AN: Hey guys...if you didn't see it chapter nine was posted a little later on the same day chapter 8 was posted...so check it out. I am hoping to reveal some of Ana's past in this...so get ready! And thank you for all your reviews

CPOV

Ana didn't speak for the entire ride home, but I could tell she was upset. She kept wringing her hands together, and her eyebrows were furrowed. She kept staring out the window. When we came into the house, she didn't say anything, she just looked down at the floor and walked to her room. I wanted to make her eat because we hadn't even gone halfway through our dinner, but she seemed really upset so I just let her have her space.

I lay in my bed for the past hour staring up at the ceiling. I kept thinking over the events of the dinner. My dad had no right to say what he did. He knew absolutely nothing about her, and I was happy that Ana had stood up for herself. I could tell that she didn't want to rub her wealth in their face, because she constantly kept saying that he didn't know her properly. And in some way, her repeated line made me realize that I didn't know her very well either. And, I had made similar accusations to my dad, when I had first known her, which just made me feel guiltier.

It was about midnight now, and I was still not able to sleep. I was about to slightly doze off when I heard a soft knock on the door. I sat up quickly and stilled. The person hesitated before giving another soft knock.

I quickly stood up and opened the door expecting Taylor, but I came face to face with Ana.

"Ana? what are you doing up this late?" I finally got a good look at her...she didn't look like she was crying but her body was tense and her face was dull. Her make up was still on, but slightly smudged.

"Sorry...did I wake you up?" She asked in a soft voice. Hearing that tone, just made me want to hug her and hold her until we die.

"No, no, Come in" I grabbed her hand, and closed the door behind me. I pulled her to sit in front of me on the bed. I noticed that she was clad in silk spaghetti strap nightie that ended a little above midthigh. OK, not the best time for a boner. Think about Elliot. Elliot in pink underwear dancing in public with a stuffed giraffe. Elliot...Elliot..

"I am sorry, Christian" Her voice sounded pained.

"Ana, why are you apologizing? For my dad? You didn't do anything wrong, you just stood up for yourself, he had no reason to call you that baby." Baby? Going soft Grey!

She hesitated.

"You have a wonderful family Christian...a family that cares about you, and I am afraid I had broken it today." Her voice cracked at the end. I didn't know what to say

"Ana what happened to your family, you said your parents were..."

"Dead, yeah. God, this is way too personal to be talking about on the second day of knowing each other..."

She hesitated. I could tell she didn't want to talk about it.

"Ana, we don't have to talk abou-"

"It's fine Christian. Um, ...I I-Don't know much about my father. His name was Frank Lambert. My mother, Carla, she got pregnant with me when she was 18. He didn't want the child at first, but,... but he stuck around for a little bit hoping it would be a boy, but when they found out that I was a girl, he left the both of us saying he didn't want me. I learned that he died in a car accident a couple years later...My mother, god, She didn't want me at all from the beginning, and when my father left us, she loathed me. I was like the end slice of a bread, a bread butt, no one wanted me. She took me along anyways...she had a string of husbands...because we were constantly poor, and starving...I won't go into her husbands, another story for another time, huh,...anyways...we...we wouldn't have food for days at a time. When I was young, if I read a book, she would take it away from me saying that I am wasting time...that I should work to feed her. When I was 6 years old, she and her husband at the time would drop me off at a different, wealthier neighborhood and make me beg for money...because neither of them worked. Almost all of the money went to them...they used it to drink...for their own food and entertainment. I was left a few cents each day...Every week, I would save up the money throughout the week, and eventually trade it with some of the neighborhood kids for some food, because I was starving so bad. I remember being hungry Christian...for years...But, then she changed husbands...this guy was rich, and for some time...I actually had food...the first time I saw a plate of pasta...I was 9..and I don't even know how fast I ate it. But then he gambled all of his money, and we went back to starving...eventually she married this guy when I was 13..he had..he had a son..Um...maybe I'll tell you about him later...but, she died when I was 15. She shot herself in front of me..right after saying that she couldn't deal with me anymore..and I was a nuisance, and she didn't want me...god, I hated her, but I didn't want her to die..I tried saving her...anything I can, but then she was gone. The two people, my parents, who should have been with me, left because they didn't want me...I knew of no relative..and no one wanted me..I grew up in an orphanage for the next three years, until I reached 18. I went to a local public school that all the other orphans went to. I loved school...I hated the people who teased me because I didn't have good clothes nor did I have money, but I loved school. I was eventually able to go to Stanford...because...during the fourth husband...I met this man..his name was Raymond Steele. My mother didn't know about him or that I saw him. He was like my parent at the time. I would sneak out at night to go see him at this little garage he owned. Right before Carla died, he died from heart attack. But, when I was 18, I found out that in his will, he wrote that I inherited all of his money..which was around 15 million dollars...because...because he had no kids to give it to..so I used that money to go to Stanford and eventually start up my company...I even changed my last name to Steele because he was like my dad..he was the only person I've ever been able to look up to...and then he left me too. So, yeah, I have no one, but that's life huh?"

I didn't know what to say. Her background was painful to hear. To live through that? I pulled her to me, wrapping one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulder. I leaned back until I was completely on the bed with her on my chest.

I stroked her hair. "Your wrong Ana. You have me, Kate, Elliot. You have us."

I could feel her chest heave, it seemed like she was struggling to cry. "Let it go baby, its ok" I whispered to her

She sat up slightly, her eyes full of unshed tears. She shook her head. "I can't...I have to be strong...I can't cry.."

"No, Ana, it's ok. You are the strongest person I have ever met. Just because you cry doesn't mean you are not strong...it just means that you are a survivor of difficult experiences."

A tear slipped down her cheek. "I haven't cried in 10 years Christian."

AN: Hey guys, that is a part of Ana's past, there is still quite a bit that is not written in this chapter. I will reveal it later. Please review! What do you think? Is Christian's character what you guys want it to be? I thought he should have a soft side in this story...because of her brutal past