Chapter 32 – A Shocking Discovery

Bella

"Oh my god, the answer to all your prayers is right out there in the dining room!" Jake said in a rush as he ran into the kitchen.

I was just doing some last-minute prep work for the day before I had to leave to the custody hearing, when he came running back there, which I thought was more than a little odd. Jake had thought I was crazy for going into the café at all that morning, but to be honest, cutting onions and preparing soups were actually calming activities for me, and I needed that calmness right then.

"What are you talking about?" I asked absently as I continued to cut.

He didn't explain, he just grabbed the knife out of my hand, yanked off my hair net and apron, and then straightened out my hair with his fingers. "You're going to be over the moon in about two seconds."

"Why? What's out there?"

"Not what. Who," he said vaguely, which just confused me even more. I had no idea who he could be talking about.

An answer to all my prayers?

The only person who could be the answer to all my prayers was Bree, and she certainly wasn't out there. Then again, maybe she wasn't the answer to all my prayers. If I was being honest, the life I used to pray for consisted of my daughter, but also her father. I wanted that family more than anything else in the world…

"Yes," Jake said while pushing me to the door leading out of the kitchen.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, to what you're thinking. He's here," he said before giving me one final push.

Before I even had a chance to think anything more, I saw a man standing in the dining room, looking out the window. I couldn't see his face from where I was standing, but I didn't have to. I just knew…

"Edward," I whispered so low that even I hardly heard it, but somehow it was enough to make him turn around.

He froze.

A million thoughts abruptly bombarded my mind. Was he really there? After all that time, after needing him for so long, how could it be possible that he was standing in my café the morning I was about to fight for our daughter? Perhaps Jake was right, perhaps he was the answer to all my prayers. Perhaps having her father by my side could make all the difference in the custody case. Perhaps we would really get the chance to be a family… Perhaps he didn't even remember me.

His face was blank, almost empty as he looked back at me, and suddenly I had a sinking feeling that my old trepidation was accurate – I was nothing more than a forgotten notch on his belt.

As much as I had dreamed about him over the years, as much as I ached for our family that seemed so close, I wondered if I could survive the heartbreak of his indifference. My stomach churned. If it had been any other day I would have manned up, pulled him to a booth, and told him everything. I would have forced myself to get through it all, and then I probably would have broken down and cried myself to sleep after he left… but I just couldn't handle it that day. I had to be strong for the hearing. I had to be strong for Bree.

"Uh…We're not…." I was about to play stupid and tell him that we weren't open yet. Once everything settled from the custody battle, I'd have my lawyer contact him and tell him about our daughter. I had been planning on doing that since I first found out she was still alive anyway, but he didn't give me a chance to finish my sentence.

It happened so quickly that I didn't even see him move, but nothing could ever make me miss the moment his mouth attached to mine.

His kiss was intense, hard, and rough, but somehow it was still tender and unbelievably passionate. Surreal didn't even describe it - no word ever could. He held me tightly against him as if he was holding on for dear life, and I held him back just as securely.

Every moment since the last time we were together felt like living in a war zone. Constantly fighting to survive, day after agonizing day. But being in his arms again was my refuge, and his lips were my salvation. It was real. He was there, and he remembered me. It was fate, and somehow, I knew we'd get our daughter back as well.

And then his lips broke from mine. "You're really here?" he murmured, still holding me tightly.

"You're really here," I echoed.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for you," he whispered.

"I think I do," I replied, feeling a warm tear spill down my cheek.

But seemingly out of nowhere, he pulled away. "I have to go," he said abruptly.

"What," I asked bewildered. "I need to tell you…"

"I'll be back," he cut me off as he reached behind himself to grab the door handle. "And if you're not here, I'll wait all day - all week. I will find you again this time," he said confidently before opening the door and disappearing outside.

I was left standing there completely flabbergasted.

Did that seriously just happen?

I unconsciously lifted my hand to my mouth where I could almost still feel the tingle of his lips on mine. A chill ran up my spine and I trembled violently.

"Whoa," I heard Jake say, so I looked over at him only to see a dumbfounded expression on his face as well. And then he laughed once. "That played out like a fucking Lifetime Movie." When I didn't respond right away, he darted towards me and placed his hands on my shoulders and shook me hard. "Wake up, honey; you're going to be late if you don't get going right now."

"But I didn't tell him…"

"He said he'd be back, right? Tell him then. In fact, it's better this way. Go get his daughter and then show him the life you should have had together."

My breathing spiked, my chest tightened, and I seriously felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack. Was it possible that I was going to get everything I ever wanted? It was too good to be true. Something was bound to go wrong, and I had no idea how I would survive it.

"Bella, go!" Jake yelled at me.

I nodded absently, and then somehow my body began to move, though it seemed to be on autopilot because my brain was still devoted to my new surrealistic reality.

I was awake, right?

I half expected to suddenly find myself sitting up in bed at home in the dark. But the morning breeze was crisp and it stung my cheeks as I took the shortcut through the park to the courthouse, and I knew it was time to snap out of it. I wasn't asleep. I had to focus on my daughter and leave Edward for afterwards. One thing at a time; it was the only way I'd get through it.

I met my lawyer in front of the building, but before going inside, he decided to give me a little pep talk…

"Now, you can do this. Remember what we're doing here. We're trying to save your daughter's life. Stay focused, and make sure you explain just how tortured you were without her and how you combed the entire planet in search for her. A few tears would be nice as well." – Okay, so the best lawyer I could afford wasn't all that great.

"Um, I'm just going to be honest," I told him. "The truth will be enough."

"I never said to lie, but a little embellishment couldn't hurt."

" 'The whole truth, nothing but the truth', remember?" I told him.

"That's a minor technicality," he replied dismissively.

I let out a heavy breath. My lawyer was a moron, and his lack of competence suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. I wasn't going to win the case. How could I go on knowing my daughter was out there somewhere and I couldn't get to her? How would I look Edward in the eye and tell him he's a father, and yet, through one stupid move after another, I lost her?

I honestly felt like I was going to be sick, but then…

"Bella?" I heard a voice from behind, and I instantly knew who it was. He was there. I didn't know how or why, but he was there. I turned to face him, and was surprised to see he wasn't alone.

"Edward," I said with a sense of relief I didn't expect. He was standing with a man, who looked to be a lawyer, and my first thought was that he must have gone back to the café where Jake told him everything so he came with his amazing lawyer to help. It was a stupid ridiculous thought; there was no way all of that could have happened in the short amount of time that passed since we parted.

Obviously, Edward was at the courthouse that day for a hearing of his own, which would explain why he needed to leave the café so quickly, but when his lawyer leaned in and whispered something to him, he immediately tensed. We were standing a few yards apart, and to see sudden distress on his face made me ache to close the distance between us and wrap my arms around him. But I didn't move, and neither did he. His eyes stayed locked on mine, and I watched him in bewilderment as his face fell and then harden as he seemed to process whatever his lawyer had told him.

I was about to ask him what was wrong, but without any warning that I could see, he bolted. He took off so fast towards the street that his lawyer seemed just has surprised as I was, and even looked at me with confusion as if he was expecting me to have some sort of explanation. Edward didn't hesitate or look back, he just got into the first cab that pulled up, and then disappeared down the street and out of sight.

"What just happened?" I asked the man that I assumed was his lawyer.

He didn't answer. He just pulled out his phone and walked away while making a call.

"Ms. Swan, we have to go in or we're going to be late," my lawyer said to me. "And trust me, this judge doesn't appreciate tardiness."

I was freaking out on the inside. Seeing Edward randomly twice in one day, on that day of all days, was almost disorienting, but I couldn't even try to figure out what it all meant right then. I needed to stay focused.

When we got into the room where the hearing would take place, we sat at the long oval table with the judge and waited… and waited… But when it passed fifteen minutes after our set start time, and my daughter's guardians still hadn't arrived, the judge decided to start the hearing without them.

"Well, after reviewing your case, I don't see any reason to deny your request," the judge told me. "Initially, I thought this was going to be more of a difficult decision since the child is doing so well in her current home, but if Mr. Masen can't even be bothered to show up, then I don't see why I should be bothered to consider him as a permanent placement for the child."

"Wait… I apologize," I interrupted the judge, certain I had heard him wrong. "Did you just say Mr. Masen?"

"Yes, Mr. Masen, the child's current guardian." Then he turned to the bailiff. "The moment I read he was petitioning for adoption I knew this had to be some kind of joke," he said casually while signing the paperwork in front of him. "Rock stars never take anything seriously."

I gasped. Up until the moment he said "rock star" I was convinced the name Masen was just a coincidence. Was Edward really Bree's guardian? It was beyond unbelievable, and my logical mind refused to accept it as fact. There was just no way – except, it seemed that there was. My lawyer handed me the paperwork, making Bree officially mine again, and written there under 'Last Former Guardian' was the name Edward Masen.