Happy Thursday, everyone. I'm hoping all of you are on the nice, not the naughty, list this year even though I am betting you would all put Renee on the naughty list. Does she even deserve a lump of coal?

So with all of the strong words everyone had for Renee after the last chapter, I am offering a warning for this chapter.

You know some authors give tissue or angst warnings. Well I am giving a HATE warning. Or as Hope4More so eloquently put it…BITCH ON A BROOM warning.

Thank you My-Bella and Hope4more, for all the time you put into the edits and re-edits and for making sure I put all those annoying commas in all the right places. You both Rock!

Disclaimer:

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted. Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms— it's theft. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. And of course, just in case that doesn't cover it, Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is in any way intended.

~*Edward*~

There was a huge knot forming in the pit of my stomach. It was sickening to think that Renee would go and sell Bella's grandmother's house without warning or even a word. And as much as I wanted to believe that she wouldn't and that it must be some sort of mistake, I knew that Alice was rarely ever wrong. It just wasn't something that happened. My little sister was such a stickler for details that she just didn't miss things like the placement of a 'sold' sign. It'd be like her missing a 'sale' sign while walking through the mall. If Alice was certain it was in Bella's yard then that was exactly where it was.

What I just couldn't fathom was what Renee could possibly hope to accomplish by selling the house. She must have made some sort of decision about her own future and had made plans to carry it out. But did she really think that Bella would just up and follow her again just because she sold the house? Was she stupid enough or so blind by her own desires that she didn't think Bella could find somewhere else to stay until she could find her own place? Or that Bella wouldn't have any other option but to do as she wished? The only conclusion that I could come to was Renee was incredibly wrong, possibly even delusional, if that was what she thought.

I watched the love of my life as she scurried around my bedroom to get dressed. I could see the anguish on her face and it pissed me off. Renee was lucky that it was an hour drive between Port Angeles and Forks, because I was going to need that time to cool down so I wouldn't wring her neck the second I laid eyes on her.

This was supposed to have been an amazing day. One I had hoped Bella and I would never forget. And now as if Renee somehow had known what I had planned, she'd gone and stomped all over it with this stunt she was pulling.

I had pulled a few strings to get Bella's gift rush ordered since I'd had it personalized and had called in a huge favor from my brother to make this a day Bella would remember forever. She still probably would but not for the reasons I had hoped. However I was still going to try and make at least part of it a happy memory for her.

"I have to go. I have to see what the hell my mother has done," Bella turned and said to me once she was dressed. She had put on the Mariner's t-shirt and jeans she was going to have worn to the game and it was another reminder of what Renee was ruining today.

"Hey," I said grabbing her hand and pulling her to me. Holding on to her hips I pulled her closer and then slid my arms around her. "You're not going alone."

"But—" she started to protest.

"But nothing," I told her. "After everything your mom has done and said there is no way in hell I'm letting you go face this alone."

"I don't want her to ruin your day too. I know how much you were looking forward to seeing Emmett play. Are you sure you want to pass that up?" she asked. Her voice was a mixture of disappointment and relief. I could see how torn she was with wanting me to be with her, but not wanting me to sacrifice my day to deal with her mother. "I don't want to ruin your afternoon and evening just because my mother has pulled some hair brained shenanigan."

"I'm as sure as I know I love you. There will be another opportunity to see Emmett play. Right now I need to be with you."

"I love you so much. Do you know that?" She wrapped her arms around my neck and held me against her chest as she stood between my legs.

"I do. And I love you too. So much, Bella," I whispered softly to her as I looked up and cupped her face, bringing her lips to mine so I could kiss her. It was a soft lingering kiss that reaffirmed the words of love we had just spoken to each other.

As our lips moved together the words I had just said to her were on replay in my head and I knew I had to do what I had set out to do today even if I didn't get to do it in the way I had planned. If I waited it would be tarnished by Renee's actions and I just couldn't let that happen. I had to do this now or I would have to wait for a while and waiting just wasn't an option.

Ending the kiss, I patted the bed next to me. "Sit here for a sec, there's something I need to do before we go."

I hadn't dressed yet and when I stood and adjusted the towel that was still around my waist, Bella giggled and said, "I hope you plan to get dressed too."

"Well that too. But first there is something much more important."

My stomach churned with flip-flops as I walked over to where my Mariner's jacket was hanging on the back of my bedroom door. I was nervous and excited and terrified all at the same time. I knew Bella loved me and I loved her and that I didn't have to do this today. But if I waited Bella might think I was doing it for all the wrong reasons and I couldn't let that happen. I had do to this now so that she knew I had planned to do it long before any knowledge of her mother's stunt had become known.

I could feel my hand shaking slightly as I reached into the inside chest pocket of the jacket. In my nerves and excitement over what I was about to do, my hand got stuck in the jacket and I ended up pulling it and my leather jacket that was hanging with it down.

"What are you doing?" Bella asked obliviously. She had no clue that her life was possibly about to change in a huge way.

My heart was thumping wildly in my chest; it reminded me of the first time I'd ever played the piano in a public setting.

All sorts of thoughts bombarded me at once…

What if she says no? What if she thinks it's too soon? Too soon wasn't no, it just meant not right now. Maybe I could get her to wear it on her right hand if she thought it was too soon. It could be like a promise ring of sorts until she was ready for it to be more.

"Shit," I muttered to myself as I hung the jackets back up. Get a fucking grip, Cullen. You were going to ask her in a stadium full of nearly fifty thousand people. It's just you and her. You can do this.

"Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"You still haven't told me what you are doing." She started to get up and come over to me.

"Stop," I ordered much louder and harsher than I wanted to. "You have to stay there. Please sit back down," I told her in a much lower tone. I was going to freak her out if I didn't get on with this. I could already see the wheels turning in her head.

"Edward, what's going on?"

"I just want to give you your birthday presents. I had planned to do it later but since our plans have changed I think now is a good time to do it."

"My what?" she asked before letting out a long sigh. "Please tell me you didn't get me a present."

I couldn't stop a cocky grin from spreading across my face as I walked back over to her.

"Edward," she said dragging the word out in a slightly whiney voice. "What's behind your back? And what's with the grin?"

I sat down next to her on the bed. I let the box with the key to my apartment drop to the bed behind me and kept the other one in my hand behind my back. With my free hand I brushed her hair back from her face and then grasped her left hand with it.

As I rubbed my thumb back and forth across the silky smooth skin of her hand, I took a deep breath and looking her straight in the eye I began. "This isn't how I wanted to do this."

"Do what?"

"Shhh," I said as I leaned forward, giving her a quick kiss. "I had this all planned out. But that's okay because when or where doesn't really matter. All that really matters is your answer."

"My answer? Edward, what are you talking about? You haven't asked me anything," she stated as her eyes searched mine for the answers to her own questions.

"I love you so much, Bella. Having you back in my life has been so incredible I don't even know how to begin to describe it. I want you with me all the time. When you are gone for even just a few minutes, I miss you. So much sometimes it hurts physically. You make me feel whole. You complete me."

She reached up with both her hands and grasped my face gently. "Oh, Edward, I love you too. Being with you again has been so amazingly perfect that I sometimes think I'm dreaming. That I couldn't have possibly been given a second chance with you."

"You're not dreaming. I promise it's all very real," I whispered to her. I could see all the emotion I was feeling in my heart reflected back to me in her eyes. It let me know that she loved me just as much as I loved her and gave me the extra bit of confidence I needed to know that I was going to get the answer I wanted. That this was right.

"Bella, I know you didn't want anything for your birthday, but I wanted to show you just how much I love you and how I want to be with you always." In an effort to keep from losing my towel, I slowly slid off the bed and knelt in front of her. "I want you with me forever."

Bringing the ring box around in front of me I released her hand so I could open it. Her eyes went wide and her trembling hand was clasped over her mouth as tears began to sprinkle from her eyes. I searched the depths of her liquid mocha eyes to make sure I was reading her emotions correctly. When all I saw was love and happiness shining in them, I held up the box and said, "Marry me, Bella."

As her head began to rapidly shake up and down, I felt a huge smile spread across my face. "Yes?" I asked. "Are you saying yes?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes," she cried as she threw her arms around me and kissed me hard.

The force of Bella lunging at me had us both lying on the floor laughing in between our kisses.

"Mmm, if we don't stop now, we aren't going to be leaving for a while," I murmured as our kisses became heated and we began to get carried away.

She nodded and then let out a slow dejected sigh. I could see the crinkle forming between her eyes and knew she was stressing over having to face her mother. "I don't want to go. I wanna stay her with you and never leave," she mumbled against my chest.

I sat up and pulled her onto my lap which probably wasn't the best idea in the world since I was still in only a towel and still a bit worked up after our impromptu make out session on the floor. But I wanted her close to me so I could hold her and comfort her.

"It just so happens I might have just the thing to help you with that," I told her as I reached over and picked up the ring box off the floor where it had slipped out of my hand when Bella and I had gotten carried away. "But first," I told her as I removed the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. "We'll face it together. You don't have to deal with whatever it is Renee has done alone. I will be there with you."

I kissed her again and then watched as he held her hand up and smiled brightly as she looked at her ring.

"It's beautiful," she said as she moved her hand back and forth slightly causing the one carat princess cut diamond to sparkle in the light.

"Here look at this," I said as I slipped the ring back off her finger.

"Change your mind, Cullen?" She had a teasing smirk on her face.

"No. Never. I just wanted to show you this," I held the ring up to her so she could see the engraved message I had placed on the inside of the platinum band.

"Forever under the mistletoe," she said softly, reading the inscription. "Oh, Edward, it's perfect." She hugged me tightly while nuzzling her face against my neck.

We sat there for a few minutes just holding each other and feeling the love we felt for one another flow between us. It was an incredible feeling and I wanted to experience it for the rest of my life.

Remembering the other part of my gift, I encouraged Bella to get up even though I wanted nothing more than to stay here in our cocoon of happiness and never leave.

"Come on. I think I said something about helping you stay here forever." I stood and held my hand out to her after she'd scooted off my lap. I tugged her until she was sitting next to me on the bed again and held out the other small gift box I'd been hiding in my jacket. "Here, this is the other part of your birthday present."

"Edward, what's this?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at me with an expression that told me she was trying to look miffed about the second gift. She was failing though as the glint in her eyes and the twitching of the corner of her lips gave away the fact she was secretly excited to see what might be in the box.

"A key?" she asked after unwrapping the gift.

"Not just any key. This is a key to my apartment. You've been spending more and more time here with me and I love having you here. So much that I want you here with me all the time. And now that you've agreed to become my wife, it seems even more fitting that you move in with me."

"You want me to live here with you?"

"Yes."

"All the time?"

I couldn't help laughing at her a little. I'd just asked her to marry me and yet she was still doubtful that I'd want her to live with me. I stopped laughing when she smacked me on the arm in mock frustration.

"Always and forever, baby. We're getting married. You know married people do usually tend to live together." My sarcastic remark garnered me another smack on the arm, but she was giving me a toothy grin so I knew it was all in fun. Trying to put on a straight face, I said, "I know this place is kinda small and you would probably want to get someplace bigger so we'd each have our own working spaces for those times when it required us to work at home."

"The kitchen table would work just as well as a suitable workspace I suppose. You still have time left on your lease, don't you?" she inquired.

"It would, and I do, but I have a better idea."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"My lease is up in four months. So how about we stay here until then. In the mean time we begin the search for someplace bigger. Someplace perfect for us where we can begin our married life together. What'd ya say?"

"I say, you're a genius, Mr. Cullen."

She slinked her arms around my neck and kissed me soundly.

"Glad I can be of service, soon-to-be Mrs. Cullen."

While I got dressed, Bella dug her keychain out of her purse and placed her new one on the ring with the rest. Once we were both ready to go, she started to reach down and grab her bag, but then stood up with a beaming smile on her face and said, "I guess I get to leave this here now, huh?"

"Yes you do," I told her as I pulled her to me for a hug and quick kiss.

*X*X*X*X*

Bella hadn't said much on the drive to Forks. I figured she was trying to mentally prepare herself for facing her mother. I could tell by the look of concentration on her face that she was trying to figure out what her mother was up to and gather her thoughts on what she was going to say to her. I was also sure she was dreading it as well. Despite all that Renee had done, she was still Bella's mother and she loved her.

She glanced over at me and her eyes were filled with sadness. I had seen it before we'd left our apartment as well. I loved that she was going to be living with me all the time now.

As I raised her hand to my lips, I kissed it just above where my ring was now gracing her third finger. "I love you."

"I love you too." She gave me a smile but it didn't reach her eyes and it told me exactly how hard this was on her. I really wanted to fucking tear Renee to pieces for what she was doing to Bella.

"You okay, baby?"

"No, but I will be. I just have to figure out what my mother has done and then figure out how to move past it."

"Just remember you're not alone. I'm here for you, baby," I said and kissed her hand again. Instead of resting it back on the seat between us I kept it close to me on my leg and played with her engagement ring. It thrilled me beyond words that she had said yes and she'd done it without any hesitation at all. That alone had told me she had no doubts about us or the reason behind my proposal.

She turned her gaze back to the window, letting me know she wanted this time to gather her thoughts. So I simply held her hand the rest of the way, giving it a squeeze of reassurance now and then to remind her I was there for her.

Unfortunately as soon as the house came into our view, we could see that Alice had been correct on the placement of the "sold" sign. It was definitely Bella's grandmother's house that it belonged to.

Before I'd even had a chance to turn off my truck, Bella was jumping out as soon as it had come to a stop in the driveway. There was a big moving truck with a ramp leading from the back of it to the porch for easy loading.

Bella in her anger marched right up to the two guys who were loading a big piece of furniture onto the truck. "You can stop right where you are with that and don't you remove another thing from that house until I say so."

The man replied, "Ma'am, I'm sorry but I was hired by the owner of the home to empty this place out."

"Well, Chad," Bella said as she poked the name patch sewn onto the front of his shirt. "That's impossible because I am the owner."

I wanted to laugh at the look of pure confusion that spread across the guy's face. He looked like he was about to shit his pants. And Bella…well…she was furious. She reminded me of the kitten Alice had had when we were kids. Every time it got spooked or irritated its back would arch and its tail fur would poof out and look like it had been electrocuted.

However Chad being much taller than Bella must have thought he could manhandle her and grabbed her arm as if he were going to pull her out of his way.

No one touches my girl but me. I was instantly at Bella's side and had Chad's other arm in my hand and twisted up behind his back.

"Take your hand off the lady now. That is unless you want this arm broken," I ordered him while giving his arm another small twist.

"Hey, John, you need to call the cops. We got a situation out here," Chad called.

Bella began to laugh at him. "You don't have any idea who I am, do you?" she asked.

"No, ma'am, I don't and I don't really care. I am just here to do a job and you are preventing me from doing that."

"Are you from around this area?" Bella asked him.

"Yeah, lived here my whole life," Chad answered.

"Do you remember the former police chief of Forks?" was Bella's next question.

"You mean the one before Chief Harrison? Charlie Swan?"

"Yep," she answered popping the "p" at the end of the word.

"What does he have to do with this?" Chad asked, clearly confused by Bella's line of questioning. She was her father's daughter and it was showing right now. I had seen Chief Swan bust a bunch of underage drinkers once down at La Push beach the night of my high school graduation, and Bella's way of questioning Chad reminded me of her father. I was very grateful I hadn't been the one on the other end of his questioning that night and judging by Bella's determination behind hers I knew I would be in for it if we ever had an argument.

"Well, Chad. Let me fill you in," Bella told him. I couldn't help the smirk that formed on my face as she did. "I'm Charlie's daughter and this is my house. My grandmother recently passed and left it to me and my mother. Now beside the fact she didn't have my permission to do this, everyone down at the station is quite fond of me given who my daddy was," she said poking him in the chest again. You could see the realization spread across his face and his hold on Bella's arm fell away. "So, do you really want to call them? 'Cause if so, be my guest. I'd be happy to let them handle this situation."

"No, ma'am," he replied and I let loose of his arm as he did. "I'm just trying to do my job."

"We get that, Chad, and we don't mean to start trouble," I said to him. "But you need to stop for the moment and let Bella find her mother before you remove anything else from the house."

He nodded and said he was going to go inform his co-worker.

No sooner had Chad disappeared inside the house, Bella and I were nearly run over by Renee as we walked through the doorway. Yelling and obviously not expecting us, she said, "What's the hold up? I am not paying you men to take all day."

"In a hurry to get somewhere, Mother?" Bella quipped.

"Oh," she uttered as she stopped dead in her tracks. All the color drained from her face and she looked as though she'd seen a ghost.

"Oh? Oh? OH?" Bella repeated getting louder each time. "Is that all you have to say? How could you? Even after all the things you've said to Edward and me, I never imagined you'd be this uncaring. This cold. I never thought you could be this heartless, Mother."

Renee took a deep breath and looked back and forth between Bella and me before her eyes settled on our clasped hands. She then reached up and ran a hand through her hair, smoothing it back out of her face.

"You know, Isabella, when you were a child your dramatics were acceptable, even cute at times. But you're a grown woman now and it's time you stopped such nonsense."

Renee moved past us and headed for the stairs. She stopped with one foot perched on the bottom step. Straightening her back and looking directly ahead at the stairs she said, "Now quit dallying. I didn't expect you to be home so soon, but since you are here you can help. We have a plane to catch this evening."

Renee started to take another step but was stopped when Bella spoke. "No."

"No?" Renee asked like she wasn't sure she had heard Bella correctly.

"That's right, Mother. I said no." By this time Bella's chest was heaving as she sucked in gulps of air while she fought to control the anger she was feeling towards her mother.

"It's okay, baby," I leaned forward and whispered in her ear as I ran my hands up and down her arms a few times to try and calm her. "Take a second and breathe. Don't let her get to you."

Bella nodded and leaned back against me for a moment to settle herself. My arms instinctively and immediately wrapped around her when I felt her trembling.

"I love you," I whispered against her ear after I placed a kiss to the side of her head. I hated the effect Renee is having on her.

Renee turned and saw the interaction between Bella and me and must have noticed the effect my words had on her daughter. "You can charm her all you want, Edward. Whisper sweet words to her, but in the end you and your Podunk town aspirations will never be enough to make Isabella happy," she said chastising me as she took a step in our direction.

"You don't have a damn clue about what it takes to make Bella happy," I retorted. "If you did, you wouldn't keep trying to make decisions for her, behind her back, and you would actually stop to ask her what she wants. The only one you are trying to make happy is yourself, Renee. You don't give a shit about what anyone else wants."

She stepped even closer and looked me straight in the eye. She stiffened her posture as if she was preparing for a battle and said, "You won't win. You didn't last time and you won't this time either."

Oh if she wants a battle she'll get one. She's right, I did lose the battle. Last time. But this time I am going to win the fucking war.

"You've los—"

"Stop!" Bella demanded preventing me from telling her mother that she'd lost her mind. "Jesus, Mother. You act like my life is some game you can play to win. Like you can manipulate everything I do."

"I'm only doing what's best for you since you can't seem to do it yourself. One day you will thank me."

"No, you're not. All you're doing is making choices for me based on what you want with no regard whatsoever to what I might actually want. I'm not some simulated person you can control and tell what to do whenever the mood hits you. You don't know what's best for me. And Edward is right, you certainly don't have a clue about what I want."

"Oh please, Isabella. You proved you weren't mature enough to make your own decisions when you let James walk out of your life. Now there was a man who had high aspirations. He would have taken you places and given you a good life. I knew bringing you back here was a bad move. I should have just left you in Arizona."

Exasperated with her mother, Bella threw her arms up in the air and let them fall so that her hands smacked her hips loudly when they made contact.

"You know what, Mom? You're right. I was unable to commit to Jimmy. But it had nothing to do with my maturity and everything to with the fact I didn't love him. In fact I'd say I was being very mature by not committing to a relationship that would have been doomed to fail with a man I didn't love. And Jimmy knew that. He knew it and that's why he ended things."

Renee was just about to say something when there was a knock at the door. The three of us turned to see Chad standing in the doorway. "Excuse me but we're on a tight schedule here. If we don't continue soon we aren't going to get finished on time."

"Well why did you stop in the first place?" Renee asked in a scolding tone.

"She," he said while pointing at Bella, "Told us that there had been a mistake. That she was the owner of this house and didn't authorize anything to be moved."

"Oh for heaven's sake," Renee huffed. "Bella, will you please clear this up so they can be on with their work?"

"No, Mother, I won't. For several reasons," Bella informed her firmly.

"Really now, you are just slowing down the inevitable."

"No, Renee. You are the one who is slowing the inevitable because you refuse to accept that Bella has a life here with me and she's not going anywhere with you."

"No one asked for your opinion," Renee spat while glaring at me.

"See, Mother, that's where you're wrong," Bella snapped angrily. "Unlike you Edward does actually know what I want. He listens to me when I tell him how I feel about something. He lets me make my own decisions and doesn't try to bully me into choosing what he wants."

"How long do you think that's going to last, Bella? I thought your father and I wanted the same things in life when we got married. But as time went by, I became bored with small town life and I begged him for us to move. He wouldn't hear of it." Renee paused and suddenly her voice was much softer as she began to speak again. I wasn't sure if she was sincerely upset about speaking of Bella's father, or if she was just trying to play on Bella's emotions by doing it. "So, I stayed, Isabella. I stayed for him. Because I loved him so much. But part of me felt trapped and smothered by the life here and I was never completely happy. I merely existed. I don't want that for you, baby." She reached forward and rested her hand softly on Bella's cheek.

Bella closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening her eyes again and fixating them on her mother.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Bella said softly as she reached up and grasped her mother's hand. "I'm sorry that you felt that way. I'm sorry that Daddy and I weren't enough to make you completely happy. But I'm not sorry that I won't be going with you. I'm staying here with Edward. And there is nothing you can say or do to change that."

"What? You can't be serious," Renee huffed.

"Oh I'm very serious. I've been to the big city, Mom. There were a lot of things about Phoenix that I enjoyed. But it's not my home. My home is here with Edward. Hopefully by the time our wedding day arrives, you will have been able to move past this insane idea you have about him not being able to make me happy and you will be there to celebrate with me on one of the happiest days of my life."

In that moment I really and truly hated Renee Swan. I hated that she'd made her daughter feel like she wasn't enough. I hated that she was making Bella feel guilty over the choices she was making and that she was making Bella feel the need to apologize for choosing the life that was going to make her happy. I hated that she was making Bella feel guilty for choosing me.

"Wedding day?" Renee sputtered. "Surely you're not…"

As the words left Renee's mouth, Bella held up her left hand and proudly displayed the ring I'd placed there this morning.

"Edward asked me to marry him and I've accepted. I'm not going with you. My life is here with Edward. My home is wherever he is."

"What have you done? You…you…" Renee lunged at me and I was caught off guard and unprepared for her attack; the force of her hands smacking me in the chest nearly knocked me over. "How could you be so irresponsible? How could you get her pregnant? You've ruined her life. That's why she's staying isn't it?" Renee rambled on while pounding her fists on me. "You trapped her, didn't you?"

"Mother, stop it now!" Bella ordered as she pulled her off me.

"How could you let this happen, Bella? I thought I raised you to be a responsible adult. And now you've gone and gotten yourself…knocked up."

"Mother!" Bella exclaimed while grabbing her mother's arms firmly. "I am not pregnant. I am marrying Edward because I love him and want to spend the rest of my life with him. Why can't you just accept that?"

"Because you're making a huge mistake. Both of you. You will soon discover that you want different things and it will be all over. But by then it will be too late, Bella. You will be stuck here like I was."

"That's where you're wrong, Renee," I told her. I'd had enough of her making Bella feel like shit. "I don't know why Bella's father made the choices he made and I'm not even going to try and guess. But I can tell you one thing. I'd go to the ends of the earth to make your daughter happy. If she's not happy here then I'll go wherever or take her anywhere she wants that will make her happy. But unlike what you've done, if that time does come, it will be a decision that we'll make together."

"Don't come crying to me when your life falls apart, Isabella."

"I won't," Bella told her confidently.

Renee turned to walk out of the room when Bella called her back.

"What now? I have a plane to catch," Renee stated sarcastically.

"I think we still have a bit of business to take care of first. Like how about you tell me how you sold a house that is half mine without my consent?"

"The sale isn't final without your approval," Renee shot back.

"So you didn't sign my name on any legal documents?" Bella questioned.

"No. The sale is contingent upon your approval. The owners are aware that you would have to approve the deal. I have forty-eight hours to get you to sign or the sale is null and void. The contract is on the kitchen table."

Renee turned and tried to leave the room again. "But wait," Bella said.

"Bella, do you not understand that I am in a hurry?"

"Yes, Mother, I do. It's perfectly clear that you are in a hurry. Maybe you should have thought about that before you concocted this scheme of yours. I mean for Christ's sake, you already have the movers here. So I understand perfectly. Your time frame is abundantly clear. But what I don't understand is why you didn't simply tell me you wanted to leave Forks. I don't understand why you felt the need to go behind my back. Do you not understand how this looks to me? How it makes me feel?" Bella asked while waving her hand around at the boxes stacked everywhere.

Then pointing to the moving truck outside she added, "How that looks to me? My god, Mother, it looks like you are packing up for parts unknown, never to be heard from again and leaving me behind without a clue as to where you are going much less a roof over my head. Why? Why would you do that to your only child? You're, only remaining flesh and blood?"

"Actually, Isabella, I had planned to call you home tomorrow. And as far as making the decision on my own…Well let's just say that I didn't feel as though you would make the right choice if I left it up to you." She then glared at me and said, "And I certainly didn't want any outside interference. Clearly I was right on both counts."

"Whether I would make the choice that you felt was right or not has no bearing on the fact that you still should have told me and you are still taking everything and leaving.

"No, not everything. I am only taking the pieces I want. The rest you can do what you want with or leave it. And why does it matter, Isabella? You seem to have your future all mapped out. What do you need this house or anything in it for anyways? If you are so sure of what you want, then I'd think I've done you a great big favor. All you have to do now is sign the papers and take your clothes and sail off into the sunset with—" she raised her hand and motioned towards me. "With Prince Charming here."

She took a few steps and just as she was about to reach the front door she turned and said, "Unless you're having second thoughts and want to reconsider, sign the damn papers and be done with it." With that she stormed out the front door over to the side of the truck where Chad was waiting to find out what he was to do next.

It was impossible to not see how Bella's mother's words had affected her. She had held her own against her mother well. And I was so damn proud of her for it. But now that Renee had left the room, the way Bella's shoulders slumped and her face fell forward into her hands told me how difficult this was for her.

"Come here, baby," I murmured while encasing her in my arms. She buried her face in my chest as her tiny hands tightened on the sides of my shirt. I had known this wasn't going to be easy, but I never dreamed Renee would be so cruel and heartless to her own daughter. When I felt Bella's shoulders shake as a few strangled sobs escaped, I tightened my hold on her. "It's okay, baby. Let it out."

I heard her pull in a few long breaths of air before she looked up at me. Wiping her eyes she said softly, "No. Not here. Not now. I won't let her have the satisfaction of knowing how much she is hurting me."

"You know you're not going to be able to hold it in forever."

"I know. So keep your shoulder ready, I might need it to cry on later."

"It's yours whenever you need it," I said before leaning down and kissing her gently.

Bella sighed loudly and then stepping back, she grabbed my hand and said, "Come on, let's go look at this paperwork so we can get this over with."

"What kind of shady real-estate agent agrees to such terms?" I asked Bella as we made our way into the kitchen.

"I have no clue," she replied.

Just like Renee had said there was a folder sitting on the kitchen table. As Bella and I looked over the papers, from what we could tell, everything seemed to be in agreement with what Renee had told us. But the name of the agent kept pinging around in my head like I'd heard it before.

"What was the agent's name again?" I asked Bella.

She thumbed through a few pages before finding the name again. "Janice Jenks. Why?"

"I keep thinking I've heard that name before."

"Like you think you know her?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I don't know her, it's her last name that seems familiar."

"Good or bad familiar?" Bella asked.

"Neither. But you know, I bet my mom would know. She has a couple of friends in the business. How about I give her a call?"

"Okay," she said rising up on her toes and giving me a quick kiss. "I'm going to go see if my mother has done anything with my stuff."

"I'll come up after I talk to her okay?"

"Okay."

*X*X*X*X*

A few minutes later after speaking with my mom, I headed upstairs to fill Bella in on the conversation.

"Mmm, I love you," I whispered against her ear as I snuck up behind her and snaked my arms around her waist.

"You too," she returned tilting her head back and kissing the spot where my jaw and neck met. Turning around in my arms she asked, "Did you talk to your mom?"

"Yeah. She knew exactly who I was talking about. Turns out this Janice Jenks is the niece of her friend, Jennifer."

"So does that mean she's legit?"

"It would appear so. Mom said Janice is a bit of a rookie, she just graduated this past spring, but she would never agree to anything underhanded or illegal. She gave me Jennifer's number and I called her as well."

"Oh, what did she have to say?"

"She assured me that everything in the contract was legal and straight forward, that there are contingency clauses placed in home contracts all the time. She said that her niece had talked to her about the deal before she drew the contract up and that she had no clue that it was someone who was so close to our family or she would have handled the deal herself."

"Well it's good to know it's all legitimate and there are no loop holes or anything to worry about."

"No there's not. She said the couple wanting the house just moved here and the husband had gotten a last minute job transfer and they were in desperate need of housing. Something about there not being any place for their kids to play in the temporary place the man's employer had put them up in."

"Well then," Bella said blowing out a slow breath and brushing her hair back out of her face. "I guess there's nothing left to do then except for me signing the papers."

"Hey," I said, cupping her face in my hands. "Are you sure that's what you want? We can live here if you want to keep your grandmother's house."

"You really are the perfect man, aren't you?" She reached up and ran her fingers softly against my cheek.

"I don't know about that," I told her, turning my face and kissing the palm of her hand. "But I'd like to think I'm perfect for you."

I couldn't help but smile back when she flashed me a bright smile and said, "You are. And no, I don't want to keep the house. With us both working in Port Angeles, it just doesn't make sense. Besides, this family really needs a home, and I was planning on moving in with you anyways, remember?"

"I do. And I'm glad you are." We kissed briefly and then I asked as I looked around the room, "So are you taking everything in here?" It appeared that Renee had already packed up most of Bella's things.

"Just what's in the boxes I guess."

I heard a sense of longing in her voice and knew she wasn't being completely truthful. "Bella, if there is more, we will find a way. Now tell me what you want to take with you."

"Well, I would really like to take my bedroom set. It was Gran's before she married Grandpa and it's been kept in the family all this time. My mom used it at one point and I did when I was younger. I just thought—" She stopped and was suddenly blushing lightly and chewing on her bottom lip.

"Thought what?"

"Well I just thought that since it was an antique and in really good shape, we could save it for when we had kids. For if we had a little girl someday."

I looked at the dark wood sleigh bed and was struck with the image of a brown haired little girl with bright green eyes snuggled up under frilly pink bedding fast asleep.

"Okay."

"Okay what?" she asked.

"Okay, if you want the bedroom set we'll take it."

"But where will we put it?"

"I'm pretty sure it will fit in the small storage space I have in the basement of my apartment building. It's empty except for a little bit of camping gear. We can leave it there until we find a bigger place."

"Really?"

"Really." I pulled her closer to me and kissed her again. When we broke for air, I couldn't resist whispering against her ear, "By the way, I can't wait for you to have my baby."

"Hmm, well," she said holding her left hand up and wiggling her ring finger at me. With a teasing grin on her face she said, "You have another ring to add to this finger before we start making babies, Mr. Cullen."

"Name the time and place, baby. I'm there."

"Soon, very soon. But first I need to go sign those papers."

*X*X*X*X*

Bella hadn't been gone from the room more than about five minutes. I was in the process of taking the mattress and box springs from the bed so that I could see if I could easily take the frame apart, when I heard someone behind me clearing their throat. I looked up to find Renee leaning against the door frame with an arrogant smirk on her face.

"You must just be beside yourself happy right now," she chided.

"What the hell are you talking about, Renee? I see very little to be happy with right at the moment."

She chuckled darkly and took a few steps into the room. "Oh please. Spare me your mock concern. You must be so pleased with yourself. It's seems you've won." She walked over and sat in the rocking chair in the corner. "For now anyways," she added sarcastically.

"For now?" I shook my head back and forth while laughing at her remark. "I don't think so, Renee. There won't be a next time. I won't let you break Bella's heart like this again. For that matter, I don't think Bella will let you," I told her as I went back to working on removing the bedding from the frame, not even bothering to look at her.

"Like I said before…soon enough you will both realize what a mistake you've made, how you don't want the same things anymore and she will come crawling back to me. And of course I'll be there to pick up the pieces and put her back together just like last time."

"Last time? You manipulated that situation too. How'd that work for you, Renee, who is she choosing now? You think I'm happy and relishing in the fact that the woman I love is hurting because she's being forced to choose the man she loves over her mother? That's pretty sick even for you, Renee."

"Oh come on now. I'm sure you're doing a little happy dance inside because she's chosen you."

"No, Renee, I'm not. The fact that she has even been put in the position of choosing between us makes me sick. And I did warn you. I told you our love was too strong for you to break this time. "

"Always the chivalrous one," she sneered.

"There's nothing chivalrous about it and if you think there is then you would be wrong. It makes me incredibly sad. The woman I love, your daughter, is hurting. I don't know about you, but I don't get any pleasure from that at all."

I moved around to the other side of the bed and picked up the side rail of the bed frame and slid it out of the brackets holding it to the headboard. I had already done so on the other side. After making sure the headboard was leaning against the wall and wouldn't fall over, I walked to the foot to do the same with the footboard. Once it was free, I stood and looked directly at her.

"Bella shouldn't have to choose either one of us over the other. If you weren't happy here, she would have been sad to see you go but she would have accepted it willingly because she'd want you to be happy. Because unlike you, your daughter is an amazing, unselfish and caring woman. She'd never ask you to make this kind of a choice. It's just a shame you can't do the same for her." Not wanting to even be in the same room as her any longer, I picked up the footboard and headed down to my truck.

*X*X*X*X*

A couple of hours later Bella and I had managed to get all of her things, along with the furniture she wanted and some dishes and cookware from the kitchen, piled into my truck. It was a good thing I had an extended cab or we'd have never gotten it all in one load.

Bella had signed all the paperwork and her mother had informed her that her share of the funds from the sale of the house would be paid to her through the bank financing the loan for the family buying the house.

I watched and felt my heart break for Bella as she tried to say goodbye to her mother, but Renee was a cold bitch to her insisting that she was sure she'd see her soon. If I could have ripped that woman limb from limb at the moment, it still wouldn't have made me feel any better after seeing the way she was hurting Bella.

Bella remained quiet on the way home, much as she had on the way to Forks. I knew it was her way of trying to come to terms with what had happened, but I also knew there would be a time when it would be too much for her and she'd fall apart.

Unfortunately I was right. That night as we laid in bed wrapped around each other, that was exactly what she did. As she cried her heart out over the pain she was feeling, I held her and did everything I could to soothe her and help her work out her anger and pain over what her mother had done. I also vowed to her I'd never let anyone ever hurt her like that again. And I meant it. If I had my way, she'd be happy and have a beaming smile on her face every day for the rest of her life. I'd do everything in my power to make it happen.

Soooo…Who wants to drive a stake through Renee's heart right about now?

There is a picture of Bella's engagement ring posted under the tab for this story on my blog. Thank you My-Bella for adding the inscription to the ring for me!

Need something to read over the holidays? Check these out these great fics.

Beneath The Surface by My-Bella and myself.

Twelve Days of Christmas by Teamswitzerlandmom

Speak Now, by Saritadreaming & wmr1601

Aloha 'Oe by NoelleSeven.

All can be found on my favorite stories list.

For all of you who have read WORTH THE BURN by My-Bella and myself, it was nominated by some of you for the Fic that Moves You The Most. Show it some love and head over to The Lemonade Stand and vote for it. The link is on my profile page.

Thanks for reading! I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I'd love to be sweet and say that I'd send you all Edward for Christmas, but I'd be lying because I'd have to keep him for myself. ;)

EA