Chapter 12

Jasmine chewed nervously at the end of one of her well-manicured finger nails as she waited for Stephanie to pick up her cell phone. She wanted to talk to Stephanie before her next Raw assignment, but getting a hold of the woman had been more difficult than Jasmine had expected.

"This is Stephanie."

Finally! Jasmine thought to herself. But now that she actually had Stephanie on the line, she was even more nervous over what she was about to say.

"Hey Steph, its Jaz. Do you have a second?"

"For you, of course, what's on your mind?"

Jasmine took a deep breath, there was no telling how what she was about to say would go.

"Well, I have been doing a lot of thinking and I think it's best if I move back to London."

Although Jasmine knew she was blowing the opportunity of a lifetime by quitting her job with the WWE, she felt that moving back to London would be best for everyone. Running into Shane and her unexpected confession to Roman didn't help matters much either.

"What?" Stephanie replied. "Does this have anything to do with The Shield, because if they are still causing problems for you I swear to…"

"No, no, it's not them Stephanie." Jasmine interjected before Stephanie totally flew off the handle. "It's not them at all. It's nobody. It's just me."

Stephanie took a deep breath. The last thing she wanted Jasmine to do was to throw away a great career and opportunity for no apparent reason. It just made no sense to her. Maybe she just needed a little pep talk. Working on Raw was a very demanding thing to do. Jasmine wasn't the first one to break under the pressure and wouldn't be the last. Hell, the only thing that kept Stephanie going at times was Paul and her passion for the business.

"Listen Jaz, come to my office tomorrow for one more Raw. We're filming in Hartford so you won't have to travel. No pressure. If after we meet you decide to still leave, then so be it. I won't make you stay."

Jasmine thought for a moment. In reality she just wanted to leave as soon as possible. But this was Stephanie, she at least owned her a face to face for everything she had done for her.

"Okay, I will meet you tomorrow before Raw." Jasmine agreed, leaving Stephanie with a smile on the other end of the phone.

The next day Jasmine arrived at the arena in Hartford Connecticut fully expecting to tell Stephanie that she was leaving and there would be no changing her mind.

She knocked gently on the door of the office Stephanie was using for the night and heard her ask Jasmine to come in. Jasmine took a deep breath, determined to be as strong as possible and not be persuaded by her friend to stay no matter what the consequence. There was just no way Jasmine felt she could handle herself around Shane and now Roman any longer. She felt as if sooner or later everything would be revealed and she wasn't ready for the world to know she was a victim.

Once Jasmine was ready she opened the door and confidently strode in. In front of her was Stephanie seated behind a desk working on a laptop. And seated next to her was the last person she expected to see…Shane McMahon.

Almost immediately all of Jasmine's confidence left her and slid right back out the door.

"Hey Jasmine, come in." Stephanie got up from behind her desk and gave Jasmine her usual greeting. A hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Please, have a seat." She offered.

Jasmine moved to a vacated seat positioned next to where Shane was seated. She could feel his eyes moving up and down her body as if she were more an object than an old family friend.

"I hope you don't mind but I asked Shane to join us. We're all family and if I can't talk you into staying, then I was hoping he could."

Although Stephanie was well aware that the crush Jasmine had on Shane as they were growing up was probably no longer relevant, she did hope that perhaps her brother could spark her desire to stay.

Jasmine glanced over at Shane would sat in his chair with a concerned look on his face. The puppy dog look that once brought Jasmine to her knees, now disgusted her. Ever since that day at the McMahon mansion, when Shane had raped her, she could see right through his every facial expression. She cursed herself for not seeing it before. The man was as pompous as could be and had no shame for anything.

'So tell us Jasmine, why the sudden decision to leave?" Stephanie asked, truly wanting to know what motivated her friend's decision. Stephanie loved having Jasmine back in the States and working on Raw. Because of her last name and position in her father's company, it was very difficult for Stephanie to make friends. Especially ones she could trust. Jasmine was one of them and she wanted to make sure that Jasmine was making the right decision for the right reasons.

"Well, I." Jasmine started, struggling to find the right words. She could feel her palms sweating. "I miss my life back in London."

"But your friends are here, your family is here." Stephanie reasoned. She was very stubborn, maybe too stubborn for her own good. Something in Jasmine's sudden decision just did not sit right with her. She knew there was something more and was determined to find out what it was.

Jasmine hated lying to Stephanie. In her head she was begging Stephanie to let the issue drop. How she wished she could tell her the truth. But she refused.

"Stephanie please, I love you but you just have to trust me that this is for the best." Jasmine pleased.

"Oh honey, whatever it is, I can help you. I need you here Jasmine, you're the only friend I have." Stephanie confessed almost tearfully, and it was these words that brought Jasmine to tears.

"Steph, I just…." Suddenly Jasmine got up from her chair and scurried out the door.

Stephanie watched her leave, the sadness written all over her face. She had hoped to convince her friend to stay, not make her feel worse. It was then that Stephanie knew something more was going on with Jasmine than simple homesickness for London.

"Listen, I'll go talk to her." Shane told Stephanie trying to console her as he left to go find Jasmine. Deep down though he was amused by the whole thing. He really didn't give a damn is Jasmine left or stayed. He simply wanted one more fuck before she went on her way.

Jasmine had hoped to leave the building as quickly as possible, but as more and more Superstars arrived to the arena, the more she was delayed.

"Jasmine." Seth called out while Jasmine simply walked right by him. It was obvious she was upset. "Wait up."

When Seth finally caught up with her Jasmine turned to him as if nothing was wrong. "You okay?" he as ask.

"I'm fine, just in a hurry." Jasmine replied abruptly and turned on her heels to leave. Seth watched her go shaking his head.

It wasn't long after she had left Stephanie's office that Shane caught up with her.

"Jasmine wait." Jasmine recognized the voice almost immediately.

"No Shane." She said, not bothering to turn and face him as she kept on walking.

"Jasmine I said wait." Shane stated again, now pulling her arm to force her to stop. A hint of frustration at her disobedience showing in his actions.

When Jasmine turned to face him he let go of her arm, then straightened his tie to recompose himself.

"We need to talk." Shane insisted.

"There's nothing to discuss Shane, I'm leaving." Jasmine turned to leave again, but again, Shane stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Listen. I think you owe Stephanie a decent explanation before you just go running away like that." Shane's intentions were obvious, he wanted Jasmine to feel guilty.

Jasmine laughed to herself. She wanted to cry, but laughter at Shane's blatant audacity seemed more appropriate.

"An explanation? Why don't you explain it to her Shane?" Jasmine said defiantly.

"What are you talking about?"

"You fucking know what I'm talking about Shane. How am I supposed to work here when the man who raped me at his sister's wedding is walking around as if nothing ever happened?"

Although Jasmine's voice was controlled, it seethed with anger. A part of her felt some relief in finally forcing Shane to acknowledge what he had done to her.

"Listen to me Jasmine." Shane grabbed Jasmine forcefully by the arm, yanking her slightly against him as he looked around to make sure no one was watching. "You've been following me around like a pitiful little puppy dog for years. How dare you accuse me of something like that. You wanted it and you know it."

Shane's hand squeezed tighter as the words spilled from his mouth. A flash of guilt revisiting Jasmine. There was still that small part of her that wondered if maybe this was all her fault.

As for Shane, the last thing he needed was Jasmine telling people how he raped her.

"Now." Shane's voice was now calm as he sensed that he had now gotten into Jasmine's head effectively. "Stop all this dramatic bullshit. You and I both know that Stephanie won't give up until she knows what your fucking problem is. I would suggest you stick around Jasmine, at least until you start acting normal again." Shane moved in closer toward Jasmine's right ear. His warm breath sending chills down Jasmine's back. "You don't want her finding out how you fucked a married man now do you?"

Jasmine's eyes widened as Shane's intentions became clear. He wanted Jasmine to ease Stephanie's curiosity. If she didn't, he would simply tell her that it was Jasmine that came on to him the night she was raped. The news would surely destroy their friendship.

Unbeknownst to both Shane and Jasmine, a few feet away Roman watched the two together. He saw Shane grab Jasmine and noticed it wasn't just any grab, there was force behind it. His heart urged him to walk over there and pound Shane's face in to the wall, but he stayed back. But only for a second.

"Excuse me Shane, I need a word with Jasmine." Roman's deep, powerful voice drew both Shane's and Jasmine's attention. Shane moved away from Jasmine as a smirk formed on his lips. He was confident he got his point across to Jasmine load and clear.

"Sure, she's all yours." Shane replied. He then turned to Jasmine with an arrogant knowing wink before he left. "I'll tell Stephanie you decided to stay."

A/N: Keep those reviews coming, I love hearing what you all have to say. It definitely keeps me motivated!