Chapter 25: True Feelings
Bella smiled as she was watching Emmett play with Eli. The little boy was laughing like crazy as Emmett was tickling his stomach. She looked down at Dana who was chewing on a teething ring while gurgling and laughing. It was almost like the perfect family picture. Bella held her hand out and Dana's tiny hand touched hers. "Mommy! Wook!" Eli called out.
Looking up, Bella furrowed her brow when she saw a familiar black car drive up the Cullen driveway. Emmett stood up from the ground, letting Eli sit on his hip while Bella did the same to Dana. "Bella, hello," Elizabeth greeted as she got out of the car.
"Elizabeth…" Bella said slowly.
Dana stared curiously as the woman walked up. "I see you have another little one," she commented.
"What are you doing here?" Bella asked.
"Do I need a reason to see my grandson?" Elizabeth asked, looking over at Eli who was sitting on Emmett's hip, extremely confused.
Bella frowned. "You wouldn't have if you actually acted like a grandmother, instead of trying to kick me and Eli out of Edward's life," Bella replied.
"Must you bring up the past?" Elizabeth asked, sounding bored.
Dana whimpered softly from the tension. "I need to change her and put her down for her nap," she murmured before going inside.
Emmett looked at Eli who was beginning to doze, signaling it was also time for his nap. "Hey buddy, why don't you go ask mama for a naptime story?" he asked.
"Stowy!" he said beaming.
Chuckling, he set the boy down and watched as he ran inside the house. He was grateful that his parents were out of town and Alice was over at Jasper's for the day. The last thing he needed was Elizabeth trying to make it seem like Bella was using his family's kindness for only their money. "So, you must be the young man Isabella is manipulating," Elizabeth commented.
"Bella hasn't done a thing, only been a good girlfriend and a good mother to these kids," Emmett answered.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Isn't it funny, how my son was once a rich man, but now dead. You are also a wealthy man, Mr. Cullen," she commented.
"My parents are wealthy, I make my own way. They're only letting me stay here so I can raise my daughter," he answered.
"Why, yes of course that's exactly why Bella is only around, don't you find it odd she's only been with two men? Both rich?" she asked.
Emmett stared at the woman in front of her. "If you are implying that Bella is a greedy gold digger, then you don't know her at all. In fact, from what Bella has told me you never took the time to get to know Bella," he commented.
"She purposely got pregnant so she could swindle my son out of his inheritance!" Elizabeth snapped.
The young man glared at her. "You will not come to my parents' house and insult a wonderful woman like Bella in front of me. You think you're the only one who lost someone? Imagine how Bella feels everyday. The fact her son is going to grow up never knowing his father, I can only do so much. When that boy gets older he's going to ask about his dad and we will have to look into that innocent face and tell him that evil, horrible men murdered his father right in front of his mother," he said angrily. He stood right in front of her. "Bella loved him," he added.
"It should've been her that died that night," Elizabeth snarled, "I want what is rightfully mine!"
Emmett stared at her. "You mean Eli?" he asked.
"Eli is my son's son, I have a right to him!" Elizabeth replied.
"Bella carried that baby for nine months, gave birth, and has been raising him. She has more right to that child than you will ever have," he told her, "And you only want to be part of his life because Bella put all of his father's money into a trust fund."
The woman was once again silent. "Get out of my driveway before I have the cops here with a tow truck to force you out," he told her before going into the house.
Bella was sitting in the living room when Emmett walked in. "Is she still out there?" she asked.
"I don't know," he replied as he sat beside her, "But she won't be coming in."
The young woman frowned as she just stared at the hardwood floor. "I'm sorry, for pulling you into this drama I call my life," she murmured.
"My life isn't exactly drama-free Bells," he answered, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
Sighing, Bella rested her head on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head while hugging her close to him. "I love you," he whispered. She hugged him tight around the waist, closing her eyes.
"I love you too Em," she answered.
He ran his fingers through her hair and let out a sigh as they just sat in silence. "Why can't she just leave me alone? Why does she have to come back and bother me?" she murmured.
"I don't know," he said quietly.
He kissed the top of her head, moving his hand over her back.
Bella sighed as she was standing in the park while Eli was running around giggling up a storm. The little boy bent down and picked something up before running back over to her. Pushing her hair behind her ear, she squatted down. "What do you have?" she asked.
"Wook mama," he told her, holding up a dead dandelion.
Smiling, Bella looked at the little boy. "You know what you do with those fuzzies?" she asked.
"What?" he asked.
"You make a wish and blow on them. If you can blow them all out, your wish will come true," she replied smiling.
The young woman watched as her son closed his eyes before he blew as hard as he could on the dandelion. "What did you wish for baby?" she asked.
"No teww," he replied, making her smile.
Eli stood up on his tippy toes and kissed his mother on the cheek before hugging her tight. Bella hugged him back, kissing his forehead softly. "Mama loves you, very, very much," she whispered.
"Wuv oo mama," he replied.
Sighing, she rested her forehead against the top of her baby boy's head. She picked him up when it was time go back home. Turning around, she saw Elizabeth standing there. "Will you just leave us alone?" she asked.
"I asked you that when you started dating my son, how does it feel to have your son stalked?" Elizabeth asked.
"I didn't stalk him, if anything Edward pursued me," she replied.
Walking over to her truck, Bella put Eli into his booster seat. "Mama sippy?" he asked. Reaching into his bag, she pulled out his sippy cup that had a lion's head, handing it to him.
"I want time with my grandson," Elizabeth answered.
"Edward begged you to do that when he was alive. I lost count of all the times he held Eli out to you, hoping you would give his son a glance," Bella told her quietly.
She closed the truck door so Eli wouldn't hear. "Except all you did was stress me out throughout my whole pregnancy. I almost lost him twice, remember that? I was almost on bed rest because of your cruelty, to the point Edward bought a house of our own so you could stop with your constant subtle insults," she said angrily.
"You stole my child away!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
No, I only loved him. Riley stole him," she answered, "He stole Edward from all of us."
Bella swallowed hard, not wanting to waste anymore energy on this woman. "Just go away Elizabeth, leave us alone like how you wanted me to leave you alone," she added before going on the other side of the truck and drove off once she got in.
That night, Bella was sitting in the bedroom she shared with Emmett, staring at the far wall when he walked in. "Hey, you okay?" he asked, walking in.
"Yeah," she replied softly.
He stripped down to his black boxer briefs and got into bed. Bella leaned against her hand while resting her other hand on his chest. "How long do you think Elizabeth's going to be staying?" he asked.
"I don't know, long enough to find out if I'm going to relent and let her take Eli for a day or something," she replied.
Emmett moved his thumb over her wrist, staring up at her while resting his other arm behind his head. "You know, Edward would tell me how he couldn't stand his controlling parents. He moved to Chicago to live with his grandparents who gave him the freedom of deciding his own future," she explained quietly.
"He sounds like he was a good man," he answered.
"As are you," she said quietly.
She bit her lower lip as she stared down at him. "I don't know a lot of guys who are willing to take care of another man's child as well as wait patiently for a girl who still loves her dead husband," she murmured.
"Babe, Edward was a huge part of your life. It'd be selfish of me to make it so you couldn't talk about him. That's part of the healing process, talking, especially when it's good things about him to Eli. I'm here when you need me, I'll back off when you don't need me anymore," he explained.
Bella shook her head slowly. "I'll always need you," she said softly, "I love you." Moving his arm around her back, he rested his hand in the small of her back as she leaned forward and kissed him. He kissed her back, deepening the kiss as he pulled her closer if it were possible. What they didn't see were a pair of glaring eyes staring at them through the window before their spy left them alone.