Holy Moly CANNOLI YOU GUYS. Over 1000 reviews. How does that even happen. Shit. I mean.. all have blessed me with so much love. I AM NOT WORTHY *ugly cries*
vamomoftwins: You were my 1000th review. I wish I could give you a prize or something. Till then, here's a virtual hug from the east coast.
This is a bit of filler chapter. Still there will be sweet moments and little nuggets here and there for future chapters.
I got a PM asking recently how to pronounce the word Bhai which means brother. It's pronounced as Bhye, like saying byee but adding an h after the b
Chapter 46 – Wonder Woman.
Sunday, February 23rd, 2020
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CARMELA ON TOP FOR THE SEATTLE NOOZ
Sunday Morning, rain is faillin' and my, my, do I have some news for you.
A certain caramel bite was so kind as to share a secret from the Secret Garden from last night.
It appears our new IT girl was seen partying it up in wigs and glitter with her friends for throwback Karaoke Night and it appears she has quite the voice and the moves to match. Is that how she captured the attention of our resident Prince Charming? It would seem so. Remember the pictures of her dancing at Daniel Wetherington's wedding published on Vogue? Check out the link here.
Unfortunately, our Prince was nowhere to be seen. I wonder why? Possible trouble in paradise? Another thing to note was that Miss Steele only drank water the entire night. Could we take this as confirmation that we indeed will have Baby Grey arriving in a few months? Oh I really hope so.
If you have any pictures and videos to share, be sure to send them my way. I'll update this article as I go.
May the rest of your Sunday be as sweet as caramel.
Send me your delicious thoughts.
Love & Caramel,
Carmela on Top.
Image_001: Anastasia Steele pictured with Elliot Grey, Katherine Kavanagh, Mia Grey and friends.
Video_001: Anastasia Steele singing Dreamlover with Mia Grey and friend.
Video_002: Anastasia Steele dancing with Mia Grey, Elliot Grey, Katherine Kavanagh and friends.
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CPOV
"Please enlighten me to how the fuck this happened?" I am seething but trying to keep my temper at bay. "Taylor you and Welch told me that Richmond has not left her fucking apartment since last Tuesday then how the fuck was she in Seattle last night. Care to explain that fuck up?"
"Sir, the only people in and out of that apartment building on a consistent basis have been Miss Blake and Miss Williams." Welch's throaty voice booms from the speakerphone.
"Security at the club let us go through their tapes. This woman avoided the cameras and left right after her interaction with Miss Steele and an unmarked SUV picked her up." Taylor shares.
"Sir, from the photo you showed me of Miss Richmond, that is not the woman who approached Miss Steele last night. The woman who approached her had significantly different facial features."
I rub my forehead. What the fuck is going on?
"Whoever this woman was could've fucking harmed her and you just stood there doing nothing." I scream at her. "You're done. I want you..."
"That was because I asked her not to." I hear Ana's calm and collected voice at the threshold of the study. Her face is tense and her eyes are piercing into me as she walks over to take a seat by my table. "Prescott, Sawyer and I have an understanding that I can alert them via hand signal if I ever feel uncomfortable and last night the woman who approached me seemed harmless, though I'm now finding out there's more to this riveting story." She raises an eyebrow.
I swallow and try to hold her gaze. She turns away from me and looks at Taylor. "Let me guess, this changes things again? My routine is to only go back and forth from GEH and Escala for the foreseeable future?" She asks trying her best to hide her wavering voice.
"Miss Steele, I'm afraid given the current circumstances we need to temporarily keep you in this routine."
"Well, please add the Seattle-Mason NICU to my itinerary. I got my volunteer schedule this past week and I would like to spend a few evenings there after work. I'm sure if you reached out to their security team would be more than willing to accommodate your requests."
Taylor gives me a look trying to figure out how to respond. He's a smart man who knows who really wears the pants in this relationship. I nod and he turns to speak back to Ana.
"Miss Steele, we will liaise with Seattle-Mason and let you know what the plan will be going forward."
"Thank you, I appreciate that. Could you please give Mr. Grey and I a moment to discuss some things?"
"Yes ma'am." Taylor, Prescott and Sawyer turn and walk out of the study.
"Ana..."
"No. You will only answer my questions from here on out." She barks at me. "Why the fuck did you think that was Phoebe Richmond?"
"Because her middle name is Peony."
"Show me her file."
I pull out her file and hand it to Ana and she looks through it. "This is not the woman who approached me last night. She... wait..." She shakes her head and takes her phone out to take a picture of Phoebe's headshot and does something on her phone. She takes a few minutes and I see her facial expression change in what seems like recognition. She looks up to me and shows me a picture. "This was the woman who approached me. She had lip fillers and wore grey contacts and she heavily contoured her face in addition to wearing a wig. The lighting was dim and she looks much thinner in this picture that you have of her on file. The woman I met had curves. She essentially kylie jenner'd herself."
I look at her for a few moments. "How did you do that?"
"Facetune? Everyone does it." she rolls her eyes. "How long have you been watching them?"
"Since Phoebe was released from the rehabilitation facility we admitted her to. We started surveillance about two weeks ago."
"What does that mean?"
Fuck. This is not going to go well. "Phoebe was my sub in 2015. It didn't last more than a month because she turned out to be bat shit crazy. After I terminated my contract, she wormed her way into Mia's life through her gym visits and almost attacked her after striking a friendship with her under a false name and altered appearance. I told Mia she was just a stalker and disgruntled employee. It really did a number on Mia which is why she doesn't give out her real name anymore and told you her name was Grayson when you all first met. We had her admitted for therapy and rehabilitation program, it was supposed to be for a year but she ended up staying there for three."
FLASHBACK
Thursday, September 17th, 2015
"Christian darling, Phoebe seemed perfect for you. No hard limits, gorgeous face, great body and endurance. What went wrong?"
"She kept leaving fucking peonies around the apartment. She kept trying to have a conversation and annoying the fuck out of me. Elena, I'm sick of this shit. I need a sub that's not completely bat shit crazy. You really need to fine tune your vetting process."
Elena throws her head back and laughs like the witch he can be. "She got a rise out of you, surely you like that. She does love a good punishment."
"Not when it annoys the fuck out of me." I growl.
"Are you sure because she'd take you back in a second." Elena purrs.
"Fuck no. Keep her away from me, Elena."
"Suit yourself. I happen to think she's the perfect submissive." She picks up her glass to inhale the Cristal she's happily drinking on my dime as always.
"Then you can keep her for yourself. You have two weeks to find me a new one and she better be good."
END FLASHBACK
She rubs her face and cradles her head in her hands. "And you paid for this? Great, so now I have to worry about but now possibly two crazy ex-subs? I mean... at this point we have to wait and see what Leila is going to do right?"
"I won't let it get to that."
"Oh really? Cause little Miss Peony had not fucking problem last night."
"Yeah, well Welch and Prescott dropped the fucking ball on that."
"No she didn't and you will not fire her. She did her job just as she was supposed to. Prescott, Sawyer and I have an understanding that should I ever feel threatened, I will signal them and they will be there. Otherwise, they are to remain a minimum of 4-6 feet away from me, as to not draw attention."
"Ana, that is unacceptable."
"Listen to me Christian, I am really trying my best to cooperate and I run everything by you and Taylor. I am fucking stuck indoors all the fucking time. Last night was a fluke. It was not Prescott's fault. Admit it even you didn't recognize the picture I just showed you of the woman I met last night. There is no fucking way Prescott could have known and again, it was literally a two minute conversation in a line waiting to go to the bathroom. What's next, you'll have Prescott accompany inside the fucking bathroom stall?"
"If that's what it takes to keep you safe then yes. She will."
"NO. She won't. Call them back in here." She barks at me again.
They all walk back in after a few minutes and Ana shows Prescott the photoshopped picture of Pheobe and Prescott says that it's very similar to the woman she saw last night. I confirm with her that she still has a job and dismiss them for the day.
Taylor stays behind while we have another call with Welch but Ana excuses herself and walks out. I can tell how frustrated and unhappy she is with this entire situation and there is nothing I can do right now to fix it.
Taylor, Welch and I go back and forth for an hour discussing options and various security measures to keep a better eye on Phoebe and Leila. If the red hair is any indication then she's somehow working with Vishaal but I need proof and the fact that he too has unlimited resources only makes this fucking harder.
After I'm done, I walk out the study and go into the kitchen. I'm fucking starving and I wonder if Ana is making breakfast. She's not. I go up to find her in room. There's some music playing and I see her on the floor by the couch near the window working on a puzzle.
Bet all that gold gets heavy, weighin' on her
I wonder if it's scary, always tryin' not to get hurt
I know how it feels, it ain't easy
There's a reason why you only see it in the movies
'Cause, baby, I ain't Wonder Woman
I don't know how to lasso the truth out of you
Don't you know I'm only human?
And if I let you down, I don't mean to
All I need's a place to land
I don't need a Superman to win my lovin'
I get closer and sit next to her and fuck me it's a 1000 piece puzzle. I check the box cover and it's a puzzle of Archibald Motley's Nightlife. It's beautiful and I've never heard of the artist before.
"Need any help?"
"No thank you." She says simply.
"I've never heard of this artist."
She shrugs. "His work is beautiful. You should look it up sometime."
"I didn't know you were into puzzles."
"There's a lot you don't know about me. Ray got me on to puzzles to keep me occupied. Helped with the loneliness and then eventually with my recovery." I her face is tense and she's trying her best to concentrate but I'm a stubborn asshole and I want to her voice even if she's pissed at me.
"Is that also by him?" I ask pointing to the stack of framed prints on the floor by her bedside table.
"Yeah, it's called Gettin' Religion but there didn't have a puzzle version of it so I settled on this one called Nightlife."
"You can hang up some of the art you like downstairs if you want."
"I think there's enough art around the apartment already. Besides we have different tastes." She continues on separating pieces and trying to solve the puzzle as she goes.
"You don't like my taste in art?" I ask amused.
She shrugs. "I'm ambivalent about it."
"You either like it or you don't." I challenge.
"Well, it doesn't make me feel anything or remind me of anything so I guess, I'm just unaffected by it."
"I see... what does this piece remind you of?"
She scoffs. "It reminds me of last night, of being with my friends and for once not thinking about the shit that has consumed my life for the past 4 years."
"Look, I know this is hard for you..."
She looks at me. "No Christian, you don't. You can try and imagine but you can't. So you know what, it's fine. I've accepted the parameters that Taylor gave me. I'm not making a fuss, I'm not fighting back. I've just accepted it. You don't have to come over here and try and make me feel better. I'm fine. I've accepted it." She turns back to work on the puzzle.
This is annoying. "Stop acting like a petulant child, Anastasia."
She looks at me with murderous eyes and raises her voice slightly. "Keep your annoyance to yourself Christian. A petulant child, screams and throws a tantrum and slams doors. I am doing none of that. I told you I have accepted this as my new normal even though I fucking hate it because it's a repeat of my life in San Francisco. I know that this has been your normal for years. Just work and coming back here but it's never been mine. I was committed to living a full life, as much as I could so when all this shit gets taken away from me, well, I think considering everything I've been through, I'm being pretty fucking easy to deal with."
I try and change track. "You haven't had breakfast."
"When I'm hungry, I'll eat something."
I'm about to speak when her phone rings and I see it's Scooter. She takes a deep breath and answers, setting it to speaker.
"Hey Dani Bhai." She says a little solemnly.
"Hey Aana... are you free to talk?"
"Yeah sure, what's up?
"I've been meaning to call you but I've been Europe for the past week and I got back home last night... I wanted to check in on you."
"How are you?"
"I'm good. What about you?"
"Oh I'm peachy. My life is pretty fantastic." She says with animated sarcasm.
I hear Scooter take a deep breath. "I was hoping we could talk."
"I know what you want to talk about and the answer is no."
"Aana, just hear her out."
"Why Daniel? What could that possibly achieve or change?"
"She feels really bad."
"Oh really, does she? Is she trapped indoors? Is her life completely turned upside down? Did she have to leave her apartment and move to someplace new? Is the status of her uterus constantly in question? Is her every move watched?"
I hear Daniel sigh in frustration.
"Listen, she's really sorry."
"Yeah, well that doesn't do jack shit for me. Daniel, she is so fucking careless with this shit. She may be a shark in the business world but she is a fucking novice when it comes to personal shit. There was a reason why Nana wanted AHAK to remain behind the scenes. It was because every one of us could live our lives in peace and be able to walk around with freedom. I know KGI lives for the press but not me. I never grew up with the wealth and trappings it comes with. You know this... we've talked about it. You yourself are extremely private... "
"I know, I know... I wish this could be easier on you."
"Daniel, this conversation is going to go in circles. Do you remember when you, Kiran and I talked when you guys were on your honeymoon? Kiran had asked me when we were going to go public."
"Yeah I remember. You said you wanted privacy to get to know Christian before the entire world found out because they would be ruthless."
"Well?"
"I'm sorry Aana."
"Why are you apologizing? This is all on Kiran. She fucked up and there is nothing that she can do that will in any way make this okay or better for me..." she buries her face in her hands and sobs. "It... it fucking hurts Daniel. The rumor mill at work is a bitch, the snide comments online, tearing me apart, reducing me to an accessory and judging everything I do... I never knew anything about the coverage surrounding my accident. That whole miracle survivor shit... I found that out for the first time in front of Christian and his COO at work. Do you know how fucking embarrassing and heartbreaking that was? My whole fucking life, my most vulnerable moment is now entertainment."
Fuck. She didn't even know.
"Shit. I didn't know about that."
"Yeah, well that makes the two of us. Daniel, I adore you and love you... but please do not ask me to talk to Kiran and tell her to stop fucking texting and calling me. Tell her to stop involving other members of the family to run interference. Tell her to leave me the fuck alone for a while. I am already dealing with too much shit. She's always been so fucking careless and this was the last straw. I've let a lot of shit go in the past because I would let it just roll off but now, every time I'm hit with a setback thanks to the press, I am just reminded of how Kiran put her social ambition above my peace of mind. All she had to do was sort through some pictures and make sure that pictures of Christian and I together were not included. That's al. It was simple. Heck, if she had asked me, I would've made selections for her. After all, I planned that entire fucking wedding, what was one more thing?"
"I know and you planned everything to perfection. I'm sorry. I'll let you go. I'll talk to Kiran and let her know to back off. Are you going to SF soon?"
"Yeah, I spoke to Nani this morning. I'm going next weekend."
"We were planning on visiting next week too."
"Okay. I'll guess I'll see you then."
"You'll be okay?
"Do I have a choice?"
"Listen, call me whenever you want to talk okay?"
"Yeah, thanks Dani Bhai. Take care of yourself."
"I will, bye Aana."
Scooter hangs up and she wipes her face and gets back to the puzzle. The music automatically comes back on. She works intently, her tears keep falling and I don't know what to say to comfort her. She's constantly met with disappointment and I am unable to provide her with comfort like she does for me.
I don't wanna be your girl no more
No more
I just wanna see your face at home
Home
You can't do me right
So I decide that
I don't wanna be your girl no more
No more
I just wanna see you up and out
Out of the door
I'm not living right
So I decide that
I don't wanna be your girl no more
No more
I won't hide the ways I've tried
It's just not right
It's killing me tonight
"You really didn't know about the press coverage around your accident." I ask carefully.
"No, I didn't. When Ros came in that day, that was the first I heard about it."
"Why they didn't tell you?"
She looks at me, her face all red and eyes puffy. "Would you have told Mia or Elliot if they had been through something like that?"
I look down. She's right. I would've done everything to keep them away from that.
"When Nani had told me about Carla wanting to go to the press during her first visit after my accident, I just assumed that she would probably play the "billionaires have kidnapped my daughter" angle but I realized while watching the press clip that day that she wanted to probably sell my story. When I asked Nita about it earlier this week she tried to protect Carla, she's always tried to get me to see the good in her for some reason... anyway, she finally admitted to it when I told her that I had finally told Carla to fuck off."
"I'm sorry, Ana."
She shrugs. "It is what it is."
"Why didn't you tell me about Kiran?"
"There was nothing to tell. She's being fucking clingy. She's gotten every single one of our cousins and parents to call me and plead her case."
"Sounds like she really is sorry."
"That very well may be the case but I know she's also freaking out because she thinks I'll probably tell her deepest darkest secrets in retaliation because she's never experienced this side of me."
"What do you have on her?"
"Let's just say, I could blow up her marriage if I wanted to." she says with gritted teeth.
"What the fuck? Are you serious?" This part of her is really fucking terrifying.
She looks at me and raises an eyebrow. "I know a lot of shit about a lot of people in that family. There is a reason why I relate to Greg in Succession. Everyone thinks I'm harmless, but the shit I know... Kiran has been really fucking careless in the past. I'm just going to leave it at that."
"Tell me Ana."
"Christian, it's not my secret to tell. I may know a lot of shit, but I would never hold it over anyone."
"I think you should. Information is power."
"And power can lead to corruption that can destroy lives. It's different when it's fun and games and I'm teasing my friends and family but when it comes to serious life consequences... I don't fuck around with that. I don't need any more bad karma coming at me. I've been through enough shit and am still going through it."
"What about next weekend when you run into her at house?"
"I'll be civil but that's all I'll be. Do you still want to join me? Because Rania wants us to have dinner with her on Saturday night and then there's the family brunch on Sunday. If not, let me know so I can book my tickets."
"No, I want to come with you and even if I wasn't coming with you there's no way you're flying commercial given the fucking press."
"We're killing the planet."
"I think we're doing pretty well on the carbon footprint front given how we're always indoors and barely go anywhere." I smirk.
"Are you trying to tell me there's a silver lining to all this?" She narrows her eyes at me.
I chuckle. "Just trying to cheer you up, baby." She rolls her eyes at me. "It's almost 11, can we go eat breakfast?" Please say yes, i'm fucking starving.
"Are you making breakfast for us?"
"Umm, no. I can order some."
"You know, you could be close to the perfect boyfriend if only you could cook." She starts to get up from the floor.
"Close to perfect? Miss Steele, you wound me."
"Good. You need a dose of reality every now and then." She walks off and I follow her like a lovesick puppy.
...
"This was amazing."
Ana made us strawberry cream cheese filled French toast with toasted almonds in syrup.
"You know, you really need to learn how to cook. I mean... I'd like to be treated to breakfast in bed one day."
"I can totally take care of breakfast in bed, baby." I smirk and she smacks my arm.
"That's not what I meant you perv." She says trying not to giggle. I pull her in and pepper her with kisses on her lips and neck.
"Let me goooo." She whines, laughing.
"I wanted to kiss the chef."
"You're full of it."
"Yet, you still love me."
She rolls her eyes and sips on her tea.
"You're not really into American food, I've noticed."
"No, I'm into it but I think I prefer more eastern foods. I'm guessing you like more American and European foods right?"
"Yeah, it's what I grew up with. Was Ray a good cook?"
"He was decent when he didn't burn it. Carla was useless. Ray was more so into breakfast food and was great at it along with Italian food. Anything else... he was abysmal. When he married Nita... she totally turned our world around. I mean Montesano wasn't exactly worldly but Nita would make Indian, Pakistani and Mediterranean food... we had a routine, we'd order in one day. Ray would cook two days and Nita would cook two days and the rest we'd eat leftovers. When I was older then I'd make food too."
"What's your favorite cuisine?"
"It depends on the day. These days I miss indian and Pakistani food a lot but I'll have it next weekend so I'll get my fix. There's still a lot I haven't explored. What about you?"
"Well, I mostly have only eaten American food or French food because mom liked cooking it. When I travel, I try to eat the local food but I'm usually too busy and just order room service unless we're treated out to a business dinner."
"Do you like Greek food?"
"I've had it here and there on occasion."
"Have you ever had Saganaki?"
"Can't say I have."
She grabs my arms and shakes it. "CHRISTIAN! YOU. ARE. MISSING. OUT!"
I laugh. "It appears so. What is it?"
"It's fried cheese and some restaurants will serve it with lemons and fig jam and oh my god it is a heart attack waiting to happen but SO GOOD!"
"We should go sometime." I give her a kiss.
Her face immediately falls and she turns to pick up the dishes. "Yeah, sometime."
"Ana, I'll pick these up."
"No, it's fine. Once I'm done with these, I think I'm going to nap for a bit before I have to make brownies for tonight."
She's shutting down. She makes quick work of putting the dishes in the dishwasher and then goes up to her room.
I find her in her room under the covers with her back towards the door. I climb in behind her and hold her tight.
"Baby."
"Yeah?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Ana, it won't last forever."
"I'm never going to be able to freely be myself out there. I'll always have to think that maybe someone is watching me or taking my picture. Even last night, under all that makeup and hair, I was still found out. They posted pictures and videos of me just having fun with my friends. I just started to grow my life and find my friends and now I can't even enjoy my life with them without endangering their lives." Her voice cracks.
She's right. I can't possibly or fully understand this because I never had this appetite for life. I craved the privacy and being alone. She lost out on 5 years of her life and when she finally started to blossom again... all this shit happened. It's the one thing I can't give her. I can't give her freedom. All this money and all she wants, is the simple things. I pull her in closer to me and kiss her temple, cheek and neck. I can feel her crying but she doesn't make a sound. After a while she starts to speak.
"Jose is very happy he got his picture posted on the Nooz."
"Of course he is." I chuckle.
"This is the only scenario in which he's happy being the supporting character in the story."
"He did look fabulous."
She laughs out loud and I kiss her neck. "Now that, he would definitely get tattooed on his forehead."
"I saw the video of you singing. It was beautiful. You looked so full of life."
"I chose that song because I missed Ray and Nita. Dreamlover is one of Nita's favorite songs, plus it really can get a crowd going... when they got married and she started living with us, she introduced me to all the music she liked and that particular Mariah Carey album she loved and would play it while making lunch on the weekends. Actually hold on, I have this really embarrassing video of us both dancind and acting out the song. I of course look like a duck having a seizure." We both laugh and she reaches for her phone and goes through her archive to look for the video and plays it.
"I was 11 here and clearly giving the Pillsbury dough boy a run for his money..."
The video is of Nita and Ana in the kitchen acting out the song while holding spoons and singing into them like mics. Ana looks fucking adorable as she laughs and throws her arms up and around with all sass. I hear Ray's laughter from the camera. At one point Ana takes the camera and films Ray and Nita dancing together, when they kiss Ana gags and turns the camera and speaks into the it, rolling her eyes. "Ignore mama and dad, they really know how to ruin a moment with their smooching. Don't worry I'll protect you from that stuff. I promise. Aanapa's got your back!" She winks into the camera and turns it around to Ray and Nita laughing while still dancing.
"You were so adorable, look at those cheeks. Who were you talking to?"
"This was when Nita had first gotten pregnant, I asked to make videos, memories... I wanted to share them with my brother or sister when they grew up, to show them how we were."
"That's really sweet." It's fucking heartbreaking.
"Yeah, I guess." She says wiping her eyes.
Like a freight train, it dawns on me how fucking lucky I've been. Grace saved me from a shitty situation but I couldn't get over myself and sought out another shitty situation while the woman I'm so madly in love with wanted all of it and made the most of every situation no matter how fucked up it was even if it came at a great personal expense.
"I never really appreciated Elliot and Mia while I was growing up. At least not as much as I should've." I say feeling the burning lump in my throat.
"You still have them, it's not too late. You'll always have that bond." She says in a small voice.
"You would've been an amazing older sister."
"I guess I'll never know."
"I saw how you were with you younger cousins at the wedding and how you are with Aashu, how you are with Mia... you show them a lot of love, almost like a mother even."
I look at her and she's just looking at the ceiling and blinking, trying to keep the tears at bay. After a while she just shrugs.
"Can we talk about something else?" she asks.
"We can talk about whatever you want." I pull her close to me. She doesn't say anything for a while. I just feel her breathe. I run my hand up and down her back, playing with her hair at times.
"I should warn you that both Kapadia siblings will there when we visit next weekend, especially for the Sunday brunch. Friday it will just be us with Nita and Nani and maybe Rania and Aria if she takes a half-day from work."
"I suppose there's no real way to avoid those two."
"He'll be on his best behavior as long as Nani is around and now that she knows she'll make sure nothing gets out of hand. Please promise me you will remain calm no matter what. Daniel will be there so you won't entirely be outnumbered."
"I'll try. Will they be around for our dinner with Rania and her family?"
"No. They won't. That's a dinner for just us at her apartment. Kiran has a tendency of taking over shit and can't hold her liquor for shit so Rania wanted it to just be us to get to know you in relative peace."
"Okay. Will you tell her? You mentioned wanting to tell her."
She takes a deep breath. "It depends. Now that Kiran will be there, it might be difficult. I have to see how it all goes. Rania can be a bit of hothead, if she decides that she believes me then she could very easily confront him and I don't want that. Not yet at least."
"I hope you can tell her." That way you have another person on your team and we can push for an internal investigation on the fucker.
"We'll see. By the way, I guess the goes without saying that my family is really affectionate and I know it can be a bit much so I've told them to be... gentle with their welcome hugs and stuff. I didn't tell them why... I just said we should ease you into everything. I blamed it on the culture difference. So everyone will be on their best behavior... I can't promise about Aria though, she's a baby but I'll keep her with me as much as I can."
I kiss her forehead. "I appreciate that, I think I should be fine and as far as kids go, well, I've never been exposed to them outside of Mia so I don't really know how I'll react."
"I know... Aria is very affectionate once she gets to know you but chances are she'll just remain in my lap."
"Are you excited to see them?"
"Yeah... fair warning, I'll probably be a crying mess so don't judge. I get very emotional whenever I see Nani and Nita after a long time."
"It's okay, you love them, and you missed them."
"Yeah... have you ever watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding?"
"No, what the hell is that?"
"I guess it's a good thing we're stuck up here. You're such a pop culture novice. I have much to teach you before I take you out into the wilderness." She giggles.
"Go ahead Miss Steele, 'bless me' as you say."
"Look at you, picking up on the Steele lingo."
"Can't help it, you've brainwashed me."
She picks up the remote and turns on the TV to go through the movie selections and presses play.
"Don't worry, this is just a very small window into what my family could be like if they wanted to. In the end, all immigrant families are the same, loud, touchy-feely, hearts full of love and bellies full of food."
"In that case, I'll brace myself for impact." I laugh.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you." She giggles before she pulls me down and kisses me soundly.
Authors Note:I wanted to give them a bit of a sweet moment after all that drama from last night and then this morning. Literally NO ONE shared their stripper name. I am crushed. Just kidding. I'm still rewriting the next two chapters... but Christian will officially meet the family in boyfriend capacity... let's see what happens!
Pinterest: www dot pinterest dot com/paleseptember10/50-shades-of-love-and-light/
Music:
Wonder Woman – Kacey Musgraves
Don't Wanna Be Your Girl – Wet
Dreamlover – Mariah Carey.