-EXTENDED SUMMARY INSIDE-
"It's not anything like I thought I would be," I stopped, letting out a breath, "because I realized that the only thing that comes with fame is judgement and misunderstandings."
<<<everything was fine until things became il...
- CHAPTER TWELVE - "YOUR PAST WILL ALWAYS COME BACK TO HAUNT YOU IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Kaden gave Kalani her 'K' necklace on their seventeenth birthday.
Of course, 'K' had stood for the first letter of both of their names, but Kaden wanted it to be more special than that. On the back, he engraved "proud, forever and always."
Kalani had never been a materialistic person. She was fine living out of her car a few years back when she was competing in MMA. However, if she were to lose that necklace, Kalani was sure that she wouldn't be able to go on.
The presence of the necklace around her neck, or when she twirled it in her fingers, reminded her that Kaden was still with her. She wished it was under different circumstances; Kalani would give anything to see her brother one more time. Kaden, however, sacrificed his life to save hers and now she would live for the both of them.
They shared a bond stronger than family.
However, with Kalani's recent mess in the WWE, she only felt as if she was wasting this opportunity for her and her brother. Everyday was getting harder and harder—Kalani was losing everyone and she wasn't sure how much she could take before she would have to give it up.
She had already lost too much.
Kalani took a seat on a box holding stage equipment in an empty hallway, thinking back to everything that had been said during the meeting earlier that day. Travis had exposed her prostitution, Conor had called out AJ for laying hands on Kalani though she was uncomfortable—too much was uncovered about Kalani that she felt naked.
She had always held up such a wall, but now Kalani had nothing hiding her secrets.
In a few weeks time it would be WrestleMania. Kalani was supposed to pin Ronda and win the title, but even if Vince would decide to go through with it despite Kalani's mess, Kalani wasn't sure it was a good idea anymore.
"Do you mind if I sit?" an Irish accent interrupted Kalani of her thoughts. Her blue eyes found Conor's blonde hair, seeing that he had calmed from the last time she had seen him a few hours ago.
The brunette, although apprehensive, nodded her head and moved over slightly to give her ex room. She was unsure where this conversation would leave them as the two were past pleasantries. Both of them had done things to hurt one another, and everyday Kalani understands Conor more and more.
It was the fact that Conor had known about Kalani and Drew; he had seen the pictures that would hurt him and yet he came at a moments notice to defend Kalani against AJ.
The two sat in silence for a few moments, wanting to say so much but not having the words. Finally, Kalani decided to apologize. "I'm sorry—" she began before Conor placed his hand on her leg.
"Don't, Kalani," he spoke, looking at her. "You have nothing to apologize for."
Though she tried to argue, Conor continued. "I'm sorry. Not just about the affair; I'm sorry for the way I acted towards you afterwards. I tried to force you to forget about it and I didn't actually think to understand how it would affect the way you'd see me."
"I'm not angry at you for ending things," he continued. "It took me this entire situation to realize that though I was heartbroken, I was too selfish to realize how hurt you had been. I can't hate you just because you can't be my girlfriend anymore."
He shifted a bit, Kalani assumed it had been because he was uncomfortable. "At the end of the day, I love you, Kalani. I will always love you. And I know you love me, too," he cleared his throat. "And I know things can never go back to the way they used to be. But I will always be here for you, even just as friends. As awful as that sounds."
Conor and Kalani both shared a chuckle.
"I know you're struggling right now, Kalani," he whispered, causing her eyes to well up with tears threatening to spill out at any second. Kalani was struggling; she was so sad and trying to mask it with strength and she was exhausted.
The two embraced for a long time, but there was a different energy between them than what used to be. Her emotions slowly left her body as she calmed, ready to go to the gorilla when her name was called.
"Kick her ass," Conor spoke, pulling away and giving a wink.
Kalani smiled before leaving for the ring. She felt free.
The crowd was buzzing in anticipation for WrestleMania. Kalani didn't hear one person insulting her for her recent news headlines; in fact everyone had just been cheering for her history-making main event.
Ronda hadn't received the same warm welcome, however.
Upon her arrival, Ronda received boo's and her face dropped. She was always one who needed to be the best, especially compared to someone she hated. She scowled towards her friend in the ring who had sat down and awaited a contract signing. Kalani shared the glare, not daring to back down from a fight.
No longer could Ronda manipulate Kalani. She beat her in the UFC, she'll beat her again.
The contract was signed by both parties as each did their fair share of trash talking. However, Ronda took things to an extreme when she said, "at WrestleMania, I don't just beat you. I end you. No more of the fake, bubbly personality; no more Kalani Hanifan hype just because you beat me in the octagon; no more throwing yourself on every guy you come in contact with just to get you trending on Twitter. In two weeks, you'll be embarrassed in that ring—unless some other posts do it for you."
Kalani bit her cheek and took a deep breath, knowing she had to contain herself and her emotions. Of course, the crowd had gone crazy and they were awaiting a big response so Kalani grabbed a microphone and said, "really clever, Ronda, for a woman who beat her ex for a publicity stunt."
Ronda's eyes widened as her face contorted in anger, the red color rising to her face through her makeup as it appeared like steam was rushing out of her ears. She had accusations in the past concerning her abusive relationship, and Kalani at the time couldn't believe them. However, these were different times.
Kalani had her friend exactly where she wanted her.
Ronda lunged over the table and knocked Kalani to the canvas. Kalani put her hands up to avoid the punches as Ronda had been straddling her, causing an inability to move. She knew she would have bruises; Ronda's punches were real and unscripted.
Kalani could only sit and wait until Ronda was done and pushed herself off of her to recover to her feet. However, as she clawed her way up the ropes and banked on Ronda yelling at the crowd who mocked her, Kalani's blue eyes found someone else's: her father's.
His evil eyes smirked back at her as Kalani's life flashed before her eyes. All of her memories she tried to forget the last eleven years came back, and she was frozen in fear. Her vision began to cave, her breathing became unsteady, and Kalani's heart beat began to rise out of her chest.
That was when Kalani's vision went dark as Ronda had hit the back of her head with a steel chair.
