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Stephanie tentatively made her way to the hotel suite she and Paul were staying in, shaking her head sadly. Although she was Vince McMahon's daughter, she felt she would have been happy just staying in a regular room, but that was not the case for Paul. He liked to be extravagant, throw his weight around - just like he always did in the squared circle.
She swiped her cardkey through the door and let herself in, sighing as she recalled her confessions to Sean O'Haire a week prior. Damn it, she hated herself for being so cowardly. She was nothing but a weakling now - which was downright ludicrous. She was a McMahon, and McMahons were strong people - with a backbone of steel, as her mother always said.
Dear God... Wehn had she been reduced to this? She was scared to death of speaking up and telling Paul it was over, finito, done with - that she wasn't going to marry him and that she never wanted to see him again.
Over the course of the week, due to Levesque's frequent absence from her presence, she'd spent a little more time with Sean.
Now, as she was in her hotel suite, she walked around from one spacious room to the next, checking. A thorough examination of the place told Stephanie that the bastard was not here.
Thank goodness for that...
The brunette removed her shoes as she settled back against the plushness of the cozy armchair in the sitting room. She let out a sigh, not sure if it was out of relief or comfort.
Her thoughts shifted back to Sean O'Haire, and how kind, sweet and comforting he had been toward her all week. Ever since he'd found her crying in her office, they'd hit it off and become very fast friends. He made her feel safe and secure when they were together as well. She thought back to a conversation they'd had over a room service dinner from a mere two days earlier:
"If you really don't want to marry him, Stephanie, you're going to have to let him know that," Sean said between forkfuls of the Caesar salad they'd ordered as a precursor to their dinner of sirloin steak, potatoes and broccoli.
"I... I know that, and you're right..." she replied with a nod. "I just don't know how to do it."
O'Haire put down his fork and reached across the table to take her hand in his.
"The only way to do it is to do it," he said.
The brunette kept her eyes down until he spoke again.
"Stephanie, look at me..."
She raised her gaze to meet his blue eyes. Not for the first time, she noticed how very handsome he was. A pleasant ripple went up her spine as his intense gaze remained on her eyes.
"You are a wonderful, sensitive, beautiful woman. You deserve someone who will treat you the way you should be treated," Sean said. "You should and deserve to be cherished - and you shouldn't settle for anything less..."
Stephanie's lips parted slightly, and she had to try very hard not to actually sigh. She bit her lip gently, an unbelievable feeling coming over her. She felt so warm and wanted in this man's presence...
Stephanie ran her hand through her long brown hair and sighed as she realized that, although it was moving at a lightning-quick pace, she was falling in love with Sean O'Haire... And with her wedding now a mere two weeks away, at that.
She knew O'Haire was right - she had to do something, and fast. She definitely could go through with marrying Paul. Her heart couldn't take it, and she was even beginning to get migraines over worrying about having to spend her life with him.
Stephanie knew it wasn't worth risking her health, whether it be physical or mental - to say nothing of her happiness. Besides, she knew she would also have to talk to Sean, to tell him about the feelings she'd developed for him. Even if he didn't feel the same way toward her, she thought it would be worth it.
Her entire body suddenly stiffened as she heard the door open. Paul was back.
Instinctively, Stephanie gripped the arms of the chair tightly - so much so that her fingers began to ache.
"Hey, babe," Levesque said, a grin on his smug face as he entered the room.
The brunette's blood ran cold, the fine hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. She could detect the distinct smell of Obsession cologne and knew Paul was cheating on her. She honestly didn't care. The only thing she did care about was getting herself out of the mess she was in.
"Paul," she said, rising from her chair, "I think we need to talk..."