DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, or any of the Superstars from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.
Roman
I get home early from work because I'm going to meet up with the people I have who are checking up on this mysterious man. Walking in through the front door, I see Jackson barking when he runs up to the door before hearing her sweet voice calling for him. He greets me before following her voice to go back to her. Walking to the kitchen, I see her drinking some water and she smiles at me when our eyes meet.
"Hey beautiful." I say when she quickly walks up to me and into my arms.
"Hey." She replies, giving me a hug and a kiss.
I pick her up and sit her on the counter, leaving her arms around my neck. "I wasn't expecting to see you here this early. I was going to get ready to go pick you up."
"Well, I wanted to surprise you and save you the trouble." She says, unbuttoning the top buttons of my shirt. "I didn't know what time you were going to come out and I was off today, so I thought I'd come myself. How was your morning?"
"Busy, I had a meeting this morning." I say, kissing her neck. "Then another meeting with finance. Some paperwork that I had to finish up. I'm assuming you used the key I left at your place on Monday."
"Yes." She softly replies. "Is that okay?"
"Yeah, you can come over whenever you want." I say, kissing her lips and getting that smile of hers in return.
Giselle gives me another kiss. "I took Jackson to the dog groomer. They spoiled him today and gave him a snack for being so good."
"I'm sure he was good because you were there." I tell her and she chuckles. "I'm serious. It seems he likes to behave with only you. Who are you trying to look handsome for, Jackson?"
"Well, I'm just glad he did today. There have been times when he will not have it and want to run all over the place and not stay still, but luckily that's not always." She says. "Are we still meeting them today?"
I quickly remembered what she was talking about and let out a deep breath. "Yeah, that's why I wanted to leave early from work. I wanted us to go together. You deserve to know what's going on."
"Okay, let me just walk Jackson and we could go." She says.
"Do you want me to go with you?" I ask.
She softly smiles and shakes her head. "It's okay. We'll be quick."
I give her another kiss before she leaves with Jackson on his leash while I get ready to go back out. Almost 30 minutes later, we're getting to office of the people I had looking up this guy. They take us to a room where they were working at and had us sit down. The building wasn't far from where Giselle worked and she knew some of the people that worked in the building. The man that was going to begin was a bit older than me. He was in his 40's and a bit shorter than me. He had started out as a cop before moving up, as he continued his education after getting his Associate's Degree.
"We ran several of the photos to see which ones would get a hit." George started out saying. "Two of the pictures had a hit."
He showed us the two pictures that he was referring to, where they were able to get a clear shot of his face. He then typed in a name, and another picture came in. This time of a mug shot. The man had brown eyes with short dark hair and a beard that was growing out. I'm not sure how old the guy is, but he seemed to be older than me.
"His name is Bill Jones. Sound familiar to either one of you?" Asks George.
"Not to me." Giselle replies.
"I don't remember ever hearing that name." I add. "What do you have on this guy?"
George types in a few more things before pulling up some more information. "So this guy has been caught for small things like robbery and marijuana, and seems to also have a weapons charge. That's about as serious as his charges get. b=But he's also currently under investigation because apparently he's working for Tim Haggin."
"What the hell are they doing and what does it have to do with Giselle?" I spit out, wanting answers more than ever.
"He's still mad about what happened at the party with the McMahons." George answers. "A part of him wants to blame Giselle which is why he insists on wanting to see her again and get in contact with her, but we don't know what he'll say or do if he was to ever get the chance to do so. As we all should know by now, he doesn't want to do the dirty work to avoid having more trouble go his way. This is where Bill Jones comes into play. The guy has always been in and out of trouble, especially as a juvenile. Anyways, he has Mr. Jones figuring out where Giselle is, what she does and simply as much information that he could possibly get and he gives that information to him. From the moment you've noticed that something may not be right, until now, Haggin probably already knows you have a dog, he probably knows that you like to take him to the park, and probably what part you like to go to. We don't know what else he may know. This could also be a way to get to you, Roman."
"If he wants me, he doesn't have to go through her to do it." I say. "If he has a problem with what happened that night, then take it up with me. Don't put her through any trouble because it's not her fault. She didn't ask for him to treat her the way that he did."
Looking over at Giselle, I see the worried look in her eyes and I felt bad because I didn't want her to be going through this. She apologizes and I take her hand in mine.
"It's not your fault." George tells her. "Roman is right, you didn't ask for it and you didn't deserve that which leads me to our next bit of information. We know that Tim Haggin loves money which is why he always wanted to stay in the same circles as you and the McMahons as well as anybody in this city that has the sort of wealth and connections that you do. He also wants the success that you have and the respect and reputation that comes with your name. He's being investigated for fraud and money laundering and there may even be an investigation going on for a domestic violence case that was dropped about a year ago. Now you know the detectives aren't going to say much about the investigation because it's still open and active. So for him to avoid further trouble, he's enlisting the help of this Bill Jones guy. From what we were able to gather, he found out about Jones through an acquaintance who thought he would be a good fit for whatever Haggin had in mind. Before you ask, Roman, the answer is yes. He knows that hurting her will hurt you which is one of the reasons why he's going after her. As private as you are with your relationship, you've also been seen in public together, so people know that you're dating each other. There's nothing wrong with that, I promise. But unfortunately, there's people out there in this world like Tim Haggin who have bad intentions and some of them don't care if they hurt others in the process, no matter how innocent those people are."
"What do we do now?" She asks.
"If he has a problem with me, he can come after me." I say. "But I need her safe. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to her."
George looks over at us. "Giselle, you can still do your everyday activities. There's no need to keep yourself in a bubble and isolate yourself from the world. But if you're able to go out somewhere, go out with someone so that you're not by yourself. Someone that you can trust. Friends. Roman. Any family. Neighbors or coworkers that you know you can trust. When you're going somewhere that you frequent often like work, home, or the park, try taking different routes every time you go to switch it up. When you go to the park, try different entrances and exits, if you can. If you feel like something is wrong, let someone know, whether that person is Roman or someone from his security, just let someone know that they know something may not be right."
"Okay." She quietly says.
The look in her eyes breaks my heart. I didn't want her to feel like she couldn't live her life and be free, especially because of me. I didn't want her to feel restricted and as if she was more of a child than my girlfriend. Giselle looked sad and I couldn't take it. I can't take her being sad.
"We'll be okay." I tell her. "We'll figure it out."
"I know this isn't exactly what we want to hear right now, but this is what's going on at the moment." George says. "I just know that Haggin's going to get himself hung pretty good. He leaves evidence behind, even when he thinks he doesn't. He'll get his day in court and finally pay for what he's doing."
After talking for another 15 minutes, we thanked him for all of the information that he was able to provide and we left, taking our time as we made our way back to my place. Giselle wanted to enjoy the fresh air and I didn't stop her. She walked ahead of me for a bit and I gave her some space before she slowed down and took my hand in hers. We got something to drink on the way and share it. Once we get to the building, we make our way up and before we get to the door, I hear her sniffle and I look to see her eyes shine with tears.
"I'm sorry." She whispers as tears roll down her cheeks. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have ever dealt with him. I should have known better. This is my fault, I'm so sorry, Roman."
"Giselle, baby, it's not your fault." I say, cradling her face in my hands. I really can't take her being sad. It kills me inside.
"Yes, it is. If I wasn't with him that night, I never would have went to the party with him and I wouldn't have gotten him mad." She says, trying to breath in between tears and sniffling. "He would have never reacted the way that he did with me and he wouldn't have gotten mad because of what ended up happening. He wouldn't be after us, trying to get back at us for what happened. This is my fault. I should have listened to my gut when it was telling me that he could be a bad person. I should have."
I wipe off some of her tears and kiss another one that before it finished rolling down her face. "Stop blaming yourself because it's not your fault. Haggin was a bad guy since before you ever met him. He took you needing help to try to benefit him, because he had no intention of doing good. That's not on you, Giselle. That's on him. I'm not losing you, baby. We're not letting your freedom get taken away. I told you before we started dating that I got you and I still mean that. I got you. Okay?"
Giselle sniffles and pouts. I wipe off some more tears with my fingers and I see her curl up into herself. "I don't want you to feel like keeping me safe is something you have to do. Something else on your list of things that need to get done."
"No, I'm wanting to keep you safe because I love you, Giselle." I say and her eyes meet mine and I watch as they light up. "I love you, and I can't take it if something happens to you. Especially if there was something I could do to help prevent you getting hurt. You're my priority, Giselle and I love you."
"You do?" She asks in a tiny voice, followed by a sniffle.
"I thought I made it obvious. Besides, who knows if I would have ever met you if you weren't with him that night." I softly add. "Something good came out of it, yeah?"
"Can I stay the night?" She asks.
"Yeah, you can stay as long as you'd like." I honestly tell her.
"Good, because I bought some clothes." She replies and I laugh before she showing a hint of a smile.
I grab her hand and gently take her inside when I open the door. Jackson barks before happily greeting her and then me. He stays close to her, and whines before she scratches his head. Giselle whispers something to him when she bends down and he nudges her cheek, as if understanding what she was telling him at that moment. She softly smiles and rubs his back as she stands back up, turning her attention back to me.
"You're really tired." Giselle softly says.
"How can you tell?" I ask, walking up to her.
She unbuttons my shirt some more, reminding me of the top buttons that she had undone earlier. "Your eyes and you look like you're stressed out. We can just order in tonight, unless you want me to cook."
"I think we both need to just relax tonight. What would you like to order?" I ask.
Once we agree on Chinese a few minutes later, we call to order for delivery. I manage to get Giselle to let me walk Jackson tonight and she hands me his leash.
"I'll have his food and water ready by the time you get back." She says before I kiss her forehead.
When I get out, it feels like the weight of so many things on my shoulders. As much as I wanted to keep going and going, I knew that I needed a break. I've been working nonstop for what feels like forever without ever taking a proper break, except for when my Leukemia came back. It's not fair to Giselle to put her through that with me for not taking proper care of myself. When I get back upstairs, I let Jackson off his leash and he goes to the bowl that has water in it, and drinks. When the food finally comes, Giselle takes it and places the food on the counter. Taking my hand, she pulls me to her and sits herself on the counter. I automatically wrap my arms around her and dig my face against her neck. I feel my hair come loose when she takes it out of the bun I've had it in since this morning and her hand gently play with my hair.
"I love you." She whispers. "You hear me? I love you, very much, Roman."
I feel my body relax and everything has been forgotten about. As I needed to hear that more than anything else. As if I just needed that, period. I hold on to her a little tighter and hear her breathe in when I pick her up, taking her upstairs. After a long shower together, we eat dinner. In the kitchen with me in sweatpants and my hair out and Giselle in my shirt with her hair in a braid. We shared some kisses in between and shared some cheesecake before sitting in the living room, with Jackson walking and jumping around before quietly laying down beside Giselle's feet.
The next day, I wake up and see Giselle's head on my chest and an arm protectively around her as she sleeps. I see the remote next to her and remember falling asleep quickly after turning off the television. I kiss her head and breath in her shampoo, The smell of coconut still lingers in her hair and my hand plays with her hair for a bit before I gently get out of bed, careful to not wake her. After I brush my teeth and get dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, I take my phone and a bottle of water and bring Jackson along with me, for a run. When I come back about an hour later, I smell food coming from the kitchen and my stomach rumbles. Jackson follows the scent when I take his leash off and hear him bark and hear Giselle's voice shortly after. I smile when I see her and give her a kiss when I walk up to her.
"How you feeling?" I ask, resting my hand on her waist.
"I'm okay." She softly replies. "Did you sleep good?"
"Yeah, I did." I reply.
She softly presses her lips against my jaw and I see her wanting to curl up like a little kitten. I wrap my arms around her and she rests her head on my chest before I see those blue eyes look up at me.
"Let's take a weekend to go somewhere." I suggest.
"Go where?" Giselle asks.
"Anywhere you want." I say. "I'll get the plane ready, just tell me where you want to go and I'll get it ready."
She pulls her head back and looks up at me fully. "You're serious?"
"Yeah, why not?" I ask.
"What about work?" She asks in reply. "I thought you had a trip coming up in a couple of days."
"I'll be back before then, and I'll be here right on time for us to go. We could take the trip and be spend time together." I say. "Get away from all of this for a bit. Recharge."
She touches her nose with mine. "You sure?"
"Positive." I tell her. "If you want to stay in the city, that's fine, too. Whatever you want."
Giselle thinks for a moment. "Would you like to go to Puerto Rico?"
"That sounds good." I say, holding her face in my hands. "I love you."
"I love you, too." She says with a light in her eyes.
Everything is going to be okay. I can feel it.