"That's what you get when you see your life through someone else's eyes."
"C'mon Bells, please? You never let me take you anywhere."
Isabella Cullen, nee Swan, was doing her best to avoid her husband's puppy face. His green orbs and the pout he reserved specifically for moments like these were her downfall, and she knew that she would go, whatever her reservations, if only to keep him happy. Besides, he was right. Hermit was too nice of a word to describe Bella. Her crippling fear of rejection stopped her from doing anything, forget about going outside. She was still shocked that she had a Greek God for a husband, but he seemed content to have her and would scream it to the world if she'd let him.
As it were, they had a small ceremony, with his parents and her best friend and his fiancée, Jacob and Renesmee, as witnesses. They were ecstatic to be there, and when the papers were signed and the rings placed on each other's fingers, Esme swept her into a hug and Carlisle nodded his approval, eyes warm. The Cullen patriarch wasn't much of a hugger, something leftover from his childhood, but he was very smart and made for interesting conversation when she felt up to seeing other people.
In fact, beyond Edward, Dr. Cullen was one of the few she could honestly say she would voluntarily turn to, right along with Edward's oldest brother, Jasper. They were calm, reasonable, and given the choice she would rather blurt out her insecurities to one of them than push her husband away with her fears. But step one was acknowledging that said fears existed, and there was no way she could not tell Edward when he already knew and was simply waiting for her to say. He was perfect, with his red-streaked, forever-mussed brown hair and soulful green eyes. Any girl would be lucky to have him.
But he chose you… which brought Bella back to her original problem. Edward wanted to take her out. To an event. Not even like a small, date-type event. People could make or break their careers here! (Not that she had much of a career to make or break, considering how she wrote under a pseudonym and could hole herself up for days on end if Edward would let her.)
But that's not the point. Edward had to be there, and while this was not the first time he attempted to persuade his wife into going to an event, (the only other time had ended disastrously for both parties, with Bella in tears before she entered the ballroom.) this was an important moment for him in the business world, one he wanted to share with her and one that he knew they would revel in when he got home. He just wanted to have her there as the moment came… but she was so afraid of being discarded that she abandoned the world in return. It was all Edward could do to convince his wife that he was still there in the mornings because she was walking on eggshells, waiting for the other shoe to drop. In those rare, intimate moments where Bella let herself go and lived life, she was full of passion for whatever she set her sights on, be it intellectual conversation or writing or Edward himself, but those moments were few and far in between, and they mostly occurred when she'd lost all inspiration for whatever she was currently working on. Edward loved those times, but he despised that they came at the cost of his wife's regular overall happiness.
"You don't have to come." He found himself saying, voice numb. "We can celebrate when I get back, yeah?"
Bella didn't move, even after Edward dressed for the event and called his chauffeur. He pressed a kiss to her still form and wrapped her in a warm hug. She surprised him by responding in kind, and let him go with a soft "Good luck."
The door shut and the car took off, and something snapped in her. The mousy, painfully quiet young woman was off like a shot, racing around the room as she punched numbers into the phone.
"Alice Cullen's phone, Jasper speaking."
"Jas Jas Jas Jas Jas!" She yelped. "I need Alice, I need clothes!"
"You sound pretty desperate." Jasper chuckled.
"Shut up and send her over, please?!"
"She was on her way over anyhow, Bells. She has your outfit all picked out."
"Did she know I would want to go?"
"No, but you know Alice."
"She's a master at planning ahead." A knock on the front door startled Bella out of her reverie.
"Gotta go! Thanks!" She blurted out.
"Have fun, Bella." Jasper offered sincerely. Bella hung up and raced down the hall, flinging the front door open to find her savior for the night.
"I have your outfit all ready to go, and we shouldn't be any more than half an hour. Edward left early, though, so we should be able to catch up."
"Good." Bella insisted. "I messed up, Allie, you should've seen his face."
"This is not your fault." Alice assured her sister as she adjusted Bella's dress and fixed her makeup. "And you'll be fine. Jasper was right when he said to have fun."
"You're the best, Allie. I'll make it up to you, I swear!"
"Just get to Edward before the show starts, okay? I want to see the look on his face when he sees you standing there! Oh, he's gonna be crazy about you, Bells!"
"He's always crazy about me." Bella mumbled. I just wish I could show him I feel the same.
Alice pulled up to where Edward's car was parked, and the chauffeur was more than happy to assist them.
"Thanks, Embry. Tell Quil the proposal will be fine."
"Yeah, definitely." His brother had been agonizing over marrying his girlfriend for the past few weeks or so, and it was driving him up the wall and down the other side!
Bella got out of the car and raced for the door, ignoring the flashes of cameras and the questions roared her way. Edward stood at the end of the path, a solemn expression on his face as he turned to go inside. Bella blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Hold the door, will ya?"
Edward whipped around and his face lit up, green eyes reflecting shock as he smirked and held out his arm. Apparently this was going to be a good night.
"I'm glad you came." He murmured warmly as they went inside with her clinging to his arm.
"Just don't let me embarrass myself." Bella squeaked.
"You'll do great." He assured her.
They were swept up in a whirlwind of people that, had they been anyone else they would have separated by now, but Bella knew how dangerous that could be, for both his career and her mental health, and Edward knew his wife. No one asked about Bella, and she was perfectly fine with that. They nodded respectfully, chatted with Edward, and moved on.
So many people…
"Are you alright, dear?" Edward murmured as he turned fully to face his wife. She yelped slightly when his hand brushed her cheek. If she was getting antsy this quickly then perhaps she'd been right not to come.
"We can go home." He offered gently. Bella weighed her options. If she stayed, she could people-watch. She liked doing that. The idea of it calmed her immensely. She just needed to not be the center of attention and that, no matter how much she hated it, meant staying away while Edward did his thing.
"I could use some air, but we don't have to go home. Is Esme busy?"
Edward grinned and hugged her to him.
"She'll be so glad you asked for her that it won't even matter." He murmured.
Bella liked Esme, intimidating as the powerful matriarch could be when she swept into a room. Whether she was barking out orders or observing with a shrewd glance, she commanded attention and for the longest time, Bella had been terrified of the woman.
Slowly but surely, she'd come to know the maternal side of Carlisle's wife, and more recently, to revel in it along with the rest of Esme's children, grown though they all were.
Edward guided her to a set of doors with both hands on her shoulders. He didn't even need to say anything. He radiated pride for his wife, and if Bella could find out why, that was one mystery solved.
A few more hallways introduced them to a small room packed with people, and Esme stood off to the side, easily seen as she chatted with a blonde younger woman in a deep violet gown. Bella shivered under her husband's questioning gaze.
"You said she wasn't busy!" She hissed, taking sight of the room the auction was held in.
"That's Rosalie, remember? I know you don't talk much, but she'll be okay for a few moments."
Rosalie Hale, Jasper's sister and Emmett's wife. Ice-cold glares and sharp words. Take everything Bella originally thought was bad about of Esme and multiply it by 100. The blonde was not afraid to step on toes to get what she wanted. And yet, she had offered to look at the car Edward had bought for her as an engagement present. Bella didn't like that much money being spent on her, she'd never done anything to deserve it and there were nicer people with far less than her. But she was getting over it because the Cullens weren't about to stop spending money because she said so, and Edward loved buying her things as much as he loved giving her compliments. He would give her the world, if that's what she wanted.
"What's got you so lost in thought, dearest." Her husband's velvet voice brought her back to the present. They were halfway through the crowd and Esme was there to meet them. Bella told him her last thought and he nodded. "I'm glad you know that." He smirked, kissing the back of her hand and going to stand by Rosalie. Esme grinned and took Bella's hand, leading her back out of the room and down a different set of hallways.
"I'm glad you could make it." The matriarch said warmly. "And that I got to see you. How was your night so far?"
"Lovely." Bella offered sincerely. "The look on Edward's face when I got there was hilarious! It was like we were seventeen all over again."
"Ah, I forgot that's when you first met. I do remember him coming home at 22 and saying "Mom! Mom I found her again, she's back!" Esme panted in a spot-on impression of her breathless son. "He was so happy… and then you came to visit us and I could see why. I don't think I've seen Carlisle that impressed in a long time, and Jasper spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how you were able to read him so well. He's not used to others using his powers against him."
"He must not meet a lot of wallflowers, then. Introverts love to people-watch and I'll make up a story on the spot if I see someone interesting. Before… before I actually met you, I made up a lot of stories about you and Carlisle. By the fifth visit, I was convinced you were royalty with how you carried yourselves."
"And what told you otherwise?"
"Nothing. You're still royalty. You're just the kind who likes to interact with people."
"Is that so, Princess Swan?"
"Indeed, Queen Esme."
The two snickered for a few moments before pulling themselves together.
"This was nice." Bella mused.
"I liked it." Esme agreed. "We should do this more often. Maybe have Alice and Rose join in every once and awhile."
She froze up at the mention of the other daughters. Alice was nice. A bit pushy, but more than willing to be patient and she knew how to make people look good and still be comfortable. Bella didn't know Rosalie at all, except for the fact that she liked cars and Emmett. And that something bad happened to her when she was younger. Bella wouldn't touch that with a fifty foot pole.
"Rose isn't so bad." Esme offered softly. "A bit rough around the edges, but who isn't? We'll go slow. It doesn't have to be now."
"I… it's okay. You're right. I don't know her. I just… she reminds me of someone, and I keep hoping that my friend won't need to be so cold just because she wants to block everyone out. Now that I think about it, I should probably call Jessie when we get home." If what she remembered of Mike is right, he's still an asshole and they've probably gotten divorced.
"I see you noticed." Esme offered quietly.
"Well, Rose can be hard to warm up to, but once you get to her inner circle you're in for good. Unless you do something extremely stupid, which knowing you, will never be a problem."
Bella grinned. Esme was blunt when it counted, and she would guess that it was a trait well-developed that one needed when dealing with people.
Our phones vibrated at the same time and Esme snorted.
"I think Edward's a bit eager to get home, dear, so why don't we get back to the lobby?"
"Definitely!" I breathed, relieved. I hadn't had a meltdown. Things were looking up.