Hi. I know what you're probably thinking, "Finally! After months, she finally updates!" Y'all are right, so I apologize, but more on that later. For now, enjoy this new chapter!

Chapter Ten: I'm like a Rubber-band Until You Pull Too Hard

Chicago - Autumn, 2011

My life becomes a routine once I return to Chicago from Forks.

I wake up, go on my morning run and then return for a quick shower. Once I'm done, I shave and get dressed before heading to my office where my assistant is ready with my cup of coffee. Morning becomes afternoon and I find myself having lunch in my office—which is commonplace unless I'm attending a business meeting, of course. The day drags on until I head back to the secludedness of my home for dinner, which consists of either pizza or takeout, but it's always the same. I go to bed after watching some inane TV show, and the next day, I do it all over again as I have for the past four months.

It isn't until Charles Swans calls me, disrupting the calmness and monotony of my life that I finally snap out of my trance. It's as if I'd been in a zombie state, trudging through the days as they passed. Yet it wasn't because I didn't feel anything—I have been consumed by an overwhelming sense of despair and rage—but I just couldn't find it in me to become engrossed in something that will eventually be pointless.

After being betrayed so callously by Bella, I lost all hope on humanity. It's only to be expected, though, since it makes sense to distrust others if the one person you love so much can betray you so deeply. I didn't even make an effort to make friends so that maybe I could get over my heartbreak, or who knows, maybe meet someone else. Although, being single for awhile is probably a good thing since I don't want to project all my anger at anyone.

It wouldn't be fair.

No, keeping to myself has worked pretty well, so I have no idea how meeting with Bella's father will unfold. I can only hope that he wants to talk to me about business, because if he's come to Chicago to reprimand me about messing around with both of his daughters—which he absolutely has a reason and right to do—I don't think I will be able to handle it well. And by that, I mean that I won't be able to control myself from telling him what kind of scoundrels his offspring are.

All Charles Swan said was that he was going to be in town and that he wanted me to meet him for lunch. I'm actually waiting for him to arrive at the restaurant we agreed upon right now, so I'm nervous as fuck. I've been sitting at my table for about thirty minutes, and so far, I have already drunk three glasses of water. That does not bode well with my anxiety at all. I just may pee my pants for the first time in my life, and that is something that I'm ashamed to admit even if it's just to myself.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes as I scrub my hands over my clean-shaven face.

This is going to go down smoothly, I tell myself. Everything is going to be alright.

It is then that Charles arrives, somewhat putting me out of my misery. The hardest part of this meeting is yet to come, but I've at least managed to get this far without having a breakdown.

Fuck. I'm a thirty-four-year-old man, for Christ's sake. I should have my shit together by now, yet here I am, freaking out like a teenage boy who's about to meet the parents for the first time ever.

"I'm so sorry about running late," Charles says as he arrives at my table. "My flight was a bit delayed."

I stand and shake his hand apprehensively. "It's alright; I just got here a little while ago, too," I lie.

Once we take a seat across from each other, Charles addresses me again. "Thank you so much for agreeing to see me, especially on such short notice."

"You said it was important," I explain, "although, to be honest, I was a bit wary of why you wanted to speak with me."

Charles smiles wistfully. "Yes, well, I would be, too, if I were meeting the father of the two sisters I was recently involved with," he begins, somewhat taunting me, "but you don't have to worry about that, son. I'm not here to reproach you anything; this meeting is to discuss Bella's current situation."

"Bella?" I scoff, smiling derisively. "With all due respect, sir, I have nothing to discuss concerning her."

Charles's responding smirk is just as sardonic as mine.

"My daughter warned me that you might be apprehensive when I mentioned her, but, as someone who's wronged her, I figured the least you could do was listen to what I have to say. After all, you are partially responsible for her being in rehab as we speak," he says.

I let his words sink in as our waiter appears to take our drink order.

Bella's in rehab. Because of me?

Fuck. I did not see that coming. Not at all.

Once the server has left, I address Charles again.

"Bella's in rehab?"

"That is correct," he replies, nodding. "She is currently at Jensen Beach in Florida, undergoing treatment for substance dependency." Exhaling, Charles looks down briefly. "My daughter has had a problem with her anti-anxiety medication, which she'd been taking while also consuming other drugs for years."

My stomach drops upon hearing Charles's statement. At the same time, our drinks are delivered and we both tell the server that we won't be ordering anything to eat. That's something that I can't even fathom. If I was a mess of nerves before, I'm a wreck now.

I sigh, trying to get my thoughts in order, as Charles remains silent and takes a sip from his drink.

"Sir, I... I don't know what to say. I had no idea about it, and I never even imagined that Bella had such a problem," I confess. "I could tell that something was weighing her down, but I always presumed it was the apprehension she felt toward Alice."

A small, rueful smile appears across his face as Charles acknowledges that Bella was very astute at hiding her vice. "I had no idea, either, son," he tells me, "and when she actually told me, I was in denial about it. I couldn't believe nor accept that my little girl could be burdened by something so wretched."

"But she came to you for help," I say, trying to comfort him.

"Bella only came clean about it after she felt cornered," Charles explains. "Well, in a way she was, seeing as Alice blackmailed Bella with her knowledge of the situation."

"What could Alice possibly gain by doing that?"

"You," Charles scoffs. "Alice knew that Bella was in love with you, and as always, she wanted to have the upper hand. So, in turn, she threatened Bella with telling me about it if she didn't leave you."

Shaking my head, I say, "I can't believe Alice would do such a thing."

"Really, Edward?" Charles asks, raising his brow.

"Well, with time, I realized that Alice was manipulative, but this is something on a whole other level, sir," I tell him before taking a sip of my drink.

Charles nods. "It is, which is why I've disowned her," he informs me. "Alice used her sister to get what she wanted, being fully aware that Bella would have no choice but to do what her sister asked—not only for fear of how I would react, but mostly because of how bad it would look for me if word got out about Bella's addiction."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not following," I utter, frowning. "What does one thing have to do with the other?"

"Have you forgotten that I am one of the highest paid attorneys in the country, Edward?" he inquires. "How do you think it would look in the eyes of the general public that my daughter is a drug addict? It would ruin my career."

"Is that your main concern?" I scoff, tactlessly.

"By uttering those words, you've just proven how little you know me, Edward," Charles sneers, "because that's not my main concern. I'd be more worried about my daughter being hounded by the media after she'd been exposed and blasted on every one of its platforms."

Properly-chastised, I nod. "I'm sorry, sir," I sigh. "I simply don't have such a good impression of your family, so I honestly don't know what to expect when it comes to you."

"Well, I don't have a good impression of you, either, but here we are," he counters. "I honestly don't know what my youngest daughter sees in you—given your awful dating tactics and whatnot—yet she wants to make amends with you." Charles then pulls out an envelope from a pocket inside his suit jacket and hands it to me. "Bella sent this for you," he explains. "It's part of her rehabilitation process."

I place the envelope beside my cutlery, unsure of what to do with it. Exhaling, I ask the one question that's been plaguing my mind. "How long has Bella been in rehab?"

"Two months," Charles sighs. "She's got one more to go before she goes back home."

"All things considered, is Bella doing okay?" I ask, genuinely concerned.

"She's staying at 12 Keys, which is one of the best rehabilitation centers in the country, so she's being treated by some of the best professionals. It's not to say that that has any bearing on her improvement, but it's definitely helping her condition. Rosalie was just there last week for Bella's weekend visitation."

Raising my brow, I ask incredulously, "Rosalie?"

"I'm just as astounded as you are, but it seems that my wife and Bella have finally managed to put their differences behind them and are actually good friends now," Charles explains. "I just hope that things don't change when Bella returns to Forks and she has to deal with her dependency on her own."

"Well, I wish you all the best of luck in that endeavor," I state as I button up my suit jacket, readying myself to leave. "I hope Bella finally finds the peace she needs." I then stand and extend my hand to Charles. "It was nice seeing you, sir, but I better get back to my office. I have a meeting soon which I can't be late to."

Charles looks at me closely as he shakes my hand, appraising me. "I know what I'm about to say is going to sound insane—especially coming from me—but I do feel that I owe it to my daughter, alright?"

After I nod, he continues.

"I don't know what Bella did to push you away, causing your obvious hatred toward her; nevertheless, I do know that she loves you very much. Whatever happened must have been pretty awful considering its results, but don't let that cloud your judgment. If you really love her as you claimed, you should give her a chance. I'm almost sure that she's going to explain everything to you in that letter," he says, motioning to the envelope I have yet to grab. "So, before you destroy it, take a moment to read it and then decide what you want to do."

I take a deep breath and finally pick up the letter that Bella sent me. "I can't promise that I'll ever forgive Bella, but for you, I'll read this," I tell him.

"Thank you, son," Charles says, smiling appeased.

"Don't thank me just yet," I counter. "For all I know, I might not read this any time soon. I might just put it in a drawer and leave it there for God knows how long."

But who am I even kidding? As Charles nods, looking away when I turn to exit the restaurant, I know that I'm going to read it as soon as I can.

A/N: So, remember that time I said I didn't want to make promises I couldn't keep? This is what I was talking about. Updating.

While writing is a huge passion of mine, I don't have as much time to do it as much as I'd like. There are a ton of things that I have to take care of during the day at my house, so by the time I'm sitting down to write, I'm literally falling asleep. Another thing that's taking up most of my time is a knitting class I'm in, although that's when my plotting happens, so it's not such a bad thing. The really bad thing here is that I'm constantly distracted by wanting to write other stuffs. For other contests. BUT, I promise to make this my priority. Freals.

I'm trying to decide what to do, because I don't wanna leave anyone hanging for so long. I've thought about posting this in smaller chapters, which is what I did here, so that you don't have to wait to have the first scenes until I'm done with a fourth or fifth one. And I've also thought about just writing it out and posting it in daily updates once I finish. *sigh* I don't know. This is why I'd never done a multi-chapter fic before. What do you think we should do?

Thanks so much for reading! (: