Some Honeys Need A Daddy TWILIGHT Chapter 3, a twilight fanfic

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💚 Some Honeys Need A Daddy 💚

"She is not only the woman I love, she is the mother of my children."

‼️Rated M - {Out Of Characters/All Human/Alternate Universe}‼️

‼️Romance/Angst/Drama/Lemons‼️

‼️Bellward/Esmee Cullen/The Cullens/Original Characters‼️

Chapter 3: (3,9K)

Edward's PoV

Edward didn't see the girls for the remaining two days before the weekend and Esmee's birthday party. Bella had told him that Esmee and she had made plans and that they didn't include him. And no matter how much it annoyed him, he stayed away, alone in his apartment.

A part of him found it odd how he never felt alone or lonely before Bella, and never thought of his apartment as too big. But now that he was isolated in it, it definitely felt as if there was too much space. He relocated to one of the guest rooms, refusing to sleep in the bed that Bella had deserted.

There was also the issue of Esmee's teddy bears that he had put back in her room, though he did not put them on her bed. When they had their conversation, Esmee made a point to tell him that she was a grown girl now and that she didn't need plushies anymore. But Edward couldn't help but read further into that. He had failed her and she didn't need him. After all, she had always associated her stuffed animals with her father's love, Bella had made sure of it.

And what made him certain of this idea was the fact that she didn't try to reach him over the two days they were apart. Bella texted him to keep him updated and even sent a picture of the girls at a restaurant with Jacob and Karl on Friday night, but there was nothing more to it.

Which was why he drowned himself in work to forget the emptiness that was waiting for him at home - not that he needed to try hard. After all, he had been absent for more than a month, and there was a lot to catch up on. Though he had to admit, this time away allowed him to realise that Jamie was doing a really good job.

Unlike him, Jamie had no issue delegating and releasing control when it was needed. The biggest change was the fact that he had hired another PA to help Kaelie and lighten her workload. Kaelie was still in charge of the major tasks, especially the ones that were directly linked to Edward, but all the minor things had been relegated to this new PA. Jamie had also hired a couple more people and placed them in strategic positions, whether it was directly linked to the company or to Edward's many other businesses.

Edward also noticed over the next couple of days that Jamie was much more pedagogical than he had ever been towards the young man. But he also cut down some people, and from what Aline told him, Jamie could be as ruthless as Edward. Not that Edward minded, someone too soft would never have been good, or his company would have crumbled down within a week.

And just like before Edward left for London, Jamie was as professional as ever. Over the three days Edward had been back, he didn't mention Bella even once, nor the conversation they had during the award ceremony. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more Edward realised that Jamie never talked about his private life. Even when Aline asked about it to make idle talk, Jamie never disclosed anything about himself.

On Friday night, as Bella and Esmee were spending the evening with Karl and Jacob, Edward went to his brother's, not wanting to spend the night alone yet again. Especially when he knew that his family was celebrating his daughter's birthday in private, without him. In fact, a part of him resented Bella for not trying to include him in her evening plans since it was a family event, after all.

But of course, Emmett didn't see it that way, "It's not much about you or Bella, but about Esmee. Jacob came to see Esmee. Trust me, if he had come to see Bella, you'd be knocked out by now."

"It's a family thing. It's my kid's birthday. I should be there."

"From what Esmee told me, it's more of a tradition. When they were in London, Jacob flew twice a year to see her. On Christmas and her birthday. He's just being a good godfather."

Edward sighed, sinking deeper into Emmett's couch as he grumbled, "How can I be a good father when I'm not given the opportunity to do so?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Emmett hit him upside the head. "That's on you! Being a good dad is not once in a while when you think about it. It's a constant thing. Don't pretend like you've even tried to be the perfect dad ever since you've known about Esmee. We both know that ain't true."

"I'm trying, but she's —"

"Are you really going to put your failure on Bella? Bella, of all people? I mean, sure she can be a tough nut to crack, and so far only Dad managed to really get through to her, but Bella has always had your back when it came to Esmee. Even before you even came into the picture."

Edward grumbled his agreement, more to himself than for his brother's benefit. He didn't want to linger much on how he was failing at being a father or being there for the woman he loved when she was always there for him. But then, a detail of Emmett's sentence rang in his ear:

"What do you mean only Dad managed to get through to her?"

"Well, you do know that Dad is the one who found Bella the apartment, right?"

"What?!" He had assumed that Bella either had the apartment thanks to her connections to the governor or that maybe she had used his own name to get the place. But never he would have imagined that his own father would have interfered to relocate his family far from him.

"Yeah, he had a friend looking for a new tenant, and he got her a good price for it too. Dad and Bella speak almost on a daily basis. Though it's a good thing. I'm not sure Bella would be as she is today without Dad."

Edward didn't say a word, cracking his knuckles in his pocket as he tried to rationalise himself. But no matter how he saw it, the fact remained, Bella was more comfortable with his own father than him. His first instincts were to be annoyed and angry at the redhead for not letting him in, and the more his foul mood brewed inside him, the more he was tempted to call Bella and ask for an explanation.

But then, his brother's voice chimed in, reminding him, "Maybe she is more comfortable with Dad because he actually listens to her and he's been here for her without ever asking for anything in return."

"I never asked a thing from Bella!" Edward exclaimed, defending his honour.

"Really? You don't have to say something to ask for something, Edward. You want her love and for her to completely trust you, but have you shown her that she should?"

"I'm here for her. I'd do anything for her. She knows that. I've told her countless times."

"But have you ever actually done anything to prove it? I'm not in your relationship, and Bella never talks to me about you, so I don't know. But from an outsider's point of view, you're never here for her. She changed cities for you, and you didn't help her settle down into this new life where she knew no one. She quit her job for you and you didn't support her new career the way she supports yours. She put distance with her long lost brother for you, and you didn't tell her that it was unnecessary, that she should cherish that rekindling relationship. If I were in her shoes, I wouldn't want to trust you with my emotions and feelings either."

"She told you that?" Edward whispered in an incredulous voice, not believing his ears.

"Of course not. That's my observations and what I understood from what Esmee told me."

"Esmee told you that?" Edward cried out, feeling that it was much worse if it was his little girl who had made those observations.

"No. She's bright, but not that bright. But she has noticed that Bella isn't the same since they came to Seattle. No matter how much Bella tries to hide it, kids are perceptive, and Esmee knows that her mother is sad."

Edward pondered on that statement before letting his brother know something that his daughter had accused him of. "She told me I made her mother cry and she didn't like me for that."

"Bella is everything to Esmee. Of course she'd say that."

For a moment, Edward didn't say a word, staring into nothingness as his thoughts and feelings were raging inside of him. Why couldn't relationships be as easy as business? No matter the business he had ventured in, there was always a pattern and once he had found it, he just needed to copy and paste it. But being in a relationship…it was a mess.

"Do you think I'm…missing something?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just…look at you, it was always so easy for you. And everyone, in fact. I'm the only one who sucks at this. I mean, the woman I love was falling into depression because of me, and it's my father who helped her out of it, not me. Mom even said that I'm a sociopath."

Emmett shrugged, taking his time before answering this delicate question. "Mom doesn't speak like the rest of us. I'm sure sociopath doesn't mean the same thing for shrinks as it does for normal human beings. And Dad…I don't know. Bella was really reserved before Christmas, and something happened that changed their relationship. Plus, Mom said that Dad fills that hole she had all her life and she's willing to let him because she doesn't feel judged by Dad as much as she does by Mom. I don't think something is wrong with you. I just think that…you're too obsessional. When you think of your family, it's just them, and when it's work, it's just that. You need balance. And only you can help yourself with that."

Edward looked in front of him, his eyes lost into space as he downed the information his brother had just given him. He knew exactly what event happened over Christmas that brought his father and Bella closer together, but he had no idea that it had such an impact on their relationship.

"Dad must be pissed at me," he stated and his brother shrugged as he confirmed,

"You're not his favourite person at the moment. But Dad is biased, he's a big romantic, and you're clearly not."

Edward didn't respond to that. He knew that Bella was a romantic, she told him as much on several occasions, but he never really had any romantic gesture towards her. Even now that he had proposed a date, he had no idea where he was going to take her, especially since she stated that she didn't want anything fancy. At first, he was planning to take her to one of his favourite restaurants in Seattle, and joke about that one time he took her to Masa in New York, and how he had told her that it was nothing compared to where he could actually take her. But in hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea. So he swallowed his ego, and told his brother,

"Emmett, I need help…"

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

The next day on Saturday, they celebrated Esmee's birthday at the Cullens' and Edward only realised then that he had never seen his kid so happy. Not even when they all moved to Seattle, not over Christmas or Thanksgiving, not when she got her first cat. Today, Esmee was simply on cloud nine.

Edward wasn't sure what made his daughter so excited. He didn't know if it was because her whole family was with her for the first time on her birthday, or if it was because her mother had made her a special dragon cake. Maybe it was the fact that her grandparents went all out for her birthday celebration, or maybe it was the fact that for the first time she had friends her age around her. Nevertheless, Esmee did not stop smiling for a single second.

Though he saw that Esmee was just a tiny bit happier when she would speak with Jin. There was this small smug smile she had when her other friends couldn't understand what the two were talking about. And she made a point to say several times in front of her friends that she would celebrate Jin's birthday with him in Hong Kong. Which was news to Edward.

The whole afternoon had been punctuated by a magician, a bouncy castle, an entertainer with tales of dragons…it seemed that for once, it was Bella who went overboard concerning their daughter. Even the cake was over the top, a three-story cake with a Chinese silver dragon coming in and out of it.

Edward mostly stayed in the shadows as Esmee enjoyed her party with her friends and family. He saw that she also made a point to spend time with the adults who came just for her, Andrew being one of them. A couple of parents tried to make small talk with him, but he managed to avoid them by pretending he had to do something in the kitchen. Twice it worked, but the third time, it led him to overhear a couple of other mothers talk about him. At first, he didn't pay attention, thinking that they were just gossiping, but then he heard Esmee's name.

"I can't believe how patient and nice he is with her. Poor Esmee, she is such a sweet girl, she doesn't deserve such a flaky and indecisive mother."

"Did you see that every single day of the past week there was a new man with her when she came to pick up Esmee? I'm glad Edward is back. He's not going to stand for it for long. He's going to take his daughter and leave that white trash on the side of the road. After all, who wants their daughter to witness first hand her mother's whoring around?"

"You know, I've even seen her flirt with a doctor at Escala. I've even heard that Carrick is the one who got her her new apartment…"

"No! You don't think she…"

"It wouldn't surprise me. How do you think she got that job for the governor? She doesn't even have a real diploma so why would he want her if it's not for her opening her legs? I feel bad for Edward and Esmee. They deserve better. He should take his kid and forbid her from ever seeing Esmee again."

For a moment, Edward was too stunned to do anything but stand on his ground, hidden from the three women gossiping and bad-mouthing the mother of his child, the woman he loved. But the more they were calling Bella all sorts of names, the more a bubble of rage grew inside of him until he couldn't keep it in anymore. He moved from his spot to give those hags a piece of his mind, when Emmett appeared out of nowhere and put a hand on his chest, shaking his head and preventing him from going further.

"Move!" Edward snarled in a whisper, but Emmett pushed him away from the kitchen as he pragmatically pointed out, "Don't ruin your kid's day over them."

"I don't care! They're out of here, didn't you just hear what —"

"I did. But if you make a scandal, it won't just impact Bella, it will also impact Esmee. Don't do this to her, especially not on her birthday."

Edward glanced back in the kitchen, not really satisfied with this option but agreeing with Emmett. He couldn't ruin Esmee's day like that. So he took a deep breath and walked back to the garden, watching his little girl run with her friends to catch the bubbles the entertainer had just made.

It took him a good minute to realise that something was wrong: Bella was missing. He saw Esmee expectantly look to where Jacob and Andrew were, and Jacob glance around with his brows showing concern, and he didn't like it for one second. Bella didn't miss a single minute since the beginning of the afternoon, and it wasn't like her to bail out on Esmee.

So he went back inside the house, headed upstairs and looked for her, and he found her in his room, on the windowsill, looking at the garden where the festivities were happening. Her back was facing him, but just by her position, he knew she had heard what those horrid women had said. He remembered reading in her diary that some women were nasty to her at school, and he had no doubts those were the mothers in question.

Slowly he walked to her, clearing his throat to not startle her. "What are you doing up here, babe?"

"Nothing. I just…" Whatever she wanted to say, it died in her mouth and so he strode to her to take her face in his hands. She was on the verge of tears.

"Bella —"

"It's nothing, Edward. I'm okay."

"You are a wonderful mother, Bella. They gossip because they are jealous. They only wish they could have the relationship you have with Esmee, or that they could do half of the things you can."

She let out a disabused chuckle, shaking her head as she left his embrace to get up. "You're sweet to say so."

"No! I am not just saying that for the sake of it. I mean it. Don't listen to them, believe me. If I could, I would…" He stopped himself from talking about having more kids with her. It wasn't the time or the place, especially given her reaction the last time he mentioned it. "You're the best mother I could have ever hoped for any kid I'd have, Bella. Trust me."

The doubt in her eyes disappeared a little, though not completely, and she smiled at him before saying that they should go back downstairs to their daughter and her party.

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

When the party was over, Edward learned that Esmee and Jin were spending the night at his parents', and so he decided to stay. Though if he was honest with himself, he would have rather spent the night with Bella, especially knowing that she was going clubbing with Jacob (a point that Jacob made sure to repeat several times in front of Edward).

When it came time for bed, Edward spent some time with Esmee, asking about her day and revelling in her happiness. Just talking about it made her eyes sparkle with delight.

"By the way, sweetie, I have your birthday present. I didn't want you to open it in front of everyone."

Esmee squealed with delight and opened her present, revealing a mug with a 3D dragon engraved on it, and the inscription "Daddy's little dragon princess" inside. In all honesty, it wasn't what he had planned at first, but Bella had advised him to go for something simple that would echo the Valentine gift Esmee had given him. And given the marvel on his daughter's face, Bella had been right.

"Thank you so much! I love it."

"I'm not as good as you, sweetie, so I had someone else make it for you."

Esmee grinned and carefully put the mug on her table side, smugly saying, "I can't wait until tomorrow morning when Jin will see me drinking from my cool mug, hehe."

Edward chuckled, sure that Bella would have reprimanded her daughter for that comment, but not caring for a second himself. He would have done the same. Still, he noticed that Esmee was like her mother, more interested in the meaning behind the gift, than the gift itself.

Just like the gift she had for him, a small keychain of the Rockefeller building. He had told Esmee that it was a magic place and so she gave him a small part of the magic for him to carry with him.

"You know, I think you should show Pops the ugly ring. Because he's the one who bought Nana her ring, she told me so. So maybe he can help you buy a better ring," Esmee said with seriousness, and Edward repressed a sigh.

"Esmee, sweetie…I told you Wednesday, I messed up really bad. I don't think the ring is for any time soon. I have to make things right first."

"So…we're not going back home with you? You're leaving again?" He saw the disappointment in her face, and that alone broke his heart and made him swear to himself to hold off any abroad business for a while.

"No. I'm staying here, with you, with your mom. You're the two most important people in my life, but…sometimes, things are a bit more complicated when you get older."

"Like math?" Edward frowned, pretty sure that Esmee didn't learn math yet in school, and so she explained,

"My after school teacher taught me the plusses. Like one plus one equals two. It's you and me, so we are two people." As she said so, she showed on her fingers.

"But he said that now that I'm five, and a big girl, we will learn about minuses. And he said it is more complicated."

Edward smiled, keeping the hurt to himself that he really knew nothing of his daughter's life. He had no idea that her tutor went that far with her, or even what her after school activities were. But he nodded nonetheless, not showing to his smiling daughter how much he had failed her as a father.

So he got up and kissed her forehead to wish her goodnight and let her sleep off her long day. He still wanted to talk to his father about talking Bella into moving out of their home. Esmee smiled at him and got comfortable in her bed as he told her,

"But I promise you, sweetie, I will make it all good. It's just going to take some time."

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

💚 Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed 💚

‼️ Anyway, Stephanie Meyer owns the names of the characters from the Twilight franchise, everything else is mine ‼️

Love, Mina 💚💚💚