

"Then what is it with Gia? What do you have against her? It's not like you've caught them in bed."

"Brianna!" Nicole scoffed out.

"Honey, don't be mean," Bryan softly told his girlfriend.

"I'm not being mean. It's the truth."

Nicole's attention was turned toward the woman of topic, her emotions quickly going from being appalled by her sister's words to curious at the little girl standing next to Gia. The little girl was in pink plaid jumper with a hot pink shirt on underneath, her long hair was in a French braid down her back, and she had on pink and purple Converses. Nicole's head tilted as she heard the little girl's voice call out to Gia.

"I – " Nicole's thoughts stopped dead on her lips. "I didn't know she had a daughter."

"I told you, you don't know anything about her," Brie pointed out again. "Aubrey, and she's seven. Shows how much you really know about the people you're freaking jealous of."

Nicole cringed as that word crossed her mind again. Jealous. Maybe she was jealous of Gia. Perhaps not in the typical sense, but in the sense that she was not only gorgeous, but kind as well. Maybe that's why John liked her so much.

"""""

Sinking down into the plush leather couch, she allowed Aubrey to place her legs on the cushion.

"You work too much, mommy," Aubrey told her.

"Is that so?" Gia asked with a smile on her face.

Nodding her head, she turned her attention to pulling out her hand-held game. "Daddy said I don't have to go back to school until Wednesday."

"You're going back tomorrow, little girl."

"But I want to go with you, mommy."

She turned to Gia, her lips pouting, which earned a laugh from the blond-haired man sitting across the room.

"Sometimes I forget she's only seven," he laughed out.

Gia smiled, looking over to him. "You wait until you have one, Jay," she said with a laugh of her own. "They'll amaze you every single day."

He sighed out, leaning back into the couch opposite of Gia. "I'm just waiting for that glorious day now." Sitting up straight, he nodded his head towards her. "Speaking of waiting, you writing my stuff now?"

Gia shook her head, "No. I don't know who's on you. They gave me these three guys from the development territory."

"Ah, the new guys." His hands rested in his lap as he stared up at the ceiling. "Wonder how they're dealing with debuting at one of the bigger pay-per-views."

Gia tilted her head, pushing her bottom lip out. "Seems like they're doing fine with it." She glanced at her daughter before slowly dragging her eyes towards the oldest friend she had in the company. If anyone ever thought it would be Orton or Cena that would court her, then they clearly didn't even know Jay. If no one else ever made her heart flutter in the tiniest amount, it was the Canadian man sitting right across from her, only a cheap coffee table away. But, going against the spot of light in her heart for him, she had never tried anything. They had never tried anything. Both being married didn't help their cases any, and Gia knew above all else that Jay actually loved his spouse.

That was a token more than what she could say about Anthony. If jealousy and possession didn't overpower Anthony's mind when it came to Gia, she was almost certain she'd be invisible to him. Not that he'd even notice with all his other women. Being the other woman was something that Gia refused to do. And for more than a decade, Jay understood, trying his best to remain exactly as he thought she needed in life – a true best friend.

Honesty and openness ruled their relationship. In a strange, unknowing way, it was almost like therapy. They told each other things that they would never consider saying to anyone else. Gia shifted in her position on the couch, her mind concentrating on the high-pitched beeps of Aubrey's video game. Working herself up over what-could-be never solved anything. In fact, it always made her situation sink in even more. Shaking her thoughts clear of her worries, she sat up, fluffing the small pillow she had laid on.

"Think we should be going now?" she asked the two people in the room with her.

Aubrey nodded her head, her eyes still attached to the video game screen.

Jay stood, chuckling at the little girl as she stood beside her mother. "Think you can play that game and walk?"

Again, the little girl nodded, Gia sighing before whisking away the portable console. "I don't know where you pick up all these bad habits you seem to have," she wistfully said.

"Hey, that's my baby girl you're talking about," a voice at the open door.

"Daddy!" Aubrey cheerfully said before running into him, Anthony scooping her up.

"Tony, would you mind putting her in the car?" Gia asked, handing her daughter the purple backpack she carried. "I'll be there in a few. I need to talk to Steph before we leave."

"Yeah, sure," he said, his smile wilting as he looked between Jay and his wife. "Of course, no problem." He stepped forward, holding out his hand. "Good to see you, Jay. You and Denise should come over again. We'll have a cookout."

"We would love to," Jay said, firmly shaking Anthony's hand. "Nice seeing you, too."

Anthony glanced back over to Gia, not trusting the sarcastic grin on her face. Her lips stretched too widely, and they were pulled tightly. He knew that look. She wanted him to leave.

"I'll be just a minute," she told him after a few moments of silence. "Steph's right down the hall."

Jay waited for Anthony to leave to show any expression on his face. Hearing the man's footsteps recede down the hallway, Aubrey talking excitedly to him, let a wave of relief wash over them both.

"I swear, every time I see Tony, he's more and more intense. Does he still think something's going on between us?" Jay asked her, his brows raising. Grabbing his jacket, he slid it on, watching his best friend take a hold of her bag.

Gia blew out a harsh breath. "Think it? To him, it is happening. It's a six-foot pot calling the kettle black."

Jay let out a laugh. "For a woman who's going through some major shit, you still know how to make fun of yourself."

She tilted her head down as she slung her bag over her shoulder. "If I don't do it, everyone else will."

"Nah, not everyone," he said as he allowed her to step out of the room first. "Denise and I would love to come over though. She asked me about you and Aubrey a few nights ago."

"Gia," they heard Paul's voice, making them look back to the other end of the hall. "Hey, I just spoke to your husband, and he told me that Aubrey wasn't feeling well."

She nearly reeled on her feet, her brows showing every ounce of surprise at her boss's words. "What?"

"Yeah, she looked a little tired," Paul said as he waved his hand in the air. "But, uh, listen. I know you're going to see Steph now. She's going to give you a schedule that's been adjusted."

"What?" Gia repeated, her mind not processing what Paul was saying. "That's not what I was going to talk to Stephanie about." She looked over at Jay, silently pleading with him to explain what was going on. His eyes widened as he simply shrugged.

"No, really, it's okay. We understand. Three little girls of our own." He patted her arm before passing by them. "Enjoy your week off."

Gia's jaw dropped, her eyes closing as she leaned against the wall. Hand to her head, she stared at the gray floor. "I can't believe that motherfuc– "

"And somehow, he's got you a full week off," Jay commented. "Maybe he should quit his day job and work for Vince."

"""""

Her feet were sore. Her back was aching. Her hands felt bloated. She sighed to herself as she looked in the mirror of the powder room. This was what being pregnant felt like to her. She knew she wasn't pregnant though. It was hard enough to conceive Aubrey. The chance that she and Anthony were with child, especially when they hadn't been intimate with each other in weeks, were zero to negative fifty. Studying herself more, she realized how tired she looked. At least a week's worth of late morning sleep-ins would do her good.

She was still fuming, though, over the audacity of Anthony. After speaking with Stephanie and receiving her changed schedule as Paul mentioned, she was able to talk with Jay for all of five minutes before getting several messages on her phone from Anthony. People at the arena would have sworn there was some type of crisis by the urgency of them. But as she approached the SUV, no emergency. Nothing wrong. Aubrey was taking a nap in the back, safely buckled in. Anthony lightly tapping at the steering wheel, softly singing to a song.

His face still taunted her, remembering the smug smile pulling on his lips. The aggravation rose in her just thinking about it. The sound of their bags being placed on the marble flooring pushed the memory of the arena out of her mind, and she left the bathroom, gently shutting the door behind her.

"I'll just put Aubrey in her bed," he gently said, and bound up the staircase, the sleeping little girl nestled in his arm.

Gia placed her hands on hips, giving Anthony a smile as she watched the two go up the stairs. She busied herself with the luggage, toting them to the bottom step. Anthony came back down just as she placed the last, smaller bag on top.

"I'll get them later," Anthony said, making his way to the refrigerator. Grabbing a beer, he opened it, and sat on a stool at the kitchen island. His eyes were intently looking at Gia as she paced the kitchen floor. She stopped a moment, and Anthony could tell she wanted to knock the bottle of beer out of his hand.

"How dare you?" she began, placing a hand on her forehead. "How fucking dare you, Tony? My job? My boss? Do you know that they could pull me off this line if I were to miss crucial parts?" She walked a few more steps before stopping again. "Is that what you wanted? For them to assign me something else? What, you want me to be Steph's assistant again?"

He lightly shrugged. "You were good at doing that. She loved having you."

"Why would you do that to me?"

"Why? Come on, you should know why," he said, loosening his tie before pulling it off completely. "It's only a matter of time before one of those guys want in on you."

Gia turned to face him, lowering her hand. "Want in on me? What the fuck does that mean? I'm not a fucking bank job, Tony."

"Gia, those are young guys who don't know any better," he calmly stated. "Instead of getting mad, think of it as me protecting their budding careers from ending before they really ever begin."

"Oh my, God, please. Do you hear yourself? I mean, really hear yourself?" Her angry footsteps carried her around the island. "You're just mad because there's a chance that someone could notice me when you don't. Save me all the bullshit."

She felt Anthony's hands on her before she could reach the stairs. He pulled her back, nearly bending her in half over the island counter as he leaned in. Gia cried out as she heard the beer bottle crash to the floor, shattering brown bits of glass everywhere and sticky beer sent spilling onto the floor.

"What the fuck did you say?" He gripped her arm harder. "Huh? I don't notice you? Do you live in a fucking cardboard shack? I give you everything, Gia. You ever say that I don't notice you again, and I'll make sure the only thing you notice is how much you beg me for this life again."

He let her go after she nodded, acknowledging his words, slinging her to the broken bottle pieces.

"After you've cleaned this mess up, come to bed," he said in such a relaxed voice, Gia had to wonder if she had just imagined him threatening her. "You must be tired after that flight, honey."

She stood there for a few long moments after she heard him go upstairs, one heavy foot landing on thickly padded carpet at a time. His anger wasn't what surprised her. His hands-on approach didn't baffle her either. What really bit at her nerve was the fact that he actually threatened to remove her from her life. The cushy, comfortable lifestyle that his line of work provided her. But it wasn't just the house or the cars or the bills being paid on time without a doubt.

Gia looked down at the beer still spreading out, trying to clear her mind enough to get the items she needed to mop it up. What gnawed at every bit of sense in her was the fact that Anthony would go to any length in order to prove his point. He would reach and push, and pull and shove, just to prove to her that without him, she had nothing. It didn't matter to Anthony what company she worked for. It didn't matter to him that she had a nice, cushy bank account of her own, or that she had a stable job that would ensure her financial future was safe.

None of that mattered to him. He wouldn't even have to go to Vince to cut her ties everywhere else. He could break her down right in their home area. That's all he needed to make his meaning crystal clear to his wife.

"Shit," she softly said in quietness of the house as a piece of glass sliced into her hand. Red smeared over the brown as she bleed freely, yet she felt no pain. Her mind was still tumbling over Anthony's words, her brain attempting to file through everything that he could do. It was impossible to know, though. She was never told a thing. All she knew were exit strategies, and who to contact if anything were to happen.

Quickly disposing the broken bottle, and wiping away residues of beer, she then washed out the cut on her palm and bandaged it securely. This week would be hell if Anthony started anything. She really thought that their divorce could end amicably. But she refused to walk on eggshells. If Anthony wanted to battle, she would be ready for war.