I know it's been forever since I've updated this, sorry about that. I hope
you like this chapter.
*
Stephanie leaned back in her big leather chair in the sanctuary of her office at Titan Towers. She absently stroked her swollen abdomen. Her baby seemed like the only thing she was sure about anymore. Nothing in her life made much sense.
She was married to a man she hated. She allowed him to use her body night after night. She would just laid in her bed, going through the motions, hating the way she felt. She couldn't even pretend David Flair was someone else, because his touch was so different from any other touch she had ever known.
She reached out and opened the top left drawer of her desk and pulled a picture frame out of it. She looked at the picture and felt a smile grow. It felt like it had been ages since she had smiled. It seemed unreal that she had been married to David for five months. Kurt had been dead for six months.
Stephanie stroked the line of Kurt's face. In the picture, he was holding her in his arms and they were both turned to the camera. He had been chasing her around the land just outside of her lighthouse and he captured her in a bear hug. They were both grinning like idiots at the camera.
It had been Vince's last trip to the lighthouse. He had taken the picture of Stephanie and Kurt. Tears filled her eyes as she thought about her father and all he had sacrificed for her and Shane. He had died so they might carry on his legacy. And her mother had watched the man she loved die and had married his enemy in an attempt to fulfill his wishes.
Linda would understand exactly what Stephanie was going through. She was trying to get something by pretending she loved a man she hated.
No, that wasn't exactly true. No one was fool enough to believe that Stephanie loved David. Even David wasn't delusional enough to believe that. But she did share a life with him at the moment. She lived with him, she slept with him. He thought her child was his.
"Kurt?" Stephanie whispered to the picture. "Show me I'm doing the right thing here."
"You know, talking to pictures is one of the first signs of severe delusions," a sardonic voice said from the doorway. Stephanie looked up and smiled briefly at the man in the doorway. "Your secretary wasn't at her desk."
"She has the day off," Stephanie said. "Come in."
"Thank you," he said, moving toward the two chairs in front of her desk. He looked at them and shrugged as he propped a hip up on the edge of her desk. "How's it going?"
"It's going?" Stephanie shrugged, setting the frame in her lap.
"Let me see," he said, holding his hand out to her.
"Why?" Stephanie asked.
"Because I want to see," he said gently. "I care about you and that picture is obviously important to you."
"You care about me?" Stephanie asked, her tone slightly disbelieving.
"Yeah, strange as it seems given our checkered past," he replied. "You've changed a lot in the years you were gone Steph. You're a good person now."
"A good person who married a disgusting excuse for a human being a month after her husband died?" Stephanie asked.
"We both know you have your reasons," he replied. "They may be McMahon reasons, which no one else on the planet could ever justify, but they are reasons."
"Thanks," Stephanie said sarcastically.
"Two more months until you're a mommy," he said, changing the subject. His hand was still held out to her and she gave him the picture. He studied it closely for a long moment. "You were both happy here."
"Yeah," Stephanie said wistfully. "God, I miss him. I wish, I wish I hadn't convinced myself that locking myself away in my lighthouse was such a great idea."
"You can't change what's done Steph," he said.
"No, you're right," Stephanie said. She took the picture back from him.
"Any chinks in David's armor yet?" he asked.
"He's changing his will to make me the executor and the baby will be the sole heir of his shares in the WWE," Stephanie said. "No stipulations that the baby be his, just that the first born child of Stephanie McMahon-Flair will inherit his shares."
"How do you know all of that?" he asked.
"David's lawyer couriered a copy of the new draft to the house yesterday and I looked over it while David was sleeping," Stephanie said.
"You need to be careful around him," he warned, leaning a bit closer to look her in the eyes. "He doesn't have the basic decency that his dad had. If he finds out about anything. I don't even want to think about what would happen to you Stephanie."
"I'll be fine," Stephanie said.
"Say that all you want Steph," he said. "But none of us fully realize what he is capable of."
"I'll be okay," she assured him again.
"Damn it Stephanie!" he exclaimed, coming around her desk and pulling her to her feet. "You still think because you are Stephanie McMahon everything will be taken care of you. You think that you will be able to escape."
"Don't pretend to know me," Stephanie said. "I've lost my parents and my husband in less than a year and I'm married to a man I hate! I'm taking care of this, it's not being taken care of for me. You don't know anything!"
Stephanie didn't feel his lips covering hers until her arms were already wrapped around his neck. His hands ran up and down her back. His mouth plundered hers and for the first time in months she felt truly alive. She kissed him back, giving him all of the fear and anxiety she felt.
Finally he stepped away and he looked at her. "I love you. I know you more than you think."
"You love me?" Stephanie asked shakily, leaning back against the desk. "How? Why?"
"Who knows how?" he asked. "And I love you because you're strong, you love with everything you have, and you're willing to sacrifice so much for this company and for the people who work here. And you're Stephanie McMahon. No one can help but like you, no matter how much they claim otherwise."
"Oh my God," Stephanie whispered, looking in his eyes and realizing he wasn't lying.
"I'll leave now," he said.
"No!" Stephanie exclaimed. "Don't go."
"What?" he asked, turning back to her.
"I won't lie to you and tell you that I love you," Stephanie said. "You deserve better than that. But can you possibly just hold me for awhile?"
He smiled in a way that warmed her heart. She had started to think that no one would ever care about her again after the things she was doing. She was almost certain she would never have anything else good in her life.
"I'd love to hold you," he said, pulling her into his arms. His strong arms circled her and held her close to him. Her head rested on his shoulder.
"Sometimes I wish I wasn't pregnant," Stephanie whispered. "I wish I could get closer."
"Get away from my wife!" David Flair exclaimed from the doorway. He walked toward them and grabbed Stephanie's wrist, yanking her out of the sanctuary of the other man's arms.
"Look, Stephanie and I are friends," he said. "You may be married, but you can't tell her who she is and isn't allowed to be with."
"If you're one of the people she's going to be with I felt like I should overstep my bounds," he said. He yanked Stephanie against his side.
"Don't pull her around like that!" the other man exclaimed. "She's not some doll. And she's pregnant, or have you forgotten?"
"That's a little hard," David said derisively as he looked at Stephanie's stomach. "I wouldn't be mad if you and Stephanie were just friends. You weren't holding her like a friend."
"Don't be ridiculous David," Stephanie said. "I don't think many people would find me attractive while I'm as big as a house."
"I just don't want him around you," David said. "You need to get it through your thick skull that you are my wife now."
"Lucky me," Stephanie sighed as she walked toward her desk.
"What did you say?" David asked as he yanked her back to him.
Suddenly, Stephanie's hand was freed as David was tackled to the ground. "If you ever touch her in a way that is intended to harm her again, I won't be responsible for my actions."
"Shut up," David said. "I'm your boss!"
The other man's fist smashed into David's face. "I'll make you pay you piece of trash! Get off of me! I'm David Flair."
"You're father commanded respect," the other man said, punching David's face. "You don't even command attention."
"Rocky, get off of him," Stephanie said, pulling him away from her husband. "Don't do anything stupid. Please!"
"I'm off," Rocky said, standing up. "That piece of shit doesn't deserve you Stephanie."
"Thank you," Stephanie said. "I'll be okay now."
"I doubt that very much," Rocky said, leaving nevertheless.
*
Stephanie leaned back in her big leather chair in the sanctuary of her office at Titan Towers. She absently stroked her swollen abdomen. Her baby seemed like the only thing she was sure about anymore. Nothing in her life made much sense.
She was married to a man she hated. She allowed him to use her body night after night. She would just laid in her bed, going through the motions, hating the way she felt. She couldn't even pretend David Flair was someone else, because his touch was so different from any other touch she had ever known.
She reached out and opened the top left drawer of her desk and pulled a picture frame out of it. She looked at the picture and felt a smile grow. It felt like it had been ages since she had smiled. It seemed unreal that she had been married to David for five months. Kurt had been dead for six months.
Stephanie stroked the line of Kurt's face. In the picture, he was holding her in his arms and they were both turned to the camera. He had been chasing her around the land just outside of her lighthouse and he captured her in a bear hug. They were both grinning like idiots at the camera.
It had been Vince's last trip to the lighthouse. He had taken the picture of Stephanie and Kurt. Tears filled her eyes as she thought about her father and all he had sacrificed for her and Shane. He had died so they might carry on his legacy. And her mother had watched the man she loved die and had married his enemy in an attempt to fulfill his wishes.
Linda would understand exactly what Stephanie was going through. She was trying to get something by pretending she loved a man she hated.
No, that wasn't exactly true. No one was fool enough to believe that Stephanie loved David. Even David wasn't delusional enough to believe that. But she did share a life with him at the moment. She lived with him, she slept with him. He thought her child was his.
"Kurt?" Stephanie whispered to the picture. "Show me I'm doing the right thing here."
"You know, talking to pictures is one of the first signs of severe delusions," a sardonic voice said from the doorway. Stephanie looked up and smiled briefly at the man in the doorway. "Your secretary wasn't at her desk."
"She has the day off," Stephanie said. "Come in."
"Thank you," he said, moving toward the two chairs in front of her desk. He looked at them and shrugged as he propped a hip up on the edge of her desk. "How's it going?"
"It's going?" Stephanie shrugged, setting the frame in her lap.
"Let me see," he said, holding his hand out to her.
"Why?" Stephanie asked.
"Because I want to see," he said gently. "I care about you and that picture is obviously important to you."
"You care about me?" Stephanie asked, her tone slightly disbelieving.
"Yeah, strange as it seems given our checkered past," he replied. "You've changed a lot in the years you were gone Steph. You're a good person now."
"A good person who married a disgusting excuse for a human being a month after her husband died?" Stephanie asked.
"We both know you have your reasons," he replied. "They may be McMahon reasons, which no one else on the planet could ever justify, but they are reasons."
"Thanks," Stephanie said sarcastically.
"Two more months until you're a mommy," he said, changing the subject. His hand was still held out to her and she gave him the picture. He studied it closely for a long moment. "You were both happy here."
"Yeah," Stephanie said wistfully. "God, I miss him. I wish, I wish I hadn't convinced myself that locking myself away in my lighthouse was such a great idea."
"You can't change what's done Steph," he said.
"No, you're right," Stephanie said. She took the picture back from him.
"Any chinks in David's armor yet?" he asked.
"He's changing his will to make me the executor and the baby will be the sole heir of his shares in the WWE," Stephanie said. "No stipulations that the baby be his, just that the first born child of Stephanie McMahon-Flair will inherit his shares."
"How do you know all of that?" he asked.
"David's lawyer couriered a copy of the new draft to the house yesterday and I looked over it while David was sleeping," Stephanie said.
"You need to be careful around him," he warned, leaning a bit closer to look her in the eyes. "He doesn't have the basic decency that his dad had. If he finds out about anything. I don't even want to think about what would happen to you Stephanie."
"I'll be fine," Stephanie said.
"Say that all you want Steph," he said. "But none of us fully realize what he is capable of."
"I'll be okay," she assured him again.
"Damn it Stephanie!" he exclaimed, coming around her desk and pulling her to her feet. "You still think because you are Stephanie McMahon everything will be taken care of you. You think that you will be able to escape."
"Don't pretend to know me," Stephanie said. "I've lost my parents and my husband in less than a year and I'm married to a man I hate! I'm taking care of this, it's not being taken care of for me. You don't know anything!"
Stephanie didn't feel his lips covering hers until her arms were already wrapped around his neck. His hands ran up and down her back. His mouth plundered hers and for the first time in months she felt truly alive. She kissed him back, giving him all of the fear and anxiety she felt.
Finally he stepped away and he looked at her. "I love you. I know you more than you think."
"You love me?" Stephanie asked shakily, leaning back against the desk. "How? Why?"
"Who knows how?" he asked. "And I love you because you're strong, you love with everything you have, and you're willing to sacrifice so much for this company and for the people who work here. And you're Stephanie McMahon. No one can help but like you, no matter how much they claim otherwise."
"Oh my God," Stephanie whispered, looking in his eyes and realizing he wasn't lying.
"I'll leave now," he said.
"No!" Stephanie exclaimed. "Don't go."
"What?" he asked, turning back to her.
"I won't lie to you and tell you that I love you," Stephanie said. "You deserve better than that. But can you possibly just hold me for awhile?"
He smiled in a way that warmed her heart. She had started to think that no one would ever care about her again after the things she was doing. She was almost certain she would never have anything else good in her life.
"I'd love to hold you," he said, pulling her into his arms. His strong arms circled her and held her close to him. Her head rested on his shoulder.
"Sometimes I wish I wasn't pregnant," Stephanie whispered. "I wish I could get closer."
"Get away from my wife!" David Flair exclaimed from the doorway. He walked toward them and grabbed Stephanie's wrist, yanking her out of the sanctuary of the other man's arms.
"Look, Stephanie and I are friends," he said. "You may be married, but you can't tell her who she is and isn't allowed to be with."
"If you're one of the people she's going to be with I felt like I should overstep my bounds," he said. He yanked Stephanie against his side.
"Don't pull her around like that!" the other man exclaimed. "She's not some doll. And she's pregnant, or have you forgotten?"
"That's a little hard," David said derisively as he looked at Stephanie's stomach. "I wouldn't be mad if you and Stephanie were just friends. You weren't holding her like a friend."
"Don't be ridiculous David," Stephanie said. "I don't think many people would find me attractive while I'm as big as a house."
"I just don't want him around you," David said. "You need to get it through your thick skull that you are my wife now."
"Lucky me," Stephanie sighed as she walked toward her desk.
"What did you say?" David asked as he yanked her back to him.
Suddenly, Stephanie's hand was freed as David was tackled to the ground. "If you ever touch her in a way that is intended to harm her again, I won't be responsible for my actions."
"Shut up," David said. "I'm your boss!"
The other man's fist smashed into David's face. "I'll make you pay you piece of trash! Get off of me! I'm David Flair."
"You're father commanded respect," the other man said, punching David's face. "You don't even command attention."
"Rocky, get off of him," Stephanie said, pulling him away from her husband. "Don't do anything stupid. Please!"
"I'm off," Rocky said, standing up. "That piece of shit doesn't deserve you Stephanie."
"Thank you," Stephanie said. "I'll be okay now."
"I doubt that very much," Rocky said, leaving nevertheless.