Ok, so I thought this was going to be the end…turns out I was wrong, I got to babbling along, and had to split it into two chapters, and so here ya go!


"Bella, it is going to be ok, just breathe!" Alice tried to soothe me. "Plus if you don't stand still, I can't make sure it fits perfectly!" She tugged at the dress.

I just stood there, watching in horror at the fluff I was wearing. The dress was beautiful, no doubt about that, and it was exactly what I had imagined it to be. I guess I just never imagined it actually being worn by me. I had warmed up really nicely to this whole wedding idea, but standing there, all frilly and brideish was making my stomach turn.

"Perfect!" Alice beamed, standing back to look me over.

"You're sure it's not too tight?" I grumbled, pulling at the halter top, feeling like my boobs would pop out at any moment.

"No, it's perfect. It's supposed to be tight on your chest, what do you think is going to hold it up?" Alice fussed over the dress a bit more. "You know, I was skeptical about the dress not being white, and the red ribbon around your waist, but it's really perfect. You look absolutely beautiful Bells." She fanned her face, willing herself not to cry.

"Don't you dare!" I glared. "If you cry, I'm going to cry, and then we're both going to be blubbering messes here on the floor. I have to get married in three days, I don't have time to be a blubbering mess!" I sniffled, wrapping my arms around her tiny frame and squeezed tightly.

"You're right!" Alice declared, pulling back and steadying her face, wiping away the last of the tears."

"We have to leave soon if we're going to make it to Charlie's in time, he does know we're coming right?" She asked, knowing my father's aversion to wearing anything other than jeans and a flannel shirt.

"He does." I chuckled. "And Leah is already there, holding him hostage so he doesn't have Billy come sneak him out."

"Wonderful." Alice chuckled along. "And Edward knows his final fitting is Friday, the rehearsal dinner as well?" She asked, helping me climb out of the dress.

"Yep, he's aware. I think everything is pretty much in place." I escaped the frill with one last tug.

"I know think so too." Alice smiled, as I quickly got dressed. "The guys are already starting the basic set up of the meadow. And the weather channel is still saying perfect spring weather, almost unseasonably warm, the whole way through next Monday."

"Thank God." I mumbled.

The possible disasters of an outdoor wedding had never occurred to me until I was actually drowning in having to plan for it.

"You don't think setting up the reception there afterwards is going to be too rushed do you?" I winced, that was my only real concern, other than the weather.

The planning of a reception had turned into a bit of a complication. The small, barely even deserving to be called a town that Charlie lived in was pretty sparse on accommodations. The only place that was ever used for this sort of thing was the tiny, humble volunteer fire company building. I had almost thrown up at the idea of Edward's side of the guest list in the crappy building, if they hadn't thought we didn't belong together before, they surely would have after that. Alice swooped in to the rescue as always, swearing she could turn the meadow into a swanky reception area after the wedding in less than two hours, I still had my doubts.

"Oh good lord Bella, would you stop worrying about that!" She threw her hands on her hips and glared. "I told you I could do it! The reception is scheduled 2 hours after the ceremony ends, it gives everyone a chance to get changed into more comfortable clothes, and that's why we hired the workers to begin with." she laid out the fool proof plan for me yet again.

I cringed at the idea of workers, they were the ones setting up most of the ceremony, responsible for all the decorations, including the millions of twinkling white lights to be laced through the trees, Alice would just supervise. I didn't even want to think about how much this wedding was costing, I had stopped asking when I found out how much my dress had cost. I almost fell out on the floor right then, Edward of course just chuckled. I would probably never adjust to how carefree he was with money, but then again I had never been in the position to even dare to think that way.

"It will be perfect." I sighed, hoping saying it out loud might convince me.

"Of course it will." She grinned. "Now lets go take care of Charlie."

We finally climbed into Edward's Volvo after a fierce battle over who would drive. Normally I didn't bother to argue with Alice, it just wasn't worth the energy, she almost always won. Today, however, I was desperate. I needed my favorite head clearing past time. I needed to drive, and just think, I couldn't count how many time I had used this drive from Boston to Charlie's to sort out all of my life's dramas over the years.

The hour ride passed quickly. Alice prattled on and on about wedding details, I nodded and agreed on cue, doing my best to pretend my thoughts were actually in the car. I did a horrible job, of that I was certain, but thankfully she was talking more to herself than to me most of the time and barely noticed.

"Pop!" I smiled as I stepped into the kitchen.

"Let's get this show on the road kid, me and Billy are supposed to go fishing." He grumbled from the table, surrounded by Leah and Jake.

"Lookin stressed Bells." Jake stood up, crossing the kitchen to pick me up in his trademark bone crushing hug.

"That's cause I'm feelin stressed." I mumbled into his shoulder.

"Just breathe. The hard part will be over before you know it." He winked, grabbing my hand and leading me over to the table.

I sighed at the feel of his hand wrapped around mine, the stress melting away. This was the story of our entire friendship, ever since we were little kids. I would freak out, and he would make it all ok. In the process of planning all of this chaos, Jake had fallen easily into the usual role of my leaning post, punching bag, and whatever else I needed him to be. We hadn't done a very good job at staying in touch when I moved to New York, we'd call a few times a year, and of course I'd try to see him when I came into town. Yet somehow it was always just easy for us, we could not speak for years, and the second we saw one another everything snapped back into place, and we picked right up where we left off. No matter how much time passed, we still knew each other better than anyone else could ever dream of. We could still finish each other's sentences, know what the other was thinking just with the raise of an eyebrow. People usually think of soul mates as the person you marry, the person you spend your life being in love with. That definitely had never been the case with us, there was never more than a brother sister relationship, but he was without a doubt my soul mate. The wedding had drawn us back together on a more regular basis, and I had spent countless hours on the phone with him, crying, laughing, just venting. I made more trips home, just to sit with him. I can't tell you how thankful I am that Edward is secure enough to understand. Jake and I don't have anything other than friendship, and although Edward's and my our relationship is like air to me, I need him, I love him, and I depend on him. Jake and I have a completely different connection, but it's equally important.

Alice and Leah got to work on Charlie immediately. Pulling his flannel off and replacing it with the tux jacket, pins poking, and Charlie yelping. I slumped into the kitchen chair, trying not to laugh at my pop's grimace.

"OUCH!" Charlie yelled. "Damnit Alice that was all skin!" He rubbed his arm, throwing a pin across the room.

"Charlie you have to hold still." Leah chuckled, as Alice continued to work away as though he hadn't said a word.

With Charlie's complaining and wiggling, and Alice's frustration mounting, I knew this was going to be a drawn out process. I needed to get out, just a minute by myself to breathe.

"I think I'm going to take a walk." I smiled, standing up from the table. "Maybe go check out the progress in the meadow." I started for the door.

"Want some company?" Jake offered, looking up from the TV.

"Nah," I shook my head. "Think I just need a Bella minute."

"Ok." He shrugged turning back to sports center. I don't think anyone else even noticed my leaving.

It was weird seeing a path again, it had been grown over for so long, and it was so much bigger now. Even when there was a path, it had just been from me and Jake's feet wearing through the years.

The lights were set up, lining both sides. They were hard to see in the daylight, but there were so many, I knew it was going to be gorgeous lit up at night.

The beauty of my meadow when in bloom never failed to take my breath away. Spring had definitely taken over the landscape, everything popped with color. Wildflowers blowing with the light wind. It was amazing, probably the only place where Edward could stand and look like he belonged. The crew of workers was bigger than I expected, at least 20 of them all buzzing around, dutifully tending to every detail, hammering, pulling, lifting, laying out my perfect day, they barely stopped working long enough to notice me there.

The wedding was still three days away so it was hardly a finished scene in front of me, but it looked like they had most of the lighting up, the space where the chairs would be lined was thinned out, and a small gazebo had been placed in front. I sat down, legs crossed together in the middle of everything. I just needed a minute to breathe, to just be here and enjoy it before it was clouded with chaos. As much as I wanted this, as much as I can't wait to be Edward's wife, I just wanted the wedding to be over with.

It was easy for me to get lost in my thoughts here. It had always sort of been the whole purpose behind the meadow. Jake and I would come here, for as long as I could remember, we would just talk, really be honest with each other. That was the only rule, no lies here, only the truth.

"Bella?" A sweet voice interrupted my reminiscing

"Hmm?" I turned, expecting Alice, Leah, Sue, anyone expect who I found. "Esme?" my voice squeaked a little with shock.

"Hello dear." She smiled, making her way closer. "Your father told me I'd find you here." She motioned back towards the house.

"Oh…umm…yeah." I stuttered, still not recovering from my shock.

"May I sit?" She asked, nodding beside.

"Yeah, sure." I rushed out.

"Bella." She let out a heavy sigh. "I don't have the energy to fight over this anymore." She gave me a quick glance. "I want you to know I've never hated you, I don't know you enough to hate you. I do, however, know Edward. He is my son and I love him. He is so much like his father," she smiled. "so emotional, so passionate. Everything he does, it's from his heart. I'm very much like my father. Like him, I am a thinker, I analyze things, I think them out from start to beginning, and plan for every possible outcome." I snorted, thinking of the way I used to need everything planned out, and how it frustrated Edward. She ignored my interruption and continued. "My Edward loves you, I don't doubt that, and that's exactly what worries me. He loves you, so he could never think of another outcome other than you being happily ever after. It would never cross his mind that things could go badly, or even that the two of you could simply change ten years from now. I am looking at it more realistic, not that I think badly of you, you just simply never know." She smiled, obviously hoping she wasn't offending me with any of her speech. She hadn't, I was actually impressed hearing her talk about her son this way for a change. "I'm sure you have a pretty good idea the amount of money my son is worth. The money he has made on his own, let alone the trust fund his grandfather left for him, or the inheritance he will of course receive when Carlisle and I are gone. It's not hard to think a lot of women have been after him for the wrong reasons." I started to get nervous with the direction of the conversation. "I think I have a solution we can all live with." She smiled, rummaging through her purse, and handed me a packet of papers.

"What's this?" I flipped through the papers. "A prenup?" I almost chocked, not even sure what to think as I read through the papers.

"I think it's appropriate. You and Edward will be happy married, and I can be happy knowing he's protected." She smiled as though she had done the nicest thing.

"I'm so stupid." I chuckled darkly.

"Excuse me?" She asked, taken back.

"I'm stupid because for a few minutes there, I actually thought I was wrong about you." I glared. "But I wasn't wrong, you're exactly the cold horrible bitch I thought you were." She gasped at my words. It felt good to finally call her the things I had been keeping back. "You gave that speech, all about Edward, but in the end the only thing that you care about is the money. That's what it's all about to you. Not once have you mentioned worry that I would be the type of woman who would want to do that." I turned my head, too appalled to even look at her, and fighting back the tears of anger. "Don't you get it? I don't care how much money Edward has. It doesn't matter to me, not once have I asked him to pay a bill for me. Not once have I expected a single thing from him. I make more than enough to support myself. It's never been about anything other than Edward, I want him, that's it, nothing else." Do not cry! Do NOT cry! I chanted in my head.

"Well, even if that is true, and seeing your family, your friends, I'm not convinced it is, it's more of a gamble than I'm willing to take." Her voice returned to the hard nasty sound I had become used to.

"Does Edward know about this?" I snapped the papers towards her.

"Well not yet, but he'll have to sign it too of course." She stood up.

"Fine," I gritted my teeth. "I'll sign this. I'll do it because it really doesn't matter, I never wanted anything from him to begin with, and I certainly wouldn't be marrying him if I wasn't positive we will always be together. I'll sign it, but then don't you dare ever speak to me again." I spat.

"Whatever you want, as long as you sign where it's marked for you, have Edward do the same and have it back to me by Friday." She all but snarled.

I sat there silently stewing for a few minutes, trying to get my thoughts together. I turned to give her another piece of my mind that I had managed to pull together but she was gone.

I stomped out of my meadow, now tarnished with this horrible memory, the only thing I wanted was to see Edward. To have him sign this stupid piece of paper and be done with that hateful woman. Of course she would always be his mother, I would never interfere with that, but after this was done, she didn't exist to me, she had degraded and insulted me for the last time.

"I'll be back." I yelled, Charlie's front door slamming against the wall with my force.

"Bella!" Alice jumped, poking Charlie with yet another pin.

"DAMNIT! OUCH!" Charlie whined. "What'd the wicked witch want this time?" Charlie seethed, still rubbing his arm where Alice had poked him.

"Nothing, I'll explain it later. I'm going to see Edward." I rolled my eyes and turned for the car.

"Bella wait!" Leah called after me.

"I'll be back!" I grumbled over my shoulder as I climbed into the Volvo, and spun it around, headed for the interstate.

I made it into the city quickly, my anger pushing my right foot harder into the pedal. The whole drive was filled with nothing but my angry, frustrated, hurt, and annoyed mumbles.

I breezed quickly through the hotel door, scanning the place for Edward.

"Sign this." I tossed the papers on the bed, beside where he was sitting, clicking away on his lap top.

"Hey baby." He smiled. "What's this?" His face dropped, taking in my obvious bad mood, and he picked up the papers.

"Just sign it." I huffed, impatient to have this over with.

"What the fuck?" He sat up straight, realizing what the documents were, and giving me a confused glace. "Why the hell would you want a prenup?"

"I don't want one." I spat. "It seems your mother thinks it's very important to protect you. You know, just in case I turn out to be a gold digger." Instead of calming me down, the time to think things over only pissed me off more. "Look, it doesn't even matter just sign the fucking thing so it can be done."

"I'm not signing anything Bella, and neither are you." His voice was calm, but his eyes were almost completely black, no trace of the sparkling green. One more thing to hate Esme for.

"Edward…" I started to beg him to just sign the damn thing.

"Bella, take my car, go back to Charlie's. I'm going to fix this right now." He cupped my face, planting a sweet kiss on my forehead. "No one, least of all my mother will cause you another second of stress."

"It's just going to make it worse." I groaned.

"No, it's going to stop…today." He lead me to the door. "I'll take a cab, you take my car, and I'll meet you at Charlie's when I'm through."

"Edward…" I tried again.

"Shh." He grinned, and kissed my lips. "I'll be there soon." With that he pushed me out the door.


EPOV

With Bella gone, I sat down on the bed, taking deep deliberate breaths. I had somehow managed to keep my temper under control with her here, just her presence made it easier. She had never seen that side of me, God willing, I would never let her see that side of me either. I had put that away the second I saw her the first day in the hallway of our building. I promised to be good enough for her.

When I was calm enough for my hands to stop shaking I picked up my phone.

"Dad?" I replied when he answered. "I'm coming over, we all need to sit down."

"What's wrong Edward? Is Bella ok?" He sounded worried.

"Just make sure mom and Rose are both there as well, I'll be there in fifteen minutes." I hung up the phone and grabbed a shirt before tossing on my coat and calling a cab.

"Edward is everything ok?" my father had the door open before I could get my key in the lock.

"No, everything is not ok. Where is mom and Rose?" I glared, pushing past him into the apartment.

"They're in the kitchen, waiting for you." He followed me through their home.

"Edward, what's wrong?" Rose gasped when she saw my eyes.

I ignored her, my glare, my anger, focused only on the hateful woman sitting next to her.

"Edward…" my mother began.

"Just don't" I help up my hand, interrupting her, pulling out the document Bella had brought to me.

"Can you please give me one reason to ever fucking speak to you again?" I threw the papers in front of her.

"Edward, it's for the best. A simple solution to appease everyone." She let out an annoyed sigh.

"What is that?" Carlisle flipped through the contract. "Esme you didn't." He breathed, closing his eyes and putting the papers back on the table.

"What the hell is that?" Rose grabbed for them next.

"If you're so confident that I'm wrong, then why does it matter? Or are you afraid to admit I could be exactly right in worrying?" Esme's face was nothing but cold.

"It matters because I would never insult Bella like this." I said through my teeth. "And if you really want to know, I don't care about the money, it doesn't matter at all. If I'm not enough for her, if I ever fail to show her that I love her more than any other man could possibly dream of. If I don't make her feel like the most special, and amazing woman in the world every single day and she one day chooses to leave me, well then she can have it, every last dime because without her to share it with, I don't want it. All of this," I waved my hand around their lavish apartment. "you think it means something? You think it makes you happy? I don't need it, not one single thing. I have had this all my life, I've been all around the world, I have expensive cars, the best education you could buy and none if even came close to making me as happy as I am living in that small apartment with Bella. Sitting on an IKEA couch, watching rented movies, and eating microwave popcorn." I let out a breath, calming down my anger. "Being my mother doesn't mean I owe you a place in my life, and anyone who doesn't see how beautiful, funny, smart, amazing, and loyal my Bella is, certainly doesn't deserve a place in it." I had absolutely nothing else to say to her so I turned to my father and sister. "I'm going to go to Charlie's, try to convince Bella that she will never have to worry about any of this ever again." I left for the door.

"Edward…" my father grabbed my arm. "Please tell Bella I'm so sorry, that I will ensure nothing, and I do mean nothing like this will ever come up again. Your sister and I would like very much to have dinner with the two of you tonight, that is of course if Bella will agree to it." Rosalie nodded, behind him, mirroring his look of shame.

"I'll ask her." and then occurred to me, Bella had taken my car…shit! "Umm, actually," I turned back around. "do you think I could use your car? Bella took mine back to Charlie's?" I felt like an idiot.

"No." Carlisle chuckled. "If you don't mind, I'll drive you. I'd like to apologize to Bella and her father in person."

I nodded as he and Rose went to gather their things. What choice did I have?

I heard my father erupt the moment he walked out of the room. The sound shocked me, Carlisle had more patience than anyone I had ever encountered, I could count on one hands how many times I had heard him even slightly raise his voice, and honestly couldn't remember once before when I had heard him actually yell, most definitely never at my mother.

"Let's go." He rushed past me towards the door, obviously upset and not wanting to discuss what had just happened.


Ok, so just one more chapter left…I promise this time! LOL. I had wanted to end the story with an even 50 chapters but, this just got long with where I decided to go with the Esme thing. I could have kept it together but that would have made for a over 10,000 word chapter, plus this means I get to drag out ending this a little longer…yes I'm a sap, I can't help it! LOL. Ok so hope everyone is still excited for the wedding!! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!