Contest Entry for the Control. Possess. Seduce. Contest
Title: Because I Love You
Rating: M
Summary: Contest Entry for the Control. Possess. Seduce. Contest
Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.
Because I Love You
"I hope you're armed because I'm going to fight you," Bella said to whoever was banging on the door at seven a.m.
She used the back of her hand to swipe her knotty hair from her eyes and stumbled over the coffee table, swore, then proceeded to limp toward the incessant knocking at the door.
Bella swung the door open, not bothering to hide behind it despite the fact that she was wearing underpants and a t-shirt.
"I hate you," she greeted.
It should be noted that as a small child Bella had never once imagined "I hate you" would be the standard greeting to her husband. Of course, she never anticipated her husband would be the likes of Edward Cullen.
"Much as I'd love picking up right where our last conversation ended, we have more important things to discuss. You're looking great, by the way," he said. "P.S. that no shampoo craze doesn't work for everyone."
She sneered and would've loved to return the sarcasm, but the fact was, he actually did look good. He always looked good. Probably, Bella assumed, because he was actually an unemotional robot who didn't need things like shampoo and under-eye concealer.
There were small differences in his appearance since Bella last saw him. His hair was a little longer on top, he was clean shaven now and that meant more of his perfect face was showing, which was annoying at best, far too tempting at worst.
"You can't come in," Bella said as Edward actually picked her up by the hips and moved her over so he could enter. "Have you gone deaf? Get out."
"I still own this house," he called over his shoulder, making his way to the bedroom. Bella whipped around to follow him and stumbled over the coffee table again.
"Shit!" she shouted, grabbing for her throbbing toes. "Get out and take this fucking table with you."
"You wanted the table," he called, his voice coming from around the corner now. "You threw a fit over the table. It's yours."
"Yeah, well, I also wanted a husband and I changed my mind on that, too. So."
He had the gall to actually laugh until Bella entered the bedroom and saw him at her closet, a pile of clothes already on their formerly shared bed.
"You didn't leave anything here," she told him.
"I did actually."
"Okay, you did. But I burned all of it, so whatever you're looking for is gone. It was nice seeing you. Goodbye forever now," she said, climbing back on to the bed.
"I'm not packing for me, it's for you."
"You're kicking me out?"
"No, I'm bringing you with me," he said, turning around with an ugly blouse in his grasp, "Honey, we're going on a trip."
"I'm aware you're narcissistic and an egomaniac, but have you gone completely crazy?" Bella asked. "Unless you're looking for your lost mind in there, get out of my closet."
There was a time that the announcement of a spur-of-the-moment trip was no longer spontaneous, but still fun. When they were still living together as man and wife, Edward and Bella were constantly travelling, constantly on the go, never just being still and together. If she stopped to analyze that quirk of their dead marriage, she might have realized that not being able to just be together for fear of looming discussions was a big, fat red flag.
Edward didn't answer but instead tossed the ugly blouse in the take pile.
"Since you're clearly confused, I'll recap for you," she said, kicking the pile of clothes off the bed, "You're an entitled prick, I'm the lovely girl who made a terrible mistake when she hastily married you, we now hate each other and you're not supposed to be here, you're supposed to be filing divorce papers and then you're supposed to head off to burn in hell. Now that I've cleared that up—"
"My grandmother passed away last Thursday," Edward said.
"My condolences. I know how much the entire Cullen family detested that rude old hag with a heart of stone."
At this Edward actually cracked a smile.
"You take after her," Bella said.
"Since you've been raised completely outside of the realm of civility, I'm gonna break this down in your terms," Edward said, reaching forward to grab Bella by the ankle.
"Don't touch me!"
He pulled forward until she slid down the bed, then he hovered above her, pushing her hair from her face before bracing both arms on either side of her.
"She's dead, they're reading the will on her Cape Cod property this weekend. According to Carlisle, there is some kind of clause in there concerning our marriage and we all know Grandmother Cullen loudly and often predicted what a fucking disaster our holy union would be."
"I hate admitting she was right," Bella said. "I also hate that you're so handsome. Get off of me before I fulfill a marital duty."
"Yeah?" he asked, a smile starting to curve on the right side of his mouth. Not just any smile. The best smile. The one that lead to carnal things that caused quivering and shouting—also the one that got her into this mess. "We could have closure sex—"
"We could also douse ourselves in gasoline and play with matches," Bella said, wriggling away from him, so he let himself fall face first on the bed. "It doesn't mean it's a good idea."
"Be serious, Bella," Edward said, looking up at her. "The two of us in bed was always more dangerous than playing with fire."
"It's a damned shame sex was the only time I could stand you."
"That's because it's the only thing you're good at," he said, back on his feet and turning back toward the closet.
"Oh, no, I'm plenty good at hating you."
"Right. Except you're still in love with me."
"If love is supposed to feel like repulsion to the point of homicide, then yes, I suppose I am."
"It's a good thing I don't give a damn about your feelings then," he said.
"Ahh, there's my sweet husband. You always know just how to melt a girl's heart," Bella said sweetly then turned abruptly cold. "Tell me what you want."
"You're coming to Cape Cod. You're going to dress like a nice, decent girl and act like a happy little lady and tell everyone who can stand listening to you speak how great our marriage is. It shouldn't be too much talking, most people can't stand you."
"And then I'll sprout wings and fly to the moon!" Bella said, clapping her hands before slowly turning them both up at Edward, flipping the double bird.
"That's exactly the kind of classy that I was talking about," he said. "Put your dirty little fingers down and listen to me."
"Is this going to benefit you in anyway?" Bella asked with narrowed eyes.
"Yes."
"Then I'm not doing it."
"You'll get five percent of my inheritance."
"Oh, will it be enough to cover a funeral? Because one of us won't survive. My money is on you."
"Bella."
"Twenty percent. And consider that a deal because if I hadn't signed that pre-nup, I'd be going for all of it."
"Fifteen and you'd never win."
"How much are we talking here?" Bella asked.
"Enough."
"What kind of answer is that? What's enough? Because frankly, I don't feel like Bill Gates could afford how much money it would take to make this worth it for me."
"Fine. Then get out."
"What?"
"Pack your shit and get out of my house," he said. "The house my grandmother paid for."
"Do you have any idea how terrible a person you are? You walk around, like the person with money has all the control and besides, all of your money was all of Grandmother Cullen's money—"
"Am I wrong? Do I not hold all of the money and all of the control here?"
"You know, up until even a couple of months ago, I would call you on this bluff," Bella said, slowly kicking her way off the bed. "I would think that certainly, even a prick like you wouldn't just leave me homeless and busted after I gave up everything for you, even if our marriage did fall apart—"
"What did you give up?" he asked, his smile bright and his eyes mean. "A shitty job in a shitty town?"
They'd met in a whirlwind, he was on a layover in Seattle, she was there from Forks, doing some window shopping. He was a fresh post-grad rich kid with a ton of his family's money to burn, she was a waitress, on her own since eighteen with exactly thirty seven dollars to her name.
"I would think," Bella continued, "that you'd at least give me a second to get on my feet. But now, Edward. You win. I'll go to Cape Cod and I'll fraud your whole family because now I know that there isn't anything loving or sensitive or hell, there's not even humanity deep down inside of you. So. Congratulations, it turns out you're the bigger asshole."
"If we're taking the gloves off, let's hit hard," he said, "This is exactly all you ever wanted. Money. You should be thrilled."
"I did. I wanted the money. But only after I figured that's all you ever intended to give me."
"What else was there? Cars? You got that," he said, "Jewelry? I gave you that; you got your house, I don't know what the hell else you could possibly want to bleed from me—"
"You're an idiot," Bella said, walking from the bedroom and slamming the door behind her.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Aside from absolutely necessary exchanges, not another word was spoken until they flew in, picked up a rental car and were about five minutes away from Grandmother Cullen's beachfront estate.
"Who is going to be there?" Bella asked, turning the air conditioner vent down.
"Everyone," Edward said, flipping the vent back up.
"Rosalie?" Bella asked with a wince.
"She's my sister, of course she'll be there."
"Hannibal Lecter is better company than your sister," Bella said. "And Esme?"
"I assume at some point there will be booze and cake so I'm sure Esme will be there," Edward said.
"I like her."
"You would."
Esme was married to Edward's father, Carlisle. She was barely older than Edward and as far as Bella was concerned, she was one of the only decent things about the Cullen family; which made sense as she wasn't actually a Cullen at all. In fact, Bella found that Alice, Emmett and Esme, all three married in, weren't necessarily so bad.
"I think you're from bad seed," she mused, glancing out the window.
"Yeah, well, you're from Forks. That's worse," he said, turning into the mile long, cobble stone drive.
Bella let out a low whistle at the property and the massive white house on the shore; surely meant to be beachy and quaint, but as with all things Cullen, it was ostentatious and entirely too much.
"My immediate family is here nor there in all of this," he said. "The only person we're really concerned with is Aro."
"Your great uncle?" Bella asked. "Grandmother's brother?"
"And executor to Grandmother's will. She's left it open to his interpretation."
"You realize your family is like, some fucked up version of Dynasty?"
"Yes. Now, smile," Edward told her, then reached up his hand to flatten her fly-aways down.
"Like this?" Bella asked, showing all of her teeth.
"Yeah, less Jaws more Crest ad. When we get out, I'm going to open your car door, you're going to take my hand, then my arm and gaze at me like I have a ten inch dick and I hung the moon."
"I'm going to throw up."
"I'd hate to have to tell them you're pregnant, so don't do that," he said, putting the car in park. "Do only as I tell you."
Bella took a deep breath and waited for Edward to come around and open her car door, bracing herself for the charade.
When he took her hand, Bella stepped out of the car dutifully, but hated how her hand in his wasn't only familiar, it was nice. Not only nice, it was practically instinct when his hand went downturned and their fingers laced, the way they used to tie together so right, like they were just meant to.
"Sorry," Edward said, shaking his hand from hers and placing it in the crook of his elbow instead.
"Right, wouldn't want to be anything less than formal and detached," Bella said through a smile.
"There are fucked up standards in my fucked up family. Follow them or be homeless," he said, smiling back.
"God, I hate you," she said before beaming up at the wrap-around porch where Esme and Carlisle were perched on an Adirondack bench.
Esme had a bottle of wine in one hand and her glass in the other, a newspaper was spread across Carlisle's lap.
Edward led Bella up the porch where half hearted kisses were grazed to cheeks and Edward shook his father's hand. Behind them Esme held her finger up to her temple like a gun.
"We'll get your bags in a bit," Carlisle said, leading Edward inside.
"Go ahead, darling," Bella said. "I'll just catch up with Esme."
Edward turned, half way in the door to look over his shoulder at Bella.
"Try not to miss me too much, angel," he grinned.
"Careful up the steps," Bella said, "I'd hate for you to trip, fall and die."
He let the door swing shut behind him.
Esme plopped back on the bench and offered her glass up to Bella, who accepted gratefully and sat.
"Thank God you came," Esme said. "Alice is locked in the bathroom chain-smoking, Jasper has been rowing the boat back and forth across the lake for six hours, Emmett choked on a Cheetoh and Rosalie exists. The only good news is Grandmother Cullen is still dead, so there's that."
Bella took four long gulps, draining the glass of wine.
"How do you do it? No, why do you do it?" Bella asked Esme. "They're all so insufferable. And weird! And mean!"
"Carlisle. He's hung like—"
"My father-in-law. Gross."
"And I love him. But I have no idea how all of his kids ended up so…"
"I figured it out," Bella said. "It's bad seed. Don't let him knock you up, Esme. He's got bad seeds. All of his kids are like rotten, bitter apples. With worms and bruised, mushy skin. And-"
"Oh boy. Marriage is going that great, then?"
"Oh, no. Edward's…great. We're still practically honeymooning, he's the love of my life, you know—"
The wine bottle made a hissing noise when Esme released it from her lips.
"I'm not going to say a word," she said, her words were garbled, her chin in the air as she spoke around a mouthful of wine.
"We're filing for divorce when this is over."
"But I'll miss you," Esme said, refilling the glass. "I wish you'd reconsider. You don't have to have much to do with Edward, really. Just show up for Christmas and Thanksgiving and Carlisle's birthdays."
"I would but the more time we spend together, the more likely I am to actually kill him, so it's just not wise," Bella said, squinting her eyes out at the water, barely making out the image of Jasper, who was still rowing the boat.
"You wanna kill him?" Esme asked.
"Yep."
"Does he wanna kill you?"
"I think he actually tried on the way here. He said he swerved to avoid a deer, but I didn't see any deer, I saw a huge tree coming at us, on the passenger side."
"You're in love still."
"No, we're really—"
"Yes you are. Admit it. You love your husband."
"How dare you?" Bella asked.
"Because it's true. Because I remember the courthouse wedding and I remember meeting you for the first time and the way you two were around each other. Because it was palpable when you walked up here—"
"It's an act. We're pretending to be happily married for money."
"No, the acting was terrible," Esme said. "But I felt the tension of suppressed love and sex in the air."
"Well. I never said I didn't want to sleep with him. I just hate him, too," Bella said.
"Girl," Esme said, shaking her head, "you're wrong."
"That's an understatement," a voice interjected, coming from around the other side of the house.
Rosalie appeared, sunglasses on, sarong in place, wide brimmed hat hiding the evil planes of her pretty face.
Esme raised her glass to Rosalie before rolling her eyes.
"Mommy Dearest, Swamp Queen of Spoons," Rosalie said, nodding at both of them.
"It's Forks," Bella said.
"It's irrelevant," Rosalie replied, sweeping past them and into the house.
"She's literally the worst person alive now that Grandmother is dead," Esme said.
"I hope we do that funeral thing where people share memories," Bella mused, "I want to tell about the time she spit on my wedding dress."
When the door opened again, it was Edward, announcing lunch.
"I'm not so hungry, I think I'll just—"
"Bella. Come eat," Edward said.
Esme handed her glass back to Bella and excused herself.
"I'm not hungry," Bella said, holding up the glass. "I'm suddenly very, very thirsty."
Edward stepped fully outside and took the wine from Bella's hand before kneeling down in front of where she sat on the bench.
"I didn't ask if you were hungry. I'm telling you you're going to come inside, shove food in your mouth and smile like you're thrilled to be here. If you don't, I'm going to drive you off of this property, broke, with no car. This isn't open for a stupid come-back or negotiation. So swallow your pride and make a smart decision: poor and stranded or wealthy and fed."
"Yes sir," Bella sighed, standing up.
Apparently, this controlling streak he had also surfaced outside of bed.
At lunch, which neither Alice nor Jasper attended, tuna salad on a bed of lettuce was served. Bella and Edward were seated across from Rosalie and Emmett, with Carlisle and Esme taking the ends of the table.
"Oh, that's enough for me," Bella said, blocking the serving spoon Edward held with her own fork. As a general rule, Bella hated tuna, a fact her estranged husband was well aware of.
"Nonsense, love," he said, "don't be bashful. I requested tuna just for you. Bella eats fresh tuna by the pound."
He plopped three more servings on her plate.
"Eat up," he said with a grin.
"Do you have a problem with our meal, Bella?" Rosalie asked.
"Of course not," Bella said, reaching for her water.
"Good. I'd hate to think we're not living up to the standards you so eagerly had your sights on."
"Excuse me?" Bella asked as Carlisle put down his fork and leaned in. Emmett glanced at Rosalie who went about grinding too much pepper on her food.
"Rose," Edward began.
"It's okay, Edward," Bella said, "Rosalie, it sounds like you're implying something. If you'd like to clear anything up we can do that."
"I think the situation is perfectly clear," Rosalie said.
"Babe, come on," Emmett said under his breath.
Rosalie made a zipper motion across her lips and smiled sweetly.
"No, really, Rosalie—"
"Drop it, Bella," Edward said.
It became quite clear to Bella in that moment that being under Edward's control for the next two days was just not a thing that was going to happen, regardless of her financial situation.
After a quick and silent lunch, Edward excused himself to collect their bags from the car while Bella was directed to their bedroom. Esme and Carlisle opted for a walk on the shore. Bella could only assume Rosalie went off to sulk and make Emmett comb her hair while she did it.
Bella didn't bother getting comfortable. She stood in the middle of the room, ready for a show-down the minute Edward walked back in.
"What the hell was that?" she asked when he dropped the bags and closed the door behind him.
"You're not getting paid to argue with my sister," he said.
"She started with me."
"You're supposed to nod and smile, Bella. That's it."
"You're awfully demanding for someone who's dependent on me to get this money."
"Are you threatening me?" he asked, walking forward now, making Bella walk backward.
"No. I'm saying don't push me or I'll walk right out. I'd rather be on the street than swallow any more of your orders or get shit on by your sister."
"Check your temper and don't engage with her. It's that simple."
"You're out of your mind if you think I'm about to get abused for two days and smile through it. Do you not remember me even a little?"
At this he laughed once and hooked her by the collar with one finger.
"We're going to make this work. You're going to be charming as hell and I'll take care of Rosalie. We can do this, Bella, if you just do what I tell you to do."
"I think you're wrong."
"You used to trust me with your life."
"John Wayne Gacy had a wife who trusted him once, too," Bella said, moving to duck away from him. Edward caught her by simply holding his arm out and pulling her back to him, her shoulder blades pressed to his chest.
Bella felt him, warm body with cool and steady hands, holding her still before he spun her around to face him.
"Bella. Do as I say and you will walk away from this wealthy and divorced."
"All I ever wanted," she muttered.
Edward went to their luggage and pulled out a yellow sundress and tossed it on the bed.
"Change, get it together, we're going on a romantic stroll. You don't have a choice so don't bother talking."
"Why are we going on a walk?"
He rubbed his hands down his face in frustration at her need to always have the last word.
"Aro is on his way. The show's about to start," he said, leaving her to change her clothes.
Bella was reflecting on the fact that these people do wardrobe changes to sneeze as she slipped the silk dress over her head and turned around to the window, catching a glimpse of Edward and Rosalie down below in what appeared to be quite a heated discussion.
Bella hid half her face behind the white eyelet curtain and cracked the window open a pinch.
"I don't care if you think she moonlights as a puppy kicker," Edward was saying, "Back off of her. It's not your business—"
"My family is my business," Rosalie snapped back. "She doesn't love you, Edward. She loves what you can buy her—"
"I don't care. Leave her alone."
"Why would you settle for this?" Rosalie asked with a disbelieving laugh. "You can find a lovely girl in your own financial realm who isn't after your money—"
"Do you hear yourself?" Edward asked, "This entire conversation is not worth having because it's just not your business."
"Our dead Grandmother has been supporting you—"
"She's been supporting all of us," Edward snapped back.
"I have my own income, thank you," Rosalie bit back. "Bella doesn't. I think it's fair her motives are questioned."
"You're delusional, Rose.
He turned to walk away before pausing and turning back to his sister.
"I mean it, Rosalie, don't fuck with my wife."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Get over here," Edward said, ankle deep in the water, the cuffs of his jeans were rolled but damp, his hair had been mussed by the wind coming from the sea, creating a thick and tousled mess. It was reminiscent of what he looked like late at night, after sex when he would be playful or intense or exhausted.
Bella stomped purposely over to Edward, splashing the water with her toes exaggeratedly, getting him wet and irritated.
"Only because you're paying me to," Bella told him. Edward looked out to the water before putting his arm around her shoulder.
"Aro arrived. He's up on the second floor balcony with Carlisle," Edward said.
"He's watching us?" Bella asked. "This is creepy."
"Is it?" Edward asked. "Because if we're being honest, he's got reason to watch. Everyone but us knew this was a fucking disaster. I think it was smart Grandmother was suspicious and wanted to protect her legacy."
"Fair enough, but she's hanging money over your head using marital status. She was a terrible person."
"We've established you hate me and my family so shut up about it already."
"Don't tell me to shut up."
"Shut up. Shut it. For once, just shut up," he told her, moving in front of her to take both of her hands in his, keeping up the romantic act despite the fighting words.
"You can't tell me to—"
"I can," he said, bending a bit to catch her eyes in his intense stare, "I can because for the next two days, I'm God. I decide if you have shelter, I decide if you're on a one way flight back to Forks- that you can't even afford by the way- I decide where you end up and how you get there and if you'll eat along the way. I control your being. So Bella, shut up."
Exchanging barbs was nothing new, but Edward had never delivered such flagrant pig-speech with such venom and sincerity before. And it hurt. It hurt enough that, though she'd occasionally suspected it, she now knew for certain he believed her to be nothing more than something to rule, a peasant to his prince, a fun-time girl who might have been worth some of his money, but none of his respect.
"Okay," Bella said.
"Okay," he repeated.
It was one more day and after that day, she would take only a couple of hundred bucks, which at this point was owed to her for this hard work, and fly home to Forks with the complete certainty that her marriage was over and all of the lingering doubts and smoldering embers of feelings for Edward would be snuffed out for good.
Bella was quiet, mapping out her exit plan when Edward suddenly lifted her from the shallow water; he caught her by surprise so she really couldn't help the squawking and clawing reaction she'd had.
"Will you stop it?" he hissed. "This is supposed to look romantic, not like Fight Club."
"You can't just go plucking people up," she whisper shouted, now awkwardly held up by him, one leg around his waist, the other dangling toward the water.
"I just did. Take your nails out of my neck and put your arms around me."
"What're you directing the next Nicholas Sparks movie?"
"Aro is watching us, everyone is watching us. Act in love and turned on."
"There are pamphlets with bulleted warning signs about men like you."
"Just do what I tell you to do."
Bella smiled serenely and wrapped her other leg around Edward, who could now hold her up with one arm and held the side of her neck with his hand.
"I'm so in love and turned on," Bella mocked, her voice beginning to rise. "I want you so bad."
"No one has to hear your dirty talk."
"I need to feel you," she practically shouted, enjoying his irritation.
She put her hands in his hair and yanked hard, then set about attacking his neck with loud, smacking kisses while she made terrible groaning noises that echoed off the water.
"Take me," Bella cried. "Make love to me…er, lover! Right here and right now!"
It only took a second for Bella to feel that while she had been busy acting and trying to piss him off, Edward was having a very genuine reaction of his own.
She paused her shouting and moving about and looked Edward in the eye, who gazed back at her with the same old look that got her into this marriage and his bed in the first place. There was something about Edward when he was turned on, at his most primal, that was fierce and undeniable to Bella. Something in the curve of his smile or the heat of his skin or the bob of his throat made her desperate for him.
She kissed him real and real good and felt him tighten around her, his arms bringing her closer, his mouth not only receptive but giving. She may have started kissing him, but then he was kissing her. She tried to move up his body, to take control of the situation back, to be the one who started and ended this but he stumbled back and she pushed forward and they came down with a crash in the water.
All at once, they both became sober and snapped back to their current reality.
"Wonderful," Bella said, moving to stand up. "This dress is silk. It's ruined."
"Well then it's lucky for you I bought it. You're not out a dime," Edward said, wringing out his shirt before reluctantly reaching for her hand. "Smile like that was fun."
Bella pasted her smile on all the way up to the house and she even kept her smile in place when she met Rosalie's cool gaze.
"How was the water?" Rosalie asked, her smile as wide and fake as Bella's.
"Fucking divine," Bella said as she was pulled past Rosalie by Edward, who was intent on getting upstairs and changed.
When he emerged from the bathroom in dry clothes, Edward looked at Bella then his watch.
"Hurry. We're going to go greet Aro."
"I need five minutes," Bella said.
"Aro doesn't like to be kept waiting. That means I don't want to be kept waiting. That means you don't get five minutes."
"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" Bella asked.
She was starting to get the feeling that she was being punished more than she was following a plan or helping him out.
"Yeah, I'm having the time of my life. How'd you guess?" he muttered, crossing the room to where his phone was being charged.
"No, I think you're actually a sadistic jerk," Bella said, a note of revelation in her voice. "I think you're getting off by ordering me around."
"Maybe I am," he said. "And yet you keep obeying."
"Is that what you want? A good girl to take orders from you?" Bella asked, her smile a tad devious.
"Come here, Bella," he said.
There was no play in his voice, no malice, only a flat and direct order spoken in a low whisper.
He tossed his phone on the bed and turned to Bella, his hands loose in his pockets, his damp hair wind-swept and his gaze practically dismissive.
When Bella was a foot away she stopped in front of Edward, her heart starting a heavy thrum in her chest, preparing for either a fight or a fuck. She was game for either, really.
Edward came a step closer and took her face in his hands.
"You want to help me get off?" he asked with half a smile.
"It'll be a two-way street."
He looked to Bella then glanced at the floor.
"Get on your knees."
Bella called the bluff and promptly lowered herself to the floor.
He laughed quietly through his closed lips before shaking his head once before turning his back and heading for the door.
"Cooperate. That'll get me off. Get yourself ready and meet me downstairs."
She was only speechless for half a second before she stopped him, two things at the forefront of her mind: one, he might be controlling the game but he wasn't going to humiliate her. Two: she still knew what actually did get him off.
"Stop," she told him then stretched her hands to the floor so she was on all fours as she crept over to where Edward stood.
She saw the pulse in his neck, saw his throat move with a slow swallow and heard the door click shut softly behind him.
When Bella reached his feet she rose up on her knees and looked up, ignoring his obvious physical enjoyment at this whole display.
"I will say what you tell me to say to them. I'll smile at your family and I'll even wear what you tell me to. I'll hold your hand and I'll be nothing but gooey, lovey-dovey for you down there, but if you ever fuck with my libido or try to humiliate me again, I won't just stomp out of here. I'll tell Aro all about our impending divorce before I go."
Edward put his hand on the top of her head then slid his palm down so his finger lifted her chin.
"Don't wear blue."
"Why?" Bella asked, leaning back.
"I don't fucking like it," he said with a shrug, then left the room.
When Bella had dried and dressed (in blue) and stepped out of the room, Rosalie was right there, like a guard dog, in front of the door. Esme was behind Rosalie, leaning against the wall, silently chanting the word "fight" and giving Bella a double thumbs-up.
"Aren't you supposed to be leaving me alone?" Bella asked, moving to side-step Rosalie.
"I was listening outside your door," Rosalie said.
"Doesn't anyone ever do the decent thing in this fucked up family?"
"That's right, we're a fucked up family," Rosalie said. "Don't you see that?"
"Of course I see that. Your twin brother has been rowing a boat for twenty seven hours."
Rosalie smiled and sighed.
"I heard you say you're getting divorced. I assume you're playing along long enough to get part of Edward's windfall."
"It's not your business."
"Emmett comes from old oil money," Rose said, quickly stepping in front of Bella.
"How nice for you. If we're going to sit around and compare bank accounts, let me save you time: You have more money."
"That's true and obvious but it wasn't my point," Rosalie said, "It was easy for me to know he loved me because he came from his own wealth. You were right when you said our family is fucked up. Grandmother Cullen…"
"Was a mean, bitter old harpy and the world is a much better place without her in it," Bella said.
"There's that, but more than that. I can't have biological children."
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Bella said, genuine but cautious.
"I wanted to very much and you know Grandmother and her stipulations. Without children, I won't inherit, which isn't such a big deal for me. My lifestyle will remain regardless of Cullen money."
"I'm proud of you? If you're done gloating—"
"You should shut your mouth long enough to listen. Perhaps, Bella, if you actually took the time to hear things instead of readying your next insult, you wouldn't be in this mess," Rosalie said.
"Oh, then by all means," Bella said, waving her hand for Rose to continue.
"As I was saying, we were raised with the belief that our worth was tied up with money. With status, with good breeding. You see, I can't have children? I get no money. Edward picks up a wife from the swamp? No money."
"I can certainly now better understand why you're all terrible people. Thank you for validating that," Bella said with a nod.
"We were controlled by money and in turn, Bella, we control people with money. It's how we were taught to function in any relationship."
"This probably explains why these little reunions are always so fun."
"Edward is likely to be screwed out of his monetary legacy thanks to you. He'll put his Ivy League education to use and our father will help to cushion him in the meantime, but Edward stands to lose a lot and to be blunt, Bella, from the get-go it was rather obvious you would never gain grandmother's approval."
"The Queen of England united with Jesus couldn't have gained her approval."
"Yet Edward married you anyway," Rosalie said, her eyes narrowed in sharp suspicion. "For reasons I can't fathom, he seemed to adore you. He put all of this at risk for you and that absolutely baffles me. But what further confuses me is you."
"Yes, well, I'm a bit more complex than Prada and oil-tycoonery—"
"You claim you were never after his money. If it wasn't money, why him?" Rosalie asked, opening her arms. "Why on earth would you marry Edward if it wasn't for his money? You seem to despise him and you can't have much in common with him given your drastically different backgrounds. He's arrogant, he's not particularly nice and yet you married him."
"He's very handsome and he's good in bed."
"So are many men. So, Bella, was it always the money?"
"No. We…," Bella trailed off, frustrated and tongue tied.
Rosalie took a step back and smiled.
"Bella. If you can't find the words now that it's over, you probably never said them when it began. You have a husband who was brought up to believe his only worth was his money. Of course he thinks that's what you want from him, it was impressed upon him all of his life that people either wanted his money or he'd use his money to get people he wanted."
"Yeah, well, it shows. And as you've heard, we're divorcing, so none of this is relevant to me anymore at all. Go on, gleefully spread the news," Bella said, waving her hand down the hall but Rosalie caught her wrist.
"My theory about you two is once the blinders of brand new love wore off he was left with nothing to give you but money and material things because he has no idea he is worth any more than that."
"I'm not sure he is either," Bella mumbled, rubbing her toe into the carpet.
"I'm sure you never told him otherwise and I know my brother well enough to know he certainly never admitted such insecurities. He probably kept any conversation at bay by tossing cash around and rolling in the sheets until it just couldn't sustain anymore. So then you've got an emotionally devoid husband who keeps buying you things, meanwhile you're getting resentful because you'd rather have him. Then he's thinking 'damn, I keep giving her these things but she keeps getting more resentful and colder by the minute' and that's frightening to Edward because the only thing he can offer you -money- isn't enough for you. He can't give of himself if he thinks he's worthless without money, and so what Edward does is slowly start holding you hostage with money, which is a terrible thing to do, but he's just trying to hold on to you and keep you the only way he knows how," Rosalie ended with a huff and red cheeks. "And you're both quite stupid. Unless, of course, my original theory is correct and you're a gold-digger and he's just stupid. I'm not discounting that yet."
Rosalie turned on her heel and marched down the hallway, leaving Bella and Esme in her frosty wake.
"And it's not even a Cullen Christmas," Esme said. "God, I love my family."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Edward was making his way from the kitchen with a ham sandwich in his hand when Bella found him just before they went to officially meet with Aro in the dining room.
She plucked the sandwich from his hand and took a huge bite, figuring if that went down, she should be able to swallow her pride just as easily.
"You're half savage," he remarked, watching Bella struggle to chew.
Edward sighed and crossed his arms, only to snatch his sandwich back when she'd swallowed her bite and took a breath.
"Let's get this over with. I want to see if I'll have enough money to fly to Reno and meet my next husband," she said, then held her hands out, "How do you want me?"
"I think the show in the water was enough," he said. "Keep your hands to yourself."
"Yes sir," Bella breathed, but paused in her steps when he grabbed her elbow.
"Would you do that?" he asked. "Marry someone else?"
"Eventually, sure. But probably not anyone from Reno."
"No," Edward said, plain and blunt.
"No what?"
"No, you're not marrying some guy. Not from Reno, not eventually, not as long as you have my money."
"I know that in this little bubble, you're Prince Edward and rule all of the land, but in reality, you don't get to make those kinds of decisions."
"No money if you do. When this money comes through, you won't get your fifteen percent if you marry and if you do eventually marry, I'll consider it breach of contract, a contract which you're going to sign before you see any cash."
"We already made this deal!"
"It's not my fault you agreed without anything in writing," he shrugged. "You have a terrible business sense."
"Oh, you're just scum—wait. What do you care?" Bella asked, her eyes narrowing.
"I care because I don't want some other schmuck living off Cullen money."
"I could just shack up with a guy and give him all your money," Bella countered.
"That's true," Edward said, stuffing the crust of the sandwich in his mouth. He took his time contemplating while chewing. "I'll just have to make sure you don't."
"You're not going to control my life with…oh my god. Oh my god," Bella said, Rosalie's speech rolling like credits in her mind. "You are holding me hostage with money!"
"Well, that's over the top," Edward said flatly.
"Is it? Isn't that exactly what you're doing?"
"No. I'm just a selfish prick who enjoys misery," Edward said, then weaved his fingers with hers, pulling her out of the kitchen before she could respond.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Aro sat at the head of the dining room table, a frosty Sidecar to his left and a plate of cheese cubes and Esme to his right. There was a manila folder in front of him.
"Do you have to be here?" Edward asked Esme.
"Yes," Esme and Bella said in unison.
"Sit, sit," Aro said as Esme smiled brightly and gestured to the seat right next to her for Bella.
Edward moved to sit across from Bella but changed course when Aro was watching a bit too intently.
Edward sat next to her and put one arm around the back of her chair and used his other hand to tug Bella off her own seat and on to his lap.
"He just loves keeping me close," Bella said, patting Edward's cheek a bit too hard.
He grabbed her wrist and slapped her hand on the table, making Aro look up from shuffling the papers in front of him.
"Now, I know we're all still mourning the loss of my dear, dear sister," Aro began but was promptly interrupted when Esme choked on her wine. "But she did like to keep matters in order and she would have wanted her estate to be dealt with swiftly and efficiently," Aro said, then clapped his hands together, "So here we are."
"Here we are," Bella mumbled.
"Carlisle tells me there is a clause in grandmother's will regarding my marriage," Edward said, leaning around Bella to look at Aro.
"True," Aro said, opening the folder in front of him. He proceeded to crouch over the paperwork and hide it with his arm like an entire sixth grade class was trying to look at his test to cheat.
"It's that intense?" Bella asked and Esme pumped her fist in the air before scooting her seat in closer.
"True," Aro spat again. He looked over his shoulder and quickly crouched down again. "Where on earth are Jasper and his wife?"
"Jasper's rowing a boat this weekend," Edward said.
"All weekend," Esme said.
"Every second of the weekend," Bella chimed in.
"That's charming," Aro said, nodding with appreciation.
"Uncle Aro, if we could get to business, here," Edward said. "I'd like to take my wife to dinner tonight."
"Right then," Aro said and actually pulled a small magnifying glass from his breast pocket. "I have a list of questions left here by my sister and while she specifies no correct answers, she did say she trusted my sound judgment to decipher if her wishes are met. Who wants to go first?"
"What kind of circus is this?" Bella muttered.
"Aro, if we could just get to this," Edward, shifting Bella's weight on his lap. She hunkered down and made herself comfortable while Edward tensed underneath her.
"Why?" Aro asked, standing from his chair and pointing at Edward. "Why her? Why did you pick this poorly bred cretin to muddy up the Cullen bloodline? My apologies, I'm reading these questions verbatim."
"Does it really say that?" Esme asked.
"Are you implying I'm a liar?" Aro snapped at Esme, who put her hands up in surrender.
"What are you asking?" Edward asked. "I fell in love with her, that's why."
"Why?" Aro shot back.
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Because I just did."
"You can't think of one nice thing to say about me?" Bella asked him over her shoulder, without pretense or malice, she looked open and vulnerable and genuinely curious.
Edward chewed the corner of his lips for a moment before letting out a sigh and leaning back in the chair, looking up at Bella.
"I met Bella on a layover," Edward began telling Aro. "She was shopping in the airport, but not coming or going anywhere."
He remembered her then, iced coffee in one hand and her eyes wandering all over, smiling and frowning at passers-by. It was he who approached her.
"I'd asked her if she was departing or arriving or maybe on a layover, too. And she told me neither, she just liked the airport. To people watch, to see where everyone has been or where they're going and she said she wasn't going anywhere. She bought a ticket for a hundred and ten bucks, just to hang out at the airport for the day."
"You're a simple-minded girl, aren't you?" Aro asked Bella.
"I like the excitement of the airport," Bella said quietly. "I found the ticket super cheap."
"I thought it endearing at the time," Edward said. "She had this unfulfilled wanderlust but at the same time, it was enough, just to be there in the airport action for her. She was completely happy and satisfied to not have, to just observe. And then we sat together and ate an entire meal from vending machines and pointed people out and gave them histories and futures and we laughed and talked shit and I missed my flight. What I never told her was I missed it on purpose," Edward said.
"You did?"
"I wasn't ready to be done. It was the first time it occurred to me, we jump from place to place, looking for some kind of satisfying spot, we're always coming or going but if you just stop, right in the middle of plans and really look, anywhere can be pretty great. And then we left and picked up a twelve-pack of shitty beer and drank it in a motel parking lot. By morning, I didn't want to not see her again."
"Really?" Bella asked.
"Really. I mean, if I was a more cynical man I might have gleaned that you were hanging out at airports looking for work or some sucker with money to fund the traveling you so wanted—"
"Oh?" Aro interrupted, his eyes dancing between Bella and Edward now.
"But I'm not," Edward finished flatly, looking away from Bella. "Anyway. We had good chemistry, good conversation and we laughed a lot and…it just happened."
"How do you mean?"
"I don't know how I mean," Edward said, growing frustrated. "I loved how when I would see her I thought to myself 'oh! There she is!' I loved her for no reason, just because I did. And I think that's how I knew it was true. There aren't any reasons, it simply is, just like there is no beginning or defined rule to anything else that is innate, unwavering fact. No explanation is needed when something is."
Bella had turned in his lap and was looking at him now, her lips parted, her eyes beginning to tear.
"Edward," she said, bringing her hand to his face but he dodged it and moved her to her own chair so he could stand up, wipe a hand down his face and motion for Aro to get on with it.
"Is it my turn to answer that?" Bella asked.
"No, my sister wrote down here that we all know why you love Edward."
"I have no idea how everyone came to this gold-digging conclusion," Bella began.
"Because I have money and you don't," Edward said. "And it was never enough—"
"Do you remember when we went to Forks and my dad kept threatening to arrest you for hooliganism and we went fishing off that pier?" she asked, getting to her feet now, too.
"I still have a warrant out and you made me bait the hooks, I can't forget it," he said.
"It was a good day. We screwed in the parking lot of the diner and we rode bikes. I was so in love with you that day and you didn't spend a dime," Bella said, her voice rising.
"We were looking to buy you a car the next day," Edward pointed out.
"Your suggestion!" Bella shouted, pointing a finger at him. "You kept plying me with all of this shit, Edward—"
"You kept accepting it."
"Because it was the only time you'd be happy and be with me! You never just stopped and let things be and I was right there, just waiting for you to just…be. You had me, just you with nothing else, you had me hooked so hard, Edward—"
"Right, but when push came to shove you wanted the house, you wanted your cars, you wanted my own damned name off of a joint account that had my money in it!"
"Because it made things stickier!" she shouted fully now. "It made a divorce that much more difficult! I wasn't ready to be done! You realize you weren't even speaking to me that last month we tried to make it work? You pushed me out. You built a wall with all of your fucking money because Edward, you were scared shitless I loved cash and not you—"
"That's the dumbest psychology 101 bullshit I've ever heard in my life," he said.
"I don't think it is," Bella barked. "You're just not that complicated, sweetheart. But you're right about one thing, it was never enough. Nothing you could buy me would have ever been enough. I only wanted you. But you never even opened yourself up to that possibility. You ruined this."
"Me?" he shouted back, "You were all too happy to shut up and take, you never once said 'no thank you, Edward, your company is plenty.'"
"Probably because I'm not a 1950's etiquette manual," Bella said, and it was at this point they both remembered Aro and Esme were in the room, watching the entire exchange like it was an intense tennis match.
"If I may?" Aro asked, peering down at the paper again before squinting back up between Edward and Bella. "You two are divorcing?"
"Yes," they said in harsh unison.
"But you're still madly in love," Aro said slowly.
"No," came their reply.
"You're both fools. Of course you are," Aro tsked.
"You really are," Esme said with an apologetic shrug.
Bella stuck her thumbnail between her teeth and shook her head before walking out of the room. Edward swore and shoved the empty chair back to the table before he went off after Bella.
He found her up in their shared guestroom, the bag she never unpacked over her shoulder.
"What are you doing?" he asked, softer than he'd spoken to her in quite a long time.
"I'm leaving. I'm sorry, but it's just too much. It's not worth it," she said with a teary laugh. "I didn't expect an autopsy of our marriage and Edward, you might not think so because I might not show it, but this whole separation and impending divorce is like…"
"Like what?"
"It's the worst thing that I've ever had to go through. It hurts. I miss you, but then it occurred to me I missed you when you were still living with me. I don't know how to fix it and so I'm leaving it, okay?"
"Okay," he whispered.
"And listen," Bella said, wiping the tears that had spilled to her cheeks. "I don't care what Grandmother Cullen believed or thought of me, or Aro or Rosalie or anyone but, I need you to believe me when I tell you it was never a money thing. Ever. I sincerely and wholly loved you, Edward. I need you to know that and tell me you believe it. Okay?"
"Did you?" he asked, clearing his throat.
"Yes," Bella said, incredulous now. "God. Of course. Yes."
"You never said so," he shrugged.
"I swore in front of God and a judge that I would spend my entire life with you until death. I thought it was implied that I might have had more than a passing crush on you. Besides, we weren't that way. We were never that way. Our foreplay consisted of trading insults and arguing over who gets to read the cereal box in the morning."
"I loved you and I guess I never really understood why you loved me and so I spoiled you to distract you from seeing that maybe you'd made a mistake. It's just…you kept going with it and you never lead me to believe otherwise," he said.
"You kept pulling farther and farther away from me, Edward—"
"Because you kept getting colder and colder!"
"Are we in the middle of a divorce because bees have a better communication system than we do?" Bella asked, her shoulders sagging. "Because if you're being honest and I know I'm being honest…what are we even doing?"
"I don't know," he said with half a sad laugh. "I don't know. Is it too fucked up already?"
"No?" Bella asked. "Everything we do is fucked up. Why should this be any different?"
"Fair point," he said, rolling his eyes before looking at Bella, "I did the same thing. You made the divorce difficult in order to stall and I kept you around using money. I controlled you with money and I did it very deliberately. I'm sorry."
"I wouldn't have bit at the money," Bella said. "It was just a way to be with you just a little longer. I'm not ready to say goodbye to this yet. I wasn't willing to do this for the money. I did it to be near you."
It was quiet for a long time, both of them standing there awkwardly in the silence.
"What are you going to tell Aro?" Bella finally asked.
"I don't know. The truth?"
"What's the truth, Edward?"
"That I love you and I hope this works out, that I'm going to try with everything I am to make this work out."
"Oh god," Bella said, dropping the bag from her shoulder.
"What?" Edward asked.
"I'm going to run right into you," she said, her smile starting to stretch wide as her arms spread.
"What are you—"
"You better catch me because I'm coming at you so hard right now, Edward."
She ran, he caught her then he kissed her.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Your shirt is inside out," Edward said to Bella on their way back downstairs.
"Your face is inside out," she answered.
"I turned you inside out."
"Touche. The sex has always been better than the money," Bella said. "If you really ever want to keep me around, use sex not money."
He pulled her into him and grinned down at her. Bella was still was dopey eyed and hair-tousled.
"Or you could stick around because…"
"Because I love you."
"Because I love you, too," he said, kissing the top of her head before they both headed back to the dining room.
Aro and Esme looked up eagerly when Edward and Bella entered.
"We were going to fraud Grandmother Cullen's estate," Bella said.
"We were getting divorced and we planned to lie and say we weren't so I'd be eligible for my inheritance, then we'd divorce and Bella would take a percentage."
"But it turns out we're staying married."
"Because we're in love."
"Because we're in love."
Aro's laughter was immediate and if either Bella or Edward had bothered to look at Esme and not each other during their declaration, they would have seen her making the old cut it out gesture, repeatedly slashing her hand across her neck. But they did not.
"Is something funny?" Bella asked.
"I mean. Kind of. In an ironic, terrible way," Esme said, shrugging her shoulders to her ears.
"It is evident you two are made for each other. Shame for you. More money for me," Aro said.
"What?" Edward asked, walking over to where Aro was sitting with his folder.
"Your Grandmother's money was only to be gifted down to you on the grounds you terminate your marriage to Bella," Esme said. "He just showed me his secret papers."
"No divorce, no cash," Aro said.
"What?" Bella gasped, "She…I can't…I cannot believe what a terrible person she was!"
"You can't?" Esme asked.
"True. I should've seen this coming," Bella mused.
"She did spit on you on our wedding day," Edward said, reading over the papers.
Bella plopped back down in the chair next to Esme and lay her forehead on the table while Edward conferred quietly with Aro.
"What if we divorce but just be together forever?" Bella asked.
"Not an option," Aro said.
"How would anyone ever know?" Esme asked.
"I'd know," Aro said.
"Couldn't you just—"
"For a high eight digit sum?" Aro asked. "No, I could not."
"That much?" Bella asked, her palms flat on the table on either side of her head. "Oh god. We didn't even have a honeymoon yet and it's already over."
"Bella," Edward called and she looked up to meet his frustrated gaze, the papers rolled in his fist.
"What?"
"I'm not leaving you for money," he said.
"You're not?" Aro, Esme and Bella all asked at the same time.
"No?" he replied, looking sadly at the papers in his hand. "I mean, no," he said, firmly this time.
"You're going to walk away from all of that money? To be with me?"
"I can make money," he said with a shrug of one shoulder. "I mean, we won't ever be on par with Zuckerberg or even the rest of the Cullen clan but…"
"But what?"
"But I'm telling you I'm willing to walk away from this if you will walk away with me. Do you not want that?" he asked.
"Are you going to hate me for it someday?" Bella asked. "And really think about that, Edward. What if we don't work out? What if you get up to go to work one day and you look at me and think of a life you gave up for me? What if—"
"I lived with money all of my life. I lived with you for a few months. I like you better. I think."
"What if you don't like me poor? What if we're a couple that hates each other over money issues? I think it's the number one cause of divorce in the U.S. and I don't know, I'm not much an odds beater, Edward, I just—"
"Are you trying walk away?" he asked, brows pulling down and his voice edging on anger and suspicion. "Are you tossing excuses at me because you don't want to stay married if there is no windfall, Bella?"
"No," she said, eyes bugging and incredulous. "I just don't understand why you would give all of this up for me."
"Because," he said, tossing the papers back to the table. "Because I love you. And if you don't really feel the same, you should just tell me right now and walk away because I just put a lot at risk for you—"
"I do," Bella said, jumping up. "I do feel the same!"
"You do?"
"Yes," she said, "I want to go and be poor with you! I want us to work hard together and build our own fucking fancy estate together and I'll show you how to make a monthly budget and we can spend nights and weekends at home instead of out or travelling somewhere and we'll scour the internet for jobs and share a car and I'll prove to you they do sell a seven dollar fifth of vodka—"
"Oh god," Edward said, "Okay, don't describe any more. Let's just….do it. With no paid-for distractions and no one else dictating our income and no lying…just us."
"I think it'll be good," Bella said. "We're going to actually really get to just be us, stripped down and bare bones, we'll be…"
"A fucking mess," Esme said, "Invite me over for dinner. I can't wait to witness this."
"We will be," Edward said with a grin. "We'll be a mess."
"I know," Bella said and smiled, going to Edward and his outstretched and waiting hand, "I can't wait."
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Public voting: February 21 2016 to March 6 2016.