Chapter 21: Lunch Date

Anastasia's POV

I don't necessarily hate confrontations. It's like if you have done something, you have to confront it, be it good or bad. It doesn't really give you a peace of mind after that but confrontations do lead you to having satisfaction after facing the truth.

Which what exactly I thought until now. Okay maybe I was hyperventilating when I was going to meet Christian. But that was Christian and what harm would he do to me? Right?

The thing is I cannot say the same for Kate. Or mama Grey and papa Grey. Wait did I actually call them mama and papa?

"It looks like you are just going to pass out, Anastasia", Christian says smugly as he looks ahead and slams the accelerator to 100 miles/per hour.

"Well, on such short notice of meeting your parents and my former best friend, you should give me at least this much time to have a panic attack", comes my forced reply. How did I manage to speak these many words, is a secret because it seems like I can barely breathe.

He rolls his eyes and says, "Stop being dramatic."

"Oh really?! They are going to meet a person who left them without goodbyes and came back now with their granddaughter! If anything, i'm actually scared they'll lodge a complaint against me."

"Ana, stop panicking. They are still your in laws. And they are not monsters."

Well, that's true. It's just a confrontation right? Or a small "lunch date" in Christian's words.

It's been five days since the night of argument with my husband dear, note the sarcasm, and lets just say since then things are less likely to be broken around us. It's like a i'm seeing a whole new person. I still cannot fathom he played the marriage card to make me agree. Though I really don't know why I accepted his so called 'help'. Maybe because of Mila.. I really don't know. Maybe it were his words of not being a fighter.

He is also so nice with Mila, knows exactly what to speak at the right time. It seems like he was always a father material, he just never got in touch with that part.

Everything seemed fine until this morning. This beautiful Friday morning where I expected Christian to go to work and Mila and me would go for some shopping since she is starting her school in two weeks. Everything seemed perfect until he breaks the news we are going for a lunch with the Grey's.

Now the Grey's not only include his parents but my ex best friend who is also my sister in law and his husband. To top that, my other sister in law that is Mia and her husband who is supposedly my ex best friend's brother Ethan.

Holy cow i'm screwed, aren't I?

"Where are we going?", says Mila who was sleeping throughout the morning. She is currently strapped in the back seat, looking as gorgeous as ever.

"Hey munchkin', Good Morning", Christian says, his whole feature lighting up.

She gives a small smile and looks at me.

"Umm..", I start. What should I say?

"Munchkin', do you wanna meet your grandparents?", Christian fills in for me and I offer him a grateful gesture.

"But they are in Georgia", Mila says, confusion lanced in her voice.

"Not mommy's parents.. daddy's parents. Do you wanna meet em?", I say as Christian's smile disappears and a subtle frown settles on his face.

Mila nods enthusiastically and i'm grateful that she doesn't reprimand the idea.

"And you'll be having a friend to talk to there too", he says.

"Who?", I ask.

"Kate and Elliott's daughter, Ava"

Oh. Kate's a mother!

"That's great! How old is she?"

"Four. She is the happiest kid i've ever seen.. until Mila", he smiles.

"Seems like you're close to her"

"Oh I am. She.. is my best friend. I love her company", he speaks so fondly of her that a small part of me is jealous for Mila.

After half an hour of just breathing deep and Mila's voice that randomly spots inanimate objects and her laughter, we finally reach the Grey's house. It's still the same from outside, maybe repainted, I can't really tell.

Mila comes out of the car and looks at the house in amazement. She is wearing a pink top and blue denim jeans. Christian took her hand and they start walking. He is wearing a plain white button down shirt and paired it up with blue denims too. I am wearing a white blouse with denims. If you looked us from afar, we looked like a perfect family. If only people knew..

"Anastasia?", Christian calls out and I realised I zoned out. I quickly run upto them and go inside the house. How can they not hear my heart beat is still a mystery.

As we go inside, I see that the interiors have changed than I last saw it. The walls were painted in off white colour with a hint of brown. The floor was carpeted with brown velvet and there were white lilies and roses everywhere. And there were a lot of them. The whole place smelled like a nursery filled with flowers, but not enough to calm my nerves.

I rub my sweaty palms on my jeans and try to focus but my head is feeling dizzy. I have absolutely no idea what to expect from anyone.

"Uh.. Anastasia?", Christian nudges me.

"Hmm?"

"Just don't be surprised but these folks don't know about Mila", he says and I look at him with my eyes wide. Is this a time to joke?

"What?!", I whisper-shout. Mila is still distracted by the beauty of this house. I don't blame her, the girl practically lived in a one room house, of course she will be amazed seeing how rich her father is. And his father's family is.

"Yeah.. I figured this is not something I should tell on the phone..", he trails off, probably realizing what he did was stupid.

"And what about me? How did they let me cross the threshold of their house?", I demand.

"Well, surprisingly, they didn't say anything. They infact welcomed you", and I look at him quizzically.

What is wrong with these Greys? No one can predict a Grey's reaction, trust me.

"Ana", a voice says behind us and I whip my head to its direction.

Grace stands there with Mr. Grey, donning a black dress and her blond hair on loose. Her face looks calm and there is a smile on her face. Mr. Grey wore a casual shirt and pants. There is a smile on his face too but you can see how stiff he is.

" , Dr. Grey", I greet with one of my best smiles.

"You look beautiful, Ana. Well, your hair is short", and I blush.

Why is everybody pointing at my hair?

"Mom, Dad.. I want you to meet someone", Christian interrupts and both of them look towards him. It is only then they see what Christian is holding.. well, who is he holding.

To say they are astonished will be an understatement.

"Meet my daughter, Mila Lively Steele", Christian says proudly but his voice falters when he says 'Steele'. Obviously he wants her last name to be Grey.

Grace looks at me with questioning eyes and I nod a little to affirm the statement. A wide smile spreads on her face, a genuine one as she comes forward.

Mila, now interested in the conversation when her name was mentioned, looks up at Grace.

"Hey little one", Grace greets and bends down at Mila's height.

"Hey", Mila mutters with a polite smile. Never have I seen Mila this nervous in front of anyone.. this is new for me too.

"Do you know who I am?", she asks and Mila nods a little.

"Grandmama", she says. She calls my mother grandmama too.

Grace beams at her and then towards Christian who looks so proud and at ease. All the while when I was wondering why is nobody mad at me?!

"And then this is Grandpa", Christian points towards Mr. Grey who is standing awkwardly next to Grace, not knowing what to say. Mila smiles at him and he reciprocates it.

"C'mon, lets go inside. Everyone is waiting for y'all", Grace says and leads us to the living room.

Sure enough, I spot every familiar face when I enter the room. My heart is thumping so fast that I have to take deep breaths to control my nervousness.

At the site of us, a small girl, I presume Ava, runs towards us.. more specifically towards Christian. She jumps on Christian and he he instantly lifts her up.

"Hey, babygirl. How are you?", Christian asks and the girl starts saying so many things together its hard to keep track as to what she is saying.

I feel a small poke towards my side and see its Mila. She motions me to bend down and then whispers in my ear, "She likes the name babygirl" and I try my best to stop rolling my eyes. She hates the name 'babygirl' more than a child disliking milk.

"Who is she?" someone says and I look up to see Mia's confused expression.

"She is.. umm.. our daughter", I say timidly and I hear a lot of gasps at once.

"What?!"

"Are you serious?!"

"Steele! Woah!"

The last voice was of Ethan. I smile at him and nod a little. He smiles back, no hint of surprise or anger on his face. At least there is one person in this room who doesn't hate me with passion. I'm happy he found Mia who is equally as bubbly as himself.

I can't help but notice Kate was eerily quite all the time. Her lips are pursed in a thin line and she glares at me from where she is sitting besides Elliott. Elliott's expression is well.. blank. I can read absolutely nothing on his face and when he spots me staring at him, he smiles tight-lipped towards me and nods slightly.

"What's her name?", this was Mia.

"Mila", I reply.

"Oh! That's like my name just minus the L", she clapped happily. "How did you come up with it?"

I never told this story to anyone. Infact some people may find it.. i don't know, vague?

"There was our neighbour - Annie. She helped me a lot.. to settle down and was with me throughout my pregnancy. Her middle name was Mila and to honour her support, I named her Mila." I ruffled Mila's hair who was now watching Christian and Ava who were in a deep talk about.. flowers. "I don't know what would I have done if Annie wasn't there."

And I regret saying those last words immediately. Everyone went silent, looking everywhere but me. I want to smack my head for saying it. Of course they would've been there too.. just I never gave them a chance.

And with cancer now, I don't even know if I ever will.

"Okay so everyone, lets have lunch. Our chef has made some amazing dishes and i'm sure you'd love them", Grace says as she breaks the awkward silence.

Everyone moves towards the dining room. Everyone but Mia.

"Ana", she calls me.

"Yeah?"

"I wanna talk to you about something."

"Yeah?", I say, unsure what to expect.

"Well let's be honest here, I hated you, a lot. You broke my brother beyond repair and you don't know how heartbreaking it is for sister to see this. But today.. I saw a different person. He is actually happy. You have given him the best gift there can be. His daughter. And.. well.. if my brother is happy then i'm happy", she says and then looks away. She wants to say more, I can say.

"I missed you, Mia", I whisper and place a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh Ana!", she hugs me and I'm taken by surprise. She pulls back a little and says, "I came here only for Ethan. I never wanted to see your face again. He really wanted to meet you but he didn't force me. I didn't want him to not meet his friend, your relationship with him is different.. so I came here. And trust me when I say I was going to make a scene here", she looks at me sheepishly, "But when you said that I have a niece, all that anger vanished."

"I don't know what to say.. should I be glad?", I smile.

"Definitely. You were saved from this Mia- wrath!", she motions to herself and we both laugh. I'm happy that she isn't mad. It would be hell of a time here if everyone is angry.

"Ladies, the lunch is stone cold", comes Ethan's voice. "Should we tell them to reheat now or after an hour?"

"Shut up, Ethan", Mia sticks out her tongue towards him. She actually does it and I can't help but smile at them. They look so perfect.

We all are eating lunch, which I must say is delicious. I'm talking to Ethan and Mia mostly. Sometimes Grace. The thing is, Kate hasn't even glaced towards me the whole time. And neither has Elliott.

Back to Mia and Ethan, they tied the knot four years ago. They stay in a condo, which I found cute, since they said they didn't want a big house at the moment. They told me they are trying for a child, or at least, Mia blabbed on about it and Ethan coughed continuously.

"Cut the act, Ethan, you want twins", Mia snorted between her blabber to which he coughed even more.

"Ethan are you choking? How many times did I tell you to eat slowly", Grace said, oblivious to the conversation. Yeah, that was funny.

After the lunch, Christian told me he needs some work to do. Well, of course, it is still Friday afternoon.

"I'll remove the car, you come outside", he says and leaves after saying his goodbyes.

"Goodbye Mila", Grace waves towards her. She, Mia and Mila were talking so much the whole time, i'm sure they've bonded by just the first meet.

"Bye, Grandmama", she waves back.

"Aw, you smally, come here", Mia hugs her tightly. "Hope we meet soon", she then tells me and I nod in affirmation.

Mila and I sit in the car as Christian drives us back to Escala.

"So, it wasn't as bad as you thought, was it?", he asks.

All this while, the only thing I can think is Kate didn't even take a second glance towards me. Neither did Elliott. Nor did they let Ava talk to me.

And why the hell is Grace not mad at me?!

"It was good", I say.

But I know for sure, this is a façade. I know something is up, and i'll find the root of it.

~*~*~*~

Helloooo! I was so overwhelmed by the response to the last chapter! Your comments make my day and it means a lot that you even considered opening my book and read all the chapters and wait for the next one! I cannot thank you guys enough!❤

Until we meet again, xoxo ~ Ava❤