A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 11: How ardently I admire and love you

Ana couldn't stop thinking about what William had told her tonight… about how Christian had purposefully broken up Kate and Elliot by lying and saying that Kate was a gold digger. She could hardly believe it, and yet it must be true. Ana lay awake for hours that night, long after the others had fallen asleep, thinking about what she had heard.

Kate slept soundly beside her on the air mattress. Poor Kate… she'd been so heartbroken for weeks since Elliot had left her for apparently no reason. Now Ana knew the reason, and she wasn't sure if she could even tell Kate. She had promised she wouldn't get more involved in the whole Elliot situation, no matter how badly she wanted to help her sister. And telling Kate the truth may not change anything anyway… Elliot was clearly easily convinced by Christian to leave Kate in the first place, so who's to say he wouldn't do it again?

This is all so fucked up.

Ana sighed as she rolled over, eventually dozing off into a fitful sleep. The distressing thoughts still swirled around her head and followed her into her dreams.

"Are you sure you'll be okay here by yourself Ana?" Charlie asked.

It was the next morning, and Charlie wanted to bring Ana, Kate, and Jose sightseeing around the city outside of campus. They were planning on hitting Pike Place Market early this morning before it got too busy, but Ana had woken up with a pounding headache due to her being up late last night thinking about what William had said, and she wanted to sleep it off a bit longer.

"I'll be fine Charlie, I promise," Ana assured her. She was still wearing her pajamas as she sat cross-legged on the couch, a blanket covering her lap. "I think I just need a little peace and quiet, that's all."

"I hope you're not coming down with something," Charlie said worriedly. "You had a headache last night too…"

"Migraines for me tend to last a day or two," Ana explained. "I get them from time to time, it's no big deal. I'm sure in a few hours I'll be feeling good as new."

"I hope so," Charlie said compassionately. "I have some ibuprofen in the bathroom cabinet and some ice packs in the freezer if you need them. Kate, Jose, and I will be back around noon to bring you some lunch."

"We'll get Chick-fil-a. Your favorite," Kate smiled, moving to sit on the couch beside Ana and wrapping her arms around her. "Sound good?"

Ana smiled, feeling her heart ache with all the things she now knew about Elliot and why he left her sister. "Yeah, it does. Thanks Kate."

They hugged once more before Kate got up and left with Charlie, leaving Ana alone in the apartment.

Ana picked up the remote and turned on the TV, turning down the volume so it was almost mute. She then lay down on her side so her head was resting on the couch arm, and she closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pounding sensation in her head. She knew she should go take some ibuprofen, but she didn't want to move just yet; she pulled the blanket up to her neck and let out a sigh, eventually dozing off into a peaceful sleep.

Ana woke up about an hour later, feeling more well-rested, although her head still ached a little. She got up from the couch, yawning as she went to grab her cell phone from the charger on the kitchen counter. She saw that she had one missed call from a number she didn't recognize - she figured it was just a robocall since they didn't leave a message, so she decided to ignore it.

Ana showered and changed into a pair of skinny jeans, a tank top, and a flannel shirt, tying her hair back into a messy bun. She looked in the bathroom cabinet for the ibuprofen Charlie mentioned, but the bottle she found only had one pill left inside. She was a bit disappointed, but remembered she was in the middle of Seattle, and could go and walk somewhere to get some over-the-counter painkillers. Some fresh air and sunshine might do her some good too.

Settled, Ana Googled the distance to the nearest pharmacy, and saw that there was a Walgreens only a few blocks away. She gathered up her things before heading out the door, remembering to take the spare set of keys Charlie had lent her for the apartment before locking up.

Ana walked out of the front door and headed toward the sidewalk parallel to the street. This apartment complex was in a fairly residential area, and she saw only one other car parked on the side of the road. She didn't pay any attention to it… that is, until she saw someone step out of it from the corner of her eye.

"Ana!"

Ana turned at the sound of her name being called, and froze when she saw who it was. Christian had stepped out of the sleek black Audi and began walking toward her.

Ana felt her heart rate shoot up and her blood pressure rise upon seeing him. Of all the people in the world she could have run into today, he was the absolute last person she wanted to see. She fought to keep her expression blank.

"Christian," Ana greeted him, her voice cold.

"Hey," he said, stopping in front of her. "Sorry, I didn't know if you'd be here. I got your phone number from Elliot… I actually tried calling you earlier this morning, but you didn't pick up."

That must have been the missed call. Ana had no idea why the hell Christian was calling her on the phone, but she really didn't care to find out. "Sorry I missed your call, but now's not a good time," she said curtly, turning to walk away.

"Hold on," Christian said quickly. "I need to talk to you about something, and it really can't wait."

Ana clenched her jaw as she continued to walk down the street, not looking back. "I'm sorry Christian, but I really do have to go."

"Please Ana. It'll only take a moment."

Ana finally stopped walking and turned around to face him, figuring it would just be faster for him to say what he needed to say so she could leave. "Fine, what is it?"

Christian stopped about five feet in front of her, gazing at her. He hesitated a moment or two before bringing one hand up to run through his copper hair, and Ana thought he looked almost nervous about something.

"Um… Charlie mentioned last night that you and Kate are heading back to Portland early tomorrow morning," he said, a clear hesitation in his voice. "I was just wondering if… if maybe you wanted to have dinner with me tonight before you leave?"

What?

Ana could only stare at him, her brain barely registering what he had just said. Holy shit, did Christian really just ask her out on a date? This hardly felt real, but the way he was currently gazing at her expectantly forced her to contend with the reality of the situation. "Are you serious?" she sputtered out after a moment, staring at him in utter disbelief.

Christian must have misinterpreted her shock for flattery, for he smiled at her. "I know," he said, giving an incredulous chuckle as he shook his head. "It's ridiculous. It goes against everything I thought I knew about myself, but despite everything I find that I can't stop thinking about you. I really do like you Ana, and I want to take you out on a date tonight."

A strange confluence of emotions raged inside of Ana's heart - she was surprised, but also pissed off. He said he liked her, but he also said it was 'ridiculous' that he liked her 'despite everything'? What the hell did he mean by that? It didn't matter anyway, though, since she already had an answer for him…

"No," she said.

Christian blinked, and his smile faded into a confused expression. "What?"

"No, I don't want to go on a date with you," Ana stated, her voice unrelentingly cordial. "I've never wanted to go on a date with you, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't ask me again. Have a good day."

With that, she turned around and continued to walk down the sidewalk, trying her best to ignore Christian who she knew was watching her. That was a rude brushoff, Ana knew, but she hardly cared at the moment.

"Ana, wait!"

She heard Christian run after her, passing her up so he was in front of her, and Ana stopped in her tracks. "So that's it? You're just saying no?" he asked, clearly trying to mask his annoyance as he frowned at her. "Not that it matters, but you can't even give me a good reason as to why you're rejecting me? Or even give me the courtesy of saying 'I think you're nice, but…'?"

Ana bristled, and she glared at him. "No, you don't get that courtesy, because I don't think you're nice. I think you're the prick who broke up Elliot and my sister."

Christian's angry retort seemed to die in his throat as he realized what she knew, and his frown melted into a stoic, unreadable expression. He clearly knew exactly what she was referring to, and that only served to piss Ana off even more.

"You're not even going to try to deny it?" she asked, her question sounding more like a statement. Christian remained silent, and Ana let out a humorless laugh.

"Seriously," she said. "Why in God's name would I want to go on a date with a guy who had deliberately separated two people who were clearly falling in love with each other - your best friend and my own sister - by lying and claiming that she was nothing more than a gold digger?"

"I didn't say that she was a gold digger," Christian said immediately.

That wasn't a flat-out denial, and it only further validated Ana's anger. "Oh really?" she asked spitefully. "Then tell me, what exactly did you say to Elliot to manipulate him into leaving my sister?"

"I told him the truth: that I felt that Kate didn't have his best interests at heart," Christian said, unapologetic. "Elliot's been hurt by social-climbing opportunistic women before, so he doesn't trust his own judgement when it comes to relationships. He asked me what I honestly thought of Kate, and so I told him."

"And you honestly think Kate's just a social-climbing opportunist?" Ana asked angrily.

"Not necessarily, but I do think she never reciprocated Elliot's feelings for her," he argued. "It was obvious every time I saw them together that he liked her more than she liked him."

Ana blinked in utter shock. "Are you kidding me? Are we even talking about the same people? Kate was crazy about Elliot, and she's been heartbroken ever since you separated them!"

"I was doing what I felt was best for my friend, and I would do it again," Christian stated firmly.

"Oh, you would?" Ana asked spitefully. "And then you would go and ask the sister of the girl whose life you ruined out on a date? Why the hell would you think you could do something like that?"

Christian's jaw clenched as he glared at her. "Trust me, I'm asking myself the same question," he said coldly.

Ana looked down and shook her head, letting out a humorless laugh before looking back up at him. "You know what? It doesn't matter anyway, because I already know what kind of person you are. I know what you did to Jack."

Christian's eyes flashed with anger at the mention of his name. "Jack?"

"He told me everything," Ana stated. "About how you ruined his life for no reason."

"I ruined his life?" Christian repeated, the sarcasm in his voice apparent. "Oh yes, let's all shed a tear for poor Jack Hyde! You're pretty interested in him, aren't you?"

"Of course I'm interested in him! You ruined his life by taking away the tuition money your late father had left for him!" Ana argued. "Jack's now taking out loans to go to an out-of-the-way school he can barely afford, and all because you wanted to be petty!"

Christian stared at her, his shock momentarily stalling him. "Do you really think that?" he asked. "That I'm capable of doing something like that to another person?"

"I can easily believe it," Ana snapped without hesitation. "Every time I see you, it only reaffirms how much of an asshole I think you are. You barely say anything to me in public, you act like you'd rather get a tooth pulled than interact with anyone… hell, the first time I even met you, you barely spoke three sentences to me before telling Elliot that I wasn't your type! Even just now, you told me that you thought it was 'ridiculous' that you liked me 'despite everything', so how the hell am I supposed to take that?"

"That was badly phrased," Christian said quickly.

"Then how did you mean to phrase it?" Ana countered.

"I'm not blind to who I am, okay?" Christian said, clearly frustrated. "I know how much my company is worth, where I stand in society, and what my name means to people. Certain things are expected of me, including the people I associate myself with, so you can forgive me if I wasn't falling over myself in excitement at the prospect of asking out some undergrad from Portland!" He paused for a second, taking a few deep breaths, and when he continued his voice was quieter: "But despite all of that, yes I did want to go out with you. And I'm not going to apologize for how I feel about you."

Ana knew under different circumstances she would have felt flattered by what he said, but all she could feel at the moment was immense rage at the sheer arrogance of this man. She glared at him. "Well, you can take comfort with the knowledge that you'll never know what it's like to date 'some undergrad from Portland', because I would never go out with you in a million years," she said coldly. "You are the absolute last man in the world I would ever go on a date with. As far as I'm concerned, you can continue being the same rude, arrogant asshole who only cares about your place in society, because I sure as hell want nothing to do with you - not now, and not ever."

Christian blinked, taken aback by her vitriol. "I get it," he said, his jaw clenched with suppressed anger. "I think you've made yourself perfectly clear. I'm sorry to have wasted your time, and I hope you have a safe trip back to Portland."

With that, he turned and walked back toward his car. Heart pounding, Ana turned around and continued down the sidewalk in the opposite direction, trying to hold back the angry tears that she felt sure were about to come.

A/N: Oh boy, that was a doozy…

Hope you all enjoyed that! Next chapter, Ana deals with the aftermath of her confrontation with Christian.

If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you think!