AN: Hey guys! This is going to be a love story, so don't expect a lot angst or action.

English is not my first language and I don't have the time to work with a beta so I apologize in advance for the typos and grammatical errors.

Reviews are the light of my day so please don't be shy.


CHAPTER 1: A WEDDING

"You did well, dear." He watched as sharp, long nails wrapped around wine glass and as she took a sip, a happy smile on her face. He felt anything but. "She wasn't fit to be your submissive." He smiled to himself.

"Yes. She wasn't." He remembered how she danced in his kitchen as she cooked. How she made him laugh with a few simple sentences in her e-mails. How happy he was when she told him that she'll sign the contract. Anastasia Steele was a lot of things but a submissive wasn't one of them.

"I'll send you a few girls, you can check them and-"

"No." The pleasant smile on her face fell, briefly showing him the ugly and angry woman underneath, just before she could put the mask back on. "I'll let you know if I need your help."

"Dear, you are a man who has strong needs. You can't put your life on hold because a girl wasn't able to live up to your expectations. You should-"

"I'll let you know if I need your help." He repeated, looking into her eyes as firmly as he can. He knew that Elena sometimes didn't know her place. They were just friends and business associates and nothing more. He got up quickly, looking down at his leftovers with disdain. He hated wasting food but he had no patience left for Elena.

"I need to go, I'll see you around." He left the small dining room of the restaurant as quickly as he could, completely ignoring her pleas to not overreact.

Was he overreacting, he thought as he watched the streets go by as Taylor drove him home. He certainly did overreact, during the first week. He could barely sleep without nightmares consumed him, he couldn't eat, he even took a week off the work, something that he did for the first time ever in his life. He didn't have the strength to do anything but look at the model plane she bought for him.

"This reminded me of a happy time."

It reminded him of a happy time, too. But deep down, he knew that Anastasia didn't mean what he told him. He knew that the most women had a difficult time separating sexual and emotional relationships. And considering that he was her first, it was natural that she convinced herself that she was in love with him. She wasn't. Just as any other submissive he had before, wasn't. They quickly moved on to their next dominant when he terminated their contracts. He frowned; he still didn't like to group Anastasia with the rest of his submissives. Maybe because she never really signed his contract.

He was feeling very shitty during that first week, until Taylor brought Flynn in, unannounced. He was stunned and a little mad at Taylor for doing this without his request. But the real breakthrough came when Flynn told him "It's okay to feel bad and miss someone after a breakup, Christian."

It wasn't a breakup because there wasn't a relationship. Christian Grey didn't do relationships and break ups.

That was the first time that it occurred to him, that he looked like a lovesick puppy to outsiders. That wouldn't do. So he decided to man up and at least look good, even when he wasn't feeling good.


He was doing a good job, for a few months, until Anastasia Steele started to show up at his parent's house regularly. It started right after his brother purposed Kate. He knew they were best friends, and it was natural that Kate wanted her best friend with her, during wedding planning. But it didn't make it easier to having to look at Anastasia's face pretty much every Sunday. He tried not going, but his mother was relentless in her pursuit: They only dated for a brief time, and it wasn't their fault that it didn't work but Anastasia will always be in his life as the best friend of his future sister-in-law and he needed to make peace with this fact. He knew that she was right. And a tiny piece of him liked seeing Anastasia get better.

She was very thin and sick looking, the first time he saw her. He was so worried that something was wrong with her or Ray's health that he worked poor Taylor and Welch overnight to figure out what was it. Nothing came up. Everything looked normal.

"Maybe she's just sad." Was Gail's quiet intervention. He got very mad at Anastasia, then. How could she stop eating and taking care of herself because he stopped fucking her? That was unacceptable. His thoughts went out of control, and he found himself at her door, screaming at her about how stupid she was for letting herself go like that. He expected her to shout back, to throw him out or just fight. She just listened to him, tears pouring down her face until Kate came and told Taylor to take him away, pulling Anastasia inside.

She didn't stop coming to Sunday brunches, but she stopped acting normal around him. She paid attention to not sit too close to him, to not look at his eyes, never telling him hello or goodbye. She basically ignored him, which made it look like they were both moving on. His mother was happy, Kate was happy.

Eventually, he watched her gain the weight back. He watched her smile more. He watched her shot down Kate's ridiculous ideas, like bringing ice sculptures to a July wedding. He watched her face getting its color back, her hair shining once more.

He watched her walking down the aisle before Kate, noting how amazing she looked in the silk lavender colored dress. Her graceful neck open, her smile never leaving her face as she watched her best friend become a Grey.

His olive branch was to ask her to dance. She was shocked but she still got up and let him hold her close. He felt light headed, he didn't notice how much he missed her smell, how she felt in his arms.

"I'm sorry." He muttured. "I was very out of the line and I'm so sorry for all the damage I have caused." She looked into his eyes and sighed.

"It's ok. My therapist says that you were probably worried for me and didn't know how to channel that feeling." She had a therapist? Because of him? He felt a heavy feeling sat on his chest. He was the fucked up one, the one who needed a shrink. It made him awful, to think that he hurt her so much that she needed help.

"She's right." He agreed. "I was very worried. You looked very bad Anastasia."

"I know. Unrequited love tends to do that to a woman." She looked down, as he searched the right way to tell her that it wasn't a real love but he didn't want to make her angry. So he did the only thing he could think of to make her better. He pulled her close, closing his eyes and leaning his head down, on top of hers. Breathing in her scent quietly and enjoying the feeling of her tiny hand in his, probably the last time, as they swayed together.