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Chapter 3

As soon as Becky had arrived at RAW that night, she knew it was going to be chaos. Her feud with Ronda was gaining so much momentum that she actually almost felt bad for Seth. Trying to compete against the interest she was building up when he only had Brock Lesnar to work against was almost cruel. She was almost at the top of the mountain, about to join those rarefied ranks that even most male wrestlers never reached. She was on such a high she could practically touch the fabled WrestleMania sign. And then Vince had to turn everything sideways.

She had been warned about the suspension storyline beforehand so she could start coming up with retorts; Vince might not have liked Twitter, but even he had to admit it was a huge part of WWE's social presence and that Becky was one of the best on it. They were doing some ridiculous medical angle that she didn't agree with, but it also gave her spots throughout the show. She had always thought the you have to apologize ultimatums were foolish: if you wanted a title shot, who in their right mind wouldn't swallow their pride for five seconds and say I'm sorry?

As soon as Vince came out during her final spot, though, she knew something had changed that no one had told her about. There had been something strange in Hunter's gaze when he said Congratulations. You're going to WrestleMania, but before she could try to figure out what it was, Ronda Rousey came out to the ring. Becky expected that much, thinking the episode would end on the traditional nose-to-nose confrontation, but then she heard Vince's voice while Ronda's music was still playing; even Ronda looked surprised.

Becky, you're suspended for sixty days. She tried to keep her expression calm as she did the math, but she already knew what that meant: no WrestleMania. We need someone to take your place—someone with charisma, someone with charm, someone who knows their lane and they stay in it. We need someone who's going to take Ronda to the limit. We need... Vince did a dramatic hand roll, but at that point, Becky already knew what he was going to say. Charlotte Flair. Of course.

Even Ronda looked disgusted—although, Becky had to admit, her default expression seemed to be somewhere between confused and annoyed; still, it didn't look like she had known. Becky couldn't read Charlotte's face from that distance, but she didn't want to get closer either in case her frustration travelled to her fists before she could stop it. Just as she burst out of Gorilla, Seth was there. Since he was recovering from an injury, he had started driving her after her RAW appearances so they could discuss their mostly friendly rivalry, but in reality they spent more time drinking coffee and chatting. He had opened his mouth to say something, but one look at her face made him pause. "Wait. You... didn't know?" He gestured vaguely out to the ring.

"Did you?" For a fleeting moment, she wondered if this was part of his strategy, putting Charlotte in her way so she had two problems to deal with instead of one. "I knew about Hunter and Steph and the whole apology spiel, but that was it. I didn't even know Vince was here tonight."

Seth ran a hand through his hair. "Shit. I'm sorry. No, I didn't know either. I saw Vince earlier but didn't think anything of it. I mean, WrestleMania's coming up, and—"

"I need to get out of here," Becky said bluntly, striding past him. "This is bullshit."

"Becks...." Seth's long legs let him catch up with her easily. "It's probably just for show. They'll do something to reverse it at Fastlane and everything will be back to how it was. Vince knows having you fight Ronda is money; he won't want to mess with that."

"Becky!" Charlotte's voice was punctuated by the sound of her heels as she ran to catch up with them.

Seth turned quickly. "Char, I don't think this is a good time—"

But Becky was still pushing forward. I don't have to change. This looks like street clothes, she thought as she burst into the women's locker room. All of the women there murmured condolences and well wishes, and for once Becky was quiet, stuffing everything in her bag as quickly as she could and zipping it shut as she stalked back to the door. When she stepped into the hall, she saw that Charlotte was trying to get around Seth, who had his arms spread wide like a basketball player. "I'm ready," she said succinctly, pulling up the handle on her bag.