Playing With Fire

Part 9

Once she'd made the decision in her heart, she was ready to get it over with. She knew her life would change drastically now, but she didn't want to live a lie. Unfortunately he'd forgotten to tell her that they had visitors coming, old friends of theirs. Instead of spending her time working out how to split up their things like she'd planned, she'd had to pretend for several days that nothing had changed. It was agonizing. Then she'd had to go back to work.

Work was wonderful and awkward and crazy. Being around Finn while knowing what she knew wasn't easy, but it did make her so much more aware of him and the way he treated her, and she wondered how she have could possibly missed it before. The way he looked at her sometimes made her want to melt into a puddle. It was frustrating not being able to do anything about it, and nothing seemed to go right that week. On Raw they'd been interupted by Lashley, and she could tell Finn was starting to really get irritated with him. At least she'd got to hang out with Trish and Lita as well. She'd a few opportunities to actually get to know them and adored both for who they were as real people, but there was still a little girl inside of her who couldn't believe she was really hanging out with them.

She finally got to go home after that, no interuptions, no old friends, nothing but the truth that had been waiting to burst out of her. The moment she'd both been anticipating and dreading finally came. She'd slipped the ring off, tears already pouring out of her as she handed it to him and said,

"I'm sorry."

"What the hell is this?"

"Your ring. You paid for it, it belongs to you."

"What does that mean?" he asked in disbelief.

"I can't marry you. I'm sorry, but I've had a lot of time to think, and I just realized that I can't do this anymore. We've both evolved so much. We're different people, and I don't think that the people we've become fit together as well as the kids we were did. I think it's time we both move on with our lives."

"You're fucking kidding right? Everything was fine and suddenly you decide you can't do this anymore?"

"It wasn't sudden. Everything was not fine. There have been a lot of signs lately that maybe we weren't as compatible as we used to be."

"Like what? You crawling all over some other guy? Is that what this is about? You don't just decide overnight to end an engagement unless you really are fucking him, and you just don't want to admit it. You just want a chance to be his little whore, no matter wha..." he didn't get a chance to finish because she'd brought a hand across his cheek, hard, literally slapping the taste out of his mouth.

"You know what. I was trying to be as kind as possible, but since you want to take it there, lets go ahead. The truth...you want the truth? The truth is that yes, part of why I'm giving this ring back is because of him. Because he's in love with me, and because I think I could love him too.

"But there's no way he could have made his way into my heart like that, if I hadn't already fallen out of love with you. We have a lot of history, and there are a lot of things that no one else will ever share with me. A part of me will always love you a little bit for that, but I've also realized that all of that history doesn't mean I have to like who you've become as a person," she was fuming, but it didn't take long for her anger to run out of steam, the prevailing resignation and sadness returning. She sighed and continued, "We just don't fit anymore. Don't you see that?"

He looked...defeated. They'd both been fighting the truth, clawing at the remnants of their relationship trying to keep it from unravelling for far too long. He didn't say anything just clenched his fist around the ring in his palm so tightly the skin on his knuckles turned white. His face was a stoney mask as he nodded at her once then collapsed on the chair behind him putting his head in his hands. After a few minutes he looked up at her, his eyes red, his face resigned,