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astra_auroraTime for the last chapter! (Also, does anyone know where my deodorant might be? I've looked all over my room like five times, and it's just vanished. I hate it when that happens...)
As you'll recall, last chapter ended with Kate reading one of Ana's early emails and confronting her and Grey about it. Ana responds by getting angry that Kate's doing this.
How dare she do this? Not now, not today. Not on Christian's birthday.
Um. Dude. Why are you angry that your friend is actually giving a fuck about your well-being? Besides, imagine that you're Kate and you read that email (even though we still don't know what it freaking says), wouldn't you be worried too?
Once Grey actually gets told what the email is, Kate asks what Grey's done to Ana and Grey asks Kate where she got the email. She found it in the pocket of a jacket she assumes is Grey's that was hanging on the back of Ana's bedroom door. And then... hang on.
But why the hell is she going through my clothes? It's usually the other way around.
...you go through her clothes on a regular basis? What the fuck is up with that?
Grey asks if Kate's told anyone else. Upon being told that she did not, he burns the email. Kate repeats that she wants to know that Ana's OK, and Ana assures her that she's fine and the email is old news. Grey tells Kate that they're engaged, and Kate is stunned at how much has happened in the slightly-more-than-two-weeks that she's been gone. Ana promises to explain everything later, and begs Kate not to ruin the night. Kate won't, because she's a decent fucking human being. She apologises for interfering with something that's not her business, and Grace walks in. She greets them, gives Grey a birthday hug, and congratulates him.
Ana's shocked that Grace knows, which is kinda stupid. I mean, Grace is his mother, for fuck's sake. Why would he not tell her? OK, he maybe should have told Ana that he told Grace, but it's not odd for a man to tell his parents that he's engaged the same day that his fiancee does.
Grace tells them all that there's a bunch of people waiting to wish Grey happy birthday, so they go out. Ana's relieved that the Kate thing didn't become a disaster, since she could have said everything. They greet the crowd- all of the Greys, Kate and Ethan, Dr Flynn and his wife, some of Mia's friends, a few of Grey's associates, and Elena. I put her last because of this:
Christian raises his glass to the rest of the room, and immediately the crowd surges forward. Leading the charge is the evil woman in black. Does she ever wear any other color?
*looks over at her chest-of-drawers which is full of mostly black clothes* Fuck you too.
OK, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Elena is a good person- after all, she did rape a disturbed teenager and fuck up his mental state exquisitely. However: She's been shown to care about Christian, and while she is horrible, I don't like how utterly... biased Ana seems to be. I don't know, this is hard... um. OK. I'll put it like this: I don't like the hypocrisy. Grey has been shown to be just as bad, if not worse, than Elena- consider every consent issue in the first book, as well as the time he raped Ana. It's true that Grey is trying to become a better person and so on, but I don't like the fact that the book is berating Elena and putting Grey on a pedestal when they've both done similarly horrible things.
Elena is actually being nice- she tells Grey that she was worried about him and asks why she didn't call him. She manages to be civil to Ana, who manages to be civil back. Then Grey makes his announcement: after the helicopter crash that nearly killed him and his second-in-command (who is also at the party), he's really happy to be able to tell everyone that he and Ana are getting married.
The reactions are mixed: While the majority of the crowd are happy, the named Grey-lusters are not. Elena, in particular, is described like so:
She's stunned- horrified even, and I can't help a small but intense feeling of satisfaction to see her dumbstruck. What the hell is she doing here, anyway?
Um. She's Grey's friend and business partner, you twat. Why wouldn't she be there?
Grace is delighted at the engagement. Mia asks about the ring, and Grey steps in to tell her that they're going to pick one out together. Mia then asks if they've set a date. Grey jokes that they'll fly to Vegas tomorrow. Heh.
Flynn and his wife, Rhian, greet Grey and Ana and congratulate them. They're both quite nice, or so it seems. As Rhian and Ana talk, Ana eavesdrops on Flynn and Grey's conversation about Leila. She doesn't hear much, except that Leila's responding well to treatment and may be moved into an outpatient program soon. I have to admit, that's good. I do like Leila.
Ros and her partner, Gwen, join the conversation. I love Ros instantly, mainly for being a lesbian character who, despite not actually showing up much or having many lines, actually has character. She's described as being very smart and easily able to keep up with Grey, and since she's a lesbian, she's not dazzled by him and isn't constantly trying to win his affection. Damn, James, you just won some points.
Grace tells everyone that dinner's served, and Mia collars Ana to ask her advice- Ethan doesn't want to date Mia, because Kate's datingEmmett Elliot, which makes it kinda weird and incestuous. Ana tells her to try being friends first, take it slowly, and ask Kate for advice, since Kate knows Elliot better. Good advice.
Before Ana can go have dinner, Elena walks in. Oh, boy. She says that she'd offer Ana congratulations, except that it'd be inappropriate. Ana says that she doesn't want or need Elena's congratulations, and that she's surprised and disappointed to see Elena there. Good way to start. Elena says that she never thought Ana would be a worthy adversary, but she surprises Elena at every turn. Ana lies that she hasn't thought of Elena at all, and tries to leave, but Elena stops her.
Elena asks her what she thinks she's doing, because she can't make Grey happy. Ana says that it's none of Elena's business. Elena says that Grey has needs that Ana can't satisfy, and then... Oh, Jesus Christ. Does Elena want to get back with Grey? Jesus, I think she does- that's just fucking sick. Ana responds with a great line:
"What do you know of his needs?" I snarl. [...] "You're nothing but a sick child molester, and if it were up to me, I'd toss you into the seventh circle of hell and walk away smiling. Now get out of my way- or do I have to make you?"
The Seventh Circle of Hell, for the record, houses the violent. While I can see what she might have been getting at (the outer ring of the Seventh Circle houses those who were violent against people and property), I'd go for the Second Circle (lust) myself. Then again, the punishment for those in the outer ring of the Seventh Circle is a lot more satisfying, so I can see her point.
Elena responds by asking how Ana dares to judge her lifestyle (um, because BDSM is not child rape, you sick fuck), says that Ana has no idea what she's getting into, and finally calls her a gold digger. That's a bit rich coming from a former trophy wife, isn't it? Ana throws her drink at Elena, and then Grey walks in and blows his top.
Elena says that Ana's not right for Grey, and that he has needs. Grey tells her that it's none of her business, and asks if she really thinks that she's right for him. Elena pulls herself together and says that she was the best thing that ever happened to him, because she made him what he is, taught him everything he knows and saved him from a bad life. Grey says that she taught him how to fuck, but it was empty- and he brings up her ex-husband. Ouch. He also criticises her for never being affectionate or telling him that she loved him. She says that love is for fools, and Grace walks in. Dun dun dun!
Grace slaps Elena across the face, tells her to get out and asks Ana for a moment with Grey. Ana tries eavesdropping, but can't hear much. Instead, she goes upstairs to Grey's old room for some time alone. She calms down and then compares herself to the photo of Grey's biological mother, finally concluding that they don't look alike. Grey comes in, and they talk. Grace is angry as hell, which Grey can't blame her for, and he says that he's done with Elena. He'll give her the salon business, 'cause he admittedly does owe her that, but that's all. Then he takes her downstairs for dinner.
After dinner, once everyone but the family has left, Grey takes Ana for a stroll, saying that he wants to show her something. As they walk, she says that she wants to go to church the next day- she prayed that he'd come back alive and he did, so she wants to go. Fair enough. She asks where he'll put the photos of her that Jose took, and he says that he'll put them in the new house. Ana begs him not to knock it down, and he agrees not to. Then he carries her to the boathouse.
The attic is full of flowers and Christmas lights- Ana wanted hearts and flowers, so here's the flowers (since she already has his heart). He takes out a ring and formally proposes, and she accepts.
We then get a book-end epilogue. Jack (he's not named, but it can't be anyone else) drinks and smokes as he muses over past events from outside the house. He was the one who sabotaged Charlie Tango's engine, and that's not all- he's out for revenge. He rose up from the gutters and worked his way into publishing, but Grey took it away from him, so he's going to get him- Grey, and Ana, and Taylor too. Damn.
That was the last chapter. Now, the epilogue!
As you'll recall, last chapter ended with Kate reading one of Ana's early emails and confronting her and Grey about it. Ana responds by getting angry that Kate's doing this.
How dare she do this? Not now, not today. Not on Christian's birthday.
Um. Dude. Why are you angry that your friend is actually giving a fuck about your well-being? Besides, imagine that you're Kate and you read that email (even though we still don't know what it freaking says), wouldn't you be worried too?
Once Grey actually gets told what the email is, Kate asks what Grey's done to Ana and Grey asks Kate where she got the email. She found it in the pocket of a jacket she assumes is Grey's that was hanging on the back of Ana's bedroom door. And then... hang on.
But why the hell is she going through my clothes? It's usually the other way around.
...you go through her clothes on a regular basis? What the fuck is up with that?
Grey asks if Kate's told anyone else. Upon being told that she did not, he burns the email. Kate repeats that she wants to know that Ana's OK, and Ana assures her that she's fine and the email is old news. Grey tells Kate that they're engaged, and Kate is stunned at how much has happened in the slightly-more-than-two-weeks that she's been gone. Ana promises to explain everything later, and begs Kate not to ruin the night. Kate won't, because she's a decent fucking human being. She apologises for interfering with something that's not her business, and Grace walks in. She greets them, gives Grey a birthday hug, and congratulates him.
Ana's shocked that Grace knows, which is kinda stupid. I mean, Grace is his mother, for fuck's sake. Why would he not tell her? OK, he maybe should have told Ana that he told Grace, but it's not odd for a man to tell his parents that he's engaged the same day that his fiancee does.
Grace tells them all that there's a bunch of people waiting to wish Grey happy birthday, so they go out. Ana's relieved that the Kate thing didn't become a disaster, since she could have said everything. They greet the crowd- all of the Greys, Kate and Ethan, Dr Flynn and his wife, some of Mia's friends, a few of Grey's associates, and Elena. I put her last because of this:
Christian raises his glass to the rest of the room, and immediately the crowd surges forward. Leading the charge is the evil woman in black. Does she ever wear any other color?
*looks over at her chest-of-drawers which is full of mostly black clothes* Fuck you too.
OK, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Elena is a good person- after all, she did rape a disturbed teenager and fuck up his mental state exquisitely. However: She's been shown to care about Christian, and while she is horrible, I don't like how utterly... biased Ana seems to be. I don't know, this is hard... um. OK. I'll put it like this: I don't like the hypocrisy. Grey has been shown to be just as bad, if not worse, than Elena- consider every consent issue in the first book, as well as the time he raped Ana. It's true that Grey is trying to become a better person and so on, but I don't like the fact that the book is berating Elena and putting Grey on a pedestal when they've both done similarly horrible things.
Elena is actually being nice- she tells Grey that she was worried about him and asks why she didn't call him. She manages to be civil to Ana, who manages to be civil back. Then Grey makes his announcement: after the helicopter crash that nearly killed him and his second-in-command (who is also at the party), he's really happy to be able to tell everyone that he and Ana are getting married.
The reactions are mixed: While the majority of the crowd are happy, the named Grey-lusters are not. Elena, in particular, is described like so:
She's stunned- horrified even, and I can't help a small but intense feeling of satisfaction to see her dumbstruck. What the hell is she doing here, anyway?
Um. She's Grey's friend and business partner, you twat. Why wouldn't she be there?
Grace is delighted at the engagement. Mia asks about the ring, and Grey steps in to tell her that they're going to pick one out together. Mia then asks if they've set a date. Grey jokes that they'll fly to Vegas tomorrow. Heh.
Flynn and his wife, Rhian, greet Grey and Ana and congratulate them. They're both quite nice, or so it seems. As Rhian and Ana talk, Ana eavesdrops on Flynn and Grey's conversation about Leila. She doesn't hear much, except that Leila's responding well to treatment and may be moved into an outpatient program soon. I have to admit, that's good. I do like Leila.
Ros and her partner, Gwen, join the conversation. I love Ros instantly, mainly for being a lesbian character who, despite not actually showing up much or having many lines, actually has character. She's described as being very smart and easily able to keep up with Grey, and since she's a lesbian, she's not dazzled by him and isn't constantly trying to win his affection. Damn, James, you just won some points.
Grace tells everyone that dinner's served, and Mia collars Ana to ask her advice- Ethan doesn't want to date Mia, because Kate's dating
Before Ana can go have dinner, Elena walks in. Oh, boy. She says that she'd offer Ana congratulations, except that it'd be inappropriate. Ana says that she doesn't want or need Elena's congratulations, and that she's surprised and disappointed to see Elena there. Good way to start. Elena says that she never thought Ana would be a worthy adversary, but she surprises Elena at every turn. Ana lies that she hasn't thought of Elena at all, and tries to leave, but Elena stops her.
Elena asks her what she thinks she's doing, because she can't make Grey happy. Ana says that it's none of Elena's business. Elena says that Grey has needs that Ana can't satisfy, and then... Oh, Jesus Christ. Does Elena want to get back with Grey? Jesus, I think she does- that's just fucking sick. Ana responds with a great line:
"What do you know of his needs?" I snarl. [...] "You're nothing but a sick child molester, and if it were up to me, I'd toss you into the seventh circle of hell and walk away smiling. Now get out of my way- or do I have to make you?"
The Seventh Circle of Hell, for the record, houses the violent. While I can see what she might have been getting at (the outer ring of the Seventh Circle houses those who were violent against people and property), I'd go for the Second Circle (lust) myself. Then again, the punishment for those in the outer ring of the Seventh Circle is a lot more satisfying, so I can see her point.
Elena responds by asking how Ana dares to judge her lifestyle (um, because BDSM is not child rape, you sick fuck), says that Ana has no idea what she's getting into, and finally calls her a gold digger. That's a bit rich coming from a former trophy wife, isn't it? Ana throws her drink at Elena, and then Grey walks in and blows his top.
Elena says that Ana's not right for Grey, and that he has needs. Grey tells her that it's none of her business, and asks if she really thinks that she's right for him. Elena pulls herself together and says that she was the best thing that ever happened to him, because she made him what he is, taught him everything he knows and saved him from a bad life. Grey says that she taught him how to fuck, but it was empty- and he brings up her ex-husband. Ouch. He also criticises her for never being affectionate or telling him that she loved him. She says that love is for fools, and Grace walks in. Dun dun dun!
Grace slaps Elena across the face, tells her to get out and asks Ana for a moment with Grey. Ana tries eavesdropping, but can't hear much. Instead, she goes upstairs to Grey's old room for some time alone. She calms down and then compares herself to the photo of Grey's biological mother, finally concluding that they don't look alike. Grey comes in, and they talk. Grace is angry as hell, which Grey can't blame her for, and he says that he's done with Elena. He'll give her the salon business, 'cause he admittedly does owe her that, but that's all. Then he takes her downstairs for dinner.
After dinner, once everyone but the family has left, Grey takes Ana for a stroll, saying that he wants to show her something. As they walk, she says that she wants to go to church the next day- she prayed that he'd come back alive and he did, so she wants to go. Fair enough. She asks where he'll put the photos of her that Jose took, and he says that he'll put them in the new house. Ana begs him not to knock it down, and he agrees not to. Then he carries her to the boathouse.
The attic is full of flowers and Christmas lights- Ana wanted hearts and flowers, so here's the flowers (since she already has his heart). He takes out a ring and formally proposes, and she accepts.
We then get a book-end epilogue. Jack (he's not named, but it can't be anyone else) drinks and smokes as he muses over past events from outside the house. He was the one who sabotaged Charlie Tango's engine, and that's not all- he's out for revenge. He rose up from the gutters and worked his way into publishing, but Grey took it away from him, so he's going to get him- Grey, and Ana, and Taylor too. Damn.
That was the last chapter. Now, the epilogue!
