Married to the Mob?

Ch 24: The set up

They were kissing, and could hear footsteps just on the other side of the wall. Ana panicked and tried pulling away from Christian, telling him she couldn't go through with it. Christian had no choice but to say, "Would you rather it be a bullet?" He knew that was harsh but it was the truth.

Ana had slipped on my suit jacket and pulled away leaving me in the bed. Jose was shouting for her as she ran to the door to trying to keep him from coming in. I wasn't happy with her.

"Ana, let me in!" Jose shouted through the door pushing it open some.

She threw herself in front of the door, struggling to keep it closed and to keep him from entering. Ana kept begging and pleading telling to leave that it was a mistake to ask him to come there. Christian heard him say that he loved her and busted into the door. Ana looked up at Jose as he stared at her for a moment. He looked to the right and saw Christian, in the bed. He knew instantly what was going on.

"What? How could you do this to me...this place was sacred. How could you bring him here?" Jose asked confused and hurt.

"You know how special this place is to me, right?" Ana started explaining it to him.

Jose looking in between them asking her, "You can't be serious? How could you do this after everything we've been through here, Ana?" his voice cracking the whole time.

"You have to listen to me. You know how special this place is to me. I- we came here because I wanted to show him what he meant to me. He's my husband and I wanted to share this with him, he's my family now. I'm sorry, if I would have known you would been here I-we wouldn't have come now. We could have waited. I'm sorry."

While listening to her Jose kept shaking his head, it was like he didn't want this to be real.

Christian got up from the bed wearing his boxers. He came up behind Anastasia, peering at Jose.

"She's been trying to tell you for months that it's over. You don't want to accept it. I'm her husband now. You have to let her go, Jose."

Jose looked back at Christian. "Is this some kind of setup?"

"No. Its real. We are married, Jose. It's time for you to realize that."

Ana kept explaining to Jose that she loved and was married to Christian. Jose just stood there listening and asking if this was all a set up.

"What Christian just said is real. I love him, Jose. I'm sorry to hurt you, but it's over between us."

Ana moved Christian's coat jacket off her shoulders revealing she was in sexy slip. Although Christian didn't like her showing, Jose, her negligee, he knew she was doing it to convince him what they were doing.

She was crying and pleading with him, "We're over. I have been trying over and over to tell you but it's true. I need you to leave me alone, leave us alone."

Christian could see the hurt in his eyes. Their plan was working. Well her plan, basically. Jose stood there with his arms folded across his chest, his face was rigid. He looked at Christian as he stood behind Ana.

"Is this what you really want?" Jose asked his voice low.

"Yes...Christian is what I want." Ana replied, covering herself again.

"Okay," he said accepting defeat and walking towards the door, "I won't bother you again." He left out the door. Jose finally accepted it was over between them.

She broke down and kneeling on the floor crying. Christian knew she gave up a lot to be with him. To save the lives of her friends and herself. But he knew someday, maybe they could have a real marriage. He reached out to her.

"Ana... are you okay?" he asked his hands together.

She was laying her head down on the edge of the bed, looking straight ahead.

"How could you ask me that? Did you see the look on his face?"

"You did what you had to do. He won't be a threat to your safety anymore," Christian said quietly.

She cried saying, "Do you think I really care about my safety or what happens in my life? Nothing, matters because I just broke his heart... my mom's heart."

Christian sighed saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry it had to be this way. What can I do?"

"I think you done enough already."

Putting his hand on his forehead and explained, "Look, I know how much this cost you."

Laying her head down more she said, "You have no idea."

Reaching out to her Christian kept saying, "If you could quit seeing me as your enemy, let me make you feel better," his hand reached her face rubbing it gently.

Her voice calm but yet quivering, "The way a man would make a woman feel better? You mean the way a husband makes a wife feel better? Oh you have some nerve! Don't you get it? Jose is gone he's never coming back," Ana said, rubbing her face where she had just cried trying to wipe them away.

"Ana…" Christian started to speak

"Okay, show's over, put your clothes back on and you stay the hell away from me."

Oh yeah like that didn't hurt. Who was she to talk that way to me? I put my hand out grabbing her wrist, pulling her back down in front of me sitting on the bed.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that again!" Christian's voice was soft but threatening.

"Why, because I'm your wife," she said to him unresponsive.

"Yeah because you are my wife now," he said through gritted teeth.

"What happens next?" Ana asked.

"What? We're having the wedding just like we planned, Ana." Christian replied to her, not knowing where she was getting at.

"Okay, but what I'm asking after the wedding what happens to us. I mean am I supposed to fall in love with you?"

To be honest, Christian had no idea what was going to happen. But he did know one thing, he wasn't expecting this marriage to be … well... a sexless one.

"You know, Ana, I really don't care one way or the other." But in all honesty he did care.

"Liar..." she breathed. "Jose told me how you feel about me, Christian." He was looking in her eyes, but looked away while she continued saying, "And this marriage isn't about you protecting me or saving anyone else. This is about you wanting something, that you are never going to have."

He got up out of the bed silently, going for his clothes. He was putting them as he talked to Ana.

"If you spend all your time trying to get away from me and my family, you're just going to spend the rest of your life in hell!"

She spat, "No, that's your job. I don't like being married to somebody I dislike."

"Oh you don't huh? You'd rather be dead?" he questioned her.

"Yeah as a matter of fact I would after what I just did to Jose, yeah!"

Christian was exasperated by her attitude. "You're acting like a spoiled brat!" he yelled at her.

"Fine, then divorce me!" She said walking away.

"Look! I'm trying my best to make this work!"

"How can this work? How can this possibly work? We're not in love..." she said walking up passed me to get to her stuff as well.

"Never say never, Ana. My grandparents had an arranged marriage."

"And what? They lived happily ever after?" She snidely asked.

"They did!" he answered her, "As matter of fact."

"Well, good for for them!"

"No! Good for us! My grandparents never laid eyes on each other and they ended up happy, then maybe we can too!" Christian said trying to be convincing.

She looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Well then if it's good enough for your grandparents then I guess that's good enough for us. Is that your guide, the Grey guide to living, if you don't kill the girl, then marry her, then maybe she will love you!" She screamed.

Christian on the other hand went to her, ripping his coat jacket off her saying, "If you'd stop fighting me long enough to give it a chance, yeah?" he said, smirking at her.

Smirking herself she said, "I have news for you. We are living in the twentieth century, almost, twenty-first. We live in Seattle not some third world country, and I don't have to love you. If you were the last man on earth I wouldn't love you." Christian was staring at her when she continued saying, "This is you, wanting me to feel something for you, the way you feel for me."

He on the other hand, had enough talking about this so he leaned more into her face, his voice low. "You don't know how I feel." Christian backed away from her. "Anyway, our feelings don't matter."

"They matter to me, " she said, "because, I had a love that was so strong, and more meaningful that you couldn't even fathom. I just had to do something, the hardest thing I had to by breaking his heart."

Christian was tired of hearing about Jose and his heart. He understand she was hurting right now, but he's human too and had feelings as well, but he tried not to show them as much because of the line of work I'm in. It makes them look weak.

"He's a big boy, believe me he will get over it!" Christian yelled at her.

"Maybe he will. Maybe he will go to Kate. I just handed him to her on a silver platter," she said almost crying.

"Well... at least he is safe now, that is what you wanted, isn't, Ana?" Christian asked staring at her.

"You know what? I wish I would have never met your brother, because none of this would have happened, and we wouldn't be safe."

He looked her in the eyes and said, "You know, Ana, if you hadn't KILLED my brother, none of this would have happened," his voice was cold.

She was crying even more, he didn't mean that the way he said it. He was just tired of having the same argument with her.

Rubbing his face with his hands, Christian told her, "Just get dressed the rest of the way. My mother is expecting us for dinner, okay?"

After she dressed they left towards the house. In all honesty, he was tired. Ana had started to feel something for him and he knew it, if she'd just let her little girl dreams go.

I know Ana was starting to feel something for me and it scared her. But she is a woman now, my woman, and she better start acting like it.

A/N: So Jose is out of the picture? Ana and Christian are going ahead with the wedding. As I said before, this story will have a lot of angst. I thank everyone for hanging in there with me, the reviews and alerts are great! I can't thank you all enough.