Chapter 16

Joelle sat alone in the empty arena, lost in thoughts. What was happening to her? And why? What made Corey think she had an affair, and with Hunter of all people? All she felt for him was friendship, and somehow she felt responsible for his well being. All she had done was supporting her boyfriend's Dad in this hard time, and in her eyes there was nothing wrong with doing so. But obviously it was for Corey. For her boyfriend.

More like ex boyfriend, Joelle thought sadly and the tears came again. " Life is just not fair." She whispered to herself.

" Tell me about it.." came a deep male voice and Joelle jumped. Wiping the tears away she looked at Hunter with sad eyes. " Why us?"

Hunter sighed. " Because someone up there hates me." He said pointing to the roof.

Joelle studied him closely, he looked like he hadn't slept in days, he looked broken, he looked like hell. And she felt horrible for him, first the devastating match, then the injury, and now…

" Any news?" she asked hesitantly.

Hunter grimaced and nodded. " Our lawyer called me yesterday…he advised me to just sign the papers and send them back without making a scene..pfff.." he snorted and looked away.

" And..and..did..you?"

Hunter's eyes met her's again. " What do you think?" and Joelle knew there was no need to ask, of course he had not.

" But I did indeed send the papers back…just not in their original form."

Joelle sighed. " Don't you think that will cause even more trouble?"

" Sure..but they can't expect me to just give her up." Hunter responded. " For no reason."

I already did, Joelle thought sadly.

" You did, right?" Hunter asked empathic and she nodded. " What am I supposed to do? He wont even look at me…let alone talk to me, and when he does..it's just insulting.."

" I've known Corey for a long time, that's just not like him. I just don't get it.." Hunter said, shaking his head.

" I know..he has never been that way, and we were hanging out before.."

Hunter was silent for a few minutes. " I can't remember that I ever did something to make him distrust me…okay I did, but that's something completely different,..and you know I'm just joking around with the girls.."

Joelle nodded. " Yeah..and I have been hurt myself, why should I return that favor then, I know how it feels…"

" And we really don't spend that much time together.."

" Yeah, and you're married, I would never…" Joelle trailed off and met Hunter's smile. " Why are we looking for excuses anyway?" she said suddenly, smiling. " We know we didn't do anything wrong."

" So, what do we have? He came over when we were talking in the hallway..I'd be damned if I'd cheat on my wife in public for everyone to see, I may look a little stupid but I'm not."

" Apart from that you wouldn't betray her at all.." Joelle added.

" Exactly. Well..not again." He said quietly and Joelle nodded.

" We never did anything to make him suspicious, I love him, you love Jay….there's no reason…unless.." Their eyes met and they said in union " someone persuaded him."

" I'll be damned." Hunter grunted.

" But who would do such a thing?" Joelle wondered.

" Okay, who can we exclude?" Hunter exclaimed. " I'd start with Shane, and anyone who's still working here from my time. I know my boys, I'd go through hell and back for them. Same goes for Steph."

Joelle nodded. " Chris, Morgan, Ruby, Cameron, Selma, Felicitiy, Ivy…but that still leaves about 30 people. But I mean, who'd have a reason to break us up? And what reason would one have to ruin your marriage?"

" Maybe it wasn't about me…maybe I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Joelle watched him closely and saw his mind work. " You have a suspicion?"

Hunter looked at her. " Maybe." And he turned and wheeled through the curtain, leaving Joelle wondering who he had in mind. And she felt sorry for the poor soul if Hunter's assumption should turn out to be right, they'd better run for dear life.

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Corey wandered through the hallways, lost in his own world. He had talked to Aileen a lot lately who had advised him to just forget Joelle and move on, maybe see someone else to get over the heartbreak. But he couldn't forget the girl with the mesmerizing blue eyes so easily. He had avoided her, but everytime he had seen her he could see that she had been crying. She was pale and had lost the sparkle in her eyes. He had told Aileen, but she had convinced him that Joelle just felt sorry for herself and did that on purpose to make him feel guilty. But he had also seen Hunter who became more and more miserable every day. No wonder, he thought, he had heard about the divorce. Corey felt bad for Jay, now she had to go through the same mishap again, alone. This time there was no one to catch her since Brandon had moved to Kentucky with his wife Kim, and Jordan had been left completely in the dark about the whole disaster. And she was not the only one left alone, he also was. There was no one he could turn to, except Aileen, and Corey was very thankful that she stuck with him. Aileen had become a very close friend, and it didn't matter that they only talked on the phone, just hearing her voice helped him to get over the break up. Corey thought Aileen to be very wise for being only 16 and was glad having found a friend like her. And if anyone knew Joelle better than him it was her sister.

Corey rounded the corner and saw Hunter talking to someone on his cellphone, or better, argue with someone. Corey couldn't hear him, but by the look on Hunter's face Corey assumed that he was pretty mad, and he was proven right when Hunter flipped his phone shut and threw it against the wall, causing the apparat to shatter in hundreds of little pieces.

Corey started to approach him slowly but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Joelle coming towards him form the opposite direction. Corey hid behind a metal construction and watched the exchange between them. Hunter's facial expression had changed from rage to sorrow, and he talked to Joelle in a low voice. Joelle's face fell and she hugged him tightly before wheeling him away. Corey wondered what there was to talk about, but he remembered Aileen's words, there was nothing to talk, they just looked for excuses to be alone with each other. Corey's face hardened and he stomped away. No, he wouldn't forgive them as long as he lived.

An empty locker room somewhere at the arena

" Two weeks?" Joelle asked with big eyes.

Hunter nodded sadly. " That's what he said, I shouldn't have teared the papers, now it's going to court. The trial is in two weeks. Seems she wants to get it over with as fast as possible."

Joelle's heart ached at the sight before him. The man before her, known to the world as the big bad Triple H, was nothing more than a shadow of his legacy. He was broken.

" We have to prevent that." She said suddenly, but Hunter shook his head.

" Too late. It's over."

Joelle stared at him, then gripped his shoulders tightly and shook him.

" NO! It's never too late. You can't give up now, you KNOW you did nothing wrong. We have to convince them somehow. You love her, don't you? How can you just sit here and watch her slip through your fingers?"

Hunter was silent for a few minutes, he knew Joelle was right. He wouldn't watch his wife leave him for no reason. He nodded. " Any suggestions?"

" Well, the trial is in two weeks? Then we have two weeks to find out who that sorry little asshole is and take him or her down." She said encouraging, her eyes sparkling menacingly.

Hunter smiled, Joelle reminded him of his wife.

" I wish I could beat them to a bloody pulp myself." He sighed. Joelle grinned. " I'll let you watch, front row." They left the locker room to start the investigation, Hunter still having a certain person in mind.

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" And where did they go?" Aileen asked on the other end of the line.

" I have no idea, but we both know what they're doing, right?" Corey said bitterly.

" I'm so sorry, honey, you even have to watch them doing it under your own eyes. Isn't there a possibility to get away from them?"

" Uh..I don't think so." Corey sighed.

" Maybe I know. Listen, your Dad isn't a member of the active roster, right? I mean, he's old..and everything."

" No, he just comes along whenever he wants. Something with legend's privilege."

" But couldn't you go talk to your boss that he's distracting you? I mean, you just found out that he's your father, you shouldn't be forced to put up with him week in, week out. You'll never be able to built any kind of relationship to him like that." Aileen suggested.

Corey thought about it, and decided that she was right. Hunter was simply standing in his way, in every possible way there was. Some kind of father, he thought angry.

" And I wouldn't worry about my sister, just keep ignoring her, or if you don't want to even see her at all, you still could ask to be transferred to Smackdown." Aileen continued her manipulation.

" Uh, I don't think Shane would want to transfer a champion to another show, he'd make me loose the title, and I don't want that."

" I understand completely, honey, but what else could we do?"

Corey sighed. Aileen tried to help him in every possible way, but nothing seemed appropriate.

" I'll talk to Shane about Hunter, but I don't think he'll agree, they're very close friends."

" But he's your boss as well, and don't you think he wouldn't want his stars to be distracted from the outside? I mean…this is a heavy burden for you, think about the mental distress, what do you think your boss will do when you start loosing your matches, or don't show up at all? He'll search for reasons. And one of the reasons is your father." Aileen pointed out.

Corey was amazed. " I've never seen it from that point of view. You're right, he's standing in my way."

" That's what I'm talking about, hon. Think about it and call me back tomorrow, okay?"

" Sure thing, Lin. Bye, and thanks." Corey said.

" No thanks needed, I just want the best for you." Aileen said, and after hanging up she plopped down on her bed and laughed evilly. That was way easier than she had guessed. Now there was one more person to talk to, and since Corey trusted her and had told her everything about Hunter's past Aileen knew his wife was an easy catch in this little game. She carefully picked up the piece of paper and made a long call to Greenwich.

Meanwhile Hunter and Joelle had started their investigation and realized there was a long way to go since no one knew anything, or was willing to tell them. They had spend hours talking to most of the roster but had come nowhere.

They decided to call it a night and returned to the hotel. Riding the elevator to Hunter's floor Joelle sighed. " I'm afraid we wont get anything out of them, you shouldn't have threatened to beat them lifeless.."

Hunter grunted in frustration. " Excuse me, someone's ruining my life, what do you expect?" And in his mind he added ' And I'm pretty sure I know who' .

The elevator stopped and the doors opened, and they were met with the face of Brice which annoyed Hunter even more.

" What ?" he shouted and Brice turned serious. " Your wife called." Hunter stared at him mouth open. " What did she say?"

Brice shrugged and shifted uncomfortably on his feet. " Uh.. I don't know if I should…"

" You SHOULD or.." Hunter threatened and Brice threw his hands up.

" Okay, okay…uh..I am to tell you…to never even look her way again..and..she hopes you go..straight to hell and…take your little…sorry Joelle..tramp..with you…" Joelle was shocked, and her gaze settled on the floor as the tears fell from her eyes. Hunter took her hand and squeezed it, but he felt miserable himself, and Brice just stood there as an uncomfortable silence filled the hallway.

Soon the trio went their separate ways, Brice brought Hunter back to his room to get him ready for bed, and Joelle returned to her own room. Neither of them found sleep easily that night, including Jay and Corey, but there was one person who felt like the queen of the world and drifted off to a peaceful slumber, thinking proudly of all the trouble she had caused.

The WWE would come to Myrtle Beach/South Carolina, and Corey was somehow excited, Aileen had promised to come to the show.

Joelle was still miserable and had talked Shane into replacing her with Selma in her match with Felicity, excusing herself with mental indisposition, and Shane had agreed that she would only cut a short promo. The trial would occur in 9 days, and they still hadn't gotten anywhere despite the help of Steph who had agreed to support them in every possible way. She would try to cheer Hunter up, proposing to marry him afterwards, but Hunter wouldn't play along, and so Joelle would join in, telling Steph that Hunter would completely be at Chris' mercy which was an impossible status for the Game, but nothing worked, and so they gave up. Unbeknownst to them Hunter had been waiting for Raw to return to South Carolina, knowing that a certain someone would come to the show, but he had decided to keep it a secret from Joelle who said person was that he suspected.

When Raw started with its usual fireworks Hunter settled himself in front of one of the many monitors in the backstage area, looking for one single face in the crowd. When it was time for Corey's match against Bobby Hunter prayed for the camera man to go over the front row, aussuming that if she was there she would sit as close as possible to Corey, and his prayers were answered. Corey had Bobby trapped in the corner and climbed the ropes to shower him with punches, much to the delight of the crowd who counted along loudly, and Hunter caught glimpse of the face he was looking for. There she sat, front row, and cheered loudly. Hunter grimaced disgusted and wheeled down the hallway to the curtain, sure that Corey would bring her backstage. He heard the bell ring and Ruby announce Corey as the winner, and after a few minutes Corey returned back stage, and to Hunter's relief, with Aileen. As soon as the curtain closed behind them Hunter gripped Aileen's arm and shot a warning look at Corey who stood puzzled.

" You excuse us for a minute?" he said, and not even waiting for an answer he dragged Aileen with him.

" Let go!" she shouted but Hunter tightened his grip on her wrist and she yelped in pain. Rounding the next corner Aileen finally was able to free herself and stared down at Hunter. " You're hurting me."

Hunter laughed bitterly. " And what the heck do you think you did to me?" he pressed through gritted teeth.

Aileen looked at him dumbfounded, then straightened herself. " I have no idea what you're talking about."

" No, of course not." Hunter shot sarcastically. " You're having fun destroying people's lifes?"

Aileen stared at him, knowing she had been caught. That old man obviously wasn't as stupid as he looked like.. She made an unimpressed face. " What if.."

" Listen, bitch, I don't know what you told my son to make him break up with your sister, and I'd say it's none of my business, but…" Aileen cut him off. " Hah! It IS none of your business."

" You MADE it my business, bitch, you're ruining MY marriage as well."

Aileen chuckled. " Who cares? As long as I get what I want.."

Hunter stared at her with a hateful face. " And where's the need to destroy MY life?"

Aileen laughed. " I hadn't planned on doing so, but it's your own fault. I mean, you did it once, you could as well do it again, and since you spent so much time with my sister.. you were pretty much the perfect choice. And let me tell you, it wasn't so hard to make your son believe what I had to say..oh by the way, your wife is such a nice person, oh she was devastated when I called her…"

Hunter couldn't believe his ears, there was that snake standing before him talking about HIS baby… " You..talked to..MY..wife?" he panted, feeling his blood boil.

" Oh I did indeed, shame on you, you're breaking her heart..again! This is so sad.." Aileen said with mock empathy, shaking her head, and Hunter silently prayed for someone to come to the rescue of that girl, otherwise he saw himself forced to kill her.

" What's going on here?" came the questioning voice of Joelle when she approached them. " I was looking for you all over…hey Lin." Joelle greeted her sister who smiled sweetly at her. Hunter grunted in despise and turned to Joelle. " I think I found the little betrayer." And he shot a menacing look at Aileen who shot a mock hurt look back. " Me? Why me?"

Joelle looked from Hunter to Aileen. " Her? I don't think so…" but she was interrupted as Hunter pulled a little dictation machine out of his pocket and pushed the play button.

"You're ruining MY marriage as well." Came the voice of Hunter, then the evil chuckle of Aileen. " Who cares as long as I get what I want."

Aileen's jaw dropped at she stared at Hunter whose turn it was now to grin at her. Joelle looked at the little black machine with big eyes, then at her sister.

" Joelle, he tricked me, I swear.." Aileen stuttered and started to back away slowly. Joelle gritted her teeth as reality sank in. It had been her own sister, someone she trusted with her life. Joelle felt her temper rise dangerously and lunged for Aileen but Hunter held her back.

" Save that for later." Joelle nodded, knowing he was right. " Besides, wouldn't it be much more fun to let Corey hear what his new best friend had to say?" he added and waved the machine around.

Joelle thought about it, them grinned. " It sure would. But I promised you I'd let you watch how I tear him or her apart."

" And I wouldn't want to miss this for the world." Hunter pointed out and Aileen gulped.

" Wha..what…" Joelle smiled sweetly. " You can be glad it will only be me.. I mean..look at him…what do you think he could do if he wasn't in the condition he is in at the moment?" Aileen shivered, she didn't dare to think about it. But then she saw her chance when Hunter and Joelle exchanged a look, and Aileen used that second to her advantage. She jumped and snatched the dictation machine out of Hunter's hand, then took off racing down the hallway with Joelle on her heel. When they passed Corey he stared after them confused then followed them to wherever they were going. The race proceeded through the whole backstage area, making people jump out of harms way and stare after the unlikely trio. Aileen rounded a corner and slowed down when she saw Hunter on the other end of the hallway, blocking her path. She had run in circles. Oh hell, she thought, what could he possibly do to stop me?, and she increased her tempo.

Aileen ran for dear life, but Joelle, having been trained by professionals for years, was just in a better physical condition. She lunged for Aileen and tackled her sister to the ground from behind. The machine went flying out of her hand and hit the floor a few feet before them. Aileen kicked Joelle off her and crawled towards the mechanical device, but the second before her fingers could grab it the apparat was snatched out of her reach, and she looked up to find herself eye to eye with a very pissed off Cerebral Assassin, and Aileen felt her throat tighten.

" Game over." Hunter said menacingly as Corey finally approached them.

" What the hell is going on?"