CHAPTER 60
The Next Morning…
(EVA)
I open my eyes and the fuzziness of sleep induced unconsciousness starts to dissipate as I smell the delicious aroma of coffee. I look to the side and see a steaming mug sitting on the bedside table. As I reach towards it, I feel the bed dip as someone slides in beside me. I turn and am met with a pair of beautiful and yet sad blue eyes. I am torn, do I continue towards the coffee or give Gideon my full attention. I quickly make my decision and hold up one finger to my husband as I reach for the coffee and take a long gulp. I close my eyes and I moan in appreciation as I swallow the coffee. There was no contest really when confronted with coffee which was calling to me on a visceral level of need to fully caffeinate myself. A need which I am certain is essential considering the turn of events of last night which are now stampeding through my mind with alarming speed.
Not only was there everything that went down with Christian and the subsequent revelations that a potential author who Ana is meeting today could be Gideon's crazy deluded ex Corrine, but there were also the revelations which all came out when Ireland dropped by to visit to meet Christian and Ana. I look carefully at Gideon. I know after everything that went down last night, he certainly had a nightmare and I know that he has to be feeling pretty fragile this morning. It always unsettles him when he has a nightmare but now that yet another person is aware of his past and more importantly believes him is huge for him and I am convinced that in the long run it can only be a good thing and help with Gideon coming to terms with what happened to him as a child. However, I am also certain Gideon is more concerned about the possible ramifications of his admissions last night as we are all fairly certain that Ireland will never look at her parents or brother in the same light ever again.
I place my now empty mug down and turn my attention towards Gideon and as he pulls me into his arms the events of last night flood my mind…
"Hello Ireland" I say as I open the front door and my eyes fall on the young girl waiting patiently and smiling nervously.
"Hi Eva" she replies and then looks past me at Gideon and her face breaks into a wide natural and beautiful smile. "Hey bro" she says affectionately and I step back so she can embrace Gideon. I watch as he somewhat awkwardly wraps his arm around Ireland and bending, he presses a kiss to her cheek. I watch him closely; he is still distant with her but with my encouragement and Irelands persistence we are slowly breaking down his walls and he is letting her in, something which I am certain would only improve if she was fully aware of the facts of his past.
"Hello Ireland" Gideon says warmly and placing his hand on her back, he ushers her into the apartment. I close the door and follow them into the sitting room where Gideon is now introducing Ireland to Christian and Ana.
"Ireland this is Christian Grey and his wife Anastasia, however she prefers to be called Ana" Gideon says with a grin in Ana's direction as she opens her mouth to protest about him calling her by her full name.
Christian steps forward his hand outstretched and he politely greets Ireland. She shakes his hand nervously and gives him a shy smile.
"Hello, do I call you Mr Grey or can I call you Christian?" Ireland asks and Christian beams at her.
"Christian is fine" he says dismissively.
Ana steps forward and greets Ireland warmly with a hug. "Hello Ireland it's lovely to finally meet you. It's also nice to finally meet some of Gideon's family" she says carefully and she gives Gideon a quick glance as she says this.
Ireland smiles sadly, "I know, he doesn't really have much to do with mom and dad or with our brother Christopher… I mean, I know he is all kinds of important in the business world and is really busy but I think family is important too and I'm just glad that he is finally letting me in at last".
"Let's sit down, do you want a drink Ireland?" Gideon says swiftly, trying to divert the line of conversation and Ireland nods enthusiastically.
"Yes please, do you have any Coka Cola?" she asks and Gideon nods before disappearing into the kitchen. I follow him and see him at the fridge pulling out a large bottle of cola.
I walk up to him as he is pouring some into a glass, "Does anyone else want any?" he asks as I walk up beside him and wrap my arm around his waist.
Before I can answer the door opens and Christian walks in and comes towards us. "Do you need a hand?" he asks and Gideon shakes his head.
"Ireland doesn't understand why she has been shut out of your life" Christian begins carefully and I know where he is going with this and I quickly step in. I have been trying to get Gideon to tell Ireland why he is estranged from his family for a while now as I am certain it will help her to understand and also put a stop to her constant requests for him to 'come home and visit'. Up to this point though he has steadfastly refused on the grounds that he doesn't want to lose his family once again, something I have no argument for other than I don't think he will lose Ireland. However, he is naturally reluctant to confide in her, partly due to her age, after all she is only seventeen years old and partly because he fears that she simply won't believe him.
"Why don't you just tell her?" Christian says suddenly and somewhat unexpectedly. I look up and I meet Christian's steady gaze whilst Gideon freezes and shakes his head.
"No, I have only recently started forming a meaningful relationship with my sister and I have no desire to sabotage it" Gideon says curtly.
Christian sighs and shakes his head, "You won't be sabotaging it, I think she will thank you for trusting her with the truth and it will help her understand why you don't have anything to do with your family. What do you think she has been told all her life? What lies has your family been feeding her about you? This is the perfect opportunity for you to tell her your side and the real reason why you are estranged from your family".
Gideon slams down the coke bottle, "Enough" he snaps, "I… I don't want to lose my family again" he says in a slightly calmer tone.
"You won't lose her" I say joining in, I agree with Christian and I jump on this opportunity to reiterate my argument that Gideon should talk to Ireland and tell her the truth.
"No, now drop it" Gideon says firmly as he reaches for a tray and places the glasses on it.
I look at Christian and shrug, but he has a determined glint in his eye and I know he is planning something.
"You don't have to tell her everything you know" Christian says looking carefully at Gideon. "You don't have to go into graphic detail. It will be just enough if you tell her that you were abused and you told your mother and she didn't believe you".
I look at Gideon and I see the longing in his eyes as he listens to Christian. I know a part of him wants to tell Ireland if only to put a stop to her constant requests for a family reunion but his fear that she will turn her back on him is enough for him to shy away from it.
"But what if it's not?" he mutters looking down at the coke bottle which he is running his finger over. Confirming for me his reasoning behind the reluctance. He looks up at Christian, "What if I tell her and she doesn't believe me and wants nothing more to do with me?" he adds.
I quickly step in with my opinion, "I really don't think that will happen. She is desperate for any information she can get on you as you have so comprehensively shut her out all her life. She loves you Gideon, I honestly believe that she will have your back on this" I say, willing him to just consider the possibility of opening up to Ireland.
"I think it will make your relationship stronger" I add after a long moments silence.
I see him thinking and then he slowly shakes his head and picks up the glass of coke. "No" he says simply and I sigh. I look at Christian and shrug in a 'what can you do?' Sort of gesture.
Christian nods and pats Gideon's shoulder, "Alright" he says, "It is ultimately your decision and if you are not ready to take that step then there is no point in pushing it, but I will just finish by saying this. From what I have just heard Ireland say, she is desperate to find out why you so wholeheartedly refuse to have anything to do with your family and I believe that will be the thing which will eventually put a wedge between you and possibly sabotage your relationship with her. She is a smart girl and she knows when she is being fobbed off and she doesn't like it".
"No, I don't".
We all turn and look towards the doorway where Ireland is standing looking at us. She walks into the room followed by Ana who looks at me and then at Gideon before walking to Christians side and wrapping her arm around his waist.
"Ireland…" Gideon begins and he closes his eyes and shakes his head.
"What is so bad Gideon?" Ireland pushes. "What happened that was so bad that you refuse to have anything to do with mom and dad? I know that you and Christopher don't get on and never have after all I have seen the sibling rivalry between you with my own two eyes. I also know that it is down to Christopher's jealousy of you, because of what you have built and your phenomenal success and wealth so I accept that you avoid him to avoid any confrontations and unpleasantness but I just don't get why you cut mom and dad off. I know that dad isn't your real dad but he is the only dad you have so…" she trails off unable to finish what she wanted to say and she shakes her head sadly.
"Ireland, things happened when I was a child which makes it impossible for me…" Gideon begins carefully and so quietly that we can barely hear him.
Irelands head whips up and she gives him her full undivided attention.
"What things?" she asks interrupting him before he can finish what he is saying.
"Let's go and sit down" I say as I see Gideon beginning to get agitated about this.
We all move into the living room and sit down. Ireland sips on the glass of coke which Gideon got for her and he moves over to the bar and pours himself a generous glass of bourbon. He turns holding up the decanter and looking questioningly at everyone.
There is a chorus of 'no thanks' and he picks up his glass and sits down on the sofa beside me. He throws back the bourbon and reaches for my hand.
"I can't lose my family again" he mutters quietly.
"What do you mean Gideon?" Ireland asks gently.
"If you know the truth, you may not see me in the same light and you may not want anything more to do with me… you may not believe me" he says simply.
"Gideon as long as you tell me the truth, I will always believe you – you are my brother and I love you" Ireland says with total conviction.
Gideon smiles sadly at her and shakes his head, "It's not as simple as just telling you the truth. I always speak the truth but it is a question of if the people I tell want to believe it" he says somewhat bitterly.
Ireland frowns and looks between us. "I'm guessing that Eva knows?" she begins looking at me and I nod.
"Yes, I do and I believed him instantly" I say and Ireland smiles at me.
Gideon turns his head and looks down at me, "You had no choice but to believe me when you witnessed the corroborating evidence" he says referring to the appalling nightmares he suffers from, not to mention the time he attacked me in his sleep.
At this Christian leans forward, "Ana and I believe you and your therapist believes you and we only have your word. Give Ireland some credit, she is an intelligent girl and I am certain that she won't turn away from you".
Gideon stiffens and I feel for him, I know he feels cornered and pressurised to say something so I pull him towards me and I press a kiss on his shoulder. "I think we should stop; we can't force Gideon to tell Ireland what happened if he isn't ready and it is unfair of us to pressurise him to do so". I pause and look at Ireland, "Just know Ireland that something happened which colours his view of his family to this day" I say.
Ireland looks disappointed but nods, "Ok, but I won't give up. I get that you might not be ready to tell me what happened between you and our parents and I accept that. It must have been something bad to have caused so much bad blood between you but I love you Gideon and whatever it was it won't be bad enough to make me turn against you".
She smiles encouragingly at Gideon and he closes his eyes and lowering his head he reaches for my hand and grips it tightly.
"I was raped" he whispers. I hold on to his hand, astounded that he has actually told her.
Ireland lets out a small exclamation and her hand flies to her mouth, "What?" she gasps.
Gideon lifts his head and opens his eyes warily looking at Ireland closely as if he is gaging her reaction. "I was raped" he repeats, "I was raped repeatedly over a period of two years by a health care professional who was sent to help me get over my fathers' death. I told our mother and she didn't believe me – that is the reason why I have nothing to do with them". He stops speaking and looks at Ireland once more a hint of defiance in his eyes and I realise that he is almost challenging her to disbelieve him.
"Oh my god, Gideon!" she says simply and she gets up and rushes at him. He quickly let's go of my hand and stands. He catches her as she throws herself into his arms and as she embraces him, he clings to her almost afraid she is going to walk away...
"How are you feeling this morning?" I ask as I return to the here and now.
"Ok, I think" Gideon replies, his voice muffled as he has his head buried in my neck.
"Did you have a nightmare last night?" I ask knowing the answer before I even ask and I am given the confirmation as I feel him nod.
Gideon lifts his head slightly and looks up at me, "I did but it was different… as I was begging Hugh to get off me the door flew open and you came in, and Christian and Ana were with you, and Ireland was there. You all set on Hugh and pulled him off me, you all saved me" he says and I feel the tears building and I blink quickly to clear my vision.
"Well, that is progress" I say simply and Gideon nods again.
"I called my therapist this morning and she said much the same thing" he says.
"But something is still bothering you?" I push and there is a brief silence before I feel Gideon nod.
"Yes" he says quietly.
"What is it?" I ask.
I hear him sigh, "Ireland believes me, and has pledged to stand beside me but I can't help but wonder what that will mean for her relationship with our mother" he says.
I hold him tighter, "Whatever happens she has you and if the worst comes to the worst, she can come here and live with us" I say confidently.
Gideon smiles weakly but it quickly fades and he shakes his head sadly, "But I don't want to be responsible for destroying her relationship with her parents" he argues.
I shake my head, "Gideon, what you are missing here is they are the parents, they are the very people who should unconditionally support, love and believe you in situations like this. If they can't handle Ireland knowing the truth and turn against her then they are clearly not good parents" I say.
I wait as he thinks about that and the silence spreads out between us. Eventually he pulls away, "Lets shower" he says as he pulls me out of the bed.
I know he is still brooding about this but I don't say anything and follow him into the shower.
oooOOOooo
When we arrive at the Crossfire, I climb out of the car and turn to see another car pull up behind the Bentley. I grin as Christian and Ana climb out and Christian holds out his hand in greeting to Gideon before bending and greeting me with a small peck on the cheek. Ana hugs Gideon tightly and asks him if he is ok before turning towards me and hugging me.
"Hey sis, can I come to your office until I have my meeting with the author who may or may not be Corrine Giroux?" she asks and I nod.
"Of course you can" I reply and I link my arm in Ana's and we make our way into the Crossfire. We step into the elevator and as the doors open at floor 20 I turn towards Gideon and give him a small chaste kiss on the lips which he quickly takes over and turns into a full passionate kiss.
I eventually pull away gasping, "Have a good day at the office dear" I say and I glance at Christian. "I hope your ruse gets swallowed and that fucking Landon gets what's coming to him" I add.
Ana and I leave the elevator and I turn to watch as the doors close on my husband.
(CHRISTIAN)
As the elevator doors close, I turn towards Gideon. "Ready to do this?" I ask and he grins at me.
"Oh god yes" he replies simply.
I debate whether or not to ask how he is feeling after the events of last night. It was pretty heavy and after Ireland had got over the shock of what Gideon had told her she had predictably been outraged on his behalf and there was no question that she believed him completely and entirely as her entire demeanour not to mention the vitriolic rant she came out with confirmed that she had believed every word and was disgusted with her mother for doubting her own son.
She had made an interesting comment as to why Gideon's mother had disbelieved him. She had said that in a way it hadn't surprised her that Gideon's mother had reacted the way she did although she hadn't expected their mother to sink so low and behave so badly. She had said that Elizabeth liked everything to be just so. Everything was down to appearances and so she felt that the reason Elizabeth had refused to acknowledge and believe Gideon was simply down to the fact she didn't want that sort of information to become public knowledge, which it inevitably would have, had she stood by her son as there would've been arrests and a trial. My own thoughts on this are that she had gone through public vilification after what happened with Geoffrey Cross and she clearly couldn't stand the idea of negative public reaction to something else to do with her family, so she chose to sweep it under the carpet and pretend that it didn't happen, which had devastating emotional and psychological effects on her eldest son.
I am pulled from my thoughts by the elevator doors opening. We are quickly buzzed into Cross Industries and our presence causes a flurry of activity as we pass through the building.
We go to the GenTen development area and as we do so Arash Madani appears and grins.
"It's all ready to rock and roll. Our mole is practically wetting himself with anticipation about today, the information we have fed him has been relayed back to Landon and now with you being here looking to invest in this amazing new technology it adds credence to the lie and makes everything all the more credible".
"Does Landon know I'm here?" I ask and both Arash and Gideon nod.
"Yes, we intercepted a telephone conversation between moleman and Landon" Arash pauses and glances at Gideon who nods, "Angus effectively bugged our moles phone and so everything that he tells Landon we also hear and is recorded".
"Impressive" I say simply.
Gideon nods, "We know that Landon is breaking his neck to develop this technology now and has gone all in to try and replicate it from the bullshit we have been feeding to his mole. From the conversations we have eavesdropped on it appears his team are trying to tell him this sort of technology is impossible – which we obviously already know, but Landon is too blinded by his need for revenge to listen to reason, so hopefully your presence here today will seal his fate once and for all".
"Ok then let's do it" I reply and we walk into the small room. Arash accompanies us leading us towards the small office and I immediately start to lay it on thick.
"So, obviously I want a part of this Gideon. You have developed something incredibly exciting and with my links to the telecommunications world this could have so much potential for some of my ongoing projects".
"I'm glad you think that way, and if it all pans out as planned which it appears it is doing so it will make us a considerable sum of money as well, as this is unprecedented technology" he replies coolly.
I let out a small laugh and slap him on the shoulder, "And what's not to like about making money?!" I respond. I glance towards the man who has been identified as the mole and see that he is texting rapidly and I am hoping that what I am seeing is him relaying this bogus meeting to Landon.
I am drawn from the man back to Gideon who is still talking, "I am not surprised that you are so eager to invest in this though, the potential is immense and it is so ground breaking companies will be clamouring for it. I am looking to patent it and then when we launch it we maintain the control by licencing it rather than selling the technology outright, that way we retain the control and maximise the potential remuneration from it".
"Sounds perfect" I reply, "Tell me Gideon, who else has invested?" I ask and Gideon shakes his head.
"Nobody, I saw the potential and have been personally funding the research. I am happy to consider carrying on doing that but when you expressed an interest in it and made the offer to invest I altered my stance and am prepared to share with you, after all you are family and I am not a greedy man".
"We make a good team" I say.
"That we do" Gideon agrees.
We head into the small office and close the door, "Do you think he swallowed it?" I ask and Gideon nods.
"Oh he swallowed it, Angus has just text me. As soon as you started talking, he started texting Landon. Let's just say if there was any doubt there before, you being here has erased it".
"Excellent, my work here is done. Now all we have to do is sit back and wait" I say.
Gideon nods, as he opens his mouth to speak the phone on the desk rings and he quickly answers it.
"Yes Scott" he says simply and then he frowns before rubbing his hand over his face. "Ok, give me a moment. Show him into my office and I'll be right there" he says.
"What's up?" I ask as I note the change in Gideon's demeanour.
"Chris is here asking to see me" he says simply.
"Chris?" I ask trying to wrack my brains to figure out who he is talking about.
"My step-father" Gideon replies.
"Oh" I say somewhat lamely, and I realise this is to do with the revelations of last night. "I'll come with you" I say firmly.
Gideon smiles gratefully at me, "Thank you" he says and I notice he is texting and I realise he is probably telling Eva of the latest development.
As we make our way back to Gideon's office that assumption is confirmed as I see Eva and Ana walking with purpose towards us, both wearing concerned expressions.
"Angel" Gideon says, the relief evident in his tone, he pulls Eva into his arms and holds her. "You didn't have to come down" he adds and Eva just snorts rudely at him.
"Bullshit!" she retorts, "Of course I did, if this is going to go badly then I am going to be by your side to support you" she adds.
We make our way to Gideons office and see Chris Vidal pacing around inside. As Gideon opens the door he spins on the spot. He pauses as he takes in Ana and myself and then his eyes fall on Eva and they narrow considerably.
"This is all your doing" he spits at Eva.
Gideon immediately wraps his arm around Eva and Ana steps forward glaring at Chris.
Eva however, just shrugs unconcerned by the accusation. "I think you will find this is all Elizabeth's doing. She caused every last bit of this situation the day Gideon went to her and she refused to believe him" she spits.
"How dare you" Chris retorts, and then he points at Gideon, "You have no idea what he was like to live with, he was a complete nightmare. The paediatrician confirmed what I already knew that he was just an attention seeking liar".
I feel my anger rising at these words and I step forward my hands balling into fists at my side. I glance at Gideon who is rigid and not saying a word.
Before I can say anything though, Ana has started to speak, "He was a traumatised child, he'd had his entire life blown apart when his father died. Have you no compassion whatsoever in you for what he was going through? He was confused and everything that was familiar and secure had been ripped away from him and his mother had responded, not by explaining to him what had happened but by ignoring him and rebooting her life making him feel even more alienated. He did what any young child would do under these circumstances, he kicked off. You put him into therapy and he was raped by the very person who was supposed to help him". She stops and glares at Chris who seems a little taken aback by Ana's tirade.
"You also seem to forget it was proven that Gideon was telling the truth, proof which you and Elizabeth refuse to acknowledge" Eva adds.
Chris falters slightly, unable to provide any comeback to that undeniable fact, so he goes on the attack.
"So you try and destroy the rest of the family by telling Ireland and poisoning her against us" he snarls.
Gideon smiles, "My sister has been bugging me to come home and visit, I have continually refused. I was reluctant to tell her my reasons why and I constantly had to come up with excuses as to why I wouldn't come and visit. I got sick of trying to fob her off and decided to go with the truth, my reasoning being that it would stop her hounding me and trying to get me to come and visit".
"Well, it has totally destroyed your mother, she never wanted Ireland to find out" Chris says.
"No, I don't suppose she did" I say unable to keep quiet any longer. Chris turns his glare to me but it has no effect on me whatsoever. "She wanted to keep the status quo. She had airbrushed her eldest son out of her life and as far as she was concerned nobody ever needed to know about her complete failure as a mother and decent human being" I add.
Chris' eyes widen and I can see that he is nearly at the point of exploding. "Do you realise what you have done?" he says returning his attention to Gideon once more.
Gideon nods, "I am fully aware of what I did. I told the truth; I told my sister that I was raped as a child and that I told my mother hoping she would help me and she didn't believe me. I told my sister this because she could not understand why I was estranged from my family; she now totally understands and more importantly she believes me". He stops speaking and we all look at him, the way he said those final words makes us all realise just how important it was to him that Ireland did believe him and accept his account of what had happened.
Ana breaks the silence as she looks at her watch, she turns towards Gideon, "I'm sorry Gideon but I have to go now to my meeting with my author. I'll let you know how I get on" she says and Gideon nods.
"Of course, I hope it goes well" he says and he leans down and presses a kiss to Ana's cheek. She grins up at him in response.
"No matter what happens, it will" she says.
She turns to me and wordlessly kisses me, "Taylor is waiting outside for you" I whisper in her ear and she simply nods. Then she turns to Eva and reaching out she squeezes her hand.
"See you later sis" Eva replies as she squeezes Ana's hand back.
With that Ana leaves, and as we watch her go Chris clears his throat. We return our attention back to him.
"I need to go as well; I've had my say and I will personally never forgive you for what you have done and I doubt your mother will ever speak to you again" he says.
Gideon just shrugs, "I fail to see the threat" he replies sarcastically and Eva lets out a short sharp laugh in response and I cover my face with my hand to hide my amusement.
Chris huffs and pushing past us leaves the office slamming the door behind him.