Chapter 24

"What the fuck do you think I'm doing here, Emery?" Mark hissed back at her, turning to shield her from view from the windows with his large frame. The friendly smile was gone, replaced with nothing but fathomless rage. The warmth in his emerald green eyes nothing but vengeful acid. "YOU were the one out to fuck with my legacy. YOU knew the entire time." His voice was dropping to a low, dark timbre with each word. "You lied to me, Emery." He reached out to run his finger along her jawline, finally poking her harshly in the cheek, hard enough to make her stumble backwards. "You've been lying to me, toying with me, all this time. Haven't you?"

"No, I wasn't toying with you. I did my job, Mark. Not my fault if you don't like the way I do it." That was the wrong thing to say and she knew it, wincing when he grabbed her upper arm to yank her against him none too gently. "You're just like the rest, always throwing a baby fit because of a line you don't like. How about you stand back and realize that I WAS doing my job, it wasn't personal or anything. You're not the only one who wasn't happy with the lines I came up with over the past 10 years, but guess what? You get PAID to follow the scripts and do YOUR damn job in that ring. I refuse to apologize for doing my job. I didn't screw with you, I simply came up with suitable ideas that Vince approved. The only thing I lied to you about was my position in the company on the writing team. And I did it to protect myself from assholes like you."

"It does make sense, you know, your attitude that night… you were pissed because I jumped your little line." He snorted at the look that crossed her face. "No, sweetheart," He ran his hand through her hair, gripping it tightly in his fist. "You weren't just doing your job, you were fucking him. You knew better, you knew that match was wrong; you admitted as much and yet still pushed it. You pushed me. Was that why you were such a slut for me, Emery? Trying to get me to forgive you for your lies and for trying to ruin my career?"

When her lying lips opened, he kissed her, brutalizing her with his mouth. There was nothing sweet, nothing loving, in this kiss. It was all about dominance and making her feel just a hint of the betrayal he had.

"I'm paid," He whispered against her lips. "To entertain people, to put asses in seats, not be your fucking toy."

Tears swelled in her eyes at the brutalizing kiss, which would've normally turned her on, but instead all it did was break her heart. "I didn't push for anything. Vince was dead set on the line once I turned it in. There was no changing his mind and you know that. I wasn't toying with you, for the final damn time! And I fucked you because I wanted to, because for a fraction of a second, I thought you were a decent guy. A little rough around the edges, a little overbearing and demanding, but I was fine with it. I didn't fuck you to save face. I didn't look at you as my damn job either! If I was going to do that, why didn't I do it during the Corporate Ministry days?" The fire in his eyes made her recoil a little, even though he still had a hold of her hair. "You were never my toy, Mark. This was never business to me, not one second we were together."

She had been the driving force behind HIS baby being destroyed! The one line he had genuinely enjoyed, his Ministry, and it was her who had ruined it! "You thought I was a decent guy?" He sniffed indignantly. "You should've known better, Queenie, especially after everything I did to you." Mark pressed his head to hers, flashing her a smile full of dark intentions. "Like I told you before, precious, you're a sucker for pain."

"Yeah well, I'm done with that now." Emery had made a fatal mistake getting involved with him and, no matter what she said to him, he wouldn't see past his own pride and stubbornness. "Maybe I am a glutton for punishment, and maybe part of me does enjoy it to some extent, but I'm done toying with you now." If that's how he thought she saw him, why not add more fuel to the fire? "Trust me, I won't be 'toying' with your career anymore. As a matter of fact, I'll let one of the other writers deal with your shit from now on. It won't be touched by me. Now let go of my hair and leave. I'm done – we're done." Boyfriend her ass, he was never her boyfriend and the fact he lied to her parents outright just angered her further, her eyes nothing more than ice now.

"Oh, I'm leaving, DC." He susurrated, not missing the ice in those eyes he had once adored. "But we're not done, not by a long shot." She owed him reparations. Her backside hadn't even begun to feel his wrath and he smirked, the green venom disappearing when her mother called out to them. "Are you going to play happy girlfriend or shall I see about terrorizing them next, hmm?" He had noted a lot of expensive collectibles in that house… he was not above setting it on fire.

"You son of a bitch!" Emery remarked in a hiss of her own, not believing he was threatening her parents and dried the tears up, knowing she had no choice.

Her mother would be heartbroken if Mark didn't stay for dinner. What did he mean they weren't done? She wanted nothing to do with him and had made it abundantly clear. The sooner they ate, the sooner Mark would get the hell out of here and hopefully stay out of her life.

"Leave my parents alone, Neanderthal. Fine, let's go, boyfriend." Batting her lashes at him, Emery took his hand and walked back into the house with him, knowing dinner was almost finished, or so she thought. "Smells delicious, Mom."

"Mmm, it does." He agreed, that charming smile back on his face. "You must've been the one who taught Emery how to cook so well."

"About the only thing that comes from me, she is her father's daughter through and through." Dana agreed, smiling at them. "What did she cook for you?" She nodded when he recounted the breakfast, eyeing her daughter. Breakfast being cooked, that implied they were intimate and she hoped her daughter was being safe. "Know your way around a kitchen, Mark?"

"Enough to burn water." He laughed, accepting the chores she then gave him as final things were done for dinner.

Emery smirked, accepting a water her father handed her and enjoyed watched her mother boss Mark around, guiding him around the kitchen. She groaned when she was given potatoes to peel and shook her head, eyeballing the other room longingly. "Mom, Dad and I have a raid…" Emery immediately recoiled at the stern look, the 'mother' look she'd dubbed it as a young child and immediately grabbed the peeler with the potatoes, starting to do as her mother demanded.

"So, how long have you two been together?"

"A month." Emery answered promptly, smirking at her mother's shocked look and rolled her eyes at her mother's shocked expression. "Mom, I'm not a virgin, so get that look off your face."

"EMERY ADDISON!"

She groaned, dropping her head shaking it back and forth. "Just saying…"

"We met at work. She was doing the main line for WrestleMania, which is our version of the NFL's Super Bowl." He explained with a smile, throwing Emery a wink. "She was busy… collaborating with our co-worker, Batista. Getting together with him about it, but…"

"You bucked her script, didn't you?"

"A little bit." He smiled sheepishly. "Boss made sure I regretted it." When Dana turned, he looked pointedly at Emery.

She glared back at him, the smile leaving her face, until her mother turned her attention back on her. "Just like Dad said, everything will be fine in time." Emery did not feel comfortable having Mark around her parents and wasn't surprised when he announced they were leaving in the morning to go back to Sedona for the rest of their days off. Her mother looked at her and Emery could only nod, finishing the potatoes before excusing herself to walk out of the kitchen. Sedona alone with him…no…she couldn't do that and went up to her room, trying to think of some way out of this without jeopardizing her parents lives. Pacing back and forth, Emery contemplated running away and immediately dismissed it, knowing if she defied Mark her parents would pay for it.

"Shit…"

The problem with people was that they were too trusting and Dana had allowed him to pour the drinks. Once Dana and Daddy dearest were sound asleep, thanks to the sleeping pills he had dropped in each glass except his and Emery's, he moved them to the couch. Flipping on the TV, Mark began trolling the house, looking for his Queen bitch.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are…" He singsonged, knowing it'd take a siren right in their faces to wake those two. "Oh Emery…"

Her head snapped up at the sound of Mark's sinister voice and fought the urge to slam her bedroom door shut when he came into view. She had no idea what happened to her parents and could see the evil intentions in his eyes, swallowing past the lump in her throat. Emery backed up as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him with authority, her eyes widening.

"Mark, you've had your fun, now you need to leave. I'm done with this. I'm DONE, do you hear me? I don't want to do this anymore." Didn't he stipulate once one of them called it quits with the other, they had to part mutually? "Please, don't make this any harder than it needs to be…"

"See, you're calling on that rule, darlin." Mark clucked his tongue at her. "The one where, when one of us decided we were done, we just stopped?" He leaned back against the door, taking in her bedroom, cocking a black eyebrow and looked darkly amused. "That was before I found out you were lying and whoring yourself to me." Because… her lying knowingly while sleeping with him hadn't done anything to endear her to him. "This could have all been avoided… if you had just been HONEST!" He bellowed, suddenly in her face, green eyes demonic.

"And then what? You would've laughed me to hell and back if I told you I was the lead script writer – that I was responsible for nearly every idea that's been on WWF/WWE television within the past decade!" Emery shouted, trembling from head to toe and backed up a little more, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Who would've taken a dork chick like me seriously? Vince came to me with the idea to get a proxy, someone to handle the wrestlers while I stayed in the shadows writing the ideas. He had to approve every single one of them! So, you can't only be pissed at me, you should be pissed at him too! AND I DID NOT WHORE MYSELF OUT TO YOU!" Hauling off, she slapped him across the face, not caring if her parents heard and felt her heart shatter in her chest all over again. "I WANTED YOU FOR YOU – I CAME TO YOU FOR YOU! NOT BECAUSE OF THE FUCKING JOB!"

His eyes were closed, relishing the pain from her slap, focusing on it, reveling in it. "I don't believe you, Emery." He whispered, not opening his eyes. "I don't believe a word you say." Green met blue and he refused to break the stare. "I don't believe you wanted me at all, Emery. I think you only cared about yourself, and about your fucking job, your precious… lines," He sneered the word. "You might be a brilliant writer, but you don't understand a fucking thing about us wrestlers, about what we put in this business, about what we give." Tears, sweat, blood… everything they had in them and more. "Knowing you as I do now…" Mark shook his head, stepping away from her. "You played us like we were one of your fucking video games. Pack your shit. We're leaving."

"No, I'm not going anywhere with you. I am DONE being pushed around and ridiculed by you! I did my damn job just like you did! I was wrong about WrestleMania, okay? I admit that, I accept that, why can't you? You got what you wanted in the end! Your legacy remained intact and Batista didn't win!" Emery shook her head vehemently, folding her arms in front of her chest and didn't bother wiping the tears away that fell. "Just leave me alone. You don't believe a word I say, so we're done. THIS is DONE. Me and you are OVER! Now leave. I'm not going back to Sedona with you – I'm not going ANYWHERE you'll be and that's a promise." Maybe quitting WWE would be in her best interest; TNA was still hiring and she would be far away from this man.

At her words, an evil smile crept across his face. "Promises are made to be broken, my Queen." Mark mockingly bowed to her before reaching out and whipped her into his arms, applying a sleeper hold to her. "Ssshhh, ssshhh… hush Emery…" He whispered almost soothingly as she struggled against him. "I've got you… I've got you, Queenie…" As her world went dark, he began laughing. It was dark, deep, and something broken was in that baritone as well. "I've got you, my little liar."

Lifting her in his strong arms, Mark carted her out of the bedroom and downstairs, glancing in the living room at the still knocked out parents. He would never hurt them because he loved this little conniving bitch currently unconscious in his arms. Mark had only applied enough pressure to knock her out, not wanting to actually hurt her, even with as much as he wanted her to feel pain the same way he did. They would hash this out somewhere more privately, somewhere nobody would be able to hear her screams in both pain and pleasure. Opening the passenger door, Mark set her inside and buckled her in, sneering at the peaceful expression on her face. He ran a finger down her cheek to her jaw and neck, breathing somewhat heavily from how much rage coursed through him. Gritting his teeth, Mark slammed the door shut and slipped into the driver's side, firing up the truck.

It was a somewhat decent trip to Sedona…where it all began for them and where it would probably shatter to pieces.