I gape at Kate, hardly believing what she's telling me.
"Are you serious?" I whisper and she hangs her head as if in shame. Oh, Kate…
"Does Elliot know?"
"That's what I'm afraid of. This wasn't supposed to happen and I don't even know how it happened."
"How far along are you?"
"About six weeks." God…
"When are you planning on telling Elliot?"
"I don't know that I want to," she says before taking a seat on the couch.
"Oh, Kate…", I remark as I sit down beside her and take her hand in mine. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," she smiles, but I can tell that she's upset.
"Are you going to…", I start, afraid of what I might say next.
"No, of course not!" she exclaims. "I could never do that to myself." Okay.
"So, what are you going to do?"
"I figured I'd wait until he gets back and see if he leaves me and finds someone else."
"Kate, he'd never do that to you."
"But Ana, why wouldn't he do it? I'm pregnant; this wasn't supposed to happen."
"I know, Kate, but you know Elliot. I'm sure he'll understand if you just talk to him."
"I don't know, Ana…", she replies and I can tell she's about to cry. Gently, I take her in my arms and hug her tightly and after a moment, she reciprocates and I hear her sigh as she does.
"Hey," I whisper. "It's going to be okay. Elliot's a good guy, so I'm sure that he'll understand."
"God, I hope so, Ana. Remember the last time I broke the news to a guy?"
"I remember," I say quietly, thinking about Tyler from back when we were in college. Kate and he had been together since freshman year and were really hitting it off, until Kate dropped the bombshell that she was leaving with her family to go and take care of her dying grandmother. She offered a long-distance relationship with him, but Tyler wasn't having it. He broke up with her over the phone and the next time she saw him, he was already dating somebody else, causing Kate to be wary about opening up to anyone, even a guy like Elliot. Honestly, outside of her parents and Ethan, of course, I'm the only person she's ever been close with. I just know that Elliot's not the same way, but I'm not sure that Kate will believe me. They never talked about having "more" with each other, so I'm sure having a baby is the last thing that they want.
Kate sits up after a while and wipes her nose with the back of her hand.
"Will you be here when I tell Elliot the news?" Kate asks me.
"Of course," I say without hesitation. "Just text me and I'll be here. I promise you; he won't react the same way that Tyler did."
"I hope you're right, Ana," she sniffles before reaching her for a tissue. "God, I hope you're right."
Before I can say anything else, my phone starts ringing in my purse and after checking that Kate's okay, I excuse myself to answer it. It's Christian.
"Hello, Christian," I answer, remembering the promise that I made to Ray.
"I need you to come home. There's something we need to talk about."
"I can't come right now, I'm with my friend, Kate."
"Taylor insisted. It's important and I need to talk to you."
"Oh, so now you want to talk to me?" I remark and I hear him sigh before answering.
"Just come here right away. Ask Sawyer to take you straight home," he says and before I can respond, he immediately hangs up the phone. Shit, what does he want now?
Give him the benefit of the doubt, Ana.
I sigh.
"Kate, I'm sorry, but I have to go home. Christian needs me."
"That's something I never thought I'd hear you say," she quips and I can tell she's feeling better. I laugh and roll my eyes.
"Please, don't fucking say that."
"How are you doing after your encounter with Jack?" Kate says suddenly and my face falls as she does.
"I'm fine," I smile. "He didn't hurt me this time."
"I'm sorry, Ana. I was busy worrying about my own ordeal, I didn't even think to ask about how you're feeling."
"It's okay, Kate," I reassure her. "Your problems are much worse than mine."
"You still call me if you need anything, alright?"
"Of course. You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she smiles and I can completely tell that she means it. "Go. Don't want hubby to get angry with you."
"Ugh, don't say it like that," I reply and Kate laughs in response.
"And don't worry, Kate. We're gonna get through this; I promise," I say as I give Kate another hug before grabbing my bag and heading for the door.
"You'll be here when I tell him?"
"I'll be here when you tell him," I assure her and with one final look, I head outside and tell Sawyer to drive me home.
At home, I enter the foyer and scan around for Christian before settling on the open door to his office and as I make my way over there, I hear Christian talking with Taylor.
"And you're sure it was him?" he asks.
"Yes, sir. We got a tip about him this morning from Sergeant Nancarrow over in London."
"London? What the hell is he doing in Seattle?"
"It's personal business, sir. He should be heading home in about a week. He knows someone from the station about Hyde."
"Fuck," he mumbles. "That wife of mine sure knows how to pick 'em," Christian remarks as I enter the room. I know that; I married you.
"Hello, Taylor," I greet him.
"Hello, Ana," he nods and I take a seat in front of Christian's desk.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"Your ex-boyfriend, Jack tipped us off to the press," Christian replies. What?
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. A source of mine said that he talked with a reporter who visited him while in custody. Apparently, he's trying to get back at you."
"What are we supposed to do about it?" I ask,
"I'm not sure," Christian sighs. "But what I do know is that we gotta do something about the press."
"What do you suggest. sir?" Taylor asks.
"I think that the best thing we can do is go to the press about the accusations at a charity ball that I'm hosting tomorrow night."
"What ball?"
"I host an annual charity event for my parent's organization, Coping Together. I need to attend and we need to be seen in public together." Holy shit. That's the fundraiser I saw on Christian's desk.
"Does that mean the secret will be out?"
"We'll try to avoid that, Mrs. Grey," Taylor interjects. "We'll just inform them that there's been a mistake and try to fix it after that."
"But wouldn't me being seen with Christian cause people to become suspicious?"
"If you don't attend the event with me, they'll become more suspicious and try to find you." Oh.
"And this is the only way we can fix it?"
"I'm afraid so," Christian replies, not making it a secret that he's not looking forward to it. What? The charity ball or spending time with me?
"There is one more thing, Mrs. Grey," Taylor says and I turn to face him.
"What?"
"I'm afraid there's been a little situation at Clayton's Hardware Store."
"Is it serious?"
"Apparently Mr. Clayton took out a loan that he wasn't able to pay back, so he had no choice but to sell the hardware store to the highest bidder." How is that even possible?
"I don't understand, I thought marrying Christian was supposed to help that problem."
"I tried to help him," Christian interjects. "But he refused to take any of my payments, feeling that I've owed him enough. Apparently this offer was too good to pass up, but this doesn't mean he's stopping the chain, he's just moving it to a different location." Wait…
"But what does that mean for me?"
"If you want to keep your job there, you'll have to move when the time is right for it," Taylor says.
"How long will that take?"
"Until the end of the year." Oh my God.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes," Taylor sighs "I'm sorry, Mrs. Grey, but there's nothing else that we could do about it."
"Then why would I still need to be married to Christian?" Taylor stops. What?
"If we were to stop the deal now, the public would need some answers."
"What do you mean by that?"
"If the press suspects that you married Christian to help Clayton's and then he suddenly divorced you, they would think you were just a charity case."
"So, I'm stuck with him until this is over?"
"I'm afraid so, Mrs. Grey," Taylor sighs. Fuck.
"Can I at least think about it? I think I need to talk to Ray first."
"Just make it quick, alright?" Christian remarks. "You only have until tomorrow to give us your answer." Jeez, calm down.
"Keep this up, and I'll be married to you for the rest of my life," I retort, raising my brow to emphasize my point. Christian rolls his eyes.
"Don't push your luck, honey. I want this to be over as much as you do." Of course you do…
"Don't worry, honey, I wouldn't dare to do that," I counter. "I'll go and talk with Ray right now."
"Good," Taylor remarks. "Let us know when you figure it out."
And with that, I exit Christian's office, feeling a sense of defeat.
"And it would only last until the end of the year," I say to Ray over the phone, groaning to myself as I do so.
"Ana, I'm sorry. Mr. Clayton wasn't supposed to let this happen."
"But why would I need to be married longer? This was only supposed to be a temporary thing."
"I know, Annie, but it hasn't been that bad, has it?"
"I'm married to a man I barely know!" I shout, not realizing it until it's too late.
"I know, Ana," I hear Ray sigh.
"I'm sorry, Dad," I reply. Shit, Ana, don't take it out on him.
"It's okay, sweetheart. I know this wasn't the ideal wedding I've always wanted." Or me for that matter.
"Then what should I do about it?" He sighs.
"I'll tell you what; go the charity ball tomorrow, clear things up with the press and if you really don't want to go through with this, then you can call off the marriage after it's over." Whoa.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, Annie. I know you're unhappy and this whole thing was my fault." Ray…
"Don't say that, Dad," I say gently. God, the last thing I want is for him to feel guilty about this.
"But it's true, Annie. I wanted so badly for you to be with someone, so I threw you to the first man I set eyes on."
"Dad, it wasn't like that."
"But it was, Annie. I know you're not happy with Christian, and that's the last thing I want you to be feeling right now."
"But why Christian?"
"I told you, Ana; he's a good man. If I didn't think he was right for you, I would've never agreed to this in the first place."
"But I don't love him, Dad."
"I know you don't, Ana, and I know he doesn't love you either. And after what happened Jack…" No.
"Please don't go there, Dad."
"I'm just saying I think you deserve a second chance, Annie. Not all men are like Jack Hyde." I sigh.
"I know they aren't." You exist.
"Just think about it, Annie. If you can't bear to even look at Christian tomorrow, then you can call off the marriage right then and there." I sigh.
"I'll think about it."
"That's my girl," he says and I call tell he's grinning.
"Thanks, Daddy," I reply, exhaling sharply.
"And don't worry, I'll make it up to you. I promise."
"You better, otherwise I won't let you forget about this," I joke and he laughs in response.
"Get some rest, Ana. I'll talk to you again when you make your decision."
"Okay, Dad. I love you."
"I love you, too sweetheart."
"Bye," I say and I hang up.
Holy cow. What the hell am I going to do about this?