Chapter 49

When Mel let herself into the hotel room a few hours later, Mike was leaning up against the kitchen counter, staring at something on his phone. She set her bag down and glanced over at him, confused. Normally when she came back from somewhere, Mike would greet her with that happy grin he always wore, but he didn't even look up from his phone screen. Something felt off, and she said, "Mikey? Are you alright?"

Mike finally looked up at her, and his expression could only be described as shattered. "No," he said slowly, glancing back down at his phone. "No, I"m not alright. I'm as far from alright as I could possibly get."

It felt like her heart had stopped beating. She had a feeling she knew what he was looking at on his phone, but she hadn't expected him to see it so soon. Stephanie must have sent it to him right after she left the gym, unable to wait. "What is it?" she said softly, figuring that she should ask anyway. If it wasn't the picture and she started going on about it, then she would have dug her own grave.

Mike just held up the phone without a word, letting her see the screen. Sure enough, it was the picture of she and Roman at the ring, locked in a passionate kiss. Mel unwillingly winced; the picture looked pretty bad. Her hands were clutching Roman's hair, keeping him pressed up against her, and it was pretty obvious that she wasn't attempting to get away from him. There was no talking her way out of this one.

He saw the look in her eyes, and he immediately knew that the picture was legitimate. He lowered his phone, unable to stop looking at the picture. She had never clung to him like that when she kissed him, and the peaceful and happy expression on her face said it all. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this one was worth millions. "Yeah," he said flatly, tabbing out of the photo app on his phone so he wouldn't have to stare at it anymore. "So you'll understand if I'm not exactly happy to see you at the moment."

"Mikey," Mel said, stretching out a hand to him. "Please don't be angry. I can explain." It was the most cliché'd line ever, but she felt an intense need to try. It was an odd feeling, one that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Even though she had come to terms with the fact that she still loved Roman, she loved Mike too, and she didn't want to lose him. Although judging by the anger and hurt that was rolling off of him in waves, she already had.

"No," Mike responded, his blue eyes flashing with anger. "You can't explain. There's no way you could explain this. It's exactly what it looks like." He waved the phone at her for emphasis. "It's not photoshopped. It's real. This is you, isn't it? You and him?"

Mel closed her eyes, feeling the beginnings of a headache beginning to take hold. She always got one whenever she was stressed, and this was definitely a situation that called for one. "Yes," she said softly, feeling the first inklings of shame and self-hatred start to trickle in. She had known this would all come crashing down on her eventually, she just hadn't expected it to be this soon. The worst part of it all was that she had hurt the person who had taken care of her for so long.

Mike put down the phone and ran his hands over his face, suddenly looking exhausted. "Why?" he asked, fixing his gaze on her. "I took really good care of you, or at least I thought I did. Did I do something wrong? Were you not happy with me?"

"No, no," Mel said hurriedly. "It's nothing like that. I just...I still have feelings for Roman. I know I shouldn't because he hurt me so bad, but I do. I can't help it. I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. It just sort of happened, and then Maryse took that picture and gave it to Stephanie, and she sent it to you. This is not the way I wanted you to find out. I wanted to tell you myself."

Mike raked a hand through his messy hair and sighed. "So are we done? Is this your way of breaking up with me? 'Cause you could have just straight out told me that you didn't want to be with me anymore."

Mel's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about? Are you implying that the only reason I kissed Roman was to tell you that I want to break up with you? Because that's not what I meant."

"I'm just trying to wrap my head around this," Mike said, crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest. "You and I were both the victims of cheating. We got together, and it felt like we were healing each other, you know? And then I get this picture, and I realized that I just got cheated on twice…"

"It was just a kiss," she said, a little irritated. "It didn't go beyond that. I had a lapse of judgement, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen. I wasn't trying to hurt you, and I never said that I want to break up with you."

"Well then I guess I'll save you the trouble," Mike responded, looking away from her. "Don't forget to pick up your bag on your way out."

It felt like she had just been smacked in the face. She stared at him blankly for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what he had just said. It suddenly hit her that he had just broken up with her. A numb feeling settled in her limbs; this was not how she had expected the confrontation to go down. She had known Mike would be angry with her, but not angry enough to break up with her. "What?" she said, her voice cracking. "Mike...you can't be serious?"

Mike just looked at the floor and didn't say a word.

Tears stung Mel's eyes, but she wasn't going to let him see them fall. She had made a mistake, she admitted it, but it only went as far as a kiss. She hadn't slept with Roman while she was with Mike, so the fact that he had dumped her over it seemed unfair and drastic. Even so, she respected his decision. She walked slowly over to where her bag sat by the door and picked it up, shrugging the strap onto her shoulder. She opened the door and looked back at Mike, a pleading look in her hazel eyes.

Mike didn't move. She saw a single tear slid down his cheek, but he didn't say anything.

Mel saw the writing on the wall. She swallowed hard and pushed the door open, leaving him behind.


Mel didn't think it was possible for a wooden door to look so intimidating. She took a deep breath and then knocked, a sick feeling permanently settling in her stomach. She didn't know if coming here was the best idea, but she had nowhere else to go, and she couldn't exactly sleep out in the middle of the hallway.

The door swung open, and Roman stood there in a pair of sweatpants and a black tank top. He blinked a couple of times when he saw her, as if making sure it was really her and not an illusion. "Mel?" he said, pushing his hair out of his face. "What are you doing here?"
"I...I need somewhere to stay," she said, stumbling over the words. She was emotionally and physically exhausted, and she just wanted somewhere to collapse and break down. "Mike and I just broke up, and he kicked me out of his room…"
Roman's dark eyes went wide. "You can stay here," he said quickly, ushering her inside and taking her bag from her. He set her bag down and guided her over to a chair. After she sat down, he crouched down next to her and looked up into her eyes. "Tell me what happened."

The tears started to flow now, and Mel choked out, "Stephanie sent him the picture that Maryse took of us...I tried to tell him that it was just a kiss...but he dumped me..." Her voice broke, and she finally dissolved into sobs, her entire body shaking from the force of them.

Roman's heart sank. It was his fault that Mike had broken up with Mel. If he had just kept his hands to himself and didn't tempt her, none of this would have ever happened and she would still be with Mike in his hotel room. "You really love him, huh?" he murmured, reaching up and gently wiping her tears away with his thumb. He knew that she did, but he needed to hear it from her.

"Yes…" Mel sobbed, curling into a ball. "Yes, I love him...and now I lost him…"

Roman stood up and draped a blanket over her shoulders. He thought that he had a chance at winning her back, but he saw now that he never could. Mike had stolen her heart, and rightfully. He had been the one to put her back together, and she had fallen deeply in love with him. If she were to be with him now, she would only be miserable. "Stay here," he said, kissing her forehead. "I'll be right back." He walked over to the door and stepped out into the hallway, then started walking toward Mike's hotel room.

He was going to make this right, for Mel's sake.