A/N: Hello out there. All my love and kisses. *mwah*
For the most part, Bella hadn't moved from the center of the ginormous bed.
Almost as soon as Edward left, she'd crawled back under the covers and fallen into a deep sleep. It felt like it had been years rather than days since the last time she slept soundly.
When she woke up, Bella felt a lot calmer than she had in the week since she'd run from the person that should have been her friend.
There was a niggling part of her that thought she was being naive and ridiculous. How could she possibly feel so sedate and relieved? She had given dominion of herself over to another man, a man who, like her ex-friend, seemed kind and charming on the outside. But hadn't she seen enough of the world to understand that people didn't act without thought of gain?
What could this man possibly have to gain by staying married to her?
The question should have sent chills down her spine - where there was a marriage, sex was a foregone conclusion after all - but she felt oddly... safe in Edward's presence.
Sitting up, feeling much better after her impromptu nap, Bella glanced around the room.
It was a really big room.
It had not escaped Bella's notice that Edward had taken not one but three bottles of water from the courtesy fridge without as much as a second of hesitation.
There was no greater indicator of wealth than the ability to pay six dollars per bottle for water without flinching.
Maybe it was a sign that she was truly unhinged that the proof of his obvious wealth bothered her more than anything.
Bella simply hadn't been raised to be comfortable with the idea of being a charity case. Already she was adding up figures in her head, trying to keep track of what she owed. Definitely, the impromptu wedding ceremony was all her. He'd footed the bill the night before - she had practically nothing to her name - so she was already indebted to the tune of $300.
It would have been closer to $700 if Edward had had his way that night, but she'd managed to convince him she didn't want the 36 posed pictures and they had no bridesmaids to give bouquets to.
Bella couldn't help the smile that quirked at her lips, remembering how endearing he'd been. In just those few, drunken hours, he had tried so hard to make her happy.
He would make a good husband to someone someday – someone deserving.
As she showered and dressed, Bella took the time to do what she'd promised, thinking seriously about Edward's proposal - his second in less than twelve hours.
At least this one was made while he was sober.
Scared out of her mind, Bella had hit the road the second she got away from the house where she'd been held captive. She'd driven fast, not stopping until she absolutely needed gas.
Since then, having to buy a few changes of clothes, meals, and hotel rooms, Bella was very nearly out of what little cash she'd had to begin with.
The day before had been the first time in a week she stopped long enough to breathe and think. No matter how she tried to think about it, she couldn't figure a scenario where it was safe to return home – not to Forks, where he had so much power and she so little. That was a difficult thought to wrap her head around. Her mind tried desperately to think of a reason why he would have acted the way he had, something that would have explained it rationally in a way that she could believe she'd overreacted in running. But, remembering the ferocious look in his eyes – that he'd absolutely believed his words – Bella knew her original instinct to run had been the correct one.
One thought had led to another and, as she lamented ever giving into him – giving him ownership of her body even briefly – a wave of nausea sent a stray thought to shatter her reality for the second time in a week.
She couldn't deny that she needed a plan. She couldn't exist in this limbo – running forever.
That morning, she'd been entirely exhausted by the overwhelming guilt she felt, having taken advantage of Edward's kindness. She would have given him almost anything he asked for to make up for what she had done. Telling her story was the least she could do, though she'd been absolutely positive he'd see her as the crazy one.
One way or another, Bella would have to rely on someone to help her out. She'd been tossing around the idea that she could find a shelter. There had to be someplace where she could find a little help until she found a job, and she knew that she could get prenatal care through the state.
Still, now that Edward had planted a seed - in the harsh light of the morning, when he wasn't drunk off his ass - it was impossible for Bella to ignore. It was a tempting thought - being able to turn to someone who was real rather than the faceless system. He'd made it clear that at the very least, he'd believed her story. He was an ally, a friendly face, and running scared as she was, Bella was desperate for someone to trust.
When he came back to the room, Bella was sitting cross legged on the bed, pulled out of quiet contemplation by the sound of his keycard sliding into the door.
For a long, heavy moment, they merely looked at each other. His expression mirrored her emotions, like he was shocked to see living, breathing proof that everything that had happened since last night was real.
"I half expected to find you'd run off," Edward said softly, closing the door and walking slowly to the bed. He sat down, his eyes steady on her.
"I thought about it," she admitted.
"What else did you think about?" he asked, his voice unassuming.
"Well," she hedged. This was such an awkward conversation. "I was just curious. If you're in a suite, you obviously don't live here, right?"
He blinked at her and then laughed. "Of course. No, I don't live here. I live in Chicago."
Bella blew out a long breath, thinking about that. It had occurred to her that if he was just going to flit her away to a town as small as Forks, she might never get on her feet. She needed resources - job opportunities, that kind of thing.
Her heart started to race. She felt inexplicably shy about what she was about to say. "In that case, I was thinking that, unless you've reconsidered, I would like to take you up on your offer. But I want to pay you back," she said this last sentence quickly, tripping over her words. "I'll find a way to pay you back for all of it. Everything."
He raised an eyebrow, looking as though he was about to dismiss the need to repay him, but he must have seen something in her face and thought better of it. "If you prefer," he said easily.
Bella stared at him, feeling strangely calm about having just agreed to follow a near complete stranger back home. "You're sure this is okay?" she asked, wondering if she was asking him or herself.
"Mmhmm," he hummed affirmatively. The answer seemed oddly evasive, but his smile a moment later was genuine. "Good then. That's settled." He paused, looking almost as uncertain as she felt, and rubbed the back of his neck. "How about dinner?" he offered. "Room service? Or we can go out, if you'd like."
"No," she said quickly, remembering the prices at the restaurant the night before. She thought about what little cash was in her wallet. "Can we order a pizza, maybe?" she asked, trying to drum up some enthusiasm. Pizza didn't sound great, but honestly, she was queasy anyway.
Edward studied her intently, and Bella reflected that there was an intensity about his deep green eyes. "Are you asking for pizza because that's what you want or because it's cheaper?"
Bella grimaced, knowing she was caught, and didn't answer.
"Did you eat lunch, Bella?" he asked gently.
"Yes," she replied, a touch defensive. He'd told her to order room service, but she'd fished a packet of trail mix from the vending machine instead.
He tapped his chin, thinking. "Can you cook?"
"Yes," she answered, perplexed as to why that mattered.
"Well, I can't," he said with a wide grin. "I burn water. What say I pay for room service now, and when we get home," he paused, as if gauging her reaction to that word, "you can cook me something. I really do love home cooking. Fair?"
"With food you buy?" Bella asked, dissatisfied.
He pursed his lips, looking at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. "Honestly, Bella, I'm doing my best not to salivate at the idea as it is," he deflected.
She narrowed her eyes before she rolled them and lay back on the bed. "Fine. You win. Again."
~0~
It seemed very strange to Edward, having the getting to know you conversation after he was already married and had agreed to take this woman back home with him.
After he'd made sure she ordered something a little more substantial than salad, he'd propped his feet up on the couch, facing her where she lay on the bed, and they talked.
Bella's mother, he found out, felt like she had been trapped in the tiny town of Forks and spent many of her days as a socially acceptable drug addict - popping Xanex when she wasn't teaching at Forks Elementary... and sometimes when she was. That was one of the reasons she favored her husband's protégé's attention to Bella so much. Though he hadn't made the move yet, he was constantly talking about getting out of that place, being bigger than he was.
Privately, Edward figured that the reason the 'big man on campus' didn't move on was because in the town of Forks, he was king. Out in the big, bad world, he would be less than nothing, just like everyone else.
"Can you drink?" Edward wondered out loud, voicing a question that had his stomach churning a little bit. Sometimes, when he looked at her, he thought she seemed old beyond her years. The wary way she held herself, somewhat stooped, made her look like she was 35, but when she was wide eyed and frightened, she'd looked closer to 16.
Bella raised an eyebrow and glanced down at her belly.
He smiled. "I mean legally," he clarified.
"Oh," she said softly, beginning to blush. "Um. No, but almost. I'll be 21 in September."
"Hmmm," Edward hummed in acknowledgment, turning that information over in his head. She was younger even than his little brothers, and that was a somewhat frightening thought. He had a strange urge to draw her into the protective circle of his arms, keeping her sheltered from a world that had already put her through too much. It was an odd notion for Edward, whose typical world view his brother Emmett had once summed up with: life's hard, get a helmet.
"You think I'm an idiot, don't you?" Bella asked, misreading his apprehensive expression.
"No," he replied, his voice firm. "Not at all."
She chuffed. "I am stupid. And irresponsible. Look at me! I knew better than to ever let... h-him... and not only did I let him touch me, but..." She trailed off, her hand brushing absently over her midsection. "I'm an idiot."
"Bella, stop," he said gently. "In my experience, and believe me when I say I have plenty of experience in these things, people can preach all they want, but not a single person I've known has lived a life free of mistakes. 'He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone,'" he reminded. "And besides, what can I say? If it weren't for the fact those kinds of accidents happen, I wouldn't even be alive today."
That got her attention, and she looked up at him with curious eyes, though trepidation lingered on her features.
Edward's lips quirked. He didn't relish telling her this particular tale because it meant he would have to acknowledge his grandfather's role in his life.
Suffice to say, Grandfather Cullen was not going to be pleased when he found out Edward had married on a whim in Vegas. Already, Edward could hear the Senior Cullen's voice raising, filling the space of the huge mansion he lived in with anger and disappointment. Edward had profaned the holy sanctity of marriage. There would be hell to pay.
Shaking that thought off - he'd made his decision and he wasn't going to back out simply because he was a 32 year old man still afraid of his grandfather - Edward told Bella about his family.
Edward's parents, Carlisle and Esme Cullen, had been junior high school sweethearts. Sometimes, Edward hypothesized that they'd fallen in love on the kindergarten playground when Esme had stomped on a spider that had tiny Carlisle screeching, about to wet his pants.
But, as children playing at love were wont to do, they got quite a bit ahead of themselves and wound up pregnant with him when they were both only fifteen years old.
Edward Cullen the First, Edward's grandfather, was livid.
"To make a long story very short, my grandfather insisted that he be the one to raise me," Edward said tightly. He was leaving out a lot of the story, but it was nothing she needed to know. In actuality, Edward the First had spent most of the pregnancy convincing Carlisle and Esme that they weren't fit, could never be the parents their baby deserved. He'd manipulated them, in his overbearing way, into thinking that the only solution - the only way baby Edward would make it at all - was to let his grandfather raise him.
"He's going to hate me," Bella muttered.
Edward grimaced because that, very likely, was the exact truth. But though he was nervous about the prospect, anger churned in his veins at the thought of anyone speaking about Bella harshly. He sat up, his expression intent. "I'm not scared of what he thinks," he lied. "I'm a grown man, and I'm making choices that are right for me."
Blowing out a breath, he made an effort to put on a more lighthearted smile. "Besides, Grandfather is only one member of my family. My parents and my brothers are very nice."
"You have brothers?" Bella asked, arching an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Two younger brothers," Edward confirmed. "Emmett and Jasper."
"From your mother or your father?"
It was an easy assumption to make. Not many high school relationships lasted, particularly after a baby. "Both, actually. My parents stayed together. They've been married for 23 years now, in fact."
Bella's eyes went wide. "That's... Wow." Her expression was sympathetic when she looked on him. "Is that hard? I mean, that your brothers were raised by your parents when you weren't?"
"Sometimes," Edward admitted quietly. In so many ways, though his family was very loving, he often felt like the odd man out.
She looked away, biting her lip again. "No, I think you're being too understanding. Your family is going to hate me. All of them." Folding her arms on the bed, she rested her head, staring up at nothing. "Honestly, I still don't understand why you're being so nice about this. I took advantage of your kindness when you were vulnerable, and now you seem to think that makes you responsible when you're not. Maybe it makes sense to you, but it won't make sense to them. They'll see the truth: it's not right, what I did, no matter my reasons. I mean, even if they can get past the fact I married you when I was stone cold sober and you were obviously drunk, I'm still pregnant with another man's baby."
She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.
Edward pursed his lips feeling frustratingly silly and abashed about what he was about to say. "Well, as you requested, I did a lot of thinking today," he began, speaking slowly and carefully. "I think... What would you say if I thought it was best not to let on to anyone else that we're so... new to each other?"
"What are you talking about?" she asked tiredly.
"Hear me out," he entreated. "I'm here twice a year on business. I've never had a steady girlfriend. Maybe you and I had a … seasonal romance, if you will. I was in San Diego for business about six weeks ago. If you drove to visit me, the timeline fits," he said, glancing down significantly at her stomach.
She gaped at him. "You would... I mean... You're being crazy again."
Edward shook his head. "What is between you and I is only our business. No one else has to know what goes on behind closed doors. Everything I said before still stands. We'll sleep in different rooms... we'll know that we aren't married anywhere but on paper. No one has to know the baby isn't mine until you're ready to move on."
Bella sat up, running her hands restlessly through her hair. "This is nuts," she said again. "I'm twenty years old. If we had a romance before, that means you probably met me when I was a teenager. You want to paint yourself as that skeevy?"
"It happens," Edward said with a grimace. He made a face at her, attempting to inject some humor in the conversation. "And am I really so old the idea is disgusting?"
She blushed scarlet. "That's not what I meant! You're not old, and I know it happens, I just... Edward, your family shouldn't think less of you because you're helping me. That would kill me."
"I'm not denying that they'll be opinionated, but for the most part, they're understanding people," he soothed. "If I didn't honestly think things would be easier this way, I wouldn't suggest it."
"Easier for whom?" she asked pointedly, raising an eyebrow.
"For both of us." His answer was honest. While they might have the opinion he was an idiot for getting a girl in trouble and marrying her so quickly, his family would understand the idea that he was honor bound. They were used to that about him. For Bella, well... He was quite sure that she didn't want many people's opinions about what she was running from.
"Either way," he began again, interrupting the heavy silence, "when the baby is born, if that's what you want, I'd like you to put my name on the birth certificate. That way, the father won't have any easy legal right to either of you."
Bella ducked her head, pressing the back of her hand against her lips. For a minute, it seemed like she would cry again, but she got control of herself, looking at him before she spoke. "Last night... that was exactly what made me say yes," she said in a whisper. "If it was just me, I don't think it would have happened at all, but when you proposed, all I could think was that if I was married to you, the baby would be yours and not his." She chuffed. "I would much rather this baby belong to a complete stranger than that asshole."
She let that hang between them for a minute before she spoke again, her voice wavering. "I still don't understand why you're doing this. You're giving me so much, and I can't offer you anything."
Standing, Edward crossed the room and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. "Mostly, I'm doing this because I can. My grandfather... he taught me a great many intolerant things, but one lesson I appreciate is the idea of 'noblesse oblige'. Essentially, to he who much is given, much is obligated."
Carefully, gauging whether his touch was unwelcome, he reached out, smoothing a lock of her hair back away from her face. "I don't believe either of us intended to cross paths, but we did. Perhaps our, er, method is a little unorthodox, but I still believe that after hearing your story, no decent person could just walk away."
For a long moment, she studied him carefully. Edward could see the wheels turning in her head, thinking things over.
When she spoke, though, he couldn't have guessed what was about to come out of her mouth. "You strike me as the type to have a lawyer on retainer. Do you?"
"Er... yes," he stumbled. This woman was unbelievably unpredictable.
"I want you to have him draw up a contract, a pre... " She frowned. "Well, I guess a post-nup." Her eyebrows furrowed. "Is that a thing?"
"Um, yes it is," Edward confirmed. Last year, one of his cousin Felix's business partners had insisted a post-nup be drawn up before he started another branch of their business. Edward couldn't blame the man. Felix's money-grubbing whore of a wife, Jane, was not to be trusted.
Bella nodded, looking satisfied. "Have your lawyer put it in writing. When we d-divorce, I want it very clear that I can't touch your money, your house, nothing."
Edward opened his mouth to protest - the implication that he didn't trust her seemed so rude - but quickly closed it again. He wasn't naive to the world. In watching the goings on in his family business, he knew well enough how husbands and wives could use the institution of marriage to their own gain. It was a smart suggestion, truth be told. Perhaps it was less than romantic, but Edward had considerable assets to protect.
And besides, as they'd discussed, their marriage wasn't about romance at all, but convenience.
He sighed. "If that would make you more comfortable," he allowed finally.
"It would."
"Fine, then that's settled." He sat back wondering if it should feel odd or bad that he'd just negotiated a marriage like a business proposal.
He crossed the room, sitting at the little table and pulling his laptop out of his bag.
"What are you doing?" she asked curiously, sitting at the table across from him.
He offered her a smile over the laptop screen. "It seems I need to add another ticket for the flight home."
She blushed and then made a face. "Oh, crap."
"What is it?"
"What am I going to do with my truck?" She tapped her lips. "I should sell it, but would I be able to sell it by tomorrow?"
"Is that what you want? You know, we could just as easily road trip back, if you'd prefer," he offered.
"No," Bella said, shaking her head. "If I can sell it, maybe I could get just enough to pay you back for the wedding."
"Bella -"
"No," she interrupted him. "That is 100 percent my responsibility. It was my fault."
"I was the one who proposed," he countered.
"Yeah, but you were being all noble."
Edward eyed her, laughing when she smiled. She was teasing him.
Her smile fell almost as soon as it appeared, and she seemed pensive. "Maybe I can go tonight. There's got to be a dealership that will take it for $300."
"We'll go," he corrected. He reached across the table, brushing her hand to get her to look up at him. "I know this is a lot. Are you sure you have nowhere? You know I'd help you get wherever you need."
She couldn't hide the lost, overwhelmed look in her eyes before she glanced downward. "There's no one."
He tapped on her hand until she looked at him again. "There's me now."
A/N: I just want to take a moment to say I'm overwhelmed by the response to this story so far. I am usually good about review replies - not perfect, but good - but have recently bitten off a bit more than I can chew, so let me take the time to say now... you all amaze me. Thank you so much for your response.
Thank you also to barburella, jadedandboring, jfka06, and Ginny W. Mwah.
Chicago next chapter! Who shall we meet first?
