It's bonus chapter time :) This is just a short chapter, meant to fill in the blanks of what happened during the time we jumped. Next chapter is going to show how Christian has dealt with being away...

Oh, and I know many of you wanted for Ana to get the divorce right away, but for the storyline to work out the way I have planned it, I needed them to remain married during the period of time we have skipped. Their divorce is going to be a very important part of the storyline later on...

Disclaimer: All character belong to E. L. James

Ana – eight months later

"Are you sure you are ok, Annie?" Ray asks and I smile at him.

"Yes, I'm fine Dad, thanks again for all the help, I have no idea how I would have been able to get the house ready without you." I say and awkwardly try to hug my Dad.

The last eight months have been tough… and I have to say that as many days as there have been where I have cried because Christian wasn't here with me, there have been just as many days where I have really hated him.

He left for Taiwan only three days after he came to talk to me… and left me to deal with the media. The paparazzi have been relentless. As soon as they found out that Christian was out of the country for a year, while I was moving my company from GEH, it was clear that something wasn't right and so I was left with no choice but to release a statement, stating that Christian and I had indeed separated. I thought with that the worst was over, but I was wrong again because they had a field day once I wasn't able to hide my belly anymore. It got so bad that for the first week I couldn't leave my apartment because there were literally hundreds of them camping outside the building.

Rumors started to spread like a wildfire in the media, the most popular was that Christian had left me because I have cheated on him and the baby was the result of it. At that point I had enough and decided to call him, only to find out that he had changed his number without telling me. So, I sent him an e-mail and it took two days to get a reply… not from him, but his PR Team who then released a statement that simply said he was the father and our breakup had nothing to do with the pregnancy.

It didn't help much, so I had to let the storm blow over and it gave me enough time to think about the future and how I could be mother and father for my unborn child.

The first thing I wanted was to find a real home for my baby and me. I have loved my apartment, but the neighbors got really annoyed with all the media and it was time for me to find something more permanent. So after a few weeks of house hunting with my Dad and Elliot, I have found the perfect home. It is in a good neighborhood, with parks and schools nearby, has four bedrooms and a beautiful backyard with lots of space for my little one to run around and have a good time.

I have to say ever since Christian has left me, Elliot has kind of jumped in. He got all the renovations done, coordinated the move and helped my Dad getting everything ready for me so that I could move in before my due date with is only two more weeks away.

I can't believe it, but in two weeks from now, I will be the mother of a little girl. At first, I was convinced I was having a boy, I can't even say why, it was just a feeling I had, so I was completely surprised when Dr. Greene told me that I am having a girl.

Finding a name for her wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, especially since I had to find it on my own and I when I finally had her name I realized that Christian may not want her to have his last name. Since he doesn't reply to my messages, I had to ask Grace to ask him, which felt so stupid that I didn't even want to do it, but I had to know.

Grace was visibly embarrassed when she had to give me his reply, which was that he wanted me to keep his name after the divorce, so it would be okay if our daughter had his name, though if I wanted to use my maiden name again I could also give my daughter Steele as the last name.

Hearing that made me so angry, I ended up having to lay down because my blood pressure was too high. Still, I have decided to give her Christian's last name, because I don't want to go back to using Steele as my last name, mainly because my company is called Grey Publishing and re-branding a second time in a little more than five years is not good for business.

As of now, I'm only the owner of GP, I have found a good CEO and didn't think that with everything going on in my life I would be able to give the job as editor the attention it needed. Another reason why I didn't want to go back to work is that I can't stand the way people are looking at me. It's always something between pity and morbid curiosity if I did cheat despite what Christian said in his statement.

Today is a happy day though, my house is ready and I have just moved in. My Dad has helped me so much and I hate to see him go back to Montesano, but he has his job there and I have taken up enough of his time, plus he will be back in two weeks to be here for the birth of his granddaughter. My mom will fly in next week and she is going to stay for two weeks to help me adjust to my new role as a single mom.

Waving at my Dad as he drives away I feel a little bittersweet and turn around to go back inside. Much like my apartment my new house has a very calm and homey feeling to it. I have chosen only light colors, soft fabrics and lots of decorative items to turn it into a place that reflects me. With the house at the sound, I wanted it to have a masculine touch as well, so Christian would love to be there too, here. however. I have made the place so feminine that Elliot joked he couldn't stay for more than an hour at a time because he is afraid he will grow boobs and lose his dick otherwise.

Once inside I head into the room next to my bedroom and sit down in the rocker by the window.

"You'll like it in here, Arielle. And when you are a little older you can also play outside in the backyard. Your grandpa has built a swingset for you and your uncle Elliot is going to build you a playhouse where you can have tea parties and play with your friends." I softly say as I rock back and forth.

I want to tell her so bad that her Daddy is going to love her and be there for her too. That she is going to have a father who will love her just as much as her grandpa loves me, but I can't. It would be a lie… or wishful thinking and I don't want to put my daughter and myself through that kind of misery. She will have a great uncle, two loving grandpas and another great uncle in Ethan, so this is all the male role models she will need in her life.

Kate and Mia think I should start to put myself out there and start to date, but I just can't. It feels wrong and more so, with me being pregnant, I don't think that anyone would want to date me right now.

In addition, I don't want someone else in my life. Even though Christian has made it clear that he does not want to be in our lives, I cannot just move on and find myself a new man to fill the void Christian has left in my life.

It would feel like I was trying to replace him when I know there is no way to replace him. And I don't want to bring people into Arielle's life that most likely want stay or end up being a disaster like my mother's third husband or the men she has dated before she married Bob.

If I ever decide to introduce someone to my daughter, it would have to be someone like Ray, a man who is willing to not just be the man in my life, but also a father to my daughter, even if we won't work out in the end and a man like that is a rare find.

I was very lucky for my mother to find Ray and in all honesty, I am still angry with my mother for cheating on him and ruining the small family we have been. So, I know that if my hope of Christian coming around won't come true, I will have to be very picky and careful with finding a new man.

Plus, right now, I feel like it wouldn't be fair to date, not because of Christian or our daughter, but it wouldn't be fair do any man I may meet. I still have a lot of healing do to and I don't want to hurt someone in the process just because I tried to put myself out of there to get over Christian. I don't want a rebound guy and more so I don't need one because I have an exciting new part of my life in front of me and that is all I want to concentrate on at the moment.

As of now, I just want to get used to being a single mom and eventually return to work when Arielle is old enough to go to Kindergarten. Until then, I just want to focus all my love and attention on her so she won't feel like she is missing out on something.

Today is Mia's birthday and she has planned a big family gathering at her house, though I know she too is upset that Christian won't be there. Most likely, he is not even going to call her, because they had a fall out when she called him out on abandoning me and our unborn child. She told me she lost it and brought up the fact that he was basically doing the same thing his biological father did when he left Ella while she was pregnant with him. Since then Christian isn't talking to her and even though I know that it have been Christian's choices that have brought all of us into this situation, I feel guilty that Christian and Mia are no longer speaking.

So, I decided to give her an extra special birthday present. Mia is obsessed with Louboutins and I happen to have met the Designer himself on several galas and charity events. So, I gave his assistant a call and got in touch with him. He agreed to create a pair of heels especially for Mia, they are unique and only one pair of them has been produced for her. I hope this will make her happy.

Around two pm I leave my house and get into my car. Since Christian isn't around I have been driving myself again and I never knew how much I missed just cruising around for a while until I got myself a nice a little car and just did it. Because I'm pregnant though, I have to make a quick stop at a gas station to go pee and of course, get a huge grape soda before I get back into my car and drive towards the freeway.

Thank God, traffic is light today, I think to myself because the soda seems to have run right through and I need to pee yet again.

„You have given mommy an old lady bladder, baby girl." I giggle because I have been constantly peeing for months now.

„So, no kicking now, Mommy didn't bring a change of clothes and I don't want to show up at your auntie's house having peed myself." I continue and pull over in the other lane so I can take the next exit.

„Next year, you can give auntie Mia a present too and play with your cousins. It's going to be so much fun, Arielle. I promise you, you are going to have a happy childhood, I'll make sure of it." I say and look at the exit coming up ahead.

„Only ten more minutes... don't forget not to make mommy pee, we are going to have a fun day, today." I say, because this is what I want, just a fun relaxed day with family and friends, where I don't have to think about the fact that Christian won't be there to share this special day with all of us.