My dear little broccolis💚💚💚
💚 So, this story is dedicated to two particular authors with whom I have briefly touched on those issues, and who make amazing stories. paleseptember10 & Krooela. Go check them out, you won't regret it.
💚 Fallen Angel💚
How would have Christian Grey's life turned out if the Greys had intervened when Elena tried to sink her claws into him? Would he still be the same man as we know, or someone completely different ...
‼️Rated M - {Out Of Characters/All Human/Alternate Universe}‼️
‼️Romance/Angst/Drama/Lemons‼️
‼️AS/CG/The Greys/The Steeles/Jack Hyde/Elena Lincoln‼️
💚 READ & REVIEW, DON'T BE A SILENT READER 💚
Chapter 22: Deliver Us (2,4K)
Christian's Pov
When I get home, I do many things at once so III can resolve this issue the most quickly possible. I get in touch with my lawyer as Kate advised, but also ask Jack to give me a resume about the head of PR's life since he started working with us first thing tomorrow morning. But I also ask Welsh about the tabloid where Kate got the story first.
I never paid attention much to those kinds of gossip wheels, but if they were that much on my ass, I want to know more about it. I never had issues posing for a magazine like Forbes and talking business, but I will have issues addressing my personal life for some ridiculous gossip website.
Because this is bound to happen again. I don't want to hide my relationship with Ana, far from it. And if I even play my cards right, this could result in something lasting and beautiful. But maybe I am getting ahead of myself on this. And n matter how much I know he loves teasing me about the most ridiculous things, I know that if I ask Elliott about this, he will help me see clearly. Is this love or just infatuation mixed with attraction?
Once most of it is settled, and I am just waiting for my lawyer to respond, I go take a quick shower, though I am rather reluctant about it. I liked having Ana's smell on me. Though to be honest, it is a rather feminine scent and not something that I would proudly wear to work. No matter how I feel about Ana, I still have a certain image and decorum to preserve.
I am sitting by the kitchen isle, still waiting for an answer from either Welsh or my lawyer and sipping on some orange juice, wishing that I had at least taken the time to drink Ana's smoothie. It looked fucking delicious. Maybe I could have even tasted it on her lips. As I'm looking at my phone, reading the email that Khan finally sent me, I receive simultaneously messages from Elliott and Mia.
Dude, where are you? ~ Elliott
Did you see that? ~ Mia
I give priority to Mia because Elliott is with Kate. And he knows we're having brunch with Mom and Dad. Sometimes this man can be an idiot. It's to wonder if we were raised by the same people.
Yes. I'm on it already. Elliott's girlfriend is actually competent. It's to wonder what she is doing with him. ~ Christian
As I expected, my phone immediately lits up with Mia's number and I pick up, getting out of the kitchen to stretch my legs.
"You seem to be taking this extremely well," she chimes and I shrug. The only thing I can do now is to prevent it from happening again. But this is already circulating on the internet, I have more chances of fixing my touch issues by tonight than to remove the picture from existence.
"It's in the process of being taken care of."
"Okay. But now I know what your girlfriend looks like. She's really beautiful. Why isn't she a model?"
I chuckle because she's right. Most women would have gone for that path if they had a beauty as distinct as Ana's. But thank God for me, she isn't one of those.
"It's not in her plans."
"Well, how does she take it? It must not be easy to pass from unknown to the sudden limelight."
I grimace because I didn't even think of that. I know that she's going to freak out, but I thought it would be something ephemeral. But now that Mia's words are echoing in my ears, it makes the situation more real and mostly more permanent.
I don't want to hide to date her, but … I don't want to expose her to this unnecessarily either. Especially since I want to show her the world. I already have this thing planned for her birthday, but this is only the first thing on a long list of places I want to take her to.
"I haven't told her anything. I don't want to freak her out."
"You haven't told her a thing?" She muses in horror. "Christian … that's a bad move! Every rom-com or romance novel ever clearly explains that miscommunication is the root of failed relationships. You can't keep something that big from her!"
"Mind your damn business, Mia. I know what I'm doing," I snap at her. This isn't miscommunication, it's just that I don't want to bother her with something as ridiculous as that. It's just a paparazzo picture, it shouldn't matter to either of us. Yes, they're invading our privacy, but that doesn't mean I want this to weigh on her.
"Christian … you should tell her. She's going to hear about it somehow. Don't you think she'd rather hear it from you?"
Well, she has a point here. Though Ana is not on her phone as much as Mia, she still checks it from time to time. "I'll tell her tonight, then. I don't want to stress her out just before meeting Mom and Dad."
"Ugh, I wish I was there. She looks cool too. Can't you come to Toronto next weekend?"
I roll my eyes, checking my reflection in the mirror of my bathroom. I went for casual because I've noticed yesterday how Ana often checked out my ass when I was in jeans. And I am certainly not going to stand in the way of her wandering eyes. I might even institute casual wear at work just to wear jeans every day and have her check me out on a daily basis.
"No. I'm sorry to tell you that my plans with Ana are not necessarily made according to you, dear baby sister."
"They should. I only make everyone's life brighter. You should know that by now."
I roll my eyes, but we both laugh and she bids me farewell when I tell her that I have an email to check before going to our parents' house.
The email in itself is rather succinct, going in concordance with what Kate told me earlier, but Khan does tell me that we need to talk more in-depth tomorrow. He also babbles about NDAs, as well maybe a guideline of conducts to have our not to have in public for Ana, but I will make it clear to him that this is completely out of question for me.
I trust Ana, and I know she won't go to the first tabloid to talk about me. She didn't even talk to her best friend about me until I told her that she could. That's probably why Kate didn't even think of mentioning the NDA. She knows her best friend and that she wouldn't do anything like that.
When I'm done answering Khan, I get another text from Elliott that triggers something in me
Dude! ~ Elliott
I know Elliott. Every time he sends a text like that and I don't answer in the following thirty seconds, he starts sending an avalanche of one-word texts until I answer. This guy really has time on his hand. Once he did it for twenty minutes straight. I couldn't do a thing on my phone without getting a notification from him. It was long ago, but that's when I decided that I definitely needed a professional phone that my family members wouldn't have the number of.
So I call him, grabbing my jacket as I say as soon as he picks up, "I'm on my way already. What is so important that you need to know?"
"You're on your way? Good. Because this is just bad form to not actually bring your girlfriend the first time she is meeting your folks, you know."
This makes me stop in my tracks. I was thinking of meeting them at Mom and Dad's. In fact, I thought that they had already left and that I would find them there.
"What do you mean?"
"You can't let Ana come with me and Kate. I mean, if it's the four of us, it's okay, but … dude, this is dating 101. Just bring your ass here and be a chivalrous man to your girlfriend. Don't make her feel like work, especially work, comes before her."
Okay, I didn't think of it like that. But Elliott might be right on this, despite the fact that he is an idiot. I wouldn't want Ana to think that I ditched her for work. But that's what it looks like. Isn't it ironic that I love the girl but I can't make it clear enough that she's everything to me? But then again, maybe it isn't love and just infatuation. I definitely need to ponder on the matter
So I grab the keys to my favourite Audi and let Elliott know, "I'm on my way. But I'm just taking Ana. You take yourself and your girlfriend to Mom and Dad's."
"Damn be the planet, right? It's okay. I wanted to take out for a movie tonight anyway."
I repress a roll of my eyes because Elliott should know by now that ecology is something close to my heart. I even have invested in that Elon Musk guy and his ideas of a car being 100% electric all the while being nice. But then again, this isn't public knowledge yet. Not even by my family.
"I'll be there in ten minutes," I inform him, before hesitating a little. A part of me doesn't want to give this much intel into my love life to Elliott because he has this gift to turn everything into a joke, but I also have Martha's voice repeating in my ear that he is my brother and that he has my best interests at heart.
"Are you alone?" I ask him and he scoffs,
"Of course. I was not going to point out that you were a bad boyfriend in front of an audience. You're my brother, no matter how much of an idiot you can be."
I can't help but smile as he says so. It seems we are very much alike in the way we see each other. l but then again, according to Mia, we are two sides of the same coin.
"I need your … input," I let him know as I get in the elevator and I hear him move a little before hearing a lock being pulled. Then, when he talks, his tone is serious and the echo lets me know that he is in Kate's bathroom.
"Go ahead."
"How is it going with Kate?"
There is a little pause, and I'm sure that he's debating whether to tell me or just ask what I really want to know. But then he goes, "Sexually or romantically?"
"Romantically."
"We're planning a baecation for the end of September. So I'd say it's going great. You don't plan baecations with flings. And … she wants meet to meet her brother. So yes, we're definitely heading toward the long term. Why?"
I take a deep breath, putting the keys into the ignition before I admit, "I had an epiphany last night. But I'm not sure if it's love or just infatuation."
"It's love, dude," he deadpans and I put the conversation on speaker as I start the car and exit the parking, "It was infatuation when you were being stubborn and trying to stay friends with her. It's been love since … I'd say the last time we had tacos at my place and she was telling us about her perfect twenty-fifth birthday and you had stars in your eyes all the while she was speaking. In fact, I'm pretty sure you were the one planning the whole thing in your head."
I remember vividly this night. It was a Monday, and we were all hanging out at Elliott's, gushing about the perfect birthday celebration. Of course, Ana started barbering again about her crazy climb on Mount Everest, but she was so passionate about it. She was the one who was starry eyes talking about it. And III was indeed seeing myself plan this perfect day for her. In fact, I already have a perfect birthday for her soon to be birthday. I just need her to take a day off and make sure she has her passport ready.
"Why didn't you say anything? You always run your mouth when you shouldn't! That's the reason why I'm bringing Ana home today!"
"I didn't think you were ready then. I know how much the touch thing is … affecting you. Even more now. I see how you look at Kate and me. And I have no words of comfort for you. I don't like to be a Debbie-downer."
"You're not. It is annoying. It's more than that, it's pissing me off!" I reassure him and rant at the same time. I could rant to Ana, but she's already so patient with me, I don't want to put that on her as well.
"Well, people stop smoking with hypnosis, maybe you can try as well. Or maybe be as honest as possible with Ana. Did you … I know you don't like talking about Detroit but …"
"I told her the gist of it last night. She's just great. She's so sweet and supportive and patient, and all I want is for her to touch me whenever she wants to. I'm not asking for fucking much."
"I know," he sympathises and I let out a sigh, parking in front of her building. I might try this hypnosis thing. I've been avoiding this topic for years with Martha and now, I need a solution ASAP.
"Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. I'll be up in a minute."
"Christian? I'm always here for you. Vent or advises, I'm your brother first and foremost."
I smile and quote his favourite show, "No chick flick moment. Bitch."
"Jerk."
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💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚
💚Okay, what did you think of thos two conversations Christian had with his siblings?
💚 Did you get the show referred at the end? Only people who root for the King of Hell should understand, haha!
💚 Do you think that Elliott is right and that Christian was in love with Ana since before they started dating?
💚Well, let me know what you thought of this chapter. What was your favourite part? What do you think will happen next?
💚 E L James owns the names of the characters from the Fifty Shades franchise, Everything else is mine (including the mistakes and grammar errors).
Love, Mina 💚💚💚