Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you all had a GREAT week! If not, then I certainly hope this perks you up a bit!


Chapter Forty

The sound of someone getting the shit beat out of them should be something I'm used to hearing, but it did catch me slightly off-guard as I walked into my parent's home. I followed the painfilled grunts to my father's secret office. The floor-to-ceiling bookcase had been left open, the sounds of the painful beating were louder now.

As I walked down the stone staircase, I tried to guess who the person was getting their ass handed to them by the sound of their grunts. I shoved my hands deep into my pockets as I rounded the corner into my father's office.

I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised to see Jasper taking a harsh beating from Emmett. My father sat on the other side of his desk watching Emmett beat the shit out of Jasper. I sighed softly and walked around the bloody scene to pour myself a stiff drink.

"That's enough, Emmett." Dad said after Emmett landed a particularly hard blow that knocked Jasper out.

Emmett took several deep breaths before pulling Jasper to his feet. Emmett shook Jasper a few times before he finally opened his swollen eyes. Emmett placed his big hand on the back of Jasper's neck and turned him to my dad.

"I certainly hope you learned your lesson." Dad said.

Jasper coughed up some blood before answering. "Y-yes sir."

Dad picked up his gun and pointed it at Jasper. "If you ever, ever have premarital sex with Alice again, I'll blow a hole right through your chest. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir," Jasper grunted.

"Go." Dad flicked his hands to shoo him.

Emmett wrapped an arm around Jasper's shoulder. "Come on. I'll buy you a drink."

"Y-you think we c-can s-stop by the h-hospital."

Emmett threw his head back and laughed loudly as he helped Jasper up the stairs. I chuckled and thumped down into the seat in front of his desk.

"Alice is going to be pissed when she she's Jasper." I said.

"I think I'll be fine. She's dancing on a very thin line. She's lucky I didn't kill him." He said. "Hey bud, go ahead and pour me a glass. Just one."

"Sorry dad, mom already grilled me about letting you drink. You can't mix alcohol with your painkillers."

"I won't tell her. It'll be our little secret." He winked.

I shook my head. "Nope. You know mom will find out and I really don't want her to kick my ass right before my wedding."

He grumbled. "Just a little bit, please? Water it down. Did you see what I just had to do? You don't think I need a little drink?"

I groaned. "When did you take your last painkiller?"

"After breakfast this morning," He smiled. "I'll even cut my next one in half."

I got to my feet and poured him the smallest glass of whiskey before adding a bit of water. I was going to place it on the desk, but his hand quickly shot out and grabbed it. I thought he was going to toss it back, but he sipped it slowly, enjoying the taste.

I chuckled. "So, Bella and I had lunch with Aro today. He uh, brought something to my attention."

"Oh yeah? And what was that?" He asked.

"Someone's been stealing five thousand dollars a month from Bella's trust fund for the last fifteen years." I quickly said.

Dad paused for a moment, the glass touching against his lips. I watched him carefully as he slowly set the glass onto the table.

"What are you talking about?" Dad asked, his voice deceptively soft. I resisted the urge to shudder; in the twenty-four years I've been alive I'd much rather my father yell than use this voice.

"Aro got a bunch of documents showing that someone has been draining Bella's trust fund for the last fifteen years. Whoever's been doing it has been transferring the money into an offshore account, then into a dark account, to finally a bunch of ATMs in Italy."

His nostrils flared. "Who showed him these documents?"

"Why?" I asked. "Did you know about this?"

He cut me a look. "I didn't know about this because it's not true. I'm the beneficiary of her trust fund and the amount in it has never changed."

"Aro said there's evidence of someone stealing about 90,000 from Bella's trust."

"Either he's lying, or someone is lying to him." Dad said. "I've kept a heavy watch on Isabella's trust fund because of the circumstances. Give me my laptop." He barked.

I quickly jumped to my feet and ran to get his laptop that was in his office upstairs. When I walked back down the stairs. I placed the laptop in front of him and took a seat. His fingers were shaking as he logged in. I thought I had been angry, but it paled in comparison to my father's anger.

"Dad are you okay?" I asked softly.

"No. I'm not." He said, his fingers typing away furiously. The clicking finally stopped and dad's eyes started moving across the screen. "Son of a bitch."

"What?"

He shoved his laptop onto the ground. "Call Emmett and Jasper. Get them back here. And Santiago. I want everyone at the airport in less than an hour."

"Where are we going?" I asked as I pulled my phone out to text everyone.

"All of Charlie's affairs are based in Sacramento. I'm going to directly to the source to find out who the fuck has been allowing someone to steal and covering it up."

"I'm going to go call everyone." I said as I got to my feet and went upstairs.

I lied to my father. Well, not really, I had texted everyone, but I was really going to call Bella and let her know I wouldn't be at her apartment in the morning.

"Hello?" She answered in an unsure voice; she was always so unsure of everything.

"Hey," I said softly. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing much. Well, that's not true. I'm picking out… um, I'm not sure what they're called maybe table gifts? Everyone will have one on their place setting."

"Oh you're talking about party favors. Well, that sounds fun."

"Not really. It's weird. Everyone is getting a pumpkin scented candle with our names on it, a thank you card, a caramel apple, a jar of hot chocolate mix that also has our names on it. And a bunch of other useless stuff." She sighed. "I don't understand why we need to give guests a gift for coming."

"Well, our guests have given us a lot of money. The least we can do is give them little cheesy gifts." I chuckled.

"That's true, I guess," She said. "Honestly though, I'd rather they take the money they've given me and give it to charity—wait, Edward I have an idea about the wedding! There's something I want to add. I-is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay!" I said enthusiastically; Bella had been having trouble getting excited about the wedding, so if there was something she wanted to add, it would be added come hell or high water.

"I-I think I want the guests to donate to charity. Do you think maybe we could have a table where people could donate? It's not fair that there are so many people suffering and I'm getting all of this money and these worthless gifts. I want that stuff to be put to good use."

"That is such a great idea Bella," I said as I put her on speaker to secretly text my mother. "I think the guests will really like the idea. And we can add a bunch of different charities so people can pick who they want to donate to."

Mom, Bella wants to add a charity table to the wedding. She's really excited about this idea. When she tells you, pretend like you don't know and really get excited about it. I don't want her to doubt the idea, okay? She sounds really excited about it and I don't want her to get self-conscious. – Edward

"Yeah, we could have a bunch of different charities and we can include information about them, like their little business cards and stuff. And we can have a place where people donate." Bella said excitedly; it was the most excited she had ever sounded so I definitely was going to play it up.

"That's an awesome idea Bella." I smiled widely as I read my mother's reply.

Awe that's a sweet idea. Don't worry, I'll tell everyone to be enthusiastic about it. – Esme

"Good. Do you think people will like it? Or… do you think they would think it was stupid?"

"Not at all. And even if they do, who gives a shit. I love the idea and I'm one hundred percent for it." I said. "Go ahead and tell my mom. She'll arrange everything."

"Okay." She said. "So how did your dad take everything?"

"Well, he's not happy. That's actually why I was calling. I have to leave in the hour, so I won't be there in the morning."

"Oh," She said, her excited tone dropping to disappointment. "When will you be back?"

"Hopefully tomorrow evening. I really don't want to stay away for too long."

"So, you'll miss the cake testing?"

"Oh shit," I groaned. "God damn it. I completely forgot."

"It's okay."

"No, no," I sighed. "Let me talk to my dad, maybe he'll—,"

"No it's really okay." She said. "Maybe we can try cakes when you come back? I don't want your dad to be even angrier."

"I am so sorry Bella," I knew that even if I asked, dad wouldn't let me stay. I was training to take my father's place one day which meant that I was his second-in-command. If my dad was handling an issue such as this, I had to be there.

"It's okay. I'm not picky about cakes, a vanilla cake is fine." She said. "Your mom can just pick it."

"No, no we'll pick it. Cake is the best part of the wedding. And there's like fifteen different flavors of vanilla cake. I love vanilla and strawberry, but I hate vanilla and raspberry. Bleg, nasty combination."

Her giggle made me feel better. "So, you always want vanilla and raspberry cake?"

I chuckled, thoroughly enjoying her growing comfortability with me. I also enjoyed her teasing, it was a version of my own and to me, that meant that we were growing very close to one another and beginning to form our connection. At least I hoped that's what it meant.

"You better never get me vanilla and raspberry cake, or else you might get the cake in your hair."

She giggled lightly. "Well we can just get a vanilla and a strawberry cake."

"Naw, it's okay Bella. Why don't you go ahead and go taste some cakes tomorrow. I'm happy with any kind of cake, as long as it's not vanilla and raspberry."

"Okay," She said. "I'll pick something good."

"I'm sure whatever you pick will be delicious. And you know what, it'll be a nice surprise on the wedding day when we feed one another." My dad called for me, causing me to sigh. "I'm going to have to go, Bella. I'll see you at some point tomorrow."

"Sounds good. Have a nice trip."

"Yeah, hopefully it'll be a good one." I sighed. "Bye, Bella."

"Bye Edward."

I hung up the phone and sighed softly before running back to my father.

Bella's POV

I was sad that I wouldn't see Edward tomorrow. And I was even more sad that he wouldn't be there to try cakes with me. I honestly didn't care about the cake, but Edward was the big food eater, so this part meant a little more to him than it did me.

I walked back into the living room where everyone else was. Esme, Rosalie, Leah, and Sue had come back to the apartment for lunch.

"How was Edward?" Esme asked.

"He was fine," I shrugged. "He was a little sad though. He's leaving in an hour."

"Leaving?" Esme said as she cocked her head to the side. "Where is he going?"

"He said that he and Carlisle need to go somewhere, but I'm not sure."

"Huh," Esme nodded. "I'm just going to call my husband; I'll be back shortly."

"Uh oh," Sue chuckled. "Hopefully poor Carlisle isn't in too much trouble."

"Naw, my mom probably just wants to see where he's headed." Alice smiled. "So Bella, do you think you've added enough to the party favors?"

"What more should I add?" I asked. "Everyone's getting a lot."

"Yeah that's true," Rosalie said. "But party favors are what, the fourth or fifth most important part of a wedding."

"I think it's the fifth," Alice said. "Food is the fourth."

"Ugh," I rolled my eyes. "This is all so crazy. Are all weddings really like this?"

"Our weddings are. Rich people are just judgmental," Rosalie said with a dismissive wave. "But you know what, who cares what anyone else thinks. You and Edward getting married is all that matters. If you want, I'll bring a baseball bat with me and if I hit anyone, we'll say it's hormones."

I giggled. "No you can't hit anyone with a baseball bat please. But I actually had an idea that I—um, well Edward said he liked it b-but I wanted to see if m-maybe you guys l-liked it."

"Sure, tell us Bella," Alice said.

"I was thinking that maybe t-there should be a table set up where guest could d-donate to different charities. I-if they w-wanted to."

"Oh that's a great idea!" Alice smiled widely.

"Yeah I really like it," Rosalie added.

"I think that is a good idea Bella," Sue said as Leah nodded enthusiastically.

I smiled widely. "Cool. Do you think it would be hard to set up now? I don't want to add anymore—,"

"Bella, Alice, Rosalie," Esme called as she walked back into the living room. "Get your shoes, we're meeting the boys at the airport."

I got to my feet to look for my shoes but then paused.

"But what about Leah and Sue?" I asked.

"Oh that's okay, Bella," Leah said. "We need to head home anyways. Our flight is leaving tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, Leah's right. We should be getting ready."

I walked over and hugged Sue. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course, sweetie," She said. "We'll be back Friday morning with Harry. He's going to be so excited to see you."

I smiled. "I'm excited to see him too."

"Bye Bella," Leah said as she was next to hug me tightly.

We walked Leah and Sue out to their waiting car. Once they were off, the four of us got into another car to head to an airport.

"Do they know we're coming?" Alice asked.

"No we're surprising them." Esme said. "Carlisle had me call the pilot and the flight attendants, so I told them to hold the plane until we got there."

Esme sounded slightly panicked. My brows furrowed in confusion. Why would Esme be panicked? She shouldn't be panicked.

My hands started shaking and I started to quietly hyperventilate. Oh god, why was Esme afraid.

We pulled into a small airport where a several other black SUVs were sitting, and a small plane was being loaded up and worked on.

I felt my vision start to get a little fuzzy as we walked into the airport. I blinked several times to gain control over my vision. When a pair of hands placed themselves on my waist, I screamed and jumped, quickly spinning around, and putting my hands up to protect myself.

"Whoa," I heard Edward said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm s-sorry," I whimpered softly.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

"I-I don't k-know." I whispered. "E-Esme's n-nervous. Are y-you in t-trouble?"

"No," He said in a nervous laugh, his arms tightening around me. "I'm not in trouble. Don't cry."

"I'm s-sorry." I said as I rubbed my tears away on his shirt. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," He said, kissing the top of my head once more. "You don't need to be nervous. My mom is probably just worried about dad. He's still healing so he just gets a little worried. That's all."

"O-oh."

"Yeah, so there's nothing to worry about. We're going to be just fine."

I shuddered and closed my eyes, squeezing him even tighter. He chuckled softly and pressed his cheek against the top of my head. After a moment he placed his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back slightly so he could look at my face.

"Are you going to be okay?"

I sniffled and nodded. "I-I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. You're fine."

"Where are you going?"

"We're headed to Sacramento, California. That's where all of your dad's business dealings are centered, so we're going straight to the source to see who has been stealing from your trust fund. And once we deal with that, we're probably taking all the money out and placing it into your private account."

"My private account?" I asked as I cocked my head to the side.

"Yep," He smiled as he reached into his pocket and produced a thick black card. "I was going to surprise you tomorrow morning, but since you surprised me, I'll give it to you now."

I took the card. On the front it read Isabella M. Cullen and it had a bunch of numbers on it. I smiled softly when I looked back up to him.

"I also got you a nice wallet. It's going to be delivered tomorrow morning. Nothing too funky looking. It's just a simple, black sparkly one so you can keep an eye on that card. You can use that card to buy whatever you want. No limit on the card, but if you're pulling money out of the ATM or the bank, there's a thirty-thousand-dollar limit. Anything over that they'll have to call me for approval. But that's all your money. You're free to use that card whenever you want."

"It's kind of weird seeing my name changed," I smiled. "Isabella Cullen."

"Sounds good together," He chuckled. "Only seven more days and you'll be Mrs. Cullen."

My smile widened. "That sounds good. I actually like it."

"Good. I'm going to get it tattooed on my chest in a few days."

My nose scrunched. "Another tattoo?"

He looked slightly offended, but he also looked like he was kidding. I couldn't be sure.

"You don't like my tattoos?"

I blushed, "N-no I don't m-mind them I was… I mean you have a lot I j-just—,"

He laughed. "I'm kidding. I know I have a lot of them, but I enjoy having them."

"I don't even know what half of them mean."

"Yeah, you haven't seen all of them. And I guess I never have explained them, have I? Huh. Well, one day I'll explain each one to you. But I still need to get your named tattooed on me somewhere. Maybe my neck since you have such an aversion to them."

I rolled my eyes. "I like your tattoos; you don't need to get one on your neck."

He laughed. "I think if I got a tattoo on my neck, my mother would kill me. She doesn't mind them anywhere else, but not on my neck. Course you know your dad had a face tattoo."

"My dad had a face tattoo?"

"Oh yeah," He laughed before turning his head. "Right on the side of his face but it was hard to see. Especially since your mom made everyone take pictures of him from the other side."

I giggled. "What was his tattoo of?"

"It was a vine of dead roses and bloodied thorns. It wasn't too visible because it was closer to his ear and the side of his neck than it was on his face. It was cool looking though. I think he got it when he spent that year in prison."

My eyes widened. "My dad was in prison?"

"Edward! It's time to go!" Carlisle yelled.

Edward laughed. "Another story for another time."

I groaned. "Jerk."

He growled playfully and pulled me tightly into his arms. I squeaked in surprise when his lips pressed against mine. I slowly closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his lips molding together with mine. The kiss made me tingle again. I hummed slightly as I pressed myself into him.

He pulled away ever so slightly, his lips barely brushing mine, and chuckled deeply. "I think you're getting a little too excited over our kisses."

"Sorry," I mumbled, a blush covering my whole body. I wanted him to kiss me again, but he just hung above me, his lips lightly touching mine.

He chuckled again before pulling completely away. "I'll be back sometime tomorrow evening. I'll plan for us to have a nice quiet meal together. How does that sound?"

I nodded. "It sounds good. I can't wait. Have a good trip."

He sighed lightly. "Hopefully. Keep your fingers crossed for me, alright?"

"I will," I smiled as I walked with him to the gate where all the other ladies were sending the boys off. When I caught sight of Jasper, I gasped lightly.

"I'll explain later," Was all Edward said before he kissed me on top of the head.

"Bye Edward." I called as he walked into the tunnel.

He turned back around, walking backwards, "Bye Bella."

I watched as he stumbled into Emmett, who was helping walk Jasper to the plane. Emmett made a face and Edward ducked as he avoided a playful punch to the arm.

I giggled as Edward turned around and then threw a goofy face at me over his shoulder. When they disappeared in the small plane, I sighed very lightly. I was shocked to admit that I was disappointed Edward wouldn't be with me tomorrow. I was used to seeing him every day.


Sorry it took me awhile to update today! I ended up taking a nap because I was just completely exhausted. Anyways, have a wonderful week!