Innocent Until Proven Guilty Chapter 24

The sliding double doors opened and a woman with bright fiery hair walked through with a Doctor who was guiding her back to the front desk. She had a prominent bump that was sticking out from under her sweater just a little as she scheduled another appointment. I wasn't sure what it was, but something about her caught my attention.

"Miss Carter, we need to update your emergency contact details. Am I to assume the baby's father should be contacted in case of an emergency?" The elderly lady asked.

"Yes. Sorry, I must have forgotten to fill that part out." She answered in a soft tone.

"Not to worry, what's his name?" The elderly lady smiled warmly at her.

"James Hunter."

Oh shit.

Alice and Rose were still deep in conversation but Emmett and I locked eyes. A cold shiver ran down my back at the sound of his name. This must be the Victoria Carlisle mentioned. She clearly knew he was taking drugs and yet she's willing to bring a baby into this life? She was either delusional enough to think he would change his habits or she was downright crazy. A baby would never change a guy like Hunter. He had an agenda, an agenda that now involved me. I have no idea why he's taken an interest in me but I knew it put Edward on edge.

"If you could just sign this," The old lady handed her a sheet of paper and Victoria bent down to sign it before handing it back over. "That will be all Miss Carter, we'll be in touch soon." They exchanged pleasantries and I watched as Victoria left the clinic, not even giving us a second glance. I couldn't help but follow her every move through the window. She stopped and took her phone out, quickly putting it to her ear. The conversation was apparently quick and then an SUV pulled up next to her with blacked-out windows so I couldn't see who was behind the wheel. She climbed in and leaned towards the driver before shutting the door and blocking my view once more. I cursed under my breath which got Rose's attention.

"What are you looking at Bella?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow. Emmett quickly shook his head behind her.

"I thought I saw someone I knew. Give me a second guys," I got up and stepped out of the clinic and dialed Edward.

I don't think the phone even rang once before he picked up.
"What's wrong?" He sounded on edge which in turn put me on high alert.

"Hunter has a baby on the way." Was the only way I could think of saying it.

"What are you talking about?" He asked confused.

"Victoria, your dad mentioned her name the day we met with my father. When you said Hunter was staying at some broad's house, Carlisle knew who she is. I'd say she's quite far along from the size of her stomach."

"Was Hunter there?" He demanded.

"No, but I think he was the one to pick her up. It was a large SUV but the windows were blacked out and her body blocked my view of the driver." I relayed back.

"What color was the SUV?"

"Black."

"Did you see the number plate?"

"No sorry."

"Fuck! Ok angel thanks. Tell Emmett to call me as soon as fucking possible. Let me know once you're outside the club ok?" He sounded angry but I didn't take offense to the way he spoke to me.

"Yeah baby, I'll let you know. I'll see you soon ok?" I said, my voice calm even though I felt anything but.

"Yeah…Bella…just, come back to me ok?"

"Always." Was the only thing I could manage to say without crying. He sounded so desperate, I don't know why he would think I wouldn't come back to him. I can't think of not being with him, especially now.

After collecting myself, I went back in at the same time a nurse approached Rose. Everyone got up to follow the nurse and I quickly caught up to them.

This was it! We were going to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. I was so excited for my friends, it was easy to forget the shit I just witnessed for the moment and focus on my girl.

"Ok I'm going to need a couple of you to step out as we get Rosalie ready and settled." The nurse turned to Alice and I. Alice was about to protest but then she looked over at Emmett and Rosalie who were lost in their own little bubble. Emmett's forehead rested against Rose's and his hand was covering most of her stomach. I quickly pinched Alice on the arm and we stepped out.

"But we promised her we'd be there for the first scan!" Alice whined as I dragged her back out to the waiting area.

"Yes, and I'm sure she's glad we tagged along but this is their moment, let's just let them enjoy it." I marched her over to the cafeteria so we could grab a coffee as we waited, I sent a quick text to Emmett to let him know where we were and I also told him Edward wants to speak to him as soon as possible.

"Who was the redhead Bella?" Alice asked, quirking her perfectly shaped eyebrow at me.

"Has Jasper ever spoke about someone named Hunter?" I wanted to see how much she already knew.

"Yeah, his dad and Edward's dad used to run Chicago together before he died right? He went away or something but now he's back and giving the guys shit." Ok, so she knew more than I thought.

"Yeah, he wants his share of Chicago and claims that Carlisle owes him. Technically he has every right to it but Hunter is unstable. He's involved with drugs and wants to start up shady businesses all over Chicago that Carlisle has been trying to clean up. The thing is, Hunter has caught wind about Edward and I and he's taken an interest in me." I stopped talking as more and more people came into the canteen. I waited until people moved away from us so that we wouldn't be overheard.

"Hunter sent flowers to the penthouse with a cryptic note. Remember when you and Jasper met Edward and I at Nonna's? That was the day I got the flowers. Edward is having him followed to keep tabs on him." I sat back as I finished catching her up.

"I thought you guys had a fight that night, there was something in the atmosphere when we walked in. First Felix and now this Hunter guy?" I could see she was concerned.

"Well you're going to love this then, Felix knew Hunter. Hunter asked Felix to keep tabs on us hence why he was creeping me out more and more. The day shit went down at the warehouse, Felix was being creepier than ever and asked me how "Cullen royalty" was treating me and as I walked by him, he whispered the word 'soon'. Which I still don't know what he meant by it but I'm so fucking glad he's been taken care off. My life has been one hell of a rollercoaster recently." I gulped down my last bit of coffee and noticed that Rose and Emmett were making their way over to us, both supporting massive grins on their faces.

I nudged Alice's foot and she turned to look at them.

"I bet he's going to propose soon." She whispered as they got closer and I laughed. I really hope he does.

"I take it things went well?" I teased as Rose clutched the sonogram pictures.

"Yeah," she said dreamily as she proudly held out the picture so we could see. Alice and I both oohed and ahhed in the right places whilst we tried to figure out what we were looking at.

Rose was telling us about the baby's heartbeat when Emmett excused himself to answer his phone, he quickly looked at me before turning around and walking out the reception area, no doubt it was Edward he was talking to.

"Guys I'm sorry they wouldn't let you in there. You don't understand how happy I am that Emmett wants this little baby as much as I do. It means the world to me that we're doing this together." She gushed.

"Babe don't worry about it. We're just happy that you're happy, there will be other scans we can come to." I reassured her and then the three of us hugged. Alice took Rose to the restroom so she can finally relieve herself whilst I walked over to where Emmett stood, still on the phone.

"Yeah we're just about to leave, hold on a sec," he focused on me. "Where's Rosie?" he asked.

"She and Alice went to the restroom." I reassured him and saw his shoulders relax slightly. I patted his arm to calm him further and I could hear Edward huffing from the other end of the phone. I giggled and Emmett focused on the call again.

"Yeah, she's right here, want to talk to her? Of course she's fine asshole, nothing happened. Hold on let me ask," Emmett once again focused on me "was there another car that followed the SUV?" he questioned.

"No, not that I saw." I didn't quite understand what he was getting at but I was positive there was no other car.

"Yeah I'm as confused as you are. Ed, was Santiago still on his tail? Well shit, ok I'm going to drop your little lady back to yours so you can stop fucking pacing. Listen, can you book a table for tonight, I think we all could do with a night out." Emmett had the goofiest grin on his face as he listened to whatever Edward was saying.

When Alice and Rose approached us, Emmett instinctively reached out for Rose's hand and they both walked back over to the counter to sign more papers before we left. I watched as the other women all kept their eyes locked on Emmett, I felt the whole room swoon as he beamed at his Rosie and then kissed her forehead whilst resting his huge hand on her stomach.

Once Rose was done, we all made our way back to the car so that we could go home. Emmett told the girls we're going out tonight and Rose began crying because she won't be able to drink and then proceeded to hit Emmett for being inconsiderate. And then she cried again and apologized for being mean.

Talk about emotional whiplash. Alice and I sat at the back quietly trying not to set her off again. I could feel Alice buzzing next to me at the prospect of going out tonight and to be honest, I was looking forward to it too. I wanted to dress up and tease Edward all night, if anyone needed to let their hair down it would be Edward. He was on edge more than ever. This Hunter thing was seriously rattling him.

"Rose why don't you and Alice come to Edward's later so we can get ready together?" It felt like forever since we did that.

"That's a brilliant idea!" Alice bounced next to me.

"Sure, if I can find anything that still fits me." Rose grumbled from the front.

"Rosie you're not even showing yet babe, everything still fits you and you're hot as hell." Emmett tried to reassure her but it only brought on more tears.

This time I was the one to hit him.

oOo

I jumped as I walked through the door when Seth let me in because I walked smack in the middle of Edward who was literally pacing the floor.

"Bella." He whispered before enveloping me in his arms.

"Baby I'm right here. Come, let's go up." I wound my arm around his waist and led him over to the elevator. He scanned his print and the doors opened. I waved a quick hello and goodbye to Seth before the doors closed in front of us and we climbed up.

Edward had his nose buried in my hair as he breathed me in.

Once we were inside, he picked me up and walked us over to the couch. My legs rested on the side of his thighs as he sat down. He brought my body flush to his and captured my lips in a searing kiss that left me breathless. The kiss soon escalated as I began slowly moving my hips and grinding on top of him. He was hard beneath me and my mouth watered at what was waiting for me. His left hand went to my hair and he gave it a sharp tug to move my head back so he could reach that sweet spot behind my ear. The spot he knew drove me crazy with want. I moaned as he licked down my neck, the hand that was wrapped in my hair slid down to my neck as he held me loosely. The instinct to swallow was natural and as he felt my throat move under his hand, his hold tightened ever so slightly. I wasn't into choking and he's never indicated that its something he liked to do either, but this simple action was getting me excited.

I rested my hands on the back of the sofa and moved my hips with more vigor.

Edward suddenly pulled away and looked at me, his eyes frantically searching mine.

"Baby what's wrong?" I asked breathlessly, my heart racing from being so worked up by him.

"Marry me," was all he said.

I threw my head back and laughed.

"I've already said yes Edward, and I've said yes every time you've asked me," I ran my fingers through his hair as he continued to stare into my eyes.

"No, marry me…right now. I don't want to wait anymore. I don't care if our parents will be angry with us. I don't care Bella. I don't want to wait. Please, please say we'll do it tonight." He sounded so desperate.

"Edward what's wrong, why the rush?" I wasn't saying no, but I needed to find out where his head is at.

"I have to keep you safe." He breathed.

"I am safe-"

"No, you don't understand!" I jumped slightly at his outburst.

"Then help me understand. What happened? I feel like you've been like this since before we left for the hospital." I tried prying further and winced a little when his grip on my hips tightened.

"Santiago's head turned up at the warehouse when you were out." He said in a somber voice. A chill went down my spine as his words registered. Santiago was the guy that was following Hunter. A guy Edward himself put on the job. He literally spoke to him before the gang got here to pick me up.

"The fact that you were inches away from someone associated with that motherfucker puts me on edge. I no longer have direct information on his whereabouts. He's ruthless Bella, he won't stop until he gets what he thinks is rightfully his." His grip on me tightened even more now and I physically winced this time.

"Baby you're hurting me." I whispered and it was like a bucket of ice water was thrown over him. The crazed and stressed look from his face vanished and it was replaced with remorse.

"Angel I'm so sorry," he mumbled into my chest as he brought me closer to him and wrapped his arms around me. I could feel the tension rolling off of him and I worried about him. this has shaken him to the core.

"Aren't there rules you're supposed to follow? Will our marriage still count for something?" I was thinking out loud as I ran my fingers through his hair.

"As long as we provide a valid marriage license, you're immediately protected under the Code. Our marriage, no matter how big or small the ceremony is, will always count for something." The sincerity in his tone confirmed what I was about to say to him.

"Then let's do it," I whispered into his ear as he rested his cheek next to mine. Edward moved back and searched my eyes once more to see if I'm being serious. And I was being dead serious.

I know this won't be a dream wedding with all our families and friends but I'm sure we can do it properly another time. This is just about Edward and me, no one else. We weren't doing it for anyone else. Yeah, Hunter's crazy was making us rush it, but we both want this for the right reasons.

"Oh my god baby we're getting married tonight!" I was so giddy with excitement, I jumped off of Edward's lap and started bouncing around in front of him. He stood up and lifted me off the ground as he spun me around in a circle, leaving feathery kisses on my neck and face as I continued to squeal and laugh with happiness.

"You've made me one happy sonofabitch," he proclaimed as his happy started to match my own.

There were so many things I needed to do before we do this, I wasn't even sure where to start.

"Edward there's so much I need to do! I need to try and do something with my hair, we need rings, fuck me I haven't even got a dress," this is where the panic started to seep in.

"Let's go find the rings now, as for the dress, I kinda sorta already picked something out for you. I've wanted to do this the day I proposed to you in the shower so I bought something for you." He hoisted me up higher and carried me to the bedroom and towards his side of the closet. He sat my ass down on the center island in the walk-in closet and then reached out to one of the garment bags that inconspicuously hung with his suits.

This was like one of those 'Don't Tell the Bride' shows where the groom does all the planning as well as buying the dress. I nervously fidgeted as I watched him undo the zipper. I think I stopped breathing as he reached in and took the dress out, I was almost too scared to look. I watched as silky white fabric spilled out of the garment bag like water.

Edward walked closer to me and held the dress out for me to get a better look. It was pure white silk with delicate spaghetti straps, it was form hugging with a cowl neckline. I was simply mesmerized, and then he let me see the back and I think I fell in love with him all over again. The back was very low cut and I assumed it will fall down to the very bottom of my waist, there were 4 delicate silk buttons that looked like would end at my tailbone.

I was speechless as I continued to look at it, I wanted to know what it would feel like on my naked body. I knew I wouldn't be able to wear underwear with this dress and just the thought of wearing nothing but the beautiful dress and heels made me want to forget everything else and drive to the courthouse immediately.

"What do you think?" he asked softly with a gentle smile on his face.

"It's perfect. God baby I can't wait to wear it, no other dress will ever come close to this one." I felt so overwhelmed by it all that I couldn't even control the tears that were running down my face.

"So you really like it?"

"Like it? I freaking love it baby. You're amazing did you know that?" I hopped off the counter and jumped on him. He quickly wrapped his free arm around me to help keep me up whilst the other held the dress out at arm's length so it doesn't get creased. I was so mesmerised by the dress I was too scared to even touch it. We were both looking at it, engulfed in awed silence.

"Are you going to try it on?" he turned to me and asked.

"I'm too scared to ruin it." I whispered back. He just laughed at me and nuzzled my cheek. If I tried it on, I was never going to take it off, but we had stuff to do and I can't walk about with my wedding dress on.

I unwrapped myself from Edward and tried to clear my head so I could start planning what we need to do next.

"Ok we need to get our shit together. Let me get in the shower and then we can head out and get the rings. Then we need to make calls to see if we can get a spot at the courthouse. We get back here, grab your tux and my dress and hopefully by the end of the day we'll be Mr and Mrs Edward Cullen." By the end of my little speech, I was sure my voice rose a few octaves due to my excitement.

This shotgun wedding sounded easy enough to get together, I don't know why Alice has been panicking so much planning her own wedding, she had 2 months to get it sorted. I have hours.

I was ready to turn around and march into the bathroom but Edward gently grabbed my wrist and spun me back around to face him. He carefully hung the dress on a display rack and then turned to face me again, he reached into his pant pocket and as he pulled out that velvet square box, he knelt down on one knee. The shock must have been evident on my face because he let out a low chuckle before looking me square in the eye.

"Isabella Swan, I promise to love and worship the ground that you walk on for the rest of my life. You've brought brightness into my dark world, you've given me purpose and you've helped me see that I don't have to go through shit alone. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me Isabella?" his eyes were glassy and I could feel my own watering. He opened the delicate velvet box and inside it sat the most beautiful oval diamond engagement ring. The white gold band was thin and glistened in the light.

This was it, this was the moment I have imagines since I was young.

"Yes! A thousand times yes!" I held my left hand out and watched as he took the ring out and then took hold of my hand as he slid the ring on. It felt heavy but very comfortable like it was always supposed to be there. Edward stood up straight again and engulfed me in his arms whilst leaving me breathless from his kiss.

As we stood in the middle of the closet, embracing each other, I thought my heart will burst with how full and happy it felt.

oOo

My shower would have been a lot quicker if Edward hadn't joined me, but then again, I also wasn't going to complain about the amazing orgasm he gave me whilst we "showered". We simply couldn't keep our hands off each other or wipe the goofy grins off our faces.

I was attempting to dry my hair whilst Edward retreated back to the office for something or other, I was too busy planning our next stop to pay any attention.

Once my hair was dry, I quickly curled the ends and deemed myself ready. I walked out of the bedroom in search of Edward and found him pacing in the office, his phone glued to his ear.

"No I don't give a fuck, get it done or don't bother coming back. What the fuck do I pay you for? This better get sorted by the time I come back tonight." And with that, he ended the call and turned to look at me. The tension immediately vanished as he smiled at me and then raked his eyes up and down my body. I slowly turned for him so he could get the full view of the dress I picked out.

It was getting cold in Chicago so I opted for a knit midi dress that was body hugging with a tall slit that went up the length of my thigh. I also paired it with some high heels.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked as I finished giving him a show.

"Yeah I'm ready, you look amazing Bella." He said as he tucked his gun at the back of his jeans. The sight of his gun brought me back down to earth ever so slightly and I remembered why we were doing this tonight.

I grabbed hold of Edward's hand and we made our way to the elevator.

"Have you ever thought about living in a house?" I finally voiced my thoughts.

"Not even married yet and you already want to move?" he teased as he slyly palmed my ass.

"I've thought about it as it's a good investment. I actually own a couple of properties around Chicago that I've rented out. I've never needed an actual house before though, is that something you'd want?" he asked as we stepped out of the elevator and were met by Irena.

Great.

"Mr Cullen may I speak with you in private?" she looked at him from under her lashes and I nearly scoffed out loud.

I settled on sighing loudly which caused her to shoot daggers at me.

"Whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her. I thought I told you, you need to sort the shit out before I get back tonight, I haven't even fucking left yet." Ah, so it was her he was talking to in the office.

"I'm sorry Ed- Mr Cullen, but I just thought maybe-" but before she could finish what she was saying, Edward cut her off.

"I don't have time for this. Either deal with it or leave. It's your choice." And with that, he opened the door for us and we stepped out, letting the door shut behind us with a resounding bang.

"What does she want?" I asked.

"She wants to move up in the ranks and not have to deal with the staff or bookings. She's double booked a table and now can't resolve the problem and wants to worm her way out of it. She's still under the impression she can sleep her way through it." He gritted out and instinctively tightened his hold on my hand, sensing that I wanted to turn around and show her what's what.

"Why don't you just fire her?" was my simple solution, it gets rid of the problem altogether.

"I don't have time to replace her and I need at least this business to run smoothly." He retorted back.

"I could work for you." I tried to sound seductive as I threw the idea out there and I was shocked to see he wasn't going to fight me on it or tell me it's a ridiculous idea.

"You want to work for me?" the surprise was evident in his tone.

"Why not? You can at least trust me to do the job right." I said matter-of-factly and gasped as he caged me against the car with his body.

"Mmmm you definitely do the job right. Let me think it over ok? I'm not saying no, let me just sort some shit out first and then we can see ok?" he said against my lips as he kept leaning in closer and closer to my mouth. I made the final move and bit down on his bottom lip gently before capturing it between my lips. The kiss held all sorts of promises and as always, left me breathless. I hummed into the kiss before we pulled apart, we got into the car and drove to the jewelers.

I had no idea what sort of rings we wanted, I just hope Edward and I will be able to find something that we'll both love.