Good morning loves!

I know we are all dying to see how Bella is doing, so let's jump in!

All mistakes are on me!

Twenty: Edward

October 3, 2022

Cambridge, England

I'm riding such a high. I'd been in school most of my adult life, and there is absolutely a reason for it. I love learning. I love being in lectures, getting to talk to professional researchers, people who have dedicated their lives to finding out why and how. These people are my people, and I'd forgotten how much I loved being around that energy.

I'm so excited to go home and talk to Bella about it. She sort of hates school, but I know how much she loves it when I talk about it. She's perfect because I never have to worry if I'm carrying on for too long about something. Bella is perfectly fucking clear when she's done listening.

I head down the cobbled stone streets of Cambridge, feeling electric from the atmosphere. There is something magical about college campuses in the fall.

The flat Bella and I are renting is small, but really well located, right above a few shops and down the street from a great pub we've been frequenting.

I take the stairs two at a time, eager to get inside. I want to take Bella out to dinner to celebrate my first day back at school.

I pull my keys out, unlocking our front door. It's an old door that sticks, and I have to shove my shoulder against it to open it up, but that's not nearly enough to slow my good mood.

"Babe, I'm home!" I toss my bag by the door and turn when I hear Bella coming toward the entry. I turn to her and then duck in time for a pillow to come flying at my head. "What the fuck?"

Bella is fuming. "You bastard!" She screams, throwing a magazine at me. I duck out of it's way. "You fucking infected me!"

My mind goes utterly blank. What the hell is she talking about? "What? Are you sick?"

She throws another magazine at my head and I slip out of the way.

"Worse than that!"

A horrible feeling comes over me, and I stare at her. Has she somehow been diagnosed with an STD? How would that even be possible?

"Bella? What's going on?" She picks up a book that is stacked on a small table near her and chucks it at my head. It clips the side of my scalp when I can't duck fast enough. "Ow, fuck Babe! Talk to me!"

Bella has tears in her eyes, and that's how I know something is really, truly fucking wrong. "You've fucking infected me with your Sperm Spawn!" She sobs.

It takes me a solid minute to really understand what the hell she's saying, and when it finally sinks in, the floor seems to slip out from under me. "You're pregnant?" I gasp, staggering toward her. She's sobbing, and I reach out for her, pulling her into my arms. She sinks against my chest as I try to calm my heart while wrapping my head around what the hell is going on.

"It wasn't supposed to be so soon," she cries. "We were going to wait until you were out of school and we'd found a med that actually works on my crazy," she's bawling against my chest, and I can't help my small laugh as my arms pull tight around her.

"Hey, Baby, hold on," I whisper, squeezing her gently. "First of all, are you sure you're pregnant? Remember when you thought you were last year and it ended up being gas?"

She shifts, and her fist connects with my stomach. It takes the wind out of me, but it makes me laugh because it's always better when my girl is fighting.

"Yes, I'm fucking sure," she sniffs, pulling back from me. "I took three pregnancy tests."

Well, fuck.

"All on your own?"

The corner of her mouth pulls a tiny bit, and I can see she's trying hard not to smile. "Alice and Rose were still sleeping."

I laugh and wrap my arms around her again. "I'm fucking proud of you." I kiss the top of her head and she smacks me again, pulling out of my arms.

"This doesn't make your infection any better," she hisses. "What the fuck am I supposed to do?"

I stare at her, and it occurs to me that while Bella has said she's open to kids, having one now might be too much on both of us. My heart squeezes in fear at the thought of her terminating. "Do you," I pause, my throat tight. "Do you not want to keep it?"

I can't fucking breathe thinking about it. I'd support her, of course, because it's not my body and life that will get hijacked, but fuck, it will destroy a part of me. I know it will.

Before my thoughts can spiral too hard, Bella smacks my arm. "Don't make me sound like an asshole," she cries. "Of course I'm keeping it!"

I feel like I've just aged one hundred years. Christ.

"Okay," I say slowly. "Okay." And then it hits me. It really fucking hits me. I'm going to be a father.

My knees grow weak, and my arms around Bella tighten. "Holy shit," I whisper. She sniffs and nods. "Holy shit," I look down at her stomach. It's still flat, impossible to tell anything is different, except, there is life in there now. Life I helped make. "Holy shit."