As Ana sat on her bed, she had her eyes closed and took deep breaths, letting them out slowly. After repeating this a few more times, she calmed down bit by bit. It had been two days since she saw Christian last. On the day they had to catch a plane to go home, their flight was delayed because of very bad weather. And now said weather had cleared up completely; they've received permission to be on that flight.
For two days she had the time to think hard about her relationship with Christian. The invisible force that held her in Tinos, was doing odd things to her heart and mind. Ana felt like it had purposely caused the bad weather, so she wasn't able to leave. Were those forces working to make sure that she stayed? It wouldn't surprise Ana, if that were the case. Cause after seeing Christian in his 'other' form, made her a believer in things mysterious and supernatural.
This morning, she was visited by Galya.
*FLASHBACK*
Ana was busy combing her shiny hair, when she heard a soft knock on the hotel room door.
"Come in." she said.
The second the door opened, Ana turned around to face the visitor.
"Good morning, Miss Ana." the older woman said and smiled.
"Good morning, Galya. Take a seat, please?" Ana asked politely.
After the older woman had taken a seat in a chair next to Ana, she asked.
"What brings you here, Galya?"
The smile on the older woman's face, disappeared as she heard the question.
"I am here, cause of you and Mr. Christian, my dear." She stated, her voice sounding worried.
Ana let out a deep breath at that, and stopped with combing her hair, so the older woman got up and asked.
"Do you mind if I'd combed your hair for you, dear?"
At that, Ana smiled and nodded." Sure, that would be nice for a change." She replied.
As the older woman combed her hair till it shone brightly and braded it, Ana tried to relax and closed her eyes. The moment someone said Christian's name, she would automatically panic slightly.
"There you go. You look beautiful! Like a princess… and exactly like Agathe." Galya whispered.
At that, Ana's eyes fluttered open and saw her reflection in the mirror.
"Wow, thank you. My hair looks amazing!" Ana replied, a gorgeous smile gracing her face.
The older woman took a seat again and grabbed Ana's hand. At that, Ana locked eyes with Galya and all of a sudden she felt a sense of calmness taking over her heart and mind.
"I brought you something, dear." The older woman said and winked.
At that, she grabbed a large book from her bag and placed it on Ana's lap.
"Like I promised, weeks ago. I brought you the Book." The older woman stated.
Ana's mouth fell slightly open, when she opened the Book. There was a picture of Agathe in it and at the moment she looked EXACTLY like the woman in the Book with the same hairdo and necklace…
"Read the Book, my child. I had it translated especially for when 'Agathe' returned. Read, my sweet child." Galya advised, the tone of her voice also pleading.
As Ana went through the Book page by page, her mind opened completely. Every word was meaningful and every page told its own tale. As the words sank in, she began to understand the importance of the Book. And it was then, when she realized the significance of her own existence…
After she had read the important pages, Ana locked eyes with Galya once more.
"I… I was brought here to help Christian break the curse… So he, his cousin and Xylia's son would be free?" Ana stated.
The older woman nodded at that, while a tear escaped her eye. She was so relieved that Ana had finally decided to open her mind and believe!
"Yes, it is no coincidence, my child. The signs are there. You see them, right?" she asked Ana.
At that, Ana nodded." Yes, I do… my uncanny resemblance to Agathe and my golden jewelry. And my feelings for him…" she said and paused…"PLUS I get this feeling that some invisible force was making me stay." She said.
Galya stood up at that, and smiled." My work is done, here. I shall be on my way." The older woman said with a satisfied tone in her voice.
"Wait! Galya… I know what I am supposed to do now… but, but I still am frightened of him in his 'other form'… I don't think I am strong enough to face that side of him yet." She said, her voice trembling.
At that, the older woman placed her hand on Ana's shoulder." My child, you don't have to do much. All you have to do is go and see Mr. Christian. The rest will come naturally." She advised.
Ana shook her head at that." Come NATURALLY! How? The Book says that I have to fall in love with Christian, but not just his human side but also the inhuman side of him! How can I…" she asked, stumbling over her words, not able to finish the sentence.
"Go and see him… in time you will slowly but surely be able to accept ALL of him. Human and inhuman Christian, you WILL love them more than life itself. It's normal to be afraid of the unknown, but I can see it in your eyes that you are strong enough for this… Trust me." Galya advised and walked away.
"Wait! So him being part human and part 'not human'… it's all because of the curse?" Ana asked, while choosing the words carefully.
The older woman nodded at that." Yes… Every male family member of Mr. Christian, since Agathe's husband Soterios, were all part man/ part monster. That was the Niarxos family curse…" the older woman explained.
"OK… So... I think that I have decided to stay and help him break the family curse… where is Christian now?" Ana asked, while attempting not to get another panic attack like before.
"He is at the villa, dear." The older woman responded and walked out of the hotel room, leaving the Book behind.
Ana realized too late that Galya had left the Book.
"Wait! Galya!" she shouted and grabbed the Book.
Ana instantly ran into the hall, but saw that the older woman had disappeared in the elevator.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
Ana had been putting it off to go and see Christian the whole day now. But she finally decided to just do it. At that, she boldly got up from her bed and walked out of her hotel room. She was wearing a dark blue tank top and black skinny jeans with matching sandals.
"At the villa? Why was he staying at the villa?" she muttered under her breath.
As Ana walked out of the elevator and into the lobby, her eyes landed on Elena. At that, she walked over to her and greeted Elena.
"Hey, Elena." She said, enthusiastically.
At that, she turned around and smiled." Ana! Hey." She replied.
"Elena, do you know what Christian is doing at the villa? The carpenters, are they done with fixing what the fire and water had done?" Ana asked genuinely concerned.
At that, Elena sighed deeply and shook her head." No, but he insisted on going back home." She replied.
Ana furrowed her brows at that." But why? What happened?" she asked.
Elena shook her head at that, and broke eye contact with Ana." Two days ago, on the day that you told him that you were gonna leave, the carpenter came to Christian's hotel room and asked what he was going to do with the stuff in a particular room of the villa. The clothes and toys were all wet and damaged…" Elena said, her voice suddenly trembling heavily.
At that, Ana's heart dropped." Elena, which room is it?" she asked softly.
Elena looked up, her eyes all teary." His s…" she tried to say, but stopped mid-sentence.
"Demetrios' room? Christian's son who had passed away?" Ana asked, while her eyes also welled up.
Elena nodded at that." That day, Christian immediately sped home and went berserk! When he saw that the clothes and other stuff in Demetrios' room was destroyed by all the water, he lost it and caused more damage to it! He broke down the bedroom door and the bed and the closet and broke the mirror into pieces. At that, he cut himself in different places on his body and was bleeding out, but didn't even feel the pain. He has deep cuts in his hands and feet. He's not himself at the moment, Ana. Christian is inconsolable. You do know what happened to his son, right?" Elena explained, her voice shaky.
Ana nodded at that, and guided Elena to sit near the pool.
When they both were seated, Elena continued. "Calinico and I have tried EVERYTHING. We cannot get him out of his dip. Christian is sleeping on Demetrios' broken bed and hasn't eaten properly. He only drinks beer all day long and hasn't gone to work. The butler and I are at the end of our ropes. He is acting this way, because he was desperately holding onto his son, by the stuff in the room; the clothes and toys. But now that the water has destroyed it all, Christian feels that he has nothing left of his son… its heartbreaking to see him, Ana. He refuses to get out of the house! And… he has fired the carpenter!" Elena explained.
Ana's heart broke, after hearing all of it." It must have been horrible to have lost his son. I can't imagine what it must've felt like for him. I need to go and see Christian. Will you drop me off at the villa?" Ana asked, her eyes pleading.
At that, Elena nodded, so they both got up and walked to the car.
XX XXX XX
As Ana knocked on the front door, she didn't hear a reply, so she walked inside the villa. When Demetrios' bedroom came into view, Ana's hands began to tremble. As she knocked softly on the door, her heart hammered wildly against her rib cage. She wasn't sure in what state she was going to find Christian… and wasn't sure if he was in the mood to see her at all. He didn't say a thing, so Ana pushed the broken door open and cautiously walked inside.
"Christian?" she said, as her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness.
The light was out and the curtains were blocking the sunlight. As Ana walked closer to the bed, she finally was able to see his sleeping form. Christian was lying on the bed, a toy on his chest. 'POOH Bear!'
"Christian." she whispered, but he was in a deep slumber, and didn't react.
As she stood next to the bed, Ana lightly grabbed his upper arm to try to wake him up. Apparently she wasn't gentle enough, because he woke up with a start and swiftly grabbed and pinned Ana onto the bed. At that, she yelped loudly and when he realized it was her, he looked her deep in the eyes and said.
"What are you doing here, Ana?"
At that, Ana's eyes fluttered shut without her accord, attempting with all her might to form coherent sentences. But that simple task was very difficult for her at the moment, the feel of his warm body pressed onto hers and his hot breath tickling her warm skin, making her feel all kinds of things, heat instantly spreading to her cheeks. Christian was still holding Ana's hands above her head on the bed and kept his grey eyes locked on hers. Even though he was drunk and she was a little scared, she was so attracted to him right now…
After what seemed like forever, Ana finally was able to say something." I… Elena dropped me off…I…" she stuttered, and he cut her off at that.
"What do you want? I don't need your pity, Ana." He growled, his grey eyes boring into hers.
As Christian shifted a bit, Ana's breath hitched in her throat. He was making her feel all excited, her knees had turned into jelly. She knew that she had to do something and fast, because she was losing her self-control at the moment… Ana was afraid of his reaction, and yet she wanted nothing more than to close the gap and pull his warm lips onto hers.
As Ana finally had gained some self-control, she whimpered and said." L… Let go of me, Christian." Her voice was all squeaky and shaky.
At that, Christian shifted again, and then closed his eyes, while inhaling her wonderful scent." Are you sure? Do you really want me to let you go, Ana?" he asked, his voice deeper than usual, making a stubborn, but oh so delicious shiver go up and down Ana's spine.
Christian noticed how her body was reacting to his own; he knew that she liked the way he was pinning her down, and Ana knew it too. And yet she shook her head." Yea… yes, I am sure that I want you to let go of me… please?" she stammered, her heart beating wildly, almost exploding in her chest.
Ana was lying through her teeth and he knew it, but yet Christian let go of her. He was drunk and didn't want to do anything he'd regret, as soon as he was sober.
At that, Christian got up from the bed and walked towards the window. He moved the curtains aside and without looking at her, he asked." What do you want, Ana? Haven't you hurt me enough? Haven't you ruined me enough? There's nothing left, you know. There's nothing more for you to destroy."
As those gut wrenching words reached Ana's ears, she swallowed a sob, the weight and magnitude of said words cutting right through the center of her soul.
At that, Ana got up from the bed and walked towards him. "Christian… I uhummm… who's room is this?" she asked, trying to change the difficult subject.
She stood behind him, while he faced the window, looking outside the villa. As a tear escaped his eye, Christian sighed, still not looking at her." Ana, I need you to leave immediately… go home… now!" he threatened, his voice lower than usual.
Note: Oh boy! What?!
Ana has finally decided to stay in Tinos and help Christian to break the curse and he tells her to go home?! What the hell?! Seriously?
Tell me what you think of the chap? Thank you in advance.
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And thank you for the support and feedback!
Till next chapter.
J
