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"Daddy?"
Vince McMahon looked up at the small sound of the voice to see his daughter Stephanie standing in the doorway of his office. She looked shy and meek and timid and uncertain as she stood there with her hands clasped in front of her.
"Hello, Stephanie..." He gestured for her to come inside.
The brunette stepped forward, her heart beating quickly as her nerves were frazzled. It might have appeared strange to some people that she felt she had to wait for her own father to accept her visiting him, but they didn't know the real Vince. Heck, even her mom was like this with him.
"What can I do for you, sweetheart?"
Stephanie absently twiddled her thumbs, wishing she had more courage in speaking to him. How would he react to what she was going to say and ask him? What if he asked her for some explanations as to her wishes?
"Well, Daddy..." she began. "I need to talk to you - and it's important."
"All right... What's on your mind?" Vince straightened up, crossing his arms over his chest as he eyed his daughter expectantly.
Stephanie bit her lip. Why did this have to be so difficult? After all, it was *her* life.
"Daddy, I want you to... Well, I want to ask for your help."
"Help?"
She nodded. "I would like the stipulation of our match at No Mercy to change, for one. I-I don't want to be off television."
"Well, there's not really anything that can be done about that since-"
"Daddy," the brunette cut in so fast that she didn't have time to be shocked by the fact that she'd interrupted her father. "I'd also like you to help me get out of the wedding..."
"Excuse me?"
"*Please, Dad... I don't love Paul, and he doesn't love me," she said, shaking her head. "And I can't marry someone under such circumstances."
Vince shook his head, his eyes growing hard as he held up a hand at her words.
"Stephanie, we've already discussed this. This is *your* problem - not mine. Either grow up and get yourself out of the situation, or deal with it." He was not the least bit phased by the surprised expression on his daughter's face, the quivering of her chin and tears welling up in her eyes. "And I will not," he continued, pointing at her, "jeopardize the pay-per-view just for your sake..."
"But Daddy-"
"No buts, sweetheard. Now, if you don't mind, I have a lot of work to do."
Stephanie stared at her father dejectedly as he seated himself once again. Her heart broke as she thought of what he'd just said, and that simple gesture of sitting back down in his chair as the ultimate dismissal.
Wordlessly, she nodded, turning away to leave. The tears spilled forth as her hand touched the door handle, and she was met by Sean just outside the office. One look at the brunette's tearful face told him everything.
O'Haire reached out and pulled Stephanie into his embrace, and she sobbed against his chest.
Frankly, he didn't give a damn who saw them - even if it happened to be Mr. McMahon himself.