My dear little broccolis 💚💚💚
💚 Don't forget to show your love and appreciation through comments and hearts. Especially since we have caught up and this is the only way for me to know if you have appreciated the update or not.
Love, Mina 💚💚💚
💚 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‼️
Edward's PoV (2,4K)
The following week, he didn't see either of the girls but texted daily with Bella and called Esmee every night. Esmee was fully enjoying her spring break and the spoil of her grandparents and uncle whilst Bella was simply working as usual.
Edward was conflicted about her job with the governor because everyone knew that he was about to campaign to become a Senator. Which meant he would leave the State and most likely take his staff away with him, Bella amongst them and he didn't want to leave the state of Washington for the Capital. But on the other hand…Bella seemed to enjoy working with the man. In fact, it had been a long time since he had seen her so radiant about something other than their daughter.
But Edward delayed this conversation as much as he could. He still had a few months before the election, and maybe the Governor wouldn't pass after all.
When Saturday came, he left his work phone at home and spent the day with the girls. And though Bella described the day as very basic and dull, Edward had a blast with them. Hey went to the library first, though he did try to convince Bella to buy the books instead of borrowing them. But she had argued that it was also teaching Esmee the value of taking care of what wasn't hers and the importance of a deadline.
Then he took them out for lunch at a local pizzeria where he saw Esmee's eyes sparkle with wonders as she watched the pizzaiolo flip the dough through the air. It made him swear to himself that he would take the girls to Italy one day.
The afternoon was mostly spent shopping. Grocery shopping. With Bella having to argue with Esmee and him at every product that Esmee wanted to add to the cart. Whether it was a toy for her cats, sweets for herself or some random trinkets to put in their new apartment. Of course, Bella being Bella, always so rational and serious had a good explanation for why they couldn't buy everything. Both to Esmee and Edward.
Still, when they finished their shopping, with a much smaller cart than Esmee and Edward had intended, Edward took Esmee with him to a particular shop whilst Bella was cueing at the grocer. He had seen a flower shop just across the streets and Esmee was delighted to have her father ask for her opinion concerning something to surprise her mother.
Edward was inclined to have a traditional bouquet of red roses, especially since he knew that Bella was versed in the language of flowers and that she had told him in the past that fifteen red roses were a sign of repentance. But Esmee insisted on having yellow flowers in the bouquet because those were her mother's favourite. And since Edward was always a terrible negotiator when it came to his daughter, he caved, rewarded by two bright smiles.
The first was from Esmee, who suddenly felt so important as she helped make a big decision, the second from Bella when she saw the two of them arrive with the huge bouquet in hands. And as she thanked them, it occurred to Edward that this particular smile that she had was one h hadn't seen on her face for years. It was that special smile she had when he would surprise her with an unplanned visit, or with a specific gesture and it would cheer her up from the inside.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in the kitchen of their apartment, helping Bella make the lasagna for the night. They all teared up as they cut the onion, argued over who sliced best the tomatoes, and ended up with flour on their clothes when Esmee tried to prove that five years old was old enough to pour the flour herself from the bag.
Over dinner, Edward decided to let the girls part of his plans concerning the promise he made his daughter about taking her to Disneyland,
"So, about Disney, sweetie… I was thinking we can spend a whole weekend there. What do you think?"
"Really? So we can go two days?"
"Well, yeah… it's a big place, isn't it?"
Esmee nodded, turning her head to Bella who was looking at Edward, a small polite smile pattered on her face, though her eyes were guarded. "When we went to Disneyland Paris, it was only one day, right Mama?"
"Yes, honey. But … we had lots of things to see in Paris, remember."
Esmee solemnly nodded, her eyes lost for a moment in the memories of that trip whilst Edward understood that money was probably the reason why they only spent one day there. He reached to take her hand, but refrained himself, pretexting to serve everyone water.
"I remember we went somewhere with a lot of stairs. But you took me in your arms because it was a lot of stairs. So many stairs!"
Bella chuckled and got up, kissing her daughter's hair. "But you liked the church at the end. Many beautiful things in life require a lot of hard work and effort so we can get them. Just like we did to get to that church."
"You visited Sacré-Cœur?"
"Yes, it was a brief few days in Paris. We mostly went so we could see the Disney parade. But we tried to visit as much as we could. I'll show you the pictures if you want."
Edward nodded, and they finished dinner talking about any topics coming through Esmee's mind, her cats often interrupting them to try and steal some food. Still, Edward had this strange feeling of unwanted ease. Esmee seemed to adapt too well to the situation. She didn't question the fact that they weren't living together, she didn't seem saddened by the fact that she was sharing memories with just her mother and not her father and was completely okay with saying "goodnight" and "see you next week" in the same sentence to her father.
Once she was tucked in bed, Edward stayed with Bella and helped her do the dishes by drying them. For a moment, they stayed silent, only interrupted by the noise of the water splashing and the plates clinking.
"So…about Disneyland…which weekend would be best for you?" He finally asked, breaking the silence. He watched her furrow her brows slightly as she pursed her lips,
"Edward…you're the one with the busy schedule. Maybe…you should ask Angela to prepare this weekend for you since she's in charge of your agenda and knows what would be best for you. Like that there will be no …"
She looked for her words, probably trying to find something softer than the brutal honesty that Edward offered, "Disappointment?"
She cleared her throat, shaking her head and drying her hands as she let him know, "Your daughter is free any weekend, Edward. And she's really looking forward to spending some time with you."
"So am I!" He defended himself, though he was understanding what Bella wasn't saying. This weekend that he had hoped to spend as a family would only be between Esmee and him. She gave him a small smile,
"It's your birthday present. For the two of you. You should spend it together, maybe even create a tradition."
He closed his eyes, leaning against the counter, trying to find something to refute Bella's logic. But she was right. He ought to spend some time with Esmee alone. It could only result in something good for all of them. Which was why he proposed, "Maybe she could spend a night sometime this week?"
"On a school night?" He didn't even have to open his eyes to hear the panic in her voice, but he did it nonetheless, smirking at her as he defended himself,
"I'm not that useless. I think I can manage taking care of my kid for at last one night and help get ready in the morning for school."
He let her think, obviously torn between saying no, and giving the chance to her daughter to spend time with her father, "How about Friday night? So you don't have to worry about the school run in the morning?"
"I can't on Fridays. I have…other engagements."
She rose an eyebrow but didn't ask any further, which he was grateful for. He didn't want to have to explain to her what he was doing twice a week and how weak he was to rely on others to help him solve something he put himself into.
"Thursday, then? If anything goes…unexpectedly, it won't matter much, it will be the end of the week."
"If you think I will mess up, you can always come with Esmee. You know that my place will always be open to you, Bella."
She shook her head, a knowing smile on her lips, "No, no. You're right, I need to let you have some alone time with your daughter and I need to stop being such a mother hen. I'll make you a list of her night and morning routines. She'll be ecstatic to go back to your place."
"What about you?" He asked, taking a step closer to her. "When are you going to come back to my place? To our home?"
"Edward…" she let out a sigh before looking straight into his eyes. "We said we would start over and take it slow. But a clean slate means letting go of the past. For you as well as for me. I won't lie, it really hurt me that you went through my things and read my diary because… it's a breach of my trust.
You have to understand, when I was at my lowest, I always felt that I had your trust, and … well, I didn't. And I know, I really do, that I have my trust issues and that I am not someone who opens up early. But this isn't helping at all.
So, if you have to know for your peace of mind, yes, I forgive you. But you can't blame me if now it takes time for me to trust you completely again. I know I have to put it to the past, but you can't expect me to do it overnight."
Edward looked at Bella, nodding as he put a hand on his shoulder and told her the only thing that made sense at this moment, "I truly am sorry."
She shook her head, refusing his words, "I know. As I said, we have to put this to the past. But you have to understand that no matter how much I try not to, I am still wary to trust you with my feelings. And more importantly, with Esmee's."
"You know I'd never hurt you. Either of you."
"I know. But Hell is paved with good intentions. You thought it was good to leave for a month, but it affected Esmee the most. You thought that reading my diary would help you with our situation, but it just showed me that you have no boundaries. I thought that you heard me and I didn't need to repeat and nag with what I wanted most from you, but it led to you being complacent and me feeling neglected."
She took in a deep breath and reached to caress his cheek as he felt a tear roll down and she gently reassured him, "We just need to learn to be together. Not just living together. We just need to take it slow this time."
He closed his eyes, and decided to be as honest and open as she had just been, "I don't like the incertitude that this option is putting us in."
"Us taking it slow doesn't mean I'll go see the first guy winking my way, Edward. I've always trusted you to respect me, at least on that level. It's time for you to do the same toward me."
He felt another tear roll down, his heart all over the place. He had never been good at putting his jealousy in check. Especially when nothing at all was sure and set in stone. So he leaned his forehead against hers and admitted his deepest fear,
"I don't want you to wake up one day and realise that you can do so much better than me."
"There's always better somewhere else, Edward. No one is perfect. Not you, not me, not even our perfect little daughter. If I didn't want you back in my life, I would have told you long ago. I have many flaws, but I like to believe that stringing people along isn't one of them."
At those words, he reopened his eyes and looked deep in those of the woman he loved, the mother of his child, his reason to be. He felt his heart beat in his throat, reassured by her words, but threatened by them at the same time,
"So, in the meantime, we're like a divorced couple, sharing custody of a kid?"
"We are co-parenting. And if divorcées felt for their ex-husbands the same way I feel about you, there wouldn't be any divorce on this Earth."
"But what if …you change your mind?"
"Why do you only see the worse outcome? Do you have so little faith in me? In us?"
Edward closed his eyes again, realising how much Emmett was right. He truly was insecure. She never said or even hinted that she would leave him. She just wanted to build strong foundations for their future, foundations that would last for a lifetime and that would make them both happy. In fact, she never did a thing to make him believe act she would leave him. On the contrary.
So he took a deep breath, making an internal to finally speak to Drew on Monday, and he kissed her forehead with love, his emotions all over the place as he promised to no longer push, "I'll wait."
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
💚 Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed 💚
‼️ Anyway, Stephanie Meyer owns the names of the characters from the Twilight franchise, everything else is mine (including the mistakes and grammar errors)‼️
Love, Mina 💚💚💚