A/N: Dun, dun dunnn!

Thanks so much for all your wonderful thoughts, guys. I haven't had time to get back to many, but please know you all slay me - in the best way. :)

***For those of you checking to see if it's safe to come back, I think it's safe; although, there may be mention here and there of certain things through to the end of the story***

Betad by the wonderful Michelle Renker Rhodes. (Though I tinker through to the very end, so all remaining errors are mine).

Most characters belong to S. Meyer (who has a new novel coming out! How long do we have to wait to turn that into Fanfiction?). The rest is all mine.

Chapter 21 – The Ex From Hell

"Edward?"

Tanya Dennis, aka The Ex and my son's Quasi-Mother walks out of the elevator with a slow, confident stride that's completely incongruent with…well, completely incongruent with walking out of an elevator, but that's just her all over. She's wearing one of those workout outfits that's more for show than actual workout – also signature The Ex.

Behind her, said elevator quickly refills and just as quickly closes, and all the while I wonder to myself what kind of fucked up twist of fate would find the three of us - Bella, The Ex, and me - in the same city, in the same hotel, in the same lobby, at the same time.

I suppose a Fate which wants everything out there and settled…once and for all.

"Fancy meeting you here." She grins and takes a couple of fluid steps closer to me, her strut always measured for an audience of one or one hundred; she's never really cared which. At almost six feet tall, she doesn't need to strain for her cool, blue eyes to meet mine.

"How've you been, Tanya?"

"Extremely busy. Daddy has become a fucking nightmare to work with, and he's only getting worse with each passing day - goddamn old bastard. I've got back to back meetings tomorrow with two separate clients downtown, and then I've got to be in court in the afternoon, so I figured I'd just stay in the area." She sighs like the martyr she's not. "And you, what are you up to?"

"Busy as well, but I won't complain."

"No, of course not. You've got your quaint little company in your quaint little beach town with no one running you ragged like a fucking workhorse."

"You wanted the corporate life with the corner office, you got it." My shoulders lift and fall in an unsympathetic shrug.

She scowls at me before taking a sip from her AquaDeco designer water bottle and quirking a brow. "I seem to recall you once having big dreams involving law school."

"Yeah, but then I had a son, and my priorities shifted - not to mention the fact that I had to make alimony payments to put you through law school."

"Whatever," she chuckles, smoothing down her long ponytail with one hand. "Don't blame me for your downshifted dreams. You're the one who begged me to keep him."

"If I blamed you for anything at all," I sneer, "it sure as hell wouldn't be for keeping my son. And by the way, Anthony is doing well, in case you're fucking interested." I swallow back the ache still ricocheting in my chest like a boomerang. God, it's still hard to believe I almost had another son by that name. "He's enjoying his time in New York, and things are going great with the internship."

Tanya laughs merrily, throwing back her head so that her long, sleek ponytail swings like a pendulum past her bare midriff. Meanwhile, all I can think of is how I once had to get on my hands and knees and promise this woman the world while at that same moment, thousands of miles away, Bella was probably still devastated from her loss...from our loss.

"There you go getting all indignant and putting words in my mouth, and it only took you what," - she checks the time on her diamond-encrusted Cartier watch (a gift from her father when she made partner) – "forty-five seconds? I tell you how busy I am, and all you can think of is what a rotten mother I am for not checking in hourly with a young man who I'm sure has better things to do than report in to his mommy."

I shake my head and dig my hands deep into my pockets to keep from wrapping them around her neck. "You know, I honestly hope that someday you figure out what really matters – and not just for my son's sake but for your sake as well.

"All right, all right, spare me the periodic Parenting 101 lesson." She holds up a palm to halt me while taking another sip from her bottle. "So what brings you here? Meeting with a client as well?"

I draw in a deep, heavy breath.

Since Tanya stepped out of the elevator, I haven't turned around, but I know Bella's eyes are on me. I feel their heat on my shoulders as she watches the scene play out from a few yards away. What I don't know is whether she has any clue who the woman I'm speaking with is. She did only see her the one time. And yes, there was the picture, but it was all so long ago.

Then again, over the past two decades, I've sometimes wondered how I, the stupid, hot-headed kid I was then, would've reacted had the situation been reversed. What if I'd found Bella in a compromising position similar to the one in which she once found me?

Well, first, I would've lunged without hesitation and beat the ever-living shit out of the guy. I would've knocked him from one end of the room to the other, and then as he lay bloody and broken, I would've turned to Bella and made it clear to her just how badly she'd broken me.

Second, that guy's face would've been forever ingrained into my memory.

Throughout the years, as I grew older, less volatile, and became a man with real responsibilities and with a deeper understanding of life, I convinced myself that the man I'd become would've reacted differently. He would've had more self-control and dignity – like Bella.

Yet over the past few weeks, I've had to face the ugly truth: my jealousy and possessiveness in regards to Bella haven't diminished much. While I'd like to say that the man I am now would be able to remain calm and in control in the face of an adversary vying for her affection, I've got my reaction to Family Fucking Friend to negate all that. After all, how did I behave all those weeks ago, when I found out that Family Fucking Friend wasn't Bella's husband but a man who sure as hell wanted to try out for that role? I may as well have pissed on her right there.

Matter of fact, after the shit he pulled on her this morning, I'm not so sure I won't lunge next time I see him.

These are the thoughts running through my head in the handful of seconds following Tanya's question. My main point is, displays of hysterics have never been Bella's M.O. She's always had an amazing sense of self-control, regardless of the situation. And the one time she did lose that control…well, I can't even stand to think of that moment right now.

So I open my mouth to inform Tanya that I'm actually here with my girlfriend, fully prepared to disclose her identity and handle the ensuing questions or chaos or whatever the fuck on my own because I will not subject Bella to this woman again.

Therefore, I'm more than a bit shocked and petrified when I feel a warm arm slip around my hips, and a soft hand comes to rest on my thigh.

"Edward?"

It's strange, but every ounce of tension in my shoulders caused by Tanya's presence melts away at the strength inherent in that one word. When I look down and see the calm expression on Bella's beautiful face, I know she's going to be just fine. Tanya has always been mercurial: cool and professional one moment, capricious and temperamental the next.

But Bella and I…well, neither one of us is the same person we were on that fateful day in that godforsaken dorm room.

"I just wanted to give you the other keycard in case I'm in the shower or something when you come up."

As she hands me the keycard, my hand brushes over hers, and I squeeze her fingers, fervently hoping my touch and gaze convey every last iota of the awe, respect and…the love I feel for her at this moment. I know that as calm and collected as she is, this can't be easy, and it's been a crazy fucking day for her to begin with.

"All right, thanks. I'll be up as soon as I get my bag."

"See you in a few." She smiles faintly and begins to turn away.

It hits me then.

Once, a lifetime ago, my seventeen-year-old girlfriend showed up to tell me that she was over three months pregnant with our child. In turn, I allowed her to walk away from this very same triangle believing herself the loser, the interloper…the fool. Earlier today, she told me that what she found in the room and my ensuing reaction didn't cause what happened afterward, that it was physiology and nature and something that couldn't be stopped or controlled. She assures me the broken heart I caused played no part in it.

I'll never be sure of that, and I'll always regret that day from beginning to end even with the parallel gratitude for the son I have been given. And I'll have to find a way to reconcile and make peace with it all.

Either way, this time, there's no way Bella is walking away without knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that she was always the winner, always the better woman…always the owner of my heart.

I no longer make the same mistakes twice.

"Bella, hold on, baby." I take her hand and weave our fingers together, turning her back around - and proud as fucking hell of the way she lifts and holds her head high.

Tanya's cool gaze darts between Bella and me and back. With the quick, killer instincts of a suave attorney, she's the first to reach out a hand.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met. I'm Tanya Dennis, senior partner at Dennis & Associates Attorneys-at-law, Edward's ex-wife, and the mother of his son."

Bella shakes her hand, and without missing a beat replies, "I'm Isabella Swan, owner/baker/operator of Swan Bellies Baked Goods in New York City, Edward's ex-girlfriend, his current girlfriend, and the mother of his son's girlfriend."

The elevator doors behind Tanya ding open. A handful of people brush past her as she stands there blinking, finally narrowing her eyes when recognition dawns.

"Bella…Swan? Wait a minute, you're not…that Bella Swan, from all those years ago, are you?"

I slip my arm around Bella's waist and lean in, kissing her temple. "Yup, she's that Bella Swan."

I've got to give it to Tanya; she's a great lawyer – successful in all the ways esquires measure success. Yet I've known the woman for far too long to miss the split-second moment of shock in her eyes before she quickly wipes it all away and allows a grin to spread across her face.

"Edward, you haven't told me you reconnected with your old high school girlfriend." She's talking to me, but her eyes are on Bella.

"You and I don't speak all that often anymore, Tanya," I reply sedately, "and when we do, Anthony is the only topic between us."

Still staring at Bella, "Wait a minute. You're Anthony's girlfriend's mom?"

"Yes. Anthony is dating my daughter."

"You're Nancy's mom?"

"Nessie's mom," Bella clarifies.

"Yes, yes, Nessie," Tanya says impatiently. "That's what I meant. Well." She huffs and places her free hand on her hip. "Anthony hasn't mentioned any of this to me."

"Perhaps if you got in touch with him more often…" I say through my teeth.

She turns steel blue eyes to me, circling her pointer finger between the three of us. "So does he know?"

"Yeah," I nod. "Yeah, he knows. I had to tell him once Bella and I decided to give our relationship another go."

"And your daughter…she knows?" She looks at Bella.

"Of course."

"I see. Well." She snorts, lifting her stenciled brows high. "I'll admit to having been caught a bit off guard here. In my line of work, that's an inconvenient occurrence indeed…and thankfully, a pretty rare one."

Again, she looks between us, shaking her head and chuckling.

"You've aged well, Isabella Swan."

"Thank you. So have you."

"Divorced?"

"Widowed."

"Hm." She stands there expressionless for a few seconds, but I know she's using the time to measure her next words. Which is why when she leans into Bella, the arm I have around her waist instinctively tightens.

"Well I'd apologize for what happened that day, but it was long ago, and we were just stupid kids."

Again, Bella replies without pause. "Yes, it was long ago, and no apology is requested or required."

"Good," Tanya grins. "Seeing as you're both standing here together, I suppose things worked out just fine. Although…" she turns her attention to me, "stealing him away didn't turn out to be half as satisfying as I thought it'd be. But we did eventually have a son, and I gained a few years of alimony." She shrugs her toned shoulders. "So I suppose it was mutually beneficial."

With a slow grin, she takes another sip from her twelve-dollars-a-bottle water; meanwhile, Bella stiffens next to me.

Now I don't know whether to feel more shame for the stupid guy I once was and for the things I did which bound me to this woman irrevocably…or whether to feel more vindicated on Bella's behalf. Because with those words, Tanya has just proven that there's no comparison between the two. Either way, I'm ready to tell the Ex from Hell exactly how to find her way back there.

"Tanya," I hiss, "first of all, you didn't-"

Bella cuts me off. "Well, he was high the first time he kissed you, no? So I do see how it couldn't have been all that satisfying. The rest," she shrugs, "I don't really know about. But hey, kudos to you on the alimony, and most of all, congratulations on your son. I've spent enough time with him over these past few weeks to see what a wonderful young man he is, and...I can only praise you for whatever part you've played in that."

The thing is, the smile Bella gives her is so genuine that when Tanya opens her mouth to retort…nothing comes out.

Bella moves in closer, the way Tanya just did.

"But you're right," she nods, "we were all kids then. Now we're all grown-ups. So all this needs to be water under the bridge for our kids' sake if for nothing else because they're what matter the most to the three of us. Now if you'll excuse me, I've had one motherfucking hell of a long day. Tanya, it was honestly...good to see you again."

With that, Bella lifts herself up on her toes and wraps her hands around my face. "I'll see you upstairs. There's a certain promise I refused to make a few minutes ago which I'm suddenly eager to re-evaluate."

"Oh, I'll be right there to help you," I chuckle against her mouth, kissing her over and over.

As her petite frame walks away confidently, heading toward the elevator bank that'll take her up to her room…our room, my heart swells with pride.

"Isn't she just fucking amazing?" I murmur.

When I look back at Tanya, who for one of the rare times in her life has been left speechless, I simply grin.

"Take care." I walk into the waiting elevator, and as the doors close, I yell out a reminder. "And don't forget to call your son once in a while!"

A/N: Thoughts?

30 chapters in all, so if we keep to the schedule, we should be done by mid-August, which is a good thing because the fam and I are off on a much needed European cruise vacay at the end of next month.

Link to 'Stories by PattyRose' is on my profile page.

Twitter: PattyRosa817

Have a great weekend, and see you on Monday to see if that promise is kept...or not. ;)