A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you so much for all your love and support for our first chapter.

Special thank you to our amazing beta, Mel Cee and our pre-readers- we love you guys!

Translations are at the bottom. Let us know your thoughts:)

Here's Bella...

Song(s): "Castle" by Halsey

After waking up too damn early to go get Rose from work, I couldn't fall back asleep and I kinda wanted to hit someone. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and called my best friend, Jasper.

"Hey, topino. A little birdie told me you met a guy last night." His cheerful tone drawled over the line.

I groaned. "Jazz, you and Rose need to stop gossiping like two old ladies."

"Oh, you're getting defensive. That must mean it's true." He laughed.

"Meet me at Bergen's, and then we can go to the gym after. I feel like hitting stuff. Maybe I'll tell you what you want to know," I sing-songed.

"Be there in about 40 minutes."

We bid each other farewell and then hung up. Bergen Bagels was kinda out of the way because it was in Prospect Heights and I lived in Bay Ridge, but they had the best bagels in Brooklyn. Plus, my dad couldn't know what we were doing. I put my workout clothes in my gym bag. Then I made my way downstairs and out the front door with no one the wiser. Most days, I could leave undetected. Other days, I wasn't as lucky.

I climbed into my car, threw my bag on the passenger seat, and turned the ignition to drive to my destination. I had to Febreeze the shit out of the seats this morning before picking up Rose in order to get the smell of sex out of my car. I wanted to think about how mere hours ago I was fucking some hot stranger in my car, but I knew that there was no use in it. I wouldn't see him again, and even if I somehow did, who was to say that he would even remember me. He seemed like the type of guy who had women throwing themselves at him constantly.

My phone chimed with a message. It was a GIF from Jasper of a couple kissing passionately. I rolled my eyes and threw my phone back on the seat, smiling. Jasper and I had been friends since we were six years old. For the last few months, he had been teaching me hand-to-hand combat, how to shoot several different types of guns, and how to use and throw knives. He was a soldati for Daddy, so he knew all this stuff well.

When we were teenagers, a lot of people thought we would end up together, but it wasn't like that between us. He had a crush on me at one point, but now he had a girlfriend that he was totally in love with. Alice was all right. Personally, she was too hyper for me, and I could tell she was threatened by me but tried to play it off by being super fake and sugary sweet to me. I didn't really care for her, but I had to play nice because of Jasper. I was happy for him, but that whole committed thing just wasn't something I wanted. I was still young, and I didn't want to worry about pleasing someone else all the time.

I arrived at our meetup location and looked for his car. Once I spotted it, I pulled in and parked next to him. As I made my way inside, I saw him sitting at a table, with a to-go cup of coffee already in his hands and two bagels in front of him. When he saw me, he got up and we hugged before sitting down across from one another. "Hey, Bella. I got you an everything bagel with cream cheese," he said, sliding my bagel toward me.

I nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Jazz." I took a bite of the bagel and licked the cream cheese off my lips. Jasper was giving me a knowing look as we both ate our bagels. I finished mine and rolled my eyes, chuckling. "Could you be more obvious?"

He looked down at his bagel, before glancing back at me again. "I'm just wondering who the guy was. Had to be pretty amazing to tear you away from Rose on the big night out."

I sighed. "I know, and she seemed like she was having a good time too until she got called into work."

"She offered to cover the shift at the hospital, topino. She got a call as you were talking to the guy, and she figured the extra hours wouldn't hurt. Besides, she said you seemed into the guy," he explained.

I fisted my hair and let out a loud sigh before dropping my hands at my sides. "See, I don't know why she tells you this shit, but not me. You're my best friend, not hers for fuck's sake."

He shook his head. "She doesn't have a lot of friends, and I know you pretty well, B. Come on, she just wants you to be happy. She wasn't being malicious."

"Well, it didn't even matter 'cause it's not like I'm gonna see him again," I said with finality.

"Was he a dick?" he asked, concerned.

I shrugged my shoulders, keeping my expression neutral. "I don't know. We didn't talk much."

"Oh. It was that kind of night." He smirked, waggling his eyebrows. "Not worth a repeat performance?"

I laughed and shook my head. "No, he definitely was, but I only know his first name and I gave him my middle name."

"Well, that's good because you know your dad expects you to date a certain type of guy."

I scoffed, my eyebrows raised. "I couldn't give a flying fuck what my dad wants. If I cared about that, you wouldn't be teaching me to fight and use weapons."

He chuckled and nodded. "Touche."

I got up, threw away my trash, and came back to the table, standing there with my arms crossed, waiting for him to get his ass up. "Come on."

"Jesus, you would think getting laid last night would calm you down." He shoved the rest of his bagel into his mouth and threw his trash away as we headed out the door. I grabbed my gym bag from my car, and then we walked to the gym from there, not wanting to deal with traffic for the short distance.

We parted ways when we arrived so that we both could go change into workout clothes. When I was finished, I met him in the hallway and we went to a private workout room. The minute that Jasper had the music turned on, he transformed into teacher mode. He made a come here gesture to me and I smiled. I ran toward him, but at the last minute, I fell to my knees and slid past him, knocking his legs out from under him. He was completely caught off guard, so I straddled him, smiling and feeling victorious. He gave me a cocky smirk and flipped us so that he was on top of me and I couldn't get free.

"Come on, Bella. Focus. You know how to get out of this. Don't let the panic distract you," he told me soothingly.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a second, and when I opened them, I was calmer. I lifted both of my knees and wrapped my legs around Jasper and used his position to basically flip him off me. I stood and we both sized each other up. "Come on. What are you—scared to get your ass kicked by a girl?" I taunted.

"Dream on, topino." Normally I didn't mind his nickname. He had called me topino since we were ten years old. It was Italian for little mouse. I was always smaller than most kids my age, both shorter and skinnier. Right now, while we were sparring, it pissed me off. I knew he was trying to bait me though, so I would make a mistake. Which was why I refused to make the first move.

He came toward me in a direct front assault, and I ducked out of the way just in time and hit him in the side. He winced and called a time out, resting his hands on his knees.

"Are you okay, Jazz?" I walked over to his side to check on him.

"Yeah." He rubbed his back. "You finally learned to hit harder. Fucking kidney shot."

I grimaced. "Sorry. You wanna stop?"

"I don't have a lot more to teach you about this shit," Jasper said, shrugging. "We've been at it for months. I think you got this." He gave me a smirk, and I chuckled, shaking my head. I gave him a hug, and we were interrupted by my phone chiming. I grabbed it from the bench in the room and saw that it was a text from Rose.

Dad is having a coronary. Where the fuck are you? You were supposed to be here to meet with the painters and tell them what color you wanted for your room. You need to get home. ~R

Shit, I totally forgot about that. I texted her that I was on my way. "Jazz, I gotta go. I was supposed to be home today to pick my room color," I told him, rolling my eyes.

"Charlie renovating again?" He smiled.

I nodded. "Yep."

"All right. I'll probably see you later, topino. Drive safe."

"Thanks." Running to the locker room, I just grabbed my bag, not bothering with getting changed. I was already going to be in trouble, no sense in being even later. I didn't stop running until I got to my car, only pausing to catch my breath briefly before I hopped in and headed back home. Pulling into the driveway twenty minutes later, I let out a deep sigh. I loved my sister and my dad, but sometimes, living with them and being in this life was suffocating. My dad was the boss of the Cigno family, but in my everyday life, I had to be Bella Swan, daughter of businessman Charles Swan. I hated having to be two people at once, and I just wanted out. Unfortunately, this wasn't a life you walked away from, especially if you were born into it.

I got out of the vehicle and trudged toward the front door. My dad had decided that he needed to renovate the house—again. He wanted Rose and me to have our own separate wings. It was just another power move so that we never left. No daughter of Charlie's was going to live in some small apartment, or shack up with some guy before marriage like a whore. I opened the front door and grimaced when I heard my dad yelling. Following the sound of his voice, I found him in the kitchen with Rose. He was on the phone, and Rose sat at the table, watching him pace around the room.

"Hey, I'm so sorry. I totally forgot that I was supposed to be home today." I sat down next to her, giving her a remorseful expression.

"The painters are late anyways. Dad is talking to them now."

"He's going to give himself a heart attack if he keeps yelling like that. Dad!" I shouted. His head snapped to me. "Mind your blood pressure."

He ignored me and went back to talking on the phone. Rose and I looked at each other with wary expressions. "Where were you?" Rose asked.

"Jazz and I went for bagels and then to workout," I said, shrugging.

She gave me a disbelieving look but changed the subject. "So, what happened with that guy you were talking to last night?" I shook my head because it wasn't a conversation to have in front of our dad. "Okay, we'll talk later."

Charlie hung up and then looked at me, his gaze pinning me to my seat. "Isabella Marie Cigno, you better have a good excuse for why you weren't here earlier."

"I'm so sorry, Daddy. I forgot. Jasper and I were hanging out."

"Principessa, I realize that you just graduated from college, and you want to blow off steam, but you have responsibilities. They come before galavanting around Brooklyn with your friends."

"Yes, Daddy. It won't happen again." I gave him an innocent smile.

He sighed and came over, pulling me into a hug. I kissed him on the cheek, and then afterward, I was told to stick around because the painters were on their way, and then I was dismissed.

I went to my room and got changed into regular clothes. Once I was done, I opened the door and came face-to-face with Rose, who was standing right there. She grabbed my hand and dragged me to her room with her. When I laughed, she smirked back at me. I sat down in her bean bag chair, and she sat on her bed, crossing her legs. "Okay, so you need to spill about the guy. He was hot but seemed kinda broody."

I nodded, agreeing with her. "Yeah, he was really hot. We didn't talk much, so I don't know a lot about him. He said his name was Edward. I gave him a fake name, so he could have done the same."

"Edward?" She looked at me in disbelief. "That's not a hot guy's name. That's old fashioned."

I laughed. "I know! I'm pretty sure he's Italian though."

"How do you figure?"

"He said Madonna mia and said I was feisty in Italian." I rolled my eyes.

Rose chuckled. "So, if you didn't talk much, what did you do?"

I gave Rose a look, my eyebrows arched. "What do you think?"

The little furrow between her brows smoothed out and she gasped. "You fucked him? Where?"

"In the backseat of my SUV in the parking lot."

"Isabella Marie!" She looked scandalized.

I laughed and shook my head. "Like you're shocked!"

She tilted her head and then kinda nodded. "Okay, no I'm really not that shocked. You're definitely braver than I am. Was it good?"

Images of him and me in the car last night flashed in my mind. "Yeah, it was really good. He was above average size, and I just... He smelled really good and had tattoos."

"Well, maybe it's good that you just had one great night together and didn't talk much. If he was Italian, then that probably means he's from Brooklyn and a stronzo," Rose said, brushing lint off her shoulder.

"We're Italian and from Brooklyn," I said. Rose shrugged and smiled. "I don't know. Maybe you're right. You know I don't do the commitment thing anyway."

Rose shook her head and I was glad when she didn't say more on the subject. It was something that we had many arguments about over the years. Maybe the fact that my mom died when I was twelve had something to do with my lack of desire to settle down, but also I really just didn't want to rely on anyone, so I made sure I didn't need to.

Soon we were called downstairs, and I played the dutiful daughter while I met with the painters and went through the colors I was interested in. Once a decision was made, I left them to do their job and headed to my dad's study. I had to get out of this house, and Jasper had texted me, inviting me out for a drive.

"Daddy, I was wondering if you still need me here for anything."

He looked up from what he was reading. "No, I don't suppose so. Where are you going?"

"Jazz and I are gonna go for a drive and then maybe hang out." I shrugged.

He gave me a studying look. "You sure there isn't anything going on between you and him?"

I nodded and stifled the urge to roll my eyes. "Yes, Dad. We've been friends for fifteen years. It's not like that. He's head over heels in love with Alice."

He looked back at what was on his desk. "Okay. Be home by midnight."

I nodded and rushed downstairs, waiting for Jasper to text that he was here. I left the house, glad that I was only required to be just Bella for the next few hours.

Translation:

topino- little mouse

principessa- princess

stronzo- asshole