Chapter 12

Tuesday 2nd May

Ana

My stomach is in knots; I woke up during the night and almost threw up all over Ethan when I tried to run to the bathroom. Thankfully I managed to hold it in a few more seconds but I still did wake him up. I'm incredibly lucky to have a friend like Ethan; he always looks out for me the same way he does Kate. He is like the brother I never had; he came to my rescue last night with a glass of water and a cold face cloth.

After what seemed like forever I was satisfied my stomach was empty so I made my way back to my bed, Ethan brought me a bucket so I didn't need to get back up and that's where I've been since. Ethan's going to meet Christian soon so he is having a shower and I've been told under no circumstances should I work. I abide by the rule and turn on my TV, I scroll through the channels until I find something to watch. I settle on The Vampire Diaries, I don't see much before I dose off again.

After a short nap I check the time and notice Christian is due to meet with the press and release a statement and answer all of the questions they are going to throw at him. It won't make the news but I know it will be all over social media as soon as it's done. I lift my heavy legs from bed and make my way to the kitchen, my stomach growls at me as I search for something to eat. I realise I don't have anything and almost burst into tears, but as I make my way over the Kate's room to ask Ethan to pick something up on his way back I hear a soft knock at the door followed by the sound of the key turning.

I panic and run to hide behind the sofa, thinking someone is trying to break in. I jump up from my spot when I hear the door open and see Gail standing with a few shopping bags in her hand accompanied by Sawyer. Ethan comes out of Kate's room and looks at me with a sorry look; I'm guessing he forgot to mention Gail was coming over. He gives me an apologetic smile and then disappears out the door with Sawyer.

"I won't me too long Ana; I'll see you when I come back." I quickly wave at him but it's pointless he's already gone.

"Oh Ana, I'm sorry to have startled you but I come with gifts for you."

"It's alright Gail; I don't know who I was expecting to break in with a key. Please tell me those gifts are edible, I'm starving and I don't have any food in here."

"You are in luck my dear, Christian asked me to bring you some soup and I had to make you some of my cookies for later. I stopped by the store and got you some more food; I figured you wouldn't have much after being away for a few days."

"Thank you so much, you are incredible. Please come in, let me help you put that away." I take one of the bags she's holding and start putting the shopping away.

"So how are you dear, are you feeling any better?"

"I'm alright, I do feel much better. Still a little weak and nauseous but at least I'm not hugging the toilet again."

"Well hopefully this soup helps get your energy back up a little bit."

Gail sits with me while I eat and has a cup of tea and we chat, i can't get over how quickly we managed to connect. I feel like I've known her my entire life. An hour or so passes and Ethan comes back into the apartment looking smug about something but he won't give it up and I know I'm as well quitting while I have a chance because he is far too good at keeping secrets.

"Well Ana it's been lovely spending this time with you I do hope you feel better soon. I must get back and make Christian some food to last a few days; I can't have him living off of cereal while I'm gone."

"Thank you Gail, I hope you have a good time with your family. Hopefully when you get back this will all be coming to an end and we can have another afternoon together. I need to know more about the elusive Mr. Grey and his drunken antics."

I give her a warm hug and then she's gone. I turn round to look at Ethan who is now elbow deep in the fridge looking for food. I can't help but laugh, eventually he find something to satisfy his hunger and comes and sits on the sofa beside me still wearing his massive grin.

"So, what was the emergency with Christian then?"

"No emergency. He was just asking for an update on you, he wanted to come and see you but I talked him out of it. We don't want to ruin this illusion before it's even started."

"I don't believe you, but I'll accept it. How did you manage to talk him out of coming to see me though?"

"Well I told him you were sick, like really sick and the whole apartment smelled badly, and that you looked like a dead woman walking. He didn't believe me but he agreed that he would keep his distance as long as I agreed to take care of you."

"Well thank you, I don't think I would actually want to see him when I'm feeling this bad. At least I have you to take care of me. How is he feeling about his press thing?"

"Of course you have me, what else would I be doing if I wasn't taking care of my sick little sis huh. He's nervous about it I think, I don't blame him. I was reading some of the comments on the articles from last night and everyone seems to hate him so much right now, but on the plus side they love you. Your office called when you were asleep earlier and said that there were flowers being delivered all morning. I told them I would be there later to pick them up, but Christian made the excellent point that maybe I shouldn't go just in case anything happens so he's sending one of his new security guys to pick them up and have them dropped off here."

"I feel kind of bad that everyone hates him now, is his business not going to suffer if everyone things he's an asshole?"

"I wouldn't worry about it Ana, nobody will stop doing business with him because of this. They would be crazy to he makes companies millions, if they dropped him they would have nothing and would effectively be out of jobs."

"I guess you're right. I just want all of this to be over so we can all get back to our normal lives."

"It will be soon, until then you get to spend as much time with me as you can handle."

We spend hours sitting on the sofa reminiscing about our childhood.

"Ana I will never forget that time you ate too much chocolate cake and ice cream that you were sick, but you couldn't get up quick enough and ended up being sick all over Kate's feet. She is still petrified of vomit and chocolate cake."

"Oh god, please don't ever tell Christian that. I still shudder when I see chocolate cake too, poor Kate. I could still smell it on her for days after that. No wonder she hasn't gotten over it yet."

Christian.

It's finally time to face the press and get this over and done with. I have postponed it for the last 4 hours hoping they would suddenly lose interest but they have sat outside my office building patiently waiting for me to make an appearance.

"Good afternoon to you all, I understand I am quite possibly one of the most hated men in Seattle right now for breaking Anastasias heart.

As many of you are well aware by now, I did have a relationship with Ana in the past but it was strictly platonic. Over the last few weeks we spent a lot of time getting to know each other and I fell head over heels for her.

Also over the last few weeks I have been finding things out about myself that are new to me. I only have Ana to thank for making me realise I've been pursuing the wrong type of relationship my whole life. Many of you witnessed last night's events and are shocked that I could be so cruel but I assure you I didn't have any intention of hurting Anastasia.

After carefully making this decision to come and tell you all of this I have been seeking comfort and guidance in the person I am truly in love with.

He has helped me discover my true self and made me realise that I have nothing to be ashamed of; I know you probably hate me for hurting such a beautiful young woman but I do wish we could remain friends through this.

Anastasia has made it clear she no longer wishes for me to be a part of her life. After finding this information out I know she will be losing another dear friend and for that I am truly sorry.

Anastasia if you are watching this please know that I am sorry and I wish I had done all of this differently. I know you don't want anything to do with me anymore but I want you to know if you ever need anything please don't hesitate to come to me.

Thank you all for coming out here to hear me out. I will now accept a few questions to try and clear this mess up."

'Sir, you said HE helped you, does that mean all of those rumours of you being gay are true?'

"Yes it does, I have only just come to terms with my feelings and I was ashamed of it which is why I thought maybe I could come back from it and have a life with Ana, but it's not what I want."

'Mr. Grey, You said you wanted to clear this mess up. Are you referring to Ana as a mess?'

"Absolutely not. This whole situation is a bit of a mess, but Ana is most certainly not.

I take a few more questions then go back into my office to escape the flashing light. I check my phone and I have several messages from my family telling me how well I did, that every word was believable.

I breathe a sigh of relief and sit back in my chair and relax. This was only one part of the charade. I now need to be seen with my new man. I am glad it's Ethan because I actually get along with him and it will be easy to feel the press into thinking we are together, but it will kill Ana having to survive without him.

I lift my phone up and compose a new message

'Ana, that was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I have a huge favour to ask of you now though.'

'You were great Christian, it was actually believable. Even that little tear looked great. What's up?'

I didn't even realise I had been crying, sure enough when I wipe my eyes they are a little damp.

'I hadn't noticed, obviously Ethan can't be seen with you until this blows over, Mia and Kate have been asking for you to go and join them. Elliot is on his way back to Seattle and they want you to go over and have a mini holiday with them. What do you say?'

'I would love that. I couldn't get through this loneliness on my own. When can I leave?'

'Good, the jet is ready whenever you are, just let me know and I'll have someone take you to the airfield.'

'How about tonight then?'

'If you feel like you are well enough to travel then yes. We could even have it look like you are fleeing the country when the news breaks that Ethan is involved with me.'

'Great minds think alike Mr. Grey. I'll pack my case right now. I'll speak to you soon. I love you.'

'Okay, I love you too.'

I call Mia to let her know Ana is going to join them and she screams with excitement. I call Taylor to let him know Ana is going to visit them and demand extra security to avoid the pap's, if they caught wind of Ana going to spend time with my sister they would eventually figure out this was all for show.

Ana.

I weigh my choices carefully before deciding to go and see Kate and Mia. I welcome the idea of some sunshine and some well needed girl time, I call my assistant to let her know I won't be in and she can handle the work until I'm back, only to bother me if it's something really important.

I'm incredibly lucky to be able to just call and tell people I'm not going to be at work, one of the perks of owning a company. I now understand why Christian enjoys it so much. I go into my closet and dig out my suitcase and begin packing. Last week I was away in the mountains bundles up under layers of clothing to keep the heat in me and now I'm packing bikinis and bathing suits.

I finish packing and close up my case just as I hear the buzzer go off. I run to the door and to my relief its Sawyer, I wasn't looking forward to travelling with someone new.

"Come up I'm just putting the last of my things into a bag." I open the door and go back to my room to throw my last few pieces into my bag. I give myself a once over in the mirror before I leave, making sure I look as If I've been crying, I need to keep this front up until I'm out of camera shot.

"Wow Ana, you look terrible." I notice the smirk on his face.

"Thanks, I didn't think you would be taking me tonight, the press know you do they not?"

"Actually I'm here for Ethan; Preston is going to be taking you. Don't worry about him though. He's essentially just a younger version of me, although not as good looking and charming."

"Oh, I didn't know Ethan was here. I don't think anyone would be as charming as yourself Sawyer, but don't tell Christian I said that he might have a heart attack."

"He is supposed to be here but he called and said he was running late, Preston is on his way he should be here any minute. Are you ready to go?"

"Oh well I guess you can make yourself comfortable until he arrives. Yeah I'm ready, I can't wait to go and get some sun on my skin, I'm pretty sure the light is starting to bounce off of my skin."

We both laugh and wait for Preston to arrive; he doesn't take too much longer and luckily for Sawyer Ethan makes an appearance at the same time.

"Ana you can leave first, there are a few pap's outside now, obviously caught wind of you leaving I guess. Have fun out there and say hi to Kate for me."

"Thanks Ethan, enjoy your time with Christian while I'm gone but don't turn on the charm, I don't want to come back here and find out you have run off together."

I wrap him in a tight hug and say goodbye, Preston has made his way to the apartment and insists on taking my bags. As soon as we leave the building the cameras start flashing, I try my hardest to keep my eye on the car to make sure I don't trip. Preston makes his way back to me and guides me to the car, I can hear people asking if we are involved romantically and I quickly announce he is my driver and that is all.

I take my seat in the car and sit back, I'm relieved to finally be able to break character again and a smile forms on my face. I catch Preston's eyes in the mirror and he smiles back. Thank god Christian isn't here that poor guy would be out of a job already. Sawyer wasn't wrong though he does share a striking resemblance.

"So Preston, are you and Sawyer related?"

"Yes ma'am. Cousins."

"Figures, you both look so alike, although he insists he is the better looking and more charming of you both."

"He would say that ma'am. He has always had a way with the ladies."

"Please call me Ana, and don't be so uptight around me. I hate that all of you guys are afraid to act like normal people around us. The only person you need to be worried about is Christian, but right now you are my driver so be yourself please."

"Alright and thank you. I'm used to being professional and to be honest I didn't really know what to expect when I was told I was accompanying you on this trip. I thought you were going to be as abrupt as Mr. Grey."

"Not at all, I have tried to convince him to be nicer to his staff but he is set in his ways so it will take a lot to change that but I assure you I'm working on it."

We chat back and forth the rest of the drive but as soon as we are on the plane we both pass out. I don't even get a chance to check and see what people are saying about me leaving the country.