I just want all of you AMAZING readers (who have given me the most AMAZING feedback! THANK YOU!) to know that I do not own anything, that the ages are a little jacked up because of the timeline I have started things at, and that I love you all for clicking the link that lead you to this crazy story. Thank all of you that reviewed and/or favorite-ed and/or followed my story.

Important-ish: Ok... Here's the chapter...

OH and time jump... Yay... And I know that the new guy is totally made up.

Chapter 46: Revelations

Nicolette looked at her phone as it buzzed, an unknown number. Her rich, daddy's girl, already-been-kidnapped-once side told her to have Taylor answer it first, however her teenage girl side asked the question what could go wrong?...

The teenage girl side won, and Nicolette answered the call.

"Nicolette, I know I'm the last person you want to hear from right now, but I need you to know that not everything is as it seems... And that I will always always love you, and I will be waiting for you when the blindfold gets taken off." Max's voice soothed.

"What do you mean?"

"Just don't be to harsh when you learn the truth. I love you."

And with that Max hung up, leaving Nicolette more than a little confused.

TWO YEARS LATER

It had been two years since the night Max proposed to Nicolette, and since then Ana had given birth to Nicolette's much younger siblings, Theodore Raymond and Phoebe Grace. Nicolette was more than happy to play big sister and watch the two at her new penthouse... in Escala... Ok so it was their old place that had been repaired by Elliot to look radically new. The only similarities are where the kitchen, grand piano, and staff quarters were placed.

Other than that the place is totally different with cream colored walls, and unique feminine touches everywhere. The grand piano was even white- radically different. Her father had given the place to her not three months after returning to Seattle. And it felt good to be on her own.

Ok, semi own. Taylor and Gail lived in the staff quarters along with Nicolette's new CPOs (certified protection officer) Richard Waters, along with Clayton Hughes... Both of whom are hard assed retired Army Rangers that served in the same task force.

Nicolette knew they weren't afraid to tattle on her or drag her out of a building by her hair.

And frankly it frightened her.

Nicolette hadn't had a full conversation with Max that discussed them. Only the few nights that she had called and/or taken the boys, who missed her a lot, and although she has had those four second 'Can you take them this weekend?' conversations with Max, she's spoken to her girls back in Haven often and knew that he was single, and heartbroken.

Many nights Nicolette lay awake thinking about it, if he was so heartbroken, then maybe he wasn't such a control freak after all. She still hasn't been able to date anyone else either. She had dinner with Lyndon Myers (Seattle's third richest man)'s youngest son Michael, who was just a couple year older than her.

She spent the whole night comparing him to Max.

Currently Nicolette was fake smiling with Shelly- whom was smiling genuinely- and cooking dinner.

"So, uh, how did it go with Lyndon?" Shelly asked in her ooh-give-me-the-details voice.

"I'm not going to see him again." Nicolette answered quickly.

"Why not, he's perfect?" Shelly asked.

"I don't like how he treated our kind waiter. If he treats someone he doesn't know like that, than how would he treat someone he does know?" Nicolette pointed out, metally thinking...

Because he isn't Max.

Shelly looked at her still heartbroken friend and felt the all too familiar guilt build up again, unlike all of the other times though... Rockie wasn't there to make her push it down again, and Shelly broke.

"It was us!" Nicolette looked at her friend in shock.

"What was you? And who is us?" Nicolette asked.

"You and Max breaking up! Rockie overheard his plan to ask you to marry him and she thought that you would leave us forever! She convinced Terrance and me that if you married Max then you would have left us forever. That we wouldn't matter to you anymore! Terrance and I were scared, so we went along with it! We convinced you while you were still in a vulnerable state that Max was the controlling one, when all of Seattle knows it's your father! By some stroke of luck you believed us! And when he proposed you freaked and left him! I'm so sorry, please don't hate me." Shelly begged, tears streaming down her face.

Nicolette felt her anger rise.

"You set Max up! You convinced me that he was going to hurt me, after I had already been hurt! And now- TWO YEARS LATER- you have the gull to beg for forgiveness!" Nicolette felt hope build in her chest as she remembered Lee Anne's words from the night before.

He still loves you sweetie, if you ask for him back... I guarantee that he will be too busy kissing you to say yes.

"Get the hell out of here!" Nicolette shouted finally, as she grabbed her keys off the hook and tossed her phone onto the counter. Wherever she was going, her father did not need to be there first.

Shelly looked terrified as Nicolette raced out of the house; however, she knew that she did the right thing for her friend.

-/-/ With Max-/-/

Joseph and Billy were at summer camp for the next two weeks, so Max had the house to himself... meaning that the first night he drank himself until he passed out. But currently he sat on the couch barely watching the news as his hangover wore off.

The knock on the door didn't help.

Neither did the ring of the doorbell when he didn't get up after the first two minutes.

And then the yell came through.

The yell with the angel's voice.

"Max! I know you're home! Open up!"

Max ambled to the door and opened it, leaning against the frame. Outside was his girl, the sleek red Audi out front... with no other vehicles.

"Where's your entourage?" Max asked.

"I came alone."

"The boys are at summer camp, try again in two weeks."

"I'm not here for them. I'm here for you. Shelly took the blindfold off. I needed to apologize." Nicolette whispered, Max licked his lips.

"Did she now?"

"Yeah, can't believe you let me walk away like that. Can't believe I let myself listen." Nicolette murmured.

"Inside." Max moved out of the way and allowed Nicolette inside, he sat on the sofa opposite of her.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?" Nicolette asked.

"You were hurt, untrusting of all of us in Haven. Lee Anne says that Seattle has been like a fire for you, you've been burnt by it and are now untrusting of not only Seattle, but of everything. So when three girls that you believe you should trust with your life, because they haven't hurt you, say that me- who has- will hurt you again, in a way that won't heal with the words "I'm sorry" you believed the people who haven't hurt you. It's psychology, you wouldn't have listened to me. So instead of fighting a loosing battle. I waited the two, very long years for you to understand on your own. You need to do that sometimes." Max whispered.

"I'm sorry... I thought... I'm sorry." Nicolette frowned tears pooling in her eyes and trailing down her cheeks, Max moved closer- his large, rough hands wiped away her tears.

"If I hadn't been so stupid we wouldn't have missed out on so much. I'm sorry- you probably have someone ne-" Max cut Nicolette off.

"No! There's never been someone else, as there will never be. I love you Nicolette Anne Grey." Max declared, before claiming Nicolette's lips with his own.

Minutes passed as the two began to do some things that Christian Grey would defiantly not approve of.

And minutes folded into hours.

Until the two bathed in the afterglow of their deeds.

Max seemed to be in deep thought when Nicolette spoke, her heart in the right place for once in the last two years.

"Max?"

"Hmm?"

"Marry me."