Disclamer: Don't own the characters! Just borrowing them…

A/N1: Just an angst piece I've been mulling over. Christian and Ana have been divorced for 10 years and she is now living with Jose. It was an ugly divorce and she has full custody of the children. What really happened? Why did Christian allow it? Can they move on with their lives without destroying the children in the process? Is there any love left between them?

A/N2: Ana is kind of a bitch for no reason in the beginning, but it will all become clear in the next chapters.

After the fairytale

Chapter 1

"I'm gonna live with Dad" 14-year old Phoebe states to her mother, her gaze firm, challenging Ana to oppose her.

Ever since Phoebe entered her teens, that's how their lives have been, one dispute after another. It didn't help that she was the teenage daughter of a nasty divorce.

Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey have been divorced for 10 years now, it obviously hasn't been a smooth sail for any of them, one constantly blaming the other for the fall out.

"The hell you are!" Ana simply glared at her younger child, a cold stare that she didn't possess before she met the almighty Christian Grey. "In case you forgot, yet again, I have full custody of you and your brother and until I die or you hit 18, it's with me you stay! Whichever comes first!", she responded in the same icy tone Phoebe was using with her and simply turned around and left the room, not wanting to get into the reason they were having this argument. She knew they had to talk about what happened…but later.

Sometimes Ana didn't recognize herself…never in her life she would've thought she would be talking to someone like that. Let alone her own child, her youngest nonetheless. But life made her change. And she blamed it all on Christian, and at that point, it didn't matter if she was being fair or not.

Phoebe just froze in her place and watched her mother leave. "Who is the woman my mother has become?" she asked herself. Not that she remembered much before the divorce, of course she was only 4 at the time, but she remembered being loved, safe, protected by a mom and a dad at home. Now she felt she had nothing.

"You know, you shouldn't hurt Mom like that", a quiet Teddy spoke behind her, making her jump a little.

"You scared me, you creep!" she says to her brother through gritted teeth. "And what the hell do you think you know about all this? Hurt Mom? You make me laugh…she's the one who's making us all hurt. Especially Dad", she spat at her brother. He could be older, but there was no doubt who the feisty one was.

Teddy was 6 when their parents split up, 2 years older than Phoebe, and just because of that he thought he knew better.

"You don't know what you're talking about Phoebe. You don't remember what it was like", he tried to reason.

"As if you do! Why don't you enlighten me, oh wise brother?" she dared him. Seeing him slump his shoulders and start to stutter, she just glared at him and muttered "I thought so"…she eyed her brother chicken out one last time before she left the room muttering to herself "Momma's boy"…

The Grey children turned out quite different from the kids they once were. At 16, Teddy seemed younger than his years. Not that there was something wrong physically. He was past 6' tall, almost as tall as his father, and despite his complete disinterest in sports, he was built and fit. In other words, a carbon copy of Christian, except for his blue eyes, the only physical resemblance to his mother. What made him look younger was the way he carried himself, slouched shoulders, vague eyes, insecure of every move. He was a far cry from the vivacious kid he once has been.

Phoebe, on the other hand, was her mother all over; from the color of her hair to her pale complexion. Her eyes were Christian's, though. In them you could see her sagacity, her feistiness, a no-bullshit approach to life. Personality wise she was all Christian. She inherited his shrewdness, his ruthlessness and, worse of all, his temper. But while Christian was mercurial, as his ex-wife liked to point out all the time, when Phoebe got angry, she kept being angry for a long time. The only person that could get through her was Grace, her paternal grandmother. But as the kids were growing older, she felt like her mother went out of her way to keep Grace and Carrick away from her and Teddy. Another sore point of the divorce.

Their life-style has changed dramatically as well. Long gone was the mansion by the Sound, the cars and luxury cars, clothes and toys; they now lived in a comfortable, yet small 3-bedroom apartment with Ana and her live-in boyfriend, Jose. After the divorce, Ana refused to take any money from Christian, claiming it didn't belong to her. He insisted in supporting his children fully, allotting them a hefty child support, but as far as he knew, the money was never totally used. Even the pocket money he gave the children when they were visiting, which was nothing short of thousands of dollars a week, was confiscated. Ana claimed that everything her children had, she had to provide for half of it. If she couldn't afford it, they wouldn't have it. This, of course, infuriated Christian, but as Ana was the primary care taker, his hands were tied.

Ana was an editor at a small publishing company in Seattle, Kendriks Books. She quit Grey Publishing and worked her way up at Kendriks. They favored local alternative writers, giving a chance to those rejected by larger publishing houses. Their books varied from esoteric guides and astrology to macrobiotic cooking. Certainly not titles Grey Publishing would de interested in. Out were the power-suits she had to wear as a hot shot CEO; in were the flowing skirts and peasant tops she now sported to work.

The only monetary exception that Ana allowed was regarding the children's education. Both Teddy and Phoebe attended Lakeside School, the most expensive and exclusive private school in Seattle; the tuitions were provided by Christian alone. Academically, they thrived. Teddy was far ahead in his curriculum and was a total science geek, taking some classes with senior students. His teachers could see him on his way to medical school. Phoebe's accomplishments were nothing shorter. Despite being 14, she was already a sophomore in high school. Different from her brother, who preferred to spend his days in a science lab dissecting a frog, Phoebe had her father's business skills. She was brilliant in financial math and economics. Christian could see her taking over Grey Enterprises Holdings someday.

But what they exceeded in brains, they lacked in social skills. It was hard going to an exclusive school and being forced to live in a short budget. Again, Ana's 50% rule was enforced, so cultural excursions to Europe or winter break trips to Aspen were out of their reality. The same went for clothes and gadgets. While Phoebe's classmates sported their brand new Birkin bags, she resigned herself to her old Jansport backpack. Not that she really cared what other kids thought about her, but sometimes she really wished to have nice things, like her cousin Ava, who attended the same school, did.

When they were little Phoebe and Ava were the best of friends. They did everything together, had sleepovers and just enjoyed being together. Ava was the only daughter of Elliot and Kate. Ana didn't keep any bonds with the Grey's, but Kate was an old friend from college, so she was off the hook.

As they hit their teen years, as every girl, Ava started to get into clothes, make up, shoes and stuff…things Phoebe wasn't allowed to have. When Phoebe was with Ava and her socialite friends, she felt like an outsider, just glimpsing at a life she wish she could have. It sounded absurd when her father was a multi-billionaire, one of the richest men in the world.

Aggravated by her fight with her mother, Phoebe decided to call her father. He picked up on the second ring.

"Hi, munchkin!" her father greeted her with the childhood nickname he still used

"Hey, Dad", she replied not so enthusiastically

"Phoebe, what's wrong? Something happened to you or your brother?" Christian's tone now of a concerned parent.

"It's nothing Dad, it's just…" she started to cry quietly, unable to complete her thought.

"Phoebe, sweetie, calm down. Please tell me what happened" he was now into total worried father mode.

"It's Mom again, Dad". He should've predicted it was yet another fight between his daughter and ex-wife.

"Honey, we've talked about it thousands of times before. Your mother is your primary care taker. I stretch my limits to what is legally possible, but sometimes we just have to accept her decisions. My hands are tied until you turn 18" he says sadly

"But why is that?" she was now losing all control…"You have the best legal team money can buy, I know for a fact you make the law work your way when it comes to your business, why can't you make an extra effort when it comes to your own children? Why Dad? Aren't we more valuable to you than your damn companies?" she screamed into the phone, sobbing like a child.

"Hush, hush baby", he was chanting quietly over and over. Christian knew that it was the only thing he could do to calm her down over the phone.

It broke his heart every time he saw Phoebe breaking down in a hysterical cry. The same went when he saw how weak and insecure Teddy has become over the years. The moment they were born he vowed to himself to be a real father to his children, to make sure they were always safe and happy, to protect them from all the bad in the world. But like his own birth mother had done to him, he failed his children. Clearly the weekends he had with his kids every other week weren't enough. He wanted to be there for them. He needed to be there for them!

He and Ana sure made a mess of their lives…and the children were paying the price. He hated that he hadn't seen it coming when she filed for a divorce. He blamed himself more than anything. Once again, his past was coming around to bite him in the ass…

He should've seen the signs; when they were young he prided himself that he could read her like a book. Well, not anymore obviously.

Phoebe's piercing cries brought him back to the present.

"Honey, please calm down and talk to me. I'll try to make it better, but you need to tell me what happened this time" he pleaded with his daughter

"Well, Dad, I'm guessing you haven't read the papers yet"

Please, let me know what you think!