A/N: the end!! Ending this sooner than I thought because I have BIG SEQUEL PLANS IN THE WORKS.

Happy Valentines Day. I love you all so much. Thank you for all of your support. I hope you enjoy. If you choose not to read the sequel I under stand, thank you for coming on this journey with me. You guys all mean the world to me. Doesn't matter if you started yesterday or like 6 months ago when this all started. I love you all so much.

Okay I'm rambling enjoy byeeeee xx

Harry's P.O.V

"Hey" Michael whispers to me as we both work to set up the table. Looks like mum has gone overboard and invited 14 people to this thing, what a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. Fuck me.

"What?" I ask him. I like Michael, he doesn't really talk much and he treats my sister nice.

"She seems great" he whispers, this time nodding his head towards the kitchen. I manoeuvre my head around to see Elena having her ear talked off by my mother as she tries to slice up fruit. I want to scoff and roll my eyes and say 'of course I know she's fucking great I'm the one dating her' but I promised my mum that I'd have a good attitude today, so instead I say:

"Sure is"

"Gemma talks constantly about how great she is, she's really happy that you guys came. Plus Anne's ecstatic that we've all managed to get together" He continues, his voice louder now as we collect what mum calls 'the fancy glasses' that are reserved for special occasions from the China cabinet. I guess he's feeling extra chatty today, meanwhile I have to save up all of the energy I have in order to tolerate the rest of this day.

"How're you feeling about having another baby?" I ask him, feigning interest. I couldn't care less how he's feeling about it in all honesty.

He nods his head as he carries some of the nice wine glasses to the table. "I'm excited. People say it's hard work going from one to two, especially with Charlie being the age that she is. I'm planning on cutting back my hours a bit so that I'll be around more" Michael drones on as we place the glasses down. Gemma will be happy about that; she's always complaining that she doesn't get to spend a lot of time with him. It's not like I can say anything, I'm almost always working; I brought my work phone with me just in case anything urgent comes up. But that's something I won't be telling Elena.

"Good Plan" I mumble in response before I risk a sneak peek into the kitchen. I can't hear what they're talking about, but suddenly I can see Elena tip her head backwards and let out a string of infectious giggles that has the rest of the kitchen in fits of laughter. Something inside of my chest flips over watching my mum rest her head on her shoulder and laugh with her. I'm not this kind of guy, before her I never used to get soppy or carried away with these kinds of feelings before. It could be because I've never brought a girl home to meet my family before, but I've also never met a girl like Elena before.

Watching her being completely embraced by my mum makes me feel for her, because of the situation with her and her family. I talked with Elena's mum quite briefly at her birthday and she seems like a very lovely woman. She pulled me aside and told me that although she had her doubts at first, she now is very happy that I'm with Elena. I can see why Elena treats her like she's glass; she's quite a fragile woman, like if you say the wrong thing it could send her down a rabbit hole. So I promised her that I would never ever hurt Elena, that I would keep her safe and make sure she's cared for. I didn't want it to come off like I was bragging about my wealth, but I wanted to assure her that she didn't need to worry about something as trivial as money anymore. I can hear her voice ringing in my ear now;

"It doesn't matter to Elena what you have; it matters who you are. As long as you love her, she will be there"

I agree with her, but only slightly. Her mother loved Elena even when she was going through all her problems with her mental health, but Elena needed a lot more than love. She needed stability, safety, freedom and support among so many other things. And yes she still loved her mother, but it still deeply affected her not having that at such a young age. If I didn't support her and make her happy but I loved her then I'd hope that she would tell me to fix shit rather than just stay because I loved her.

I can't exactly stand here and pretend that I know the complete ins and outs of their relationship though. I'm almost positive that Elena is keeping some things to herself about her family and their history. But that is shit that she's obviously not comfortable telling me yet, but when she does feel ready I'll be here to listen.

"Okay kids!" My mum claps her hands together to get us to pay attention to her. Her old primary school teaching skills prove useful still to this day. "Everyone else will be arriving soon so start bringing the food to the table please!"

Gemma walks over to the fridge and starts handing Elena various bowls while Michael and mum start to load the hot over trays onto the kitchen bench. Mum seems to have made enough food to feed an army, she's probably going to want to send us home with a whole load of food. She insists on sending me home with food even though I'm in my thirties and I live in my hotel, suppose it's just a mum thing. It does smell pretty amazing either way. I busy myself with helping to carry the food to the table, I don't want to be the one stuck with answering the door and having to greet everyone. I set down a plate of stuffing as Elena places a hand on my shoulder and rubs it gently. I turn my head to give her a comforting smile; I know why she's doing it, she thinks I'm anxious about spending one on one time with everyone. It's like this girl can see through me sometimes.

"Gemma can you get the music thing to work?" Mum smoothes out the nonexistent creases on her dress as she walks out to examine our table laying, choosing to swap over the placement of the plate of potatoes and the stuffing for some bizarre reason. Who knows how that woman's mind works.

"Mum no please not Christmas music it's only just gone December" I groan as the hauntingly familiar sounds of Michael Bublé suddenly fills the room. My mum's face literally lights up like the awful tacky Christmas tree in the sitting room.

"It's a Christmas celebration we are listening to Christmas music" She says in a stern voice, though her body begins to happily sway side to side as he starts to croon about merry little Christmases. Fucking hate Christmas.

"They're heeerrreee!" Mum's tone drastically changes to one of delight as she spots a car pull up into the driveway behind mine, blocking our escape. She flings open the door despite the cold weather and goes outside to bring them inside faster, helping them carry bags of presents. As the small group of people enter a sort of quick instant relief cascades over me; it's not Jack and his family, it's Uncle Will. His large frame envelopes my tiny mother before his eyes land on me.

"Look who's come to town! Good to see you my boy" His boisterous voice briefly drowning out Michael Bublé. I meet him halfway and shake his hand, he really is one of those gentle giant types.

"Good to see you too Uncle Will, you remember my girlfriend Elena from your birthday?" I use my hand to pull Elena over to us as our enthusiastic handshake finally ends.

"Of course! Lovely to see you again sweetheart!" Even though he's standing right in front of us, his volume remains on high as he greets her. I'm quite proud to be bringing her back the second time to see everyone, I bet they all thought she was just some random that I would dump and never see again. That ain't fucking happening.

"Nice to see you too" Elena warmly greets him as he brings her in for a tight hug, followed by one from my aunt Sylvia. They both apologise for their two boys being out of town; good, they're teenage assholes anyway.

"That's alright! Jennifer's lot should be here soon, there will be lots of food for everyone" Mum replies warmly before leading Sylvia over to help get everyone something to drink. I could do with a whiskey right about now. So what if it's 1pm, I'm on Christmas vacation.

"You gonna be alright kid?" Will asks me in possibly the quietest voice I've ever heard him speak in. Jennifer's family is my mum's sister, who will be bringing her husband Tom and their son, the infamous Jack himself. I know Elena is pretending not to be paying attention, but my arm is wrapped around her shoulder so it's not like she can't hear anything.

"I can be cordial with him" I shrug my shoulders. It's half the truth, I can be in the same room as him but if he so much as tries to talk to me or Elena I'll have him in a choke hold before he knows it. He gives me a loud pat on the back and nods his head.

"Good Boy, I know it's not easy. But sometimes being the bigger man means swallowing your pride and letting things be" He speaks like an old prospector, sharing his wisdom about life when in fact no one really asked for it. I simply nod my head before the other guests join us as we hover around the table. Elena gets brought into a conversation with Sylvia and Gemma, I briefly listen before I realise what it's about.

"Man I can't wait until it comes back on air in the summer, it's such trash but it's so good" Gemma groans to them both, who nod in agreement. Reality TV, can't stand it.

"Finally there you are! Thought you might have gotten lost!" Mum jokes loudly as she head towards the front door that I hadn't even heard opening. There they are, the rest of our party. I had a brief hope that he chose not to come with them, but then I see him shut the door and hang up his jacket before giving my mum a tight hug. Jack, the fucking piece of shit. Elena tenses beside me and I know she recognises him as well. He briefly talked to her at Uncle Wills birthday and I threw a massive hissy fit on the car ride home, god I was a massive tool that day.

"Lovely to see you Harry darling!" My aunt Jen hugs my side for a moment before she introduces herself to Elena with perhaps the most fake smile I've ever seen in my life. She used to be such a lovely woman, but this whole family situation has effectively ruined our relationships. Her husbands not so bad; he shakes my hand before giving Elena a kiss on the cheek, I'm not sure if they met the last time but it is still the social convention. Jack hangs back, choosing instead to get himself wrapped up in a conversation with Michael.

"Alright everyone lets sit down and get stuck into some food" Mum beams with pride as everyone settles into their seats. Handmade name tags written on Christmassy paper sit in front of our plates. I see Elena picks hers up to examine it with a wide grin that could light up a city, and for a moment all the worries are gone.

Thankfully, mum has sat Elena and I as far away from Jack as humanly possible. Elena is beside my mum who sits at the head of the table while I'm next to Charlie in a high chair, a small plate of minuscule pieces of Christmas dinner on her tray in front of her. Everyone gets started all at once, piling up their plates with a little bit of everything before the idle chatter begins. This is when I thank my past self for bringing Elena to my uncles birthday; she's no longer the new shiny toy and therefore she isn't the topic of conversation. Instead it turns to neighbourhood gossip and end of year Christmas parties.

I keep sneaking glances at Elena in between the stories to check in with her. She's often intently listening to the stories or deep in conversation with my mum, who looks like she's having the time of her life. Thankfully, little Charlie seems to be taking a renewed interest in me and keeps poking my cheek to get my attention. I take over for Gemma for a while and help her eat her food, next to Elena she's the best distraction here.

"So Elena, what are your plans after University?" Sylvia asks after taking a sip of wine. I know Elena probably hates the spotlight on her, but only half of the table is involved in this conversation so hopefully it's not too bad.

"Well; I will have a degree in business but my heart is really in literature. So ideally I'd like to be doing something that combines those two; either in publishing or editing or even journalism. I still have a bit of time left before I have to start worrying about that her though" She replies quite eloquently for being put on the spot like that. Even though I keep telling her to just drop out, I'm proud of her for sticking with her degree despite the fact that she hates it. She's an incredibly compassionate and empathetic person, she wouldn't be able to handle a fast paced, cut throat business environment. Not that any of it would really matter anyway, with my last name she would be able to get any job anywhere with her qualifications. Woah, where the fuck did that come from?

"And Harry, hotels are good?" Jen asks me. I nod, keep it cordial.

"Things are going well, we've signed a deal to build a new hotel in Shanghai that began construction a few weeks ago" I boast somewhat proudly, I do like having a bit of an ego boost every once in a while. A flutter of congratulations are showered my way to which I raise my glass and take a sip. Oh whisky, help me through this day.

"Well that's just fantastic, you must be very pleased" Jennifer gives me a grin, I shrug my shoulders and nod politely. Yes I'm fucking pleased, it's been nearly a year in the making and it's costing me a fortune to get it off the ground.

The conversation moves on after that, I lose complete interest however as Elena places her hand on my knee and gives it a soft squeeze. I turn my head to the side and see her eyes light up as a soft smile spreads across her cheeks. She has the faintest traces of dimples at the corner of her mouth. I presume it's a 'well done for being polite' knee squeeze, like I'm a child being told I'm a good boy for eating all my broccoli. I return the smile, I refuse to ruin this weekend for her. She feels so alive to me right now; chatting animatedly with my family, humming quietly to the Christmas music. She can say it doesn't matter all she likes, but I know that this is the sort of family relationships she wished she had all her life. So I'll be good, I'll keep it together, so she can have this. And I truly believe that I can do that until my mum speaks up to everyone.

"Okay everyone, lets get our deserts and go to the living room for family charades!" Everyone excitedly gets up after hearing the family announcement. My mum catches my eye and must see the absolute horror in my face as she walks over and kisses my cheek.

"It's just a silly game. You'll be okay darling" With a pat on the back, she walks to the kitchen with everyone else and begins to load several small deserts onto plates for everyone. Elena squeezes my hand as she and I remain standing at the table.

"You okay?" She asks, running her thumb gently over the back of my hand.

"Fucking hate charades" I mumble like an angry toddler.

"It may be fun, I've never really played it before" She replies with a giggle. It breaks my heart a little bit, this sweet girl never got to play fun games as a kid? "I mean I think I played it in school a couple of times, but not really you know" She quickly adds, possibly seeing the sad look on my face.

"Come on, lets get some desert" I sigh, resigning myself to the rest of the afternoon. Can't believe I'm actually going to play charades instead of pretending I have a phone call, or straight up leaving. Gemma and Michael go the living room and start to set up the game while the rest of us hang out in the kitchen around the small table full of deserts.

"Harry sweetheart, do you think you can go down to the cellar and get us two more bottles of red?" My mum asks me as Elena and I enter the kitchen. I groan and nod my head, maybe it's being in my childhood home but I'm starting to act like a real sullen teenager. I hate going down to the cellar; it absolutely freezing and the stairs are so steep and narrow it feels like you're about to fall down them at any time. One time I did and I had to get stitches in my chin.

The cellar is basically mum's storage unit on one side and laundry on the other. It also stores a large supply of different alcohol that don't fit in her drinks cupboard upstairs. I crouch down and find two bottles of the wine I've seen her pour many times into Uncle Will's glass and am about to head upstairs when something catches my eye. An old rusted kids bike is propped up against the wall by the stairs. I instantly recognise that it's mine from the tacky red flames painted onto the side. I was so excited to learn how to ride a bike, because Gemma practically lived on hers and I wanted to be wherever she was. She still never took me with her even when I learnt, but if I wanted to get away from the house fast I now had a way to do so. Why does my mum still have this? She should have got rid of it years ago, would free up a lot of room in this cramped space.

I take the bottles of wine back up the stairs carefully I duck through the doorway, closing the door behind me. I deposit the bottles onto the kitchen counter beside my mother before scanning the room. I can't find Elena.

"Thank you sweet heart" my mum coos as she picks up the bottles.

"Yeah sure, where's Elena?" I brush her off, after doing another scan of the room I notice Jack isn't here either. He better not be fucking talking to her, I'll snap his neck. From the nervous look on my mum's face, I know what's happened in the three minutes that I was in the cellar. Jacks taken Elena aside for a chat, and my mum's let him.

"Love it s fine, they're just talking in the living room" My mum tries to settle my nerves but nothing can be done. I brush past her quickly and make a beeline for the living room. He's taken her to the corner of the room, his back to mine as Elena shifts somewhat uncomfortably on her feet. She knows I don't want her talking to him, but she's too polite to make a scene and refuse. Her eyes begin to widen as she sees me approach.

"...maybe you could help to bridge the gap between us? Anne's always talked about how much of a wonderful influence you've been on him..."

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I huff angrily, pulling him back away from her by the collar of his shirt, his lanky body stumbling backwards. I stand in between him and Elena, I can't stand him being near her.

"L-look man we were just talking..." his hoarse voice tries to sputter out an explanation but there is not excuse.

"I don't give a fuck what you think you were doing you are not to come near her that was made implicitly clear to you. You don't talk to her you don't touch her you leave her the fuck alone!" I'm yelling now, everyone else in the house falls completely silent. They were all here, they saw him take her for a chat and not one of them stepped in for me. They all fucking let it happen, even though they know how I feel about it. I can't fucking believe this.

"I-I Just wanted a bit of help, I didn't m-mean anything bad by it man" He shrugs his shoulders, trying to play off like he isn't scared of me, but the shake in his voice betrays that.

"How fucking dare you" I'm seething with anger; if I wasn't surrounded by my family and Elena wasn't right behind me I would have punched him right in the mouth. I feel Elena's hand on my shoulder and her lips at my ear.

"It's okay, everything's okay. Nothing happened, I'm fine" She whispers soothing into my ear, fully aware of my gritted teeth. My mum steps in between Jack and I.

"Alright everybody lets take a breath" My mum raises her hands slightly.

"I'm just gonna go" Jack mumbles, heading towards the door. His house is like a block away let the fucker walk home in the cold. I'm delighted when nobody objects. Elena softly kisses the side of my jaw, hugging my body closer to hers from behind. I still feel like my body is radiating anger, but it's calming down slowly with every touch. The door finally shuts, the pest has left the building. My mum looks at me with a sad expression. I shake my head.

"I can't believe you let him do that" I say quietly before I brush Elena off and leave the room, taking the stairs two at a time and slamming my bedroom door shut behind me. I pace back and forth, balling up my hands into fists before shaking them out. Jacks never been violent to my knowledge, but him being alone with Elena makes me want to rip my room to shreds.

There's a soft knock at the door as I sit down on the edge of my old bed. Can't they just leave me the fuck alone?

"Go away" I say just loud enough for the person outside the door to hear. I don't lift my head up when the door creaks open anyway and I hear the soft footsteps make their way towards me. Only when I feel her hand rustle softly through my hair do I exhale the breath that I didn't know I was holding.

"I'm sorry I made you come to this" Elena speaks softly, her sorrowful tone immediately filling me with guilt. She didn't know that this was going to happen, she doesn't even really know what went on. I shake my head and reach my hand up to take hers out of my hair, bringing it down to my lips to place a kiss on the back of it.

"It's not your fault" I reply in a tone not unlike a four year old, all mumbling and sad. I'm not sad though, I'm pissed off. How dare they come here and act like everything's fine? How much of a moron does he have to be to think that approaching my girlfriend at a family function and trying to get her to be on his side would be a good idea?

Before I know it she comes into view, squatting her tiny body down in front of me, her hands on my knees supporting her weight. I both hate and love the look on her face that she's giving me right now; hate it because it's the look of sorrow and love it because it's her face. I fucking love her face, always.

"Why don't we go on a little walk? Maybe it will help you calm down a little bit?" She suggests in a soft tone, leaning her head to the side allowing some of her hair to fall around her face. "Maybe you can take me to your school, show me that old make out tree from your painting?" She asks with a smirk.

I let out a soft chuckle before I respond. "They've knocked that tree down now" She grins widely, which has me grinning.

"Then we will just have to use our imagination. Come on, I know you're dying to get out of here" Her eyes light up as I nod my head in response. She places a bit of pressure on my knees as she lifts her body up and heads towards the door, leaving me trailing behind her. Just knowing that they're all downstairs is driving me mad, I make a beeline for the door and shove my feet into my boots. I can hear Elena softly speaking to my mum in the kitchen as she pulls her arms through her large grey coat. I think she's slowly getting more used to having money, she's actually wearing the clothes that I got for her from Harrods much more than her other clothes. It's not that I don't like her old clothes, but wearing these new ones brings her more into my world.

"Back later" Elena calls out softly as she waves to Gemma, who sits at the table with Charlie feeding her something from a small plastic bowl. She looks at me with a somewhat anxious look on her face, as though she's afraid I'm never going to come back.

"Which way is school then?" Elena asks after I close the door behind me, her tiny fingers working to pull on her beanie. I point to the left and take her hand, leading her down the path out of my mum's front garden and head down the lane I used to walk every school day.

"My mum alright?" I ask her once we get out of the gate.

"She's okay I think, just upset that it happened" Elena shrugged. She doesn't ask about it further, maybe because last time she asked was after my uncles birthday. Fuck that was a nasty fight, I can be such a prick sometimes.

"What exactly did he say to you?" I ask her quietly. I don't like talking about this shit, it's in the past I just wish it would fucking stay there and stop popping up every time there is a family event. Honestly, my family wonders why I avoid these things like the plague. She seems hesitant to answer at first.

"Well; he said that you guys had been estranged for a while and that you used to be great mates. He said something about him being in a much better place now and he wanted me to see if I could somehow convince you to sit down with him" I scoff as soon as she finishes speaking, fucking asshole.

"I can't believe he did that, he's fucking insane" I huff, leading her across the road.

"Is that it?" She raises her hand out in front of her, pointing to the moss covered old building down the road. I nod my head. "Kind of creepy looking" She comments.

"It was kind of creepy; it's very Victorian on the inside" I explain with a soft smile. I'm not one for taking trips down memory lane, but it weirdly feels right to take her here. I can almost imagine her in my old school uniform; she would have caught every boys eye for sure. What guy doesn't love a beautiful, quiet, smart girl after all? But I would have fought to make her mine, and not just for a couple of days like I used to.

"What sort of boy were you like in high school then?" She asks, almost as though she's in my head. We weave our way through the open gate and down the path leading up to the junior school playground.

"I was a right rascal. Skipped school, disrupting class, smoking with my mates down by the gates so no-one would see" I smirk as she sits down on one of the rickety old swings. Her mouth drops open.

"You used to smoke?"

"I quit when I was 22" I explain. Sometimes I get the itch after a bad meeting or a family event such as this one. But judging by the disgusted look on Elena's face, she would not be keen for me to pick that back up again.

"Regular bad boy then?" The disgusted look disappears from her face, replaced with a smile as I sit down on a park bench in front of her, leaning my elbows on my knees.

"You could say that" I reply, the corner of my lips pulled up into a soft smile as she starts to slowly swing back and forth. It's kind of mesmerising, bewitching even, watching her sway along with the wind. But I can't let it distract me.

"I need to tell you what happened between Jack and I" I say sternly. She stops swinging almost immediately, a look of surprise overcoming her features. I never intended on telling her all of this shit, but now that we've become what we are, I guess I kind of have to.

"Only if you want to" She offers me an out in a kind and quiet tone. It's sweet, but I know she's probably very eager to figure out why I have such a rough time with my family, who on the surface appear to be very lovely people. I shake my head.

"It's fine. I mean, it's quite a long story so I'll just tell you the essentials" I tell her as she stands up and walks over to sit down on the bench with me. I get an overwhelming sense of déjà vu from our date to the rooftop cinema. Sitting on that bench eating cheap tacos before she made me slow dance. I guess it wasn't that torturous; she let me take her virginity that night and I've been hooked on her ever since.

I keep my body in the same position as I figure out where to start. I've never told this story before; the only people that really know the whole story like I'm about to tell her we're the other people involved in it. I've never had to repeat it before to anyone else.

"So Jack and I are cousins, but we really grew up together. I'm only a year older than him so we spent a lot of time together as kids. It was great, he was like the brother I never had and always wanted. And we even remained close as we went through our teenage stages; me the bad boy babe magnet era and he went through the grunge rock emo phase" Elena giggles, possibly trying to imagine the smartly dressed guy she met earlier with a black bowl cut and a lip ring.

"He went to university and got a degree in finance; so when I was slowly building up my first hotel I thought that it would be amazing to give him a job running the books for the place. And he did a great job; he found great ways to save money, paid people on time and he was very trustworthy. Then after about 4 years things started going a little downhill"

"He liked to party often; which I didn't have a problem with because he never let it affect work. But soon enough it did; he would show up late, hungover, be rude to people. I confronted him about it and he confided in me that he was struggling; he had been abusing drugs and alcohol since we were both in high school". Out of the corner of my eye I can see Elena's hand raise to cover her mouth that has dropped open. It's probably quite similar to the same reaction I had when I confronted him nearly 10 years ago.

"I promised that I would help him; we went together and talked to his mum and dad, I booked him into the best rehab money could buy and he seemed really committed to do better. And it would work for a while; he would do the treatment, get out, go to the meetings, work part time for me. He must have completed around 5 different rehab programmes and they all ended up with him back with a needle in his arm"

"Finally, I thought this last programme had done the trick; he had his head screwed on straight and he seemed determined to get healthy again. Then I got a call from someone on my team, telling me that there was a significant amount of money missing from our accounts"

"Oh no" Elena whispers under her breath; it seems she can already sense where this story is headed.

"Yup. We were about to close a deal on a second hotel; we had some investors lined up, contractors ready to start work, and there was a million pounds missing from the accounts" An audible gasp escapes her lips as I tell her the number.

"By the time we had tracked Jack down a few days later; he was already in Mexico with six of his junkie friends"

"How did you get him back? Did he get arrested?" She asks, placing a gentle hand on my knee.

"I really wanted to. I thought maybe it would be the reality check he needed to finally get his head back on straight. He would do a couple of years in jail, quit cold turkey and come out the other side. But, my family wouldn't let me" I turn my head to look at her reaction, she pulls her head back in complete shock.

"They begged me not to, they couldn't stand the thought of their baby boy being a drug addict and a criminal. My uncle and aunt, my mum, even Gemma; they said that it would be the worst thing that we could do for him. Instead they wanted me to fly him home and just check him back into a rehab facility and start the process all over again" The thought of reliving that night makes me want to be sick. His parents; the money hungry proud assholes, begging me to bring their baby boy home. Never admitting he had a problem, or apologising to me for what he's done, or thanking me for all the help I've offered to him over the years.

"But that's insane, it sounds like a clear cry for help to do something that crazy. How could they not see that he wasn't well?" Elena asks me. Beats me babe. Fuck, where have you been all my life? Someone finally see's my side.

"Too proud, they saw addiction as a problem that someone as smart and lovely as their son could never have. They all begged me for the sake of the family to not press charges and to bring him home when he's ready. So I did. He finally called his mummy three months later when all the money ran out and I paid for him to come home" She squeezes my thigh so I stop talking for a moment.

"Hold on, he ran out of a million pounds in three months?" Her eyes about nearly pop out of her head when I nod in response.

"I know. Got him back into rehab, and after three more runaways it finally worked. I'm pretty sure he's been sober ever since but who knows"

"When did you last talk?" She asks.

"I was waiting for him to come and talk to me when he got back from Mexico. He never did. I stopped waiting a long time ago" I can almost see the colour change in her face.

"He never apologised? Never thanked you for not sending him to fucking prison? Never begged for your forgiveness for saving his life over and over again?" I can feel the rage in her voice, I'm so glad it's directed at somebody else. My sweet kindhearted girl; she can't imagine somebody behaving like that, it's not even plausible for someone to do that in her mind.

"Never. I would have thought one of his programmes would have talked about forgiveness or accountability, maybe he skipped those sessions to go and get high" I shrug my shoulders. She shakes her head and runs a hand through her hair. I should have told her this a long time ago.

"So whenever I go to some kind of family event, I see them. I forgave mum and Gemma, they thought they were doing the right thing and they see now that it wasn't the best thing to do. But him, my aunt and my uncle have just swept it under the rug like it was all nothing. Like everything I went through was worth nothing to them, that I should just move on and pretend like we're all one big old fucking happy family. But I'm not like that, I only play nice for so long" I can feel myself start to get heated, Elena must be able to feel it too. I can feel one of her hands curling it's way through my hair, her fingernails lightly brushing against my scalp.

"They think that I'm just upset that I lost a lot of money and a lot of credibility, which I did. I was the idiot kid who thought that I could build an empire only to be screwed over my own family. It took me years to win back that trust and reputation, and sometimes I'm still not taken seriously. But it's a lot more than that, a lot deeper than that. So I can't be in a room with them all and play nice and shake his hand and pretend that everything's all completely fine because I'm not that kind of guy"

Beside me, Elena shuffles her body closer to me and rests her head on my shoulder, her hand softly scratching my scalp and the back of my neck.

"I get it now. I didn't understand why you felt this way about seeing your family because to me they seem so caring and wonderful"

"And they are, they made a bad call about this one and it soured our relationship. It's not the same with you and them, they all genuinely like you" I quickly interject. I don't want her to think that my extended family are all fake assholes and that they don't actually like her. They love her, it's almost annoying how much they like her because now they think they can talk to me about how great they are.

"It just blows my mind that Jack would think that I would get involved in solving things between you two when he hasn't even tried on his end" She sighs in an exasperated tone. I want to pump my fist into the air; I'm not being a jealous paranoid asshole, he needs to stay the fuck away from my girl.

"I've made it clear to his family and they've assured me that he knows; that he is to keep his distance from me. When you came to meet everyone, that warning extended to you two. I never wanted you to have to get involved in this shit, I didn't want to deal with him saying some shit to you that wasn't true or trying to trick you into thinking that I'm the bad guy" I start to ramble on. That prick has taken too many things from me, ruined too many things for me, I'm not about to let him ruin this.

"Hey hey, none of that will ever happen. This is your family, and I'm with you. Whatever issue you want to take with them, I'm on that side too. If you want to go back there and scream at them until you're blue in the face then lets fucking go do it I'm ready to yell at them. If you want to just get in the car and drive back home then I'll go upstairs and pack you can wait in the car. I'm with you, on your side, always" She explains to me in a slow and sweet voice.

The thought of Elena marching back to my childhood home and screaming at my relatives is endlessly amusing to me, and also just so fucking sweet. My Elena; the sweetest and most gentle woman I've ever met, swearing at my aunt and uncle for being such greedy assholes is something so completely unexpected. Yet I know she would, if I asked her to. She's on my side, she's in my corner. She believes in me; she doesn't think I'm an ungrateful asshole or that I should suck it up. Yet she brings out a side of me that I never really thought existed, a side that wants to keep the peace with my family so that she can enjoy a proper family Christmas like she never really got to when she was a kid. I would probably do just about anything to make this girl happy, to keep her with me. And that was her doing the same for me right now; offering to give up this whole weekend that I know means the world to her.

"I love you" I say quietly. It falls out of my mouth, and from the completely shocked look on her face I don't think she was expecting it either. I let out something of a half cough before I continue.

"Probably Not the right time to tell you that after unloading all of that family shit onto you. But I do, I love you" My heart starts to beat rapidly in my chest, it last did this when I asked her to move in with me. Truly; if someone had told me six months ago that the girl I was about to meet from a sugar dating service would become the most important person in the world to me I would have told them that they were an idiot. If they had said that I would love her as much as I do, I would have called them crazy. But it's true, this thing of magic sitting with me on a school bench in the middle of winter is the most important person in the world to me. And I love her, and I need her to know that I love her.

"Really?" She asks, tears brimming in her eyes and a massive smile on her lips. I nod my head before she leans into me, pressing her lips firmly against mine. I draw her closer, holding her body as close to mine as it can get without her completely straddling me. One of the tears trickles down her faces and splashes against my own cheek before she pulls her head back and leans her head forward against mine.

"I love you too" She tells me quietly, her hand reaching upwards to wipe the liquid on my face away. My stomach flips upside down at the words, fuck that feels good to hear. I've had girls tell me they love me before when I've given them a gift or as a last ditch attempt to get me to stay with them. They only ever wanted my money. But right now, I know I could get a phone call saying that my empire had crashed and burned and she would still be there. She might even prefer it. She loves me for who I am not what I have. She huddles her body close to mine and I wrap my arms around her shoulders, hugging her close to my chest.

"I'm sorry I ruined charades" I mumble against her hair, causing her body to shake with laughter.

"Oh I couldn't care less about charades" she giggles, her arms wrapping around my waist underneath my jacket. She tilts her head upwards to look at me, her chin resting against my chest. Her eyes wet with tears, I can't believer hearing me tell her I love her made her this happy. If I had known that I would have done it fucking weeks ago. "You want to go home?" She asks.

I don't quite know how to walk back into the house and be okay again, I'm not apologising that's for sure, I have every right to be pissed off with all of them. But again, I did this whole thing for Elena. If she wants to stay, and I know deep down she does, then we are staying.

"Nah, we might as well stay" I reply with a soft smile, tucking some of her hair back behind her ear. "And we should probably head back, it's going to get dark soon" I wish I could just stay here with her, but the last thing I want is for her to get sick. I help her stand up from the bench and wrap my arm around her shoulder, leading us back down the path towards my house.

"If at any point you want to go.." Elena begins.

"I know, I'll let you know" I reply, leaning my head down to kiss the top of her head. I push open the little gate and Elena opens the front door for us. The room inside becomes silent when we enter as Elena and I take off our coats and shoes. Instantly my mum hugs me tight around my waist, forcing me into a long tight hug.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I got too caught up in the Christmas spirit and I thought it would be wonderful if you two could repair your relationship. But I know it's going to take a lot more than that, I'm sorry baby" she mumbles quietly so only I can hear. I can tell she's been panicking since we left, I nod my head and rub her back. Looking up, I can see that Jen and Luke have also left following their sons departure. Good, I'm glad that only the good ones are left.

"It's alright mum, I'm sorry too" I apologise, throwing out my thought process from earlier. I'd rather just squash it for now and move on. With that, my mum releases her grip on me and moves to Elena, holding her tightly and mumbling to her.

"Thank you for bringing my boy home" Elena nods her head and leans into the hug, holding my mum nearly as tightly as my mum is holding her.

"We thought charades might be a bad idea, so Christmas films in front of the fire?" Gemma perks up, sensing that the tension has been lifted. Before I can answer, Elena nods enthusiastically. I wonder if she'll talk through these movies like she does when she and I watch movies together. It's not often that we do just sit and watch stuff together, sometimes we get distracted and don't quite make it through the whole movie.

"Sure" I shrug as everyone suddenly springs into action. Will and Sylvia stayed until I came back, but decided to go home once they knew I was alright. Soon the rest of us all squeeze into the living room in front of the fireplace, watching the opening credits of the Holiday as Gemma and my mum argue about whether or not it's a Christmas movie. I don't care, as Elena mumbles to me that it's one of her favourite movies. Christmas movie or not I'm down to figure out why she loves it.

Elena sits down on one end of the couch and I squeeze in beside her, so that her legs are dangling over my legs. Gemma and Charlie sit beside me while mum and Michael both settle into and armchairs. The movies actually pretty good, I don't know if I would classify it as a Christmas movie because I don't really like Christmas movies and this one was actually enjoyable. Elena huddles a cup of tea against her chest as she watches, her hand absentmindedly running through my hair. Occasionally I can see her taking a quick scan of the room and smiling to herself before turning her attention back to the TV.

Annoyingly the next movie we load is far too Christmassy. I don't remember the name of it, but I think we mainly watch it for Charlie's enjoyments as it has Santa and elves in it. Mum suggests Love Actually next, which causes Elena and I to both grin at one another. The rooftop cinema, average tacos, great sex. I oppose no objections and the movie begins to play. I feel like this time I properly watch it, the first time I was kind of nervous and didn't pay too much attention. I wanted her to like the date that I had planned for her, so I spent half the time checking to see if she was having a good time. Turns out I actually really like it. Around halfway through, Elena's head drops down to rest on my shoulder. I can't tell if she's asleep but I don't dare move in case she is.

Once the movie ends, Gemma and Michael call it a night and scoop up a sleeping Charlie and head home. My mum yawns after they leave and gives both Elena and I a kiss on the cheek before she heads down the hall to her bedroom. Her room was added on a few years ago; she refused to leave this place so she at least let me give her the money to renovate it. With it, she redesigned the kitchen, extended the garden and gave herself what she calls a 'luxurious bedroom' with an en-suite and tiny walk in. It works out great for Elena and I as we have the whole top floor to ourselves.

I hear Elena say a prolonged goodnight to my mum as I remove my watch from my wrist and sit it down on the desk. Her light footsteps carry her down the hallway back from the bathroom and she carefully shuts the creaky door behind her, clutching a white tube and a yellow toothbrush.

"What are you wearing?" I half chuckle as I take in her appearance. She's wearing my Ramones shirt, but she also has a long pair of black leggings on. It's completely bizarre, I'm so used to seeing her long thin legs underneath my shirt. She looks down and lets out a slight laugh as well as she head towards her bag to put her toothbrush away.

"What? I didn't want your mum to think I just wearing underwear to bed" She defends herself with a grin as she sips the suitcase shut. I probably shouldn't tell her that I'm pretty sure my mother knows that we have sex, I know that would probably just embarrass her.

"The heater works really well in here; you're going to get very warm so you might as well take them off now" I smirk as I walk towards her, pulling her towards me by the waist band. Her brown eyes roll upwards slightly before she shimmy's out of my grasp and slides the material back down her legs, folding it up and dropping it back into her suitcase.

"Much better" Her eyes roll upwards once more as she hears my comment, making her way back over to me and wrapping her arms around my neck. I place my hands on her waist underneath the shirt, her skin feels so warm and smooth.

"How're you feeling?" She asks, her playful tone no longer evident. Now a look of concern sweeps across her features. I'm sick of talking about my feelings; we could do it until I'm blue in the face but why bother? I was angry that they were here, now they're gone, so I'm fine. I think she's genuinely worried about me, which is something I'm not totally used to and I'm not sure if I ever will. I'm a tough guy with millions of dollars, people don't normally worry about my feelings because I don't worry about theirs. That was the norm, until her.

"Yeah I'm fine" I nod as I reply. I do kind of wish that we had driven back to London this afternoon. Then we wouldn't have to hang out with my mum all morning tomorrow, that and I could fuck Elena without worrying that my mum is going to hear. Judging by the slight laugh she emits when I start to kiss her neck and pull her close to me, I don't favour my chances of getting any tonight despite my earlier declaration of love.

"Your mum is downstairs" Elena whines quietly, yet her head tips to the side to allow me more access to her soft skin. She lets out a slight gasp as I slide my hand down and squeeze her bum, pressing her tighter against me.

"Don't care" I mumble against her skin, nipping at her skin gently as her hands slide into my hair.

"Harry..." She half sighs half moans, tugging on my hair as I walk backwards towards the bed.

"We can be quiet" I smirk, biting on her earlobe as she falls backwards onto the bed. She lets out a giggle and wraps her leg around my waist.

"We are never quiet!" She giggles, pressing her lips against my neck. She's right, nothing is better than hearing her scream my name. I roll my hips against hers, desperate to create some friction between us. She whimpers quietly, pulling my hair tighter in her hand. My hand skims underneath her T-shirt and slip my hand into her panties. She gasps slightly as my fingers rub against her, her lips forming a perfect circle.

"We can be quiet" I reassure her as I slide one finger into her slowly, using my thumb to rub her clit in a circle. I love the way her body reacts to my touch, the way her hips lift up off the bed or the way her head tips upwards towards the ceiling. I reattach my lips to her neck, sucking and biting on the skin. She buries her head in my neck as she lets out a gentle moan, siding her hand down to my boxers and palming me through the thin layer of fabric. I'm already hard and nearly completely out of my mind, I need to bury myself in her and forget all the bad shit.

I slide my fingers out and smirk as she whimpers at the loss of contact before she works quickly to push my boxers down. They rest at my knees, I can't be fucked pushing them down the rest of the way. Too much work, and I'm too desperate for her.

I hover over her for a moment, allowing myself to gaze down at her beauty. Her face lit up by only the soft glow of the lamp on my bedside table and her smile. She's so god damn beautiful, and she's all mine. She raises her eyebrows as I hover and stare at her before she lifts her back up off the bed slightly and slips her T-shirt up and over her head, tossing it off to the side of the bed. Her skin is so soft and pale, a few small freckles dot the skin of her chest. I try not to ogle at her breasts for too long, small and perky and perfect.

Finally I dip my head down and hover my lips over hers before kissing her lightly. Then allowing my lips to hover over her skin; across her dimples, her chin, her nose, pressing soft kisses along the way. She lets out a gentle giggle as my nose nudges against hers, her hand reaching up to hold the back of my neck.

"I love you" She whispers quietly against my lips, her eyes shining brightly as they stare into mine.

"I love you too" I reply instantly before I crash my lips against hers.

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ELENA'S P.O.V, 2 MONTHS LATER

I sit nervously and wait inside the office, the receptionist having directed me in there a few moments ago after assuring me the doctor will be there shortly. It's way more homelike than I thought it would be. I'm sitting upright in a very comfy armchair, a small table sits in front of me with a tissue box and a small sandbox. I absentmindedly run my finger along the sand, really I'm just doing anything to distract myself from what I'm about to do.

"Sorry That took so long, just finishing up with another client" A smartly dressed older woman opens the door and hurries into the room. She dressed in a light blouse and a long flowing skirt, her large frizzy hair clipped together at the top of her head. She settles into the chair in front of me and picks up a large thin leather book and flicks it open to a blank page.

"Elena, is it?" She asks me as she picks up a pen. I mumble a quiet yes as she writes before she looks back up at me with a warm smile.

"You seem nervous, are you nervous?" She asks me. I shrug before I nod my head. I am, I'm kind of terrified actually. She nods her head and leans forward slightly.

"I understand, therapy can be quite nerve wracking sometimes. But before we begin I just want you to take a few big deep breaths with me"

I follow her lead, breathing in deeply when she says 'in', and letting it all out slowly as she says 'out'. It works, kind of, it doesn't take away my fear but it does slow down my heart rate for a while.

"I'm not here to judge you, I'm only here to help you. I'm not a teacher, there are no wrong answers. You can leave at any time, you don't have to take my advice or even agree with it. Whatever you say in this room, stays in this room unless you choose to share it with others. I'm here to help you" She reassures me in a calm and soothing voice.

"Okay, I feel better" I breathe out again, feeling some of the weight lift off my shoulders. I'm here for a reason, well many reasons, and I need to do this.

"Wonderful; why don't we begin by telling me why you've chosen to come to talk to me today?" She asks, not taking her eyes off of me.

"Uh, well, I just ended a relationship that meant a lot to me, and I'm really struggling with it" I say quietly as she begins to scribble down something in her book.

"Was this a romantic relationship?" I nod and she scribbles.

"Why did you end the relationship?" She asks and I rest my back against the chair.

"It's kind of a long story" I say quietly.

"Well, we have an hour today, and as many hours as you like after that on other days. Why don't you start now?" She smiles warmly as I rub my hands together, brushing my fingertips over my knuckles. I nod my head and take a deep breath.

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THE END

HARRY AND ELENAS STORY WILL CONTINUE IN A SEQUEL RELEASING SOON.

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH