A/N: Only one chapter left after this one. I am definitely going to make a sequel but probably not until I finish Nothing Is What It Seems. We will see how it goes. Thank you all for your reviews, they mean so much.
Trish and Randy rode back to the hotel room in complete silence. Trish simply stared out the window watching the beautiful array of colors on the trees pass her by. For the time being, she didn't want to look at Randy, afraid of what she might say to him. She had so many emotions running through her and she didn't know what to think or feel. The initial shock of him wanting to talk to her had already worn off and at the moment all she could think of was how pissed off she was at him for not believing in her. If he had loved her like he said he did then he would have given her the benefit of the doubt. Instead, he chose to flaunt that sorry excuse for a human being Gail, any chance he got.
Trish felt the car coming to a stop and knew that they had arrived at their destination. This was the moment of truth. This was where she was going to spill her guts to him and tell him everything. Whether it was something that he wanted to hear or not, she knew that if they were going to have a relationship together, it needed to be said. She was pretty sure that he had his own things to say to her as well.
Randy stepped out of the car and made his way around to the passenger side, opening the door for the diva. Despite everything that had gone on between them, he was still the perfect gentleman. He took her hand and placed it in his as he led her out of the car and into the hotel.
Trish watched the number of the floors increase as if it was the most important thing in the world. The silence in the elevator was deafening. She still did not make eye contact with him, afraid of what she might see. They were only in the elevator for a minute or two but the moment seemed to last a lifetime.
When they finally arrived at the top floor, Trish felt her heart flutter with anticipation. Her breathing came in shallow pants and her palms became sweaty. She was nervous and excited all at the same time.
Randy sensed her uneasiness, squeezing her hand reassuringly before entering the hotel room. He threw his keys onto the counter, turning to focus all of his attention on Trish. He could see the look of apprehension cross her face and he didn't want to push her but at the same time he needed answers. If this was going to work between them, he needed to know the truth.
"Trish", he began, his voice wavering a bit. "I just want to start by saying that I love you and I always will. No matter what happens here today, please don't ever doubt that."
Her body tingled all over from the intensity of his gaze. She felt that familiar ache deep down inside that only Randy could give her. He moved towards her slowly, her heart beginning to race once again. He affected her on so many levels it was uncanny. He raised his hand slowly, gently touching her cheek with the backside of his hand. "God you are so beautiful Trish." He didn't mean to be so forward but he couldn't help himself. Her beauty simply took his breath away.
Trish swallowed the lump in her throat, overwhelmed with so many emotions. She felt that unspoken connection that they had increase with each passing moment. As much as she wanted him to kiss her right then and there, she knew that it would only complicate things. "Don't Randy," she begged, pushing his hand away. "Please don't do this right now. I can't handle it."
Randy took this as rejection, withdrawing his hand from her face. He immediately felt a sense of loss. How could he go on without her? For week's he had been fooling himself in thinking that he could carry on with someone like Gail. He thought of Trish every waking moment. She even invaded his dreams. Trish Stratus would forever be in his heart.
The thought of not being able to touch her ever again terrified him. He hated himself for screwing up so badly. He would do anything to get back what they had but it looked as though it was a lost cause. "Trish, I…" He lowered his head in defeat, completely at a loss for words. He turned on his heel and started to walk out of the room.
Trish became infuriated. How dare he walk away from her? She was insulted that he wasn't even going to make a sorted effort to get her back. He was being a coward. Well Trish wasn't going to stand for it. This was definitely the last straw. "Randy Keith Orton, don't you dare turn your back on me. Be a man and face your problems. Get your ass back in here NOW!"
Randy had never heard Trish so pissed off in all of his life. For the first time in weeks, a smile formed on his face. He wasn't sure why he was so amused with the situation but he did all he could to prevent himself from bursting out with laughter.
"What the hell are you so happy about? You think this is funny Randy?" Trish moved in closer to him. "You think I am a big joke?" She shoved him backwards, her anger increasing with each passing moment. "Answer me damn it!" With one last shove, Trish turned on her heel in an attempt to leave the hotel room. If he was going to laugh at her then she wasn't even going to bother. He wasn't worth it.
Randy caught up to her before she could leave, wrapping his arms around her slender waist. She could feel his hot breath on her ear, causing her to shudder with excitement. "Baby, don't go," he whispered, the fervor in his voice eliciting a soft moan. "I promise you I am not laughing at you." He pulled her in closer to him, welcoming the feeling that touching her brought forth. God, he loved this woman more than life itself. He could feel her tense up at the sudden contact but ignored it. He wasn't about to let her go if his life depended on it. "Please Trish, I am ready to talk if you are."
Trish didn't know why she should even give him another chance but she just couldn't help herself. The man drove her crazy so much so that she wanted to scream. He was really confusing the hell out of her. He pissed her off until no end but she'll be damned if she didn't love him more. She knew that if she didn't talk to him now that she would regret it for the rest of her life. "Alright Randy, I will talk with you."
Randy let go of her, both of them making themselves comfortable in the living room of the huge suite. This wasn't going to be an easy conversation but it had to be done nevertheless.
Randy ran his hands through his short brown hair, the look of frustration on his face apparent. He really had no idea where to begin. All that he could think of day in and day out was the diary entry that Trish wrote. How she confessed her undying love for Paul. He guessed he could start there. He knew that Trish loved him it was just a matter of how much.
"Trish, I have so many unanswered questions and I guess instead of flipping out like I did I could have asked but you have to understand how hard this is for me. I have never fallen in love with a woman like I did with you and finding out how much you loved Paul really destroyed me. You have no idea how that felt reading what I did. It felt like a dagger piercing my heart over and over again. The only thing that seemed to help was the alcohol. Now I know that I went about it the wrong way but you know me, I am pig-headed. What I do want to know is, do you still love him and if so, how much?"
Trish didn't expect him to cut right to the chase like he did but she was surprisingly thankful for it. At least now she could tell him exactly how she felt about him and about Paul. She just hoped that she didn't fumble over her words and make it worse than it already was. That was the last thing that she needed.
"Randy, I guess the only way to go about this is to start from the beginning. That is the only way this will make any sense to you. Now I am not going to deny that I loved Paul, because I am pretty sure that I did. It is nothing compared to what you and I shared together. I don't think anything can be that intense."
Randy listened intently as Trish continued on.
"My relationship with Paul happened long before you ever came into the WWE. He and I worked closely together, forming an amazing friendship. The two of us became fast friends and it was amazing how much the two of us had in common. I think our feelings started to change for each other during the angle that we had where Stephanie caught "Hunter and Trish" in these sexual predicaments."
Randy shifted in his seat, feeling a bit uncomfortable imagining the two of them in various positions. He knew that he shouldn't be jealous of a storyline but hearing her explain things only made him think of all the times that "Trish and Hunter" were together under their current storyline. Did those feelings resurface? He closed his eyes trying to regain his composure. He did promise to hear her out completely before passing judgment.
"Well, neither Paul or I ever acted on our feelings for each other. A very selfish Stephanie McMahon ended our friendship abruptly. She ran crying to daddy and Paul and I never spoke to each other again. We would see each other in passing and at the most we would say hello to each other but that was as far as it went."
Trish could sense Randy's uneasiness and had a feeling what was running through his head. She just hoped that he would continue to look at the situation with an open mind. Nevertheless, she continued on, needing to get it all out in the open. If they were going to have any type of future together, the truth needed to come out.
"Fast forward to the present time and Stephanie and Paul's failed marriage attempt. I was put in with Evolution and let's just say my feelings for Paul all came rushing back. Soon after, he admitted the same thing to me. Now you and I just started dating and I didn't know you yet. Paul made several attempts to get me and he almost succeeded but I was starting to grow these intense feelings for you and I just couldn't do it. Now I admit that when I first started dating you, I kissed Paul on several occasions. Of course he initiated it but I definitely reciprocated. Over the years there were so many unexplored emotions between Paul and I and I guess I needed to see for myself where they led us."
Randy tried to take all of what Trish was telling him, in. In a sense he understood why Trish hid everything from him but at the same time he felt so betrayed because she didn't have enough trust in him to tell him any of it until now. He didn't want to seem like he was being unfair to her but he was really pissed off.
"Trish, I honestly don't know what to say to you. I am so incredibly hurt by all of this because you never once tried to tell me about your past. I would have totally understood and would have even backed off so you could sort it all out. But what you did to me was wrong. How do I know that you won't lie to me again about something else?"
Trish could feel the tears welling up in her eyes again. She fought as hard as she could to hold them back but to no avail. "Randy I am really trying here. I know what I did was wrong but if you love someone, you have to learn how to forgive."
The reality of the situation hit her hard. Randy wasn't going to forgive her, despite all of her attempts at trying to make it work. "Randy, I never expected to fall in love with you like I did. Once I realized my feelings for you, I never once gave Paul a second thought. I knew in my heart that you were the one. I wish you could just see how much you mean to me. I love you with every fiber of my being. That is all that I can really say to you and if that isn't enough, well then I guess that old saying is true. Sometimes love ISN'T enough." Once again, the tears flowed freely from her eyes. It was a lost cause.
Randy went over Trish's words in his head. He wasn't used to being in situations like this. Normally if something like this happened he would just break it off with the girl and never look back. He wasn't one to fall in love so easily but with Trish it was different. Was love enough? He hoped it was because he couldn't imagine his life without her. He just knew it was going to take some time. He wasn't ready to just let it all go just yet. If they were went to be together for the rest of their lives, then a few days wouldn't make a difference.
"Trish, I do forgive you for lying to me but I have to be honest, I don't know if I can trust you ever again. I don't give up my trust very easily and it is going to take a lot for you to get that back. Now I may sound selfish but that is just the way it is. If our love is meant to be then it can wait a bit longer."
Trish couldn't believe that this was the same man that loved her so selflessly. He would have done anything for her and now, she broke his trust and it was gone just like that. She wanted to remain optimistic that things would work themselves out but who was she kidding, nothing would ever would be the same again.
She still couldn't help but take offense to the fact that he was giving her such a hard time about it when he was no better than she was. The more she thought about it, the more offended she became.
"You know what you are Randy? You are a hypocrite. Here you are trying to act as if you did nothing wrong yet you are no better. You hurt me too Randy. You flaunted Gail in front of me any chance you got. You have no idea what that did to me."
Trish began to pace the floor, running her hands through her blonde locks in frustration. "Gail has been a thorn in my side for a very long time. She will do anything at all to make my life a living hell. You are so hell bent on punishing me for what I have done when I should be doing the same to you."
Randy was growing more and more defensive by the minute. "How dare you compare the two? I would have never even gave Gail a second look if you hadn't been so busy with that two-faced bastard I used to call a best friend. If you can't see the difference Trish, then you need your head examined."
That did it. Trish had enough of him for one night. It was very apparent that nothing was going to change. He wasn't going to listen to reasoning and she just wasted her time going there. She wasn't even sure why she bothered. Trish turned on her heel, grabbing her coat on her way over to the door. She turned around one last time to get one last look at him. "Take a good look at me Randy because once you realize what a big mistake you are making here, it will be too late and I will be gone for good." With that being said, Trish exited the hotel room, leaving a very unhappy Randy to think about what just happened.