Welcome back, my friends! I want to thank everyone's love and support through this difficult time! A special thanks to FiftyloverAri! I honestly wouldn't have been able to continue without her support!
As usual, I do not own anything but the storyline and anyone who isn't from E.L James's Fifty Shades trilogy. I also don't own the Lyrics to Shape of My Heart by the Backstreet Boys
Jose waited in the car, tapping his foot on the floor nervously. He planned on making sure Ana and Christian got what they deserved. Months ago, Mr. Billionaire bought Jose's father's business and took what is supposed to be his. But no, his father decided he wasn't ready to take over after all so he sold it instead. Jose was beyond angry at not only his father, but Christian offered his father an enormous amount of money to retire, leaving Jose to scramble to find a job he thought he deserved. To make everything worse, Jose Sr paid everyone in the company bonuses except for his own son. He thought Jose needed to grow up and actually work rather than hope his dad will pay for everything. Then there was Ana.
Jose and Leila had started their affair right before Grey took his family's company from Jose. It took about 8 months till everything was out in the open. At first, he pretended to feel guilty about getting caught, hoping she'd ignore the cheating, but once she lost her mind on the two of them, he just had hate in his heart for her. She was supposed to stay in the dark until Leila stole enough of her clients to strip the company from Ana, but the bitch came home and ruined it all.
"I delivered it." Jose's thoughts stopped as Leila came back to the car with a satisfied look on her face. "Plus, I made sure no one saw me. You would think she would've gotten smart after what happened to her place, but no. Handed it to some random person on the street and now we can sit and watch both of them lose it."
Jose shook his head with a sinister smirk. "Oh, this isn't the worst of it. I promise you that, my love. I'm going to make sure Christian Grey gets exactly what he deserves and the way to do that is to make sure it involves Ana. She is his weakness and we are going to exploit that to get what we want." Jose leaned over to capture Leila's lips against his roughly as he wrapped his hand aggressively in her hair. The plan he had in place was exactly what he needed to reclaim his old life.
Christian was packing up for the night, he was looking forward to spending the night with Ana and finally talking about everything. A piece of him held onto his past as a security blanket, afraid to let anyone really see him. Yet, with Ana, he wanted to be more and to have something better in his life. Something he never could have with anyone else; something he didn't want with anyone but Ana. "Mr. Grey?" The voice of his assistant Andrea broke his train of thought. Looking up at her, he saw the hesitation in her eyes. "Ms. Steele's assistant called and uh… she got called away a day early for a wedding."
It confused Christian as to why she suddenly changed the plan, and Ana hadn't texted him herself, which was odd. "Did she say when she was rescheduling or where she was going for the wedding?" It wasn't hard to find out the location from tracking her phone or convincing her assistant or Kate to tell him the location.
"She didn't, but I can ask her assistant if you want…" Andrea could see her boss how extremely irritated Christian was, but it wasn't his usual irritation. Andrea made a mental note to get him a larger coffee tomorrow and schedule a session with his trainer. "Did you want me to call her?"
"No, I'll text Ana from the car. Could you clear out my meetings for the rest of the weekend? If you cannot clear it, have Ross take the meeting." His irritation was on obvious display as he grabbed his briefcase and phone. He didn't understand why he was being stood up when clearly something was going on. With a nod towards Andrea, Christian basically raced towards the elevator. ~Everything okay? I was getting ready to come over and Andrea told me they called away you for work. Are you sure you can't meet for at least a drink? - Christian~ He quickly texted Ana before getting in the elevator. Even in the short time, he's known her, he knew this wasn't like her.
"Wait, Mr. Grey!" Christian pressed the door button that froze the doors in place. Andrea quickly handed him the yellow envelope with a smile. "I meant to give this to you earlier, it came for you a few hours ago."
Christian just sighed before taking it as he checked once more before checking his phone, hoping for a text from Ana. As he went to the car, he let out a frustrated sigh. It made him extremely uneasy about not getting a response after breaking their date. As Taylor drove towards his penthouse, Christian opened up the envelope; he assumed since they weren't going out anymore, he could work on whatever this was. The second he pulled out the contents of the envelope, his world came crumbling in a matter of seconds. It pissed him off. The pictures were of him and Leila, and a few other women from his past. "You have to be kidding me!"
"Sir?" Taylor looked up in the rearview mirror before settling his eyes back on the road.
"I need Walsh to check the security cameras and any sign-ins today. Someone dropped off pictures of Leila and me, I don't know where they came from, but I want to know how it got to me!" Christian was beyond angry at the moment. How did these pictures even exist? He had always been careful whenever he and Leila were out, yet here was the proof that he wasn't. He had to find Ana or talk to her as soon as possible before Leila tried to use these against him. That would probably be the end of their relationship before they could even start it.
Christian quickly threw the pictures in the envelope before tossing them up to the front seat. He didn't want to even look at the pictures. Bouncing his leg, Christian could feel a large about of emotion hitting him at once. His desire to drink hit him like a brick. ~Can you meet? ~ Christian
Christian stared at the window as he waited for a reply. He needed to get to of the penthouse and talk to his brother to see how he could fix this before Ana found out. ~Sure, I'm at The Bar right now… I'll even buy the first round. ~El. Christian rolled his eyes, knowing his brother would somehow make the tab much bigger when it was time to pay and it would be up to Christian to pay it.
As soon as he saw his brother, Christian noticed he wasn't alone at the moment. Sitting there next to him was Ethan Kavanagh, sipping on a beer quizzically, watching as Christian approached the bar. Both guys quickly recognized the painful look reflecting in his eyes. "I did something stupid and I need your help to fix it."
Ethan and Elliot were both taken aback by the sadness plaguing Christian's voice as he sat down next to Elliot. "What happened Christian?"
Christian felt defeated, something of an unknown feeling he's ever experienced before. He was slightly hesitant about saying anything in front of Ethan, but maybe he could provide some kind of advice to help him. "I got it in the mail today, pictures that I'm not proud of. My past that I haven't exactly told Ana about just yet. I was-"
"Seriously, Christian. I warned you not to prolong any of that! I swear to god for someone so smart, you are clearly not that bright with serious relationships. I hope you were planning on telling her before this came to you." Elliot knew exactly what could be in those pictures and it made it harder to keep it from Kate, who would tell Ana without skipping a beat.
Ethan stared at the two Grey brothers as they spoke in bro code. Obviously, he was in the dark about whatever those pictures revealed; though he knew whatever it was, wasn't good and somehow would hurt his 'little sister' and that would piss him off. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say whatever those pictures are Ana doesn't know, could probably break her heart, and you kept it from her for some strange reason." Ethan shook his head before letting out a deep sigh. "I'm going to assume she hasn't responded to any text or anything… Usually I would tell you tough luck, but seeing as you are Elliot's brother and I hate to admit it, good for Ana, I'll help you." Ethan didn't want to know what was in those pictures. Honestly, it would save them both a headache.
Christian shook his head. There was probably nothing he could do to fix this. Unfortunately, he had avoided this conversation for too long. "Ethan, Jose's current girlfriend, and I were involved for about a year or two before I met Ana. She and I have a past which I haven't told Ana about just yet because I was waiting for tonight to dig a little deeper into my past." Raking his hand through his hair roughly. "Here is the thing: we met at a BDSM club and started seeing one another. I broke it off, and we went our separate ways, and then today I got an envelope with pictures of us outside the club and embracing one another. To make it worst I never told Ana and if she finds out before I can tell her… I don't know if she'll ever want anything to do with me."
Elliot shook his head before asking for a round of shots. He was sure it was about to be a long night.
Twisting her brunette curl nervously, Ana began tapping her purple heels impatiently. She would not come down until tomorrow and begin her work, but here she was. Usually, she wouldn't run from her issues, but right now she needed a clear head and not being home truly made it easier to focus on thinking about work rather than Christian. "Your original room isn't ready just yet. We weren't exactly expecting you till tomorrow. But we do have a bigger room, a luxury suite even." Ana just wanted to get upstairs and unwind finally; honestly, today had been one of those days she wished she could've erased. "It comes with a view of the gardens." Ana just nodded and gave the lady all her info before a bellhop came to help with her luggage.
As they rode up the elevator, Ana's eyes were focusing on her phone, attempting to get ahold of Brittany and Ari, to let them know she'd come up a day early to get settled and work done ahead of the party. She'd hoped to get some distance from Christian and time to figure out what she wanted to do about all the info she'd received. *Left for the venue early. If anyone besides Kate or Ethan is looking for me, do not share my location. Just let them know I left town for the weekend. Please make sure you and Ari are up here by ten am tomorrow. We have to go over the final walkthrough of the venue, the rehearsal for the wedding, and make sure everything is ready for the rehearsal lunch in/dinner all before one. Your suite will be ready and set up for you guys by the time you arrive. Text me with any messages, I will only have my work phone on. ~Ana*
Ana quickly switched off her personal cell, knowing she hadn't given Christian that number yet. When she finally got inside the room, Ana quickly unpacked. She just wanted to dive into work and distract herself from the reality she was currently living in. The brunette found an enormous desk to settle into before checking her work emails; A cautious smile formed on her lips as she read through a few upcoming requests. She almost instantly knew her summer was going to be one of the busiest she'd had in a while, but she would welcome anything at this point.
It took another hour before she'd finished checking the last of her emails and could finally focus on the last thing she wanted to. Leaning against her pillows, Ana couldn't help but stare around the vast room. Why did it have to be Leila? She could probably get over all the other things eventually, but this she couldn't see past. That vile woman caused her more issues than most people could deal with; old insecurities rushed back to her heart. Something she was constantly hiding every time she thought of her past. "Seriously, why?" Ana just laid there thinking out loud while the images of Christian and Leila kept replaying in her mind. Before she could dive into her anger issues, Ana grabbed her work phone hastily as the Golden Girls theme song eased her mood slightly. *What the heck happened, Ana? Ethan said your boyfriend is currently sitting at a bar getting his ass handed to him by El… so what is going on? ~ Kate*
Ana didn't want anyone to know about the pictures yet; at least not until she mustered up enough courage to talk to Christian. But here she was hiding. 'you can't fix things if you're hiding?' Her inner voice needed to stop having an opinion, even if it was right. Ana hated letting people like Jose and Leila mess up her life. *Long story short, I don't really want to talk about it. I left early to go to the venue. I'm dealing with it. When I get back from this weekend we can talk, but for now I don't want anyone to know where I am... I don't want to talk to Christian. So do not tell him where the location is! I mean it, Kate. I really don't need a distraction this weekend. This bride takes Bridezilla to a different extreme. ~ Ana*
Ana sighed after hitting send, her mind clouded with her own doubts as she stared at her phone. Part of her knew rationally she wanted to talk this out with Christian and get his side, but she had already been through this before and the idea of getting lied to again was just toxic. Rubbing her face, Ana groaned, frustrated at her own indecisiveness. Checking the time, it was only nine pm, and it exhausted her body to know that she had to deal with her bride and her personal life all in the same weekend. Groaning, Ana quickly changed into a tank top and shorts before laying down in her bed.
The entire drive down, all she could think about were the pictures that were left for her. Worst of all, knowing that Leila had slept with Christian just threw her for another loop. Jose probably sent her the pictures to get a ride out of her. The shitty part of it was the fact that he won. The thought of Leila being with Christian before her drove her mad. It was frustrating to know she at one time trusted Leila and now she was here lying-in bed alone with the idea of her sleeping with her boyfriend. "This sucks!" Ana rolled over and screamed into her pillow.
About, 3 shots and a scotch in Christian found himself still unable to numb the feelings he was dealing with. Christian kept repeating how sorry he was, which was making Elliot and Ethan feel bad for the poor guy. Ethan also had a feeling Ana wasn't taking it well either, sometimes he'd wished Ana was more open like Kate when it came expressing what was on her mind. "I figured I would find all of you here." The guys looked up to see Kate standing, looking pissed. "Oh, Christian Grey you done fucked things up. I heard through the grapevine that Ana got an envelope full of pictures of you and Leila."
Christian just rubbed his face before ordering another scotch for himself. He was feeling ten times worse knowing that he wasn't the one that told Ana, especially after his brother warned him about telling her. "Great. That's just fantastic knowing that this shit is really happening."
Kate ordered herself water before turning to Christian. She was trying hard to not break Ana's trust, but here he was praying for forgiveness to God as she saw how sad Christian was sounding. "I would put my entire savings on the line to say it was probably Leila and Jose who sent these letters to the two of you. But as shitty as it was of them Christian, you knew how toxic Jose was to Ana and how bad that cheating hurt her. Yet here we are. Trust is a big deal to Ana; this is not helping." Kate watch Ethan as he nodded at his sister; he knew the only way to get through to him was to break the rules Ana had in place. "I know you two have only been dating for maybe a few months, but Christian, this is the first time she's let someone in like this. Not even Jose or any other boyfriend has cracked the shell, that is Ana. When Ana's mother left her, its broke Ana and made it super hard for her to let anyone in. Enter the trust issues. Trusting she's enough, trusting that people don't always leave or will lie to her. Honestly, if you think you were sparing her, you really need to get to know her better because this just makes it harder for her."
Ethan pulled the still full scotch from Christian's hand. He wanted his newish friend to have a mostly clear head while dealing with this. "What Kate is trying to explain is, Ana is one of those people that you have to sit down with and just talk to. She doesn't enjoy being lied to and really hates when people try to spare her feelings. She will constantly remind you she is a grown ass adult. Here's the deal, if you are truly set on fixing things with Ana, I can get the address from Emma or Brittany and you can drive up there. If we do this for you, Grey you have to promise shit like this doesn't happen again. I'm not kidding, Christian. This is the only time I plan on helping you fix things because honestly, you dug your own hole, but my wife always reminds me to give more second chances."
Something about Elliot and Ethan wanting to protect Ana made Kate glow with a sense of pride. Ana had grown up in the way she had and never realized how many people truly cared about her. "Plus, I wouldn't screw up again…Ray can be pretty scary." Ethan laughed as he took his phone out to text Emma, knowing it would probably be the easiest route.
Christian just stared at Kate, trying to find the words to sum up his gratefulness. "How do I fix this?" Christian asked before taking a sip of the water in front of him. "Ana isn't one for grand gestures, so what do I do?"
"Hmmm, fair point. I have an idea. Come over to your brothers tomorrow and we will discuss it." Kate smiled knowingly.
Two days later Ana woke up in a sour mood. Looking at the clock, she groaned as she read the time. 7 am. Ana looked over at her enormous bed and sighed. She was going to share this weekend with Christian, but those pictures… "Ugh…" Running her fingers through her mess that she called hair before rubbing her face again. Checking her phone, she saw a few missed calls from Kate and Ethan, which didn't surprise her much. She was sure Kate didn't like the way she ended the conversation two days ago. Ana bit her lip before dragging herself to the closet to lie out her clothes for the day with the bride and her crazy family.
After a little Taylor Swift songfest and a hot shower, Ana found herself wrapped in a towel staring at the mirror as she blows dried her hair attempting to distract herself from all the lingering thoughts left in her mind. Knock Knock. Ana knew it had to only be Brittany and Ari since Britt was the only person who knew her room number. Grabbing her robe, Ana looked through the peephole. "If you want to see your favorite tea and the strawberry bagel, I would suggest you open the door." Ana's relief was temporary, lived as a piece of her hoped it was Christian somehow. Rolling her eyes at herself, she let the two ladies in. "Oh Ms. Steele, I must love you because my phone has been going off all night with calls from Loverboy. I almost chucked my phone out the window, but I forward his messages to your personal phone; so just be careful when you decide to switch it back on. Now finish getting ready, Ari and I will lie out your dress for tonight while the three of us can meet while you get fancy."
Ana smirked before snacking on her bagel. She didn't eat much last night so this bagel was welcoming at the current moment. "I truly love you." The brunette chowed down on her bagel before going back to the bathroom to finish getting ready." Brittany laughed as she made herself comfortable on Ana's bed facing the bathroom.
Ana made quick with her hair while making sure it was up perfectly before heading over to the bedroom walk-in closet. "So, I chatted with the hotel; the bride and groom will dine in a beautiful gazebo with their bridal/groomsmen along with their parents tomorrow for brunch. Everything is already ready and the front desk already knows what rooms to call at eleven am." Ana was so lucky to have a person like Brittany keeping her organized, she hoped Ari could help in the same way Brittany did. Taking a deep breath, Ana slipped on a white bra before slipping into a knee-length mauve A-line silhouette sleeveless V-neck dress. It had beautiful lace and Embroidery embellishments throughout the dress. When she walked into the bedroom holding her sparkling sliver pumps, Brittany and Ari both whistled. "Seriously, my boss is hot! That boyfriend of yours better get his shit together, because you are going to turn heads as we work today!"
Rolling her eyes, Ana put her pumps on and checked herself once more in the mirror. "Okay, enough about Grey, I need to focus on this and leave the personal stuff at the door so we can get through this as smoothly as we can." Ana grabbed her silver clutch. "Do you both have the note pads? And Brittany, can you grab my work iPad on the dresser?" She was hopeful today that she could entrust Brittany to make sure the reception area was ready for the family once the wedding was over. "Just remember today is a big deal, Britt. I need it to go smoothly." Ana smiled as they hurried down the elevator. She prayed it would be smooth sailing the second she got to the bridal suite at the church.
"You, my friend, need to relax. Ari and I literally have to just make sure everyone listened to your instructions last night. You basically scared everyone into listening, Ana." Brittany had noticed her boss wasn't acting at all how she normally would. A wedding this size was a piece of cake for Emma and Ana any day, but this one seems to cause her to become frazzled. "I promise Ari and I have this. Even if this is her first, I've done this with you plenty of times and you wouldn't ever let me fail and I won't let her. Please have faith in me." Ana smiled as her assistant turned partner caused her own heart to skip with pride. "Now, text me when the wedding is wrapping up. I want to make sure their second photographer is ready for them to enter."
Ana watched as Ari, and Brittany headed to their car. Taking a deep breath, Ana's mind was still clouded with thoughts of Christian. Maybe Kate was right she wasn't giving Christian a chance to talk about it; maybe Jose was just using this to torture her some more. Biting her lip, Ana looked up at the sky, trying to recenter herself. She had a job to do and honestly, that was probably the only thing that kept her sane at the moment. "Ma'am?" Ana looked up to see a gentleman opening the door of the car she'd called. "Ms. Steele, right?" Ana nodded before letting him help her into the car. Her mind and heart fighting over either to call or not Christian…
xxx
The wedding went smoothly, and the bride had actually calmed down once they finished the vows. It was like a whole new person the second they walked to the limo outside. Watching the couple exchange their vows tugged at her own heartstrings. Ana had been a hopeless romantic all her life, Ray and her close friends believed she'd settle down early; yet, Ana felt like she didn't know what it meant to have a chance at genuine love. Every guy in her past seemed to have a common trend to leave her heartbroken. Maybe that's why she ran away from Christian, maybe a piece of her figured that running would save her from whatever he could say about his past with Leila. Maybe it wasn't the fact that they had dated, but mostly the fact that she had one foot in and another out of the start of this relationship to keep herself from getting hurt.
As the evening progressed, Ana was constantly checking in with the maid of honor to make sure everything was being done to help the bride's night go smooth. Ana was pretty impressed with how things were going and felt like at this point of the night she could relax a bit, plus she could see Brittany and Ari finally socializing a bit. Sitting at an empty table, Ana watched as the guests continued to join in on the dance floor. "The next song was requested for the couples at the wedding. So, grab your partner and enjoy." The DJ smiled as From the Ground Up filled the venue.
Swaying to the music, Ana caught herself tearing up as everyone gathered on the dance floor. Biting her lip, she felt a tug at her own heart as a single tear left her eye. She made eye contact with Brittany, who shared a sad smile as she excused herself from the conversation she was having to go to Ana. Brittany was about to pass the DJ booth when she felt her phone vibrate. Ask the DJ to play Shape of My Heart. Do not tell Ana. ~ Kate. Brittany didn't understand the reason but knew better than to bet against Kate. "Could you possibly play Shape of my heart by the Backstreet Boys?" Brittany flashed a bright smile with a slight pout in her eyes. "Could you play it after this one and just go with the couple's theme?" The DJ just smirked and nodded before adding it to the playlist he had going.
"If all the amazing couples could stay on the dance floor, we have a special request for all the boy band-loving people out there."
Ana listened as the soft beat of Shape of My Heart faded in, "Baby, please try to forgive me… Stay here, don't put out the glow. Hold me now, don't bother." Ana closed her eyes as she let herself just feel the music. It wasn't till she felt someone behind her she suddenly opened her eyes. Turning around, it surprised her to see Christian standing there facing her. "Will you dance with me?" The simple request caused her to freeze in place as questions clouded her vision and words. Taking a deep breath, she took his hand in her own.
"How did you know where I was?" She asked once she finally found her voice. Ana's mind was racing as she stared up into his grey eyes; her own emotions clearly staring back into his.
"Kate… But before you get mad at her, she wanted us to talk. She knew we both would avoid it and this was the best chance to just talk. And Ana, I'm so sorry. I know you got the same pictures as I did and I can't explain to you how horrible I feel I didn't tell you and you found out this way. My past is something I don't talk about much, especially after you came into my life." Christian pulled Ana against his chest and in that moment, he clearly understood for the last two days he felt nothing but emptiness because right now he felt whole again. "Ana, I just need to know we can fix this. That we can talk this out and figure out a way to make it all work again."
Touch me now, don't bother; If every second it makes me weaker. You can save me from the man I've become.
Looking back on the things I've done; I was trying to be someone. I played my part, kept you in the dark; now let me show you the shape of my heart
I'm here with my confession. Got nothing to hide, no more. I don't know where to start, but to show you the shape of my heart
Ana touched his cheek softly, it clicked as the music played behind them. "The song?" Ana looked behind Christian to see a relieved Brittany watching closely. She just nodded her head to the side, Ana trusted Brittany and Ari to clean up and send her the notes to everything. Ana just wanted to be with Christian…to fix everything.
Christian just held her close as he nodded down at her. "I could convince any company to sell me their company with ease, but finding the right words to say 'I'm sorry' came so hard until I was driving here, and this song came on. It said everything I wanted to tell you. I'm willing to try anything to fix this Ana. I know life hasn't been easy for you, but I know I want to be a good man for you. Our past can come and try to break this, but I want us to be strong enough to see past it all." Letting out a deep sigh, Ana took his hand and headed towards the exit. She didn't want to waste any more time. Being without talking to Christian for the last two days was torture; she'd grown attached to wanting to be around him as much as she could. After watching this happy couple all day, she desired to have a genuine chance at fighting for them.
Once they were outside, Ana turned around to face Christian. He half expected for her to say something, honestly anything at this point. Yet, Ana said nothing instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep passionate kiss. Suddenly all the emotions both of them had were front and center, with neither wanting the other to stop. Christian found his hands wanting to roam Ana's body, to peel away the dress that clung to her body, but it wasn't the place. "As much as I want to show you exactly what I'm feeling… Can we go back to your room?" Christian smirked as they rested their foreheads against one another.
"Sounds like the perfect plan."
Again I wanted to thank everyone for so much love and understanding as I'm dealing with grief. As hard as it has been, this is a welcome distraction... Please Enjoy and don't hesitate to Review! Also look forward to the next chapter next week as well as a new story coming soon!