Chapter 8:

Author's note!

Sorry for being so snappy the last time! Do thank Charis for the constant uploads. China's awesome, thanks for asking. It's snowing outside. Really feels Christmas-y.

I'm not really in a very angst mood to make A and C argue, and I'm trying to follow the personality of Ana that EL James has provided! Enjoy!

If I had not known any better, I would have thought somebody died. Even in the darkness, I could see them glowing in the moon's light.

There were beautiful bouquets of a myriad of flowers neatly placed all around. They thickly lined both sides of the steps and spilled out across the pavements.

But I did. This extravagant gesture was Christian's apology to me.

Even the passer-bys were drawn to his sincerity, stopping to take photos by the flowers and admiring the stunning sight. It was completely overwhelming, there must be fifty bouquets at the least.

"He's a great man, Ana." Ethan told me, stroking my hair.

I pondered his words for a moment. Looking around at the many flowers, some common ones that I knew by heart and others that I had never seen in my life, I believed his words were true.

"Man, this assembly of flowers could draw tourists. Some of these breeds are not even from this country." Ethan pointed out, trying to infiltrate my thought process.

"Do you think what he did was forgivable?" I asked Ethan, turning to gage his reaction.

Ethan rewarded me with an apologetic smile,"Ana, everyone makes mistakes."

"But such a huge one?" I groaned," Maybe I barely even know him."

"It took my dad some time to forgive me for breaking that ancient pot holding my ancestor's ashes." He chuckled, as if remembering the funny moment.

"EW." I stated, smacking him on his arm. "How old were you?"

Ethan made a face. "It happened just a few months back."

I gawked at him and he returned the playful smack. "All in all, my dad took some time to come around and sit down to talk to me about it and then he realized I didn't have any nasty intentions."

"Oh? What were your intentions?" Now, I was curious.

Ethan shrugged and stared down at the fresh bouquet of sunflowers. They were gorgeous. "It was on the top shelf, I just wanted to bring it down and closer to us but slipped." Just as he finished, he reached down to pick the card out from the bouquet.

"I'm just saying, talk it through." Ethan sounded unbiased as if he had spent a long while considering both sides of the story too. "Wouldn't want to ruin a good thing beyond repair."

"It's already ruined." I hissed sourly.

Ethan raised his eyebrow, " Do you really think so?"

I sighed, "It's not like he scattered my ancestors' ashes all over the floor..."

Ethan stared at me through narrow eyes. "Exactly. It's not permanent damage. If you're willing to forgive and try again, it can be fixed."

" How are the ashes permanent damage?"

His face turned bitter at the memory. "Some went into the cracks and the rest went into the dog's digestive system."

We both flinched and I mocked puked, shivering off the awful feeling. No wonder why Mr Kavanagh took a long time to forgive Ethan.

Then, his eyes grew urgent and serious. The blue in them dark and haunting. Slowly, he closed the distance between us and I almost notice his lips pucker. My breathing hitched and my heart pounded as he came in closer and closer.

"Ana," He murmured, the tone so intimate that I flushed. I was distracted by the redness in his lips, they looked so soft...

I wonder how they taste, my inner goddess groaned in anticipation.

"You should be loved and treasured," Ethan stated huskily, "You're so precious."

My lips parted on their own, signifying that I was in approval of the action about to come. Had I ever dreamt of this moment? What would Kate say?

Ethan's breath was on my lips, hot and heavy. Intense. My heart pounded, thrashing against my rib cage. Had I ever imagined a future with Ethan?

To my surprise, his lips missed mine marginally and his stubby chin grazed me. He planted one softly against my forehead. His lips were soft, just as I had expected.

Why didn't he kiss me there?

"This is the last time I'll let Christian get away with it, Ana." He growled against my sensitive skin, with a graver tone now, he repeated the words. "The last time."

I felt his hands fasten around my waist and he pulled me into him. My body had grown accustomed to this warmth, this feel against mine. It was a sense of comfort and a sign of hope.

Suddenly, taking us by surprise, a flood of reporters rushed to the foot of the steps and began flashing their cameras away. All at once, they were shouting questions at me and shoving their recording devices.

"It is said that Christian Grey and you have broken up. Can you comment?"

"Could you give us some insight on the break up between yourself and the CEO of Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc, Mr Christian Grey?"

"Is this man your new lover?"

"These flowers are an apology from Christian Grey, are they not?"

Without so much as a word, Ethan drew his arm protectively around me and steered us back into the building.

What on earth was that?

We made our way up the steps, taking two at a time and clambered into a descending Elliott. He bent down to catch a wink of what was happening outside.

"Damn Paparazzi." Elliott groaned. "Ethan, take Ana up. I'll handle the hounds."

We watched as he maneuvered around us both and trudged down the stairs and out into the crossfire. Like feeding oil to a blazing fire, the noise rekindled and erupted once again.

"Up, Ana." Ethan's hand was on the small of my back, urging me to keep on climbing.