Adam had been alarmed to notice that when the doorbell rang and Marianne had walked through the door of Matt's home his reaction had not been an unpleasant one. A small thrill went through his body and he pressed to ignore it. He watched her come in and approach both Sofie and Randy, striding through the dining room elegantly.

Adam decided to get some fresh air and walked towards the front door. He paused to get his hooded sweater when he saw Marianne walk towards him. She strode with purpose, her head bended slightly downwards. He reached out and grabbed her arm when she walked directly past him, not seeing his presence there. At the touch, Adam was hit with a flying purse and he immediately let go of her.

"Ow! Stop. What are you doing?"

"Sorry, you scared me." She said nonchalantly.

"Aren't you skittish?" He said sarcastically. Something in her demeanor made Adam pause. "Whoa, what's wrong?"

He lifted her chin, needing to see her vibrant eyes when he noticed her cheek was swollen. At a second glance he noticed not only a bruise forming, but a small cut on her lip. Rage build inside of him as he realized the cause. Charles! He made a step towards her when she put her hand firmly on his shoulder.

"It's nothing." She said.

He had heard that before. Growing up fatherless, Adam had unfortunately also seen that look before on his mother's face from her experience with dating.

"Where the fuck is he?" He growled.

Adam wanted to kick some ass for a couple of days now and this was the perfect opportunity. He could just imagine Mari telling Charles about the exchange between himself and her and the young man losing his temper. Nothing excused violence on women.

"Stop it." Marianne said brushing his hand away.

"Did you tell him we kissed, is that why he hit you?" Adam questioned her.

"You're not going to believe this… I'm so clumsy. I actually got elbowed in the face, walked right into someone. Silly of me."

Silence.

"You're right, I don't believe you."

"Why do you care, anyways?"

"I don't know. But I do." He said honestly. Adam was surprised with himself. Since when did he care about the out-spoken redhead?

"I have to go to the bathroom," Marianne said looking away. "I'll see you in the dining room, okay?"

Adam's gaze flickered to the small bruise forming on her cheek and his jaw ticked as he clenched his teeth angrily. "We're not done with this."

"Fine."

He ran his fingers through his hair and marched towards the entrance closet. He grabbed his hoodie and stepped outside the Washington home, the chilled breeze surrounding him.

He sighed.

He should want nothing to do with the new Smackdown touring manager, and yet he could not stop thinking about how to make her feel better. He wanted to destroy whoever hurt her and carry her off into the sunset, where he could make love to her and show her how a woman should be treated. A frustrated laugh escaped Adam. He made his way inside and walked towards the dining room. One way or another, he would get the truth from Marianne.

The table fell into a comfortable silence as the group filled their plates with Nana's tasty preparations and wolfed everything down with a hearty appetite. Wine was passed around and everyone seemed to be having a delicious time. Groans of pleasure were heard around the table as they tried Nana's food.

"Mm! This is amazing Mrs. Cardona…" Cena said, complimenting the older woman.

"Call me Nana. Matthew you didn't tell me your co-workers were so nice, I would have cooked a better meal."

Matt looked up from the task of stuffing his entire mouth with spaghetti and shrugged. "They're alright."

"This is probably the best meal any of us has had in years, Nana." Chris Jericho said.

"Aye, 'tis great, ma'am." Stephen added.

"Oh you, making an old lady blush." She waved the comments away and stood up, refilling everyone's plates.

"Eat more, you're too skinny." She said to Maryse and Natalya.

Marianne caught Adam's gaze and heat reached her cheeks as she remembered their conversation. Mari would be leaving Raw, soon after Night of Champions. She would start Smackdown the Tuesday after the pay-per-view and wouldn't see any of the people in the room (including Adam) until they officially changed channels. On the premiere of Smackdown on Syfy the Raw roster would make an appearance. After that, she would see the people she made friends with much less frequently.

"So Mari, what happened to your face again?" Adam asked her.

She choked on the wine she had been sipping. Silence fell over the table and she glanced at Sofie and Randy who were looking at her uncertainly.

"Hmm?" She asked, holding in her anger towards Adam. Why would he do this? Why now?

"You got a little bruise on your face there."

"Oh this, it's nothing. Walked into an elbow." She said politely.

"Oh dear, you should be more careful." Nana said.

"Oh because it looks like someone laid one on you." Silverware clattered and the room because eerily silent.

"Oh. That's funny." She said, unamused.

She noticed people were avoiding her gaze and she realized they must all suspect the truth. She blushed profusely and glared at Adam to stop.

"I thought your boyfriend was in town. Didn't we see him at the show?"

Silence.

Adam's fists were clenched, sitting on the table.

"Charles had to return home, he just wanted to surprise me." She said, lying.

"Oh I think he did surprise you."

Marianne couldn't stand it anymore. She stood up and threw her napkin down. "You're a dick. Please forgive my language." She added for Nana who nodded politely.

Marianne picked up her bag and walked out of the dining room. She vaguely heard Cena asking Adam to sit down. No one followed her outside and within a few minutes she was walking down a busier, less residential street. She hailed a cab and made her way to her hotel.

She felt like throwing something at a wall, the way powerful women did when they were angry. How dare Adam humiliate her like that? He didn't have to point out to everyone that Charles had hit her. That was so low! She paced her room, walking from one side to the other, occasionally finding herself staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Charles had surprised her; she never thought he would hit her. Perhaps it was silly of her, but she had already forgiven Charles. She hadn't really expected anything better; as a matter of fact she had been expecting vocal abuse from him once he knew about the kiss. Adam on the other hand, she would never forgive.

He had no right to interfere with her life and she couldn't wait to be free of him. Smackdown meant one good thing: no more Adam Copeland.