I'm sorry, I've been MIA but there's just one more chapter after this. Excuse my mistakes, thank you.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - You may call me, Mrs. Grey.
Two years later
I love watching Christian with Teddy. He's obsessed with him and enjoying paternal leave so much, I find it both astonishing and endearing at the same time. I thought Mr. Workaholic and GEH is my life would be itching to go back to work but here we are four months in and the simple thought of leaving Teddy behind for more than a few hours gets him in a bad mood. Who am I kidding, we're both equally smitten with our baby boy.
He was a surprise, that's for sure. Interestingly, we hadn't talked about kids before we got married and then after we had a very general conversation that followed Enlight's timetable. It was important to me that I see it through rather than having to abandon it because I didn't want to half-ass motherhood, I wanted to be fully present and also, I was only 23 when we got married… I needed to chill a bit after the whole seven year betrayal/Acero debacle.
However, I had a pregnancy scare six months later and we both were quietly on edge as we waited for the five pregnancy tests to show us the results. I had missed my shot in the middle of the craziness at work and I was only a week late in getting it but given our active sex life and well, Christian's very colorful sexual imagination, even a five minute delay in getting the shot seemed like a risk going forward. But then a negative test result was meant to be relief but I saw confusion on Christian's face and maybe a little sadness.
"What's wrong?" I ask him, his eyes are still on the last pregnancy test.
"I'm not going to lie, I was scared shitless at first but a small part of me was a little excited as well and I don't know why I'm disappointed now." He murmurs, throwing it in the trash. "Our timetable was five years from now anyway."
"I'm a little disappointed too, I think." I confess. Actually, I'm not entirely sure what I feel but emptiness is what comes to mind, except it's not soul-crushing it's just…. empty.
"Hell, I don't even know if I'll be a good dad." He chuckles wryly. "I thought, well… a few years would be enough time to maybe figure shit out before we got around to trying."
His admission shocks me. He doesn't think he'll be a good dad? How could he think that? He's a shoe-in for superdad.
"You'd be the best Dad ever." I pull him down for a kiss and he wraps his arms about me, holding me for dear life. We kiss slowly, trying to return to normal from our little trip down disappointment lane. I pull back and look into his eyes, searching them. "Do you want to have a baby?"
"I want whatever you want. You're just starting out, you deserve to see this through."
"Leave that all aside for now. I'm asking, do you want to have a baby earlier than our decided timeline?"
He strokes my cheek and speaks but I sense the hesitation in his voice. "Yeah, I think five years is too long now."
I smile at him and kiss the corner of his mouth. "Okay, how about a year from now we start trying? I just want Enlight to be in a good place, I mean we're doing great so far but I want to spend a little more time being an app mom before I'm a human mom." I giggle and he laughs.
Three months later, I found myself pregnant. The shot actually failed this time around but Christian likes to think his super sperm succeeded against the modern trappings of science and technology. If it helps him sleep better at night then sure, he can think he's Super-sperm-man for all I care.
His dedication to our baby boy turns me into a weepy mess. He was so attentive and supportive during the pregnancy which thankfully was smooth and I was lucky enough to have a natural birth. It's a miracle Christian didn't faint in the delivery room after watching our child exit me. I sure as hell almost fainted from the exhaustion and may or may not have plotted to kill him for the pain I felt while healing from second degree tears.
Sometimes, I catch them in Christian's study where he's growling and barking orders to whoever is on the other side of the line while walking around shirtless with Teddy against his chest and what's more, our little baby boy loves it. I'm afraid he's addicted to being carried and walked around but as long as Christian takes point on it, I'm good. Christian never raises his voice in front of him and becomes like a small child when playing with him. I could watch them together all day. He's enjoying every second of parental leave. He calls it the best vacation he's ever been on. The man needs to revisit his definition of what a vacation is.
We're in New York right now to attend the party for my magazine cover of this year's Forbes Billionaires list. Enlight skyrocketed the moment it launched and now we have 25 million users worldwide with major publishing houses tapping into our network to broaden their horizons. So far we're in the US, UK and slowly expanding in other European countries while tapping into the Asian markets.
I chose to raise funds for Enlight instead of keeping it self-funded. I am still the majority shareholder but the push and pull of investors worked well and kept the fire lit under our asses, not to mention the different perspectives helped propel us to where we had the potential to go. Another one of our goals at Enlight with the Enlight foundation, which is our new philanthropic branch, is to furnish schools in rural areas at home and developing countries with basic necessities, technology, training for teachers and most of all, creating and supporting local communities to help the next generation with the skills and knowledge they need to go into the world and prosper.
One of the best things about being with Christian is he makes me want to push myself and do better. My mind is engaged and constantly spinning with new ideas. He keeps me grounded but also holds me up to make sure I know I can reach for the stars. I snap out of my little daydreaming and fix my hair before switching off the light to the walk in closet and heading into the room. I hear Christian talking to Teddy and telling him we have to leave for a bit. He's smitten with his Daddy too and likes talking to him with his little oohh's and aahh's.
I'm wearing a floor length, green silk gown with earrings that Christian got me for my birthday in addition to a gorgeous diamond bracelet he got me when Teddy was born. I watch them from the threshold of the walk-in closet and see my tuxedo clad man holding our little teddy bear onesie clad baby boy, completely enraptured by his father. He's a mini-Christian with my eyes and my personality I'd like to think…. If he turns out to be a mini-Christian personality wise then my hair is going grey before I hit 40.
"Hey Tedster, doesn't your Mommy look beautiful?" He turns Teddy to face me, still swaying. Our baby boy coos and shoves his fist in his mouth to suck on it. "You know what this means, I gotta go and keep the other schmucks from hitting on her. I gotta protect her… I'll man the shift for now but when you grow up, I'm handing the reins to you."
I roll my eyes and giggle before walking towards them and picking up our little cherub to shower him with kisses. He smells so good and looks so yummy. I'm gonna eat him one day.
"Don't listen to the ape, teddy bear. Your mommy can protect herself all on her own. One day I'll tell you how I almost kicked your Daddy where the sun don't shine."
"Puh-lease, I know from experience how much you love checking out where the sun don't shine." He smirks, coming closer to kiss me.
"Don't talk like that in front of our son." I scold him. "You're such a pervert."
"And one day he will be a pervert. Circle of life." He grins shamelessly.
I narrow my eyes at him to say something but Teddy makes a noise to catch his father's attention, his eyes fixed on him in wonder as always.
"See, my Tedster agrees." He coos and kisses his tiny nose. Well, there go my ovaries again.
"Your Tedster is gonna get a time out if he pulls any crap like you." I grumble, unconvincingly.
"All the crap I pulled led me to you."
"Don't try and seduce me." I huff. He smirks , giving me a quick kiss and takes Teddy out of my arms so that we can find Gail in the Great Room.
"Try not to get fresh with Gail, Taylor is pretty jealous." Christian jokes, making Gail blush. She laughs and shoo's us away after we say our smothering goodbyes to him.
"We're only staying for an hour and coming straight back to the apartment." Christian pouts when we exit the elevator to get into the waiting SUVs.
"Christian, this is supposed to be our night off to party or whatever. Teddy won't be able to keep you company because he will be sleeping when we come back."
"He better be." He smirks and leans in to kiss my neck but he doesn't stop there. His hands roam by form, making me giggle. "The only party I want to have is with you."
"Stop trying to turn me on." I try pushing him away, laughing and squealing but like always he takes it as a challenge. "Christian, I'm serious."
He narrows his eyes with a sly grin.
"Mrs. Grey, I'm serious too. Very serious about fucking you."
Ever since I married this man, I'm always late to parties.
Teddy is now six months old and growing faster by the minute. Everyday he does something new and I know we're biased but our kid is smart and beautiful. Christian's phone is filled with pictures and videos. The other day, Elliot and Christian had their first 'man' day with Teddy while Kate and I had a spa day of our own. They took him out of The Grace and Elliot sent us pictures of Teddy, sleeping and sprawled out on the bed in the main cabin with a few empty beer bottles surrounding him.
Kate and I thought it was hilarious. Christian not so much… but I know he secretly loves how much Elliot enjoys playing with Teddy. Mia and his parents too. There was talk about setting up a proper social calendar for Teddy so that everyone got an equal chance to spend time with him with his parents trying to use their seniority to monopolize all of Teddy's time but then Mia shut them down real quick. All in all, I'm so glad that my little boy is surrounded by so much love. I've seen a completely different side to Raymond Steele, the kind that indulges in baby talk! He's already looking forward to teaching Teddy how to fish, shoot a gun, chop wood, shoot a gun–Christian was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. He learned early on from Grace and Carrick to not interfere when it comes to grandparents, not to mention how quickly he became chopped liver the minute Teddy was born. Grace has already bought him a baby stethoscope and Carrick has gotten him Harvard gear in different styles to wear whenever he's around. My grandson is going to Harvard, class of 2044. The math on that made my head spin.
The other day, Elliot expressed an interest in wanting to wear the baby carrier. Once he did, he grinned and took out a small baby hat and wore a pair of sunglasses to recreate the Zach Galifanakis look from the Hangover.
Christian rolled his eyes, I took pictures and Kate? Well, Kate began to ovulate I think.
She already confessed to growing ovaries the moment she held Teddy but the more she sees Elliot interact with him and come up with fun ideas to spend time with him, she realizes more and more that he's the one but she doesn't want to settle down just yet.
She's weary of marriage, given how her parents got married young and have been miserable for years. Loving Elliot isn't the problem, it's the fear of the unknown or worse, history repeating itself.
I told her history only repeats itself when you don't learn from it.
Kate and I walk out of the Enlight offices and head down the sidewalk, much to Christian and Taylor's protests but honestly, I'm feeling like a vampire. Sometimes, I just want to catch some fresh air and eat tacos from a truck. Instead, we just walked to the new cafe that opened a week ago to check it out before we head out to the Sea-Tech conference where we're one of the keynote speakers. I'm freaking out and Kate is the picture of absolute calm. She always is. She was born to command a room.
Kate and I take a corner table by the window and proceed to enjoy our baked treats and beverages. Christian sends me a video of Teddy, munching on his teething toy and growling. I show it to Kate and she laughs when in my periphery I notice someone walking towards me. When I look to see who it is, I do a double take. Sawyer is immediately by our side and giving me a determined look that begs me to not entertain this.
Rosa shifts on her feet a little and looks at me apologetically. What happened wasn't her or Maria's fault and they tried to get in touch with me but I cut all communication with Rodriguez'. It hurt too much to keep revisiting that part of my life and I suppose in a way, it feels like I abandoned his sisters since we were such good friends but my mental health couldn't handle it.
"Hi Ana." Rosa smiles and gives Sawyer a weary look. "I don't mean to disturb you. It's been forever."
She looks so grown up, a knockout, just as I knew she would turn out to be.
"It has. How are you?" I reply. I've got no reason to be a bitch to her so a little small talk won't hurt.
"I've been doing, okay. I'm actually here for the Sea-Tech conference. I've been working on an app idea and applied for the Sea-Tech competition which I won. Jos–I mean, my brother has been helping me a bit."
"That's… wonderful." I say, trying to sound genuine. I'm happy for her, but only her. "You'll meet some incredible people at the conference, be sure to soak up all the knowledge you can and network. "
And just then I see José coming out of the men's room from down the hall and our eyes lock. I can hear Sawyer mutter something under his breath about ain't no way this shit is happening.
"Ana." His face is white as a ghost. Rosa turns around and looks back at me a little embarrassed. This entire situation is awkward as fuck. I catch a glimpse of Kate sipping on her caramel macchiato like it's her regular morning entertainment unfolding in front of her. I really don't remember what he used to look like. It's almost as if he never existed in my life and Christian was all that ever was. He's what? 26 I think but he looks like he's aged. I have no idea what became of the financial mess he found himself in with Gaia. I purposely stayed oblivious to it all because if I was closing the chapter of my life then I was going to rip out the pages and burn them.
"Mr. Rodriguez, I'm going to have to ask you to not take a step further." Sawyer warns him and it appears José is smart enough to comply.
"Oh don't worry, Sawyer. He knows what damage Ana is capable of inflicting, he's gonna stay far far away." Kate snickers and I glare at her.
But then José opens his mouth again and whatever shred of intelligence I thought he had flies out the window. Why can't you just leave?
"You look good, Ana." He says with a small smile. Oh, I know I look good. I look amazing, a far cry from the overworked and frazzled slave you had years ago.
"Tell her something she doesn't know, limp dick." Kate answers for me with a fuck you smirk and I glare at her again but the laughter threatens to surface and I bite my tongue. I hear José tell Rosa in spanish to wait in the car. She hesitates for a moment but gives me a small smile and says goodbye.
"Ana, can we please talk?"
Before I can answer, Sawyer intervenes and tells him to leave quietly before he drags him out. My phone has been vibrating on the table non-stop, no doubt my very anxious husband losing his mind. At one point, Kate picks up and tells him to calm down the only way an alpha can tell another alpha to shut up.
"You should leave." I tell him and gather my things to stand.
"I have a son. Please, Ana." He blurts out, desperately. "I'm knee deep in this debt and…"
"And what?" I ask. "You want to use your son to guilt trip me? You should've thought of that before you decided to fuck her and humiliate me at the altar." That bit of news definitely did make its way to me. Dad told me in passing one day that Gaia gave birth to a baby boy and it was indeed José' son. Army buddies gossip too.
"I'm sorry. I am so sorry but I'm trying to be a better man for my kid." He pleads and for a moment I feel his pain.
Teddy's face flashes in front of me and how I too would be willing to do anything for him but then I remember who I'm dealing with.
"Good luck on that journey cause you sure as fuck need it." I mutter, getting ready to walk away. This bitchy feeling feels a little foreign to me.
"The Ana Steele I know wasn't this heartless." He spits out dejectedly, no doubt trying to guilt trip me further.
I turn around and address him again much to Sawyer's annoyance. I don't give a fuck right now, he just needs to live with it. I'm otherwise always very compliant with security protocols.
"You're right, José but you're dealing with Anastasia Grey now. Remember that for the rest of your days."
"Ana, we have history, please don't–"
"You may call me, Mrs. Grey." I inform him and he loses his words, staring at me dumbfounded.
A few moments pass and I see the desperation on his face and I feel it start to faze me. I need to get out of here.
"We're done here, Sawyer." I say, wanting to get out of the awkwardness of this mess.
When I get into the car and call Christian he of course yells at me and goes off on an angry tangent that I quietly listen to. I feel exhausted all of a sudden and when he realizes I'm not really replying to him he calms down and asks me what's wrong. I tell him nothing and hang up.
"Now he's calling me." Kate groans. "I don't wanna deal with him again." Their love and hate relationship is strong but secretly they're friends even if they're always at each other's throats. "You married a paranoid man-child, Steele."
I take the phone from her hands and answer it.
"Christian, stop calling her. Everything is fine, please relax and let everyone do the same."
"I just want to make sure you're okay, baby." His voice is softer now.
"I'm fine.I need to get in the right headspace for this keynote speech. Send me some pictures of Teddy please."
"I will, I love you and I'm proud of you." He says after a moment. This is how he apologizes. Saying I'm sorry is against his religion or something.
"You have no choice but to... or I'll take half." I grumble and he actually laughs. I smile automatically and a small giggle escapes me.
"There's my badger." He jokes.
"Whatever, ape. Send me pictures of my teddy bear. Feel free to include your face in it too."
"Your wish is my command, Mrs. Grey." He says seductively and I roll my eyes, trying not to laugh.
I say my goodbyes, hang up and give Kate her phone.
"You guys are so in love that it's gross." Kate laughs.
I smile at the thought. Yeah… it's gross but I love it.
One year later
GPOV
I stretch and get out of my luxurious bed. It took me a while but I got to where I wanted, well, I guess it's more of a stepping stone to where I actually wanted to end up but I'll soak up whatever wins I can get. My ring catches the light and I smile. Three years, three fucking years it took to rebuild myself.
After my own mother kicked me out… well, she never let me in, in the first place, I found out I was pregnant. There was, married, pregnant and in an obscene amount of debt. Thankfully, I had a decent safety net saved up that José or Ana didn't ever find out about. And there was no way in hell, I was dipping in that to pay off the debt. I had to figure out another way and a way I did find.
Showing up at Rodriguez' front step was a risky move but it ultimately paid off. José's mother, Elizabeth may have grown to dislike me after everything but she didn't hate me more than Ana so I had that going for me. Add in the fact that I was pregnant with her first grandchild? Score for the whore! Yes, I realize I'm calling myself a whore but when José began screaming like a little bitch and calling me a whore and that it most likely wasn't his child… a non-invasive DNA test shot that theory to shit and shut him up.
His mother became my personal slave and I took full advantage. She was willing to do anything for her grandchild. So I was given a room to myself and treated like a queen. I don't know how but they figured a way to pay off the debt, at least 80% of it by taking an equity loan on the house and using their savings. Jose Sr. pushed for the sale of his mother's old house in Puerto Rico to get his share, which amounted to a decent chunk of change.
While José and his sister refused to talk to me, I continued to live like a Queen and quietly make my own money through an app called FanLove that's sort of a pay for play. People subscribe to see me do, say, react to certain things and all I have to say people love a kinky look on a pregnant woman. I made the decision to wear a mask and keep my face hidden since I didn't envision myself doing this for long, just enough to get the fuck out of this town after this baby was out of me.
In a span of 7 months, I made $250,000. And no one knew.
Then one warm day in April, my water broke and Elizabeth was the only one to accompany me to the delivery room. Apparently, I gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby boy. I didn't care all that much but had to keep up appearances. José still refused to speak to me but couldn't ignore his child. I put in my six weeks waiting to heal. I refused to breastfeed but my breasts were heavy like rocks so I had no choice but to pump. There was no way I wanted to deal with chapped nipples and random ass pain related to that shit.
The moment I got the all clear from the doctor telling me I was all healed and ready to resume 'activities', I laughed to myself and packed a bag. Being a mother was not on my to-do list but I suppose one must make the best out of every situation they are in.
I left and didn't look back. The kid, Thomas, was better off without me. I had no interest in him and I was doing us all a favor but mostly myself.
In the years that followed I reinvented myself. I had my name legally changed to Gia Gray after paying off the remaining $50,000 of the debt that the 80% didn't cover. I couldn't work in the tech field so I kept on with the FanLove app and worked a regular IT job at a hedge fund in New York City. What I did by night and in the privacy of my own apartment was nobody's business. I was making money left, right and center. I quietly and carefully built a life that would soon be a solid foundation for me to
Then one day, I went out for drinks with a few of my co-workers and met the man who would become my husband, Dr. Tahir Gupta.
He runs a successful spinal surgery practice and makes a shit ton of money. He's an only son, his parents are equally successful doctors and of course they love me. All he knows about me is that my father abandoned us, my mother is dead and that I was an only child with no knowledge of an extended family and that I've been on my own since I was 19.
I've been working on him for about a year and half and now we're finally married. Unfortunately, I had to sign a prenup but for every year we're married, I get a million dollars. I can live with that. I still continue with the app like the bored housewife I am. So far, I've made over two million dollars since I left Montesano. My face is still hidden but everyone's appetites are satisfied and my bank account reflects that well.
If the whole Acero shitstorm taught me anything it was that I needed to have a comfortable cushion to land on and preferably one that didn't require a human being being pushed out of my body. Thank god, I got my body back to fighting form within six months of giving birth.
I've never looked back and I don't intend to.
"Honey, let's head out for lunch." Tahir calls out to me from the patio. I agree and get up to go and get ready. Tahir's about 10 years older than me and boring as hell but he's stable and comfortable. What he lacks for in many things his credit card and money more than makes up for it.
Once I'm dressed, we walk over to one of the many restaurants here at the resort. We came out to the U.S. Virgin Islands for a weekend getaway.
"Have you given any more thought to where you want to go for our anniversary getaway in two months?" He asks, while we eat our food.
"Let's go to Bali!" I smile. "Unless of course my darling husband has other preferences."
He laughs. "My only preference is you, Mrs. Gupta."
Ugh, Mrs Gupta? I really didn't think this through, did I? Remember the money, Gia. The money.
I smile sweetly and feed him a scallop to shut him the fuck up. When he gets up to go and use the restroom, I take out my phone and check my FanLove account for requests. One guy wants to see a picture of panties for $200. That's easy enough. I'll wait for Tahir to come up and take care of this request in the ladies room. As I scan through the other requests, my husband shows up and I tell it's my turn to go and freshen up. I stand and kiss his cheek but before I can turn and leave, I hear a familiar voice.
Shit!
I freeze.
"Well if it isn't my favorite, thirsty bitch!"
I turn around and glare at her. Kate fucking Kavanagh.
Just my fucking luck.
"Excuse me?" I act like I don't know her and glance at her sidepiece. So she's still unmarried and hanging out with Grey's older brother. At least I got a ring out of my relationship. She's been dating this guy for what? Four years now?
"Don't act like you don't know me." She laughs. "What happened Gaia, you forgot about me already? We had chemistry, you know."
"Excuse me, Ma'am but I think you've got the wrong person." Tahir stands up for me.
She looks at him and then clocks my ring.
"Are you her husband?" She asks curiously.
"Yes, I am." He says dismissively and looks at me. "Gia, honey let's leave. These two look drunk."
He's right, we need to get out of here fast. We gather our things and try to move.
"Hold up, Gia? No, her name is Gaia Reed or Rodriguez actually. But I'm sure you knew that already."
"Listen lady, you've got the wrong woman. This is my wife, Gia Gray, now leave us the fuck along before we call security."
The blonde bitch and her hulk laugh out loud and he actually speaks this time.
"Grey? You changed your name to Grey? Couldn't get with my brother so now you change your name to his? Gia Grey?" He looks towards Kate. "You're right she's a delusional banshee." He then looks at me. "I gotta give you props."
"Gia, what are they talking about?" Tahir looks at me, worried and dumbfounded.
"They're lyi–"
"How much time do you have Tahir?" Kate asks, cutting my off and taking a seat at our table while motioning him to sit down as well. "Because I've got quite the story to tell you. One that involves the son she abandoned the husband she's still married to." She adds with a sinister smile and raises her hand to grab a waiter's attention. "You're going to need alcohol for this, Tahir."
And just like that, my life falls apart yet again.
A/N: One more chapter after this then I'll mark this story as complete! I hope you all have been well, thank you for following along. I'm going to try to update again next week with the last chapter because then I have to dive into packing up my entire life and move, ugh.