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Chapter 5

"This is bullshit. Bullshit!" Becky sat across from Asuka at a table in Catering, seething and swearing. The cheap coffee cooling off in front of her didn't taste nearly as bad as she felt. She had told Seth that she didn't trust Vince not to throw a curveball into the WrestleMania main event at the last minute, and her instincts had been regrettably right: WWE had booked an impromptu title match between Charlotte and Asuka on the SmackDown right after the main-event announcement and, to the surprise of no one, Charlotte won. "You deserve so much better than this, Asuka. I'm so sorry." Asuka was a Royal Rumble winner herself—the very first woman to do so—and she hadn't even been considered for main-event status at WrestleMania last year. She was one of the premier talents in women's wrestling, at least in Becky's opinion, and WWE hadn't booked her well since breaking her streak—courtesy of Charlotte, once again.

Asuka's eyes were shining, but not with tears. A week had passed since the sudden change in plans, but even in the thick of that scrambled night, she had handled the whole situation with grace. "Becky, it's not your fault. None of it." Reaching across the table, she squeezed Becky's hands. "I was already cheering for you before, but now I definitely will. Becky Two Belts!"

Asuka might not have been crying, but Becky felt like it. This was precisely what she was worried about in the women's division. Rather than spreading out the championships more, the McMahons kept giving title runs to the same few women over and over. Becky was in that group now, so she knew she was part of the problem and she hated it even more. "Becky Two Belts," she repeated, trying to smile. "Vince will hate it." That definitely made her grin. "I love it."

"Good!" Asuka pounded her fists against the table twice before standing up. "You go show Ronda and Charlotte who's the best!" Her grin was huge as she added, "And then I will beat you and be Asuka Two Belts!" Laughing, she started doing her side-to-side dance as she made her way out of Catering.

Seth just managed to step out of Asuka's path and avoid getting hit as he approached Becky's table. "I just heard Asuka Two Belts," he teased, leaning down to kiss Becky. "Are you giving out advice on how to win a title? Because I have this match in a week or so against a total beast...."

"Hey." Becky let the kiss go on longer than she should. They weren't trying to hide their relationship any longer, but they didn't want to be obnoxious about it either. "No, I was just apologizing to Asuka and telling her I think this whole Winner-Take-All thing is bullshit."

Gesturing back at Asuka, who was still dancing her way out of Catering, Seth raised an eyebrow. "She must have taken your apology—unneeded, by the way—really well." After giving Becky another kiss, he sat beside her, scooting his chair as close as he could. "Or—and I bet this is the case—she knows you had no control over any of it and she wouldn't have even thought of blaming you for it."

Becky watched until Asuka's multi-hued hair was out of sight. "I know she knows. I hope all the girls know. I wanted the main event, but I didn't want all the titles tangled up in it." Leaning her head against Seth's shoulder, she sighed. "I guess it could be worse: Vince could have put the women's tag titles in the mix too."

Seth pressed a finger to her mouth. "Careful. Don't give them any ideas. Then you'd have to contend with Bayley and Sasha too."

"Fuck no." Becky was already worried about earning the ire of the majority of the women's division. She and Charlotte were still on shaky terms, though they were getting better with every meeting they had about the upcoming match; their mutual dislike of Ronda certainly helped. Knowing the other two Horsewomen weren't upset with her was one of the few things keeping her steady. The main one, of course, was Seth. When Vince announced their friendly competition to win the main-event slot, she had been wary at first, but he was the perfect competition. Dating him now was an unexpected bonus, something she would never even have imagined; if someone would have told her six months ago that she would be involved with Seth, she would have laughed them out of the building. "I'm already worried they'll try some mixed tag bullshit: you and me against Brock and Ronda." She hated even saying it out loud; with some of the irrational decisions being made in the company lately, she wouldn't be surprised if someone was eavesdropping on the talent and misinterpreting their snide or sarcastic comments as actual suggestions.