- CHAPTER TEN -
"THE PUZZLE PIECES WILL EVENTUALLY FIND A WAY TOGETHER."

Sometimes, Kalani will sit and ponder over the people the movies.

The actors are always perfect; they hold no flaw in their appearance. They go through hell and still look pretty for the camera, and at the end of the movie they still get the happy ending.

If Kalani Hanifan we're a movie, however, there would be no happy ending. There wouldn't even be a climax. All of her life, people around her have died and led her to more and more sorrow.

Kalani Hanifan was at a roadblock. Now that the whole world had turned on her, twice, she had no support system left. And she had been fighting on her own for too long.

Kaden grew up telling Kalani that she would get that happy ending. Though they were the same age, Kaden had been wise beyond his years and he always knew the right things to say.

Now, however, Kalani was sitting alone at a bar, as she read all of the threats on her phone. Some of these people had been like her family—the closest thing she had left to one, anyways. Kaden was her family, and he's gone.

Her hands twirled the 'K' necklace in her hand.

"Twelve years, I've given you everything and you go behind my back? You've ruined AJ's life!" Ronda had said back at the arena. "Maybe I was wrong about you, after all—you back-stabbing bitch!"

After her curse, Ronda had sent her fist into her former best friend's jaw. Kalani swallowed what tasted like blood as she remained still at that moment, not wanting to make anything worse than she already had. She knew, however, that she would wear a bruise in a few hours.

"How could you kiss a married man, Kalani?" Hunter had asked, frustrated, after he made Ronda leave the hallway. "You've been in the spotlight a long time, you know how these things can get! I thought you were better than that."

Kalani hadn't had a father in a long time, but Hunter seemed like one in that moment. Hearing his disappointed tone made her want to break, but she couldn't.

Kalani Hanifan couldn't sell AJ out, either. AJ Styles had trained her to wrestle in this company; he'd given her her dream. She could never ruin his marriage after that.

Kalani Hanifan was used to the heat.

"I'm sorry, Hunter," she apologized. She wouldn't make any excuses. "It was a one-time thing and it was wrong, and I would do anything to take it back."

A tear escaped her eye in frustration: the fact she had to lie, the fact that she was the way that she was. She was tired of lying.

As the hotel bartender greeted Kalani, she decided to order a glass of water. As her necklace was still in her hand, she couldn't allow herself to resort to the same substance that had gotten her brother killed. The same substance that caused so much trouble the night of her debut.

She began to tear up, wondering where Kaden would have been at that moment if she were the one to die, instead.

Kaden had been on his way to a wrestling scholarship at any university of his choosing. He could have easily made it to the WWE, and even movies if he wanted to with all of his charisma. Their father would have never hated him if Kalani was the one that died.

Yet, Kalani Hanifan lives: the fuckup who keeps fucking up. She's beaten women for a living, given away her body to survive the night—Kalani Hanifan was homeless and did anything she could to be happy. That's all anyone could ever ask for.

Why did it all happen so suddenly? First, an article, then, the pictures. What would come next? How can everything come out all at once? How had those pictures even been taken?

A large figure took a seat next to Kalani at the bar as her water was placed in front of her. Quickly, she rubbed her red, puffy eyes of tears. The scruffy beard pointed out to Kalani that this man was in fact Braun Strowman, someone Kalani hadn't seen since her fallout with Conor.

Conor: the man who had been nagging Kalani with the photos posted. "That isn't like you," he would say. "I know I got jealous of AJ at the hotel, but something isn't adding up. You wouldn't kiss a married man."

Kalani tried to protest by saying, "maybe you don't know me anymore," but Conor was the one person in this world she couldn't lie to.

"He fucking kissed you, didn't he?" Conor came to the conclusion. Kalani had tried to protest, but it was too late. Conor was livid. "If that's true, I'm going to fucking kill him."

Kalani turned her attention towards Braun who had ordered a beer. "You're one tough son of a bitch, you know that?" his hoarse voice spoke, receiving his beer a few moments later.

Kalani answered with a chuckle, but nothing more. All of her life, she wanted to give off the vibe that she was tough and nothing could phase her, yet she felt like a failure.

"I know Drew can be a bit of a handful at times," Braun paused, taking a drink. "Son of a bitch has been betrayed by everyone he loves the most. He can be a real bitch when he's angry; he is terrified of feeling that feeling again that he felt with his ex-wife."

"He doesn't view you like he views the other women here," he continued, looking towards Kalani. "You're the first woman he truly opened himself to after his divorce. That's how I know he likes you. You've been through so many of the same things."

Kalani sighed, looking down at her hands. "And now he thinks I'm just like his ex."

"I don't know much, Kalani. Drew talks about himself just as much as you do," Braun chuckled. "But, from what I've seen from you, you are the most considerate human being I have ever met. I don't think you meant to hurt him, and I think deep down he knows that, too."

Kalani croaked, "what if you don't know know me at all?"

"I don't," Braun admitted. "But you can't tell me otherwise because you've been where Drew has. I can't see you doing the same thing to him that happened to you. Besides, you're worried about him over yourself. Kalani Hanifan: the girl who made a career out of beating the shit out of people, yet your biggest flaw—and strength—is your empathy."

Kalani's phone interrupted the conversation at the bar. Hunter's name popped up on the screen as Kalani's breath hitched. She looked towards Braun, emotionless.

"He'll come around, Kalani. He always does," he said to comfort her. Kalani wasn't sure if he was talking about Hunter or Drew—she wasn't sure which one she was hoping he was talking about more.

She excused herself as she answered the phone. "Hello," she greeted.

"Hey, Kalani," Hunter spoke, sounding saddened."I talked to Vince. It seems like the press hasn't been too negative to your segment tonight, so we're keeping you on for another week. As long as you bring in the audience, you're going to be fine."

"Hunter, thank you—" Kalani tried to say.

He interrupted, "I don't want to see what happened between you and Ronda happen again, and that's why I want all of you, Ronda, AJ, Drew, Nattie, to meet before RAW next week, at the arena, and talk it out. I'm going in there, too, because while this all may be personal, it's concerning my business as well."

Kalani hadn't been expecting that. Could she really face all of these people all at once? For once, she wasn't sure if she was strong enough.

"Okay," she agreed, gritting her teeth. "I can do that."

"Agent Williams will continue searching for who released these pictures, as well," he explained. He paused. "Kalani, I'm at a loss for words over this situation, anymore. This has been completely unprofessional and I don't know if I can keep this up. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but please, just don't do anything else until next week. It's stressing me out beyond belief."

Agent Williams, Kalani thought to herself.

First, it was the rumor of Kalani leaving the arena with a mysterious man. Then, it was the article, followed by intimate pictures. The timing had been too coincidental; the pictures had been too private.

"Hunter, I need you to know something, right now," she said, beginning to worry. "Those pictures were taken from private areas. Drew and I were just in a hotel room, but AJ and I were at Ronda's house. And, the night I left the arena with Conor, a rumor flew around about me getting into a car with a stranger."

"So, what you're saying is?" he asked.

"I'm saying that either I'm being followed or one of them are trying to ruin me."

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