Chapter 24

Finn woke up as the sunlight filtering through the curtains of his hotel room started to brush his face. He opened his eyes when he felt something in his arms, something warm, it was not his cover he was holding tight this time, but Mina, curled up against him, still sleeping in his arms. He remembered the night prior, the heated kisses and caresses they had exchanged before she stopped, he was a little bit frustrated, but it didn't matter, he was patient, he could wait until she was ready to be his. For now, he was enjoying having her all against him, he felt the curve of her soft butt against his crotch and noticed one of his hands resting on her breasts. He struggled against the urge to stroke it and buried his head in her neck instead, already hardened by the situation. One day she would be his, and he would be able to fuck her senseless and make her come high. He would be able to protect her against everything that could harm her, like the nightmare she had that night. She had started whimpering and got agitated, crying in her sleep as she was begging for someone to stop something. He had watched her for a while before waking her up. She had refused to tell him was her nightmare was about and quickly got back to sleep.

Mina finally woke up in his arms, stretching as she slowly turned out to look at him and gave him a smile and a shy hello. No matter how much she liked him, she was still expecting to see someone else when she opened her eyes. He internally melted at the sight of her; unable to resist he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. Caught by the time they hurried to get ready before heading to the cars, a long drive was waiting for them to go to the next arena in Florida. After a quick shower, Mina got dressed in a comfortable attire, letting the bathroom free for Finn, he would have loved showering with her, seeing her naked body and touching her soft skin; soon enough she would love him more than everything else. As he was getting ready, Mina was mentally preparing herself for the conversation she was going to have with Damian. She was both scared and looking forward to it; wanting to hear his voice, even if it was to definitively put an end to their story. That was how much she missed him. Sometimes she was wondering what would have happened if Liv never has been there. Would she still be with Damian? Would she be happy? How can she forget him? How can she try to love Finn? When he got back half dressed, he put a hand on her back to guide her in his arms.

- "I love you Mina, I can't get enough of you" he whispered in her ears.

- "Finn, I don't know if-" she was silenced by his kiss.

- "Don't worry baby girl, I'll give you all the time you need, let me just tell you how I feel" he said.

They stayed like this for a couple of minutes before heading to the door, Finn quickly putting on a shirt. The walked towards Mina's room so she could get her suitcases and get leave the hotel for her car.

Damian opened the door of his hotel room and saw Finn and Mina leaving her room. He felt his guts being torn apart more and more each second he was looking at them; even having given Finn the authorisation to date Mina, it still hurt him to see them together. He was craving her presence, her smell, her voice, everything from her. "Loving someone is also letting them go" he repeated to himself, sure of not deserving her. "You promised her to make her happy, you hurt her, you have to let her go stupid dumbass." He hid behind his door, waiting for them to leave, letting a tear roll on his cheek. Letting her go was hard, it felt like she was leaving with his heart, and it hurt.

Once on the parking lot, he climbed in his car with Rhea and Dom, the Irish men being with Mina in her good old car. Finn seemed relaxed and Damian could see fear in JD's eyes, it was the first time he was climbing in the Chevette and was scared for his life as the car started coughing. He knew this feeling so well but now he would give anything to climb in this rolling coffin with her one more time. Dom was right, he was head to toe in love with her and he would never be happy watching over her from afar.

The arena was busy with everyone preparing it for the live event. The ring was being settled, the wrestlers were having a look at the space they would have to perform, and Mina and Rose were fixing the last details on the garments. The two women had become pretty close to each other, sometimes talking about their personal life. Rose had opened more and more to Mina and to the wrestlers, chatting with them occasionally. Once Mina got to know her and earn her trust, Rose was a safe and sure person, very effective in her work and clever in her advice. Mina let her assistant, letting her know she was going to talk to Damian, Rose crossed her fingers to wish her good luck.

She found him in the Judgment Day's private locker room, looking at his phone. He was still handsome at her eyes.

- "Hi Damian" she started. "We need to talk."

He left his phone on the shelf and turned around to look at her.

- "Hi. Talk about what?" he asked with a voice he would have wanted more confident.

- "About this." She said while tossing the bracelet at him. "What does it mean? Why did you give it to me just to run away after? I can't understand you anymore. I'm tired, Damian, tired of being unable to move forward, tired to be lost because of you."

Her voices echoed to ears approaching the locker room. Finn hid behind the wall, knowing he shouldn't listen to this conversation, but wanting to know if Mina would finally be entirely his.

- "Tell me the truth Damian, what do you want?" she asked.

- "I want you to be safe and happy… in my arms" he answered automatically, like a text he would have learnt by heart and repeated.

- "Stop messing up with me! I'll give you two options: either you tell me the truth about all this mess and help me understand you right here right now, either you leave me alone and never come back to me again" she erupted, the fear of him choosing the second option making her heart race. "Please Damian, I need to hear it from you so I can move on and stop making Finn suffer. Please." She didn't know if she was begging him to set her free from him or to tell her he still loved her.

- "Alright, I'll tell you everything. I can't let you go, it's way too hard. Nothing happened between Liv and me, she threatened to hurt you, to make sure you won't wrestle again and after the barbell stuff, I knew she was dead serious. I accepted to kiss her, hoping it would be enough for her to leave you alone. I never slept with her, she tried to force me, but nothing happened. I played her game during the match because she promised to leave you alone if she won. When she injured you I betrayed her. After that there was no way I show up in front of you, that's why I told Finn he could date you, I know my man can make you happy." He explained without pausing.

- "Wait, you told him what?" she asked. "You told him to date me?! How sick are you both?"

- "He asked me if he could, I said yes" he answered, looking at the ground

- "So, you are making choices for me again?! Are you not tired of playing with me? Why are you not letting me live my life as I want to?" She yelled, starting to cry. "For fuck sake Damian, I loved you so much I thought I was going to die from sorrow when I saw you kiss her. It hurt so much I wanted to leave WWE to forget all of this, but I can't!" She was shouting almost hysterically, losing control over her emotions. "Whatever I do, you are always here in my mind, I am fucking unable to forget you even if I want to! And that's fucking not fair for Finn! I like him a lot but how can I move on if everything recalls me of you? You and your fucking smile, your fucking voice and your fucking twisted logic! I want this to end now! Stop playing with me and going back and forth!"

Damian grabbed her by the shoulders and made her sit down on the bench hoping to be able to calm her down. He didn't know it was affecting her that much, and now he was feeling even more guilty for not trying to have her back with him again.

- "I'm not playing… I still love you. I love you so much that I can't forgive myself for what happened. I promised I would take care of you and you ended up injured because of me, how could I still pretend to be your man after that? I had the bracelet done just before your birthday, I wanted to show you how much I love you but when Finn came to ask me if he could date you, I thought that you would be happier with him, that I could watch you from afar, as the fucking coward I am. But the truth is I miss you so much that it tears my guts apart each time I see you, I never opened to anyone the way I did with you. It's like you are leaving with my heart and that fucking hurts because I fucking love you more than anything else but I am not worthy to be your man anymore!" He said crying.

Finn clenched his fist in the corridor, what was his friend doing? Why did he not shut up? What if Mina thought his love was fake? What if she decided to go back with the tall Puerto Rican? This idiot was messing everything up between him and the seamstress. He did not have the time to hide better that Mina stormed out of the locker room and ran away far from Damian. She saw him, furrowed her eyebrows, visibly upset at him listening and left the corridor, calling them names. He saw her running and crying, visibly overwhelmed by all the information she just received. Damian was drying his tears looking at the bracelet she had given back to him.

Mina ran to her workshop and hastily gathered her things. She told Rose she was going to work from home on the designs and paperwork. She was feverish and trembling, putting her bag on her shoulder and grabbing her car keys. Rose informed her she would come after work to her up about the day. Thanking her, Mina headed to the parking spot and climbed in her old car, started the engine and drove as fast as she legally could to go back to her apartment.

Once her door closed, she called Hunter, telling him she was not feeling well and wished to take a sick day. Hunter had agreed, knowing she would not skip work for no reason. She immediately started to work on designs, almost automatically, she needed to get her head out of all this mess. She knew it was just a way of running away from her problems but couldn't figure out how to solve it without feeling her mind and heart blowing up. She had hoped that Damian would tell her it was over so she can move on, or that he would try the impossible to keep her but not that he and Finn had agreed on who would date her. She understood Damian's intention and was relieved that he didn't actually cheat on her, however, she was feeling like an object or a child that they were trying to protect or to control. She lost track of time and was surprised when a knock on her door echoed through her living room. It was Rose.

- "How are you feeling?" she asked.

- "I am lost Rose, I can't believe they did that to me. I can't understand Damian anymore" Mina answered.

- "I don't know if Damian is the worst liar here."

- "What do you mean?" Mina wasn't sure about wanting to know the answer.

- "Well, when you are discreet like me, everyone forgets about you and you get to hear and see stuff" Rose started. "Damian had been coming around the workshop everyday to just see you from afar, and every day he left crying. He misses you more than you think." She paused here, allowing Mina to deal with the information. "Finn likes you but I heard him telling JD he was jealous and wanted you all to himself, that Damian didn't deserved all the chances he got in love. I don't know what it means, but I'm sure he is not honest."

- "Finn asked Damian the authorisation to date me, and he agreed" Mina said.

- "I know, I was there when he did, they just didn't see me. I never told you because it was not my business."

- "I don't know what to do, Rose. It's too much for me in one day." Mina sighed.

- "Here is the report for today." Rose said, giving her a sheet of paper. "Stay at home tomorrow, I will handle the workshop. You need it."

Mina was impressed by the determination in Rose's brown eyes. The red-haired shy girl that had been hired to help her was now acting like a spy.

Someone knocked on the door and Mina went to open, seeing it was Dom. Rose excused herself and left them, telling Mina to stay at home tomorrow. Dominik seemed anxious, he needed advice, it was time for him to be courageous and propose Rhea, but he needed advice from her closest female friend. How would a woman like Mami love to be proposed? Should he stay traditional and kneel in front of her? Would she accept his proposal? What if she didn't like the engagement ring? Mina chuckled at his concerns, Dom was way too cute when it was about Rhea, anyone could tell he was head to toe in love. They spend a part of the night talking about Mami, reassuring Dom about his decision.

The next day, Finn was pacing in front of the workshop. He had texted Mina but she didn't answer. How was she? When will she be back? He was mad at Damian for telling Mina the truth and telling her how much he loved her. How was she supposed to accept him as her man now that Damian was messing even more with her feelings? He didn't want the seamstress to get hurt one more time but he needed her. He wanted her to himself, it was his turn to be happy. A voice behind him brought him back on Earth. It was Rose, about to open the workshop, Mina was still absent.

- "If you are looking for Mina, she is staying home today." She said with the faintest voice he had ever heard.

- "Is she okay?" he asked.

- "No, she is not" Rose answered. "And you are not either"

- "What do you mean?"

- "Nobody ever notices me, so it's easy to know things. I know that you are with her out of jealousy towards Damian."

- "That's wrong!" He shouted, then realising the workshop door was opened, he closes it to have more privacy with Rose.

- "I heard you complaining about Damian having all the women's attention, that you deserved these girls more than him. That's the reason why you slept with Liv, right? You wanted to have what he had." She explained, keeping her voice low. Finn was still intimidating to her.

- "Are you threatening me?" he asked.

- "No. I'm trying to help my boss. If you truly are in love with her, why are you more concerned about her being yours than by her happiness?"

- "I want her to be happy, and she won't be if she stays with Damian. He only knows how to hurt people. She deserves someone else" he was taken by surprise b he was taken by surprise by the shy seamstress, suddenly showing courage and taking the lead of the conversation.

- "Someone who thinks he loves her because Damian does? Someone who wants her out of jealousy towards a friend? You loved Liv, you love Mina but are your feelings truly yours? When was the last time you loved someone by yourself, not after Damian?" she asked bluntly, knowing perfectly she was playing a dangerous card.

- "I-I don't know" he admitted. He had never thought it so far. "I know I love her, I want her to be mine forever, I would do anything to make her happy, how can this be fake.

- "You said you wanted her to be yours before saying you wanted to make her happy. That's the proof I'm right" Rose calmy said. "You want her more than you love her. Make the good choice for both of you or you might end up by loosing both of them."

Thus said, she opened the door and proceeded to get all the machines started. She had done her part. Finn left the workshop, not sure about what to think. Rose was right, but he was not ready to accept it yet.