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 26: Wither, Erosion & Evaporation (9,1K)
So this title seems quite self-explanatory but basically, it's the state of death of the three main components of each chapter …
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Christian kept looking at his watch, his eyes going back and forth between the second hand going up at the slowest speed and the front door remaining stubbornly closed. He was probably caught in an alternate universe where time went slower than usual, and where he turned out to be an asshole.
He still couldn't believe he actually said those words to Ana. Not only had he dismissed his lack of involvement in their daughter's life, but he had twisted the situation and reversed it so it would make it look like it was her fault. No wonder why she thought so lowly of him as a father.
With a blank stare, he poured himself another glass of whiskey, trying to recall when he had indeed spent more than an hour with his kid without his phone. And the only moment that came to mind was Christmas. Every morning, Grace would do a rundown of her previous day, but Christian had developed the skill of nodding and making smart noises at the right time to give the impression that he was listening, when in fact he was doing something else entirely.
The truth was, he knew nothing of his daughter's new life in Seattle. Did she enjoy it? Did she make more than one friend? Did she enjoy the private tutor? Did she miss him? …
And when all Ana wanted to do was to remind him of his responsibilities as a father who broke a promise, he lashed out at her. Instead of owning up to his screwup, he flipped it on her and made it seem like she was the problem, not him.
Once again, he glanced at the door, hoping that Ana would come back. Not only did he want to apologise, but it was the middle of the night, she was inhibited, angry and alone. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.
As he put down his empty glass, he checked his phone, ignoring the few email notifications, and he tried to call her. His heart leapt with hope when he didn't go straight to voicemail, but she never picked up. He thought of leaving a voicemail, but in a way, he knew he should talk to her directly. Saying sorry over the phone would never be enough.
So he got up and went to their room where he had the surprise to find Grace sleeping in their bed. He felt his heart twist, understanding that Ana had probably tried to console the little girl by letting her sleep there, and he quickly passed by the walk-in closet to change into his PJs. He noticed a box there that seemed out of place, but he decided to look into it in the morning.
Grace was sleeping on his side, wearing an odd shirt that didn't look like pyjamas, and holding something that looked like a hoodie too big for her. He picked it up and choked up on his tears. Ana really did cover up all his messes. The hoodie was black, with two dragons on it, a big red one, and a small blue one. And just above the dragons, it was written in purple cursive "Little Princess's Hero'.
He looked at Grace again and saw that the shirt she was wearing was echoing the hoodie that had obviously been meant for him. The two dragons were also there, but on her shirt, it was written 'Daddy's Little Princess'.
How did he miss Valentine's Day? Especially after Ana scowling him at New Year's and telling him that this was something that he couldn't do to their family. He remembered how he felt she had been overreacting a tad because it had been out of his control, but he still promised that he would be there for their big events.
And to think that he wanted memorable firsts with Grace. All like Thanksgiving, or Christmas. But she would always remember this Valentine's Day as the day he had ultimately failed her.
And what about Ana? Time and time again, she had told him that she was a romantic. This was the reason he had kept postponing proposing because he wanted to make it as romantic as possible. And yet, he missed something as ridiculously simple as Valentine's Day.
With a shaky sigh, he tried to call Ana once again, resolved to keep calling her until she would pick up, and for a brief second, he had the hope that she was back home when he heard the buzz near him. But then, he realised that the vibrating sound was coming from Ana's nightstand. He opened it, and found her phone there, displaying a picture of him and her from six years ago asking to be answered, and he cut down the call with a frown as he sat on the bed.
It was a picture of them during Ana's first Christmas with his family when he kissed her under the mistletoe and his mother used the opportunity to snap the picture. He was holding her in his arms, smiling whilst kissing her, and she had her hands on his shoulders. He remembered how he had surprised her then by turning the sweet peck she had intended for his cheek into a full-blown kiss, but the smile she had for him when their lips parted made it all worth it.
He put the phone down, doing his best to not overanalyse the picture. Did she have this picture set because she liked this image of them, or was it because she did not have any happy moments with him recently? And that's when he realised with horror that Ana never tried to actually take pictures of them when in Dubai. Ana, who had been camera crazy for as long as he could remember, had only taken pictures of landscapes there. In fact, he couldn't remember a time when she had asked for a selfie with just the two of them.
He was about to close her nightstand when he caught a glimpse of the frame Jamie had given her in the drawer. Many times since Christmas, Christian had wondered where she had displayed the picture. It was nowhere in their room, nor in the living room, and it wasn't in her office either (mostly because she never used it). She had kept it hidden in her bedside, alongside her diary …
He glanced at Grace who moved in her sleep, taking up far much more space than her little body needed, before looking back at the journal. This was the ultimate betrayal, this was the one thing he hadn't shattered for Ana, the one thing he could still say he did correctly … but then again, he knew it wasn't true.
Christian stirred awake, reaching for Ana and grimacing as he found the bed by his side empty. He knew that he should wake up and get a little work done whilst they were still in the air on their way back to Seattle from Dubai, but he wanted to enjoy a little bit longer this sweet moment with Ana. Dubai had been such a blast; for a moment, they got to just enjoy being together, and in love.
With a sigh, he sat up, scratching his eyes, and he found Ana sitting on the other side of the room, curled up in the comfortable chair and writing in her fucking diary. He glared at the journal, clearing his throat and she promptly closed it, making it obvious that whatever she was writing in it, she didn't want him to know about it.
She put the thing down, and came to sit back next to him, and as soon as she was in his reach, he pulled her to him and buried his nose in her hair, admitting, "You know…I'm not…I don't particularly like…that you have a diary."
"Pardon me?"
He raised his head so he could look into her eyes and told her of how she made him feel. "Why can't you just talk to me? Why do you need a diary to talk about your feelings? I'm your boyfriend. In fact, I'm more than that. I'm the man who's loved you for years now, who wanted to marry you all those years ago. I'm the father of your child and … you can't even confide in me. How do you think it makes me feel?"
She opened wide eyes and raised a comforting hand to his face as she said the words she knew would placate him, "I do confide in you. I just write down what I tell you to keep my head clear."
"Sure you do. Then if I read into that thing, I won't learn anything new about you, right?" He scoffed, and she paled, looking down and giving Christian his answer. She trusted a piece of paper more than she trusted him.
He held her against him and told her, "I know you have your issues, Ana. I know that you won't say the fucking words I want to hear because of those issues. But … how can you love me if you don't trust me enough to speak to me? Do you realise how useless you make me feel in my own couple? How am I supposed to bring you solace if you don't give me the fucking tools?"
"I'm sorry, Christian. You're right," She admitted, keeping her head in his chest and hugging him to her. "I didn't mean to make you unhappy."
"I'm not. I told you, I'm the happiest I've ever been, and it's thanks to you. I just … if you want to talk about your feelings, come to me, not to a fucking diary. I'm here for you. You know that."
Christian watched again and again as the last entry in her diary abruptly stopped and was never picked up again. Each new entry made him feel like an asshole and he hated it. There he had been, accusing her of not talking to him, when in fact she did, but he did not pay attention. And that led her to believe that …
He put the diary back in its place, feeling like he had been burnt, and he let himself fall in the bed, tears building up in his eyes. That one sentence he had done his best not to think about coming back to him … 'No. You don't.'
She had said it so naturally, so softly, without a hint of sarcasm or anger. It was a statement. She truly believed that he didn't love her. She truly believed that she didn't matter to him. He would have rather had her beat him up than say those words with such certitude.
But then again, when had he been there for her? He barely knew what kind of association she was with and barely knew that she worked closely with a guy. It wasn't that she didn't tell him anything, but that he didn't pay attention. Just like he didn't pay attention to her not adapting to Seattle, just like he didn't pay attention to her asking him to spend more time with their daughter and get invested a bit more.
And more than that, he ostracised her from the only familiar face she knew in this city, because of his own damn insecurities. No matter how he felt about Jamie, he should have trusted her. Was this where she was? Did she go to see Jamie? He was probably back from New York given the hour. Did he unknowingly push her in another man's arms? Or maybe she was at this doctor's in Escala … the one with whom she went to the gym with?
He didn't even notice that she no longer ran or went to the gym. She was always up before him, and nothing seemed to have changed in her routine. And yet, he was discovering that she no longer exercised, when he had always been sure that this was something that Ana loved to do. All of this because of those hags from school.
Why didn't she tell him about them? This was the one thing that was news to him, the moms at school bullying her. All the rest had just been eye-opening to his obliviousness, but the SRBC was news to him. And he hated those women even though he had never met them in his life.
But what he hated the most was that nagging feeling in him he had whilst reading Ana's diary. There was something off as the days went on. But he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was. All he knew was, it was his fault.
Grace moved again in her sleep, and Christian switched off the light, laying next to her and taking her in his arms, promising her, and her absent mother, "I'll make it up to you. I swear I'll make it up to the two of you."
And as he kissed his daughter's hair, damp with sweat, he broke down in silent tears.
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
He barely slept that night, not much because of Grace's incessant tossing, but because he had been constantly hoping to hear Ana come back home. But Ana seemed to have decided to spend the night outside. Still, when he woke up for good, Grace was no longer in his arms and he briefly panicked, wondering if Ana had come back and taken her daughter away from him whilst he was out cold.
But then he reasoned with himself, he wouldn't have been able to sleep through the girls getting ready. So he got up and went straight to the kitchen, where he found Grace eating her breakfast under Gail's supervision.
"Good morning, Mr Grey. What would you like for breakfast?"
"Whatever she's having," Christian dismissed, noticing his hoodie on the chair next to Grace whilst she was still wearing her shirt. The little girl didn't acknowledge him, her head in her bowl, and Christian walked to her, kneeling by the chair so he could be by her side.
"Grace, sweetie. I am so sorry. I never should have missed dinner yesterday night. Even less our first Valentine's together."
Grace shrugged, still not looking at him. "It's okay. Mama said you were busy. Thank you for my present."
"No, sweetie. It's not okay. I should never be too busy for my favourite princess. How about we spend the whole day together? We can do whatever you want?"
Finally, Grace turned her head to him, and Christian could still see some traces of her late-night crying. He caressed her cheeks and grabbed the hoodie for him to wear, making her fight a small smile of contentment as she pointed out,
"Mama said that you would say that. Can we go to the movies with Vickie? Her Daddy is taking her to see that new mermaid movie."
"Whatever you want, sweetie," He promised, feeling his heart squeeze as he realised that Ana did not come home because she was making sure he would spend time with his daughter. And apparently Grace caught up on that, because she squinted her eyes at him, and accusingly questioned,
"You're not going to be busy, are you?"
"No. I'm yours entirely."
"Promise?" She insisted, but she did not raise her pinky. Probably because he had broken the sacred value of it in her eyes.
"I promise, sweetie. We can do whatever you want."
"I still want to go to your party because I want to wear the dress. Mama said that I needed to ask you. Can I still go?"
"Of course," He ignored the way his heart clenched. In all honesty, he really didn't want to go. But Grace had been looking forward to it, and he had disappointed her enough.
Gail placed a plate of waffles in front of him, but when she asked him what kind of coffee he wanted, Grace screamed and dashed out of the kitchen, telling them to wait. Christian played with his food, glancing where his daughter had disappeared before asking the housekeeper,
"Has … Did you see Miss Steele in the morning?"
"Yes. She left shortly before you came in the kitchen, after talking with Miss Grey."
Christian nodded and glanced again at the corridor to make sure Grace was not around. "Have you noticed anything … odd about Miss Steele lately?"
Gail seemed uncomfortable, but when Christian's gaze became insistent, she unknowingly dug his grave a bit deeper. "I cannot be sure, Mr Grey. Miss Steele likes to keep to herself. She does seem a bit different from … all those years ago, but she has had a child in between. She did ask me to take over the cooking and the shopping, and … I have found more often than not a wine glass in the drying rack in the morning."
Christian nodded, not saying another word as Grace came back to the kitchen holding a little package that she gave him, looking at him expectantly for him to open. He did as instructed and found a mug with Grace's childish writing on it and a lot of glitters, stating that he was the "Best Daddy in the World".
He smiled, swallowing the hurt that seeing those words was bringing to him, and he poured some coffee in his precious mug, saying, "This is now my favourite mug in the whole wide world."
"Really?" She asked, hopeful, and he nodded before reaching for her and sitting her on his lap.
"I really am sorry for yesterday, sweetie. Daddy was just being stupid. Please, forgive me?"
"Mama said stupid is a bad word," She reminded him, but still, she wrapped her little arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, and at that moment, all he cared about was his little girl forgiving him.
He knew that Ana had done most of the work for him, with the gift and reassuring Grace that he would be there for her in the morning and always making sure that Grace always felt loved by him, but still. The warm feeling that coursed through him made him hold his daughter closer against him.
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
Christian spent the whole day with Grace, meeting for the first time Victoire and her father, and learning that Grace had now a French tutor so she could converse in French. Victoire's father was a French businessman, freshly divorced, who obviously spent more time with his daughter than Christian ever did in his life, despite the fact that Mr Martin had a nanny.
He briefly enquired about Ana's welfare, surprised that she wasn't with them, but didn't linger much on it and rather focused on Victoire's upcoming birthday party, letting Christian know that Grace was the guest of honour.
It was also then that Christian learned that Grace was much more popular in Seattle than she had been in New York. Apparently, there had been birthday parties or playdates at least once a week since January, and the two little girls had been invited every time.
When they parted with the Martins, Christian asked her about her other friends, and it broke his heart to see the surprise in her eyes when he did so. She seemed used to him being present but not paying attention. Ana had been right, he had been a poor father to their daughter.
He had the surprise to learn that the majority of Grace's new friends were actually boys and that most of her girl friends were friends she had because of Vickie. And yet, Grace was still as girly as ever, not a trace of becoming a tomboy on her.
When they got back home, Christian called his mother to help him get Grace ready for the night's event. If it was up to him, he would just sit it out and stay home, waiting for Ana to come back. But Grace kept asking about it, and he couldn't disappoint her again. Especially when she was so excited about it.
They had lunch together, eating what she had prepared for him for dinner, and unknowingly, Grace reminded him again that Ana had changed without him noticing as she said that preparing this dinner was the first time Mama was cooking in a long time.
They were in the middle of eating the homemade chocolate for dessert when Grace suspiciously squinted her eyes at her father and asked,
"Daddy? About the dress you showed Mama? Are you going to get married? She doesn't tell me anything." A small pout formed on her lips, showing that she was clearly annoyed by this lack of information.
"I…I want to," he said honestly, not sure how to explain to his daughter that he had screwed up so bad that he had made her mother run away and that she might be looking at this very moment at ways to actually take Grace away so he wouldn't be in their lives anymore.
Grace popped another chocolate in her mouth, unaware of her father's turmoil and she lightly said, "But Tio Jose said that you have to have a ring to be married. He and Uncle Karl have a ring." She suspiciously turned her head to Christian, "Do you have a ring?"
"I do. But…it's a secret."
"Why?"
"Because when I show it to your mother, I want to do it in a magic way," He said, and Grace's eyes lit up. He shared her smile before it froze on his lips. Didn't Ana accuse him of doing just that? Getting poor Grace's hopes up. What if Ana said no, Grace would be crushed. And what if she said yes just to spare Grace … that would be even worse. And this was made even more painful when Grace blissfully asked,
"Can I help? I can ask Mama for you if you want?"
"No, sweetie. That's between your mother and me. The way you can help is by keeping the secret and stop asking her about it."
Grace pouted, not liking being put aside, before her face lit up, showing a hint of victory as she said, "I can keep the secret if I can see the ring!"
She proudly held his eyes, and he sighed in defeat, which was quite humiliating thinking of it. Sure, Grace might soon turn five, but he still had to lay down in front of a kid. So he took her to his office and showed her the ring that he had bought all those years ago for Ana.
Grace examined it, turning the ring again and again in her little fingers, her nose scrunched with obvious dislike. "Mama likes this?" She asked with disbelief.
"I don't know. She hasn't seen it yet."
"She won't like it," she said with a shrug, putting the ring down as if it was the ugliest thing she had ever seen. "Mama said that 'jurery' has to be…a secret." She seemed so happy with herself, calling back to the fact that they were sharing a secret at that moment, that Christian didn't have the heart to correct her mispronunciation.
He put the ring back in the box, and Grace explained further, "Mama said that 'jurery' is like a special secret you share with a special someone. And she said that when you know a secret, you don't tell everyone that you know a secret."
Christian nodded, realising how little he understood Ana. That was the reason she had never been comfortable in the jewellery he got her, it had always been to attract the eye to it when she wasn't that kind of girl. And even more, he understood why Grace had attached such importance in sharing the necklace with her mother. It wasn't just so they could look alike, but so they shared a secret.
For the rest of the afternoon, Christian stayed with his daughter, going as far as partaking in her spa day and putting clay on his face whilst they drank celery juice (which was the most abject thing he had ever tasted). He kept his professional phone on silent, but kept his personal phone on, hoping at any time that Ana would call.
But it seemed quite obvious that she had no intention of coming home, and Grace didn't seem bothered by it. Mama had told her in the morning that she would have Daddy to herself all day, and it was justification enough for Grace. Still, he couldn't help but wonder where she was. He doubted that she was at his parents', but maybe she had gone to Elliott…or all the way back to New York to cry on her best friend's shoulder about how terrible of a boyfriend Christian was.
When his mother arrived in the late afternoon, little Grace was buoyant, excitedly telling her grandmother over and over again how happy she was to go out with her daddy. Christian let them get ready so he could do the same, his heart not really in it due to Ana's absence.
She didn't try to contact them at all, not even to let them know about the fact that she wouldn't be joining, and Christian couldn't bring himself to ask Grace what she and her mother had talked about in the morning. He didn't want to bring attention to the fact that it was unusual for Ana to not spend time with them.
As he was putting on the cufflinks that Ana had gifted him for Christmas, his eyes fell back on the box in the closet, and he crouched to look at it. Ana had always been rather OCD, so it was odd to have this box he had never seen in their walk-in wardrobe.
For a moment, he feared that it was the first of many boxes that would prove that Ana was already in motion to move out, but when he actually saw the content, his heart broke even more, if it was possible. In it were many red rose petals, candles and a sexy nurse outfit.
All night and all day, Christian had beaten himself up because he had missed this important moment in Grace's life, but…Valentine's Day was first and foremost a day for lovers. Ana had stepped back for her daughter, but still expected something sweet for the two of them. And it never happened.
And he had no excuse. He knew that Ana was a romantic. And he knew that she liked feeling like in a fairytale on certain days. Like she did on Thanksgiving, or like she did on Christmas. And even the little things, she deeply appreciated, like the chocolate he would get Andrea to send her when she would be on her periods.
But…he had completely forgotten about this aspect of romance. In truth, he had completely forgotten about being an actual boyfriend as of late. It was so easy just coming home and having had Ana take care of everything for the family. Like the piano lessons, he remembered promising Grace but never giving her. Ana had found a teacher so the promise would be fulfilled. Like always making sure he would have a meal waiting for him when he would get home. Like making sure that Grace didn't feel completely abandoned by her father.
He sat down on the floor, banging his head against the wall of the closet as he wondered how much more he had fucked up. It wasn't just Grace he had failed, but also the woman he loved. And long before he even said those horrible things to her. He had promised her to listen to her, but he never did. In fact, he was realising that Ana had stopped waiting for him at night when they came back from Dubai when he lashed his insecurities on her.
He heard some noise, and plastered a smile on his face, quickly hiding the box, expecting to see his daughter, but it was only his mother. She raised an eyebrow at him being on the floor, and he quickly got up as she told him,
"Your presence is requested on the main floor so your daughter can go down the stairs like in the movies."
He nodded, and they both went to the living room, asking "Where is Dad, by the way?"
His mother snickered, "Stuck in bed. The seafood he got me for Valentine's Day didn't agree with him. He's quite annoyed because he really wanted to see Grace in her first fancy dress. They're FaceTiming as we speak."
Christian nodded once again, sitting on the couch, and his mother told him, "Ana called this morning. To ask if I could get Grace ready in case you forgot to ask. Everything okay?"
He opened his mouth, but Grace called out from the stairs, asking if he was ready. "I am. Let me see my little princess come down the stairs."
Grace giggled and carefully walked down the stairs, holding the railing. Her hair wasn't its wavy self, like her mother, but straight, falling down her back. She was wearing a dress between gold and beige, with a fluffy skirt and that had lace on the bottom of both the skirt and the top.
Christian smiled brightly at his daughter, making her giggle with pleasure even more, and he heard his mother take many pictures for them. She twirled on herself, before asking for pictures with her daddy, and her cats (obviously). Christian posed, harbouring the best smile to not spoil the memory of his daughter, and he found himself briefly wondering if he should have gotten her something to mark the occasion.
But he quickly dismissed the idea, sure that Ana wouldn't have approved of this trail of thoughts. They got ready to leave, Taylor driving them to the event, and when they parted with his mother, she whispered in his ear, "I'd like to talk to you about Ana, Christian. It's important."
This was enough to make him lose the smile that he had been showing since Grace came downstairs. His daughter frowned at him, seeing his change of mood, and so he picked her up and kissed her cheek, making sure to smile again as he asked his mother,
"About what?"
"Shall I drop by first thing Monday morning? In your office?"
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
On the way, Grace, still unable to hide her excitement, told Christian about how her grandparents had told her that she needed to be good and that there would be a lot of people taking pictures of her (not that she seemed to mind). She joked about how Pops said she wouldn't be able to pick her nose in public, reminding Christian of a similar conversation he had with Ana.
He knew that Roger was over the moon about the fact that he was not coming along to this event. It was good press to show him as a family man. But he didn't want to use Grace, especially not in that way. But then again, Grace really wanted to go and feel like a princess, so who was he to refuse that little thing to her?
Once there, Christian spotted Roger looking at him with a frown, probably not liking what Ana's absence meant for his image, but Christian couldn't care less. He kept his daughter's hand in his and paused for the camera, making sure that Grace was comfortable and glaring at the couple of photographers who thought it was a good idea to tell his kid how to pose.
Grace was all smiles, though the smiles were mostly directed toward her father, and as he was about to leave this freak show to another poor soul, his eyes caught a glimpse of red at Jamie's arm.
As per usual, Ana had her hair tied up in an elaborated do. She was wearing a long blue and backless dress that reached the floor, where the front top was completely covered in rhinestones. With a beautiful smile, she walked to his and Grace's side, and paused for the photographers, her face showing nothing but a polite and glowing smile.
Christian saw how Roger was smiling like a lunatic, and when one of the photographers dared to ask for a kiss, Christian picked up his kid and kissed her on the cheek before directing the redheads inside, though he made sure not to touch Ana. Just because she came didn't mean that she forgave him. He knew her face all too well, and it was the one she used to conceal her emotions.
She sat Grace on a chair at their designated table, and he pulled the chair for her to sit. As she did, he whispered in her ear, "Thank you for coming."
She blinked, turning her head incredulously to him, before lowly saying so only he could hear, "I told you I would. I've been told that's what family does."
She could have slapped him, it would have been the same. And what made it even more painful was the fact that her tone had been gentle. It wasn't a remark to put him back in his place, just a statement.
He cleared his throat and tried to get to his seat, on the other side of Grace, but as soon as he was no longer touching Ana's chair, a strong hand rested on his chest, forbidding him to move. Christian glared at Jamie, who he had only invited because Roger had insisted, and Jamie said with a frighteningly cold smile,
"Can I talk to you, Grey?"
This ought to surprise Christian a bit. Jamie never called him by his last name ever since they started working together, so it was weird for him to start all of a sudden. But whatever Jamie had to tell him, probably concerning his recent trip to New York and the fact that Christian didn't contact him to have a debrief, it would have to wait until Monday.
Which was why Christian easily said, "Monday," dismissing the young man. Though it was a work function, he was going to keep the work talk to a minimum.
Jamie however, did not seem to understand that Christian was not in the mood, and darkly insisted, "This isn't a request."
Ana turned to look at them with a frown, probably wondering why none of them had sat yet, and she paled when she saw the way they were dangerously close. She ever so slightly shook her head, and Jamie gave her the same poker smile she always had to hide what she thought.
"It's not what you think. It's just business and it's quite urgent. It's about that London contract we're on, it can't wait. We'll be back in five minutes."
Ana returned her attention to Grace who happily told her mother all the things she did with her father during the day, and Christian had no other choice but to follow Jamie out of the room. There was no point in denying that Ana had gone to Jamie, since they arrived together, and though he knew exactly how Ana felt about the man, he still wasn't exactly sure.
Jamie led them to the restroom, and after making sure it was empty, he blocked the door and brusquely tackled Christian against the wall, towering over the man and pressing his forearm against Christian's throat with all his weight.
His eyes were blazing, and yet, just like Ana, his voice was eerily calm. "I am just going to say this once, Grey. I am not your employee here, and you are not my mentor. I am talking as the brother of the mother of your child. Listen to me good.
I don't know what's going on between the two of you, and frankly…" He took a deep breath to calm himself, closing his eyes before reopening them, fire blazing, "I don't want to know. I don't want to have a valid reason to bash your head against this wall, and then have to explain to your daughter why I erased her dad's face on the concrete.
I don't know what happened last night. I don't know what you said, or what you did —"
"I would never lay a —" Christian tried to cut off, but Jamie tackled him back against the wall, abruptly cutting all air supply to Christian's lungs.
"No one who knows Ana thinks anyone can physically abuse her. No one who's been where we've been would ever allow this situation to happen again, even less when there's s child around. If you ever laid a finger on her, you would be at the hospital, and she would have already had full custody of her child. But that's beside the point.
The point is, my sister spent the night crying on my shoulder because of you! The point is, my sister looks broken! The point is, my sister looks barely like a ghost of herself. And that's on you!
I know we missed a lot of each other's lives, but the truth is, we've been together through the worst. I've seen her beaten bloody, starved, mocked, brought back constantly to the orphanage because she was too old. And never have I seen her cry. Not even once. And you…"
Jamie took another deep breath to calm himself, inadvertently reminding Christian of Ana. When he opened his eyes, he was calmer, though the ire was still visible in his eyes.
"As I said, I am not getting in your relationship. She told me you were not comfortable with her relationship with me, and I respect that. She put you and Grace first, and I'll never fault her for that. But mark my word, if I ever see her like that again" - he pointed at the door - "I will rip you apart with my bare hands."
With a last push on his torso, Jamie put a bit more reasonable distance between them, his eyes so dark with fury that they would have silenced the bravest and boldest souls. And Christian knew that he had no ground to counter anything. He was the reason why Ana spent her night crying, and he was the reason she didn't even feel comfortable doing so in front of him.
Jamie straightened his clothes and calmly said, as if nothing had happened, "Now, put a smile on your face. You have an award to receive and a family to show your love and appreciation to. And don't forget, we just talked business, because Ana loves you so much that she would never let me talk to you like that."
Christian did not retort a single word, but he followed the man back to the main room where he found Ana speaking to Governor Marshall. Jamie quickly went to sit next to Grace, kissing her cheek and magically producing a flower from her ear that she accepted with glee, and Christian had no other choice than to sit next to Ana.
As he pulled his chair out, the politician appreciated his presence with an over-friendly approach. "Ah, the man of the night. Always working I see. You wouldn't be receiving an award otherwise."
Christian politely smiled, shaking the man's hand, though his eyes were on Ana, trying to read her poker face, but she just gave him a sweet smile, squeezing his hands. And he hated it. He knew she had been hurt by his words, and he knew that, though Ana was a forgiving person, she did not forgive overnight. So this was all for show, and he hated that she felt she had to be in this position. He had told her before, he didn't care about what the rest of the world felt, but then again, she was probably doing this for Grace.
"Governor Marshall. I didn't know you would be here tonight."
"Good thing I am. This is apparently the only way I can talk to your lovely partner. She has been quite hard to get my hands on." Then he turned to Ana. "Now, have you been thinking of my proposal? As I just told you, I can amend."
Ana briefly met Christian's eyes, something cold but dead in them, before she gave a sweet smile to the politician and assured him, "I will see you Monday morning after school."
The governor jubilated in that information before strutting to his table, and Ana turned to Grace and the magic tricks Jamie had for her, marvelling with the little girl.
Christian said nothing, keeping his face clear as he drank his liquor and observed Ana from the corner of his eye. She had lost weight. The glow she had gained in Dubai was gone and her bones were poking through her skin. How did he not notice that she had lost so much weight over the past month?
Sure, he did not see her at night anymore, but he still took her in his arms to sleep. And yet, he never noticed this alarming fact. In fact, throughout dinner, he could easily see how she looked so much like a ghost as Jamie said. She did not eat. Or, she only ate when Grace was looking at her. Christian noticed the couple of times Jamie glared at him as Ana pushed her food around her plate. But he did not dare say a thing to her. He knew that the conversation they needed to have would have to wait until they would be back home.
Shortly after dinner, a photographer asked for a picture of them for a blog, and before Christian could shoo him away, Ana was up with her best smile and kissing his cheek as he did the same. The photographer asked a few questions about Ana, about what she was wearing, and Ana graciously answered before sitting back next to him as he was talking to Grace.
When he was called to the stage to receive his award, Grace was all smiles, her eyes wide with wonder and pride, seriousness on her face as he looked down on his speech. But when he looked back up, when his eyes solely focused on Ana, all he saw was a dead person.
The girl he loved was nowhere to be seen, her extraordinary smile, her shining eyes, her radiant glow…it was all gone. There was just the shell of Ana, politely smiling, ready to listen to whatever he had to say. That energy that had first attracted him to her had disappeared, killed by his selfishness.
Fifty fucking million dollars! Weeks and weeks on end on a deal of fifty fucking million dollars, and it ended up being a waste of time, money and energy. Ros had to talk him out of firing the incompetent morons who thought it would be a good idea to invest in that terrible deal, and all he wanted at this instant was to pass his anger on someone. Preferably Harvey and his stupid idea of making him lose fifty fucking million.
Christian had just pulled an all-nighter with Ros, trying to salvage what they could, but it was to no avail. At the end of the day, this was the worst business decision he ever made.
With an angered growl, he went to the bar of Esclava, knowing that Jim would pour him his favourite liquor as soon as he saw Christian's foul mood and he took his phone out of his pocket, composing an email to Ros as to why it would be best to part with idiots like Harvey. "We all make mistakes" would not cut it.
Still, he had the unpleasant surprise to find out that Jim was not at his post at the bar. He liked Jim because he was an incessant chatterbox, providing Christian some background noise that he enjoyed whilst working, even though he never paid attention to what the barman was saying.
Instead of Jim, there was a petite woman, a redhead, showing her back as she was stocking up the wines and Christian let his eyes wander to her well-defined backside. The skirt of her uniform was perfectly outlining her ass and Christian could easily see himself pounding into the girl from behind, grabbing her behind to test its firmness.
He ordered his drink, and she turned a surprised head to him, making him bless whatever reason that it was her in front of him, rather than Jim. She was a beauty. A sweet heart-shaped face with a button nose and unforgettable bright blue eyes, clashing with the colour of her hair. And as if her eyes were not outstanding enough, she had traced her eyes with black eyeliner, making them pop even more. Her lips were marked with a deep red lipstick, making Christian wonder if it would smear on him if he could convince her.
He took an overlook at her, finding it hard to believe that a beautiful woman such as … Anastasia (as it said on her name tag) could content herself working in a hotel. Women with her plastic and her youth usually put to good use their God-given assets. Christian never necessarily judged. They were in a capitalistic world, and everything could be capitalised, especially good looks. But he usually stayed away from those women. They ended up sucking up his time more than his money, and he had no time to waste.
He briefly wondered how much conniving it would take him to convince sweet little Anastasia to follow him back to his room when he knew it was a lost cause by her judgmental tone.
"Isn't it a bit early for something that strong?"
He chuckled, more to himself. Apparently, the girl had some sort of morals when it came to drinking hours. Did she have morals for all the pleasures of life?
Still, this reminded him as to why he needed a drink in the first place. "It's never too early when you're losing a fifty million dollar deal."
This made her roll her eyes. Literally. Instead of trying to get closer to him and his obvious wealth, she was rolling her eyes as if he was an idiot, and she moved to serve him his liquor. She asked which room should be billed, and he simply gave her his card, his eyes still on her.
It had been a long time since he had been with a woman, and the sexual frustration actually gave him both focus and thrive. Especially after he stopped fapping. So maybe this was why he reacted so strongly to this beautiful woman. He was just in need of release. But then again, he did meet quite a few beauties at social events, and he never felt such a strong desire.
"You're new here," He commented, his eyes going to her hair, wondering what it would look like sprawled in his bed. "Where is Jim?"
"On a break. I'm usually just taking care of room service."
Christian nodded before refocussing on his phone and to his fiery email. Harvey was as good as gone, he didn't care what Ros said. Still, in a corner of his mind, he knew he was going to bribe Jim to talk about this Anastasia girl usually doing the room service. With a bit of luck, he was amongst her assigned rooms. With even more luck, she was the one making his stay even better by giving him breakfast with a view without being asked.
Christian cleared his throat, his eyes still on Ana as he recalled the sass she added when she chastised him for whining about his fifty million dollar loss when other people like herself had to work petty jobs to barely make ends meet. This was the girl he missed, he had fallen in love with. The girl who didn't care about his money and his status and would put him back in his place no matter what … The girl he hadn't seen in a while if he was honest.
He looked back at his speech, before setting it down. Fuck Roger and whatever positive message he wanted to convey to young entrepreneurs. He had a more pressing matter at hands.
With a sigh, he looked down at the prize, before resting his forearms on the stand and saying anything but the words he had prepared with his PR.
"You know, I had this whole thing prepared for this acceptance speech. It was all about hard work, passion, dedication and sacrifice. It's … a pretty decent speech. I was pretty proud of it when I finished it. But I'm sure everyone has heard a variation of it at least a million times.
So…I want to address something else tonight. I'm going to answer this question I've been asked so many times, I stopped counting. But the answer was always the same because I never really knew how to actually properly answer this annoyingly recurring question…"
He looked back up, seeing that Roger was clearly not happy with this turn of events. He glanced at his table and saw that Jamie was as passive as usual whilst Grace was focused on him, her brows furrowed, ready to remember and question everything he would say.
And Ana … Ana was still dead, with that fucking smile plastered on her face, the small smile that would say that she was encouraging him in what he was doing. How he wished she didn't know how to lie or bluff at this moment. He wanted her raw reaction.
"So … many times, people, and especially young entrepreneurs, have asked me what was the best investment I ever made. It's quite a normal question, isn't it? You want to know the secret of the recipe so you can copy and paste it. It's the base of our system.
And people always assume I would start blabbering about when I started my company. When I decided that I'd rather have sleepless nights instead of partying with friends when I decided that saving for capital was better than going to the movies and restaurant…Some people assume that my best investment was when I decided to branch out, and not only invest in GEH. I mean, don't put all your eggs in the same basket and all of that. And some people would say it was when I started investing in passive money such as stock markets and real estate.
But the truth is …
To this day, and I can't see that changing, the best investment I have ever made, was when I lost fifty million dollars and met the love of my life as a result of that.
Not only is she my driving force, the reason why I always try to do better, but she is also my rock. She is the only person in this world who has seen me at my lowest and still believed in me. She is … the reason I get up in the morning and always push myself out of my comfort zone. And she is the mother of my child.
You can't invest in anything better than that.
And I know you want me to talk numbers, profits and capital, but … at the end of the day, we all go to bed at night. And all the money in the world isn't worth the peace and serenity that I get from holding her in my arms when I lay next to her."
He paused, clearing his throat and looking at the crowd as a whole. "So yeah…Make sure you invest in the right thing before even thinking of making money out of anything. Make sure you invest in your life before you do your wallet."
He straightened up as people applauded him and he walked back to the table, his eyes solely on Ana, who made a point to kiss him on lips for the cameras as he reached her. But despite her bright smile and poker face, despite her thanking him in front of their close neighbours, Christian could see through the mask. She didn't hear him. She was playing a role and faking it.
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When they went home, Grace was dead to the world. Ana didn't say a word during the car ride, but Christian didn't expect her to; she never liked speaking in front of their security. He took it upon himself to put Grace to bed, putting a disgruntled child in her jammies, though Grace took the time to sleepily tell him that she loved the evening and spending the day with him.
When she was properly tucked in, he went to the bedroom, but the bed was empty. He smelled the faint smell of coconut, so he was sure Ana had taken the time to get ready for the night, and so he looked for her through the apartment, for the first time cursing at its vastness.
He found Ana in the living room, by the window and looking at the skyline, a glass of wine in her hand. He had noticed that, as much as she didn't eat, Ana didn't drink either. But probably because she didn't want to drink in front of Grace, just like she made a point to eat when Grace was watching her.
He cleared his throat, his hands in his pockets as he stood on the other side of the room, and she turned her dead eyes to him, filling him with dread. He wished she was angry, or hurt, or … anything.
"You…coming to bed?"
She gave him a tight smile and finished her glass before telling him, "Of course. Let me check on Grace."
He went back to their bedroom, getting into his pyjamas, his heart hammering at the conversation that was bound to happen. How would he ever be able to tell her how sorry he was? But he never found out, because she never came into the room as promised. The Ana he loved was dead ...
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💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚
💚 So, you didn't think I'd solve all of this in one lousy chapter, did you? I have been setting up the downfall for two whole stories XD (EVIIIIIIIIL)
💚 And this chapter…I have been waiting for so long for THIS chapter
💚Now question time,
1. Okay, first, who keeps on doubting Jamie at this point? WHO? HOW? WHY?
2. We finally got the quote of the summary…what did you think of it? And its delivery?
3. And many things have been hinted about Ana. By Christian, Jamie, Grace Sr … I know you hate me with my hints, but they're here to set up the story, and some have been here for quite a while.
4. And Christian got off easy with Grace, but as he said, Ana (once again) paved the way for him.
5. And everyone felt bad for Grace, but as Christian realised when he saw the box, it was also Ana's holiday, and he robbed her of that as well…Why does no one care about Ana 😭💚😭?
6. As per usual, what was your favourite part? AND a twist, what was your most heartbreaking moment?
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 💚💚💚