"Happy Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Grey", Gail wishes politely as I stand there dumbfounded. How did I forget November 28th?

"Thank you", Ana and I mutter at the same time. "Did you arrange all this?", she asks.

"Mila came to me and asked to make a cake and throw a party. Sawyer helped me with the decorations", Gail replies.

"It's beautiful", she says with a smile.

"Let's cut the cake!", Mila says enthusiastically and tugs Gail forward gently by her dress.

She places the cake on the coffee table in the living room and hands over the knife to Ana and me. We hold the knife together. As Ana places her hand on mine a shiver runs down my spine. I try my best to contain it, but I can't. After we cut the cake, Mila, Gail, Sawyer and Taylor all clap for us. Ana takes the piece of cake and feeds me.

"Happy Anniversary, Christian", she whispers.

I take a piece and do the same. "Happy Anniversary", I mutter and avert my gaze. For some reason, I cannot look at her right now. Memories from our wedding day floods my mind as I desperately try to push them to the back of my mind. Anastasia walking down the aisle in a white dress, looking breathtaking, holding white lilies as she walks between thousands of white roses that are neatly organized on either side of the aisle. The way we held each other's gaze while saying our vows, promising to love each other forever. The way my heart skipped a beat when she so lovingly said "I do", our first dance... It has been seven years, but I still remember them like it was yesterday.

"Here!", Mila hands over a card, bringing me back to reality. "I made it for you", she says shyly.

It is a card made from red paper with a beautiful paper quilling arranged in the shape of a big flower in the center. Inside, she has written why she loves us. It's the most precious gift I've ever received.

"It's so beautiful, Mila!", I say as tears well up in my eyes. Gosh, can my daughter be any more perfect?

"It really is", Ana says and kisses Mila on her cheek as she blushes.

"Let's have dinner!", Gail exclaims and leads us to the dining table. She has gone all out with the dinner today. She made us steak and mac & cheese at Mila's request.

"Tell me about your wedding!", Mila says, enthusiastically.

"What do you want to know?", I reply.

"Everything! Did mommy look pretty?"

"Very", I say and look at Ana who blushes profusely. "She was the most beautiful person on this entire planet." She gasps and stares down at her hands.

"And you?", Mila interrupts.

"Me? What about me?"

"Were you pretty?" she says with a giggle.

"He looked very handsome", Ana replies and smiles.

"I wish I was there for your wedding!", Mila sighs, dramatically to which we both laugh. This is what I always dreamt. My family, around the table for dinner, discussing about everything in the world lightheartedly. Unfortunately for me, I realized this dream a little too late.

"Let's go out for ice cream!", Mila says.

"Fine by me", Ana shrugs.

As we're on our way out to the elevator, Mila shouts "Goodbye Taylor and Gail and Sawyer!"

As we're driving to the ice cream shop, I look outside to see little drizzles of rain coming down on the windshield. The atmosphere between us is cool, and pleasant for a night out. Just as I think this, I see the drizzles slowing turning into a heavy downpour.

"It's raining!", Ana exclaims and I look at her.

"Yeah, what about it. We have an umbrella."

"Christian, pull over!" she almost yells

"Why?", I ask.

"Just do it Christian"

I do because I don't want an argument in front of Mila. She runs out of the car without the umbrella.

"Ana what the hell are you doing?!", I roll down the windows and ask her. She has her arms spread out and face up towards the heavens as she feels the rain on her skin.

"Enjoying the rain, come outside!", She shouts over the sound of the downpour.

"Yeah, I'd rather not", I snort.

"Lose yourself for once, Mr. Grey", she yells before she walks towards the park nearby. Why is she acting like such a child?

"I wanna go too!", Mila says and she bounces up and down on her seat.

"You aren't going anywhere."

"Daddy, please!"

"No, Mila. I don't want you getting sick. Your mommy is going crazy, that's all."

I contemplate going out in the rain. I don't want to go out in this weather but then I can't let Ana get sick. The last thing I want her is to get sick with her first surgery in 3 days. Ugh... fine.

I get out of the car with the umbrella held securely between my hands and Mila at my side. The wind is gushing past me with my shoes already soaking. I absolutely hate rain. I squint my eyes, trying to see clearly. I walk towards the park and see Ana sitting on the swing.

Her eyes are closed and face upwards, a smile on her face. Her red dress is soaking wet, hugging her slender figure. She is clearly enjoying this.

"Ana!", I call out.

Her eyes open as her smiles widens. "You came. Hi Mila baby."

Mila runs to hug her, getting soaked in the process.

"Yeah I did. Apparently, my ex-wife is going insane and I need to care for her", I say sarcastically.

"Don't call me that", she pouts childishly.

"What?"

"Ex-wife. We are still married, remember? That's why we are celebrating today", she says and I stay silent. "Lose yourself, Christian. Don't be so serious", she says again.

I still look at her like she has grown two heads. "Come under the umbrella, Ana. You'll get sick."

"You come outside it. Instead of restricting me and yourself, why don't you erase this boundary of your umbrella and see the world differently without it?"

"When did you turn into a philosopher?", I ask, amusingly.

"Since I stopped fearing death", she shrugs, nonchalantly.

I contemplate doing what she says. I can do what she asks for once and it seems clear to me that she enjoys this. "Don't over think everything!", she laughs.

Oh, what the hell.

I close the umbrella as warm rain water trickles down my sides. I'm soaking wet in seconds as I hear Ana's laugh over the sound of rain. She jumps up and down like a little girl and I look around to see that the park is empty except for us. Mila is running around jumping in puddles.

"Happy?! Can we go now?", I say as I turn to leave.

"Not so soon, Christian', she smiles and offers me her hand. I look at her quizzically but she says nothing. "What?", I ask.

"Now that we are here, in an empty park, with water pouring over us... let's do something crazy?"

"How much crazier can we get today?"

"You'll see", she says and offers me her hand again. I alter my gaze between her eyes and her hand. I'm curious to see what does she have in her mind. Trusting my instincts, I take her hand.

Immediately, she pulls herself towards me and keeps her other hand on my shoulder. "I hope you still remember how to dance", she says.

"Wait, we are dancing?"

"Yeah, ballroom dance?", she says with a twinkle in her eye.

"Insanity, confirmed", I laugh but put my other hand on her waist anyways.

We sway gently in the rain without music, our gazes holding each other, water dripping down our faces. She has a smile on her face and I cannot help but mirror her expression. I remove my hand from her waist and spin her around to which she giggles. Gosh, I haven't heard that sound in years.

"How can you be so happy?", I ask the question that has been bugging me for a while.

"Just because I'm scheduled to get a tumor removed from my ovaries in 3 days means I cannot enjoy my life?", she asks.

"I didn't mean that... I mean...", I fumble.

"When you stop fearing death, no force in the world stops you from living a good life. I stopped fearing death the minute I found out I was dying."

"Impressive", I mutter as we still sway to music-less tune. "Are you scared though?"

"Scared of surgery? Yes. But I'm not concerned about what will happen to Mila after me. I know she has an amazing father, and she will be the happiest with him."

"She needs you, Ana. Please don't speak about death."

"Even if something does happen to me, promise me you won't let Mila feel sad about me."

"Can you stop?", I mutter.

"And also, you can marry anyone. Just not that Sabrina woman, I hate her."

"ANA, STOP!", I shout. I don't want to imagine a life where she doesn't exist. I don't want to live in the world where Anastasia is nothing but a mere memory for everyone. Tears well up in my eyes.

We aren't dancing anymore. We are just standing there, our smiles wiped off our faces in an instant. I can feel anger seeping through me. How dare she even think about death? I'm doing everything possible to not even let the word 'death' near us.

"You promise me, Anastasia GREY, that you would not talk negative until this is over. You promise me, that you won't leave again if times go tough. You promise me, you will not lose hope", I say, flustered. My tears spilling over, thankful for the rain coving them.

She keeps quiet, her lips pursed. She wants to say something, but is trying not to.

"Do you know what Dr. Flynn always tells me? That we people always think negative aspect of a situation first. Let's just say, if you do fight cancer, then you must live with me and Mila forever. And I hope you have a plan since you must tolerate me for the rest of your life", I say and I see her face break into a smile and then she laughs, the tension evaporating between us. I watch her laugh freely, her eyes crinkle at the corners as she throws her head back and enjoys the moment. The moment is surreal, almost as if I take my eyes away from her, she will disappear.

I stand there, holding her waist in a gentle yet firm grasp. She is looking at me, her eyes holding my gaze, a smile still there on her face. My gaze darts from her eyes to her lips, my breath suddenly quickening. She is beautiful and I cannot deny anymore that I don't want to lose her again. Even the mere thought of losing her frightens me. And it frightens me that I've made Ana my priority, a priority I cannot ignore.

I made a promise to myself that I would not make any women my priority when Ana left. But then came Mila in my life. I couldn't ignore her, I loved her the moment her blue eyes met mine. I cannot lose her again.

I lean forward, closing the distance between us and kiss her forehead. I pull back a little and watch her eyes closed and her lower lip between her teeth.

"Happy Anniversary, Mrs. Grey", I whisper.

~*~*~*~

My results were good, not amazing, but still good. The only good thing was they gave me a 95 in French and i've been only learning it since like five years lmao.

Its raining here right now! The coincidence lol.And this is my favorite chapter! Did y'all like it??

•VOTE/COMMENT/SHARE•

Until we meet again, xoxo ~ Ava❤