Stephanie stared at her parents a moment. It was like a scene out of an old western. Here they were, facing each other, guns about to be drawn, the clock about to strike high noon. The face-off had begun. All they needed was to turn their backs to each other and count to three before turning and drawing their weapons. She felt Chris sidle up to her and she felt his shoulder touching hers. She looked at him briefly before he gaze settled back on her family.
"Stephanie, we've been looking for you," Linda said, "I think that we need to have a talk."
"What about?" Stephanie asked innocently. She could see the barely contained rage in the eyes of her father and brother and knew that they were letting Linda speak lest their anger burst through their chests and strangle them.
"Stephanie, we really need to have a serious discussion," Linda said as calmly as she could muster at the moment. Stephanie glanced to Chris and they had a short conversation with their eyes.
"Okay, we'll talk," she said, grabbing Chris's hand in her own.
"Alone," Linda insisted, looking pointedly at Chris.
"Fine," Stephanie said, letting go of Chris's hand. He didn't let go however and she turned to him, facing him completely as she turned her back on her family, just like she had done the week before. "I can handle this."
Chris leaned in closer to her, "Are you sure?"
"Aren't you the one telling me that I have that fire in me? I thought that's what you saw in me," she teased gently.
"Yeah, but three on one, I'm not liking those odds," he teased back.
"Didn't you see what I did to Test?" she argued.
"Yeah, I saw, but still…well, I'm not going to tell you what to do," Chris insisted. "If you think that you can handle your family, I think that you can handle your family, but if you do need anyone, you know I've got your back."
"I know," she said, leaning up to kiss his cheek. He was surprised she went for such an obvious gesture of affection in front of her family. He could not get enough of her boldness. Just when he thought she was going to regress back into that annoying little princess act, she did something to surprise him. He figured that Stephanie was going to be full of surprises.
"Okay, good luck."
"I don't NEED luck," she winked as she turned back to her family. "Okay, we can talk."
Chris left them then, but it didn't stop him from glancing back, watching Stephanie lead her parents into what he assumed to be Vince's office. He didn't worry for her, why should he worry for her? It wasn't like he honestly cared about Stephanie. She was a thrill and an enigma, but she wasn't exactly someone that he could say he cared about. Maybe he'd care over time, but right now, he didn't really care. He just wanted to know how that confrontation was going to go.
As soon as the door was closed behind Stephanie, Vince turned to her. "Okay, so we've set the annulment into motion. We can have this marriage stricken from the record in three weeks."
"Excuse me?" Stephanie asked. "Who's getting an annulment?"
"You are Stephanie," Shane answered. "Don't worry, Dad's got his best lawyers on this. We won't let Chris Jericho get away with what he's done."
"Wait, I'm sorry, you two are getting me an annulment?" Stephanie scoffed.
"Stephanie, we know what you've been through must be terrible," Linda said and Stephanie couldn't believe her mother was in on this too. Maybe her mother had been controlling her as well and she had just been taken in by her calm demeanor. Was everyone in this world except Chris trying to control her?
"Yes, and honey, you don't have to pretend that you want to be with Chris just because you married him," Vince told her calmly and in a very fatherly tone. "We know that you wanted to marry Andrew, and it can still happen. As soon as this annulment goes through, we'll give you the biggest and best wedding you've ever seen."
"Wait, so you're saying that you've taken control of the situation, of my life, and this is how it's going to be, you're going to just…have my marriage annulled?" Stephanie asked, folding her arms as she regarded her family. "This is what you think is best for me?"
"Of course," Vince said. "This man, this Jericho got you drunk. I don't know what I was thinking when I hired him."
"I don't know either Dad, I told you he was a bad investment," Shane chimed in and Stephanie wanted to call him a little rat bastard but she bit her tongue.
"I should've listened to you Shane. But Stephanie, it'll be okay," Vince told her, walking up to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "Daddy will take care of everything. It'll be just like this marriage never existed and you don't have to pretend to be nice to Chris."
"Oh, so I don't have to pretend then?"
"Oh Stephanie, my poor little girl," Linda said, going up and hugging Stephanie. Stephanie had never wanted to throw her mother off of her more than she did in that moment. "I know how devastated you must be that your wedding was ruined."
"Why do you guys get to dictate what happens to me?" Stephanie asked. "Who asked you to get my marriage annulled? Who told you do that?"
"Stephanie, we couldn't let this marriage stand. Jericho got you drunk and married you while you were under the influence. He could've taken advantage of you. He could've raped you for all you know and we, as McMahons, are not going to stand for that," Vince explained.
"He didn't rape me Dad, he didn't even touch me, I would know okay," Stephanie said. "But I just can't believe you would put an annulment into motion without asking me."
"We couldn't get a hold of you, where were you anyways?" Shane asked.
"I was…away," Stephanie said. "Clearing my head, I guess. I was realizing what my life was like and how I had to change it."
"Good, good, I'm glad that you were doing that sweetie," Linda told her. "I'm glad that you didn't have to hang around that horrible Chris Jericho."
She wondered what her mother would think if she knew that not only had she spent the past entire week with Chris, she had moved into his house with him. Of course, she would leave out the important detail that she and Chris had separate rooms. It was better to let them think that they had shared a room, a bed, and everything else, even if she and Chris hadn't, even if she hadn't…
"I fail to see what's so wrong with him," Stephanie said.
"Um, he got you drunk and married you…probably to get his hands on our money," Shane responded. "I mean, come on, he wants to get his hands on the McMahon money and what better way than to get you drunk. No offense Stephanie, but you were the easiest target."
"So I'm just a target for him?"
"Exactly!" Shane emphasized. "He saw you, thought that he could get his way through you and then he went and followed you to Vegas so that she could have everything that he wanted. He targeted you, why else would he follow you?"
"And now I'm getting an annulment?"
"Yes, you're getting an annulment."
"Unbelievable," Stephanie said, looking at them. "When were you going to let me decide what was going to happen in my life? Why are you just assuming things for me? None of you are me. How could you just do that to me?"
"We didn't do anything that isn't for your own good Princess."
"My own good? Not consulting me and making life decisions for me is for my own good? You think that you controlling me is for my own good?"
"We're not controlling you sweetie, we're looking out for you," Linda told her gently. "You're young yet, you don't know how people out there are willing to use you and then dump you off like you're nothing. That's why Andrew is so good for you. He's a good man, a very good man and you'll be happy together once this annulment goes through."
"So you're going to throw me another wedding, a better wedding?"
"Yes Princess, whatever you want, you're going to have. You just say the word and it'll happen. We'll start planning it immediately," Vince told her, kissing her forehead.
"Daddy, watch the show okay? Because I want to go out there and tell everyone just what I think about what Chris Jericho did. I think you'll be very surprised and very…well, just watch, okay Daddy?" Stephanie asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes.
"Do you want us to come with you?" Vince asked. "We'll protect you."
"You know what?" Stephanie said excitedly, clapping her hands together. "You and Shane stay back here, as soon as you see me entering the ring, then you go backstage, that way, if Chris doesn't see you guys there, he'll be there and you can punish him for what he's done. Okay Daddy?"
"Of course Princess, whatever you want." Stephanie hugged her father tightly and then her brother and mother. "Okay, wish me luck."
Stephanie walked out of the room, or rather bounced out. When the door closed behind her, she scoffed. How had she ignored that for so many years when it was glaring her in the face right now? These people were trying to control every single move she made and it was starting to really get under her skin now. Thank God Chris showed up when he did or she'd be married to Andrew and still being controlled by her family. She stalked down the hallway to Chris's locker room, throwing the door open, almost putting a hole in the wall where it hit.
"Oh, they're going to pay," Stephanie said angrily as the door closed behind her with a much softer sound than it had opened.
"Who's going to pay?" Chris smirked.
"You were so right, all this time, they were just trying to make me a pawn for them. Oh, poor little Stephy, she can't do anything by herself. It's a wonder they let me alone, they probably think I'm going to have trouble not walking into a wall or something."
"What did I tell you?"
"I don't know how I didn't see it," Stephanie said, walking over and kneeling on the couch next to Chris, sitting her butt down against her legs. "You know what they did?"
"What?"
"Called their lawyers to get this," here she gestured between the two of them, "annulled."
"Wait, they started the ball rolling to get us annulled without asking you first?"
"Yes!" she said, incensed now that she had time to really think about it. "They think that they can just steamroll over everything. Well they're not. I told them to watch later, and they're going to watch later while I get in that ring and tell them that not only am I STAYING married to you, but that I wanted to marry you in the first place."
"So how much steam do you think is going to come out of your dad's ears?" he joked.
"Chris, thank you again, for everything," she told him, grabbing his hand and holding it in hers. "I never realized…I mean, I did realize that they were overprotective and could be controlling, but I never knew that I could be different. You showed me that, you're showing me that and thank you."
"Steph, come on, I didn't do anything you would've have done eventually," he said, trying to shrug off her thanks, but not letting go of her hand.
"Yeah, when Chris? After being married to Andrew for two years, with a baby on my hip? I don't think I would've had the guts to do it then."
"Sure you would," he winked.
"You save me," she told him simply and full of meaning. "Don't take that the wrong way, like I owe you my life or something, but you did save me from a life that I don't want to live. My parents are going to see just how much they can control me, and they're going to find out it's not much."
"Then we'll go out there and say just that."
"Good…are you going to be okay though? I know my dad and my brother are probably going to storm the ring and try to take you. They might bring reinforcements and I'd hate to think of you getting beat up by them."
"Don't worry about me Steph."
"But you don't have any back-up," she said. "They have an entire company."
"I said don't worry about it Steph," Chris told her. "You just worry about how you're going to tell your parents that you are no longer their little princess."
"We have to make this seem real," Stephanie reminded him. "We have to act like a real married couple."
"So you want to have sex right now then?" Chris joked. "Oh wait, I'm not allowed your body right? That was one of the stipulations."
Stephanie blushed a little bit. "But we have to make it seem like we've had…well, like we've slept together. So we have to be all over each other, got it?"
"You don't have to tell me twice," Chris said lecherously, placing his hand on her hip. She swatted him away impatiently. "I'm just getting some practice in."
She rolled her eyes. "We don't need practice. We just have to act married, the whole nine yards. I'm not going to do this half-way. You didn't see the way they were looking at me. Like I was five years old again and they had to tell me everything. Like I couldn't tie my own shoes. That's how they looked at me, like they had to take control of my marriage and make the decisions for me because I'm inept."
"Which you're not."
"Which I'm not," she said, standing up and tugging at his hand that she was still holding. "Let's go, I want to do this right now. I want them to know right now that I'm not going to be the one being controlled. From now on, I control them. I just got my share of the company so they can't do anything. If they try to even fire you, they're not going to get the chance."
"Job security, I knew there had to be more good reasons to marry you."
"For now."
"Hey, I'm riding this thing out until the waves gets to the shore," he joked.
"I wonder what they're going to do, I wonder what they're going to think," she said. "I bet you that they're going to flip out. Oh yes, oh, maybe my mom will cry. Do you think she'll cry?"
"Depends on what you say."
"Well then let's show them that Stephanie McMahon-Jericho is a force to be reckoned with."
