My dear little broccolis💚💚💚
💚Sweetie, Let Me Give You The Daddy💚
"The best investment I ever made, was when I lost fifty million dollars and met the love of my life as a result of that."
‼️Rated M - {Out Of Characters/All Human/Alternate Universe}‼️
‼️Romance/Angst/Drama/Lemons‼️
‼️AS/CG/The Greys/The Steeles/José Rodriguez/Grace Grey‼️
💚Now, in case it wasn't clear, this will be a Christian POV story. and I know you will want Ana's PoV, but it will just be Christian.
💚 READ & REVIEW, DON'T BE A SILENT READER 💚
Chapter 19: (10,4K) Sweet Pea, Moonstone & Baiju
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
Christian and Ana didn't talk again about testing Grace. Ana had been clear that the topic was off the table for her, at least until they moved to Seattle. He understood where she was coming from, but he still felt that Ana was just being overprotective of Grace. He was sure that Grace could handle this "pressure" everyone thought was going to plague his little girl. And in all honesty, he couldn't really see what kind of pressure one could put on a four-year-old … To make sure to colour between the lines?
But anyway, this would not be a problem until the New Year, and he would rather not start an argument he knew he would lose right now. Maybe in a couple of weeks, Ana would understand that Grace was not happy in school and that it would be for the best to give her what she needed, but for now, Ana was too much of a mama bear to listen to reason. Especially when his own parents were siding with her.
He would just bide his time and find arguments she wouldn't be able to counter. After all, in the end, they both wanted the same thing, for Grace to be happy. So, it wouldn't be too hard to convince her when New Year's Eve came, right?
Now, they were in the jet, on their way to London. Grace was more than excited, she was exuberant. She wouldn't stop talking about London and everything she wanted to do there. And every time Ana opened her mouth to calm her daughter's expectations, Grace's eyes shone brighter as she remembered something else, she wanted to do in London.
When she asked her father if he wanted to go see the men of the Queen with their funny hats, he had to remind her that he couldn't spend much time with her. "I'll be working a lot, sweetie, and we're not staying for long. I don't think I'll have time to be a tourist."
Grace made a face, but it lasted barely a second before she shrugged and jovially said, "It's okay, you're busy. Mama said you would be. Have you been to London before?"
"Yes." She waited expectantly for him to tell her more, and so he put down his files, catching from the corner of his eye Ana smiling, even though she seemed deep in conversation with Raymond. Jamie was on his laptop, focused on what he was reading there.
"I like the US better."
"Why?" It was quite obvious that Grace thought that there was no better place than London.
"What do you like so much about London?" He deflected, not wanting to put down the place his daughter obviously loved. Grace's blue eyes became even brighter as she started a long monologue of fifteen minutes during which she marvelled about everything that was great about London.
But, even though it was obvious she loved the place, Christian noticed that she mostly loved the feelings. Of course, he doubted Grace understood that. But for every reason why London was so great, Ana was the star of it. Ana had brought her to the Queen's palace. Ana went to the park with her so they could eat there. Ana had taken her to the elephant statues. They had gone to markets and farms, where she pet a real-life cow. Ana, Ana, Ana. Well, Mama, Mama, Mama …
Of course, occasionally, there was another name tossed out. Jose and Karl, Andrew, the late Mary and her son with whom the girls lived. Some other names as well that Christian had never heard of before.
Grace was in the middle of telling Christian about that one time one of her mother's friends took them to a football game, when Ana came to them, and took Grace in her arms, and told her, "Come on, honey. You promised to sleep on the plane."
"But Mama …"
"No, no. you promised. You don't want to be sleepy in London, now, do you?"
Grace pouted, but cuddled against her mother, nonetheless. Christian returned his attention to his paperwork, though he saw how Raymond chuckled at Grace's antics.
Ana started rocking her, caressing the young girl's chestnut hair as she sang the Mockingbird lullaby, though it had been clearly revised by her.
Hush, hush now, don't you fret
We're gonna go, we're gonna shoot
We're gonna laugh and all forget
And we'll end up in a boot
Seven leagues or seven miles
It won't matter we will be far
It won't matter we'll be all smiles
And we will drive in my car
And the tears we've shed 'til now
I won't let them … hold us back
I won't let them hold us down
Because we will never go back
Grace fell asleep in her mother's arms, and Christian noticed that Jamie had stopped working as soon as Ana started singing. Ana got up with her precious cargo to put Grace down on the bed in the other room. Christian saw her exchange a look with Jamie before the man looked back on his laptop with a small smile lingering on his lips.
He waited for a minute, before getting up himself and joining Ana in the room as she was tucking Grace properly in the bed. She smiled when she saw him, and something in her smile made him forget about everything but her at that moment. He cupped her face and kissed her, all the while making her walk backwards until they found the bathroom door.
He opened it, but when he was about to take her with him, Ana broke their embrace and took a step away from him.
"Babe …"
She shook her head. "Not only Grace is sleeping literally on the other side of the door, but Jamie and Raymond will know."
"Who cares?"
"I do."
He frowned, not sure why she would care. They were an established couple, and it would surprise no one if they had sex. She shook her head again and said, "I'll make it up to you when we get back. I promise."
Then she kissed his lips briefly and went back to the others. Christian joined half a minute later, still annoyed, but hanging on to the promise she had just made him.
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
They arrived in London Monday morning, early, with Grace yawning so much that it looked like she would dislocate her jaw. Christian had planned for Grace to stay in the office with them, but Ana had argued that since she was going to be stuck in Macau, she would drop their daughter at Ian's, Mary's son. She knew that both Ian and Grace would appreciate it, and she wouldn't feel too guilty about working with Grace around.
So Christian sent Taylor with the girls, so they could drop Grace at Ian's, and went straight to the office with Jamie and Raymond. Of course, once there, Lord Windsor, with whom he was in business, took them out for breakfast, saying that they would get to work a bit later, and he texted Ana to let her know.
She texted him back, saying that she'd wait for them at the office, and when they got back there, he saw why. She was getting all chummy and laughing with one of the guys working there. She was laughing with him, one of her hands on his arm as he was probably telling her some stupid joke.
All he wanted to do was to go to them and punch the guy in the face. But he ground his teeth, doing his best to not draw any correlation between her refusing his advances, and her laughing with some jackass.
He followed Lord Windsor to the meeting room, seeing from the corner of his eyes that Ana was walking to them with that useless jackass, and he wondered how he could twist the narrative so the man could be fired. The man looked up and caught his stare, and even though they still weren't in the room, they were close enough for Christian to hear, "So, I read not long ago that the reason you blew me off was because you were committed to another man. You should have told me I was trying to compete with Grey, I would have given up instantly."
Ana smiled politely, and when she looked up, she gave Christian a true smile before sitting next to Raymond.
Christian understood to his horror that this man who had hit on Ana in the past was one of Windsor's lawyers, and he sat opposite the Lord, doing his best to repress glaring at the lawyer. He wished Ana had sat next to him, but he was already sided with Jamie and Raymond.
The meeting dragged on and on, driving Christian crazy for it was supposed to be something done and dusted. It was always like that when it came time to finalise a deal with another big company. It was mostly a lawyers' show, each party reading the fine lines and making sure the words couldn't be twisted against their interests.
But on the bright side, he was seeing Ana at work for the first time. He never really managed to picture her as a lawyer. Probably because most of the lawyers he usually encountered were men. Or maybe because he knew of her soft and sweet side. Nonetheless, it was the first time he was seeing her be a lawyer, and it was obvious that she knew what she was doing.
More than once, Raymond let her talk for him and Christian could tell she knew the case very well. He was sure that she hadn't slept much over the past couple of nights just to make sure that she would know all the smallest details. And for a brief second, he saw what Raymond had feared. He saw Ana working for him the same way Raymond did. And he saw how well it would work. It would be perfect, they would be together more often, and even for Grace, they could travel all together, with a private tutor following them if necessary
But that illusion quickly faded away. Ana would never agree to that. No matter what would happen between them, Christian knew that Ana would never agree to work for him again.
When they turned yet another page, and the prick who served as one of Lord Windsor's lawyers expressed his disagreement in one of the subparagraphs, Christian let out a heavy sigh to show his annoyance. He glanced at his watch, and saw that they had been at it for more than five hours, so he announced, "Let's break for a moment."
Lord Windsor looked at his watch as well and agreed. He seemed as blasé as Christian about the whole affair, but it wasn't the first time they were working together, and they were used to this. It usually lasted two days, and then they would seal the deal together at some private dinner.
The secretary came in with some light refreshments, and Christian watched Ana tiredly pass her hand over her face as she was listening to Raymond. He knew she didn't sleep on the plane, but then again, only Grace slept. They all worked through the journey.
Christian got up, and walked to Ana, bending behind her as he whispered in her ear, "How about I take you out for lunch?"
"Uh?" She blinked and turned her face to him with a soft and sweet smile he knew was reserved just for him. "I was planning to work through lunch. There is this clause that I wanted to talk to you about. About — "
"I'm tired and hungry. I can't focus when it's both. Come with me?" He asked again, kissing her just behind the ear.
He didn't want to make a repeat of Friday by making her come to him, but he wanted some time with her and her alone. He didn't want to break bread with the rest of them, especially not that jerk who was so familiar with her. He didn't need to be a genius like Grace to understand that they had worked together in the past.
They had had a couple of jabs at each other throughout the morning. And he was pretty sure that they had been more than work colleagues. Sure, Ana said nothing ever happened with anyone, but that guy clearly wished it had.
Ana graciously got up, politely excusing herself from the group, even though Christian felt that she didn't need to, and he walked her out. He told Taylor to drive them back to the Mandarin Hotel where they were staying. In fact, it was always where he stayed when he came to London.
On the brief drive there, they called Grace who was having a blast at Madam Tussaud's for the first time, and once in the elevator, Ana hung up and shook her head as she told him, "You know, we didn't need to get room service. I know many great places that would fully satisfy your sophisticated appetite."
"I doubt that," he said as they walked to their room. As soon as he closed the door, he stopped her from reaching for the menu by taking her head in his hands and kissing her.
She did not think twice and kissed him back, wrapping her hands around his neck and fisting his hair. Their kiss turned savage and passionate in half a second, and Christian was glad that she immediately picked up on what kind of hunger he had. His kiss was as demanding as it was loving, his hands cupping her face with both delicacy and possessiveness. And the more she clung onto him, the stronger his desire for her grew.
Even though, in the grand scheme of things, it hadn't been that long since they last had sex, it felt like it had been several lifetimes. He wanted to make it last as long as he could, to enjoy their first intimate moment in a while, but he knew they couldn't. They were only on a lunch break.
With urgency, he broke their kiss to peck and nibble her neck, at that sensitive spot that always made her release a sound between giggle and moan, and as he did so, he undid her sophisticated bun, losing one of his hands in her luscious hair.
His second hand undid the buttons of her blouse, and he kissed every inch of her skin as it was unveiled to him, loving how she was soft, like a peach … A peach that smelled faintly like coconut.
Once he was on his knees in front of her, he unzipped her skirt and let it fall on the floor. swiftly, he slid down her underwear, smugly noticing that they were wet, and once she was steady on her two feet, her heels discarded on the side, Christian plunged his tongue inside her.
She yelped with pleasure, her hands flying to his hair to clench it as he feasted on her. He played with her clit, his tongue relentless as his hands were firmly on her ass, bringing her closer to him, and he watched her close her eyes, throwing her head back as her breathing became faster.
He could see her climax coming, and the way she moaned out his name made him both hard and smug. So, he kissed his way back up, mostly because they didn't really have time for multiple earth-shattering orgasms, and once her face was back in his hands, he kissed her whole face as he told her how he felt.
"I love you so much, babe."
She attacked his lips, reaching for his belt before stopping suddenly as if remembering something. He shook his head and turned her around, taking off her blouse out of the way before reaching in his pocket for a condom. He rolled it on and bent her over the head of the sofa.
As he thrust in her, he kissed the skin of her shoulders, her long chestnut hair gathered in his hand, and he hissed in between two thrusts, "I'm going to make you mine in every way known to man."
She moaned, her lips tightly sealed, and he increased the intensity and speed of his moves, yanking her hair so his chest would touch her back. He nibbled her earlobe and whispered in her ear, "I want to hear you, babe. Let me know how good I'm making you feel. No one's going to hear you here."
And with that, he thrust a bit harder, making her gasp for air and reach forward for the sofa. He saw her grab the head, her knuckles turning white as she panted like a madwoman, louder and louder as her inner walls were getting tighter and tighter.
He knew he had her, she was about to climax when she froze and moved away from him. She turned around to look at him and made them spin so she could sit him on the sofa.
"I want to see you come with me," she whispered as she impaled herself on him, her beautiful blue eyes steady in his.
She started going up and down, bringing his hands to her hips so he could still impose the rhythm he wanted, but her eyes never wavered from his. And he could see it all in them. Her pleasure, her lust for him, but also and most importantly, her love for him.
She never said the words, but it had never been as evident as in this moment. She loved him. He could see the love shining in her eyes as she stared deep into his soul, as she gasped his name with so much care as if saying it out loud could break the spell.
And in this moment, words were meaningless. He had never felt as loved by her than in this instance. And so, instead of repeating yet again his love for her, he did what he could best to show his feelings, he kissed her, bringing her to cloud nine with him.
It took them five minutes to catch their breath, though Christian was sure that Ana could have gotten up to leave barely thirty seconds after their coitus. She pecked his lips and got up, telling him, "Just so you know, this is definitely my favourite kind of lunch."
He chuckled as she hurried herself to their room and he followed her with his eyes. It was definitely his favourite kind of lunch as well. He heard the shower running and so he called room service for them to have sandwiches to go for when they would be done. He then removed his clothes and disposed of the condom with a grimace in the bin before joining Ana under the shower.
She had wrapped her hair up in a messy bun, careful not to wet it, and she smiled when she saw him come in with her. "No funny business," she warned. "We don't have time for that."
Christian rolled his eyes. "If I want them to wait, they'll wait. I'm the boss, remember."
She gave him a pointed look, and she didn't have to explain her point-of-view. He was the boss, but she wasn't. So, he capitulated, though he fully enjoyed showering with her. It was their first time, and he made a point of washing her, which obviously made her laugh and call him a caveman.
Five minutes later, they were clean and putting their clothes back on. Christian was feeling more than satiated, he was feeling relaxed. All the tension of the morning and the past weeks was gone. As he was tying his tie, he glanced at Ana reapplying makeup on her face. Well … lipstick, mascara and eyeliner. He truly hoped that this was something Grace would pick up from her mother, keeping it lowkey and yet elegant.
Room service arrived as she was brushing her hair, and he tipped the guy, making sure that there was enough for both.
"Taylor is waiting for us downstairs. We can eat in the car."
"Okay. Let me just grab my purse. How do I look? Professional?"
He smiled and they left the room as if they didn't just share a passionate and intense moment there. In the elevator, he glanced at her again and wrapped his hand around her waist when a couple of other patrons entered. He leaned to kiss her neck on that special spot, and she tried to repress her giggle. Yes, this was definitely an erogenous place for her.
"I hope no one will know what happened," she said anxiously as they walked to the car.
"That's going to be hard to hide."
"You said I looked professional!"
He smiled, signalling Taylor to go on before he gave Ana her sandwich and traced the hickey he had left on her neck. "Sorry, I got carried away."
She looked through her purse and produced a mirror, before blushing as she saw the proof of their lovemaking. And though he knew she was embarrassed, Christian felt very smug about it. Everyone would be able to tell she was his.
He watched her fuss with her hair that she had so meticulously styled earlier, and make a low Dutch braid, hanging on the side which was supposed to hide the hickey. He smirked, biting on his sandwich, "Yeah, changing your hairdo is not conspicuous at all."
She playfully glared at him, and when she bit in her own sandwich, he leaned over and told her, "You can leave marks on me anytime, I promise I won't mind. I'll actually wear them with pride."
She rolled her eyes. "Of course you will, but that's because you're a caveman."
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
The two days in London passed in a blur. Before Christian knew it, it was already the eve of their trip to Macau, which Raymond was very excited about. Although Raymond wasn't really needed for it, as it was just a couple of contracts for new hires, but since he was coming to London, why not make the whole trip?
It was Tuesday evening, and Christian had his traditional dinner with Lord Windsor to seal their deal. He had tried to get Ana to come with him, but she had declined so she could do some nightly sightseeing with Grace and Jamie. He was a bit annoyed with that, especially when the lord teased him about it, reminding him that his relationship with the brunette was no longer a secret.
After all, to the world, Christian had kept Grace and Ana a secret to give Grace a somewhat normal childhood. And Lord Windsor had believed the lie like the rest of them. He had been even admitted being a little hurt that Christian never mentioned anything over the years, even though he often came to London. Though he admitted remembering that Christian was always in a bad mood when he came to London, and now he understood that it was because he would have liked to be spending time with his girls, rather than talking shop.
Christian got back to the hotel shortly after one in the morning, and he found Ana working on her laptop at the table that gave a view over Hyde Park. He undid his tie, silently walking to her and leaving it hanging around his neck.
"I thought you'd be sleeping," he told her, putting his hands on her shoulders to massage her. She briefly shivered at the cold of his hands but relaxed into his touch.
"No. I just wanted to wrap this up before bed," she said, closing the laptop and removing her glasses.
He only saw her wearing glasses whilst working at night, but he quite liked the effect it had on her. It gave her that look of naughty secretary.
For a little while, neither of them said a word as he kneaded her shoulders, relaxing her as best he could. She had her eyes closed, humming in pleasure when he would hit a certain nerve, and finally, he said, "You know, I kind of missed your old jammies. Why did you ditch the softness of satin?"
She was wearing an old baggy shirt with some rock band on the front. She shrugged and reminded him, "Mostly, practicality. Nursing a baby in satin isn't as glamorous as you'd think. And there's also the fact that the rare few I didn't ruin with milk, my boobs don't fit in anymore."
"But you're not nursing anymore."
"Yeah, but I have a growing kid, now. It was the nice lingerie or the food in her stomach."
Christian gathered her hair to the side, so he could have access to her neck, and he leaned to kiss her as he reminded her, "What about me?"
He got on his knees behind her, his hands leaving her shoulders to travel down her arms as she snickered, "You can wear silk gowns if you want. I can't wait to see that."
He repressed a growl of annoyance, his lips still fluttering on the skin of her neck, "I mean, I'm here now. I can buy you nightwear and put food on the table."
She didn't say anything, but he knew she had just rolled her eyes. Ana loved to roll her eyes as soon as he talked about spending money on her. He wondered if it was because of his wealth, or if she had been so difficult with her previous boyfriends as well.
He kept kissing her neck, mostly because he knew that what he was about to tell her would probably cause her to bicker, and he was doing the best he could to put her in a good mood.
"In fact, I could buy you so much more than simple nightwear."
On those words, he took the envelope out of his inner pocket and put it on the table for her to open, though he quickly resumed his activity of kissing her sensitive spot, in the hope to soften the blow.
Ana opened the envelope, and she saw pictures of an apartment in Knightsbridge, with a view of Hyde Park. It was something rather cosy, a six-bedroom apartment with a balcony, just under 7000 sq. ft. He felt Ana's heartbeat quicken, and so he wrapped his arms around her as she asked, "What is — "
"Nothing is set in stone, yet. But I have put an offer on it. We'll visit it tomorrow morning just before take-off. And if Grace and you like it … well …"
"Christian," she said with a condescending voice. "It's £35 million."
"No, it's a place for when we come back."
"When we come back?" She echoed, not understanding. He hid his face in her hair, shrugging as he inhaled the strong smell of coconut and he told her "Grace clearly likes it here. So, we're bound to come back every once in a while."
Ana shook her head, incredulous. "You're not buying a £35 million apartment for a child! That's insane! Even for you."
"No, I'm buying us a place to stay whenever we visit. So, we can have somewhere to call home, as a family."
As he had expected, she had nothing to retort to that. Every time he had used the family card, Ana had remained speechless. But he knew that this was the easy part. Now came the part where she would be difficult like she always was when he did the littlest thing for her. "When I buy the apartment tomorrow, I want to put your name on the deed."
"Christian …"
"You're the one who said no new wardrobe," he argued teasingly, and he heard her sigh. He was sure that she rolled her eyes once again.
"So, you decided to buy a £35 million apartment? Of course, it's completely logical."
"It's no big deal."
"Gerald Thomas is definitely going to advise you against this ridiculous notion."
"Who gives a fuck about Thomas? Why is he even mentioned in this conversation?"
"He's your lawyer," she reasoned, and he deeply inhaled through his nose to contain his frustration.
"Who - cares? Last time I checked, I'm with you, not him."
"As a lawyer, I'm advising you against that ridiculous notion."
"And as my girlfriend?" He asked and when she didn't answer immediately, he shifted so he could turn the chair and she could face him. He was still on his knees, but since he was a tall man, there was not much of a height difference between them. He lifted her chin, waving for the answer, and so she said with an apologetic tone, "I think you're trying to overcompensate."
He thought about it for a moment, ignoring the blow to his ego. He knew she didn't mean it sexually; they might not have sex as often as they wished, but he always made damn sure she was left amply satisfied. But of course, his first thoughts were that she was downplaying his sexuality. If she knew, she would call him a caveman.
But she was right, he was trying to make up for all that he had missed. Both with Grace and her. The things he was still missing, like the evening they spent in the streets of London whilst he was still working. And though he knew she could have complained more than once, Ana never said a word, nor tried to make him feel guilty. On the contrary.
"Shouldn't I?" He asked, already anticipating the hard truth that was bound to come.
Ana gently smiled, something sweet, empathic and genuine. She soothingly caressed his cheek and kissed him, before assuring him, "I am so sorry Christian that you missed so much of Grace's life. I know it hurts, and I know it leaves empty moments that you'll never be able to fill. But … you don't have to buy her things to make it up to her.
I can promise you she doesn't care. All she talked about this evening was how happy she was to be here with you. Even if it was just for breakfast, even if you're busy. She is over the moon that we all live together, and the only way you make her even happier is when you take her in your arms to kiss her or hug her. Your presence is enough for her."
He smiled, grateful for those reassuring words about the worries he never dared admit to himself. That certainly wasn't going to stop him from spending money on Grace, especially since she liked shopping. But he felt less guilty concerning her. Still …
"What about you?" She frowned, not understanding what he meant. "When are you going to forgive me?"
Her frown deepened, and her eyes briefly showed sadness, before she put on her poker face, which annoyed Christian. He had never been able to read Ana when she was so neutral.
"You think I'm … angry at you?"
"Aren't you?" He scoffed.
"About what?" She sounded insulted that he would think that of her.
"The list is long. I didn't listen when you called me. I didn't open the letter you sent. I didn't make you feel appreciated when I should have. I am never patient when it comes to us, and always want things done my way. I…" He stopped himself, not sure if he should add to his list of grievances the kids' factor. He didn't want to admit out loud that she had given up her dream of a big family for him, it sounded cruel.
He looked her in the eyes, seeing her mask crumble down, but not liking what he saw she was trying to hide. Hurt. She quickly looked down, as soon as she realised he could read her face, and she let him know, "I was hurt, not angry. Was. Maybe I was a little resentful too, but … that was mostly at myself. I … I wasn't myself with you, and then, I resented you for not seeing who I was. But that was my fault. But …"
She looked back up, her eyes shining with so many emotions, but mainly one prevailed, sincerity, "You have to understand, Christian, I have already lived through a relationship where I put myself second. And I swore to myself that I wouldn't do it ever again. I won't make that mistake again. So, me trying this with you is … selfish. It's me putting what I want first. And … I want you.
I'm sorry if I made you feel like I did it out of obligation, or that I am not in it for the long haul."
He nodded, doing his best not to grin as she gave her explanation. Still, since they were having a heart to heart, he asked the heavy question that had been weighing on his conscience.
"So, there's nothing you resent me for, now?"
"Nope. I tease when you spoil Grace, but I know you mean well and you're just terrible at saying no. Let's hope she never asks for the moon."
He chuckled, though his heart wasn't really in it. "What about the fact that …" He cleared his throat. "You used to talk about becoming a 'catholic rabbit' …"
She shook her head. "I did. And then, I realised that not everyone is meant to be a parent. And … I don't want to put Grace through that. I was a mess after her birth, and no child should see their parents like that."
"So … it's not just because of me?" He clarified though he didn't like what he was reading between the lines. Ana was still convinced that she wasn't a good mother. Maybe he needed to talk to his mom again to find a way to convince Ana that she was an amazing mother.
She smiled, jovially shaking her head, "Nope, it's not just about you. So, you don't need to buy that ridiculously expensive apartment. You have nothing to feel guilty about."
He scoffed, "Nice try. If Grace likes it, I'll buy it. But it doesn't change a thing. I'll give it as a gift. To you."
"Christian …"
"Nah-ha. You promised, remember? On my birthday, you promised to accept whatever gift I would get you, and not moan about it."
"I should have put an expiry date on that promise. I feel that you've abused that power a bit recently," she grumbled, not pleased.
He grinned, unashamed. "Yeah, for a lawyer, you weren't particularly sharp on that one."
"You don't have to be smug about it."
"It's not every day I get to fuck a lawyer over."
She chuckled at his choice of words, and how the situation could be applied figuratively and physically. He kissed her, before losing his nose in her hair, loving that coconut smell. It was always so … delicious.
"I missed you at dinner," he confessed, enveloping her in a hug. This could have been their first official outing since he made the statement. The first time he would present her as Anastasia Steele, his girlfriend. But she had preferred to spend the evening with Jamie, doing things that she had already done in the past.
"I'm sorry. I just …" He waited for her to finish her thoughts, not moving one inch, even though his knees were starting to ache from being on the floor too long. "It's not really my scene."
"But it's my scene. I don't want to keep you hidden in my apartment like some dirty little secret. I never wanted that. I want the world to see you by my side, on my arm, knowing that you're mine."
"Caveman," she teased, and he finally moved to look at her, sitting on his calves to restore some circulation in his legs.
"You know what I mean."
"So … you want me to do what I did then?"
"No!" And now he understood why she didn't want to come. It was too much of an echo to when she was under the contract. Sure, he already had a business dinner with her, but they weren't official then, and he just presented her as Anastasia Steele, with no affiliation to him.
"No. I want you to be my girlfriend. My real girlfriend. And those are important moments to me. I want to share them with you."
"What about my important moments? Would you volunteer for a charity with me if I asked you to?"
He hesitated. He had no issue donating money to whichever charity she would want. But time… His time was precious. He barely had time for Grace, let alone for a charity.
"Whatever it takes to get you to accompany me next time I ask," he deflected, not committing himself.
Ana frowned, shaking her head in displeasure. "No. That sounds like I'm blackmailing you. I'll come with you; you don't have to promise anything. However, I would appreciate something from you. Not as a compensation, but as a … boyfriend."
He grinned, saying in a triumphant and holy singsong, "Finally, she's asking for something. I'm all ears."
"A date?"
"You want me to take you out on a date?" He repeated, baffled by the simplicity of her request. She could ask for anything, anything in the world, and he would give it to her. And yet she asked for the most obvious thing he could give her.
She sheepishly nodded, and he got up, taking her hand in his to direct them to bed as he told her, "I'll get on it. I'll call Andrea tomorrow so she can give me a date."
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
The next day, Christian witnessed Grace's first tantrum. Though he wouldn't have qualified it as such. She knew what she wanted, and she made her mind clear about it. She had loved the apartment, though she did make a remark on how big it was, which made Christian slightly curious. He had visited the girls' apartment several times, and it had been small, there was no denying. But he knew they used to live with Ian, and he had a house. So, he wondered how small that house could have been if everything seemed big to Grace. Or maybe it was because she was still little, and she didn't quite see the proportions yet.
Still, after Christian signed the preliminary papers and asked the agency to send everything to his PA so she could do the rest, they went to the airport, to take the jet to Macau. Grace cried the whole way there, saying repeatedly that she didn't want to leave London and that they had a place to live now, so they should stay.
Ana was unmoving toward her tears, calling them caprice and reminding Grace that she was a child and that she didn't make the decisions. But it didn't stop Grace, who cried even harder when her mother refused to take her in her arms as they walked on the runway towards the jet.
Christian picked up Grace, and she hiccupped in his arms, sobbing against his shoulders whilst Ana disapprovingly shook her head.
"I don't want to go, Daddy," she whispered in his ear, her voice still full of tears.
"Don't you like America?"
"No! I don't want to go back there, ever. Only bad things happen there."
Christian stopped in his stride, though he indicated the others to keep going. He was surprised by Grace's trail of thoughts, but thinking about it, he could understand. She had gotten sick and ended up in the hospital in the US. She lost her surrogate grandmother there. Her mother slipped and almost died. And even though she had been looking forward to school so much, she didn't like it and hadn't made any friends.
"But you also had good things happening in America, no?" He tried to bargain, but she violently shook her head, still crying. He repositioned her so he could see her face, ignoring Taylor who seemed inconvenienced by his delay. He was not going to put his daughter on the plane until she calmed down.
"What about meeting your Nana and Pops?" This made her tears stop. "And what about Peanut and Gus?" She nodded sadly, starting to see the positive of the US. "And Uncle Elliott and your cousins?"
"You're right, Daddy."
He smiled and kissed her cheek as he told her something that would ease her. "You know why I like the US so much better than England?" She shook her head, curious. He wiped away her tears and said, "Because it's where I got to meet you."
And finally, all sadness was gone from her face. She smiled with the brightness of a thousand suns and threw her little arms around his neck. He hugged her back and walked the final distance to board the plane under Taylor's impatient eyes.
Once in the jet, Grace ran to her mother's arms and apologised, not wanting her mother to be mad at her. Ana made sure that the tantrum was over, though she looked suspiciously at Christian, no doubt thinking that he had promised something in exchange for Grace being reasonable.
After take-off, Grace suddenly became restless, asking her mother for a 'you-know-what' but Christian was only half-listening, revising with Jamie the ways Macau was different from the US.
"Actually, Macau is even different from the rest of China. Not like Hong Kong, but not like Vegas either. In fact, don't even try to compare them. Macau is much more lucrative, independent and — "
He stopped himself. Grace was standing in front of them with a big smile and her hands behind her back. Christian glanced at Ana and Raymond, but Raymond was nowhere to be seen, probably in the bathroom, and Ana had dozed off. Not that he could blame her, given that she had barely slept whilst they were in London.
"What is it, sweetie?"
"This is for you," she said, producing a wrapped parcel from behind her back, her smile still as bright.
Christian smiled back, though he kept for himself that he would have rather not have Jamie here to witness this father-daughter moment. It was something private, a family moment, and no matter how Ana felt about the man, he still saw Jamie more as an apprentice than part of his or Grace's family.
With a small inspiration, he put the papers down and lifted Grace onto his lap. She excitedly watched him unwrap the paper, and he couldn't help but realise that Ana had been right. Grace had associated Christian travelling with presents.
In all honesty, if Ana hadn't put a veto on it, he would have bought Grace many souvenirs of their time in London. But Ana had claimed it was unnecessary. She said that they would buy a few trinkets whilst visiting the city by night, and that was it. And obviously, Ana being Ana, she had refused to take the black card he had for her.
When the wrapping paper was finally gone, Christian saw a frame with all the landmarks of London around it, and in the frame, a picture of Grace and Ana, smiling so brightly that they could be posing for a toothpaste commercial, and doing the peace sign. They both had their hair done the same way, starting with a braid on the side that ended in a bun on the same side. Christian had noticed that Grace usually asked her mother to do the same hairdo as she did for herself.
"Do you like it?" She anxiously asked as he kept looking at the picture. He smiled, kissing her cheek as he assured her, "It's beautiful, one of the best gifts I have ever gotten."
She grinned. "It's so you don't forget Mama and me when you are busy."
"I could never forget about you, sweetie," Christian assured, though he knew it wasn't entirely true. If Andrea didn't schedule his day for him, he knew that there was more than one occasion he would have had to apologise.
Jamie seemed to think that this was his cue to leave, finally, and he got up to go in the seat next to Ana. Christian saw how she startled awake, her eyes immediately looking for their daughter, and how she scowled when she saw Grace on his lap and the frame on his hands.
She opened her mouth, probably to tell Grace to let him work, but he shook his head. For once, just once, he could delay his work a little. She nodded and turned to Jamie who whispered something that made her laugh.
He returned his attention to Grace, who seemed to have attentively watched the brief and silent exchange between her parents. He smiled at her, looking back at the frame, and Grace got more comfortable on his lap as she asked, "Daddy? Why don't you kiss Mama?"
"What?"
"Do you not like kissing?"
"Of course I do."
"I never see you kiss Mama," she accused. "Tio Jose and Uncle Karl kiss all the time. Do you have to be married to kiss?"
Christian swiftly glanced at Ana, wishing she was there with him, instead of talking to Jamie and Raymond. This was not the kind of conversation he was prepared for.
"I do kiss your mother. Maybe you're just not looking. And … you have seen us kiss a few times."
She frowned but shook her head, "But it's not a lot. Is it because you have to get married like Tio Jose to kiss a lot?"
"No. You don't need to be married to kiss … I … I don't know, Grace. But I do love your mother, and she knows it, and I do kiss her."
Once again, Grace frowned, her brain working its gear, like every time she was trying to figure out something. Christian loved seeing that little expression on her face.
"Is it … like love?"
"What?"
"Mama said that love is … you can't touch it. And you can't show it. You must be made to feel it. Like when she sings me to sleep, or when she makes me my favourite food when I'm sick. So … maybe … you don't kiss Mama because you don't want to show, but to feel?"
Though he smiled, Christian was dumbfounded; how could Ana doubt their daughter's superior intellect when she was having this deep of a conversation? Even adults had problems with that concept, and Grace was there, flaunting her deep understanding of the subtleties of love.
Still, he took note that Grace would clearly not mind some display of affection. He had been rather prudish until now, not sure how she would react. He, himself, never minded when his parents showed their love. Both Elliott and he grew up with parents who did not hide their affection for each other, and now that Grace seemed okay with it, he couldn't help but slightly grin at the carte blanche. Now he could kiss and embrace Ana as much as he wanted, without any restraints.
"Oh, don't worry. Your mother knows exactly how I feel for her. I just never realised that we kissed when you weren't here. But we do kiss all the time, I can promise you. I love your Mom, and I told her, showed her and made her feel it."
Grace nodded, happy with that answer, and as she was about to ask another question, Ana and Jamie burst out in laughter whilst Raymond shook his head. Jamie hid his face in Ana's shoulder, though the roar of his laughter was not diminished, and Grace looked their way, letting her father know, "I like Uncle Jamie. He is nice."
Christian simply nodded, not committing himself in this conversation. Jamie was good at his job. Excellent even. He didn't need to be told twice, and he picked up things quickly. But … Christian had promised Ana to stand by her side, and it wasn't so easy when he felt so unsure of Jamie as a man around his woman.
"Last night, he told me a story about mama and him, when they were little like me."
"Oh?"
"Yes. He said, once, when Mama was eight, they were playing outside, and there was this little tree they used to climb. It was not very big, but still. They always climbed and played on the top, but it was wet that day, and he slipped. So, Mama caught him, and he was screaming at her to not let go because he didn't want to fall and die. And when his hand slipped away, he fell on the ground, but it was only this far away from him."
She put some distance between her hands, and Christian chuckled, picturing a little Ana desperately trying to pull a little Jamie up, though she would ultimately fail, and he would find humiliation at his anguish when realising he was mere inches from the ground.
Grace seemed to think it was hilarious, because she laughed again, before telling her father something else, "You know that Mama invented the song when she was little, with Jamie. It was their goodnight song, but now, it's my goodnight song."
"I didn't know that."
"Yes. And Uncle Jamie, he is a magician, though Mama says it's just tricks."
Christian let her keep talking about the 'magic' Jamie had shown her, but he was thinking back to the lyrics reinvented by Ana. He didn't think much of it when he heard her sing, but now that he knew where it came from, he felt a pang in his heart. This was the song that Ana sang every night, hoping she could run away with Jamie, hoping to leave the tears behind and that there would be smiles and laughs ahead.
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
By some trick involving her beautiful blue eyes turning into puppy ones, Grace had managed to extract from Christian a promise of spending half the day with her and Ana. Without even being aware of it, she had him wrapped around her little finger, and given Ana's mocking expression, she knew it.
Mr Cho and his wife were waiting for them at the airport, alongside a little boy of seven. As he had expected, Mr Cho fussed around Ana and Grace, telling Ana how happy he was to see her again, and that they needed to play a game so he could rip Christian off once again.
Christian had thought that Ana would be awkward around the Chos, but she was strangely at ease, embracing them like old family friends. In fact, she seemed closer to them than ever. But then again, Mrs Cho and Ana had spent quite some time together.
The little boy was their first grandchild, named Jin. He was spending the week with his grandparents whilst his parents were away on business. For a moment, Christian worried that Grace might be reminded of her struggle of making friends, but that was quickly dismissed as soon as she saw a dragon on the cover of the book the young boy was reading.
This sparked a conversation between them, though they were both struggling. Grace knew just a few words of Cantonese and it seemed that Jin knew just as much of English. But that didn't stop them from making some sort of conversation, talking about dragons.
In fact, they spent the whole day together, teaching each other some words in their own languages, and at the end of the day Grace announced that she needed to learn Cantonese "ASAP". This made Ana laugh quite a bit as she said that Christian was starting to rub off on their little girl. But both parents were happy to see that Grace was finally bonding with someone her age (or almost).
It had been a long day, and an early night, though he didn't see it coming. He fell asleep in his bed talking to Ana as she was still in the bathroom. But it didn't surprise him much. He was used to usually sleeping either on the plane, or as soon as he would get to the hotel room, and he had messed up his pattern this week due to the girls.
Still, he woke up thirsty in the middle of the night, his inconvenience replaced instantly by worry when he found the bed next to him empty and cold. The lights were out, and the door was closed. He called out for Ana and when there was no response, he checked their en suite bathroom, but she was nowhere to be seen.
He went in the living room, his phone in his hand, about to call Taylor when he saw her looking at the city through the window. He put his phone down, walking to her and hugging her from behind, admiring the view with her. This was how it should have happened. This was how he had envisioned it all those years ago.
When he had partnered with Mr Cho, he had never planned to claim a room in their hotel. But then, Ana came in the picture, and he always pictured them just like that. Her in his arms as they would look at the skyline. It wasn't the most luxurious suite, but it was the best view. And he had put a veto on it.
This was where he had wanted to have Ana when he proposed to fly her to Macau. He wanted to have her there, in his arms, looking at the city from the hotel he built from the ground up. Every time he came back to Macau, he had thought of her even more. Even though she never came with him to this city, this was the place where the memory of her affected him the most. And for one simple reason.
"This is where I saw us having our honeymoon if I had proposed, back then," he confessed, kissing her shoulders with love.
Ana chortled, shaking her head as if he had said something ludicrous, and when he stiffened behind her, she asked, "Oh, you were serious?"
"Yes." He looked at the skyline, holding her a bit tighter. "If all had gone well, I would have told you about my plans of marrying you when you would have called. I know I stayed away for a month, but I would have come back with a ring as beautiful and rare as you and proposed then. We would have gotten married a few months later, nothing big. Just a quiet reception. And we would have honeymooned here, just as the hotel opened. It would have been perfect."
Ana didn't say a word, her eyes hard on the horizon as Christian kissed her neck, silently pressing her to react somehow. After yet another couple of minutes of silence, he finally asked, "Babe?"
"I would have said no, Christian," she said, rather curtly.
"I know. You said so already." He was rather annoyed that she only lingered on that one detail. He knew that already, but she could try to give him her thoughts on the rest of his speech. Just so he knew what he was working with...
She shook her head and added, "And I never would have agreed to have my honeymoon here."
"Why not? You loved Vegas," He pointed out because this had been a huge factor in his decision process.
"Yeah. To have fun. Not to put the first stone of my marriage …"
There was a small silence during which Christian congratulated himself for not jumping the gun and proposing when he saw her standing by the window. This seemed like the worst possible idea now. But at least, he had put it out in the open that marriage was something possible in the future, and she hadn't point-blank refused.
She sighed a little and turned to kiss him gently before walking away as she said, "Never mind. It's the past, let's not dwell on it."
He agreed, his eyes following her as he noticed that she removed her shoes. He frowned and asked the first question he had in mind when he woke up. "Why are you up?"
"Jet lag."
"Did you go out?"
She rolled her eyes and he paled. It was one thing for her to go out in New York (though he clearly did not approve) but this was a whole other city. She didn't know Macau, she didn't know a single word of Cantonese, she didn't know anyone here. And it was past four in the freaking morning. All the drunks were out, crying over their losses. And though he knew he was biased, Ana was still a gorgeous woman. So many things could happen to her that would turn bad.
But of course, Ana, ridiculous as always when it came to her safety, dismissed the whole thing. "You know, you're very overprotective sometimes. I mean, sure, statistically speaking, a woman is more likely to get— "
"I don't care about statistics!" He hissed. It was irrational for him to be scared for her like that. She was here, in front of him, well and joking. And he knew what she was about to say, realistically, she was more than likely to be fine. More than him. After all, she came from the streets, and she survived them.
But … two images were branded in his brain. The first of a woman with dead eyes. He had been very young, and his mother had taken him to work for...he didn't remember what reason. And this patient of his mother with her dead eyes had marked him. She was a survivor of a sexual assault, but she was dead inside.
The second image was Ana's swollen face, lying in a hospital bed after having been attacked by three men. She could say whatever she wanted, she could remind him however she wanted that she had lived in the streets, the truth was, there only needed to be one time, one unlucky time, and the worst could happen to her.
He breathed in heavily, knowing how Ana felt about feeling overprotected. If it wasn't for her trust issues, he'd have someone on her back 24/7. "I just … I just care that you're safe, babe. It's all that matters to me," he said, kissing the top of her head to apologise for his outburst.
She smiled, hugging him as she reassured him, "Well, I was with Jamie, and no one is going to try and pick a fight with him."
She chuckled, proud of her joke, and Christian simply kissed her forehead again. The truth was, he liked her having spent time with Jamie just as much as he liked her being alone in a city she didn't know, in the middle of the night. And he noticed that in barely a couple of weeks, even though he worked just as much as Christian, Jamie had still managed to spend a lot of time with Ana.
Just as they finished their quick lunch on Tuesday, Ana reached for the last cookie at the same time as Jamie. The two of them looked at each other, though Christian thought that Jamie ought to leave the cookie to Ana, as any gentleman would do.
"Give it up, Jamie, we both know I'll end up with the cookie," she said with a mocking and triumphant smile. Jamie raised his eyebrow, bulking his muscles (not that he needed to bulk, the man was a walking wardrobe)
"In case you didn't notice, unlike you, I grew up. You can't beat me up anymore."
"It's all in your head. At the end of the day, you'll pick rock, I'll pick paper, and somehow, I'll end up knocking you silly, teaching you to be nice to ladies such as myself."
"Ladies," he snorted. "Ladies don't knock people silly."
"And men avoid the humiliation of having a Lilliputian beat them down in front of a crowd."
Jamie raised his hand in surrender as Raymond snickered under his breath. Ana took the cookie and ate it victoriously, though she did not do a thing to hide her smugness about it.
Christian didn't say a word, pretending to look at his phone to check when Lord Windsor and his lawyer would get back, but it made him feel odd. He just …
He felt that ever since the dinner, Jamie was always around. Which wasn't an issue. They were working together. But … Jamie always looked at Ana. No matter what, he always had an eye on Ana, and Christian couldn't help but question the brotherly feelings he had for Ana.
He never doubted Jose, even though he had always known that Jose was bisexual, and although there had been rumours about Ana and Jose, he always had known they only saw each other as siblings. But … Jamie … it seemed too abrupt. He had a hard time believing that after all these years of being separated, Jamie was still seeing Ana as a sister, when they had no blood relation, to begin with.
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.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚
💚 I am so glad I cut that chapter in two distinct chapters, haha.
💚 So,
💚Now question time,
1. Okay, so, do you agree with Christian? Is there something off about Jamie?
2. What did you think of their little intimate moment? And it wasn't planned, in case it wasn't clear. It was in the spur of the moment
3. And what did you think of Grace in this chapter? Her tantrum, and her kissing obsession? Her little gift? And she got a friend, though they don't understand each other XD
4. And they had many hearts to hearts. What did you think of those two important conversations? And do you agree with Ana on the honeymoon thing? And now, it's clear and open, Ana doesn't resent Christian in the slightest, and she is in for the long haul. AND, there is something important in the way she expressed her feelings on the kid issue.
5. And what did you think of the song? What do you think it means to Ana?
6. As per usual, what was your favourite part? Mine was when Christian looked deep in Ana's eyes and felt all the love she had for him.
7. And what do you think will happen next?
💚 E L James owns the names of the characters from the Fifty Shades franchise, Everything else is mine (including the mistakes and grammar errors).
Love, Mina 💚💚💚