A/N

Hello!

Bear a little heartfelt note with me.

This and the next chapter have been a wonderful ride. Hope you all share this with me.Please review and don't just read it. It is what will keep me going. If possible write more than just a 'Thank you.' because sometimes two words aren't enough to give a power boost ;)

A worried guest told me that he/she wanted me to continue this story as we were just being started on the "good part".

I just wanted to reassure all of the people who share this feeling that I will never ABANDON my story. I might take time uploading but not leave it. Trust me, I won't.

Love,

VA Adeles.xx

"Where will we be staying?" Ellen asked me as we sat in the passenger seat and the driver drove on the busy city roads,

"You both will be staying with him and I'll stay at the hotel ten minutes away," I informed her, my eyes raising to look at the tall buildings that whooshed by,

Hemington was beautiful. The sun was right on our heads, now but still it didn't bother me, although, I had to remove my blue jacket so I could be comfortable in my pale white, sleeveless blouse… and also because I refused to turn the AC on.

The roads ran smooth till infinity, it seemed, running with huge trees and showy bushes along the pavements. The people walking furiously pass each other, some busy on their phones carrying their business bags and some just casually strolling with their family, all well dressed and ready.

The tall buildings with their beautiful architectures towered all of these people and I wondered the weight these huge buildings carried in them, standing upright.

I, immediately, giggled at myself for feeling almost bad for an inanimate object and turned my head to the front before I started to apologise to them.

The traffic was occasional but at times unbearable, too. It wasn't so crowded in Bridgeville and I was already missing those warm colourful houses with little, home-friendly trees and cafes and beaches.

"You're not staying with us?" Jess asked, shocked, her eyes widening,

I shook my head, "I can't,"

"Why?"

"I just can't." I said in a final, firm voice and Jess pursed her lips. Elle frowned but didn't object, silently nodding her head to herself,

The ride wasn't too long as we entered in a quiet street, which was awfully polished and smooth and empty, no living being in the ten-mile radius of my sight. In a second I knew where we were, the reign of the rich people where people were so busy counting their notes to mingle with the rest.

We were driven to a huge bungalow that looked tiny from the distance, large green trees covering most of the building as if they were set more for privacy and guard then for greenery. The driver drove into the gates – which had a huge board reading Isaac Kay in metallic words and the light glowing from the behind of the translucent nameplate.

The building grew bigger as we covered his huge garden. I felt like a stranger when I looked at his mansion, it was a three-floor building, too gaudy for my taste like it was meant for just a show-off of the money he had.

I could look at the large creepers twisting up in the ceiling of the glass balcony, throwing off blinding white light and the branches of the creeper falling down on them, The wooden panels on the buildings just for the appearance. His mansion had more blinding lights and huge glass windows, doors than fifty museums.

I loved a glass building but not this one. It was too gaudy, too pompous.

"Mr Kay will meet you inside the main door, ma'am." The driver interrupted my assessment of the building,

"Jesus, how many entrances are there?" I muttered under my breath and stepped out into the hot weather.

A lady opened the door as soon as we walked across the threshold. She threw me a white gleaming smile and I smiled back, politely,

So, yes, I was sure that I didn't like the architecture of his place at all. It was as if I had entered a palace, a modern palace, that blinded me with the thousands of bright lights on the ceilings. I looked at my sisters and they had their mouths open. I instantly closed mine.

The house, inside had all crème, beige walls and the designer seemed to continue with that theme. I couldn't believe that even crème could look that extravagant. I glanced at the long stairs- a brown carpet laid on them - that disappeared into the ceiling, the staircase was all steal in tan brown.

To my left, was a bar in black marble with bottles of expensive wines and champagnes, a woman in a white shirt tucked in her black pencil skirt standing behind it, serving four glasses of red wine. The bar was slightly curved and I realised that it extended till the royal dining area. It wasn't too clear, maybe a little far away, I mused. I entered in the house through the foyer and my eyes landed on the sofas in the middle.

At my front were three steps that went down to the round area where the sofas were in tan brown, as if two Cs kept facing each other with exactly the same shaded round table in between. We were made to sit on them and I noticed that the wooden shade of the floor was so similar to the shades of the entire house.

The girls were watching the movie that was playing in front of us, its voice muted. There was no TV instead a whole pure white wall that was levelled forward than the beige walls beside them, the projector hung on the ceiling above us. It seemed that it worked on remotes and could merge right into the ceiling when shut down, I was probably right.

I wasn't going to watch the TV so I just gazed at huge glass window - parallel to the main entrance - that showed out to pool, my heart doing summersaults, the moment when I finally saw him was just seconds away.

I didn't understand the reason of switching on so many lights inside and outside the building during the day.

"Hello," The deep voice greeted us, bashful and anxious at the same time,

I went rigid. It was the same voice that I had heard shouting in my childhood, in my worst nightmares. She is the reason for all of this! I am tired of her.

Ignoring my accelerating heartbeat, I stood up, Jessamie and Ellen throwing me a frantic, excited glance. I softened when I looked at them, even though, I was irritated when I saw them excited at meeting him.

I tried repeating the fact that the memories and moment they had with him, or wanted to have with him was totally different from mine. They didn't know or understand the reasons I had not to like him.

And then I finally turned.

The same face. All the difference I could gather was that his beard and moustache was grey, his broad shouldered, muscular body now bulky and slightly heavy. His eyes crinkled around the corner, as he gave us a half almost nervous smile, his round face lifting up with it.

"Jesus, Ana,'' Jess whispered, her mouth falling open, "you look just like him," she said, her mouth falling open, she looked at me and then again at him.

"Now I know where you got your beautiful eyes that were so different than both of us," Ellen chuckled, shaking her head,

"Shhh, you too" I hissed at them and stepped up the Three stairs to follow the basic rules of curtsy, "Isaac," I greeted him, "Anastasia Steele."

He gaped at me, his glassy eyes roaming up and down my body, his mouth dropping open to inhale the air filled with the…twist of reunion and then his face brightened with a face splitting grin and in that moment, I couldn't stop but pass him a small smile back.

Then I realized that we weren't the only ones in the room but he didn't even acknowledge my sisters standing right beside me, instead he moved forward and held me by my shoulders, running his hands across my arms gently, breathing me in. I shifted uncomfortably.

"You're so big and beautiful," He whispered, as if he couldn't believe it himself,

"Nineteen years does make a difference, Isaac," I didn't understand why my tone was so hard and reserved. His face dropped and he stepped an inch away, trying to keep his smile intact.

I cleared my throat and smiled, politely, "Um… Isaac, this is Jessamie and that's Ellen," I pointed at them, their eyes were wide with anticipation, afraid for acceptance.

He was still looking at me but then he slowly, almost reluctantly moved his eyes towards them.

He gasped when he really saw them, "You both are too identical," he almost choked and I knew what he was looking at. His face. My face. Their face.

That made me smile, "Our Ellen is the simple one with specs," I ran my hand through her hairs, twirling a strand around my finger, "the one with blue hairs at the bottom is Jess," I smiled fondly at her, clarifying the confusion,

"That's balayage!" she hissed at me,

"Hello," Ellen nodded. I saw her silently stomping on Jess's foot.

"They look like you," he breathed,

I didn't like the way he said it. They look like me? Yes, they did, but if I looked like him , that meant, they did too. I kept reprimanding myself that I was wrong to think that he didn't wanted to accept them. It was just my motherly instincts speaking.

"Have a seat, please,"

The girls came to sit beside me and he sat in front of us. The woman stepped down to hand us the glasses of wine that she had been pouring when we first entered the house,

I cleared my throat, "The girls won't –

"Of course," Isaac interrupted me, "Sophie, get them some juice, will you?"

The waiter nodded and rushed away. I peeked at Jess waiting for her angry glance that scolded me, telling me that she was an adult, now but she sat beside me, looking down at her fingers,

"Do you like this place?" Isaac asked directly to me,

I nodded my head, "It's… nice,"

He laughed, shaking his head, "Come on, I am your father,"

I couldn't help but glare at him. He stopped, looking away, his face losing the smile with realisation.

"I have a father, Mr Kay and he's back in Bridgeville,"

"Ana!" Jess whispered,

"I understand," Isaac muttered, his smile fading away, "What I meant was that I can guess when you're lying,"

I flexed my jaw, calming myself down,

"You're right. The house is too big for me, Mr Kay," I nodded,

"From Isaac to Mr Kay," He arched his eyebrow,

"Anyways," Isaac smiled again when I didn't answer, "I wanted to know if I can persuade you all to live here at my place. I want to know all of you," and for the first time he looked at them and I relaxed,

"I won't be comfortable, Isaac like I mentioned in my email," I began,

"Ana, I want to know you all better," he reasoned,

"The girls will be staying with you for the week,"

"And you?"

"At the hotel,"

He sighed, heavily.

Sophie was back again with two juices. I sipped my wine, silently.

"They have Carla in them," Isaac was staring at them, admiration in his voice,

My throat went thick and blobbed. I didn't like him saying her name but I couldn't help but look at my sisters' eyes and be reminded of my mother, "I know. Mom was ecstatic when she looked at their eyes,"

Isaac's smile widened but the girls were still looking at me, concerned. Guess, I never behaved well when mom was mentioned.

"She sure was," Isaac laughed, his eyes locking on Jess and Elle, "They're beautiful, Ann. I wish I knew about them sooner. Carla should have—

"Isaac," I stopped him, "She tried contacting you, I have said that. You don't need to bring that up in front of 'em,"

"I just wish I knew them better." He shrugged,

Everybody was quiet then.

"Why didn't you try contacting us?" A timid voice broke the awkward silence and we all looked at Elle, surprised, "You never tried contacting us until now,"

"I didn't know you existed," Isaac defended,

"You knew Ana did," Jess countered, immediately,

"It didn't end well for me to easily return. Your sister hated me," He paused to look at me and I glanced away,

"What changed now?" Ellen narrowed her eyes, her eyebrows pulling up, innocence in every bit of hers, her face twisted into pain I couldn't bring myself to see.

I had never seen Ellen's confrontational side before. Her questions and the proximity of his hurting replies had my heart hammering in my chest. I struggled to keep my breaths even.

I looked at Isaac who was sitting relaxed on his seat, smiling fondly at my sisters, like he expected this. Though, his eyes looked troubled, framing the answer in his mind, "Death makes you desperate, Ellen. It's Ellen, right?"

She nodded.

"I am sorry," he exhaled, sharply, "and I can't defend myself by saying anything, it will only make it worse. I have wasted my time and I don't want to repeat it. That's all I can say."

"Will you give me another chance, Ellen?" Isaac finally asked, his voice deep with hope and yearning for her to accept. I knew my sisters were easy target.

She seemed to take a minute to decide her decision, and then very slowly, she gave her head a tiny nod.

"And Jessamie?" Isaac glanced at her and she smiled, sheepishly. Isaac smiled back, his eyes filled with love and admiration that it made me hurt to even look at him.

The girls were getting to know their biological father and I knew that my mom always thrived for this day.

"I hate to say this but Raymond raised you all well," Isaac chuckled to himself, his voice almost loathing but also thankful,

Jess was the one to speak this time, "Oh no," she laughed, jokingly, "Daddy just raised Ana not us,"

I frowned. What was she saying?

"And then he handed us to this lady," Jess added. Ellen giggled,

"What Jessamie means is that Ana has been a mother to us," Elle smiled at me,

"It's not easy to be a single parent. Especially, when you're a doctor. It's a devoting job," I shrugged, rushing to defend my father,

Isaac nodded, his mouth pulling up in a small smile, "He did a great job. You did a great job,"

I knew denying it would only result in more of my appreciation so I decided to shut the topic,

"Um… thanks," I replied, nodding, plastering a small smile, "I am getting late. I should probably leave, now,"

I glanced at my sisters and stood up on my feet, everybody stood up with me,

Isaac hesitated, "I wanted to arrange a formal meeting with you and my company, so, you can know them,"

I inhaled a deep breath, steadying myself and focusing on my breathing, "We have a lot to discuss before that," I interjected,

He smiled, "You can freshen up and we'll meet tomorrow?" He inclined his head towards me, expectantly

"Sounds good to me," I nodded and turned to Jess and Ellen,

"Will you both be okay?" I whispered, placing my hand on Elle's shoulders – the nearest to me and glanced at them. They both nodded, "I am just a call away if there's any problem, okay?"

The nodded, again. I pulled them in a hug and Isaac cleared his throat, "They will be okay." He smirked at me, "I'll show you out,"

He walked me out and opened the door of the car for me, "I will meet you tomorrow then,"

"You have really changed, huh?" I stared into his eyes that didn't reflect that arrogance I have once seen, the irresponsibility I have once felt in him,

He snorted, closing the car door suspecting a long conversation, "Death, I guess, Ana, puts everything into perspective," his smile turned into a hard line but his eyes were still gentle, "I can't afford more people hating me,"

I shook my head, my lips pulling up, "That's what you're doing? Making up before you… die," I struggled to get the last word out,

He was at a loss of words for the fiftieth second, "You can say that,"

I chuckled, humourlessly, "I thought you wanted to meet your daughters,"

I looked surprised, his eyes widening in response. He was suddenly shaking his head, "You're getting me wrong. Of course, I wanted to see you all. I have been trying to contact you for ten years now and you know that."

His eyes were sincere. I looked down at my feet, "You didn't deserve it. You still don't."

His brows pulled up, his jaws flexing. I looked up into his eyes but he didn't look at me.

"I do forgive you," I said in a small voice, trying to keep my emotions in control, "For my father, for my mother and for my sisters . I know my mother would have done the same,"

His head jerked up at me, "Really?"

I nodded, "Yes,"

"Can I hug you?"

I stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Just for one second." He outstretched his hands,

I held my breath and stepped into his arms, closing my eyes. He was arrogant and irresponsible and alcoholic but these were the same set of arms that would once hang me around and tickle me. I winced, fighting back tears that threatened to fall as the signs of my weakness. I twisted my fingers into a tight fist. He hugged me closer to him, wrapping his arms tightly around me.

A/N

"Love is all that matters" will take time. As I had said earlier that I would stop for a while to upload on it after Chapter 2.As for the next chapter of this story. I am uploading it tomorrow. Just working on breaking paragraphs.

Thank you.