"He said that he would like to try a long distance relationship," Victoria whispered as she sat besides Ana on the sofa, both of them holding a mug of tea in their hands. Christian had informed them that he would be staying at the office until later on in the evening. Ana had answered the phone and agreed before she found Victoria in the living room, tears streaming down her face.

"And do you want to try a long distance relationship?" Ana wondered back, her gaze focused on Victoria.

The young woman shifted her legs underneath her, making sure that her dress did not ride too far up her thighs as she did so. She took another few moments to sip on her drink, thinking about what Ana was asking from her.

"I don't want to break up with him, but I don't want to go months without seeing him." Victoria responded. "I also don't want to be selfish and keep him here when he has a perfect opportunity in California. You should have seen his face, Ana...he looked so...I don't know...he wants to go and I don't want to stop him."

Ana smiled sadly towards her and moved to rest her hand on Victoria's arm. "Then you should try to work this out long distance," Ana said, shaking her head back and forth.

"Does it ever work out?" Victoria wondered. "I have another two years of my course left. What if he finds someone else? What if it really isn't meant to be?"

Anastasia shook her head slowly, drinking her cup of tea slowly. She shifted her gaze around the living room, trying to think of some advice to give Victoria. She suspected she didn't have anything to say which could appease the girl.

"He said that he would come to the trial in the week, but I told him that I would be fine." Victoria continued to speak. "All I have to do is stand up and answer questions without letting her get to me."

"Your father and I will be there," Ana spoke. "Maybe you just need to take some time to speak with Andrew? You could talk somewhere quiet and clear the air between the pair of you. That would be for the best, I think."

"Maybe," Victoria responded and she placed her mug down on the coffee table. "Nothing seems to be going quite right, does it? Everything is going wrong after I thought it would get back on track."

"It will," Ana replied. "You just need time to see that."

...

Victoria yawned as she crawled out of bed the following morning. She had dressed with haste, pulling her jeans on and tucking her red vest top into it before throwing her red blazer on top, buttoning the golden button as she did so. She grabbed her satchel and slipped her flats onto her feet. She had not seen her father since yesterday, but she suspected Ana would tell him of her and Andrew.

She didn't know if she could deal with the Christian inquisition just yet.

Victoria moved into the kitchen, hoping that she was early enough to escape his watchful gaze, only to find him sat on the stool at the breakfast bar. He looked up from the newspaper he was reading, a slender brow arching in her direction.

"Trying to escape?" Christian asked from her.

Victoria inhaled sharply and shook her head, folding her arms over her stomach. "I was going to go and pick a hot chocolate up on the way to college."

"We have drinks at home," Christian reminded her and she shook her head. "I know that you don't want to talk about it."

"I'll talk about it when I speak with Andrew," Victoria promised her father. "I think I need to speak with him before I do anything. That would be the wisest thing to do...and...well...no, I don't really want to talk about it."

Christian nodded in agreement, respecting her decision before realising that he should not push her on the matter. His daughter was nothing if not stubborn. He knew that was a trait which she had picked up from him. It must come from the Grey side of the family. He liked to think she was all him. There was none of her mother in her.

"Come on," Christian suddenly spoke, standing up and closing the newspaper he had been reading. "I will tell Taylor that I am taking you to college. He can take Ana to work."

Christian buttoned up the three buttons to his suit jacket, draining off the rest of his coffee in his mug before he grabbed his briefcase. Victoria didn't bother to argue with her father as he placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her forwards.

...

Victoria waited for her father to return to the car, twiddling her thumbs in her lap as Christian went inside the coffee house to order the drinks. He didn't particularly want to sit inside when his daughter looked as though she could burst into tears at any given moment. He slid back into the vehicle and handed Victoria the red polythene cup full of chocolate and milk.

"I did say that I didn't want to talk about it," Victoria reminded Christian, looking around the empty coffee house car park whilst Christian drank his latte.

"I am not forcing you to talk about," Christian promised her and she scoffed.

"We're sat in a car alone whilst drinking. We're bound to talk."

"We don't have to talk about Andrew," Christian responded. "Unless you really do want to talk about it?"

"No," Victoria assured him.

Christian remained silent as Victoria bit down on her bottom lip and her phone made a noise from inside of her satchel. She sighed and juggled her hot chocolate, placing it in the cup holder by the gearstick, leaning down into the footwell to pull her mobile from her bag. Christian watched her intently as she unlocked the phone, opened the message and then dropped her phone onto her lap. Christian couldn't help but let intrigue take hold of him.

"Who was it?" he wondered from her and she looked up to him.

She knew that he would be mad if she told him, but she also knew that hiding it from him would make matters worse. He had told her just as much. Victoria picked her phone back up and opened the message before passing it over to her father.

"He texts me quite often," Victoria admitted. "I don't reply. I never know what to say."

Christian scrolled through the one sided conversation, his jaw tightening as he did so. Victoria ran her hand through her hair whilst Christian felt his anger build inside of him. Dominic Chattel was testing his patience and that was something he didn't want to do.

"I thought he might stop if I never replied," Victoria said. "He seems to have gotten it into his mind that I like him. I told him that I had a boyfriend, but he doesn't seem to take no for an answer."

"He will," Christian promised her and Victoria shook her head.

"I don't want you to go and make anything worse," she said. "They are just text messages-"

"-And how did he get your number?" Christian wondered back from Victoria and she shrugged.

"I didn't give it to him that night," she promised. "He works in technology. It's no wonder he has it. Honestly, dad, don't make a big deal about this. I'll just change my number."

Christian handed her the phone back and she shook her head slowly. "I will have Barney look into it," Christian informed her. "Dominic Chattel is not someone I want you to be involved with."

"You don't need to worry about that," Victoria promised her father. "I have no intention of getting involved with him whatsoever."

Christian watched Victoria drink more of the warm liquid, his hands gripping his own cup with ferociousness. If only he knew how much of pain Chattel was going to be in his life.