DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the WWE characters or anything WWE related, they all belong to the genius that is Vince McMahon. The concept of the story is Gossip Girlish, so I guess i would say that belongs to Cecily Von Ziegesar; I just altered it some to fit with the whole WWE scheme of things.
A/N: This chapter has been revised as well as the first chapter; I honestly wasn't content with it so I changed and moved things around. Anyway, I will continue to edit the following chapters and add new chapters as I move along so just please be patient and I will try to update asap. I know that I have neglected the fic a bit; ok I neglected the fic by a lot but I'm trying to get back into it so, keep checking back-thanks! :)
like any drama induced story,
it all began at a party
"It took all my self control to keep from slapping the taste right out of her mouth on that stupid 'family retreat.' What a joke that turned out to be." Stephanie McMahon scoffed, talking to her two best friends and employees, Gail Kim and Victoria Crawford; best known by her ring name of Alicia Fox.
"If only you could have seen the sight of him cooking her breakfast," Stephanie paused, sucking her teeth angrily. The mental image of them still stuck in her head and she sighed, shaking her head sideways as if to erase the memory completely, but with no such luck. "The way he assembled for her a Greek yogurt parfait and then having to watch as he fed her little bits and pieces. I had to restrain from hurling at the breakfast table."
Stephanie could feel the bile begin to rise in her throat and she sought out her drink, firmly holding the stem of her wine glass while gently swirling it in tiny circles before taking a long sip. She was in the midst of her second glass.
"What did you have for breakfast?" Victoria asked absentmindedly, brushing Stephanie's long hair away from her right shoulder to further admire the detail of her Herve Leger mini dress.
"Like it really matters?" Stephanie shot back quickly, feeling annoyed by her question.
"The point is that they were making me sick to my stomach the whole retreat, acting like lovestruck teenagers-never once even keeping their hands off of each other." She huffed, running her free hand through her long tousled curls and internally encouraging herself to forget about the whole thing.
Why can't I be more like them? So willing to erase my whole past...why can't that be me? She thought silently to herself before drowning down the rest of her drink. The only way to suppress the thought of her father being with that woman was to get drunk-terribly drunk.
Good thing Stephanie came from the type of family for whom drinking was as normal as blinking. Growing up her parents believed that the more access kids had to alcohol, the less likely they were to abuse it as adults. So as teenagers, her older brother Shane and her, had their parents permission to consume as much alcohol as they wanted as long as they kept up their grades and their looks, but most importantly as long as they didn't embarrass themselves or disgrace the family name by causing a public scene, pissing in their pants or getting caught puking in the streets. Pretty much the same rules applied for everything else, like sex, drugs, gambling-just as long as they kept up the illusion of the Joneses, they'd remain perfectly fine.
But with great power comes great responsibility, as this, they were still learning, so let's not get ahead of ourselves-all in due time.
The bane of Stephanie's existence was Giuliana Giordano, her father's latest girlfriend; who at that moment was mingling amongst the dinner guest.
Stephanie rolled her eyes as she observed Giuliana making conversation from the next room. Giuliana Giordano always had something to say, and even when she didn't-she found something to say. That seemed to bother Stephanie the most about Giuliana because she made the task of ignoring her absolutely impossible. She was as persistent and talkative as the local Avon representative; granted she didn't resemble one physically.
Giuliana Giordano had a lithe frame, olive skin and exotic features that were greatly complimented by the immense poise with which she was constantly exuding. No doubt that that envious combination was what surely gained her worldwide popularity and respect in the fashion industry. But even the best in the world is naturally flawed and Giuliana Giordano's flaw came in one of those irritating, high pitched giggles and in spite of-it wasn't nearly enough to overshadow the kindness with which she treated Stephanie's father.
So now with this bit of insight, it shouldn't take long to realize that the bane of Stephanie McMahon's existence wasn't just a woman by the coincidental name of Giuliana Giordano, but the Giuliana Giordano; the measuring stick of all aspiring young fashion models for generations to come-and of course all that meant nothing to Stephanie because still, she wasn't her mother.
Approximately two years ago Stephanie's mother had filed for divorce from her father and even though she had stated on multiple occasions that divorcing Stephanie's father was by far the hardest thing she had ever had to do, it didn't take nearly as long as they'd all thought for her to find happiness yet again with her present-day husband.
His name was Roberto Schaiffer and he was a very honest and respectable man; which made it difficult for Stephanie to hate him. He owned a successful jewelry line named appropriately after him and they lived comfortably in a chateau east of Paris where they run a vineyard together. It's actually quite a very nice life they have going on for them when thinking about it.
Yet none of that was Giuliana Giordano's fault, it didn't matter to Stephanie. As far as she was concerned Giuliana Giordano was just a mere cold hearted, home-wrecker. But, just for tonight Stephanie would have to look pass all of it and tolerate Giuliana Giordano for the sake of the dinner party her father had organized in Giuliana's honor.
Stephanie had to hand it to her father, he'd really put a lot of thought and effort into the whole dinner party; granted he had worked closely with an event planner after Stephanie refused to have any part in the planning process, but still, it was his vision that had come to life. The fact that he had just redecorated the McMahon mansion this past summer was also a bonus on this given night. He'd added new tones of burgundy and gold mainly to the living and dinning room area and he'd also imported new art pieces from Europe to add to his growing collection which always had his guest in awe; the man had exquisite taste for art-no doubt about it.
"Looks like Giuliana found her next victim." Gail whispered, nudging Stephanie's side gently to get her attention as she pointed her glass in the direction of Paul Levesque and Giuliana Giordano; Stephanie had been so caught up in her on little world that she had unintentionally tuned Victoria and Gail down to a two that it took her a couple of seconds to follow in Gail's lead.
Stephanie's upper lip curled in annoyance at the sight of Giuliana harassing her boyfriend with her unnecessary small-talk.
"Wonder what they're talking about?" Victoria joined in the conversation, crossing her hands underneath her chest before glancing at Stephanie from the corner of her eye.
Stephanie scoffed, using her upper back to push herself off from the wall she had been slightly leaning against, balancing her weight on both feet as she straightened herself from her previous position before slowly bringing her drink up to level, the rim of the clear glass barely touching her full lower lip as she raised an eyebrow, studying Paul's body language intently.
Paul seemed to not be directly facing Giuliana which allowed Stephanie to pick up on his lack of interest in the conversation while his mental discomfort practically shouted at Stephanie as he shifted his body weight from foot-to-foot.
"I believe you mean were talking about." Stephanie corrected Victoria before drowning the remainder of her drink and handing the waiter the empty wine glass as she clicked her Jimmy Choo shoes towards Paul and Giuliana.
"Vince tells me you and Stephanie have been dating for quite sometime time now." Giuliana disclosed, patting Paul on the shoulder in an effort to get him to loosen up a bit. She was trying her best to get more acquainted to people in Vince, Stephanie, and Shane's circle of friends since she'd be spending more time with them all from now on.
"Have you been talking, or at least thinking, about marriage with Stephanie yet?" Giuliana asked.
Paul suddenly stilled in place, becoming more and more uncomfortable as their conversation progressed. He didn't like the direction in which it was heading towards.
"What?" Giuliana voiced, curiously. "Don't tell me that the idea of settling down, building a home, starting a family and watching your children grow old with a woman like Stephanie by your side hasn't even begun to cross your mind?"
"Well, Stephanie and I have known each other for, literally, our whole entire adult lives," he stopped momentarily to take a gulp of his scotch; thinking to himself of what to say as the state of his relationship with Stephanie really wasn't any of her business. It was a personal matter to be discussed by Stephanie and him only, and even if he did feel the need to disclose his personal information with Giuliana what would he say to her when he couldn't even get Stephanie to have sex with him as of lately.
"...and have been dating for almost four years now, we don't really want to rush into things when we've still got our whole lives ahead of us, so I guess in short, we don't want to commit to the task of marriage and anything else that may result from it before we are actually ready to take that step."
"Hmm...interesting." Giuliana nodded her head, staring at Paul with the same curiosity as before.
"Well, I mean..." Paul scratched the side of his temple before pushing his hand inside his pocket uncomfortably. "We're both still caught in that selfish stage of our lives where we are just enjoying each other and the success of our careers that we haven't exactly envisioned children in our future together, but just because we haven't envisioned them doesn't mean we don't want them. We do...just...everything in due time."
"Of course, I understand." Giuliana responded, preceding to slither her slim arm around his muscular one, reassuringly.
"I'm sure we'll have plenty of time for it all...eventually." Paul replied, feeding Giuliana the same old lines Stephanie had given him when he approached the subject. He wasn't getting any younger and he really wanted to settle down, get married, and have children; preferably while he could still remember all their names, and he genuinely believed Stephanie could be the one to share all that with. He loved her more than words could ever describe.
Giuliana smiled softly, gathering her thoughts before speaking. "Let me give you some golden advice from a woman's perspective." She whispered, leaning closer to him.
"A woman always wants a man to make the first move and take charge; especially a woman like Stephanie, she seems very old fashion in values and morals and although it may appear that she has no desire for any of those things, in reality, she does. I believe she just hasn't brought the subject up for fear that you might not feel the same way as she does and ultimately reject her. Now, what I suggest you do is talk more openly about these issues as the couple that you are and in time you'll see that you both want and desire the same things." Giuliana smiled widely, content with her advice.
Paul only nodded in response, allowing her to continue as he tried to remember the last time he and Stephanie had truly been happy with each other and within their relationship.
He had just finished showering after his match with Adam Copeland; best known to wrestling fans as Edge. He was trying to get ready as quickly as possible for his dinner date with Stephanie later that night. They were celebrating their first anniversary as a couple and he wanted it to be special for both of them.
He took her to a beautiful secluded island that over looked the entire body of water that surrounded them. He would never forget the look on her porcelain face and the glint in her eyes when he whispered in her ear the words 'I love you.' It was the first time he had ever spoken those words to her and the first time he had truly meant them. No matter how many women he had been with-they had never been said with the same sincerity and love in which they had been said to Stephanie McMahon.
They had then shared a long passionate kiss before Stephanie breathlessly uttered those same three words that Paul yearned to hear; the meaning behind them holding the same significance that Paul's had held as well and he could tell just by staring into her mesmerizing, icy-blue eyes, it was like looking into her soul and at that precise moment they had become one in the same.
Now after looking back, Paul couldn't help but wonder where all that intensity and desire for one another had gone. He really did love her with all his heart, but he just wasn't sure of what had become of them lately.
Stephanie had been distant; in every sense of the word, ever since she and Paul had discussed life together, kids, and marital issues...things had become kind of tense between them, which only made Paul doubt their relationship even more than he wanted to allow himself to.
He most certainly understood that relationships were about compromise and he accepted Stephanie's worries and hesitations over the matter as he obliged himself to see things through her perspective but often times he wondered to himself if she attempted to see his perspective on the situation.
It stung as he often found himself musing over the validation of their compromises and their longevity as a couple and whether or not they'd be able to withstand the test of time before it began to jeopardize his and her relationship together. Maybe it had already begun to deteriorate right in front of them and no amount of love between the two could help salvage it, and if that was the case, he just didn't know how much he'd be willing to sacrifice or endure anymore and it killed him inside to not know. What if love just wasn't enough?
So? What did you guys think, honestly? Let me know in a comment/review! xoxo -A
TBC...
