Chapter 48

"I see you've been working hard."

Mel lowered her taped hands, trying to slow her breathing. The punching bag swayed slowly on its chain in front of her, unsteady from the beating she had given it. She had come to the gym with the specific goal of taking some of her frustration out on the equipment, and when the punching bag had caught her eye, she had immediately known that she needed to take advantage of the opportunity. Unfortunately, it appeared that her fifteen minutes of peace were up.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" the petite brunette Diva sighed, turning to face Stephanie McMahon. She couldn't even escape to the gym anymore. It seemed like wherever she went, Stephanie always knew where to find her, and how to ruin her day. "I came here to get away from bitches like you."

Stephanie didn't even flinch. She was dressed in a black dress with white strips on the sides and strappy heels, letting Mel know that she definitely didn't come to work out. It was blatantly obvious that the only reason she was there was to torment the Divas' Champion. "I just came to see how you were doing," she said casually, a predatory gleam in her eyes. The look on her face was that of a ravenous wolf who had cornered its prey, and it made Mel uneasy.

"What are you talking about?" Mel snapped, tucking some hair behind her ear. She wasn't in the mood for games. All that she wanted to do was finish her workout in peace, but she knew there was a slim chance of that happening. There was no way Stephanie was going to leave her alone without throwing some sort of jab at her.

"Well I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay after your breakup with Mike," Stephanie said innocently.

Mel just heaved another sigh and turned back to the punching bag. Stephanie's plots were getting quite old now, and they weren't even as creative as they used to be. Whatever was about to come out of her mouth next was just a load of bullshit, and Mel didn't have time for it. "Mikey and I didn't break up, Stephanie," she called over her shoulder as she readied herself to hit the bag again. "You can leave now."

"Really?" Stephanie said, feigning surprise. "Well, that's really odd. I figured you must have, because there's no way you would make out with Roman Reigns if you were still with Mike."

Mel froze, her breath catching in her throat. Her stomach lurched as if she had just fallen a hundred feet, and she suddenly felt as if she were going to be sick. How did Stephanie know about that? She and Roman had been the only two out by the ring at the time...or had they? She slowly turned to look at Stephanie, struggling to keep her face void of any emotion. She knew that if she showed any signs of shock or horror, Stephanie would know that her information was correct. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said flatly.

Stephanie tapped her polished fingernails against her chin thoughtfully. "I suppose that picture could have been photoshopped," she mused, watching Mel's face closely.

Too late, Mel covered up the shock that had flitted briefly across her face. Picture? There was a picture? That meant there had been someone else in the arena, someone who had to have been looking to destroy her by taking that picture and handing it over to Stephanie. The only person she could think of who had been at the arena at that time was…

It hit her like a bolt of lightning. Maryse. Of course it was Maryse. The French-Canadian woman had every reason to try and ruin her relationship and her career, and by taking this picture, she may succeed.

Stephanie had noticed the look on her face before she could cover it up, and her lips curved up into a satisfied smirk. She had needed to make sure the photograph Maryse had brought her was authentic and not altered in any way, and Mel had just confirmed it. This was just what she needed to finally destroy the Divas' Champion once and for all. "I'm sorry, I must be mistaken," she said dismissively, backing toward the door of the gym. "Forget I said anything. Have a nice day." She spun on her heel and strode off, pushing her way out of the door and disappearing.

Mel stood there for a second, staring after her numbly, and then she whipped around and drove her fist into the punching bag as hard as she could, causing it to swing up and smack the ceiling. Then she sat down on the floor and drew her knees up to her chest, resting her forehead on them and trying to keep from bursting into frustrated sobs.


Roman raked his hands through his thick black hair as he paced the length of the hotel room, fighting the urge to roar in anger. He couldn't believe that Maryse Ouellet had had the gall to not only take a picture of them when they were supposed to be having an intimate moment, but to take the aforementioned picture straight to Stephanie McMahon, who he imagined had been more than happy to get her grubby little fingers on it. "I can't believe that bitch," he growled, spinning around and walking back to the other end of the room. "Who the hell does she think she is, treating you this way?!"

Mel just shook her head from where she sat at the end of the bed, too exhausted to tell him that Stephanie had been treating her like this for months now, and she wasn't likely to stop now. Why would she, when she was clearly winning their little game? "She's the bosses' daughter," she said softly, staring down at the carpet. "She can do whatever she likes, simply because no one is going to stop her. She can torture me for as long as she wants. No one cares."

"I care," Roman said firmly, sitting down beside her and taking her hand in his. "I always have cared. You know that."

"I know," Mel whispered, looking down at their intertwined fingers. She felt a tiny bit better knowing that he wasn't going to leave her again, and that he was right by her side, supporting her no matter what. "Mike is going to be so upset when he sees that picture," she added quietly, tears filling her eyes. "You know they're going to show it to him. I...I never meant to hurt him...I'm just as bad as Maryse…"

"Don't say that," Roman said fiercely, shaking his head and pulling her into his arms.. "You're a thousand times the woman she is. Mike will understand, he's a caring guy. He knows you would never hurt him on purpose. He loves you."

Mel squeezed her eyes shut, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. She knew that Mike loved her, and that was the worst part of it all. She always seemed to hurt the people who loved her the most, and it only made her hatred for herself grow. She just leaned into Roman, clutching his shirt and trying not to wail in dismay.

She needed to be honest with herself. Stephanie and Maryse weren't the ones who were about to ruin her life. She had done that herself.