EPOV

Bella stares at me in shock. Her mouth opens and shuts, but nothing comes out. The disbelief in her eyes has me repeating myself.

"You're serious?" she finally chokes out.

I nod.

"For real?"

Has she really been fucked over this much? Does she think I'm going to tell her no, that I'm only joking?

"Her birthday is coming up." I smack my forehead. "Of course you already know that. We throw her two parties: one on her actual birthday, and then one on the day she became a Cullen. The second one is just for family and close friends."

Bella's voice is soft. "But I'm neither."

"I'm not promising that I can change that, Bella, but I would like to try."

The tears she's fighting finally break free. "You're going to let me be a part of her life?"

"There are a lot of things that happened that were out of our control. This is my way of trying to make things right." Our usual waitress is no stranger to tears at our table. She stops by with a stack of napkins and flits away just as quickly. "Marley understands that she has a mom and dad somewhere out there who couldn't take care of her when she was born. She's never asked about them after we told her about the adoption, nor has she ever asked for a mom, but I think she'd like to meet you. To know who you are."

Bella shakes her head. "She'll hate me for sure."

"Impossible. Marley doesn't have a hate bone in her body unless we're talking about green vegetables." I chuckle nervously and pull apart the uneaten croissant on my plate. "Things are probably going to be awkward and strained, but we need to go over things before you decide."

"Name it."

"Marley can know you're her birth mother. I'm okay with that, but I am not comfortable with the possibility that you could decide to try to fight for custody. I'm not interested in an agreement of any sort. She's mine. I need you to understand that."

Bella shakes her head. "I told you I wasn't going to—"

I hold my hand up to stop her. "I know what you said, and I want to trust you, but I don't know you." I drop the pastry and lean over the table, looking her square in the eye. "You know how hard I worked for Marley, how much she means to me."

Bella nods but remains quiet.

"She's my entire world, and while I acknowledge that you were wronged, she is mine. She will always be mine."

"I know."

"Please don't make me regret this." It's a weak plea, falling from my lips.

"I won't."

I try to find even the hint of a lie in her eyes, but I can't find anything but longing and hope.

Paranoia creeps in. She could be putting on a show to get close enough to destroy everything.

Bella reaches across the table and grips my hand. "I won't, Edward," she says again, but I'm still not convinced.

"You should know that my brother is a lawyer for a prestigious firm in Florida. If you decide to take this to court, I will fight to the death for her."

Bella's eyes widen. "You don't have to threaten me." She shakes her head and lets go of my hand. "I already told you I'm not going to fight you for custody. You're offering more than I ever thought I'd get when I decided to contact you on my own. I won't take a second of it for granted."

I sit back in my chair and take a deep breath. "I won't apologize for what I've said."

"And I'm not asking you to. I understand where you're coming from. You're putting your trust in me, a complete stranger, and I know that isn't easy. You're in charge. Always."

"We need to remember that she's only turning five. This is going to be overwhelming for her."

"And she won't be alone in that," Bella agrees and wipes her leaking eyes.

There's a heavy feeling that settles around us. Making it impossible to breathe. I dig my laptop out of my bag, and she moves to sit next to me so we can plan her trip to Florida. We check flight times and work schedules until we've come up with a tentative plan.

Bella will arrive on the morning of Marley's adoption anniversary party with an open ticket for her return. We book a room at a hotel close to the house, and she decides against getting a rental car, stating that she's wary about driving in an unfamiliar area. "After the accident, I'm not entirely comfortable behind the wheel in new places. I'll just grab taxis or ride shares."

Public transportation isn't my favorite thing, but I get where she's coming from. Unfortunately, we live far enough out that the likelihood of finding anyone willing to make the trip would be slim. "Mom can watch Marley, and I'll come to pick you up from the airport," I tell her. "If for some reason I can't do it, I'm sure Rose or Emmett can."

Bella tries to argue, but I win in the end. She insists on paying for her entire trip and steals my computer to enter her information.

The tip of her tongue pokes out of her mouth in concentration as she types in the tiny numbers embossed on the card in her hand, reminding me of the spoiled little four-year-old impatiently waiting for me to return to her with a killer present from Washington.

"Done. It's official." Bella smiles widely as she returns to her seat across from me.

I check my watch and pull up flights to Jacksonville. Luckily, there's a flight that will have me home before dinner. I book the flight and lean back, smiling at the prospect of seeing my baby girl after being away from her for so long.

"I have two hours to pick out the perfect souvenir. Do you know where I can pick up a kick-ass toy or 'I heart Washington' T-shirt?"

Bella thinks about it before reaching into the gift bag she brought with her and has tried to pass off to me every day. She places the Build-A-Bear box on the table.

"You can take her this."

"But it's yours," I argue.

"And I'm insisting that you give it to her when you get home." She smiles. "If it's all right with you, I'd like to make a Washington State care package for her. Some things that will help explain to her where I come from, where she came from." Bella pushes the box. "You already said she's going to be overwhelmed, and I'd like to make things as easy as I can for her."

"That's a good idea." I take the box. "She's going to love this. She's been taking ballet for a couple of months now. She's not the best, but she has fun. That's all that matters."

"I took ballet for a while as a kid." Bella blushes. "I guess my parents thought it would help with my coordination."

"Did it?"

"It might have." She shrugs. "Like I said, it was only for a little while. When Mom died, I lost interest, and, Charlie, couldn't care less what I did or didn't do."

Two days ago, Bella started calling her poor excuse for a father by his first name, and the sound makes my blood boil. Makes me want to drive to Forks and commit murder. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. The past is the past." She cocks her head to the side. "I take it Marley is less than graceful?"

I swipe through my phone, looking for the last picture I took of Marley and tell her about the tumble she recently took in the backyard that resulted in her knocking out her three front teeth.

"There I am cradling her in my arms and freaking out about the amount of blood coming from her mouth when she turns to me and asks how much the Tooth Fairy leaves for more than one tooth." I laugh. "She's a trip and acts a hell of a lot older than she is."

Bella looks at the toothless grin on my phone and leans in.

"She looks a lot like I did when I was her age, but she has his eyes. I have no clue where she got the button nose from."

"The two of you share a lot of characteristics." I shake my head. "You make me miss her a lot."

"You'll be seeing her tonight?"

I nod.

"I know you have your doubts about me, Edward." She takes both of my hands in hers. "But I promise I'll do whatever it takes to prove to you that I'm there on your terms. You control everything but—" She chokes on a sob.

"But?"

"If you decide that it's too much, or that this isn't what you want for her, I need you to tell me before I get my hopes up."

I turn my hands over and squeeze her fingers. "I truly believe this is the right thing to do. Just please, don't make me regret it."

"Thank you," she says softly.