A/N: First things first, I want to thank you for taking the time to read and review the first chapter, it really means a lot to me. Soooo, as for the story goes… after thinking and thinking about this, I decided to update this with an idea that has been dancing in my head for a while. Just don't hate me and I'll try to be good to you in the next chapter.

CHAPTER 2

Her hands were trembling; they were trembling so bad that as she walked aimlessly through the backstage corridors of the arena the WWE was going to perform that night, the shaking started to expand all over her body and before she could do anything to prevent it she was overcome with a bad case of the shivers.

It was awful; as a rule she hated feeling shaken up and she couldn't help but to think that if anyone happened to be looking her way in that precise moment, they would definitely think that she was a junkie going through a withdraw.

And seriously, in some weird kind of way that was how she was feeling, as if she was a recovering addict that has just been tempted by destiny with her biggest addiction and the effort of walking away from it was wearing her down.

"It's not fair… it really isn't." She mumbled to herself as kept walking forward. God, and to think that she has been doing so good up until a few minutes ago…

But now he came with his nice words and those kisses that always clouded her mind like no drug ever could and it was just too much; now she was emotionally distressed by the encounter she had with him and she needed to go outside and breathe in the fresh air of the night.

Yeah, that would calm her down and that's exactly where she needed to go, out.

Sucking in a deep-shaky breath, the WWE Diva lifted one of her trembling hands to her hair and in an attempt to sooth herself she began to run her manicured fingers through her blonde locks almost in a compulsive manner.

"Maryse… just wait a moment, okay?"

Upon listening to those words, the French-Canadian felt someone grabbing her by the arm then making her turn around in her heels.

It was Ted, she knew it was him since she heard him call her name in that sweet southern drawl of his and by the time she was facing him, her eyes were already closed.

"Ted, not now. Really…"

No, she didn't want to do this now if ever because she wasn't feeling like herself. She was shaken up, her gut was invaded by a turmoil of emotions and she just didn't want to have any kind of conversation with her former lover.

No… she has invested a lot of her time trying to forget everything about him and she didn't want a relapse.

Feeling his hands grab her face so he could tilt her head up, Maryse opened her eyes and she immediately found his baby blue orbs scanning her features.

She had always loved those eyes and as she stood there looking deep into them, her mind went back to a time long ago where those eyes would search for hers whenever they would be in a room together.

Back to that time he just needed to lock his eyes to hers and even from a distance she would know that he wanted her to sneak away from everything so they could meet somewhere private.

"If not now then when?" He asked, his breath a soft caress against her skin. That was how close he was standing and in the back of her mind she knew she had to push him away…

Someone could see them and that wouldn't be good.

"Never; this thing between us is over and that's it. There's nothing to talk about here."

Moving his hands to the back of her head and burying his fingers into her hair, Ted snorted bitterly and lowered his face an inch closer to hers. "If it's over then why do you respond to me like this? Why do you tremble when I touch you and why do you kiss me when I kiss you? This isn't over… as long as you love me like you do, I can assure you that this will not be over."

Shaking her head but without pulling away from him, Maryse took in a deep long breath and armed herself with a determination she wasn't feeling.

"I don't love you… I never did." She said closing her eyes.

"That's bullshit." Ted said and by the tone of his voice she could tell that he was a hundred percent sure that she was lying through her teeth.

"You don't have to believe me; you just have to leave me alone."

Not minding her words, Ted lowered his lips and kissed her, pressing his mouth hard to hers for a few seconds before she pulled away. "Stop that."

Puffing out a breath, Ted dropped his hands to her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Why are you so set on pushing me away just so you can stay with him? I just don't fucking get it." He said through clenched teeth and this time Maryse lifted her hands to his chest and pushed him away.

It was now or never and turning her detached mode on and getting ready to pull out her cold act, she shrugged indifferently.

"Because I love him; he's the one I've always loved and getting involved with you was a mistake."

"Don't say that…" Ted breathed out and Maryse didn't find it in herself to look up into his eyes; she just focused her gaze on a point right below his ears and flipping at her hair she went on.

"Well you wanted to know the truth so hear it Ted because this is the last time we will talk. When you and I started to work together, Mike and I were going through a rough time; I was bummed and I was attracted to you and one thing lead to the other but that was all, I never really loved you and you are stupid if you think I'll end what I have with the man I love so I can go with you."

Dropping his hands away from her, Ted pushed the inside of his cheek with his tongue and chuckled. It was a bitter chuckle and blinking her eyes a couple of times, Maryse pursed her lips.

For a while the two of them remained like that; Ted looking down on her with something close to disbelieve written on his face and Maryse stubbornly standing there with her head held up high while her heart writhed and then died inside her chest.

The moment seemed to drag into eternity and when she was starting to think she couldn't stand it anymore, Ted turned his back on her and walked away. He didn't say anything… not that she has been expecting him to do so but still…

Closing her eyes and feeling that her hands were trembling more than ever, the blonde French-Canadian swallowed down the lump in her throat and turning around she began to walk once again.

She walked without paying attention to where she was going and when she found herself opening the door to her boyfriend's locker room she was actually surprised that she subconsciously headed there.

"Where were you?" Mike asked in his monotone tone of voice as soon as he saw her coming in.

Knowing that she couldn't walk out of that room without raising hell, Maryse closed the door and rolling her eyes she walked into the room and sat down in the leather sofa he had there.

"You know where I was." She said dryly, hoping that her voice wouldn't betray her. It didn't, her voice came out just fine and she was actually proud of herself.

Moving out of the place he has been standing when she walked in, Mike looked down on her and spoke reproachfully. "I don't get why you insist on using the Diva's locker room when you know you can use mine."

Rolling her eyes once again, Maryse decided not to respond. This was something they had argued many many times before and she wasn't in the mood to deal with another one of his talks.

It was always the same…

On his part, Mike just walked towards her and sat by her side, leaning closer to her until his face was inches away from hers.

For a wild moment, Maryse was sure that he was going to kiss her so she took in a deep breath and got mentally ready for it, even going as far as facing him so it would be easier for him to claim her lips; but when instead of pressing his lips to hers he took a handful of her hair and yanked hard, she had no option but to gasp in surprise and pain.

"Mike!" She complained, lifting her hand up and placing it on top of the closed fist that was unmercifully clutching at her hair. "You are hurting me."

"Divas' locker room, uh? Then why the fuck do you smell like men's cologne?" With that said, he got up to his feet and pulled her up by the hair. "You better fucking explain that to me. Now."

Blinking her eyes rapidly, Maryse gasped once again, thinking that if people would see her right in that moment, they wouldn't think she was the tough confident woman she liked to portray around. No, if they could see her they would know that she was weak… that he has made her so weak that she didn't even recognized herself anymore.

"That's Nikki's…" She lied, throwing out the first excuse she could come up with. "You know she wants to get back with Nick so she bought him this cologne and… she wanted me to tell her if it was good so I just… it's nothing, Mike… nothing."

With his eyes still blazing, Mike let go of her hair and pushed her back into the sofa. "You better be telling me the truth because you know what happens when you lie to me…" He said menacingly and Maryse nodded.

Yeah, she knew how he would get if he didn't like something she would say or if she would do something he considered suspicious like receiving phone calls from anyone or wanting to go out with her friends.

Ah, but it hadn't always been like that. Unbelievable enough, it all started when her affair with Ted has been at its peak; by then she and Mike where already on a shaky road and she was sure that she didn't love him at all. That was how it all started, one day after spending a whole week without seeing her sexy co-worker she found herself missing him like crazy and out of the blue told Mike that they should break up and keep going their separate ways.

She knew Ted was married and that breaking things with Mike was not going to change that, but back in that time she didn't care, she just wanted to walk away from Mike and that was it.

That was the first time he lost it and the worst night of them all; to that day she still cringed at the memory of all the things he did and said to her and now she always lived in fear that he would go crazy on her once again.

That's why she ended up things with Ted… because Mike turned into a full paranoid madman that menaced that if she even did as much as look in any other man's direction, he was going to end them both.

She believed him, after that night and the many that followed she believed he was capable of anything to keep her by his side and she would die before Mike could do something to Ted.

She would rather hurt him by saying that she didn't love him than risking Mike doing something to him with one of the guns he had home or even with the sharp little knife he kept by himself whenever they didn't have to take a plane.

"Good, now change that face because tonight I want to go to BOA and I don't want you to look as if you are about to cry." With that said, Mike turned around and headed into the bathroom.

Maryse watched him, her eyes clothing to slits and her head pounding at the abuse he inflicted by yanking her hair so hard.

Oh, but one day… one day she was going to leave all her fears behind and she was going to stand up to him. Who knew? Maybe that day was very near and the days where she would have to endure his abuses where numbered…

TBC?