Chapter 10: Wedding Rings

"Of course, Mr Grey." The lady said with a seductive smile and spark in her beautiful blue eyes. I wished I could lift wedding ring and wave it in my face. Unfortunately, I had lost it and this was how I was paying for it. "We'll have it fitted and delivered... Or..."

Christian had been nothing but a tame little lamb ever since our confrontation in his office. I had thought that we were over, but it was a complete 360 when he embraced me and assured me of his love once more. After which, he had taken me to get a new wedding ring at Cartier.

It was frightening in a way. There was no way Christian would have gotten over my error so quickly and without so much as a holler. It was as if he was a volcano, slowly building towards eruption. The anticipation of when he would erupt and the fear of when he would was enough to petrify me.

She batted her eyelids and my husband, "Would you prefer to pick it up?"

I clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes. There was nothing more I desired than to wrap my fingers around her neck and squeezing. To feel the life jus-

"No, that will not be necessary." Christian said politely, a neutral attitude to her insistent flirtations.

The sales assistant stumbled for a moment, a slight fall in her expression which I would have missed if I was not scrutinizing every facial feature she had. Those eyes. Every atom within me concentrated, willing her eyes to darken or lighten. Anything but my exact eye colour.

Christian rose to his feet and we followed suit. As if searching for any excuse to touch my man, she extended her hand out to him. " Thank you, Mr Grey."

I'd cut her hand off. She turned to give me a slight glare, but nothing Christian would pick up. " Mssss Steele." She said with an annoying smirk.

I was clearly here in search for a replacement wedding ring to the one I had lost from our wedding which was covered by numerous of magazines. She was just seizing the opportunity. That was the last straw. "M-"

"Mrs Grey." Christian corrected with a firm smile that was still pleasant, retrieving his hand.

"Oh." The assistant said with slight disappointment.

As if she did not already know, my inner goddess growled.

It made me narrow my eyes even more. I gave her the sternest grimace I could but then realized it would make her seem even more attractive when in comparison to me. So I forced a sweet smile as Christian began to lead me out of Cartier.

"She was flirting with you." I accused under my breath. Usually, women flirting with Christian was a daily routine. But this woman had really gotten under my skin. "She called me Ms Steele."

Noticing my feathers were ruffled, Christian offered me a sympathetic shrug. "It's the same thing that would happen to you if I removed this." Christian waved his banded finger in the air and it made me feel secure for that moment. "It tempts."

Understanding sprouted within me and I acknowledged his words as a maxim. Being with Christian without my ring, even when he had his, suggested that I was not his wife. No, it was a loud statement that I was not his wife. Which wife removed her ring?!

My inner goddess shook her head at me, annoyed that it was only now that I had reached this epiphany.

"It's alright." Christian soothed, the cold metal of his ring pressing against my bare fingers as he laced them through mine. "Tonight you will officially be Mrs Grey."

Did that not make me Mrs Grey now? "Ch-"

"Forget it, Ana." He was suddenly irritated. I had tried countless of times to explain to him my mentality behind removing our ring but he kept turning me down. "I don't even know whether I want to know."

"It was too overwhelming." I squeezed in before he could stop me. I closed shut my eyes and focused on getting what I needed to say out, "Everything with Elena the night before amplified in an instant. It was like the walls were closing in on me..." I could still taste the panic and I slipped into a pant. "She gave me condolence flowers, Christian. And it was too hard to push past it. And some crazy part of me just ripped our ring of like..."

Christian's cool fingers embraced the tip of my chin and my eyes flew open into a sea of loving grey. It took my breath away further and my lungs began to contract. "Breathe," he instructed with a calm that was infectious. I did. "Like what, sweetheart?"

Sweetheart. My heart melted into a pool of malt. My voice was much softer now, "Like... It was what was...

Preventing me... From..." His soft eyes urged me on. "Breathing."

There was a pause as Christian sponged up what I had confessed, but his expression remained fixed as a statue of love. "Ana, look." He lifted our intertwined hands up so I was faced with his ring. "This ring is what's going to keep us together. It's the exact opposite of what you feel, and I'm sorry that you feel that way b-"

"Ch-" I started to assure him different.

But his index finger pressed against my lips as he smiled at me with a shake of his head. "Listen," I nodded obediently. "In times of trouble and storms, this ring is going to keep you alive and... Breathing."

Breathing. I was breathing.

"I will deal with the bitch," the word on his lips did not suit his tone. "But know that just like you belong to me, I belong to you too."

Christian pressed his lips against the back of my hand. "You never have to run because I can and will protect you from anything that threatens you."

"She gave me flowers to console me for the lost of our baby." I pouted, wishing I never read that card. "I thought it was from you."

There was a glimmer of something in his eyes, but he hid it quickly. "Anastasia, I want our baby." My heart pounded at his tone of conviction. "And just like I will protect you, I will protect our baby."

Our baby! My inner goddess heaved a sigh of relief.

Our baby. Christian had said our baby. I could just imagine our growing child smiling in his slumber. His father and finally recognized his existence and accepted it. Finally. It did much to chase away the bitterness Elena had left in my mouth.

Christian stroked my cheek bone with his fingers. "And if I gave you flowers, you'd know they were from me."

I knew exactly what he meant. All the times Christian had given me flowers, it had been very grand. I would step into an office full of flowers; bouquets neatly organized around the room. Christian did not need any occasion to give me flowers, he simply just gave.

"We'll move past this." Christian said, confident. "But please, love, never take off your ring again."

"Never." I promised, squeezing his fingers as his irises contracted at the pain of what I had done. "You don't care about the one I lost?"

"What do you mean?" Christian asked as we headed for his new toy. A fierce red Ferrari, customized to his liking. Taylor and Luke were waiting behind the car in the Audi.

"Christian," I stared at him knowingly, " I dropped a fortune worth of a ring. I saw your bank statement." When I had, it had taken me a long while to regain speaking abilities.

He shrugged, a playful careless shrug. "Hey. Just because your name or our anniversary is pretty much key to all my privacy, you can't be seeing things like that."

I folded my arms and raised my eyebrow. He was evading my question.

"Come on," He spun me a little. "Ana, it's just a ring. Replaceable."

"It cost a fortune!" I squirmed.

"Ana, if anybody was to kick up a fuss about the money lost, it would be me." He explained, "But it's not about the money lost so the money lost isn't worth out time."

"Maybe you have too much money." I hissed, tightening my arms.

Christian threw back his head in a carefree laughter, "I can't say I don't."

"It's time you start donating it." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Put it to good use."

He laughed harder and shook his head, a sparkle in his eyes. "Love, sweet Ana," he pulled me in for a quick lock of the lips. "The Grey Foundation is an international association that funds scholarships, research and development and well, I'd say the list is pretty impressive."

That I had no idea.

"I'll take you to visit some of the children soon, a trip is due." Christian grinned. He was proud.

"I really am sorry, Christian." I apologized once more, ignoring his lack of care for his finances regardless of how much his minute pay cheques were.

"Ana," Christian smiled sweetly at me, "Just never do it again." I nodded at him. He bent in to plant one on the tip of my nose, "Did you want to have dinner tonight?"

"I'd want to have dinner with you every night, Mr Grey." Without permission, I tiptoed and kissed him hard on his lips.

Christian growled a hungry growl as his arms fastened around my waist, lurching forward to deepen the kiss just as I managed to free myself. His eyes were hungry for me as his hands came up bear, "Anastasia Grey." He licked his lips seductively and everything south of my navel quivered in anticipation.

I bit my bottom lip and thrust my chest out in show, flaunting them right in front of his men. It had perfect effect and Christian narrowed his eyes, jealousy building within them; enough jealousy to feed his sex drive. I will please my husband as a reward for his good behavior.

Wordlessly, he bent forward to open the Ferrari door. "In."

I obliged, sliding in as he closed the door after me.

CPOV:

I am going to take her.

Repossess what is rightfully mine. It was a moment of empowerment, a reminder that Anastasia Grey is mine. This was one thing that would belong to me forever, a place that bastard Ethan will never be able to taint. I had taken her virginity and I will take her every moment to remind her of who I am. My member quaked in anticipation for Ana to scream my name as she came, assuring me of my power over her body.

Crap.

That's not my member quaking.

I reached for my phone and pulled it out in a slick movement. Taylor raised his eyebrow in question from the Audi. 'Welch' I mouthed to him and he nodded back at me. Luke and Taylor dropped into a discussion as I picked up the call.

"Make it quick." I rasped, the desire slipping into my voice by the millisecond.

"Yes, Mr Grey." The obedient man said. "I checked the tapes. Nothing unusual, she sent the flowers via a delivery."

"Welch, she seems to know my every move." I was a little melodramatic, still trying to figure out why and how she had appeared at the bar and taken me home. In addition, she had appeared at my work place this morning the same time I did. It was peculiar.

"Yes, Mr Grey. I understand, but there's no evidence in the tapes."

"Speaking of tapes." I fed him bait.

He bit. "I'm sorry, Mr Grey. There's some problem with pulling the tape from the bar. I am working on it."

"What kind of problem?" My suspicion flew to Elena once more.

Welch cleared his throat, "Nothing out of the ordinary unfortunately, sir. Just some wires and angles. The bar did not have a working camera, they were all dummies."

"I don't like to hear about problems, Welch."

"Yes, Mr Grey."

"So fix it." I said sternly, asserting my authority over Welch.

"Right away, Mr Grey."

"Did you retrieve the card." I stated, he better had done it already.

"Yes, Mr Grey. I've sent it over to the house."

"Good." I said and Ana pressed her face up against the Ferrari window playfully, taunting me by sticking her tongue out. Oh she is going to get it. I hang up on Welch and climb into the car, whisking the love of my life towards our tower where we will make love. Multiple times.