I DON'T OWN THE RIGHTS TO TWILIGHT OR ANY RESEMBLANCE THERE OF.

SO KIDDIES, THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS, YOU KNOW I LOVE THEM ALMOST AS MUCH AS CHOCOLATE! AND LET ME TELL YOU THAT'S SAYING A LOT, LIKE TONS.

Chapter 29

Mine

(Bella POV)

If I had a moment to think about it, I probably would have been overwhelmed, but life was too busy and too exciting to think just then, so I was happily oblivious. I had quit my job at the bakery. True, I didn't even have a clientele yet and no one really even knew that Bellissima existed, but if I was going to make it work, I had to devote all my time to it, so I quit. My boss was sad, a little annoyed too that I hadn't given her much time to find someone new, but she understood, and whished me well.

I ordered ingredients, stocked my shelves and fridges, and made display cakes. I made myself comfortable in my new Cake Studio. I experimented with the ovens, tinkered with all the shiny new toys, and practiced piping flowers, using gum paste, and explored with various colors and techniques. It was wonderful. I wasn't making any money yet, but I was getting better and better with every cake I made until I had made a cake that was so incredible looking, I put in the window.

My new display cake had five octagonal tiers, was covered in deep brown fondant, and covered with bunches of lavender. I had piped the flowers onto the cake itself, but made the stems out of gum paste, and tied them off with real satin ribbons in pale pink – the effect was glorious. I was damn proud of it and Edward was delighted when he saw it in the window. It was so good in fact, that I had Seth come over and take pictures to put up on the website, along with some other shots of various bits and pieces of cakes I was working on.

A few days after I opened, Esme, Alice, and Jackie showed up. Jackie had never seen the Studio and of course he loved it. Both Alice and Esme were thrilled I had opened, and promised to tell every person they knew about the place – that had to be about half a million people I calculated. I didn't think anything of it, but true their word, they did tell everyone they knew about my Cake Studio and suddenly things went from quiet to crazy seemingly overnight. Of course, the real reason things got busy so quickly was the article in the New York Times.

One of Esme's friends was the editor of the style section, (of course), and when she came in I had no idea who she was - but she quickly became one of my favorite people. She walked in and loved the place immediately like most people did. However, most people didn't have the power to write an article about your new Cake Atelier on the front page of The New York Times' Sunday Style section. She interviewed me, had a picture taken of me in the kitchen with my hair piled on my head, in an apron and ran it the very next week. By lunch time on the following Monday I had thirty-two appointments scheduled; by the end of the ext day, another forty. As I said, if I had stopped to think, I would have been overwhelmed, as it was, there was no time to think!

Of course, it occurred to me suddenly that I was alone and that there was no way to produce that many cakes alone. I needed a staff and I needed one quickly. I was discussing everything with Edward later that night when I had a brilliant idea… at least I hoped it was brilliant. Edward seemed to think I was always brilliant so he wasn't the best judge. The next morning I called Seth to see if he could help me.

"Seth!"

"Bells! What's up? More cakes to capture on film?"

"I'm sure there will be soon, but right now I need some help from your studio-mates."

"Ok…"

"Well, I had what I hoped was a brilliant idea."

"You gonna let me in on said idea or leave me here panting?"

"How busy are Benjamin and Tia these days?"

"Well, one's a classical sculptor and the other's an abstract painter, how busy do you think they are?"

"Perfect."

"Bells, seriously, you gonna let me in on the plan here?"

"Well, since the article the phone has been ringing off the hook non-stop. I won't be able to do all this work on my own, I need some help. I was talking it over with Edward last night I thought who better than a sculptor and a painter to decorate cakes?"

"Ok, I'd call that clever… maybe not brilliant Bells. So what can I do?

"You can you call them for me and see if they'll meet me here at 9:30am before I open?"

"I can do that."

"Thanks Seth."

"Sure thing, Bells."

The next morning, to my complete shock, the painter and the sculptor knocked on the studio door at 9:30am sharp. I wasn't expecting punctuality from them, but it was a happy surprise. Benjamin and Tia were a great pair – they were both from Egyptian families, but born and raised in Queens. They lived two blocks away from each other growing up and were inseparable.

The pair went to Kindergarten, Grade School, Junior and High School together and then both got into NYU with art scholarships. It seemed a forgone conclusion that they would eventually get married, and they did right after graduation. I was thrilled to be helping them out, (and thrilled they wanted to help me out for that matter), but even more so because they were such forthright and sweet souls – with amazing hands!

We sat, talked, and figured stuff out. Of course, neither of them had any cooking or pastry experience, but I assured them that they were talented enough to pick it up quickly. Also, I wasn't expecting them to do the baking, (yet anyway). The situation was perfect for them; they would be able to work when they wanted as long as the cakes were done on time, and it left them with time to pursue their art. I brought them to the kitchen and gave them a quick intro to some of the tools, but no sooner had I started then I heard the door open and my first customer walked through the door.

By the end of the week, Tia and Benjamin's skills were almost as good as mine and I had every confidence they would be masters shortly. More than that though, they found they really did enjoy the work and working with them was easy and fun. Zeus had taken a serious liking to them and would sit by their feet at the work table most of the day, poking his head out every now and again to say 'hi' to a client. By the end of our first month working together, we had churned out some stellar cakes and I had even uncovered some hidden baking skills in Benjamin, skills that no one knew he had.

Magically and overnight, Bellissima had become a success. It was one of the best surprises of my life and I owed it all to Edward. True, he wasn't making and designing the cakes, but I wondered as the weeks passed if I actually would have done all this on my own? Would I have had the guts to go through it all? The answer was always something between a 'no' and 'I have no idea.'

In the midst of all the Cake Studio success, Edward and I had moved into my place. Construction was underway and Esme stopped by almost daily to make sure that her impeccable standards were being met. She would come by, say hi to us all, then disappear upstairs for an hour or so. When she came back down we would get a full report of the goings on. Sometimes Alice and Jackie would come by too, although I suspected that they came for the cake and not for the dust and concrete.

Edward came by everyday after work and we'd go back to Brooklyn together. I'd throw together a quick meal, sometimes Jackie and Seth would join us (they were living together now), or sometimes we'd just go to the amazing Vietnamese place across the street. Life fell into a happy routine. Things were loving, successful, and hopeful. Things had fallen into place, and they could only get better - that's why, when I got the bouquet of flowers from James, I panicked and things took a miserable turn.

(Edward POV)

I had to work late that night. I had sent Bill to take Bella home and then come back to get me. It was about 9:30pm by the time I reached the apartment and I knew something was wrong because I could hear Zeus whimpering and Bella crying. I threw open the door to find Bella on the couch crying, a broken vase of flowers on the floor, a bleeding hand, and Jackie doing his best to keep Bella calm.

"What happened?" Silence. "Bella?" But all she could do was sit there crying. "Jackie, what the hell is going on!" He held out a small florist's card to me:

I saw the article in the Times,

Congratulations baby,

Love, James

I ripped it to pieces then went to Bella's side.

"I answered the door," she said slowly, tears still coming down her face. "I signed for the flowers, and put them on the coffee table." She sniffled and gulped down a sob. "Then…"

"It's ok angel, tell us what happened."

"Then I read the card." She took a deep breath and continued. "When I saw who they were from I screamed and threw the flowers against the wall," that's my girl! Zeus was getting close to the glass and I thought he would hurt himself, so I went to pick up the mess, and I cut my hand."

"I heard the crash and the yell and I ran to the apartment. Bella was on the floor crying with her hand bleeding. Speaking of which… keep pressure just there for me?" asked Jackie.

I placed my hands where Jackie's had been and pressed down. He went to the bathroom and came back with a wet washcloth, a pair of tweezers, some peroxide, and band-aids. As he was cleaning her hand, I started cleaning the mess. I was trying to stay calm. The last thing Bella needed was to see me in a fit of rage - of course that's exactly where I wanted to be. How the hell did he get her address? What was he playing at?

I needed answers and a plan, but first I had to take care of Bella. Jackie had cleaned the cut and made sure there was no glass in it. She was bandaged up and doing fine, but she was obviously scared and shaken - I couldn't blame her.

"Ok Bells, I'm next door if you need me…"

"Thanks Jackie," she said and I showed him to the door, locking it behind me.

"He knows where I am."

"Yes, he does."

"What are we going to do?"

"You're going to take some Advil and go to bed angel. I'm going to make some calls."

"Edward, this is my mess, I'm making those calls with you," but she sounded tired and unconvinced by her statement.

"Angel, this mess isn't yours anymore, it's ours. Let me make a few calls, figure a few things out, and I'll discuss everything with you in the morning ok?"

She hesitated for a moment, but she was too spent to argue. I took her to the bedroom, got her in bed and kissed her goodnight.

"We'll figure it out. You know I won't let anything happen to you right?"

She nodded sleepily and closed her eyes. I walked back to the living room and called Charlie immediately – if I was right, then James had violated some major laws in getting Bella's address. I just needed to be sure. Also, it was only right that Charlie knew what was going on.

"Edward, nice to hear from you."

"Hi Charlie. Listen, something happened tonight and I think you should know about it."

"Ok, shoot."

"It's James."

"Did that son-of-a-bitch hurt her?"

"No, nothing like that. He has her address Charlie. He sent her flowers. She was pretty shaken up about it, she's ok now, she's sleeping."

"Bastard crossed a line."

"What do we do about it?"

"He broke some major rules that's for sure. The only way he could have gotten her address is by having her social looked up. He would have lied about why and told them it was part of an investigation or a case… hell, even if it were a favor from a friend its still illegal Edward."

"So we can put charges against him right?"

"You call the lawyer; I'm calling the Chief of police in New Hampshire. I don't care how many generations the Randall's have been Cops, nepotism only goes so far. He can't get away with something like this."

"Thank you, Charlie."

I wanted to call the Volturi, badly. I wouldn't do it the apartment though and really there wasn't much they could do anyway. If James had left New Hampshire they would have told me. So I called Jenks my lawyer, and told him what was happening – it was late, but I paid him enough money not to feel guilty about it. He told me he would get a restraining order, but past that, there wasn't much he could do unless he actually physically hurt one of us, which I assured him I would not let happen.

I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, so I checked up on Bella, settled in front of the TV, and tried my best to unwind. There were hundreds of things running through my head, but the thing that kept repeating over and over was 'mine, mine, mine.'

*****

The next morning Bella woke me up - I must have fallen asleep on the couch.

"Morning."

"Morning angel. What time is it?"

"Just past 7:30. Coffee?"

"Yes please." She went to the kitchen, started the coffee, fried up some eggs and buttered some toast.

"So what happened last night?"

"I called my lawyer and your Father." She nodded as she took a bite out of her toast. "Jenks is putting together a restraining order and your Father is calling the chief of Police in New Hampshire. James broke some major rules in getting your address."

She took a deep breath, "ok. What's next then?"

"Well, the restraining is as good as a done deal, so I'll call your father later in the day to see what he found out."

"I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? What are you sorry about?"

"Him."

"Bella, what do I have to do make you realize that none of this is your fault?"

"I brought him into your life."

"If all I have to deal with is one crazy ex to have you in my life, it's worth it." She smiled at me. "I'm gonna jump in the shower, and then we can go?"

"Ok," she answered.

I threw the clothes I had been wearing for almost two days on the bed and went to the bathroom. I got the water steamy and stepped in. The heat felt wonderful – I needed it, I had a familiar crick in my neck from sleeping on the couch again. As I was rubbing my neck, I heard Bella come in. She stepped into the shower and replaced my hands. She rubbed my neck and kissed my back. Then her hands wrapped around my chest, and she pressed her breasts into my back. We stayed embraced like for a while; holding on to the moment of peace we had created in the heat of the shower. When I pulled her arms away and turned to her, she smiled at me.

I meant what I had said. She could have had thirty crazy exes it wouldn't have mattered. I kissed her warm lips and sighed. I bent over to kiss each breast and in her heartbeat heard what had become my personal mantra, mine, mine, mine.

*****

Fortunately it had been a busy day – so busy that I didn't have time to think about James. When Charlie called at 4pm, it brought me back to reality.

"Had an interesting conversation with Chief Collins in Hanover."

"Interesting how?"

"To start, he wasn't surprised when I told him about James."

"I don't understand."

"Turns out that Collins and James' Father we tight, like family. The Collins' and the Randall's have been cop families for generations."

"Great," I said with every once of sarcasm I could muster. That meant being ignored and sticking by the bastard instead of listening to us.

"I thought the same thing when he told me. Thing is though, since his father died, Collins said that James had become increasingly more of a liability. He was furious when he found out about the whole Angela incident. He suspended two other cops for brushing it under the table and not telling him about it."

"That's actually really good to hear."

"I thought so too."

"So what's the bottom line, what does Collins want to do about it?"

"He's given James warnings. He even suspended him recently for beating up a High School kid who accidentally scratched his car. He said if he could find proof that James violated his power either alone with others, he would get him off the force for good."

"Charlie that's the best news I heard in a long time."

"The less power he has, the less damage he can cause, that's what Collins said, I couldn't agree more. He's been self destructing for a while - I can only imagine that if his badge was taken away, he'd crumble completely. The department is the only thing that was keeping him together."

"Man, if this is what 'together' looks like…"

"Collins said the only reason James was still on the force was out of respect for his Dad. Truth is, he doesn't deserve the badge, he's put a stain on the family name and now he'll have to live the consequences."

"Charlie, this is just really great news. I can't thank you enough."

"She my only daughter, I would have done a hell of a lot more if I had to." I knew he meant it. Charlie was a serious guy, he didn't make idle threats. "So I'll call you when I know more about the whole situation."

"Ok, thanks again Charlie."

"Sure thing."

I went back to Brooklyn that night and told Bella what Charlie had told me. She was relieved. Like me, she felt like a weight had been lifted. We felt free and at ease again. We could look forward again and not be worried about what was hiding in the corners. We were about to be free of 'the mess' and we slept easily that night, wrapped in each others arms. I fell asleep with my mantra running through my head again: mine, mine, mine…

*****

By the way, James Collins is actually the Chief of Police in New Hampshire; I didn't use his first name because I thought it would get confusing.

Sigh – why can't I have an Edward wrapped in my arms? Sigh again. Anywhoozle, press that green button please!