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Sean's jaw set in anger, his hands clenching into fists as he stared down at his cell phone.
He'd gone and taken a chance on calling Stephanie, only to have that bastard Levesque answer. The abusive prick had basically threatened him, warning him to stay away from his fiancee. And all in all, O'Haire knew that the man had no clue as to who'd even called. Levesque was pretty much asking for a fight - there were plenty of guys in the company who could kick his ass, as all his hype as Triple H was just that - all hype.
He raked a hand through his shaggy dark brown locks as he felt a wave of worry wash over him. Paul Levesque had been furious, and Sean was willing to stake his life on the guess that the man had been in the middle of a fight with Stephanie.
Damn it... If the asshole had harmed her in any way...
O'Haire made up his mind - he was going to see the brunette whether her so-called 'fiance' liked it or not. If the asshole wanted to start a physical altercation with him, so be it. Sean was trained in karate and Muay Tai kickboxing, so he really wasn't all that concerned. He knew he could easily put Paul Levesque into the hospital...
He briskly moved toward the door, then yanked on its handle to leave - and he stopped in his tracks...
...Stephanie was standing right there before him, apparently having been prepared to knock.
"Steph..."
"Hi, Sean," she said in an amazingly calm voice, despite her tear-stained face. Her hands wrung nervously as she stared up at him plaintively. "Can I come in?"
O'Haire didn't even bother to respond as he ushered the young woman inside, locking the door behind her. Only then did Stephanie begin sobbing, and she threw herself into his arms, allowing him to hold her tightly against him. He let her cry for a good few minutes, his large hands gently massaging up and down her back and over her soft, long brown hair. Her body shook against him as she continued to sob it all out, but she held tightly to him, as though her life depended on it. And the truth was, she didn't want to let go...
When she was finally composed enough to stop crying, her sobs reduced to small sniffles, Sean took hold of her hand and led her to the bed to sit. Stephanie wiped at her cheeks and eyes, and it was only then that the muscular man noticed the marks on her.
"Stephanie, what... happened?" O'Haire asked, pointing toward the ugly, mottled purplish skin that made a ring around her slender neck. Tentatively, gentler than perhaps he'd ever been in his entire life, he touched the area with his fingertips.
The brunette swallowed hard, her large blue eyes meeting his for an instant before shifting away - and she looked ashamed.
"Levesque did that to you, didn't he?"
The SmackDown General Manager still didn't speak, but she nodded to confirm his suspicions.
That was it... Although outwardly, he was perfectly calm, Sean felt as though he might explode at any minute.
"I have a great idea," he began, his blue eyes hardening, "how about I go find that bastard and cripple him for life?"
Stephanie's eyes went wide as she realized he wasn't joking. Just as he stood up from the bed, she reached out, grabbing him by one arm and stopping him.
"Sean, no!"
He stood there and gazed down into her terrified face, as though awaiting more protestations - or maybe a green light.
"Please d-don't... I don't want you to get in trouble. It's not that bad," she stammered.
"Not that bad? Steph, the asshole tried to strangle you! Didn't he?"
Growing silent again, the GM nodded, her head going down. She was thoroughly ashamed - when had she become this weak, spineless shell of herself? And she didn't want Sean to do anything to get himself into trouble... Not on her account - she would hate herself if that happened...
Sean sighed deeply, visibly more calm as he came back to sit at her side on the edge of the bed.
"Okay," he said softly, his gaze fastened to her sorrow-filled face. "I won't do anything to him at the very moment - but that's only because you don't want me to."
They stared at each other in silence for a moment, then O'Haire placed one hand to her face, gently tipping up
Stephanie's chin so he could gaze fully into her blue eyes, her lovely but scared face. "But I promise you this...
I will see to it that Paul Levesque never hurts you again..."