At the moment Elena was sitting on the balcony, having breakfast. She was deep in thought, wondering if Christian will wake up or not. It has been 6 days now.

Calinico was pouring her some coffee and asked. "Miss Elena, what's on your mind?"

At that, Elena let out a deep breath."One thing is bothering me immensely. I don't understand why Yorgos was able to win during their fight, Calinico. Christian is much stronger than his cousin. How was he able to hurt Christian that much?" she asked, her brows furrowing.

Calinico took a seat and looked Elena in the eyes." The doctor told me that Mr. Christian was stabbed in his chest. The blade nearly missed his heart." The older man whispered.

"What? Stabbed? Yorgos stabbed him? Did this happen before they fought with their... their claws?" Elena whispered the last two words.

The butler nodded at that." It seems so. Galya told me that Mr. Christian warned Yorgos first. He wasn't the one who attacked first. Mr. Christian tried to talk to Yorgos, but when he got close to him, Yorgos stabbed him with the blade. So Mr. Christian was already weakened by that wound. And when they both were in their 'other' form, he still was able to do a lot of damage on Yorgos, even though, Mr. Chrisian lost a lot of blood by then."

Elena shook her head at that."So, Christian really did a number on his cousin, huh?" she stated.

"Yes, Yorgos' whole body is covered with claw marks. Deep ones." the older man whispered.

Elena cringed at the thought." So except for that stab wound, Christian didn't have any other injuries?" she asked.

"Yes, some claw marks. One very deep one and two shallow ones." the older man replied. He too was cringing.

"So, isn't the doctor going to report the stab wound to the Police?" Elena asked with a worried tone in her voice.

Calinico shook his head at that."No, the detective who's handling the case, is a family friend. He will keep quiet about it. Don't worry, Miss." the older man promised.

Relieved at that, Elena drank her coffee further and concentrated on reading the newspaper. She just wished so badly that her best friend will be his old self again soon. Elena could only hope and pray.

~ Later that day ~

At the moment, Ana was taking a stroll in the garden. Her father and Elena were out for the day, so she had some time for herself. Calinico was in the villa, getting ready to go to the hospital with her. At the moment, she was smelling a pretty red rose and thought of Christian. Just the thought of him, made her happy and sad at the same time. In the passed days Elena had told her so much about Christian; it broke her heart knowing how cruel life had been to him.

Ana had asked Elena how his son died. At first she was reluctant to tell Ana about it, but she eventually told her. Ana couldn't believe how Christian had lost his son. It was unimaginable for her how a mother could be that way.

Christian was such a strong man, physically and mentally. Even when life brought him down to his knees, he found the strength and courage to get up again. And again. And again.

After knowing more about him, Ana began to have admiration for Christian. Not only that, but she also realized that she was beginning to like him very much. The thought of having such strong feelings for someone scared Ana to death, because she wasn't ready to let a man into her heart again. Not yet anyway. And yet, nothing terrified her more than the thought of losing Christian, the thought of not being able to tell him that she admired him, the thought of not being able to thank him for saving her life. Again...

Ana was so consumed by her thoughts that she didn't notice Calinico walking towards her.

"Miss Ana, are you ready?" he asked.

At that, Ana looked up and said."Yes, I am."

She then followed Calinico, but not before picking a red rose and putting it in the pocket of her leather brown coat.

XXX XX XXX

The drive to the hospital was relaxing. Calinico entertained her with stories from old Greece. Ana loved listening to the stories he told.

"Calinico, this morning I saw you talking to the old woman from the woods. Did she ask for me?" Ana asked curiously.

"Galya? No miss, she didn't. She was asking how Mr. Christian was doing. Galya was a very good friend of Christian's grandmother. She was worried about him." he replied.

"Oh, she didn't ask for me? Because she promised to show me 'her book'." Ana responded, her brows furrowing.

Calinico shook his head at that, and wanted to ask her which book. But just as he was about to do so, the limo came to a halt in the parking lot of the hospital.

"We're here." Ana said, her voice trembling slightly.

All of a sudden, nervousness came over Ana, fear was not far behind. She desperately wanted to see Christian, but she was also terrified. And even though her heart hammered against her rib cage at that very moment, Ana found the courage to walk into the hospital behind Calinico.

They were in the elevator, when Ana nervously tapped with her heels. The air-conditioning was on, but still she felt as if her surroundings had caught fire.

Calinico noticed her reaction. "Are you OK, miss Ana? Are you sure you are capable of seeing Mr. Christian?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

As a sigh escaped her pink lips, Ana held onto the older man, her hands gripping him tightly on his upper arms, while shaking her head.

"Calinico, I don't know!" Ana replied, her eyes welling up.

"I don't know if I…" she attempted to explain, but the words refused to leave her lips.

"Do you need me to call your father? Do you want to go back to the villa?" Calinico asked.

At that, Ana's eyes fluttered shut, and said."No! I need to see him." she replied, her voice breaking.

The older man nodded at that, and squeezed her hand lightly in encouragement.

"Breathe, just breathe Miss, Ana." He said, smiling at her.

Ana did as he instructed, and was surprised that it worked, as she felt herself calming down bit by bit. At that moment, the elevator dinged and they stepped out on the 14th floor. Ana knew that she was getting closer… to Christian. She, Anastasia Steele, was about to see him. The man who risked his life for her. The man who made her feel safe with just one single look, one single smile, and one single word.

Dadum, dadum, dadum. Her heart was beating faster and faster. As mixed emotions washed over her, Ana did her very best to act calmly. After waiting impatiently for three long days, she was finally going to see Christian. The doctor had told Elena that Christian needed time to heal. They weren't sure if or when he was going to wake up, but he had a chance.

That evening, when he was brought into surgery, the doctors weren't sure if he was going to make it through the night. But a few days after surgery, the doctors were amazed how he was able to heal. In record time, Christian's wounds were closing up. And now they all were just waiting for the moment that he would open his eyes.

"His room is just around the corner, Miss Ana." The older man said, still holding her hand.

And just as Calinico was about to open the door, Elena walked towards them.

They both stopped in their tracks, and looked at Elena questioningly. Ana noticed then that Elena looked not amused.

Ana frowned at that, and asked. "Elena, where's my dad? And what's wrong?"

At that, she let out a deep breath and answered the question."Your dad is in the market place. He wanted to take some photos. You know, tourists stuff."

"OK, but everything's fine with Christian?" Ana asked.

At that, Elena hesitated for a moment. "Uhmm, yeah. Everything's peachy!" she retorted.

At that, Ana said."OK, spit it out. Come on. What's wrong?"

Elena bit her bottom lip at that, but stayed quiet, still looking not amused.

It was then, when Calinico saw someone through the glass hospital room door, and immediately knew why Elena acted the way she just did.

"Gah! OK, the 'evil hag' is here?" he blurted out.

The look on Calinico changed instantly. He let go of Ana's hand and shouted. "What?! What is she doing here?! Huh? What does she want?!"

His voice trembled heavily, while opening the door.

Ana was really startled at the older man's reaction; she had never seen Calinico like this. He was furious!

The door was open now, so Ana saw her also. There she was, Leila, Christian's ex-wife. She was sitting next to Christian's bedside, while holding his hand. Her mascara was smudged, her tears rolling down her face. She looked broken, beyond sad and she kept saying:"I'm sorry" and "Please, come back to me."

Seeing Leila holding Christian's hand, broke Ana's heart into pieces. It pained her so much, seeing that Christian's ex-wife was the one trying to make him come back. Was she still in love with him? Was Christian still in love with her? It seemed like she hasn't stopped loving him… maybe, just maybe Christian still had feelings for her?

At that, Ana's throat immediately closed up, sadness and jealousy flaring up inside of her. Just the thought of Christian wanting Leila still, made her wish that the ground would open up and swallow her whole at that very moment.

Calinico walked over to Leila, but Ana didn't know what to do, as she stood frozen at her spot in the hallway. And then Calinico talked to Leila. They were kinda having an argument in Greek. Ana looked at the two people arguing, but didn't understand what was going on.

"Elena, what are they fighting about? Shouldn't they be quiet? Christian needs his rest. Are you going to stop them?" Ana asked, as panic began to rise inside of her.

At that, Elena shook her head firmly."I am not going to come in between those two. Nope! No, definitely not. Calinico will not listen to me and that gold digging, evil hag will only get on my freaking nerves! So, to answer your question, dear. Nope, I am not coming in between those two!"

Ana sighed deeply at that, and decided to just take a seat in a chair and wait. After five minutes or so, she saw Leila walking out the hospital room. She looked beyond pissed and stopped for a moment, looking at Ana. If looks could kill, Ana would be lying dead on the ground by now.

"So, you're her? Christian's tramp?!" she shouted and scoffed.

Ana couldn't believe her ears! What did Leila call her?! Oh, no. Oh, no she didn't! Christian's ex-wife is not going to get away with calling her that! How dare she!

Just as Ana was about to stand up and defend herself, Elena stepped in between the two women.

"Leila, just go. We all know that you don't give a crap about Christian. The only reason why you're here is cause you want money! That's it, right? Tomorrow morning, come to the office. I'll get you your money. Just… just… leave now!" Elena warned, her voice trembling. She despised Christian's ex so!

"It is not true! I do care about him and I always will. And he…" Leila began, but Elena cut her off.

"Don't you dare! Christian doesn't even like you anymore, OK? He can't even stand to see your face anymore. The only thing he feels for you is pity. And you damn well know that if he were awake right now, he would've asked you to get the hell outta here!" Elena spat, the venom in her voice evident.

At that, Leila's chest was heaving. She was beyond pissed! And just as she was about to say something, the nurse walked towards them.

"I'm going to ask you two to keep it down or leave! We have patients here who need their rest!" the nurse threatened.

Leila huffed at that, and walked away, but not before throwing daggers at Ana with her eyes.

Elena rolled her eyes at Leila, while Calinico said. "Miss Ana, now that the hag is gone. You can go inside. We will give you some privacy, OK?"

With a huge lump in her throat, Ana walked inside the hospital room. Christian. He was lying in the hospital bed, so calmly and peacefully. At the moment, she felt her heart drop. It was him but not him at the same time. His lips were pale and so was his whole face. The tears were pooling in her eyes, but they didn't roll down her cheeks. Yet. Ana grabbed a chair and took a seat next to his bed. She looked at his pale hand and had the urge to grab it and intertwine her fingers with his, and also to kiss his cheek. Ana wanted to, but she didn't have the courage to do so. She was frightened still; utterly and completely frightened.

Instead, Ana watched Christian and kept praying for him to recover fast. At one point, Ana's eyes fluttered shut, thinking about the first time they met, the day he saved her from drowning, when he opened up a bit and told her a little about his life…

Whatever you want to call it, destiny or coincidence or something else. It was undeniable that since Ana had met him, that they made a connection. A connection even she couldn't explain. Ana even kind of believed the old woman: that she came here so she could meet Christian. At the moment, she laughed at herself. Cause if someone would've told her two weeks ago about curses and destiny, she would've flat out laughed in their faces and say that she could never believe in such things.

Ana quietly sat next to Christian's bedside and studied the features of his face. Even though his face was pale, he still looked very handsome. She studied his hands and then looked at her own two hands. Compared to hers, his hands were so large. But in Ana's eyes she felt that her hand would perfectly fit in his no matter what.

At that very moment, something told her to… to just grab his hand, but she was too afraid. And Ana knew exactly what she was afraid of. She was afraid to let him into her heart. She was afraid to get hurt. God! She was so scared. Even though Ana knew that Christian would never, ever hurt her in any way. But still...

Ana decided then to give him the red rose. As her hand went inside the pocket of her coat, Ana pulled out the rose and placed it gently on the bed. At that, her fingers automatically went to the pendant of her necklace in the shape of a rose, and then she caressed it. While Ana was observing this kind man who lied on the bed, she began to compare him with another man. A man who had traumatized Ana completely. Now that she thought back, Ana couldn't understand why she let him do the things he did to her for so long.

'I'm an independent, successful lawyer. Why did I let it go that far?' was what went through her head at that very moment.

Christian was nothing like him! All of a sudden, she wished that she had met Christian first. God! Life would've been different, better. That's what Ana believed...

As her eyes landed on his thick locks, Ana imagined how soft his hair must feel if she ran her fingers through it. Her eyes then darted towards his strong jaw, his hollow cheeks and his lips…

All of a sudden, Ana's eyes welled up and she felt her anger rising inside of her. It hurt so much to see him like this. Christian was a good man! It wasn't right; it wasn't fair that this happened to him. Why him? Huh? Ana's heart ached, because there was nothing she could do for him. Nothing! Ana felt so powerless and that was something she hated the most.

At a certain point, it all became too much for her, so out of desperation Ana grabbed Christian's hand. She couldn't do much for him, but at least this way she did something. Ana then intertwined their fingers and finally was able to let her tears flow freely. At last… After three long days since Ana woke up from the second time that she had passed out, she finally let go of it all...

But suddenly it wasn't enough... Suddenly Ana also wanted to feel his hair on her fingertips. Must she? Was she bold enough to do that? Yes.

And just as Ana was about to do so, someone knocked on the door, making her instantly pull her hand back, unlocking their intertwined fingers.

At that, Ana turned around and saw the person who rudely interrupted her. It was Leila...

Note: God! What does Leila want?!

Will there be a cat fight?!

Thank you ALL SO much for the reviews and support! :) :)

I hope you liked it. Tell me what you think about the chapter? ;)

Thank you in advance, and till the next one...

J