Before you started to read, I just wanted to give you a little insight as to what everyone had voted.
And before you decide to read the results, I URGE YOU NOT to scroll down until they show up.
I want to give you the results before the "man behind the door" is revealed.
But before I do, I also wanted to thank each and every one of you for sticking with this story through each and every little twist and turn. I assure you, this is probably one of the biggest twists that I've ever written in a story and there will be many turns before it is over.
After reading this chapter, I ask that everyone vote in the new poll: Who do you want Jessica to choose?
The turnout for this poll was good, but I want the turnout for the next one to be even better!
Here are your results…
Randy Orton – 40
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson – 25
Jeff Hardy – 15
Adam "Edge" Copeland – 10
Dave Batista – 10
Chris Jericho – 10
Without further adieu, here is the big reveal.
Enjoy.
"Before you say anything, let me explain…"
"What is there to explain? How you're leaving your wife for an engaged woman? Or how she just so happens to be me?" the blonde asked, her hands finding her hips in frustration.
The much-taller man ran a hand over his short hair. "I know, right now, I seem like an absolute bastard, Jessica. And I don't blame you one bit for thinking that in the slightest."
Jessica shook her head. "I'm glad that I don't have to feel guilty for that anymore."
He closed his eyes as though he'd just been burned. Because the truth was… he just had.
"I'm not asking for you to understand why I made the decision to tell you… or why I agreed with Paul that it was time to tell you. I'm just asking for the chance to explain, Jess," he sighed, closing the door behind him. "After all we've been through, you can't deny me that."
Jessica chewed on her bottom lip. She knew that he was right.
"All right, Dwayne." She glanced over at the clock near Paul's bed. "You've got five minutes. Paul?"
The light-haired man nodded and took his quick exit from the room. Even he didn't want to be around for this one.
She looked at the clock and then back at him again. "It's 4:55 now. You're wasting precious time, Dwayne."
The half-Samoan nodded and looked down at her with dark brown eyes. "You and me, we've got a lot of history together… it's undeniable. You've been there for me through everything, Jess. I guess… somewhere along the way, you began to mean a lot more to me than I ever realized, but because I had been with Dany since I was nineteen years old, I never understood why my day was a little brighter when you walked in the room…" he trailed off, walking over to the bed and sitting on the edge of it. "And I watch you with Simone and you're the most unbelievable godmother Dany or I could have ever asked for."
She eyed him suspiciously. "How in the hell does that translate into I'm leaving my wife for you?"
"There was always a little piece of me that was in love with you, Jess," he explained, looking up at her now. "And subconsciously, I always pushed it aside, but long after Dany and I started going through problems, you came to visit us in Miami and I'd seen you for the first time in years. It was during that lunch that I was hit with the realization. Originally, years ago, we'd planned to do the whole 'stay together for the kid' thing."
Jessica nodded slowly. "And then I came along… and shot it all to hell."
"I wouldn't put it like that, exactly," he chuckled half-heartedly. "I think around the time that Simone started asking why I was falling asleep in Mommy's room and waking up on the couch downstairs and why she didn't have another sibling like all of her friends that it was shot to hell."
"I see… so I was the accelerator?"
"Since you're dying to label yourself as something, I guess you could call yourself that."
Her tone quickly grew bitter, "You have no right to mock me. You come to where I work, just weeks after I've gotten engaged, as I'm planning a wedding… to tell me you're in love with me… and now you have the audacity to criticize my position on the subject?"
"Jess, I didn't mean…"
"Yes," the youngest McMahon sibling retorted, "You did."
"Look," he stood up and placed his hands into his pockets, "I didn't come all of this way to get you angry with me. If anything, I was going for the opposite. I didn't want to offend you by not congratulating you on your engagement, so I sent you flowers."
"Which were lovely, by the way."
"I'll ignore that sarcastic comment for now… because you don't even realize why I did it."
"Because you were congratulating me on my engagement to the man you knew I'd been in love with for years?"
Dwayne shook his head incredulously, "Because sending you those flowers was a hell of a lot easier than looking you in the eye and congratulating you on the start of a future with someone other than me."
"Dwayne," her tone softened for the first time all day, "I'm flattered that you care about me this much. I really am, but I love John, more than anything. It's taken us years to find each other and if it hadn't been for some of the things you've taught me over the years, I never would have been able to put all of the bullshit aside and make it work."
"That's the last thing I wanted to hear," he admitted dejectedly.
"I know," she nodded and placed a hand lightly on his arm. "But you need to hear it. I lost years that I could have spent happily with John, years that my grandmother could have seen before she died. And there are nights that I lie awake wondering if she can see us now, happy again. And as much as I care for you, as one of my best friends…" Jessica shook her head and her hazel eyes glanced downwards. "I'm not going to give that up again for a shot at something I don't feel anymore."
Her hazel eyes flickered upwards as the words passed through her lips, noticing that his chocolate brown eyes had impossibly darkened.
"I… I have to go," she pulled her hand away, as though she'd been burned by hot coals. "I promised John I'd meet him for an early dinner tonight and clearly, I'm going to be later for that."
"Right," Dwayne pressed his lips together bitterly. "Cena…"
Jessica collected her bag and balanced it on her forearm, making her way to the door. Approaching it, she reached out and pulled the doorknob, causing the wooden panel to slide towards her.
Not wanting to leave on a bitter note, she turned around to glance at the six foot, four inch man behind her and gave him a chance to right the situation.
"He really is a good man, you know."
In a slightly raspy, yet quiet voice, he disagreed, "But not good enough for you."
And just like that, he passed up on the opportunity and watched as the woman he had fallen in love with closed the door behind her.
I can't deny that we had been through a hell of a lot. In fact, I've known him for most of my life. Then again, that's what happens when you're the son and daughter of a wrestler. You grow up around it.
You eventually fall in love with the business. Then you marry it, in one way or another. And that's what I did. I married the business, both in the literal and figurative sense.
I dedicated my life to World Wrestling Entertainment, as a Vice President and a Diva.
I married a wrestler.
And while you might sit there and judge me, that's alright. Because there isn't a single day that passes in which I regret either one of those decisions. Or who I chose in the end.
She had lied.
She had looked Dwayne right in the eye and flat out lied to him.
There was no early dinner with John planned, nor were there any plans in place at all… for anything.
Jessica McMahon was too scared to stay and too confused to leave of her own volition, so she needed an excuse.
So there she was, wandering the halls of the Hilton, hoping not to bump into a single person she knew… because if she did, there was no way in hell she could keep something like this to herself, not anymore.
Jessica knew she needed to tell someone, but wasn't sure who.
Who could she possibly call? Amy? Trish? Even Stephanie?
No, none of those would suffice. Amy was dealing with her own personal problems, Trish was busy planning her wedding, and Stephanie would kill her husband for dropping this kind of bombshell and not telling her.
And most certainly, John Cena was out of the question.
So for a few minutes, the caramel blonde sat on the bed in the hotel room she shared with her fiancé, rattling names off of a mental list, mainly consisting of wrestlers like Randy Orton, Dave Batista, who couldn't keep such a devastating secret from their good friend, Divas like Mickie and Candice, who didn't know her all that well, and family members like Shane and Linda, who adored both Dwayne and John equally and would offer little to no resolution, each failing to meet the requirements.
After striking off everyone from her list, a beam of light reflected off of her engagement ring and caught her eye.
It was the ring that solidified John's promise to her… her fiancé's promise to her.
But as much as she adored her ring and her fiancé, she couldn't help but remember a small piece of her that she had buried over ten years ago, the piece of her that had fallen in love with Dwayne Johnson.
Then again, maybe, Dwayne wasn't the only one she had lied to.
And suddenly, it dawned on her.
There was only one person with a completely unbiased view of the situation, who had grown up in similar circumstances, but out of the limelight thus far, yet might be able to help her make sense of the whole situation.
So with a sigh, she dialed the semi-foreign number and hoped for the best.
All that was left to do was spend the next ten seconds until he answered coming up with a way to explain why she was calling him in the middle of training.
A/N: There it is! The mystery man behind the door is none other than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson!
It was killing me to keep this from you guys, but I couldn't help it. The next chapter is going to be a little more comical, a little less emotional, and a whole lot more interesting.
You know me! I love to keep you all on the edge of your seats.
And speaking of keeping you on the edge of your seats, I'd like to plug my latest one-shot, "Hollywood's Not America." It's a Jeff/OC story that's very different from anything I've ever done. I spent most of my food science class in high school, which I have since graduated from, writing this story and getting yelled at by my teacher, Mrs. Bailey. But it was soooo worth it!
Of course, you must check out the rest of my Triple Update. Yes, I borrowed a page from HHH... but now, I'm the Queen of Queens. Excuse me, it's 3:30am here and I'm exhausted.
Anyhoo...
Shout-outs!
StarSixtyNine – This is a mini-cliffie, but it's not NEARLY as exciting as the last one. If you think really hard, you'll figure it out.
Westfan – You were right. It was Dwayne. Do you have ANY idea how hard it was not to tell you? I'd type it and then quickly backspace. I hope you liked this chapter, girl. You know I'd NEVER let it be your Davey.
Purplefeather21 – Thank God (or should I say Randy Orton) that you didn't die, or I'd have to stop writing knowing I'd caused deaths. At least I know you're okay with it being Dwayne. And if you're as serious about what you've said as I think you are, you'll like the next chapter too. It somewhat is setting up SAR IV.
Sideways anger – Sorry it's not Jeff, or Adam, for that matter. But I hope you're cool with it being Dwayne.
Giftiebee – Yay! I missed my Britty! Paul can't keep his mouth shut, Steph can't keep hers in check, and Jessica is… struggling to say anything at all.
Simply Priceless – You're really going to like the next chapter. REALLY going to like it. And this storyline with Ted and Cody plays VERY nicely with SAR IV.
Trevia0123 – I'm so glad you loved it. I hope you liked my choice of Dwayne!
PreciousKat – If you review, I know you're alive. Which I hope you are.
Nicole – I know, I know… I suck for that. But you love me for it… and Jessica for it. I hope you loved this too.
Da-Real-Mrz-Cena102100 – Ahh, you of all people, as a loyal reader, should know that nothing is ever what it seems with me.
Sailormama – Ahh! Another person I tricked! I hope I eased your migraines with this one!
Enigmatic Lotus Leaf – I know, I suck. I'm sorry. But now, your choices have been narrowed down to one!
Goddessofthenite – Yeah, you'd be harassing me to NO END. But I have been on vacation for a week, so now I'm refreshed and inspired. If anyone's been harassing me lately, it's Becky. I totally owed her after losing the bet of David Wright vs. Corey Hart. And while I did lose, David got in anyway… and I get to see him today. Yay!
Sambolina – It sucks to be wrong, but it's great to finally find out. And as John J. Cena, aka Johnny Fabulous, likes to say… "It's good to be great, but it's great to be fabulous."
Chain Gang Princess – Okay, so I couldn't update IMMEDIATELY, but I hope this was timely enough for you. I do feel for John a little bit, but once he finds out, I'll feel for him a LOT more.
xtobelovedx – I'm glad you liked the last chapter, but I have a feeling you've enjoyed this one just a little bit more.
xoxoBleedingLovexoxo – I'm glad you like this series. Right now, I'm pretty much dead-set on having a She's a Rebel IV. I don't think there will be another one after that. Well, not right now, anyway.
Lady Luv – I hope this chapter was worth the wait, as long and hard as it was. Well, that just sounded kind of dirty.
Dani – Me and my cliffhangers, right? I know, they suck. And while it wasn't Cody, we'll be seeing young Runnels soon enough.
CandaceMcMahon – You think maybe you could try and recover your password like everyone else does? Seriously, you're turning into Candice Michelle more and more every day. Soon, you'll be Maria… and there's enough of her stupidity to go around, haha. I'm just kidding. I know what it's like to be off-keel. I'm glad you liked the Cody convo… and like I said to Dani, more Cody to come. I think the autobio insert was more appropriate here though.
Startingline722 – You know what that tells me? You liked the chapter so much you had to read it again! And I love that… review on the second time all you want! Haha. I hope you liked this one too!
Cena-holic8 – Just ask my friends and they'll agree that I can confuse the hell out of people. I use big words around one of my friends, Shawon, just to mess with his head. It's a riot. And I am so flattered that you think my series is the best around. That means SO much to me, you have no idea.
ThatsMe – You, my dear, need an award. I'm going to create one right now… the 24 Hours award… and it'll come complete with a picture of Jude Harrison from Instant Star. Well, she did record the song after all. It's going to be called the Jude Harrison 24 Hours award. I'm so impressed by that, you have no idea. Holy Marathon, Batman.
2 Die is 2 Live – Like I've said all along, confusing the crap out of people is my specialty. And while it isn't Randy, I must admit that the Rock still qualifies as a hot-ass guy fighting over her. I mean, I rarely admit this, but the Rock was my first crush growing up. Yeah, way before Justin Timberlake was in NSYNC and the object of my affections. And that's saying something. Really, it is!
Dj-ssdd – What is it with people say I suck for last chapter? Jeez. It's okay, cause I totally know I did for that one. Next update will be quicker. I promise.
CenaFan1395 – Once again, I suck… blah blah blah… just kidding. So, what do you think of the man behind the door?
Well, sportsfans, or should I say, Cena-fans, that's all for now.
As I'm sure you can tell, More Than Words and Only One have been update too. Go check those out.
And check out Jessica's blog on my profile. It has been updated.
And vote in the new poll as to who Jessica should choose.
Oh… and did anyone see the new Cena/McMahon Gillette add with the chairs? I saw it for the first time today… and seriously, I almost died laughing.
Just putting that out there.
Rock on!
Danielle