A/N: I know I do this every chapter, but I'd like to thank my reviewers: my story guests, tigger64, Deadly Ventus Ninja Dark Angel, thedoctorsgirl42 and prttykitty7728 and all my supporters. I recently finished editing the previous chapters so I'm quite happy. I just typed this really late so sorry if there's any errors, or if it's a little too cheesy I just couldn't sleep at all. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter. Happy Reading!

Chapter rating: T


Maurice flung a punch towards Mr. Gold, but Mr. Gold grabbed Maurice's fist and twisted it until Maurice cried out in pain. Mr. Gold's eyes were darker now, they were no longer the golden brown they were, they were now dark brown and full of malicious intent.

Annabelle heard her father's cries and decided to stop it. She loved her father, no matter what.

"Please stop!" Annabelle passionately begged.

Mr. Gold's eyes flickered back into his normal golden brown and looked at her.

"Just please stop. I don't want anyone getting hurt," Annabelle stated.

Maurice groaned and Mr. Gold let him go, he would no longer fight him. Just when Mr. Gold was going to stop Maurice grabbed Annabelle's leg about to pull it down. That caused Mr. Gold to grab Maurice's shoulder and use all his strength and all his past power to dislocate it. Maurice fainted from the pain, landing in Annabelle's arms.

"How could you? I told you to stop!" Annabelle shouted.

"He was going to hurt you again! I would not let that happen," Mr. Gold replied.

"We need to get him to the hospital!" Annabelle stated.

"Fine I'll take him."

"I want to come too."

"Belle, if you are there when he wakes up I'm afraid of what could happen. Please, I don't want anything to happen to you ever again."

Annabelle hugged him and sighed. She would trust him, she would let him take her beaten father to the hospital.

"Belle when you said you loved me earlier I-"

Belle interrupted him saying, "please take him now he's bleeding!"

Mr. Gold lifted Maurice over his shoulder and carried him to the door, with Annabelle following. He lugged Maurice into his black Bugatti and peered back at Annabelle.

"Do you need any help?"

"No Belle, I can do this. You go rest, you have had a long day."

Before she could say anything, Mr. Gold started the car and left her there. Annabelle returned into the house and looked down at the blood. It reminded her of when she found her mother's body. That day her mother comforted her when her father was angry, but that was also the day she took her life. Annabelle could remember the pool of blood surrounding her mother's body. When her father saw it, well that's the day he went mad. He didn't come home for about a week and when he did he smelled of strong alcohol and his nostrils were swollen, along with his blood shot eyes. Annabelle shook off that memory and ran to take a shower. She needed to get those images out of her mind.

Once she felt the warm water flow across her body she could breath again. All the painful memories seemed to be washed away. She lathered her hair with shampoo and rinsed it. She then applied conditioner, but she waited to rinse it out. She always shaved then rinsed out her conditioner, it was her secret to keeping her hair so soft. She was fully relaxed, until she heard the front door open.

Annabelle quickly dried herself off, wrapped her hair in a towel and ran down to see Mr. Gold. Once she saw him she quickly questioned him.

"Is he okay?"

"Yes, Belle he is doing fine. I had to make a deal with him though."

"What did he want?"

"He wanted his rent to be free and his business to be fully paid off. Then he wouldn't press charges and I offered to pay all his medical bills."

"He didn't say anything about me?"

"No Belle. I'm sorry."

Secretly, Maurice did want Annabelle back, but only because he wanted her underneath his power. Maurice stated that she was just like her evil mother always causing trouble, but Mr. Gold decided to leave that out. It was a sensitive topic and it would be best for Annabelle to think that her father wasn't so bad.

"Oh."

"Belle, listen to me you are an incredible person and I'm glad you are with me."

Annabelle started to bawl and she wrapped her arms around Mr. Gold. She just sat there with him and cried, while he glided his hand through her hair whispering "it's all right."

Once she was fresh out of tears she brought her lips up to his and kissed him. They were gentle and full of kindness. Mr. Gold wanted her to feel safe with him and he wanted her to feel safe from the world as long as she was with him.

Mr. Gold broke the kiss and ran his hand through his hair. She could tell he was nervous, but why? He had nothing to be nervous about.

"Belle I have a confession to make."

"What is it?"

"When you told me you loved me I wanted to say something, but I couldn't. The words just didn't come out and now I know why."

"Why?" Annabelle asked.

"Because I've never loved a woman as much as I love you."