Jeff stayed in the arena for a half an hour after RAW ended. Not because he wanted to though. It was a strategic maneuver on his part. Staying longer meant that no one could claim that he left too early and it also increased the chance that most of his babysitters were long gone. There was also the added bonus of not having to deal with the annoyance of a congested parking lot. The less people still around, the less time it took to get out of the lot.

Making sure he had all his gear, he closed up his bag and threw it over his shoulder. He sighed as he made his way through the fairly empty halls and outside. The night was cool, the air crisp and he cursed himself for not wearing a thicker shirt or a jacket. As he was headed toward his car, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. His eyes focused on the person standing by the gate, her cell phone clutched in her hand.

She was alone and from her wilted posture, he could tell that she was upset. He wanted to be able to ignore her and go to the hotel bar so he could get drunk and forget his troubles, like he had planned. Unfortunately, he wasn't the type of person who could do that. Groaning he changed direction, heading over to where she stood. Stopping a few feet from her, he cleared his throat with an exaggerated cough. "Kind of a cool night to be hanging out in a practically deserted parking lot."

Maria whirled around, startled but relaxed once she saw who it was. She sniffled and wiped her red-rimmed eyes with a crumpled tissue. "Oh, hey Jeff. I wasn't hanging out, I was talking…"

She trailed off, eyes going to her cell phone. A small whimper trickled over her lips and she blinked, a few errant tears sliding down her cheek. "No, talking isn't the right word for what I was doing. Because I was yelling and that's a lot louder."

"Are you ok?" He unwittingly echoed her earlier words but the concern in them was genuine as he watched her almost violently shove her phone into her pocket.

"You know, he pretends to be so straight edge. Said he'd never do anything to hurt me or make me lose trust in him," She said softly, brokenly. "Obviously, it was a lie. Because when I called him, someone else answered his phone."

His heart sank, knowing where this was going. But maybe there was a perfectly logical reason why Phil's phone wasn't answered by Phil. "It was probably laying around the locker room and that's why someone else answered it. You know how it is."

"But how many people answer when someone else's fiancée is-is-is…" She broke down, hands covering her face as loud, gasping sobs shook her body. But she managed to get the last part of her sentence out in a high-pitched wail. "Screwing them!"

Jeff shifted uncomfortably, not sure if he should do anything. It wasn't like he knew her well enough to offer her a comforting touch or embrace. But he had to do something to let her know that he understood and was sorry for her. Tentatively, he reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "I'm sorry."

She stepped into him, dropping her hands and burying her face in his shoulder. It surprised him but he managed to wrap his arm around her consolingly and lightly rubbed her back. "It could be a mistake. Maybe whoever it was just did it to be nasty or they were playing a joke on you."

Gripping his shirt tightly, she shook her head in misery. The certainty in the gesture and the way her sobs grew more intense told him that there was no mistake. That not only was she positive about what her call had interrupted but that it had happened before. He sighed, mentally adding another tally to the list of relationships destroyed by an affair with a co-worker. His eyes went down to the small, delicate hands clutching him and noticed something off about them.

The usual sparkle that radiated from her ring finger was gone. It never left her finger, not even when she was interviewing. She usually just twisted it around so that only the band showed. So the fact that it was missing in action was troubling. "What happened to your ring?"

"I threw it into the street." Maria informed him thickly, separating herself from him and swiping at her eyes. "Hope it gets run over by an eighteen wheeler! Or falls down into the sewer."

His gaze drifted out to the busy street and he sighed heavily. She had done it in anger, an irrational moment of rage that she'd regret later when she was calmer. That left only one thing to do and he was the only one who could do it. "I'll go get it. Did you notice where it landed?"

"Don't bother." She crossed her arms over her chest; hands rubbing at her exposed, goose bump covered arms. "I don't want it anymore. Not when I know what a lie it represents."

"But what happens if you two work things out? He'll want to know what happened to the ring."

She scoffed bitterly at that, "There's nothing to work out. I forgave him once and told him what would happen if he did it again. He didn't listen so now, he has to suffer the consequences."

"If that's what you really want." Jeff nodded, deciding not to get further involved in this whole mess. He had first hand knowledge about how painful the end of a relationship was and couldn't offer her any real advice on how to get over it. Not when he was still feeling the effects of a relationship that ended three years ago. "Are you all right to drive?"

"I'm not driving." She took a breath and released it slowly. "Torrie is but she's still inside. She had an interview with the website and you know how they tend to run long."

"Ok," He slowly started backing away; "I'm heading back to the hotel then. Sorry that you had to go through this."

"Thanks for listening." A small, crooked smile touched her lips. "It really helped me to have someone to talk to."

He nodded and turned, more determined than ever to get to the bar and start to forget this night.