Chapter Two

1991

He woke up from the familiar sound of his mother crying. Forcing his sleepiness out of his young body, Christian roused from his bed and strode to her room. He stepped inside Ella's dark bedroom, not bothering to switch the light on. He already knew that his mother was on her bed, lying on her side and weeping.

"Mom?" He called, nearing her.

The light from the street lamp outside provided Christian enough glow to see his mother. The scene before him broke his tender 8-year old heart. Ella's face was red, tears marring her cheeks and her eyes were swollen from her cry. Without words, he climbed on the bed, laid next to her, wrapped his thin arm around her and leaned his head over hers.

"It's alright, mom. I'm here. I'm not going to leave you." He whispered repeatedly onto her brown hair, hoping his words would comfort her in some way.

This was not the first time Christian had witnessed his mother broke down and he already knew the reason for her tears. He might only be 8 but people said he was mature for his age.

Glancing at her still form, Christian felt her heart beating steady and realized she had calmed down and had eventually fallen back to sleep. He released a sigh of relief and waited for a few minutes, making sure she was in deep slumber, before moving. Carefully, he went back to his room.

Lying on his bed with his eyes on the ceiling, he thought how Ella had been crying more often lately. Ever since his grandparents' death 3 months ago, leaving his mother as Christian's only immediate family, Ella's break downs now came mostly every night. It was an abrupt change from her twice or thrice a week cries that Christian was used to before. He tried not to think about it but he started to feel worried for her.

:::

Present Time

Please call me Christian from now on.

Ana tried not to think of him but all her attempts had been unsuccessful since leaving his building two days ago. Tried as she might, she couldn't remove him and his grey eyes from her mind.

After her meeting with the enigmatic Mr. Christian Grey, she drove her way back to Vancouver, returned Kate's recorder to her along with the notes she had taken during the interview and performed her remaining scheduled task for that day. But Ana did everything almost absentmindedly. And she had been doing everything else the same way since then.

She shook her head and focused her eyes on the notes she was reviewing for her upcoming finals. But just like before, his words entered her mind.

... from now on...

What did he mean when he told her to call him by his first name from now on? She asked herself. It wasn't like they would see each other again. They probably would since he was going to be at her graduation ceremony three weeks from now to confer the degrees. Christian had mentioned it at the beginning of the interview. But it wasn't like she would get a chance to interact with him.

Christian Grey, from what Ana had discovered from their meeting and from her few Google searches of his name, was a mega-industrialist tycoon who was an exceptional entrepreneur and a major benefactor of Washington State University, her school. Only 27 but had already successfully amassed an empire, Ana couldn't help but admire his accomplishments. For a successful businessman at such a young age, Christian was extraordinary. Although adopted at the age of 8 by Carrick and Grace Grey, he had overcome every hurdle he encountered and surpassed them all. After earning his business management degree in Harvard, he put up his business on his own and had become a self-made billionaire less than 5 years later.

He was way above her league, she thought heedlessly before she could stop herself. Stunned at the realization that she was interested in Christian, she froze on her seat.

Ana was 21 but she had never met a man who had made her feel like a lost soul just by staring at her. She was not as inexperienced as some people assumed she was. She had been to several first dates since she started college but the dates never felt right and worthy of second ones. She had been kissed twice on the lips but it stopped before it advanced. Whenever Kate would point out her lack of love life, Ana would reply how she felt the guys she had dated were wrong for her.

But why does when it comes to Christian, everything feels right?

Too lost in her thoughts, she didn't see a man sat beside her.

:::

Christian knew she would be there. According to Luke Sawyer, the man he hired to follow Ana's every move as discreetly as possible, she was currently taking her lunch at the university park, a routine she had formed since her freshman year. Almost everyday, she would occupy a wooden bench at the least crowded part of the ground beside an old tree and would eat her lunch while reading her notes or book. Whenever Christian commanded, Sawyer would take pictures of her sitting alone while munching her food and would forward it to his phone. Although miles apart, Christian wanted to make sure he was aware of Ana's movements.

Striding towards his destination, he sensed several glances being thrown at him but didn't care. Being the mysterious Christian Grey, he was used to countless pairs of eyes gazing at him, following him. A disadvantage of being successful, he told himself dryly.

Subtly scanning his surroundings, he saw Sawyer sitting on one of the empty benches looking like one of the college students scattered around. Sawyer's location was always only a few steps from Ana but since she wasn't sensitive to her environment, she never noticed that a man had been following her for four years. Christian gave Sawyer a curt, unnoticeable nod when he passed by him before continuing his steps towards the woman who had been plaguing his mind for nights.

Seeing Ana instead of her best friend and roommate, Kate Kavanagh, in his building for a scheduled interview the other day had been a surprise for him. It wasn't part of the plan but Christian grabbed the chance to study her more. He wanted to know the real Anastasia Steele and not the woman he had learned from his men's reports.

Anastasia Steele was a shy woman, Christian could easily tell from the few times she looked down during the interview, unable to meet his gaze. It wasn't hard for him to sense how uneasy she felt whenever his stare lasted longer than what was acceptable because a blush had formed on her pale cheeks everytime.

He was glad to know that it wasn't just him who was affected when they were in each other's presence. Ana was as perturbed as he was, that much he was sure of.

Christian tried to suppress a grin, thinking moving onto the second part of the plan wasn't as hard as he had initially thought.

He closed their distance with long steps, wanting to reach her the soonest. Excitement in seeing her again had flooded his chest. Christian ignored it, blaming the unwelcome feeling to the foreseeable progress of his plan.

Catching Ana as if in a trance had worried him for a second. Sawyer never mentioned she was sick when Christian asked him for an update an hour ago.

Maybe she caught her best friend's flu, he guessed.

With his grey eyes on her, he sat quietly next to her. Christian was disappointed she didn't notice his presence. Ana seemed to be thinking deeply, her blue eyes were looking at something and nothing at the same time.

She is beautiful.

Christian had been in a company of attractive women many times already. Some were one-night stands. Others lasted longer because they had agreed to be with him casually because that was all he could offer. He didn't do relationships. He was a no-strings-attached kind of guy. Not that he was afraid of commitments but Christian didn't believe in romance. He wasn't into courting nor giving flowers to a woman. He couldn't promise her forever because that word was foreign to him.

If he was interested in a woman, he would disclose his stand about relationships with her. Most of the time she would accept and they would enjoy each other leisurely. But along the way, Christian would find out that she had fallen in love with him and was either demanding more from him or begging him to love her back. Christian would have to end things with her despite knowing he would be breaking her heart.

But finally seeing Ana in personal, Christian realized how different she was from the women he had encountered. Ana's beauty was different, it was captivating. The pictures in his collection didn't do her any justice.

It was a shame that he had to use her for the success of his goal.

Deciding to break her thoughts, Christian faked a cough and watched in amusement as she was abruptly pulled back to reality.

:::

A cough from beside her halted her wondering. Startled, Ana turned her head to the side and saw Christian, in his expensive suit, looking at her with delight in his eyes.

"Mr. Grey?! I mean, C-Christian?" She still wasn't comfortable in calling him by his first name.

"Hi, Ana." He greeted her casually. "Are you alright? You seem to be zoning out."

Her cheeks heated. "I'm fine. Just mulling over things. But I'm good. What are you doing here?"

Christian shrugged. "I had a meeting with the board. And since it finished early, I decided to roam around. I'm glad that I did."

"C-Christian,"

He glanced at her barely eaten sandwich and frowned. "Is that your lunch?"

Ana nodded.

"That won't do, Ana. You should be eating more." He uttered as if he was scolding a child. "How about you join me for lunch?"

"I don't think I can. My next class will be in an hour." Honestly, Ana would love to spend her lunch break with him but with her busy schedule, that would be impossible.

Christian seemed to contemplate but spoke after a while. "I know a decent place a few miles from here. I have my car and driver with me. We can go there and be back just in time for your next class. What do you think?"

Without thinking more, she agreed.

Christian stood up and helped her with her things.

"I can do that." She said, trying to take her books from his grip but he wouldn't budge.

"It's alright. Let's go, I'm starving."

With a hand at the small of her back, Christian led her to the parking space. It was a struggle for Ana to ignore the curious stares of her fellow students as she passed by them with a good looking man walking next to her.

"Don't mind them." Christian murmured onto her ear.

She slowly nodded but her steps hastened.

"Ana!"

:::

Ana heard a man's voice called her and she stopped. Christian saw a man, with the same age as hers, approached them from behind. His brows furrowed, recognizing the man as Jose Rodriguez, one of Ana's close friends. Christian knew each and everyone in her life. He knew everything about her. It was essential for his mission, he justified.

Jose's eyes darted between his friend and a man he didn't recognize before noticing the man's hand plastered over Ana's back. The man was holding her almost possessively and it unsettled Jose for a reason. He looked at her friend with questions in his eyes.

Christian watched as the smile on Jose's face dropped upon seeing his hold on Ana. One look and he knew of the younger man's hidden feelings for her. If he had to guess, Jose had been interested in her since meeting her for the first time but wasn't brave enough to let Ana know.

"Jose! Hi!" Ana stepped away from Christian to give her friend a brief embrace. "How are you?"

"Good. I've been good. You?" Jose answered and asked while glancing at Christian.

"I've been great. Busy but great." She responded. "Jose, this is Christian Grey. Christian, this is Jose Rodriguez." Ana introduced the two men and watched as they traded greetings.

"I have news." Jose started. "The Portland Place Gallery is going to exhibit my photos next month." He said proudly.

Happy and excited for him, Ana gave him another hug. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks! Tell me you'll be there for the opening."

Ana laughed as if he said something silly. "Of course, I'll be there."

A grin formed across Jose's lips at her reply.

:::

"Thanks for the lunch, Christian." Ana said as Christian's SUV pulled over the front of the school building.

To say the lunch was awkward with his silence was an understatement. As soon as they parted with Jose, Christian's demeanor had changed. He had never spoken a word until they reached his vehicle and only told his driver, Taylor, where to bring them. The ride towards the diner was filled with quietness and Ana was curious why.

The foods were delicious and were served fast, giving them enough time to enjoy it and return to the university with minutes to spare. They barely exchanged words while they ate, making Ana think of something she might have done that offended Christian. The ride back to the university was as silent as before.

Taylor stepped out of the SUV and opened Ana's door, staying outside until she climbed out. She was about to exit when she felt Christian's hand gripping her arm, stopping her.

"I..."

Christian seemed to be lost for words. He released his hold on her and sighed.

"Christian?"

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Who?" Stunned and confused, Ana questioned.

"Jose Rodriguez." Christian was sure he knew the answer to his question but he wouldn't be satisfied until he heard it from her lips. Not after he witnessed how she acted and beamed at Jose.

A part of him was disappointed at the outcome of his lunch with Ana and he was blaming himself for it. He didn't know why but seeing her smiling and laughing with the younger man had brought out something unfamiliar from inside of him. It was an unpleasant feeling and Christian didn't like it.

"Jose?! He is a friend. Only a friend."

Her reply somehow pacified him.

"What made you assume he's my boyfriend?"

Christian frowned, remembering how Jose looked at her and how she seemed pleased to see him. "The way you act towards each other. You seem close."

Ana locked her eyes on him. "Yes, we are close friends. We've known each other for years. Even he and Kate are close. The three of us hang out together." She didn't know why she wanted him to understand that there was nothing going on between her and Jose. Ana felt the need to let Christian know that she wasn't interested with Jose, not like the way he had assumed.

I know. Christian wanted to reply back. He knew about her more than he was letting on. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

She shook her head no. "I don't have a boyfriend. Why are you asking all these questions by the way?"

With certainty in his voice, he answered. "Because I want to know you more, Anastasia."

:::