Me and Sawyer are talking with the police after they take Jack away in custody, still shaken up as we do.
"And you were inside when Mr. Hyde approached Mrs. Grey?" Officer Johnson asks Sawyer, as he writes down some notes.
"Yes, that's correct," Sawyer responds and I can tell he looks upset.
Oh, Sawyer, it wasn't your fault.
"And did Mr. Hyde attack you at all, Mrs. Grey?" Officer Johnson asks me.
"No, he didn't. Sawyer was out before he had a chance to touch me."
"Any idea of why he was threatening you?"
"We broke up a while ago, so he was trying to get back with me."
"Why did you break up?"
"Um, it's personal," I say shyly, feeling guilty as I do.
"I understand," Officer Johnson smiles kindly before closing his notebook. "I think we have all that we need."
"What do I do if he gets out?"
"You can file a restraining order with us in the morning, and then we'll take it from there." Thank God.
"Okay, thank you."
"My pleasure, Mrs. Grey," he smiles, I'm assuming because of the Mrs. Grey part.
Don't get your hopes up, buddy.
The police leave and Sawyer starts to lead me across the street, but before we cross, he turns around to face me.
"Mrs. Grey, I'm so sorry that I left you alone like that. I should've stayed with you till we got home, and never let that man find you" Sawyer says, and I can tell he feels terrible. I feel so sorry for him.
"Sawyer, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known he was coming, and it's not like anybody got hurt. I don't blame you for what happened to me," I say because it's the truth. Sawyer smiles, but I can tell he's not convinced. Before I can say anything further, he speaks up before I do and starts leading me across the street.
"I should take you home. I'll inform Taylor and Mr. Grey of what happened once we've arrived,."
We arrive back at the penthouse, and Sawyer leads me inside before heading for Taylor's office and I start to head for my room. Before I do, I see Christian in the kitchen at the counter, holding a bottle of something before taking another sip.
Shit, how long has he been there?
He turns around to face me before I have a chance to head upstairs.
"Where have you been?" he slurs before taking another sip.
"Why do you care?" I remark, ready for a fight if that occurs.
"I don't, but I still figured I'd be nice," he responds before setting his bottle down on the counter.
Asshole.
"Just so you know, something happened tonight with someone that I know, but please don't blame Sawyer for it. He didn't do anything wrong," I explain, hoping Sawyer doesn't get yelled at or even fired for what happened.
"Fine, whatever. I'm sure it wasn't anything important," he replies drunkenly, but for some reason, I can tell he doesn't mean it. Sitting down on the seat beside him, I finally ask the question that's been nagging me since day one.
"Why were you so angry at Clayton's when I wouldn't lower the prices?"
"Why do you care?"
"Because no sane person gets that upset over some prices. You were so fucking entitled."
"I was promised a lower price from Mr. Clayton, so…"
"That shouldn't fucking matter. Just because you're helping the place, doesn't mean you have to be an asshole."
"Is that how you see me?" he asks, catching me by surprise.
"How else would I see you?"
He's silent for a while, and I wonder if he's going to answer.
"Just like how everybody else does," he whispers, and I furrow my brows as I don't understand what he means. I open my mouth to speak, but before I can say anything, he stands from his seat, staggering as he does, and turns around to face me.
"I didn't care about the fucking prices. That's all you need to know." What?
"What do you mean?"
"It doesn't fucking matter; it never did. Just learn to fucking drop it because in a few months from now, we'll never see each other again. Got it?" he says and I can tell he looks angry. I stare at him blankly, not sure what to say, my mind racing before I finally speak.
"Yes," I say eventually after a moment and just like that, he leaves me on my own as I think about what just happened.
He never cared about the prices? Then what was he so fucking mad about?
The next day, I'm visiting with my dad, trying to get more information out of him about Christian as he fixes me a cup of tea.
"So, he finally talked to you?"
"Not exactly," I say as I take a sip of tea. "He just told me that he never cared about the prices and that they never fucking mattered to him."
"Did he say anything else to you?"
"Just for me to drop it."
"Are you going to?"
"I think so," I respond after a moment because it's the truth. It's none of my business anyway, so why do I fucking care so much?
"You never told me he was so irritating," I say out loud as Ray takes a seat beside me.
"Well, he's not exactly too keen on talking about his past, Annie."
"Why not?"
"Ana, he's been through a lot, and with him being so young…"
"What does him being young have to do with it?"
"Did he ever tell you about how he started his company?"
"No?"
"He took out a loan from a friend of his back when he was twenty, then spent the next year starting up GEH and eventually became the youngest CEO of his own company in the history of Seattle."
"So?" I ask, not understanding what he's getting at.
"So, the public doesn't take him too seriously."
"What? Why not?"
"They think that just because he's so young, he's not capable of doing anything that important."
"But why should his age matter at all?"
"Because it's not just his age, it's also his erratic temper. He's been known to fire staff on the spot or break important contracts just because they pushed him a little too far." Jesus, he wasn't kidding.
"So, that's why he lost it at Clayton's? Just because of his temper?"
"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. It wouldn't be a first for him to get that angry at an employee, but I've never seen him so mad about something as small as a price change."
"Could he have seen it as something personal?"
"You might have to ask Mr. Clayton about that, but I highly doubt that he had a personal vendetta against Christian, or against you at all."
"What do you think it was?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure," he says sighing. "But just ease up on him, Annie. Christian might not be the easiest person to get to know, but I promise you that he's not a bad person. Maybe you're being a little too hard on him. It's not like you've spent a lot of time with him." As he says that, I'm starting to see that he has a point. I think back to the times when I saw Christian drinking, and he looked so vulnerable that I almost didn't recognize him. He looked so…lost. Not the pompous jerk that I met at Clayton's. Maybe I am being a little hard on him; I hardly even know him and wasn't exactly prepared for this arrangement.
"I'll go easy on him," I say eventually, surprising Ray and I as I do.
"Thank you, Annie," he says, smiling, looking relived as he does. "Just give Christian some time. I promise that he'll start to grow on you."
"Hey, I'm not exactly planning on falling in love with him any time soon," I reply, rolling my eyes and Ray laughs.
"Maybe not, but you never know."
The next day at Clayton's, I inquire Mr. Clayton about Christian and why he acted up in the store that day.
"I'm so sorry, Ana. If I had known he would've lost it like that, I wouldn't have raised the prices."
"It's not that, Mr. Clayton," I say because it's the truth. "Has he ever reacted like that before for as long as you've known him?" I ask as I place a box in storage before reaching for another one.
"Not from what I remember," he replies before checking his clipboard for a second. "We've always had a fair agreement, and I haven't heard anything back from him. Besides your reaction, of course." I blush in response.
"I'm so sorry about that, Mr. Clayton. I never should've raised my voice like that."
"Oh, it's alright, Ana. If it wasn't Christian, I would've been a lot more upset."
"Is there anything you can tell me about him?"
"Like what?"
"Like, how exactly do you know him?"
"Well, I've known him since he was a teenager, and he wasn't exactly a golden child."
"What do you mean?"
"Before he started getting arrested, him and his parents were not seeing eye to eye at all."
"How come?"
"They were always fighting and at one point, Christian actually ran away from home for about a day or two and ended up here." Wow, that long?
"Has it always been like that?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but what I do know is that Christian is trying to turn his life around, hence why he started GEH and is helping the store out."
"Ray told me he was the youngest person to be CEO of their own company."
"That's right, at least in this part of Seattle. Usually, people become CEO when they're about thirty, or at least close to it, so, when the public found this out, nobody chose to take him seriously."
"Because of his temper?"
"Because of his actions. There's been countless incidents of him getting drunk, yelling at his staff for their incompetence, and even public outbursts with his family." Holy cow.
"That was all in the past, but the public never forgot it," Mr. Clayton continues. "To them, it's just further proof that Christian can't be trusted, or taken too seriously. They've even tried to vote him out as CEO." What?
"Then how do I fit into the mix?"
"Because if the public can see him helping someone personally outside of Coping Together, then they can see him in a different light."
"And if it doesn't work?"
"Then we go back to square one."
"So, the only reason why I'm married to him is to get the public on his side?"
"That and to hopefully lighten him up a bit."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember when Ray told you that Christian was a bit of a player?" I nod. "Well, if he's seen with you for a little while, it'll sort of be like a second chance for him."
"But why temporarily?"
"Do you want to be with him longer?" Hell no!
"Not a chance."
"Well, then I guess it all works out."
"Still, I can't believe that I'm stuck in this mess."
"I know and I'm sorry, Ana, but trust me, it'll all be worth it in the end." Will it?
"And what about my writing?" I ask as I put away the final box.
"You've wanted to be a writer since you were a kid, so we figured this could be enough inspiration for you. You haven't written in months, correct?" I nod. "Then this should be good for you."
"But how am I supposed to concentrate when I'm around Christian?" Mr. Clayton shrugs.
"I don't know. But I'm sure you'll figure it out. Who knows, he might surprise you." That's what everyone says…
"I seriously doubt it."
"Just give him the benefit of the doubt, Ana. If we didn't think this was a good idea, you wouldn't be with him at all." As if it could be any worse…
"I'll try, Mr. Clayton, but I'm not guaranteeing it'll be worth it."
I finish up at Clayton's and just as I'm locking up, I get a phone call from Kate.
"Hey, Kate," I answer, grateful to hear a friendly voice.
"Hey, Ana, could you come over for a second? I need to talk to you."
"Is something wrong?" I ask, suddenly alarmed.
"I'll tell you when you get here."
"Is it serious?"
"Just come over, please. I'll tell you when you get here." Shit, is she okay?
"Sure, of course. I'm just locking up Clayton's, so I'll be over there in about thirty minutes."
"Great, thanks. I'll see you when you get here. Bye."
"Bye," I say before she hangs up. Shit, I sure hope that she's okay.
I arrive at Kate's and after knocking, she opens the door and lets me in.
"Is something wrong? Are you okay?" I ask, silently praying that nothing's wrong. She takes a deep breath before answering me, looking serious as she does.
"Ana," she starts. "I'm pregnant."