Thank you for the reviews, it makes writing fun =) I've had some requests for quick updates and longer stories, so here it goes. I hope you enjoy.
Christian stood in front of his floor to ceiling window, looking over the vast expanse of the city. He was on a business trip again, this time in New York. Since he left Ana at Esclava, staying in town was simply not an option. It only took one night in a Seattle hotel before he was dying to drive back, to hold her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be okay, that they were going to be okay.
Christian grimaced. But everything was not okay. Ana had betrayed him in the worst way possible. She knew how much he treasured being her only lover, how much pleasure he found in knowing that he was the only one she would ever have. It was bad enough that she had defied him by staying out, but this… well, this was unacceptable.
He felt his pants tighten as he thought of her. Even after everything that had happened, she still had such control over him. Her giggling, her pouting lips, her flawless body. God, what he would do to trap those lips in his teeth right now…
"Sir," Jason stepped into the room hesitantly. "We should leave for your meeting or we will be late." Christian nodded his response, but waited for Jason to step out before moving. The past weeks had defiantly taken their toll; he had been keeping his cell phone off, worried that Ana or his family might try to call. He had nothing to say to any of them about what had happened. If it was an emergency, Jason's phone was always on and Christian knew he could depend on the man to weed out the unwanted calls from those he needed to take. So far, there had been several calls from his family and work, but none from Ana.
Jason was standing patiently in the living room when Christian finally emerged from his master suite. His home in New York might be smaller than Esclava, but it was just as pristine. Given the current situation, Christian knew that he would have felt overwhelmed if it was very much larger. After sharing a home with Ana everything else felt so empty.
Once in the car, Christian allowed his mind to drift back to that day. Damn it, get yourself together! Ana is safe at home and you do not have to worry about facing her. Christian knew that this was ultimately a lie; he would have to return to Esclava one day or risk losing Ana all together. He knew that even with what she had done he still wanted to be with her. He had been surprised that she was being so compliant with his demands. So far Sawyer had not one incident to report.
She's only complying because she is guilty and doesn't want to make things worse. Christian beat the thought away, but traces of it remained. Why, Ana?
Jason's phone vibrated and he answered with his headset. "Taylor," he murmured. As the call continued, his eyes got wider. He shot Christian an apprehensive look, but otherwise maintained his focus on the road. Christian stilled. Whatever had happened it was bad enough that Taylor had become very quiet.
"Fine. I'll let him know." Jason hung up and glanced at Christian once more. Unwilling to allow the tension to mount, Christian snapped. "What the hell is it, Taylor?"
"Ms. Steele has requested to return to Ms. Kavanagh's residence, Mr. Grey."
Christian closed his eyes slowly and brought his hand to his face. Honestly, he should have seen this coming. Anastasia was not a patient woman and her fierce spirit was what had attracted him in the first place. In this case, it brought out the truth in their relationship. The fact that she would leave him without so much as a phone call demonstrated that he had to let her go. It was what she wanted.
Christian arrived home a week later and he realised immediately that he had been away too long. He had missed countless appointments with Flynn and Mrs. Jones had been badgered by his family to divulge his whereabouts. First things first, Christian decided to stop by his parent's home.
Being that it was a Thursday afternoon, he did not know what to expect. Christian was not even sure if anyone would be home. This uncertainty proved to be unwarranted because after a short pause his mother opened the door.
Grace first looked surprised and pleased to see Christian, but then scowled at him, opening recalling the strain she had been under the past weeks. She had spent countless hours wondering if he was alright and that was not to be brushed aside lightly. "Christian, how nice of you to stop by." Grace opened the door wider and ushered him in. Christian could see his father in the kitchen and knew that Mia was likely to be around somewhere.
"Please sit down," Grace said, her voice straining. Christian obliged and the two of them were soon joined by his father.
Carrick cleared his throat and broke the silence. "We have all been very concerned about you and I'm not going to pretend otherwise." He paused, waiting for a response, but after receiving none, he continued. "I don't know what is going on with you and Ana, but Elliot and Kate are very concerned about her. I find it hard to believe that you would leave her high and dry, but the evidence against you is not very appealing."
Christian frowned. He had instructed Sawyer to give Ana her car, access to a hefty bank account and anything else she would need if she decided to leave. Something was not making sense. "Why would you say that she is high and dry?" he asked.
His parents exchanged glances before his mother responded. "Christian, Ana has gone back to work and is trying hard to get a place of her own, but surely you can understand how hard it would be to start over by yourself, with nothing in the way of assets. She is staying with Kate and Ethan, while he is in town."
Christian felt himself tense all over. The fucker is in Kate's house? Damn, he should have thought about that before having Sawyer send her there. Christian ran his fingers through his hair and let out a deep sigh. It was worse than he had imagined. Not only had she spurred his attempts to make her comfortable, but she had also returned to work for that bastard Hyde. He had made sure that her job would still be available when she returned, had even told the accounting department to pay her for the time she had missed, but he had thought Sawyer would accompany her when the time came for her to go back.
Christian knew that he was to blame for Anastasia running. His refusal to communicate is what had ended the relationship, even if she had cheated that night. With Ana he would take her as he could get her, whether that be faithful and obedient or not. Not that unfaithfulness was something that he was willing to tolerate, but Christian was beginning to feel like her could forgive Ana for her one lapse of judgement.
Mia broke the extended silence when she entered the room. "Christian!" she pouted. "I know you are the reason Ana is a wreck and I think you are awful. Kate and Elliot think so, too."
"I think so, too, Mia," Christian muttered. Everyone in the room looked shocked at his admission, expecting more of an argument. "I have to go, but I'll keep in touch," he promised, looking at Grace in particular.
Mia broke into a smile. "Go get her, Champ!"
Ana walked past several used cars to where Kate and Ethan stood, staring at her expectantly. They had scoured every inch of the lot, had test driven several models and were obviously hoping that she had come to a decision.
For once, Ana was thankful that her ex-boyfriend was the owner of her company because it meant that she was paid for the time she had spent trapped in Esclava. Ana was positive that she would have lost any other job during her extended absence. She had decided as soon as the check had cleared that she would use the money as a down payment on a car. This would be her first step toward independence.
The problem was that she had gotten too spoiled with Christian. Six months ago she would have jumped on any of these cars, but now all she could hear was Christian complaining about safety ratings.
Kate raised an eyebrow at her, asking the unspoken question. "I think that I'll take that one," Ana said, pointing to the green Hyundai Santa Fe. It was kind of cute in a sporty way and it still had a warranty.
Kate laughed. "I knew you would take that one, Steele! Ethan had his money on the Honda, but no way does he know you like I do." Ana blushed at her words. Kate was still completely unaware of what had happened the night Ethan took her out and Ana intended to keep it that way. As far as Kate was concerned, Ana had left Christian because of the Leila ordeal, which truthfully was part of it.
Ethan smirked at Kate's words and held his hands up. "I give. You called it. Now let's sign some papers and get out of here." He winked at Ana and she felt better about her secret from Kate. Ethan was going to take what happened to the grave and had even decided to stay in town longer because of Ana's breakup. Yep, she had some good friends.
Friends aren't boyfriends, she thought before she could stop herself. True, no one made her feel like Christian. Even now, as hurt and angry as she was, her body ached for his touch. And it was more than that; Christian had made her feel loved and special. With him, she had felt beautiful.
Kate looped her arm inside Ana's and led her to the office so they could fill out the paperwork for her "new" car. Thankfully, her good credit score and job were enough to convince the credit union to give her the sizable loan.
That night Kate and Ethan went out on the town with Elliot. Seeing Elliot was enough to make her already emotional state much worse. He had pulled her into a big hug and apologized for whatever crap Christian was putting her through, which had to score him some brownie points with Kate. After promising that she would be fine on her own, she locked the door behind them and burst into tears.
Damn it, Christian! What the fuck have you done to me? She leaned against the wall and slid all the way to the floor. She felt so out of control lately, so emotional. Were all breakups this bad? It had been a week since Sawyer had drop her off and she had not heard one word from Christian. So much for his undying love!
Ana collected herself off of the floor and went to the fridge to open a bottle of wine. She had lost a considerable amount of weight while she mourned for her lost Fifty. Her clothes were practically falling off of her, but she didn't care.
The wine hardly tasted of anything and she had to throw half of it down the drain. Tomorrow was Thursday, a work day, so Ana decided to head to bed early. Hopefully tonight would be the first night Christian Grey wouldn't haunt her dreams.