Roman brushed a strand of hair out of Robyn's face before he leaned down to kiss her. The tour brought them closer than they could've ever imagined. It intertwined them both physically and emotional and he couldn't be happier.

"Alright, I have to catch my flight," he had to force himself away.

"Joe?" the look on her face was serious as she stared up at him.

"Hmm?" he asked, curious, watching her chest rise and her lip tremble for a moment.

"Joe, I...I...I love..." Robyn trailed off before clearing her throat. She shook her head slightly. "I love...the time we've spent together these last two weeks."

Roman nodded in agreement. "And just think, soon we'll be riding home on a plane together."

"Yeah, I hope everything goes well with Jojo when you break the news."

"Me too…"

The flight from Providence to Tampa was only 3 hours but it felt like an eternity. The entire ride his mind was fixated on having the second hardest conversations he'd ever have to have with Jojo; the first being telling her that his leukemia returned. This was something he never thought he'd have to do but since it's here, he had to deal with it.

"What's with this Wildcard stuff?" Galina asked after he made it home. "You're working both shows now?"

"Yeah, it's a ratings thing. My check reflects the extra load so there's that," he shrugged.

"I'm not concerned about the money, Joe. If they wanted you to work Raw, they should've left you there in the first place and you would've been home yesterday. We'll be transitioning soon and you'll be living with Robyn I assume so that extra day could've been spent here with the kids," she replied.

"Yeah, you have a point there," he acknowledged. Galina bringing it up caused him to inhale, fearing what was to come later on tonight. "Have you done any prep work or dropped any hints?"

"No, I was waiting for you so we could do it together."

"It's my first day home, do you think I should do it tonight or wait? You know Aladdin hits theaters Friday. We got married on a Disney cruise and A Whole New World was our wedding song so I was thinking we could go together as a family for old times sake before telling her," he suggested.

"That's very sweet, Joe but I think it should be done tonight and if she doesn't take it well, we'll have the next 2 days to talk about it. Then, on Friday if everything works out, we can all go together to show her that we're still a family no matter what."

Roman could barely speak as he drove Jojo home that evening. School was almost out for the summer and she talked about being able to attend more shows and pay per views on Sunday since she wouldn't have school the next day. She chatted peacefully unaware that her world would be shattered in the next few hours.

He watched as Galina set the table with Jojo's favorite foods, trying to set a conciliatory mood. Roman suspected that her nervousness was compelling her to do something positive in order to counteract the events for tonight.

They had insignificant conversations and there was a definite tension in the air between Roman and Galina, both trying to goad the other into initiating. Several times Roman cleared his throat to begin only to get cold feet and stop.

Finally, after several glasses of wine, Galina summoned the courage to go the next step. She pushed her chair back. "I'm going to take the boys to their room and I'll be back."

Jojo hummed, eating, while Roman stared down at his hands. Galina returned and took her place beside him. They held hands as Roman spoke. "Joelle…"

That seemed to get Jojo's attention because Roman rarely addressed her by her full name. She sat her fork down. "Yes?"

"We have something to tell you," Galina replied.

Jojo's eyes darted between them. "Are you having another baby?"

Galina shook her head. "No, sweetie, we're not."

"First let me start by stating what we're about to say has nothing to do with anything you've ever done and it's not your fault. Your mother and I love you and the boys very much. We've discussed this for a while and we think that we're better off as friends and coparents," he felt out of breath by the time he finished.

"What are you saying?" Jojo asked. She looked devastated so he knew that she understood but wanted to hear confirmation.

Galina took a deep breath. "Your father and I are divorcing."

"No!" Jojo spontaneously combusted into tears. "Why? You don't love each other anymore?"

"Of course we do. We will always love each other," Roman assured her.

"Well why? It's Robbie, isn't it? You're going to be with her now, aren't you?"

Roman and Galina looked at each other. There was no point in lying to her only for Robbie to pop up in a few months anyway. "Yes, but she had absolutely nothing to do with what happened to us."

"That's right. This had nothing to do with anyone else especially Robbie who wasn't around when we made this decision," Galina added to confirm. "We love each other but sometimes that's not enough and I'm sure you'll understand when you're older. Joe will always be here for you and nothing will change."

"No he won't! He's barely here now! What was the point of him surviving leukemia if he was going to end up leaving us anyway?" Jojo pushed back hard from the table and ran to her room.

"Joelle!" Galina exclaimed, chasing behind her.

Roman watched in stunned silence. What just happened? He knew she wouldn't be okay with it but her last words shook him to the core.

The door slammed and Galina knocked. "Jojo, unlock the door! Joelle?!"

"Just give her some time and space," Roman said.

Galina walked back into the dining room looking equally shocked. She rubbed his back. "I am so sorry. I didn't think she'd react that way. She's just upset and didn't mean any of that."

"I messed up," he shook his head.

"It had to be done. I think I'm going to keep her home from school tomorrow. She's too upset and I don't want that nosey teacher of hers asking any questions that will lead to Jojo telling our business," Galina replied.

"That may be for the best," he sighed. A few hours later, he pressed his ears against the door and heard quiet sobs. He lightly tapped. "Jojo? Are you alright?"

"Go away!" she yelled. "I hate you and I hate your new girlfriend!"

Roman walked with his head hung low in a haze of guilt into the living room. This was bad. Though he doubted she legitimately hated him, this situation would for sure put a strain on their relationship. With him being gone 80% of the time, that wasn't something he could afford. He sat there wishing he could turn back the hands of time to a year ago when everyone was happy, before things got complicated. But then, that would mean he'd never have what he had with Robyn. Shit, Robyn.

Galina joined him on the sofa. "What are you thinking about?"

He shook his head. "What happened to us, G?"

"Somewhere along the line we stopped being open with each other, got sidetracked and things just seemed to slip away. I don't know," she shrugged.

He couldn't sleep that night as he stared up into the darkness of the room. Conflicted thoughts surged through every corner of his consciousness as he laid there torn between his want and his duty. Sure, he liked Robbie, a lot, dare he say more than like after the time they spent together on tour but he loved his family more. He knew he had a lot to think about and a lot to decide.


Robyn woke with a smile on her face early Thursday morning. She realized that she'd fallen in love with him during the tour. It almost slipped Wednesday morning before they separated but she decided to take some time away from him and evaluate her feelings before springing it on him. After sleeping on it, she was 100% convinced that her feelings were true. Now it was only a matter of when she'd tell him and how he'd react. It was obvious that he had feelings for her but she didn't know how deep they ran. With him leaving a marriage, what if he wasn't ready to hear those 3 words already. She decided to hold onto it until the time was right.

As she headed to the bathroom, she heard a knock on her door. Who would be looking for her at 9:30 AM? She tied a robe around herself and went to answer it. Looking through the peephole, she saw a tall, hooded figure.

"Joe? What are you doing here?" she asked as she swung the door open. When he removed his hood, she almost gasped. He looked like he hadn't slept at all last night, his brown eyes were bloodshot with bags underneath. "What's wrong?"

"Let's sit down," he said, walking over to the sofa. "We need to talk."

"Speaking of talk, how did it go with Jojo?" she inquired, sitting across from him.

Roman wouldn't make eye contact, looking at everything in the room except her. He sighed. "We told her last night. I thought she'd be better this morning but she's still not speaking to me."

"Oh," she replied softly, seeing how torn up he was over this. She walked over and placed a hand on his knee. "I know this is hard for you because that's your little girl and it's going to be hard for her for a while but she loves you and it may not be this week, the next week or the next but she'll come around."

Roman placed his hand on top of hers, shaking his head. "Robyn, being with you these last few months has been incredible, one of the highlights of my life for sure. You have awoken feelings in me that I thought I'd never have again after Galina and I'll always cherish the time we spent together but…"

Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach and her throat went dry. "Joe, please don't finish that sentence if it ends the way I think it does."

"I'm sorry," he replied. "I decided to work things out with Galina. We're going to start marriage counseling once a week."

Robyn scoffed. "Work things out, huh? That simple. Marriage counseling may temporarily fix things but those underlying issues are going to eventually resurface and remind you why you split in the first place. Mark-my-words."

"Please don't be like this," he pleaded. "What we had was special but I'm just trying to do the right thing for my children."

"If you wanted to do what's right for your children, you'd show them what real, genuine love is and that's what we could've had instead of forcing yourself back into a marriage that didn't work out. It's only going to lead to resentment and guess what? That's not healthy for them at all and the older they get, the more they'll sense it," she argued.

"You say that as if I don't love her!" he countered. "Our biggest issues were caused by lack of communication."

"Guess what? You've been communicating with her since you separated last year and no sparks have reignited. Hell, if they didn't reignite organically during the 4 most emotional months of your life when your cancer returned, chances are it's not going to happen now. You know what, I'm not about to fight for someone else's husband. You want to reconcile, good for you but if you expect me to wish you the best, I can't. And don't think you're going to run back to me when this all blows up in your face! It's time for you to go," she forcefully said, her face a mask of anger.

"Robyn, I don't want to end things this way," he started, reaching for her but she stood.

"No!" she yelled, walking over to open the door for his exit. "Leave."

Sighing, Roman rose to his feet. He tried to look at her but she stared up at the ceiling so he covered his head with his hood again and walked out of the door and out of her life.