Chapter 29 Tailors and Bree
Bella stormed into the house and ran upstairs to one of the guest rooms. She couldn't face the dreadful man downstairs.
Opening the door at the end of the hall, Bella flicked on the lights. Shrieking to the high heavens, she clutched where her heart would be.
"Emmett! You scared the crap outta me." Bella's breathing began to regulate and Emmett smiled at her sheepishly.
"Sorry about that." he apologized, then rose from the bed he had been previously napping on before Bella had entered. "But Edward locked me in here." he looked at her reddened cheeks and puffy eyes. "And from your appearance I take it the plan didn't work?" Bella shook her head sadly.
"It failed miserably." she murmured, as he walked over to comfort her in a hug.
"I'm sorry Bella. Well, you can always try the more aggressive approach and leave him at the alter, or ditch him before walking to the alter." he suggested. "I'm very pro embarrassing him." Emmett winked at her and she laughed softly.
"Those are some great ideas." she told him, then walked over to the bed. "But I've decided," she took a deep breath. "I've decided to marry him." she finished.
Emmett gaped at her. "What? You can't be serious?"
Bella smiled ruefully at him. "Unfortunately I am."
"But why?" he asked bemused.
Bella thought back to Edward's threat.
"I don't need to hurt you, or force you to marry me. You're going to marry me of your own free will. For if you don't, I will kill Jacob and his family."
Shuddering, she looked up into Emmett's concerned blue eyes. "Let's just say, the consequences are worse if I don't marry him." she responded cryptically.
Emmett's eyes narrowed. "He's holding something over you, isn't he?"
Bella didn't respond and instead removed her shoes and slipped under the covers. "Don't worry about me Emmett. I'll be okay."
Emmett stood in the doorway, preparing to flick of the lights. "It's the same for me." he told her gloomily. "When I was younger, I did a few things that if released to the public, I could lose my job and possibly go to jail. He holds that over me." Emmett flicked off the lights. "I know what you're going through so don't forget I'm always here for you."
Even though Bella knew Emmett couldn't see her, she smiled in his direction. "Thanks Em."
"No problem Bella. Goodnight and good luck." he closed the door and Bella stared up at the darkened ceiling. She had already come to terms with the fact that she had to bite the bullet and marry Edward. This would mean a lifetime of constant abuse both mentally and physically. She was finally starting to fight back, but she also knew that eventually she would grow tired of fighting and then where would she be?
In the back of her head, she vaguely thought about if divorce would play a part in her life. Her last thoughts before she fell asleep. Would her life really be this miserable?
The next morning, Bella was woken up at eight, then thrown in the bath. Literally. The three tailors from before, Kate, Sasha and Senna, picked her up from her bed. After scolding her for sleeping in a different room than they had presumed, they unclothed her and dropped her into the hot and bubbly bath water. She squealed in shock, then regained her senses and settled comfortably into the tub.
"Things are going to be hectic today." Kate told her as Sasha left the room. "We only have a few hours to get you ready. So while you are soaking," Sasha returned with a breakfast tray for Bella. "You are going to eat. We will give you twenty minutes of privacy before returning with the special soaps and scrub ya clean." Kate finished, taking the tray and setting in on the side of the tub so Bella could easily access it. "Twenty minutes." Kate reminded before stealing one of Bella's strawberries and ushering the others out of the room.
Bella looked at the delicious food before her. Bacon, eggs, toast, a bowl of assorted fruit that included strawberries and various melons, along with a glass of milk. Looking at the food she was slightly reminded of 'The last Supper' and hoped her fate wouldn't be as tragic.
Consuming the food, she enjoyed every bit, and true to their word, the tailors returned twenty minutes later and gave her the scrub down of her life.
"I haven't been swimming in mud." she told them after they'd finished cleaning her. "That was too intense. Why did you scrub me so hard? And why couldn't I wash myself?"
Kate smiled and passed Bella a towel. "We need to make you a blushing bride!" Kate declared.
"So you rub me raw?" Bella responded, wrapping the towel around her and following the tailors out of the bathroom.
"Well now you're all red. That's sorta like blushing." Kate responded defensively. "Besides, we were ordered by Emmett to make this as stress free as possible so you don't have to lift a finger today."
Bella was surprised by Kate's words. Emmett wanted her to have a stress free day? That was very sweet of him. She knew it was his way apologizing for the failed escape, but it was still a nice gesture. After all, her marriage was sure to be one of the biggest mistakes of her life and the fact that someone knew how hard it was for her and was trying to make her as happy as possible before the event, Bella couldn't help the tears sliding down her face. "Tell him thanks." Bella whispered to Kate.
Kate looked at Bella shocked. "Hey! What are you crying for? Snap out of it!" Kate clapped her hands in front of Bella's face. "Don't ruin your face with tears! We have work to do and you aren't helping." Kate grumble, leading Bella into the room where her dress was stored.
Sasha and Senna helped Bella put on the dress properly, then got started on her make-up. After applying just enough to highlight her brown eyes and plumpify her pink lips, they finished with some light blush and got started on her hair.
Bella couldn't believe how fast time seemed to be speeding by. By the time the tailors were finished with getting her ready, the ceremony was to start in half an hour.
She remained calm though. She did not get cold feet like most brides do. Although unlike most brides, she wasn't happy. But she was ready to get this over with.
Everyone around Bella smiled and gave her hugs with tears in their eyes. These people she didn't really know, but they knew her through the TV. She didn't pay these people much mind and instead forced a smile onto her face and tried to look like the person everyone assumed her to be when in actuality she wanted to cry.
A reprieve she received when she spotted her three best friends dressed in beautiful dresses.
"Bella!" Bree squealed, running over to Bella when she saw her. "You look beautiful!" Bree exclaimed, preparing to hug the bride but was grabbed around the waist from Zafrina.
"I don't think you want to wrinkle Bella's beautiful and expensive dress with hug, do you?" Zafrina asked, releasing the girl.
Bree gasped and seemed to faint at the thought. "Thanks for helping me Zaffie." Bree smiled at her friend then the trio refocused on Bella.
"So how are you feeling?" Irina asked sadly.
Bella didn't get a chance to answer, Bree thought she knew the answer. "Bella is the happiest girl alive I bet. She has a fiancé who is going to love her so much!"
Bella, Zafrina and Irina looked at Bree like the she was insane. "Is that a joke?" Irina asked with a snort. "Because it's a little early to be making those kinds of jokes." Irina informed her sister.
"Joke?" Bree asked confused. "No, I'm serious. Edward is going to make a great husband." Bree finished with a smile.
"Bree, did you forget Edward is abusive?" Irina asked slowly.
Bree shook her head. "But he's stopped now that Bella left and came back right?" she asked, losing confidence in her words. "I mean because when I talked to him-
"When did you talk to him?" Zafrina asked, interrupting the girl.
"A few days ago. I was the one who told him where Bella was."
"Why did you do that?" Irina shrieked, startling a few people in the area. Bella smiled and guided her friends to a more private area.
"What did you do?" Bella asked calmly. She didn't like where this was going.
"Well, back when you were missing I got a call from Edward. He sounded so broken up about you being gone and asked for my help. So since he sounded so full of remorse, I thought he changed and promised to help him. Which brings us to the reunion! I was so happy to run into you. I called him and he sounded so happy to have found you!" Bree finished happily. "He's a changed man now. I'm so happy for you Bella."
Bella stared at the girl in front of her, rendered speechless from the truth. "You told him where I was located?" Bella asked quietly.
Bree nodded enthusiastically until she noticed the three girls around her were looked at her with anger, disappointment and despair.
"Bree," Irina began, capturing her sister's attention. "Edward lied to you." She told her.
"What?" Bree asked bewildered.
Irina sighed and Zafrina took over. "He was faking it! He hasn't changed at all!" Zafrina turned red in the face.
Bree looked ready to cry and turned to Bella, hoping what Zafrina said wasn't true. Bella looked at the girl and smiled sadly. "You had the best intentions when you did that. So for that one reason, I'm not upset with you. Now go and join the others for the ceremony."
Bree sighed in relief then her cheer returned. "Happy to have helped!" she scurried out of the room and Bella exchanged glances with her two remaining friends.
"I'm so sorry-
"Don't." Bella stopped Irina from apologizing for her sister. "I won't be able to talk to her for a while, so come up with an excuse for me." She told Irina as she passed by her. "Maybe she's right." Bella whispered once in the doorway. "Maybe he has changed."
Bella walked away before finishing the thought. "And maybe this is all a figment of my imagination. A dream." Bella pinched her arm and sighed when she didn't wake up.
A/N: I spelt 'Taylor' instead of 'Tailor' like a million times. I think I corrected all of the mistakes but I just want you to know, I do in fact know the difference. Now if you truly love the story, you'll leave a review! :D If you like the story, you'll leave a review! :3 And if you hate the story...I've posted like 37 chappies. Why are you still reading? xD