Thank you all for the reviews! This is it people. The last chapter! It's been a crazy ride with this story, but I'm glade to see it coming to a finish finally. T thank you for sticking with me. I've had a great time seeing this story blossom into a masterpiece and I couldn't be more proud to see it through. Enjoy!
She looked beautiful, standing there in nothing but jeans and a Marvel sweatshirt, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. It was like a golden hue was radiating off of her from the beams of light coming from the window behind her, but even without the sun's help, she was still shining as bright as ever, leaving him in awe
And now he knew why
He could see every emotion running a mile a minute across her face: Confusion as to what he was talking about realization when he held up the tests, and to his amusement, fear.
"Where… where did you got those?" she stammered nervously
"In the bathroom where you left them." he told her, setting the tests down on the bed next to him "The maid came in and took the towels and dropped them on her way out."
Yelena closed her eyes, feeling like the world's biggest idiot. How could she have been so careless, forgetting to dispose of her evidence. When he had shown up yesterday, catching her off guard while she was taking them, she had dropped on of the test in the toilet, leaving her no choice but to flush one. Thank god it had went down, but that left her with two more. She didn't have pockets, thank to the yoga pants she had been wearing, so she had to stash them someone, that place being in between the fresh towels.
But only a moron wouldn't go back and toss them the next day. Damn her brain for only thinking about food first thing in the morning.
"All the eating, the sleeping, the crying. This is why." Chris got up, walking towards her "How long have you known?"
"Four days." she said quietly
"Anyone else know?" he asked cautiously
She shook her head in response
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because…. I was hoping that if I ignored it, it would all go away somehow." she admitted, her green eyes flooding with tears, her lower lip quivering slightly
He reached for her and to his surprise, she took a step back "Don't"
"Yelena we have to talk about this." he insisted, trying not to deter her further.
"No we don't." she snapped
"And why is is that?"
"Because…. I'm... I'm..." she stammered, growing frustrated with her voice. She cleared her throat before trying again "I'm handling it."
The atmosphere shifted in the room as he stared at her with hard blue eyes. Surly she did mean...
"No" was all the Canadian could say
"Please don't do this Chris." she begged
"You're not doing that. I won't fucking let you do that." he barked at her angrily
"Who are you to tell me what to do? It's my body!"
"How could you make that decision without talking to me? Without even telling me about it in the first place?" he yelled "It's my baby too!"
She flinched at the word baby, realization seeping through the walls she had built up. This was really happening. She was really pregnant. She was carrying a baby. Chris's baby.
"It's my body." she said levelly "And I've already made up my mind about it."
His face morphed in anger, his face darkening by the second "You're a selfish bitch."
"Excuse me?" she asked bewilderingly "You think this is easy for me?"
"You seem content enough with killing an innocent life."
"Well it isn't! I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do for both of us!
"Don't you dare make that choice for me and you were never going to tell me you were pregnant in the first place!"
"You're right! I wasn't going to say anything because we can't do this! We can't bring a child into the world and we can barely stand each other when sex isn't involved! Look at us, Chris! We aren't even in a real relationship!"
"We could have worked something out." he said "You couldn't have really believed for a second that I was going to just be okay with this."
"Actually I did. We are in no place to have a child together. And work something out like what? Co-parenting? Give me a break. We'd be at each other's throat and you want a child to be in the middle of all of that? Why don't you just admit the fact that we hate each other when we're not trying to fuck each other's brains out. That's all we are to each other."
"You're getting too worked up over this. You need to calm down"
"And you're not getting worked up enough Chris!" she yelled "This is real, whether I want it to be or not. It's not going to go away on it's own and I'm not okay Chris. I'm not okay at all. I'm scared Chris. I'm terrified" she said, holding back sobs
"You think I'm okay with the fact that I could possibly be having a baby with a woman I clearly-" he stopped, wishing that he could pull the words back into his mouth when he saw the way her face crumbled
"Go ahead." she told him "You're not okay with the fact that you're having a baby with a woman who you clearly don't want to be with? Who you don't love?" her voice lowered at that last part
He sighed heavily "That wasn't what I was gonna say" he tried
"I thought… I thought that this time around something was different. That your feelings for me had changed and it wasn't… always one hundred percent about sex anymore because… It never started out that way for me in the the beginning and I accepted that you didn't want to be with me. I moved on from you and you wouldn't leave me alone. You did horrible things and look!" she said, throwing her arms out "I'm still with you after everything you did to me. There has to be a reason why I could do that after what we've been through" she asked tearfully "What are we doing here Chris?"
He sat back down on the bed, palming his face, digesting her words "I don't know." he answered "I honestly don't know."
"Yes you do." she said calmly "You know why and I want you to say it."
His eyes met hers and they stared each other down, waiting. Waiting on who would make the first move.
"You made me feel like less of a woman and like no one else could want me and how I was being treated was what I deserve and I never got so much as an 'I'm sorry'"
"I am. I'm sorry Yelena. I am." he said, getting up to take her in his arms. To stop the tears and comfort her "Words can't express how much I'll regret that for the rest of my life."
But she wouldn't let him get close enough
"I never asked you for anything Chris. Not one time." she said, burning him with her gaze "I want you to tell me. Tell me why, after all of this, why you couldn't let me go. Why you couldn't let me be happy with Randy" she said, her eyes searching, pleading "Say it and I'm yours. I'll do whatever you want me to do."
"Yelena don't-" he tried
"Do you love me?" she asked bluntly, cutting him off
That was it. It was out there on the table. Chris knew that he could only do one of two things: Answer yes or no.
And he couldn't do either one.
Her heart died right there in her chest, she swore it did.
She let her tears fall at his silence, realizing that this was it. She couldn't do this anymore with him "Okay." she said, shaking her head "Fine."
"Yelena, please don't do this. Let's just sit down and talk."
She sidestepped him, going over to her belonging and started packing them up "We have nothing else to discuss." she said, throwing things into her bags blindly, her vision clouded with tears, her heart breaking into pieces. She wanted to be put out of her misery. A knife to the chest, a bullet to the head, anything to stop the pain she was feeling. Lucky for her, she didn't have much to pack and was done in seconds.
Chris tried to stop her hands, but she shoved him away "Don't touch me! I hate you! I fucking hate you with everything in me. You want to know why? Because of you, I'm damaged. You've scarred me probably forever because I fucking love you and I can't turn it off!"
He was taken aback by her words, his chest constricting painfully at the hurt and sadness in her green eyes and worse because he knew she meant everything she was saying. It was enough to stun him, to make him stop trying.
To let her leave out of the door.
Yelena stabbed at the elevator button repeatedly, scrubbing at her tear stained face "Come on." she whispered, breathing in relief when the doors slid open but her feet wouldn't move. As if not in control of her own body, her head turned back to the direction she had came from, waiting. His door never opened. He wasn't going to try and convince her to stay which convinced her further that she had to leave.
Throwing her things into the back seat of her her rental, she started the car and took off into the nights without a word.
May 20, 2013
"Get up and put this on." Nikki toss clothes on the bed before violently snatching the curtains in Yelena's dark room open
She groaned, the sunlight blinding her temporarily "I don't feel like it Nik."
"Tough. I don't know what your problem has been for the past few days, but frankly, I'm tired of it. You are not going to stay in this room waste another day in bed. Especially not your birthday." Brie told her
Yelena let out a huff, burying her face in the blush pillows "I'm perfectly fine bringing my twenty fifth in from this bed with room service."
"Well we're not. Stop being a downer. Its your birthday, not the end of the world. Now get up and get your ass in the shower. We're going shopping and out for lunch and then out somewhere tonight to celebrate." Nikki told her, snatching the covers off the photographer
"Nikki please, just let me stay in bed. I don't want to go out." She tried lamely. Where the tears came from, she didn't know.
Brie sat next to her, smoothing her hair back soothingly "Yelena, what's going on with you? Talk to us."
She swiped at her face before the tears escaped. She should have told them, but she couldn't. They didn't understand and it was too long of a story to tell "I'm just really not up for doing anything."
"Its your birthday. You seriously want to look back in ten years and say you spent the prime year of your life in a hotel room all by yourself?" Brie asked "We just want you to have fun."
"Yeah. Through all of my bitching, that's what I was trying to get at." Nikki said with a sincere smile "Let's just go shopping and grab something to eat. If you want to come back here when that's over, then we'll stay with you and make a slumber party out of it. How does that sound?"
She couldn't tell them no. They were trying so hard to cheer her up. With Rosa gone, they'd really become good friends to her and she could at least let them take her out for her birthday. Brie was right. She didn't want the memory of spending her day in bed when there were people who'd never see their twenty fifth.
"Okay. Let me shower and get ready." She finally agreed
She had fun shopping. Nikki insisted on making her buy an outrageously expensive dress
"If you don't buy it, I'm buying it for you. You look seriously hot." Nikki complimented
"Nichole is right." Brie agreed "You're going to get some serious birthday ass in that dress."
Yelena observed herself in the full length mirror if the boutique they were in. Usually she would swell with pride and their compliments, but she felt the exact opposite. Her boobs were obviously bigger and her hips looked wider than usual. She wanted to cry at the thought of her swiftly changing body.
"I don't know you guys..."
"Oh for crying out loud!" Nikki huffed, grabbing the nearest salewoman as she passed "She'll take this one." she said, passing off her credit card before Yelena could object
"Nikki, you didn't have to-"
"I wanted to, now hush. Its your day and I want you to enjoy it."
Yelena sighed in defeat. There was no winning with a Bella "Thank you."
"You can thank me by putting a smile on your beautiful face." Nikki cooed, clipping her under the chin
Yelena put on the best smile she could muster up even in her broken state of mind.
The lady returned with the credit card and the dress wrapped up and bagged.
They went to grab a bite to eat at a Mexican restaurant. Just her luck, it was happy hour and she stared longingly at the giant margarita placed in front of her on the table. The aroma of the sizzling plate of fajitas Brie was enjoying was making her slightly nauseous
"Want one? These are the best fish tacos on earth." Nikki said, digging into her food enthusiastically.
She almost gagged at the smell that hit her "I'm good here." she said, gesturing at the basket of tortilla chips and salsa she was nibbling on. The only thing safe enough for her to consume and keep down.
"You not drinking? These margaritas are liquid heaven."
"I don't want to drink today. I want to actually be able to remember this birthday." she joked "And I'm trying to stay away from alcohol for a while."
It wasn't a complete lie. Alcohol had been her downfall on numerous occasions.
Brie downed the rest of her glass and scooted Yelena's her way "Waste not want not." she grinned "If you're not getting drunk, I'll gladly do it for you tonight."
"Oh no you will not." the other Bella said, rolling her brown eyes "I will not be the one who'll have to drag your drunk ass back to the hotel by your ankles because you're in Brie Mode."
"What are twins for?" Brie laughed, her cheeks already flushed from the alcohol
"What is Brie Mode?" Yelena dared to ask
"You'll see soon enough." Brie sad mischievously
"Oh god." Nikki groaned
"SURPRISE!"
Yelena grinned at all of her friends gathered at the large deck of the hole in the wall bar. Phil was holding a large sheet cake, twenty five candles lit and dancing wildly in the soft breeze of the cool spring night. The Shield guys were present, Dean wearing a childish party hat, a noise maker in between his smirking lips. AJ, Dolph, Mike, John, Wade, and surprisingly Aksana all wished her a happy birthday. Her heart warmed. It was good to have friends and she was glad to celebrate her birthday with her second family.
"I knew it." she said, nudging Nikki
"You seriously didn't think we weren't going to throw you a party, did you?"
"Even if it was thrown together in five hours." Brie laughed, hugging the photographer "Ready everyone?"
A chorus of "Happy Birthday" started up and she couldn't help getting tearful as she blew out her candles
The party was in full swing after cake was served, the room abuzz with chatter and music. Drinks were being served from inside the bar and passed around and she tried to be as discrete as possible as she sat every glass pressed into her hand down or to someone else.
Nikki stopped her, pressing a red cup in her hand "One drink won't kill you." she insisted
"Thanks." she snorted
She bumped into Aksana, leaning casually against the railing
"Hey." she said awkwardly
"Hey. Happy birthday hon." the Lithuanian Diva said, her bright red lips turning up into a small smile as she threw her arms around her good friend
"Thank you for being here... Even though I haven't been a good friend to you." she said apologetically "I'm really sorry."
"It's okay. I knew you were in a bad place mentally... And after I heard what happened with Chris and Randy... I knew why."
Yelena shuffled from one foot to another in her wedge heels "Yeah. I was really messed up and I apologize for taking my anger out on you when you were just trying to be a good friend to me."
"Its okay. Its all behind us now."
Yelena smiled, hugging her best friend.
Someone cleared their throat behind them and Yelena turned in around, finding John and next to him, Randy, holding a yellow gift bag.
She didn't even try to hide the utter shock of him being there on her face. Their eyes locked on one another and for a brief moment it was like it was only them
"Happy birthday." John said, breaking them out of their trance.
"Thanks John." She said, standing in her tip toes to hug him.
"I'll talk to you later." Aksana said before quietly slipping away
"I'm going to go find Nichole, I'll be right back." John said, swiftly excusing himself
And they were alone.
"Happy birthday Sunshine." he said, slipping an arm around her
She hugged him back, taking in the familiar scent of his cologne. God, she missed that smell. "Thank you. I'm glad you're here." she had to force herself to pull away
"You look good." he complimented, giving her a once over
She blushed, feeling slightly exposed in her little top and shorts "So do you." she said nervously
A smirk graced his perfect features and she laughed "What?" she asked
"This is weird. Why are we acting like strangers?" he asked with a chuckle
"I don't know." she admitted with a laugh
"I don't want things to be like that between us. I want us to at least be...friends"
She could tell it hurt him just as much as it hurt her to have to say it. They had been lovers. They had bared their soul to each other, gave each other everything that they had to offer. They had been in love with each other.
But before all of those things, they had been friends first. So if they would never be those things to each other ever again, she would be okay with just being friends.
"I'd like that."
He stuck his hand out "Friends?"
She took it "Friends." she agreed.
She went to pull her hand away, but he held on, pulling her to him for a hug. A real one this time.
"I'm sorry." She said, her eyes filling with tears for the fourth time that day I'm so sorry Randy. For everything." She was becoming an emotional wreck, thanks to her hormones
He didn't need an explanation for her apology as he pulled back, wiping an escaped tear "I know and I'm sorry too for the things I said. And for not accepting it sooner."
She smiled, wiping her face before gesturing at the bag in his hand "That for me?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood
"Oh, yeah." he said, remembering the bag "Happy birthday." he said, handing her the gift
She admired how neatly wrapped it was "There's no way you wrapped this yourself." she accused jokingly.
He feigned hurt "I can wrap gifts."
"Are you forgetting who wrapped all thirty of your Christmas gifts for you last year?"
"Okay so maybe Nichole helped." he begrudgingly admitted
"Uh huh." she laughed, tearing the paper, smiling at the new attachment lenses for her camera and a professional cleaning kit. "Ah man, I needed one of these. Thank you."
"The attachments go to the Nikon I got you for Christmas."
The memory of waking up to the bright flash of said camera immediately came in mind, making her smile "Thank you Randy."
"Its no problem at all."
"You sticking around?" she asked hopefully
"Nah, actually John and I have a flight to catch. I just wanted to stop by and say happy birthday."
"Well thank you. I'm glad you did." She said genuinely
"So I'll... See you around?" he asked
"Yeah. Maybe we could grab lunch when you're free." she offered daringly, surprising even herself with the bold statement
A slight grin played on his handsome face, making her breathe catch in her lungs
"I'd like that. I'll call you?"
"Yeah. Have a safe flight."
He flashed his dazzlingly beautiful smile once more before parting ways and she released the breath she had been holding, smiling herself as she went to find Nichole. They watched the two men leave and Nikki threw an arm around
"John's leaving and now I'm sad." She pouted
Yelena laughed "A night away from him won't kill you Nik."
"Yes it will! Its like my soul just walked out of that door."
"Lets get you a drink before you bring down my energy." Yelena said, throwing an arm around her
"Only if you have one with me. You're not even tipsy yet." The twin noted, leading them to the bar. She ordered two shots and lead the way to a small sitting area where her sister, amongst other Divas were sitting
"Happy Birthday bitch!" Nikki slurred, placing a small shot glace him her hand and raising her own high
"Happy birthday!" The girls cheered
Yelena smiled, raising her glace before staring down at the clear liquid while everyone else was knocking it back
A hand grabbed her forearm roughly and she snapped her head in the offender's direction, her eyes widening in shock. She could see herself through his angry eyes, holding the offending shot glass and this was not a good look on her part
"Chris-" she started to defend
"Get up." he barked, yanking her to her feet
She winced as a bolt of pain ran up her arm
"What the hell Jericho?" Brie asked, standing up
"Mind your own damn business." He growled
"Brie, its fine. I'll be back in a bit." She assured
Chris said nothing as he followed her through the noisy bar out front. Once they hit the pavement, he swung her around "What the fuck, you're knocking back alcohol like your not carrying my child?" He seethed, snatching the glass angrily from her hand and throwing it to the cement, smashing it to pieces at her feet
"I wasn't going to drink it" she defended
"It didn't look that way to me. So what's the plan? To intoxicate the kid before you send it to its doom? How considerate of you."
"Oh, go to hell Chris! I said I wasn't going to drink it. And even if I was, its none of your business. I'll drink what the hell I want and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."
She was cutting him deep and she knew it, but she had to make him see that he couldn't tell her what to do any more.
"Until you get this over with, I don't want to so much as see you drink strong coffee. Its the fucking least you could do." he spat venomously
"Don't fucking tell me what to do. Understand me when I say that I don't want you or any part of you in my life. You've brought me nothing but misery and heartache and I've had enough Chris." She croaked, hating that her voice broke "Can't you see that you're doing more harm that good? You're killing me from the inside out and I've had enough."
His face softened the tiniest bit and his shoulders dropped in defeat at her tears.
They were quiet for a long time until she stopped sniffling
"When are you doing it?" he asked finally
"In two week." she told him softly
The sound of the cars zooming passed them on the nearby street filled the awkward silence.
He wanted to scream. Or yell. Cry even. So soon? The date was already set, the day a piece of him would die and it hurt. It hurt probably as much as he had hurt her. This was a kind of pain that he would not wish on his worst enemy. But after so much time stuck in his own head these past few days, he had come to terms that there was nothing he could do about it. At the end of the day, it was her body and her decision
"At least... let me be there for you"
"No." she said sternly "I don't want you there. I don't want anyone there."
His head lowered and she wanted to apologize. She didn't mean for it to come out so harshly, but she wanted him to understand that she had to do this on her own.
"Please understand that I'm not doing this to hurt you." She said softly "We can't do this. We can't bring a life into this mess. It wouldn't be fair."
He nodded, folding his arms across his chest "I'm sorry you feel like this is the only way Yelena. I just want you to know that... You would have been a great mom. I'm an asshole who got lucky. Too bad it took me this long to realize that I wouldn't have wanted it to be anyone else."
She winced, his words physically hitting her straight through the heart.
He took a few steps so that he was right in front of her and placed a chaste kiss on her lips "I'm here for you when its done."
She closed her eyes as he walked away, fighting the tears, close to breaking when the bar's door swung open and out stepped Wade, who immediately spotted her tear stained face
"Hey." he said awkwardly "Everything alright?" he asked
She wiped at her face, hoping that her mascara wasn't running profusely "Yeah, thanks." she said
"Hold on, I'll be right back." He said, turning and going back inside. He returned a fee short seconds later with a few napkins, which she gratefully accepted
"Can't return the birthday girl in poor conditions." he said, smiling crookedly
She smiled back "Thanks Barrett. You're god sent."
"That's a new one to add to the books. You sure you're alright love?"
"Don't ask." She said, with a small smile
He grinned back, opening the door for her "Don't tell."
...
She returned to her party and put on a brave face for the rest of the night. She was becoming a professional at holding together the pieces until she was out of watching eyes. As soon as her hotel room door closed behind the Twins, she broke down into an uncontrollable sobbing mess. It was amazing, how the human body could produce that amount of tears.
She cried until she was tired of crying and dried out, the familiar sense of numbness sliding over her. This time it was unwelcomed and she didn't embrace it. Her mind was wired and she could get her body to settle no matter how hard she tried. She didn't know what had become of her life or who she was anymore.
She was a monster and Chris thought so too. The look of pain on his face was stamped into the back of her eyelids and she could see it every time her eyes tried to shut.
She tossed and she turned for hours
Before she knew it, the sky behind the thick drapes was glowing with the quickly rising sun and she dragged herself out of bed, her mind set.
Her phone buzzed and she picked it up absent mindedly
"Hello?"
"Yelena, its Stephanie. We had a meeting this morning. I needed those files we talked about last week."
She palmed her face "Oh my god. I overslept Stephanie, I'm so sorry."
"Why don't you get to the arena. I might have a few minutes to go over everything with you of you make it in the next thirty minutes."
"Yes ma'am, I'm on my way now."
"Don't be late."
They hung up and she rushed around, throwing on anything she could get her hands on and was out the door and in her car in a flash, barreling down the highway to the arena.
The sight of blue and red lights ahead of her sent her into a panic.
"No no no no." she moaned, bringing the vehicle to a halt. The traffic was at a complete stand still and there wasn't another exit close within sight. Her throat tightened and she blasted the air conditioner to ward off the panic attack that was creeping up on her.
For forty five long minutes, she fount through traffic and finally made it to the arena, grabbing her stack of folders and hustling out of the car and into the building, flashing her I.D. at security, who let her in. She followed the signs around the enormous arena, checking her phone at the time impatiently every time she turned a wrong corner. Steph was going to kill her. Finally, she found the office, knocking abruptly and entering when a voice called to come in
"Steph, I'm so sorry-"
"You are an hour late Yelena. I needed those files thirty minutes ago and I have to be on a plane to headquarters in... Ten minutes." she said, checking her watch
"I have them right here for you." Yelena said quickly, thumbing through the stack of folders in her arms. The folder in particular, red, the only red folder amongst the numerous blue ones, was the only one not present.
Stephanie checked her watch again, tapping her foot impatiently
"Oh god." She muttered, squatting down and dropping everything on the floor, tearing through the stack "No, it was here, I swear it was."
It wasn't. And she wanted to scream.
"Yelena-"
"No it was in here yesterday, I promise." She said, still searching
"Yelena-" Stephanie tried
"God, this can't be happening. Not right now." She said, tears quickly rushing to the surface, which angered her more. She had one task. One simple task: Turn the folder into Stephanie. It was already bad enough that she was late. Now here she was, looking like an incompetent idiot. Her chest tightened and she placed a hand on her uneasy stomach.
"Yelena, are you-"
She sprang to her feet, rushing across the room to the waste basket in the corner, heaving the contents of her stomach violently
Steph rushed over and caught the woman as her knees buckled "My god, Yelena are you okay?"
After a few more minutes of retching, she cried "I can't. I can't do this anymore."
"You can't do what?"
"Its too much. There's too much going on right now and I can't keep this up."
Stephanie didn't have to ask. She had heard about the younger woman's recent break up with Randy over her previous relations with Chris. She had noticed a change in her work ethics. She wasn't focused like she usually was.
"You've been under a great amount of pressure lately. I can see that you're stressed. I've always wanted my employees to be able to come and talk to me about their problems, whether it be work related or personal. Tell me what's going on. Maybe I can help."
Yelena lowered her eyes as they stood, wiping her mouth "I don't think I can do this anymore Stephanie." She repeated
Stephanie led them over to the black sofa and the sat
"I know. I know that I've been putting a lot of responsibilities on you. We can work something out. Get you some extra hands to lighten the work. You just tell me what you need and we'll fix it." Steph said, her blue eyes concerned
"I don't think I'm being clear enough." Yelena said, clearing her throat "I love my job and I'm thankful that I've been hand picked to lead my department. I'm thankful for every opportunity that has been given to me. I've put my heart in soul into this because its what I love to do, but I've been wearing myself thin these past few months."
Stephanie rubbed soft circles on her back
"I think my time here has run its course." she said unemotionally even though a part of her was dying inside. It was a hard decision, but a decision that she had to make. She felt like a coward for taking the easy way out and running away from Chris. She couldn't face him after last night and surely not after she aborted their baby. He claimed that he was there for her, but the truth was he was already looking at her differently. There was no fixing things and she knee there was no going back to him a second time. It was truly over for good "I'm putting in my notice tomorrow morning. I hope there's no hard feelings about my wanting to leave so abruptly."
Stephanie nodded "I understand. It's a shame really. You are one of our best and its going to be hard to replace you."
She apologized once more "If I find the file on my phone I'll email everything to you." She got up, walking over to the mess of folders on the floor, organizing them and tucking them away and putting them neatly on her soon to be ex boss's desk "This is everything I've been working on for the next couple of months. Anything else you need, let me know."
The Boss's Daughter sighed, looking reluctant as she stood, holding out her hand "I wish you well in all of your future endeavors Miss. Ulyanova."
Yelena shook it, grateful that she was taking this so well "Thank you. For everything."
She turned and walked out the door without a single glance back. It was bittersweet, but the relief she felt took her by surprise.
So she wasn't sure when the tears started, before or after Rosa picked up the phone
"Hello?"
"Rosa?" she said tearfully, sliding her back down the wall of an empty hall "I need your help"
Well, is a wrap! Sorry about the cliffhanger ending, but on a positive note, there will be an epilogue! Thank you again to everyone who has been reading this story since the beginning. This isn't goodbye, I swear. There will be a sequel! The plot is still under construction, so watch out for it! I love you all! I look forward to reading all your reviews on the first chapter of the sequel titled "Learning is Half the Battle" 💋 😉 💜