To The Hotel - Day 0 (Part Two)

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

Despite muffling her screams into a pillow, the sound of Willow’s rage still fills the rest of the room around her. Compared to the other rooms, there are no gradients or fancy design choices in this one. Instead, it looks more akin to that of a hybridization of a gothic dwelling and an art school dropout’s private den. Black walls that soak up all the light in the room are broken up by unstable lines of bright neon green, with steel-bound furniture only adding to the aesthetic of the room as a whole. Surprisingly though, the plaque nailed above the headboard somehow both adds onto the anti-authoritarian motif of the room and also takes away from it, its messaging equal parts ironic and serious.

“No matter what rules you make, he CAN, WILL, and SHOULD break them.”

Listening to Willow’s cry from her seat at the table, Gail chuckles before turning back to look at her roommate. “You feel any better yet, roomie?” Gail’s smirk is met with a middle finger and a pout from Willow, who throws the pillow down to the floor in a huff.

“No!” Willow responds bitterly, grabbing the other pillow on the bed to hold against her as she sulks. “Who the fuck does she think she is, saying shit like that to me?!”

“Probably thinks she’s better than you.” Gail replies, her smirk remaining in spite of Willow’s prior response.

Willow groans in annoyance, turning away from Gail in the process. “Who cares about that shit?!” Willow exclaims. “How the hell can she be worrying about shit like that when we’re all HERE?!” Willow wildly gestures around the room as a whole.

“I don’t know, Willow. Some people just have their priorities out of whack.”

“Exactly!” Willow exclaims, before turning back towards Gail and training her eyes onto her. “Actually, how are you so calm about this?” Willow asks, shifting herself to fully face towards her still-seated roommate. “Doesn’t being part of this whole thing..." Willow motions towards the room around them once more. "You know, kind of... Freak you the fuck out?”

After a couple of seconds, Gail shrugs, turning to face Willow. “Who said I wasn’t scared?”

Upon hearing that response, Willow’s anger fades. Instead, a sense of confusion washes over her, giving Gail the chance to continue speaking.

“You think that part of me isn’t scared of being here?” Gail asks, giving the same vague, room-sweeping motion that Willow had moments before. “I’m terrified, Willow.” Gail admits, her smirk finally fading away. “I’m fucking petrified, honestly. One minute, I’m set to do an interview on local television with some guy who was probably going to bore half of our non-existent audience to ****. And then suddenly, I’m here on what is apparently some sort of intergalactic television show - or whatever the hell Serenity said it was - and I’m being **** into seducing my own coworker? If it weren’t for the fact that Serenity used ACTUAL, LITERAL MAGIC to teleport us here against our wills, I would’ve probably done the same thing Linda did.”

A silence befalls the two roommates after Gail finishes speaking, the Anti-Hero rising to her feet before she makes her way to the bed. As Willow lets go of the pillow, Gail takes it for herself, leaving Willow without anything to cling to.

“But you know what else I am, Willow?” Gail breaks the silence, drawing her roommate’s attention once more. “I’m also angry.” Gail shakes her head. “Actually, I’m not just angry. I’m pissed. That bitch stole me away from my job, cost me something I worked my entire life for, and the only thing she says to try and comfort me is that I might still have my job if she did her job properly?” Gail clenches her fists tightly, yet her voice still refuses to raise any higher. “Do you have any idea how difficult it was for me to even get that position? How much I had to give up? How much I had to sacrifice? How long I had to put my life on pause, just to get my goddamn foot in the door? And all for a career that pays like shit and forces me to work with some of the sleaziest, dumbest, least charismatic people I’ve ever met in my life! It’s bullshit! Not just the amount of work I’ve put into my career, but the fact that this bitch decided to just waltz in and take away everything I’ve spent the past fifteen years of my life working towards, and all without even offering a single apology for it! I don’t give a fuck what timey-wimey bullshit is going on here, because as far as I’m aware, I’m going to be out of a job once I manage to return home, if I’m even allowed to return to my old life in the first place!”

Despite her own ranting, Gail doesn’t let herself get completely overtaken by rage at Serenity’s doing. Instead, she sighs, exhaling out her anger and letting it seep into the blackened walls that surround the two of them. After a few seconds, Gail’s gaze meets Willow’s once more. Her expression softens, and she offers a much less sarcastic, more genuine smile.

“But you know what? I’m… Kind of happy about it, in a way.”

That brings a look of confusion back to Willow’s face.

“Huh? How can you be happy about this?” Willow asks, only to find that Gail isn’t even looking at her.

Instead, Gail’s attention is turned downwards, and as Willow’s line of sight follows her roommate’s own, their gazes meet where one of the tattoos now lies on Gail’s arm. The image of a black rose catches Willow’s eyes. She glances back at Gail, who offers another smirk in exchange.

“I uh… I think I get what you mean.” Willow’s eyes turn away, and Gail’s smirk returns to her face.

“I’m sure you do. Especially since you’ve got something that’s a bit more physical, instead of some fine inkwork on your body.” Gail teases, causing Willow to blush slightly.

Turning away, Willow reaches for the floor. While taking the time to grab the pillow she threw, Willow also uses it as an excuse to take a look at the black duffel bag that sits just barely underneath the bed. Her bag of tricks beckons Willow, calling for her to put that newfound knowledge to rather good use, but Willow is able to set those thoughts aside and return to the conversation with just her pillow, and nothing else.

“So yeah, am I terrified?” Gail continues onward, nodding her head in response to her own question. “Absolutely. But I’m also pissed off, and happy, and all sorts of other emotions that - quite frankly? I’m way too sober to understand right now.”

At that, both Willow and Gail laugh, letting the moment naturally pass before Willow speaks up.

“So… Are you saying I should just let go of what Yukari said to me?” Willow asks, confused.

“Oh, fuck no!” Gail laughs, startling Willow.

Before Willow can truly react to what Gail’s just said, she wraps an arm around Willow’s neck, pulling her into a one-armed hug that leaves Willow awkwardly chuckling along with Gail’s own boisterous laughter.

“Willow, sweetie… You’ve got to understand. All of this?” Gail gestures to the room around the two of them with her free arm. “It’s all a stage. And you of all people should know what happens to people when they get up under the bright lights, right?” Gail releases Willow from her grasp.

“They… Change?” Willow offers weakly.

“There you go, girl!” Gail gives a light knock of the back of her hand onto Willow’s shoulder. “I knew there were some brains in there.” Gail cheers, her lighthearted mockery getting Willow to smile along with her. “The spotlight changes people. Always has, always will. People get up onto a stage and think that just because people are watching, they gotta act a certain way, look a certain way, think a certain way. But look at the two of us.” Gail’s gaze turns away from Willow, looking off to nowhere in particular. “You and I? The people at home probably want us to fall in line just like all the others. To become some stuck-up diva like Penelope, or a bratty bitch like Yukari. But you know what? Fuck ‘em! We don’t have to play by their rules or their expectations!”

As Gail lets out another laugh, Willow joins in this time, feeling invigorated by her roommate’s infectious demeanor. After a few seconds however, Gail’s laughter stops. She turns to Willow, who remains caught up in the moment, and smirks once more at her roommate.

“So… With that being said though, if the both of us end up winning this season, when are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend, huh?”

That comment is enough to get Willow’s laughter to come to a **** stop. Gail remains smirking as Willow hacks and coughs, caught completely off-guard by her roommate’s teasing.

“Wh-huh?! G-Girlfriend?” Willow stammers, blushing as she hacks and coughs on her own spit. “I… I don’t have a girlfriend, love!” Willow states, her coughing fit finally coming to a close.

“Oh?” Gail’s expression turns to a teasing cheshire grin. “Then why did you say you had one to Yukari, then?”

Willow’s blush deepens as she turns away from her roommate, eyes flickering elsewhere. “I… I didn’t mean it like that. I just…” Willow sighs. “Yukari really got on my last fucking nerve, what with the cheeky comments she was making about me.”

“What? The stuff about her being better than you?” Gail asks.

A slight smirk forms on Willow’s face. “Pff, that?” Willow’s eyes turn away from Gail. “Nah, I don’t care about that shit.” Her gaze flicks back over as her smirk fades away. “I mean, yeah sure it’s a bit of a bother, but if she wants to think she’s better than me? Who cares? Honestly, the girl’s probably right in saying so.” She shrugs halfheartedly. “I fully admit I’m not the best worker out there, and Yukari’s a pretty damn good athlete.” Willow says, before returning to her more serious self. “Nah, it’s the fact she thinks I’m willing to use my relationship with Lyra as an advantage that really pissed me off.”

“Oh? So her name is Lyra, then?” Gail further teases Willow, who gives her own knock on Gail’s shoulder in response.

“Drop it, Gail.” Willow laughs. “It isn’t that serious. Really.”

As Gail chuckles, she nods her head. “Alright, alright. I’ll let it go this time.” She then leans in once more. “But if you keep bringing her up, I’m going to have to ask for a photo or something. Just to make sure you aren’t one of those weirdos with a made-up girlfriend.”

At first, Willow laughs along with Gail as her roommate gets up and heads back for the table. However after a couple of moments, Willow’s laughter stops. An idea wedges itself into the back of her mind. One that completely kills any and all enthusiasm she might be currently experiencing, and instead replaces it with a sense of dread even she didn’t think was possible for one person to feel. As Gail returns to the bed, this time bringing one of the boxes of luxury chocolates from the welcome basket with her, she sits back down next to her roommate.

“So Willow, any idea what you’re going to be doing tomorrow?” Gail asks, before finally taking notice of the way Willow’s face has turned an unhealthy shade of pallor. “Willow…? Is everything okay?”

After a few seconds of silence, Willow seems to shake herself out of it. Blinking a few times, she looks at Gail with a dazed expression.

“Huh?” Willow mutters, shaking out the cobwebs cluttering her mind. “Oh, u-uhm, uh, y-yeah. Yeah, everything’s alright.” Willow shakily reassures her roommate. “Sorry ‘bout that, got myself all tangled up in some thoughts. No big deal.” With Willow’s insistence, Gail lets the matter drop, instead opening up the box of chocolates and offering one Willow’s way.

As the taste of dark chocolate and raspberry filling hits her tongue, it’s almost enough for her to forget about the thoughts that continue to swirl in her mind - “almost” being the operative word, since even as she takes one chocolate after another from the box, the taste of it is never quite enough for her to push past the feelings of uncertainty swelling up inside of her. As Gail gets up to go and grab her own box of chocolates, seeing as how the welcome basket included one for both of them, Willow descends back into her own mind - not to figure out an answer to the feeling of dread that previously overtook her, but to figure out which side of it was truly worse for her to be on…

Compared to the other three rooms that have already been explored, the tension between roommates here feels far more palpable, neither of them opting to even spare a glance, let alone speak to each other. Of course, with the room's midnight hues and gradients of darkened blues and purples highlighted by the occasional streak of silver, the more muted coloration of the walls and furniture only serves to heighten the emotions of Yukari and Renee, rather than dampen them as one might expect. With Yukari by the bed and Renee still taking in her surroundings, it takes a couple of minutes before either of them break the silence that fills the space around the two of them.

“I can’t believe I have to share a room with you, out of everyone else…” Yukari mutters out bitterly, keeping her gaze as far off from Renee as she possibly can.

To her own credit, Renee opts to remain silent rather than engage Yukari in her slightly unintentional bait. Instead, she decides to look through the welcome basket that had been sent up to their room in an active effort to ignore her roommate. While stuff like the oils and chocolates go ignored, Renee does snag one of the two room keys for herself before she starts flipping through one of the booklets. Unfortunately for her, she isn’t able to get through too much of her reading up on the game itself before Yukari’s ramblings continue.

“I mean honestly. I'm stuck with you as a roommate, and I'm not even given one of the prime placements for my date with Christian?” Yukari opens up one of the two closets in the room and begins to rummage through its contents, the magic-laced room showing a near-exact replica of Yukari’s own closet back at home just as it had done for Nikkita and Linda. “It’s like they just keep punishing me for no real reason other than being #1.”

Yukari lets out a growl of annoyance as she accidentally drops the shirt that she grabbed off the hanger. Huffing to herself, Yukari drops to her hands and knees to retrieve the item, her cottontail twitching all the while. When she eventually does retrieve it, Yukari turns around as she rises to her feet, only to find Renee’s eyes now trained squarely on her.

“What? Do you have a problem with me now too?” Yukari tosses the shirt onto the bed, folding her arms. “I still remember what you said about me during your little rant on Christian, you know.”

“Yeah?” Renee turns her gaze away from Yukari, focusing on the booklet once more. “I’m happy for you.” She sarcastically mutters.

Returning to her reading, Renee goes quiet. Yukari’s eyes remain on Renee for a few moments, before she turns back towards the closet in order to continue picking out a new outfit. As a rather plain set of panties and a sports bra join the shirt on the bed, Yukari finishes out with a pair of shorts before turning around to start changing. With Renee still paying more attention to the booklet than Yukari, the technician is given all the time in the world to change in silence. Once she finishes changing, Yukari starts to head for the door only for Renee to finally shift her glance once more towards her roommate.

“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Renee asks, only slightly interested in Yukari’s response.

Yukari stops in her tracks, but refuses to look at her roommate. “I’m heading for the performance center. If I am going to be stuck here for the next five days doing nothing until my date night finally comes around, I might as well at least spend the time practicing.”

“You know you can’t spend the entire night there, right?” Renee offhandedly asks, causing Yukari to turn around. "Actually, you know what? Forget I even asked."

"No, no." Yukari gestures to her roommate. "Go ahead. Why can't I stay there instead of bunking with you?"

Renee sighs. “Rulebook says all contestants have to be back in their rooms by 8 PM sharp, unless they’re heading to the Master’s Suite for their date.” She gestures to the massive rulebook that sits on the table. "Otherwise, they're subject to penalties for missing out on curfew."

“So?" Yukari smirks to herself. "I’ll just ask Christian to let me spend the night in the Master’s Suite tonight.” Yukari replies. "He doesn't have a date night tonight, so that means it'll be open for me to stay the night with him, instead of having him spend the night alone.

“And if he says no?”

Yukari’s ears twitch at Renee’s retort. “Now what is that supposed to mean?”

Renee rubs her finger and thumb over her closed eyes to pinch at the bridge of her nose, already feeling irritated as is. “Exactly what it sounds like, sister." Renee remarks. "If he says no, what are you going to do?”

“If he says no? What makes you think he’d say no?” Yukari huffs. “I am his-”

“His rival, yes, I know that already.” Renee interrupts, rolling her eyes. “But what if he’s tired from… Oh, I don’t know, being magically transported against his will onto this show, and being **** to watch every single one of us show up the same way he did, get transformed by the audience, and then argue? Or, in your case - show up here, argue, get transformed, and then argue again?”

Yukari’s eyes narrow, as her ears bristle. “Hey! It wasn’t my…” Yukari trails off, thinking back to her argument with Willow. “Okay, so it might have been my fault that things got so heated between Willow and I, but she’s the one who mocked me first." Yukari turns her head away from Renee, folding her arms. "I didn’t ask for her pity.”

“No, you just complained about an arbitrary date order because you wanted people to pay attention to you.” Before Yukari can fire back, Renee continues on. “Because like I said before, kid, you’re too arrogant.”

Yukari steps away from the door, instead heading towards Renee. “You know, I could take you out of this game, if I wanted to.” Yukari threatens. “All it would take is me issuing one challenge, and then-”

“And then what? One of us leaves?” Renee cuts her off. “Great. Fantastic. I don’t want to be here whatsoever, and you want to prove a point. So do it." Renee challenges her, taking Yukari by surprise. "You’re the only one with any BP between us, so go ahead. Spend them. Challenge me to a 'Loser Leaves the Harem' match, or whatever the hell it's called, and put me out of my misery.” Renee motions with her hands for Yukari to bring it on, only for the bunny girl to stare her down.

After a couple of seconds, Yukari takes a seat across from Renee at the table. “...And why should I waste my BP on challenging you?” The bunny girl asks, her threat completely blowing up in her face. “It’s not like eliminating you will get me any closer to winning.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Renee responds. “But that doesn’t matter to you, does it? You just want me gone. Want me completely out of your life. So do it. Take me out.” Once more, Yukari falls silent in response to Renee’s challenge. “Except…" Renee sighs. "You’re a bit too smart to be goaded like this, aren’t you?”

Yukari’s face twists into confusion, uncertainty over whether she has just been insulted or not settling into her mind. She looks Renee over, the older woman still wearing nothing but the t-shirt that Yukari lent to her. Her eyes aren’t focused on Renee’s body though, but rather trying to focus on her mind.

“Because even through all of that arrogance, even through all of these displays you put on about how you are the best and you deserve to always be in the limelight, you know that challenging me to that type of match this soon is a gamble that comes without any real payoff.” Renee states calmly, her eyes meeting Yukari’s. “You heard how Serenity explained the match. You know the rules. You know the risks, the rewards. And you know that if you spend that BP right here and now, you don’t get anything out of it.”

“I would get you eliminated from this game.” Yukari responds. “You’d simply be one less contestant for me to worry about.”

“Would I?” Renee counters. “Sure, I would end up being eliminated, but she never said that being eliminated removes someone from the premises, did she? It’s not ‘Loser Leaves the Palace’, it’s ‘Loser Leaves the Harem’. And knowing that sick, twisted bitch of a host we got here? She would probably much rather keep me around here until the very end of the season than get rid of me now, just to spite everyone else around her.”

“Not to mention to spite myself…” Renee thinks to herself, opting to keep that piece internalized as Yukari takes in Renee’s response.

With Yukari remaining silent, Renee takes the opportunity to continue on. “So really, if anyone’s safe here, out of the two of us, it’s me." A smirk lines Renee's face. "Who cares if you and the other losers here hate me? Until I’m actually worth taking out for whatever little VP and BP I manage to gain, I’m not the one who has to worry about being eliminated.”

Despite Yukari's arrogance being turned against her, the rabbit girl remains silent, allowing Renee to have her little victory between the two of them.

After a beat passes, Yukari finally responds. “And what about Christian?” Yukari questions, giving Renee pause. “Do you care if he hates you, too? Even while you’re stuck going on a date with him?”

The smirk falls straight off Renee's face in an instant. Before Yukari can notice, her train of thought is derailed by a set of keys being thrown into her face. Yukari sputters as they fall to the table in front of her, but before she can respond, Renee speaks up, talking through gritted teeth.

“There’s your room key so you don’t get locked out." Renee returns to the booklet, not to actually read but to help end the discussion between her and Yukari. "Enjoy your training.”

Taking the hint, Yukari returns Renee’s glare with one of her own before she then snatches the key and walks out the room, leaving Renee all by herself.

With the door being slammed shut behind Yukari as she exits their shared room, Renee shakes her head as she gets up from her seat. Looking up at the clock, Renee’s stomach growls, reminding her of just how long it's been between her being transported to this show and now finally being able to relax in her room. Grabbing the second key, Renee goes for the door, only for her eyes to then turn towards the surprisingly well-stocked kitchen - or at least, what she presumes to be well-stocked anyhow. Given the sheer amount of dishes, utensils, pots, pans, tools, and other various accessories lining the cupboards, Renee can only assume that the fridge, freezer, and all of the other assorted cupboards and pantries are just as well-stocked as the rest of the otherwise small nook of their hotel room at The Palace.

However just as she starts to think on what to make for herself, Renee finds her mind beginning to wander, knowledge flowing freely that she never had before nor that she ever put any thought towards. Dropping the keys back onto the table, she finds herself entering the kitchen with her hands moving practically all on their own: Grabbing ingredients, performing prep work, and setting a meal into motion without even realizing it. By the time that she manages to shake herself free from this lack of autonomy, she’s already halfway through finishing the setup for a dish that while she doesn't recognize, does seem to register in a small part of her brain as something she would heavily enjoy making.

“...Hmm, I guess that there’s at least something useful in what that bitch gave me.” Renee thinks to herself, before her eyes glance over at the ring gear that Yukari left behind on the bed. “...Stupid, arrogant girl…”

Shaking her head, Renee finishes up her prep work for the meal before heading towards the bed. Looking around the room, Renee notices the lack of either a washing machine or a dryer, and finds herself grumbling about it. With her eyes briefly flickering to the plaque mounted above the bed, Renee lets out a lone chuckle as she takes the used gear and drops it into the hamper in the corner of the room. Renee then returns to her work in the kitchen, her mind wandering once more while she begins the next step of the recipe that's embedded into her mind, placing a saucepan onto one of the stovetops before setting it to medium heat. Once the heat kicks on in full, Renee throws in some stick butter into the saucepan, before adding in salt, pepper, and - once the butter is melted - a couple teaspoons of flour to start what is meant to be the roux for the meal.

“I guess that this isn’t entirely awful." Renee thinks to herself, finding herself smiling as she continues to cook. "As long as I keep myself from being eliminated outright, there’s nothing that any of the other contestants can do about me staying here. All I have to do is keep my BP low enough to not seem like a valuable target, and given the list of options provided, I could probably blow through my BP rather easily.” Renee’s eyes briefly flicker to the booklet left on the table, before she returns her focus to the meal at hand, pouring in some warm milk to the roux and continuing to whisk away at it. “They can all hate me as much as they want, but as long as I’m not a valuable enough target for them to eliminate, none of those losers will have the guts to actually take me out.” As Renee concludes her own thought, she lets out a soft chuckle as she adds in handful after handful of shredded cheese to the roux, whisking it not with the energy of a harsh drill instructor, but the motherly figure that her body represents. "They’ll just have to deal with me staying here, living it up on Serenity's dime, residing in the lap of luxury while they all worry about how they’re going to keep themselves in Master’s favor. After all, with skills like these, it's not going to be hard to keep him happy~."

A moment passes before Renee’s mind catches up with her own internal monologue, her hand stopping mid-motion, the whisk in her hand coming to a standstill. Renee’s eyes dart down to the saucepan, and then to the rest of the ingredients that she has gathered. Seemingly on instinct alone, Renee prevents the saucepan from slipping out of her grasp by instead gently setting it back down onto the stovetop, before then turning off the heat for this momentary pause. Looking down at the palms of her softened hands, it finally clicks in Renee’s mind how exactly the knowledge of this dish settled into her skull.

“This… This is one of his favorites, isn’t it?” Renee asks herself, the answer already embedded into her skull along with the rest of the knowledge that had been given to her by Serenity. "That... That bitch!"

Renee growls in annoyance, before she forces herself away from the stove, instead returning to the fridge. Swinging the door wide open, Renee's eyes dart around from ingredient to ingredient, her mind working faster than her eyes can, pulling up recipe after recipe that she never once cooked before, yet somehow knows by both heart and soul. Each and every one of them ties back to one singular source. Him.

Letting out another growl of frustration, this one boils over as Renee tries to storm away from the kitchen area, shutting the refrigerator door and grabbing the room key... Only for her gaze to turn back to the stovetop where her roux sits, waiting to be completed.

"Forget it! You don't HAVE to finish that, Renee. Nothing's forcing you to finish what you started. As far as you're concerned, it can be left there to rot."
"But Yukari had a great idea, didn't she? Christian's all alone right now, with nobody to take care of him~. If you just finished your cooking, you could go bring it to him as a way to make up for what it is that you did?"
"Grrrrr... No! No, I refuse. I refuse to debase myself into cooking for a worthless mark like him!"
"Well, aren't you at least going to finish cooking, then? Even if it's not good enough for him, at least one of his favorite comfort foods can bring you some comfort of your own~?"

As Renee's stomach growls voraciously, the battle between hatred and hunger comes to a close. Begrudgingly, Renee returns to the kitchen, getting back to work while gritting her teeth throughout the entire process. Pulling out one of the ceramic baking dishes, Renee begins layering down not just the sliced potatoes she had already cut previously while her mind was on autopilot, but also coats each layer with sea salt, pepper, thyme, and the cheesy roux she had worked on so diligently up until her brief pause. Once every layer is complete, Renee tosses the rest of the shredded cheese on top of the dish, before covering it and placing it inside of the oven, shutting the door as her thoughts begin to swirl.

"So what if it's not good enough for him? I'm not here to impress him. I'm here because of that bitch of a host. I swear, I am going to wring her neck out like a goddamn sponge before this idiotic game is completely over with."
"Of course, resorting to ****. Just to be expected of someone like you."
"Well, what other option is there? Just silently play along and let her keep changing me? She already fucked with my mind enough as is! Not to mention giving me... Whatever the hell this is!"
"This? Oh, no, this isn't Serenity's doing, Renee. This is all you~. Every last word of it~."
"Bullshit it is! I remember what that transformation said! A general sense of inferiority? This is how Serenity's enforcing that on me? By having some stupid voice whisper things in my ear?"
"Oh, I am not just some mere voice. I'm you, Renee. The you that you always thought you deserved to be~. The you that made you drive him away from your school in the first place."
"I never drove him away! He was the one that took what I said at face value! It's not my fault he couldn't handle some valid criticism!"
"Keep telling yourself that, Renee. It's worked wonders for you all these years, hasn't it? Performing out of high school gyms and VA halls, wrestling in the main event for barely fifty people most nights. All because you drove him away, rather than let him lead things in a new, better direction."
"Him? Lead MY company in a better direction?! He wasn't good enough! He was NEVER good enough!"
"Was he? Or was it just that YOU weren't good enough, Renee?"
"I... I-!"
"It's just like you thought when the transformation kicked in, Renee. No matter what it is you do for him - cooking, cleaning, taking care of his every need... You just aren't good enough to cut it, Renee. Just face the facts, sweetie. You're not good enough for him, and you NEVER will be."

While the war in Renee's own mind continues, she leaves the kitchen, unable to stay there and let herself lose to the thoughts that have seemingly been instilled into her mind. As she makes it to the bedroom however, her eyes flicker towards the plaque hanging above the bed once more. This time however, she doesn’t chuckle at the phrase etched into it. Instead she scowls through watery eyes, the words taking on an entirely new meaning with the voices in her head providing their agreement:

“To be the man, you have to please the man.”