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

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Chapter 8: Where the Cookie Crumbles

Christian could only watch as Ana walked away, his heart clenching with regret and about a million other emotions. A large part of him wanted to go after her, to explain things to her and to beg her to see it from his perspective, but he knew he couldn't. The last thing he wanted was to create a public spectacle, and there were too many people around right now. She simply walked away, probably thinking he was just a creep who would willingly cheat on his fiance.

God, how did my life get to this point?

From the very moment Christian saw Ana at that small business expo two weeks ago, standing at her booth, looking so pretty yet so nervous as she tried to garner more business for her bakery, he knew he was a goner. The fact that she was a young entrepreneur doing everything in her power to support herself and her small business made Christian want to do whatever he could possibly do to help her.

That's why Christian was happy to give Ana and her bakery a business opportunity like doing some catering events for GEH. And it didn't hurt that her baked goods were some of the best he'd ever tasted – even without the popularity boost she got from Mia's food blog, Christian knew Ana could have been very successful in her own right.

Ana now disappeared around the corner, and Christian let out a small sigh before making his way over to the Audi, his heart in his stomach. Taylor got out of the driver's seat so he could open the back door for Christian.

"I apologize if this isn't the best time, sir, but I was just informed by security that Ms. Matteo is waiting for you at Escala," he informed Christian.

Perfect, Christian couldn't help but think in slight annoyance as he got into the car. "Thanks Taylor."

He knew it wasn't necessarily Gia's fault: she'd been coming by Escala more and more often since they'd announced their engagement and began planning the wedding. It was understandable, considering everything that still needed to be done, but it made Christian miss having his own space in his 'ivory tower', as Mia had always liked to call his penthouse.

He supposed he would have to get used to sharing his space now, considering the fact he was getting married.

Taylor drove them back to Escala, and Christian busied himself with checking his emails on his phone. It was a short drive, and soon they were pulling into the underground parking garage of the Escala Towers. Once Taylor parked in the assigned space, they got out of the car, Christian carrying his takeout bag of ramen, and headed toward the private penthouse elevator, which would take them straight up to the top floor.

The elevator ride was silent, and after a minute or so the doors slid open to his foyer. There were the sounds of pots and pans moving around the kitchen, and two women's voices talking with each other. Christian and Taylor made their way into the main room and saw Gail Jones, Christian's housekeeper, busily working away in the kitchen while Gia stood nearby at the dining room table, some file folders spread out in front of her.

Gia looked perfectly and beautifully put-together, as she normally did, in a tan blazer and pencil skirt, and her blonde hair was pulled back in a professional-looking chignon. Gia was, objectively, very beautiful, and she projected the sort of classy elegance that made her an ideal partner to take to charity balls and galas. Everyone at these parties always told Christian how lucky he was to have snagged such a stunning woman.

Both Gia and Gail looked up upon hearing the men enter.

"Welcome home, Mr. Grey," Gail smiled at the two of them, though her smile faltered when she noticed the takeout bag in Christian's hand. "Oh. My apologies, sir, I didn't realize you were going out to eat tonight. I made chicken cacciatore for dinner."

"Don't worry about it, Gail, it's my fault. I… ran into a friend after work, and we decided to pick up some ramen." Christian handed the takeout bag to Taylor, who brought it over to the kitchen island. "I can eat this while you guys enjoy the chicken cacciatore."

"Of course, sir," Gail nodded agreeably.

Christian made his way over to Gia standing at the dining table, and she glanced up from the file folder she was reading. "Hello Gia. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked politely.

"Our wedding venue," Gia said, cutting right to the chase as she handed Christian the file folder in her hand. "My parents found this one and they really like it: The Imperia over on Eastlake. It's a nice space that's not over-the-top lavish, and they have an opening in a few months on the day of our wedding."

Christian grimaced, looking at the venue pictures in the folder Gia handed him. The last thing he felt like discussing right now was this wedding, but he supposed he didn't really have a choice. "I still don't see why your parents won't just let us have the ceremony at my parent's house. The Grey Estate is a perfectly decent place to hold a small wedding, and we won't even need to put a deposit down."

"Yeah, well, my parents want us to have a 'real' venue," Gia shrugged, clearly also not happy with this compromise. "They are paying for this whole thing, after all. They agreed that the rehearsal dinner could be at your parents' place, at least."

"Whatever," Christian shook his head. He had been hoping this wedding planning business would go by without any headaches, but he supposed that was too much to ask for. "If they insist on a real wedding venue for us, I'm surprised they're not going the whole nine yards with it and booking the finest hotel in Paris or New York."

"If we had agreed to a multi-year long engagement, then that's probably what they would want to do," Gia said, crossing her arms. "But we're only waiting months, not years. They're just going to have to deal with it."

Christian didn't answer as his eyes drifted over the pictures of the wedding venue he was holding, taking in the beautiful flowers and the smiling, happy people. His mind, for some reason, cast back to a half-hour ago, when he was walking with Ana to the ramen shop. She was smiling and giggling at something he said, and his heart felt like it was going to pound right out of his chest as he gazed down at her.

Suddenly, looking at wedding venues felt completely and totally wrong.

"You just need to sign the deposit for the venue. Here," Gia said, producing a packet of papers from another file folder and handing it to him. "I already signed it. Do you need a pen?"

Christian didn't answer as he simply took the packet from her, staring down at it. A sick feeling suddenly twisted in the pit of his stomach, and signing this felt like he was signing his own death warrant.

I don't think I can do this.

"Christian?" Gia asked, noticing his hesitation. "Is everything alright?"

Christian looked back up at her, unsure of what to say, and he instinctively glanced toward the kitchen, where Gail and Taylor were standing. He had a sudden desire for them to leave.

Sensing his strange mood, Gia moved past Christian and walked toward the kitchen. "Mr. Taylor? Mrs. Jones? Do you mind giving Christian and I a minute? We'll call you back when we're done."

"Of course, Ms. Matteo," Gail said politely, turning off the stove and moving her pan off the burner. She and Taylor then made their way toward the servants' quarters, giving Christian and Gia some privacy.

Once they were gone, Gia turned back to Christian, levelling him with an assessing look. "Are you alright, Christian? You're acting very odd today. You're not rethinking our arrangement, are you?"

Christian sighed, setting the papers back on the table before perching himself against the edge of the table, crossing his arms. "This is all just getting to be a lot. The wedding venue, the amount of money your parents are spending… and I know my own parents are contributing to our wedding as well. I just feel bad for lying to everyone."

"We knew getting into this that we were lying to people," Gia said fairly, walking forward before stopping in front of him. "My father wasn't going to give me access to my trust fund unless I was 'married and settled', as he put it. Since neither you nor I have ever had aspirations for marriage, and I'm willing to invest in GEH with my new architectural business, we agreed that the two of us getting married was a mutually beneficial situation."

"I know," Christian said, not meeting her gaze. It all sounded so clinical when she laid it out like that, but when they had agreed to this arrangement, it had all made perfect sense to him. "I guess I'm just wondering if you're still willing to go through with all this. A whole wedding and marriage is a lot to ask from someone, and we agreed that we're going to have to put up appearances for at least a year before we announce our divorce."

"I promise, Christian, I don't have a problem with this arrangement," Gia insisted. "I've been completely honest with you from the beginning, and I haven't changed my mind about any of it. I only care about getting access to my trust fund and starting my business – that's it. If you're rethinking this whole arrangement, though, please let me know now. I don't want to go through with all of this if you're having doubts."

Christian didn't answer, and Gia simply looked at him for a few moments. "Is there someone else?" she asked gently. "Because we agreed that dating other people is perfectly acceptable during this arrangement, so long as we're discreet about it."

"No," Christian said quickly, feeling a flush grow on his face as he cleared his throat. "No, that's not… I'm not seeing anyone. It's not that."

"Okay," Gia said slowly. "Then what is it?"

Christian grimaced, unsure of how to properly verbalize what he wanted to say. While it made sense to date other people during this sham of a marriage, Christian could only think of one woman he wanted to be with. However, he didn't think he would be able to do something so disrespectful to Ana. She made him not want to go through any of this anymore, but he knew that wouldn't have been fair to Gia. He had made a promise to her, long before he had even met Ana, and he felt obligated to see it through.

Christian finally sighed, shaking his head. "It's nothing," he said, and he picked up the packet of papers again. "I'll sign the deposit. Do you have a pen?"

"Yup. Here you go," Gia pulled a pen out of her breast pocket and handed it to him. "Thank you, Christian. I promise you, all of this will be over sooner than you think."

"I know," he muttered, scrawling his signature on the paper and feeling that timing was hardly on his side at the moment.

A/N: How many of you are surprised by this? What do you think is going to happen next? Leave a review and let me know!

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