You're going to hate me for the next few chapters. I already hate myself. CUE THE DRAMA.

Chapter song: Rings a bell - Allie X

Chapter 68 - the way you move it rings a bell

Friday, August 21st, 2020

CPOV

I hear the door knock and I know its Taylor. He has a distinct knock. I call for him to enter.

Taylor walks, his lips pressed into a hard line as Ana walks in with her piercing death stare like she's going to murder me.

Oh fuck.

"Sir, we have an update on Miss Williams and Miss Richmond." He says uncomfortably.

I swallow. Ana, quietly sits on the couch next to me while still keeping a considerable distance, arms and legs crossed.

"Go ahead Taylor."

He nods. "As mentioned before, they had both disappeared into thin air. Welch kept alerts on their names and all their accou nts, however, 10 minutes ago there was a charge on Ms. Richmond's card for the spa services here. Welch is looking into the CCTV footage to determine when exactly they came into the hotel and how long they've been here." He looks embarrassed.

I see Ana take out her phone and go to call someone and sets it to speaker.

"Idris Elba." Ana says giggling

"What do you want, Annie?" I hear Mr. Benoit say with a slight chuckle.

"Just some confidential info... Vishaal's new girlfriend, what's her room number? Need to drop off a welcome basket for the wedding."

"No, need but it you still want to meet her I can't stop you. Rooms 1734 and 1736. Adjoining rooms. Vishaal's female guests haven't been cleared to attend the official wedding events. Mrs. Karim didn't give permission. Boy, really fucked up if you asked me."

Thank God he did.

"Aww, well. Shit happens, I guess. Who's doing security for tonight?"

"We're not in charge. The club is not an AHAK asset and Vishaal took care of it."

"Hmm, okay thank you Benz."

"Take care, Steele."

She hangs up and looks at Taylor. "Please do not approach them yet and thank you and Welch for your help in trying monitoring the situation. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to have a few words with your employer."

She's never called Taylor, Jason. Shit. I look to Taylor and his eyes widen for a second and he gives me a sympathetic look. He nods and walks out.

"Ana..."

She turns her head slowly to me and speaks with a chilling calm and smile. "Well Master Grey, it appears not only to we have my rapist coming after me but also your bat shit crazy subs and what a team they make. Honestly, I don't know what I did in a past life to deserve so much excitement in this one." She gets up and walks away.

Master Grey? What the fuck? I get up and go after her.

"Ana, what happened?"

"Oh nothing, I just met your exes. They call themselves the Sub Club and wanted to initiate me too. You know, so we could sit in a circle and sing kumbaya and braid each other's hair." She says, maintaining her icy composure as she goes to prepare her dress and accessories for this evening. We're due to leave in another two and half hours.

"Ana, please baby, tell me what happened?"

She turns to me, seething but keeps her control. "I don't know Christian, what the fuck do you think happened? They cornered me and looked me up and down wondering how the fuck did I break the almighty Master Grey. They both were so forthcoming. It was honestly educational..."

FUCK.

"...you know, I remembered Leila from the files. Her face has stayed with me. She's so beautiful and when I saw that she was with you for almost a year, it made me want to throw up because you said that these arrangements worked for only 3-4 months but clearly she was different. She told me how you thought she was an impeccable sub and that she was certain you'd eventually contract her again and collar her because she was just so fucking good at what she did. She was always rewarded. How you, on more than one occasion gave her a tender kiss for her submission. It's so obvious that she's in love with you."

Tears start to form in her eyes but she still controls herself. I can't find my voice anymore. Fuck, this was not supposed to happen. Not like this. I've never wanted her to poisoned by this shit.

"Phoebe/Peony/Phyllis whatever the fuck her name is, on the other hand, seems like a real piece of work. She tried to rattle me with talk of how you'd leave me once you'd find out how broken and mentally unstable I was. They think I don't know about the BDSM shit. So I ran with it and said they were lying and that you really loved me but they laughed in my face and said Master is Dark. Master doesn't love, he only knows how to fuck hard. He needs to whip little brown haired girls for his pleasure. He prefers his women flawless and not scarred or broken. That I will never be able to fulfill your needs."

She turns and starts to unpack again as tears fall from her eyes.

"Ana, don't pay attention to what they said, they're just fucking bitter and they don't matter. Only you matter to me."

She looks to me again, completely impassive.

"What was so impeccable about Leila? I'm dying to know."

The fact the Elena groomed her for years to ensure what she thought was our compatibility.

"Ana, don't. She's just messing with you."

"She was your fucking sub for a year, clearly there was something there and she's looks like a fucking model so yeah, you better fucking tell me."

"Ana, that year we were setting up the Tokyo and Middle Eastern branch of GEH and I was travelling a lot and so I wasn't even Seattle on most weekends. As far as her being impeccable, she was a professional in the BDSM circle, it wasn't that she was extraordinary, she just knew how to keep a balance between punishment and reward to keep dominant's happy. That's all. And for the record she ended the arrangement because she wanted more and I was not in the market for that. She left and then got married 6 months later to someone else. They're just trying to fuck with us."

She remains silent and continues to unpack some of her things.

"Ana, they don't mean anything."

"I know that Christian. I just... for the longest time they were just a number or names and pictures in a file but to see them in person, standing in front of me. Telling me how I don't measure up. Telling me all the things you did together and making me realize that I may never be able to give you that... " She pauses for a few moments. "I didn't choose my past, it happened to me. You chose these women. You saw something in them... you decided they were worth of your time... I have spent the last 23 years feeling unworthy and over extending myself beyond my limits to do whatever I could to have an ounce of love in my life and I still felt undeserving. Kate tried to help me and it got a little better and now with therapy, I'm finally coming around to accepting myself but it's hard. It's difficult with the press cutting me down. It's difficult when your past comes for me. I never did anything to these women; I didn't even know them, so when they come at me... it hurts. I'm only human." Her eyes remain fixed on the closet and tears slowly fall from her eyes. "When I see Vishaal I feel dread coursing through me because I had a negative experience. What if you see these women and you feel something like before? It's not even something I could hold against you because... we're all human and..." She shakes her head.

I walk closer to her and cup her face turning it to me. "Look at me, baby." She raises her tear filled eyes and holds my gaze. I lean in and give her a searing kiss, pulling her closer and molding herself to me. I release her and look in her eyes again. "None of these people matter. We both have scars, remember you said that they were battle scars, proof that we survived so much and look where we are now. We're together and we're happy."

She nods silently.

"The fact that I have to even think about them is a nuisance. My mind is consumed by thoughts of only you ever since I met you. No other woman has ever been or will ever be able to do that. I love you, Ana. You believe that don't you?"

"Of course, I do. I just need a minute, Christian. How would you feel if I had been with a few guys before I met and they came to you and said similar shit? What if Vishaal came up to you and detailed all the unspeakable shit he did to me and passed it off as my being a willing participant?"

The thought has me fuming. I don't know if I would be able to handle it all.

"I know... I wish I didn't have this past but my present and future is only with you just as yours is with mine." I kiss her eyes and she nods and rests her head on my chest.

"At least they're banned from wedding." She murmurs.

"Yeah, how did that happen?"

She looks up and rests her chin on my chest. "Vishaal fucked up last night. He announced a relationship without first clearing it with elders in the family. He should've run it by Nani first since she's the oldest person in the family or even his parents at least. It's an unspoken rule and it's done out of respect. That shit he said that he was the head both families, that's what it was, absolute shit. He's just the oldest cousin, he likes to coast on the fact that he was the born first on both sides but he doesn't know how to actually act like a big brother. Same with Kiran. Only Karan and Rania actually act out the position of being a big brother or sister if you think about it. I wish I had realized this before I left for Portland..." She trails off.

I kiss her forehead.

"With you and me it was different. Yes, I'm not ethnically south Asian but I am a part of this famly and I honor their traditions. We met at the wedding and in public in front of everyone and even though I told Nita about us first, I introduced you in an official capacity to Nani before anyone else in the family. Technically, I should've introduced to you Nana but he was sleeping that night. It's about respect. You first tell your elders and get their blessing before just randomly blindsiding them with news like this in public. This party tonight is just us cousins having fun so they can come to it but the wedding, there will be elders and prominent people from the community and business world. Vishaal's pride ultimately caused him to shoot himself in the foot. That was an impulsive strike last night as was mine but I kept it kosher."

And you were brilliant at it.

"I'm going to fucking ruin all them." Fuck the NDA. Fuck not having surveillance on that piece of shit. I grab my phone out of my pocket and call Taylor.

"Put the phone down, Christian."

"Stay out of it Ana, I need to tell him."

"Don't fucking tell me to stay out of it, this affects me more than it will affect you. The more we push back the harder he will hit and Christian."

"Then what do you want me to do? Just fucking stand here and do nothing while they try to fuck with you?" I raise my voice at her.

She runs her hands through her hair while taking a shuddering breath and walks into the bathroom.

"Ana, baby. We need to do something."

She places both hands on the counter and leans down and immediately stands up and looks at me.

"You want me to paint a picture for you Christian? You want me to tell you how this will go down because I already see it. This little stunt is put a wedge between us so that we break up. This is retaliation for what happened on Memorial Day Weekend. Remember when he said all bets are off? Well, welcome to the game. As you've seen, every family event, Vishaal comes up with some new way to torture me. I know him. You see how fucking petty and vicious his mind is. This is his payback. Judging by Leila's little infomercial he still thinks he can get you to break it off with me. He is using them because chances are he thinks I don't know about the BDSM shit and that once I do, we'll be over.

This is life's grand plan outside of becoming CEO Of AHAK. He wants to break me, little by little. So that when I'm completely alone and broken, he will be my savior again and he will marry me and keep me as his little submissive wife. That is what he wants from me."

"Well, he can't have you. He'll never have you. Ana, I will keep you safe. I promise."

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. "I can keep myself safe. I've been doing this on my own for the last 5 years anyway. Why would now be any different. After all, look at what just happened. I got way more information out of Leila and Phoebe in 10 minutes than your precious security team."

She turns to walk into the room. I follow her again and she pours herself a cup of water and takes a sip then sits on the couch. I sit next to her and she creates some distance.

"Ana, baby please. I'm sorry. I'm really trying. Right now, I swear to God I want to go and murder that son of a bitch."

"I know you are, Christian. It's not that..." She leans back against the headrest of the couch and looks up for a few moments before speaking again. "Why do you think he's doing this? He wants you to react that way. God knows what Leila and Pheobe have told him about you. You think NDA's hold up in pillow talk or girl talk? They both have a common goal and they're using each other to get what they want but if you go after them it will exacerbate this entire situation even more."

"So what we just sit here and wait? Fuck this, I need to do something."

"Christian, what can you do? You can't control them; if you really could then this would not be happening. If you go and see them you'll be giving them what they want and what's worse they can have you recorded or some shit. Trust me I know how Vishaal thinks and now add these two psychos? I mean..." She says with disgust.

"Then let me have Taylor deal with it. "

"No, listen to me. I can deal with this. It's not bad this time around. I'm not alone, we're together and I'm out of sight most of the time. This is just a game of mental torture now... I have to learn to not let if affect me so much. Either way, as long as I'm with you, Karan and Tony, I'll be fine." She wipes the remaining tears and resolves to stop crying.

We get up and go back to the room to get ready for the party tonight.

I get done with my shower and change into my clothes. Apparently the theme for the party is 'One Last Night of Debauchery' before Aashu and Imran tie the knot.

Ana's doing her makeup when she suddenly turns to me. "What did Leila mean that she wanted you to collar her?"

"Ana, do we have to talk about this right now?" I really don't want to discuss this.

"I think I have a right to know." She doesn't let up.

I sigh. "Leila obviously wanted more from our arrangement. In the BDSM scene when you collar someone outside of a sexual act it's basically akin to marrying them without the actual paperwork that goes into a marriage. For some people they have actual collaring ceremonies. I was never interested in that."

Her face falls and she swallows. "How does that even work? What do they do, wear an actual collar forever?"

"Well, in private yes, it could be a metal or leather collar and in public it can be a necklace that acts as a collar, kind of like the choker you wear sometimes. Instead of a ring, it's a piece of jewelry around their neck."

"I see." She looks up to me after a moment. "She still wants that from you."

"I don't give a fuck about what she wants."

"Christian, if this sub club shit is real then I don't have it in me to try and foresee what 17 different mindsets are thinking about and when and how they will come at me."

"Well for starters, some of them don't even live in the US anymore and most the other are either married, with children or in serious relationships so I think we're good for the most part."

"So I have the pleasure of meeting the only three of the crazy ones?" She says annoyed.

"Ana, they are in the past. They don't matter."

"That's easy for you to say. I mean thank God one of them is dead but still this is very new to me. These women are your exes. You were intimate with them, no matter what you say, there was something there. Whether there was a lack of emotion or not, it was still a relationship. Time and space was shared over a period of time. They're only human. I'm only human too. I'm really trying to see past all of this but I see how beautiful they are... you just never gave them a chance." She trails off.

"Why do you care so much about them?" I ask annoyed because I don't want to waste any more talking about these two. I don't give a fuck how they look. Ana is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I wish she could see how I see her.

She shrugs. I walk up to her and kiss her with all the passion I can. "You, only you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I only want you, I only need you. I don't give a fuck about anyone else Anastasia. You are it for me. And at the risk of making a really bad joke, you're the only one I'd want to collar."

Her face erupts into giggles and then full-blown laughter as I hold her and kiss her cheek, crushing her to me.

"Stop I can't breathe." She tries to push me away, giggling.

"I'm serious. I'm going to collar you."

"Fuck you, Grey." She laughs again. "WAIT! Was that sapphire necklace supposed to be a collar?"

"It can be if you want it to." I smirk.

"Oh hell, no. Don't' be cheap. I want a new one and it better be one really expensive collar, I have standards." She sasses.

"Oh Miss Steele, they'll be able to see it from outer space." I give her a big wet kiss.

She rolls her eyes and laughs. "Whatever. Now, leave me alone now I have to get dressed." I release her and smack her ass.

A little while later she walks out of the room into the living area in an asymmetrical electric blue fringe dress and her hair in a signature ponytail and the charm bracelet I got her on her left wrist. She wore it every single day we were on vacation.

"You really are ready to party aren't you?" I laugh and walk towards her.

She spins around and does a little shimmy. "Always, Mr. Grey."

I pull her close to me and kiss her hard. "Don't party too much, save some energy for when we come back tonight. I want to party in private with you." I whisper and bite her lip.

"I'm never too tired to party with you, Mr. Grey." She giggles and kisses me again while we sway in place for a bit.

APOV

We're on our way to the club. Taylor takes the exit to head onto the Bay Bridge to Oakland. I lean my head against the window and look up at the bridge lights passing by. I close my eyes for a bit.

I feel my head on the seat and my body throbbing with pain as a hand soothes my hair. I look up and I feel tears fall from my eyes as I see the lights pass by, almost streaking through sky.

I immediately open my eyes and sit up trying to catch my breath.

"Baby?" I hear Christians voice in a panic as he scoots closer to me. "What wrong? Look at me."

"N-nothing... sorry I just..." I shake my head. "Sorry." I mumble and climb into his lap and tightly hold on to him.

"What happened, mon amour?" He asks me softly as he kisses my cheek. I love it when he calls me that.

I don't know. I don't understand what I saw and felt just now.

"Just felt a little weird. It's a passing feeling."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

I nod and raise my head to give him a small kiss. "Are you sure you're not sick of me clinging to you like this?"

He laughs softly and kisses me again. "I love it when you cling to me like a monkey. I'm going to miss it when we're back in Seattle again."

These past three weeks were wonderful. We spent every day together. Something we haven't done for more than a weekend since we met. Even though we were on vacation we still worked a few hours a day. I suppose we're both workaholics that way. Still, we were together and now I've gotten so used to him. We walked around freely, ate to our hearts content from little cafes, sat in parks and ate fruit we bought from nearby markets. I taught Christian how to boil pasta and scramble eggs. It's the little things in life.

We arrive at the club and I look up when I get out of the car. A club called Saphir? With metallic lettering black lit by neon blue lights.

Your name should've been Anastasia Saphir Steele. You're more of a Sapphire than a Rose.

I shake my head at the thought. It's probably a coincidence.

I look turn to look at Christian and his face is tense.

"Everything okay?" I ask him as he takes my hand and nods with a tight smile. I see Tony at the front on his phone and we walk towards him and he helps us bypass all the commotion at the entrance after we greet him.

I hear the bass vibrate through the air as a familiar the song sets the mood.

Could swear that we've been here before
'Cause in your arms I feel so sure
As if you knew me well
Must have been a reason for this feeling 'cause it rings a bell

As we walk in, I'm hit with an almost violent sense of deja vu. I smell mint and pineapple and the corridor we walk through is illuminated with a neon blue light. We pass another corridor with an elevator bank in the middle and a grand staircase at the end of it. We keep walking straight ahead till we get to two massive doors. Once they open, we walk on to a balcony overlooking the dance floor and I feel the sense of dread grow. Am I overreacting? I haven't been to a club since I was in Portland. Wow, I'm so pathetic but strangely this all feels familiar. The air is filled with a smoke of people smoking hookah all around. Something that Aashu and Imran love to do in their off time. This entire night is about what they love doing to unwind which involves a lot of alcohol and dancing.

I ask Tony where Rania is and he points in her general direction as we descend the side stairs to the seating areas around the dance floor. Once we reach our section, we greet everyone. Kiran is still distant. Daniel is his usual happy self and Rania and Raees are just happy to be out on the town without a kid.

I stay close to Christian, we remain seated for the most part. The music is good; it's all Aashu and Imran's favorites. The dance floor is completely full and as much as I want to dance I can't bring myself to. Not alone that is and I can't ask Christian. He seems to be lost in thought himself. I guess we're all just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I see Kiran looking at me and signal that she wants to talk. We haven't or rather she hasn't had a proper heart to heart with me since Kate's wedding. I tell Christian I'll be right back and that I'm going to talk to her for a bit. He tells me to keep Sawyer close, which goes without saying. We walk around the dance floor and she leads me up the stairs towards an elevator that takes us up to rooftop seating area. Once we get there we find ourselves a place to sit. It's uncharacteristically empty. I ask her why that is and she says that it's members only access and since the whole club was closed for a private event, most of the top floors would be empty.

"What's wrong, Kiran?"

Her face tenses as she begins "Are you sure you want to marry Christian?"

What the fuck?

"Where is this coming from? You were the one who has been on my case to get him to marry me. Why the sudden change?"

"He's fucked up Aana." What the hell?

"Excuse me?"

"Look, we found out some stuff about him."

"Who the fuck is we?"

"Bhai did. And we he tried to confront him about it on Eid, Christian punched him."

"I'm sorry, what now?"

"He's into some fucked up shit, Aana. It's BDSM which isn't so bad but the shit he practices is really fucked up. He's sent women to the hospital, he likes to beat and whip women till they bleed."

I cannot believe what the fuck she is saying to me.

"And Vishaal told you this? You believe him?"

"Of course I do. Why would he lie about something like this, he only wants to see you happy Aana."

I turn around and walkaway from her. This is too much.

"Aana, I understand what happened between you and him. You were young and just coming out of recovery but he doesn't hold it against you. It's okay."

I feel my heart rate go up and tears sting my eyes.

"What did he tell you?" I ask trying to mask my breaking voice.

"That you loved him. The weekend before you left for Portland. He understands that it was misguided. He doesn't hold it against you but at the same time, he won't ever stop caring for you. You're making a mistake Aana."

"When did he tell you this?"

"After Eid. I wish you had told me this yourself... I wouldn't have judged."

I take a seat and hold my face in my hands. That piece of shit. The fucking piece of shit. She will never believe if me if I tell her.

I feel her sit next to me and try to embrace me but I push her away.

"Don't fucking touch me. You both need to stay the fuck away from me. I love Christian and he is a good man. Vishaal is nothing but a liar."

"What the fuck has gotten into you?"

"I'm sick of your shit Kiran. I'm sick of the both of you. Leave me the fuck alone and if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will tell Daniel about Portland and the abortion."

I see the horror on her face. "You wouldn't..."

"Oh I would. Don't you dare come for Christian or try to ruin what I have with him because one wrong step and I blow you out of the water. I got a copy of your file from the clinic and I will give it to Daniel."

"You wouldn't, how could you? Those are confidential."

"You all aren't the only billionaires with connections I know." I spit back.

"I can't believe you would choose him over us. After everything we've done for you. We're your family. We only want to protect you."

And suddenly it hits me. She doesn't have her phone. I need to get out of here and get to Daniel. I have a hunch that I need to confirm and now is the only time I can do it.

"Your brother wouldn't know the meaning of family even if his life depended on it." I bite back. "Leave me the fuck alone, Kiran. I am serious and for the record, I never loved him in the way that he's claiming. He's the one who wants to marry me and has been on my case for the past five years trying to convince me to accept him more than a brother." I get up and quickly walk away and leave her sitting on the chair.

Sawyer asks if I'm fine I assure him I am. Get to Daniel. That is my goal right now.

I rush back down and make my way through the seating area to get to where we're sitting. Thank God Daniel is still there. He's talking to Karan and Christian. I tell him Kiran needs her phone and he takes it out of his blazer pocket and gives it to me. I turn around to walk out and find a quiet corner. Her passcode is still Daniel's birthday. I go through it and look for the contact called Jaan. It's still there. I press call and the person picks up on the third ring.

"Kiran, honey... what's wrong?"

I feel my heart fall into my stomach. No... she wouldn't be that stupid. It can't be him and judging by his greeting... she's still talking to him. I hang up. He calls back but I keep ignoring it and block the contact but not before texting it to myself and deleting the text window right after.

I exit the bathroom and walk back to main room when I see Kiran exiting the elevators wiping her tears. I grab her arm and guide into a secluded corner.

"What the fuck?" She snarls.

"It was Jack wasn't it? It was his baby. He's your Jaan that you've been fucking around with all these years. You knew Nana never liked him..."

"W-wha.. no... h-how..." Her eyes are wide in shock and I feel my heart break more at the confirmation.

"I cannot believe you. After all the shit he pulled on our family... and the shit you've been putting Daniel through... you don't deserve him. He threatened my life Kiran and you're still fucking around with him. You are just like your brother. Only loyalty is to yourself."

I shove her phone in her chest and turn to walk away but she grabs my arm and begs me to not say anything but I pull out of her grasp and walk away full of shock, fear and sadness.

I rush back in to the main room and try to calm my breathing. I can't look upset or Christian will freak... he already looks on edge. I take a few deep breaths watching everyone dancing. I look around the room and my eyes travel upward and I see hanging stars and the dancing lights illuminate the skylight two floors up every so often.

Starry night with abstract colors.

Fuck. Did it all happen here? But what about the bedroom? Did he take me back to his place?

I make my way back to the seating area, I give Christian a small smile and scoot in closer to sit next to Rania and get her attention.

"What's up babe?" she asks taking a sip of her drink.

"This was the club where we had my going away party, right?" Please prove me wrong. Please.

"Yeah, Armure but they recently renamed it to Saphir about a month or so ago. It's been a while since we used that name." She giggles. I give her a small smile and hug before I get up and move closer to Christian. Fuck. FUCK. I'll just tell him when we get back home. But the dread festers inside of me.

Kiran comes back after a while and snuggles with Daniel but I ignore her. Christian plays with my hair and gives me kisses every now and then. I dance with Karan and Aashu here and there, along with Tony while I try to get my mind off of the shit Kiran told me.

"A part of me wishes we were back in our living room and dancing." I whisper in Christian's ear. I want us to be far away from shit storm.

"We don't have to wait, when we get back to the hotel room; I'll dance with you all you like baby." He kisses my forehead and I snuggle closer into him and rest my head on his chest. I'd love to dance with him here but my guy is shy and knowing how socially trigger happy everyone here is... I don't want to put him on the spot.

I'm looking down at my hand in Christians when I feel him stiffen a little. I move away slight and look at his face and follow his gaze to find Vishaal with Leila and Akash with Phoebe standing in front of all of us.

CPOV

"Guys, I wanted to introduce you to my girlfriend. Leila Williams, along with her friend Phoebe Richmond." Vishaal smirks.

Everyone says hello and most of the crew that's sitting shakes hands with them but reactions are measured for obvious reasons given this isn't the way intros to significant others are made in the family according to what Ana said earlier.

"Leila, this is my Aana." I gave Leila a pointed look but she's not responding. The bitch thinks he'll protect her. Phoebe looks psychotic as always and both of them have the audacity to look me straight in the eye.

Ana straightens her shoulders and speaks. "Oh we met at the spa earlier this afternoon."

"Yes we did. You're right V, she's lovely. I can see why you adore her so much. And again, congratulations on your engagement."

"I found that interesting actually, word on the street was the Christian Grey doesn't do the girlfriend thing." Phoebe pipes up. I could backhand her right now.

"Well, Phyllis." Ana begins and I want to laugh. I love this girl.

"It's Phoebe." She bites back.

"Oh.. anyway." Ana says dismissively. "I had heard the same as well but then I met him and well..." She turns to look me in the eyes. "I just realized he had standards that need to be met." She smiles sweetly.

"And you surpassed all those standards baby." I say a little loudly with a smile while Ana places her left hand, prominently showing her engagement ring for the world to see, on my cheek before pulling me in for a soft kiss.

I'm marrying the perfect woman.

"DAMN, someone get a bucket of ice-cold water. We need to put out a fire here." Rania cheers making us laugh as we're breaking away from each other.

"We're definitely keeping her." I whisper and Ana falls into a fit of giggles while nuzzling in to my neck.

I look back at both women and see grimace on their face. Since they're already banned from the wedding on Saturday and Sunday, I don't give a shit. I'm having Taylor putting the fear of God into these two sycophants tomorrow. I'm done with this shit. They're going to wish they were never born, after I'm done with them. If Vishaal interferes, I don't care what Nani wants. Enough is enough.

They leave to mingle with others after a few minutes. Ana looks at me with a concerned face.

"Are you okay?" She whispers.

"I'm fine, baby. Don't worry. What about you?" I just wish we weren't at this particular club though. Memories of that night with Elena are at the forefront of my mind and I can't shake them.

"I'm okay too. How about stick around here for maybe another hour and then head home."

"But it's barely 10:30. Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm a grandma remember." She giggles.

"Well, how about I take you back and make you feel young again." I smirk.

"You promise?"

"A promise I intend to keep, forever." I lean in and bite her earlobe making her quietly moan.

I hear bass line from a familiar song blare through the speakers and fill the space. I realize I haven't heard this song since... I was last here. Where I first saw...

How deep is your love?
Is it like nirvana?
Hit me harder... again.

"This was our jam before you left." Rania immediately gets up and hold her hand out to Ana making her laugh. "Come on, Saphir... for old times sake." She continues on in a French accent.

"What did she just call you?" I hold on to Ana to stop her from leaving.

She giggles. "Saphir... it's French for Sapphire. It's also my fake ID name." She smiles brightly at me.

"What do you mean?" I feel the blood drain from my face and my heart fall into my stomach. Please, don't let this be what I think it will be.

She asks me to pull her phone out from my jacket and when I do, she opens the cover up and pulls out her ID's and credit card. She shows me an old New York ID.

NO.

PLEASE.

NO.

New York State ID
Saphir Rose
09-08-1990
220 Central Park West, New York NY 10019

"This was a fake ID whatshisface and all these guys got me a few weeks before I left for college. Sapphire wouldn't have flown as a name. So they had it say Saphir Rose. It sounded more believable" She laughs and then gets up to go and dance with Rania.

I'm left staring at the ID in my hands and I feel my whole world slowly crumble into chaos around me.

FLASHBACK

Monday, August 24th, 2015

I already spoke to Taylor early this morning about trying to find the woman from the club in Oakland but I'm still restless. I call him up again.

Taylor, are you sure you cannot find this woman?

"Sir, Welch has run the name Saphir Rose through all known databases. Unfortunately they didn't make a copy of her ID but the hostess remembered the name after we gave her the description since it was so unique and that it was from New York. The only explanation is that it was fake."

I run my hands through my hair.

Taylor senses my frustration and speaks again. "Do you remember anything else about her? Any identifying marks, maybe something she said?"

I shake my head. "She briefly spoke in a different language with her Dom but I can't place it. I could barely hear her voice when we spoke, she didn't even look at me. I just know she had some sort of European accent I think. The music was loud and then she was called away... what about the outdoor cameras?"

"We went through those. Nothing. She was wearing a mask before she came in with her group of friends and she was carried out by the same man you saw with her into an unmarked SUV. They were still wearing masks.

I nod. "Ask Welch to keep looking.

I try to shake the feeling. I try to believe Elena's logic but my gut is telling me otherwise. I should've done something to make sure. It didn't sound right. I shouldn't have walked away.

FLASHBACK ENDS.

A/N: The first part of the flashback towards the end can be found in the begining of Chapter 58. Feel free to scream at me, just remember I promised you a HEA.

Music:

Rings a bell - Allie X

How Deep is Your Love - Calvin Harris, Disciples.

Blueno: OMG, HI! congratulations on all the milestones. and I LOL'd so hard. Another reviewer made a similar comment to their fiance almost taking their phone away from them haha. I'm so glad you're caught up and that you have been well, living life :) The story will end soon and I don't want to give too much away but Ana will finally be able to breathe a sigh of relief but she's got some hard decisions to make before she gets there. There will be an epilogue, still working on that!

bandocks & gowildcats: you two crack me up. just don't kill me for the next few chapters.

To everyone else. Thank you for still sticking by me. I promise we're in the final stretch. I think 7 more chapters or maybe i'll condense them all into really long chapters and bring the chapter count down. Still working on it. I'm still sticking by my promise of posting once a week over the weekends.

NEW STORY: Are you ready for your close up? - only 10% of the drama you'll find in this universe. In case you need a fix of happy after reading the drama here.