It was official today. And I knew I still had something pending. As soon as we got home I went to my room and looked for the card I had kept for the past three months.

I dialed the number on my cell phone and waited.

—Hello Anastasia, I see that you have accepted the proposal.

—Yes, although I have no idea what it is.

— Half an hour ago a postman left an envelope with an application for admission to college.

—But I haven't sent any application for any university.

—I know, but we're interested in your skills, so we'll give you a college tuition to do a computer engineering.

— Why are you interested in my skills?

— You will know that when you arrive at your destination, before starting your career you will have to go through a training. See you in three days Anastasia.

And he hung up.

At that very moment I felt my mother's voice calling me euphoric from the floor below.

— Ana, you have an application from a university here. —she said to me as I finished going down the stairs and she gave it to me. — Aren't you going to open it?

I started to open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside. Then I read aloud:

Ms. Anastasia Steele, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is pleased to announce that you have been accepted to study Computer Engineering at our institution. We sent you a ticket to visit us and get to know the facilities.

— That's great! —exclaimed my mother.

— Great!

— When should you introduce yourself?

I took out the ticket inside the envelope and looked at the flight departure date.

— The flight leaves tomorrow. —I said to her while I kept the ticket in the envelope.

—Come on, I'll help you pack.

My mother accompanied me to the airport and said goodbye to me with tears in her eyes.

—Mom, I'm only going to study. —I consoled her.

But while I was saying this, I knew deep inside that I wasn't just going to study. I was also going to pay off a debt I had with the CIA for three months.

When I was leaving Logan International Airport in Boston, there was a man outside dressed in a suit, with dark glasses and a sign with my name on it. I approached him.

—I am Anastasia Steele.

—Follow me. —It was the only thing he said to me while I was following him.

He led me to stop at the side of elegant black Mercedes. He opened the back door for me and I got into the car while he was storing my luggage in the trunk. A few seconds later he sat behind the wheel and started the car.

— Where are we going?

—To college to know her and leave your luggage in your bedroom.

And he didn't tell me anything else.

After we got to the university and took my luggage off the car, I decided to ask him something.

— When will I see Mr. Henry?

—Tomorrow, I'll wait for you here at 0600 hours.

— What?

—At 6:00 am.

And without telling me anything else he got in the car and left.

I made my way to the office and gave my name next to the registration letter. And there they told me where the dormitories were. After settling into my bedroom, which to my surprise was only for me, I decided to go for a walk around the university where I had never planned to study and I would do it in the next few months.

It was five minutes to 6:00 am and I was already standing in the parking lot. I was looking at the time on my phone, it was one minute before six. That's when I saw the car enter the parking lot and stop in front of me.

I opened the door and entered sitting in the back seat.

—Good morning. —I said politely even though I didn't know his name.

—Good morning Anastasia, Mr. Stevens is anxiously waiting for you. —he said to me as he started the car.

— Mr. Stevens?

— You know him as Henry.

An hour later we were entering a military base. We had only stopped at the entrance and the driver had shown his ID, and they had let us through.

The car stopped in front of an office.

—The director is waiting for you inside. —he said to me as I got out of the car.

I walked to the office and knocked before entering. The director was sitting behind a desk and a computer. And he smiled at me when he saw me.

—Good morning Anastasia, please sit down. —he asked me to point to a chair in front of his table.

— Why am I here?

—First of all, you must know that this conversation we are having right now has never existed.

—You can go straight to the point, made me wait three months, I need to know why or what you need me for.

—I like your attitude Anastasia, always direct to the question. Very good. You should know that not everyone has this opportunity, and your gifts and skills with the computer made me wonder if I was proposing to you or not. I must remind you that you have accepted from the moment you called me.

— What did I accept?

—Become an Undercover Agent.

— What? Why me?

—Among other things because of your computer skills and because your mother owns a technology company that is spreading and dominating the world's most important markets.

—So the university thing is a farce.

—No, actually what I told you about ten years for three months is what you'll actually do.

—I don't understand.

The director got up from his seat and walked to the door.

—Follow me.

I started to follow him around the facility, where you could watch women and men training in shooting, in combat, in self-defense.

—For the next three months you will train here. I won't lie to you, it will be an exhausted and exhausting intense training. After you finish training here, you'll go on to college and pursue your career normally. You would only have to come here one or two times a week, preferably on a weekend to keep fit and continue training.

— And what happens when I finish the career?

—When you finish your career you will continue with your normal life.

—I still can't make sense of it all.

—When we need you, I'll contact you myself, I'll explain how. As long as this doesn't happen. You should not show any knowledge of those you acquire during your training.

— Why not?

—Because you would be in the crosshairs and that doesn't suit us. See all those cadets? —I agreed. —During the time that you are here in your training you will be like the rest, one more cadet. Although you will have some different lessons to specialize in what you most need to master.

— And that would be?

—Shooting, self-defense and combat strategy. Any other questions?

— Can't I talk about this with anyone?

—No, not even his adoptive mother should know about this. When you talk to her, you should tell her that you're in college on a programming course and knowing the campus.

Everything I was hearing sounded unreal to me. I never would have imagined my life would change so much in just a few months. And all because of a joke we had made waiting for my birthday.

And now I couldn't back down.

I had to face the consequences of my actions and face what the future had in store for me now.

We continued walking and stopped in front of shooting practice.

— When do I start training? —I asked him as I stared at him.

—As soon as you get settled in and change your clothes.

—I don't have any of my things here.

—Don't worry, we've taken care of everything, come on, I'll show you where you'll stay.

And saying this, he led me to where I would be staying for the next three months of my training...

—And that's basically all of it. —I said to him as I lay in bed.

— So this was your first mission?

—Yes. An exciting first time.

—I guess so.

—Let's rest. —I said to him as I lay on the left side of the bed and Christian hugged me.

I don't remember what time we fell asleep. I only knew one thing exactly. I had already settled my account with the CIA and now Christian knew my secret.

The alarm sounded insistently. I turned around in bed looking for Christian, but I couldn't find him. I opened my eyes, turned off the alarm and sat on the bed. I went to the bathroom looking for him but I didn't find him there.

— Christian! —I shouted calling him.

— In the kitchen!

I left the bathroom for the kitchen. Christian was behind the counter preparing breakfast.

A week had passed since everything had happened and today we were going back to work. It was unbelievable how quickly he had recovered. Yesterday, he had got rid of the stitches I had given him, and neither his face nor mine had any trace of blows.

Christian finished preparing the breakfast he put in front of me and smiled at me. We finished breakfast, got dressed and left for TecFall.

— When did your car arrive? —I asked him while I was riding in it.

—A few days ago, I can't live without it.

— I thought you couldn't live without me? —I asked him, pretending to be offended, while Christian sat next to me closing his door.

—I can't live without you, Ana. —he smiled at me as he slid one hand over my face.

— What if you had to choose between the two?

—Without hesitation, I would choose you. —he said to me as he took one of my hands between his and directed it towards his lips to give me a kiss. —But right now I have you and him. So I am doubly happy. —he said to me as he drove to the company.

When the elevator doors opened on our floor, Kate ran to where I was.

— I missed you so much! —he said as he squeezed me tightly.

—I can see that. —I said to her as I separated her from me.

—Hello Ryan. —she said briefly.

—Hello Kater. Did you do what I asked?

—Yes. Everything is ready and prepared as you asked.

— What did I miss? —I asked, interrupting the conversation in front of me.

—You'll find out later. —Christian said to me as he pushed me towards my office.

— Won't you tell me? —I asked him as we entered my office.

—No. —he said to me as he went to his office and left me there.

Today I didn't have to make him a cup of coffee because I had prepared it for him in the apartment. And I spent the whole morning thinking about what he had planned with Kate.