A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

WARNING: This chapter will contain depictions of abuse.

Chapter 3: Regrets

~2 years ago~

8:39 pm

The digital readout on the stove clock in the kitchen blinked at Ana as she sat alone at the head of the dining table, her legs crossed as her fingers played with the stem of her wineglass. The dimmed lights gave the house a sort of eerie glow, and the taper candles flickering from the beautifully-arranged centerpiece she had custom designed for tonight's dinner had melted down about halfway, rivulets of white wax dripping onto the tablecloth.

Ana now let out a sigh, picking up her glass of red wine, which was already her second one of the evening. Jack had promised he would be home by seven, which was the time Ana had planned to hold their one-year anniversary dinner. She had told him explicitly to be home at this time tonight, and he had assured her multiple times he wouldn't be late.

"I know I've been working a lot lately, baby, but I would never miss our one-year anniversary," Jack had assured her, putting his hands on her waist as he pulled her in for a sweet kiss. "I'll be home before seven tonight. I promise, baby."

Now, though, he was more than an hour and a half late, with Ana receiving only a cursory text from him saying he was held up with work. The chicken cacciatore, roasted potatoes, and honey-glazed carrots she had spent all afternoon cooking now sat cold in their respective dishes, and the ice bucket holding the bottle of champagne was now mostly water at this point. Deep down, Ana knew she should have expected this from Jack, but that didn't stop her from feeling disappointed.

It was a midterm election year, and Jack and the rest of Senator Thornton's campaign team had been working round the clock for weeks now to help get the senator's poll numbers up. Despite being the incumbent, he was starting to fall behind his opponent, so that meant extra press tours around the state of Washington while giving stump speeches at charity events and presentations at donor dinners.

And it also meant Jack was never home at a reasonable hour.

Ana looked at the clock again. 8:45 pm. With a resigned huff, Ana drained the rest of her glass of wine and got to her feet. She had worn her brand new red Dior dress and black Louboutins for tonight, and had taken extra care with her hair and makeup, but it apparently was all for nothing. She toed off her heels and padded barefoot into the kitchen, turning the dimmer switch up so there was more light throughout the spacious apartment. She rinsed out her wineglass in the kitchen sink, thinking idly that she could change into her comfy pajamas and reheat a plate of the nice meal she cooked while watching Netflix.

Dinner for one. Just like every night.

Just as Ana walked back over to the dining room table, she finally heard the familiar jingle of keys and the front door opening. Ana felt her heart catch in her throat as she kept her face resolutely turned toward the table, picking up her plate and filling it with the now-cold food. She heard Jack enter the apartment and walk toward her before stopping a few feet away, but Ana didn't so much as look at him or acknowledge his existence.

She was angry, and she wanted him to know it.

"…Ana," Jack finally spoke up, and he let out a beleaguered sigh. "Ana, I'm sorry, okay? There was an emergency at work, I couldn't get out of it."

"This was the fourth emergency this week," Ana bit out, still not looking at Jack as she spooned potatoes onto her plate. "What, do people keep starting fires over at the Senator's office?"

Jack let out a groan, and Ana could practically hear him running a hand over his face. "Don't be difficult, Ana. I don't have the energy to fight tonight."

Ana felt herself bristle as she turned her glare up to Jack. "Are you serious? I made us a special one-year anniversary dinner that you completely bailed on! When you promised me you wouldn't! You expect me to not be upset about that?"

"And I told you, I'm sorry," Jack argued back, his expression morphing into annoyed anger. He really did look like someone who was putting in 80 hours of work per week, with dark circles under his eyes and a sallow complexion to his skin. "Thornton got into another scandal this week – it's been all over the news. You know it's part of my job to spin it for the public."

"Wow, another politician getting into a scandal? I'm shocked," Ana rolled her eyes, turning to bring her plate of food into the kitchen so she could microwave it. "Do you think he could've picked a different week to screw over our dinner plans?"

"Hey, in case you forgot, it's my job that allows you to make dinners like this," Jack argued, following her into the kitchen as he gestured toward the dining room table. "If I didn't work as hard as I do, we wouldn't have an apartment in the nicest highrise in Seattle! You wouldn't get to wear these designer dresses or sleep in a king-sized bed! You wouldn't get to drive around in a Lexus or get into the best restaurants in the city! You're really going to complain that I work late sometimes?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't care about any of that?" Ana asked angrily, whipping around to face him. This was an argument she'd had with him more than once, especially in the last few weeks. "I wouldn't care if the two of us lived in a tiny studio apartment and ate ramen everyday! What do all these nice things even matter if you're hardly ever around to enjoy them?"

"Oh please," Jack scoffed. "You'd seriously be okay going to the poor house after living in this luxury for nearly a year? I know how much you've been spending on the apartment and on expensive ingredients for those gourmet meals you like to cook. How much of my money did you spend for this anniversary dinner? Tell me the truth."

"Are you being serious right now?" Ana snapped, placing her plate of food on the counter since her hands were shaking. "I've been saying for months that I want to get a job! You're the one who keeps saying I don't need to – that you make enough money for the both of us. Why are you suddenly angry that I'm spending money?"

"I'm angry because I bust my ass everyday and I get zero fucking appreciation from you!" Jack yelled back, moving forward so he was directly in front of her.

Ana reared back slightly, momentarily speechless. "You literally just stood me up for our anniversary dinner, and you're mad I don't show you more appreciation?! You can't be fucking serious!"

"Don't fucking raise your voice at me!" Jack yelled back, and the next moment he grabbed Ana's plate of food off the counter and threw it to the ground.

CRASH!

The delicate china shattered into dozens of broken shards which flew in all directions, and Ana jolted away as food splattered all over her brand new dress. She let out an instinctive gasp of surprise, but she was far too stunned to say anything as she stared at the mess on the ground with wide, shocked eyes. She and Jack had gotten into yelling matches before, but he'd never gone this far. She could only stand there, frozen.

The next moment, Jack stepped over the broken china pieces and grasped Ana's upper arms, pushing her against the counter behind her so her lower back was digging against the edge. His grip was tight, his nails practically digging into her skin, and Ana felt her heart lodge in her throat as she stared up at her boyfriend in shock.

His eyes were still angry, but there was something else in his expression. It was as if he felt mollified by his actions. "I'm sorry for doing that, baby, but I told you that I didn't want to argue tonight," he said, his voice surprisingly quiet in contrast with the painful grip he had on her arms, which only seemed to get tighter. "I've had a long day at work and the last thing I need is to come home to hear you bitching at me over something I couldn't control. Do you understand?"

Ana felt like she was going to throw up, and she couldn't seem to form words. She pressed her lips together and gave a small nod.

"Good," he said, removing one of his hands from her arm and gently tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Ana desperately wanted to pull away from him, but couldn't seem to move. "I didn't want to react like that, baby, but maybe now you know better. Don't let me do that again, okay?"

He didn't wait for Ana's response as he removed his bruising grip from her arm and stepped back, his shoes crunching over the broken china. "I forgot to mention it to you, but I already ate dinner tonight with the Senator. Please clean this up – I'm going to shower and then turn in for the night."

He turned around and walked toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Ana still hadn't moved from where she stood, and once Jack was out of sight, she looked down at the broken plate at her feet. The red marks on her arms where Jack had grabbed still stung, and she knew they would bruise by tomorrow.

Ana's stomach roiled with a powerful mixture of sadness, pain, and fear, and before she knew it, she had begun to cry painful, heaving, yet silent sobs. Her back was still pressed against the counter, and she slid down until she was sitting on the kitchen floor, surrounded by the broken plate pieces. She tucked her knees up against her chest and hugged them tightly, burying her face in her knees as she let the tears flow.

~Present Day~

Christian had to admit, as much as he loved living in and running GEH in the heart of Seattle, there was just something very nice and comfortable about driving away from the bustle of the city into the neighborhood of Bellevue. It was more of a quiet, residential area with large beautiful colonials filling the streets, which were owned primarily by doctors and lawyers, like his parents. His retired grandparents also lived in this area, so perhaps he just associated this neighborhood with his family, although his trip to his parents' house today couldn't actually be considered a social visit.

Christian sighed as he checked emails on his phone. His mind was on work, as usual: one of GEH's subsidiaries had a fire break out in one of their warehouses in Long Beach, causing a lot of their products to be destroyed or fire damaged. It was obviously a huge loss, and thankfully they were insured, but the insurance company was now trying to screw them out of a majority of the money they were owed. The GEH legal team was trying to help as much as they could, and they had a lot of it well in hand, but Christian decided to ask his father to look over the case to see if anything was missed. Hence why he was visiting his parents' house in the middle of a work day.

They would be home, he knew. Carrick worked primarily from home now, and his mother worked in private practice, meaning she had much more relaxed hours than other doctors who typically worked long shifts at the ER. If his father was tied up with a case, he could at least visit with his mother for a bit, which would undoubtedly make her happy.

The familiar twinge of guilt tugged at Christian's heart as he thought about his mother. For the past year or so, he had been trying to be more involved in his family, who he had systematically been trying to separate himself from for the better part of his life. After being taken advantage of by a family friend at fifteen years old, and then spending most of his adult years conducting a secret BDSM lifestyle his parents knew nothing about, he was now finally taking the steps he needed to move forward in his life. His therapist Dr. Flynn had helped him a lot in that regard, and while most of the time he felt like what he was doing wasn't enough, Flynn assured him any effort he made was appreciated. He supposed he would just have to trust that.

Taylor finally pulled into the driveway of the Grey Estate, which was one of the biggest houses on the block, complete with a wrought iron gate and a circular block paved driveway. Once they pulled in, Christian noticed that there was another car in the driveway, and it took him a moment to realize it was his grandparents' car.

They must be visiting today.

Of course, it would be nice to see his grandparents again, although he hoped he wasn't interrupting something important.

Once Taylor parked the Audi, he and Christian both got out and headed toward the front door, Christian making sure he had his briefcase with the case file in it. Christian rang the doorbell, and waited a few seconds before Carrick answered.

"Christian!" Carrick exclaimed, looking pleasantly surprised to see his youngest son. He looked relaxed in a button-down shirt with the collar open and his sleeves rolled up. "We weren't expecting you today. How are you, son?"

"I'm good, Dad," Christian smiled as he and his dad clasped hands and gave each other a one-armed hug, Carrick mindful of not touching his son's back. "I'm here on business, though. There's a legal question I wanted to run by you, if you have a minute."

"Of course," Carrick said, ushering him and Taylor through the door. "We can go talk in my office if you'd like. Your grandparents are actually here too – they brought over a friend of theirs to meet with Grace about the open private chef position."

"Oh, you finally got rid of Gretchen?" Christian asked, not at all sorry to hear that that flirtatious nitwit was finally gone.

"Yes we did. I know you're probably happy to hear that," Carrick smirked at his son as they made their way through the house. "We should say hi to your grandparents before we head up to my office."

Christian would've really rather just gone straight to his office before greeting his family, but knew it would be rude to protest. "Okay," he said, checking his watch. "But I do need to get back to the office soon."

"Don't worry, it won't take too long," Carrick assured him as they turned the corner. "They're here for Ana, after all."

They entered the spacious kitchen to see four people sitting at the kitchen island. His mother Grace and his grandparents, Theo and Margaret, all smiled upon seeing them, but the fourth person Christian didn't recognize. He stopped in his tracks as he stared at her.

He didn't know what he was expecting, but knowing that this woman was a friend of his grandparents', he had assumed she was older. But this woman – Ana, her name was apparently – looked quite young. She was also stunningly beautiful.

Her blue eyes locked onto Christian's and she raised her eyebrows, as if surprised to see other people in the house. She had a small, pixie-like face with flawlessly fair skin and perfectly pink lips. Her long, chestnut-brown hair fell in loose waves around her slender shoulders, and she self-consciously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Beauty practically emanated off of her, despite her simple outfit of black slacks and a conservative-looking white blouse buttoned up to the collarbone. She was likely trying to look professional, but Christian would have given just about anything to see her in a slinky dress that hugged her curves in all the right ways.

"Christian! Oh it's wonderful to see you darling," Margaret said happily, and she and Grace got up to walk over to him. Christian finally tore his eyes away from Ana to look at his mother and grandmother.

"It's good to see you guys too," he smiled, accepting the hugs both women gave him and feeling grateful they remembered not to touch his back. "Grandma, Dad mentioned that you and Grandpa were here today."

"We just popped by to introduce our neighbor to Grace and Carrick," Theo explained, smiling over at Ana, who smiled back at him. "She's a phenomenal chef, and we think she'd be perfect as their new private chef."

Ana giggled, and Christian felt his heart stutter in his chest. "I don't know if I'd go so far as to call myself a chef, Mr. Trevelyan, but I do like to cook."

"Oh, she's fantastic," Margaret praised, turning to Christian with a hand pressed to her heart. "She makes us all sorts of delicious meals and treats. I swear, Theo has refused to eat my cooking since Ana moved in next door."

The others laughed, and Christian took the opportunity to approach Ana. He held out his hand, smiling at her. "Hi, I'm Christian," he introduced, and Ana took his hand, which felt small and soft in his own. "Grace and Carrick's son, and Theo and Margaret's grandson."

"Ana Steele," she smiled at him, and Christian could detect a delectable blush spread across her cheeks. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." They shook, and Christian held her hand for a beat longer before reluctantly letting her go.

"Christian and I actually have some GEH business to get to," Carrick said from behind him. "Want to head up to my office now, Christian? We didn't mean to interrupt your meeting."

The last thing Christian wanted to do was work right now, but knew he didn't really have an excuse to hang around here in the kitchen. "Sure, Dad."

"Of course, darling, we won't keep you," Grace said, walking back over to the kitchen island. "But be sure to say goodbye before you leave. We'll likely still be in here."

"Will do," Christian said, knowing he wouldn't miss the chance to see Ana again. He locked eyes with her for a brief moment before reluctantly turning and following his dad out of the kitchen, Taylor trailing after them.

"Ana seems nice," Christian noted as they headed toward Carrick's office. "Are you thinking of hiring her?"

God, please say yes.

"I'm not sure yet. It's really your mother's decision, but she does seem nice," Carrick agreed. "And your grandparents absolutely adore her."

"Grandpa mentioned she's their neighbor," Christian noted as they walked upstairs toward the second floor. He suddenly fervently wished he visited his grandparents at their house more often. "I haven't heard them talk about her before."

"Apparently she's new to the neighborhood," Carrick explained. "She and her boyfriend moved into their house only a few months ago."

Christian felt a sudden and acute heaviness in his chest as disappointment filled his body. Of course, he should have realized a woman as stunning and beautiful as Ana had a boyfriend.

Dammit

Feeling decidedly more depressed than he did a moment ago, Christian silently followed his father into his office.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! If you did, please leave a review :)

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