I don't own twilight. What I own is my character's behavior, personality, background, and plot of my story.
Author's Note at the end.
They leave the restaurant together after making an excuse about Cece having a temper tantrum. She don't care if they believe them or not, and at this point using her daughter doesn't phase her anymore. For the last five years, she has been making a fateful descent into moral obscurity, and at this point, She has reached the monster level.
Once inside the car, Marco looks expectingly at her, "Did you figure out something?"
She launches into a detailed explanation of what she knows about the trust fund debacle. For some reason, she doesn't tell him about her confrontation with Edward near the bathroom, or the near kiss.
They would have never kissed. There is no need for Marco to worry. She would have put an end to it, of course. She kids herself pretending as if she didn't need only one more minute to get lost in his eyes and kiss him herself.
"But he isn't hurting for money, why would he go for such pity measurements?"
"It's not about the pity moves. It's about revenge. He wants revenge. That will hit her where it hurts to know that she was just a means to an end, and he can spit Eleazar by having as much power in the company as his daughter. He can be a pain in both of their asses," Bella explains. She knows Edward well. She would bet everything she owns on Edward having a step-by-step plan for everything he will do to make their life a living hell for the next ten years.
Marco thinks of her explanation for a minute before he says, "That still doesn't explain the full-on engagement and the engagement party. It doesn't explain celebrating with friends and it doesn't explain why they are still together. He got what he wanted, why keep it up?" His words are legitimate ones to ask. if she didn't come to her epiphany, she would have them too. Good thing She had it, or else they would waste precious time finding the missing piece to their puzzle.
Tapping her fingertips on the steering wheel, she tells him, "Okay, so I think I know why." Scratch that. She doesn't think. She knows.
Silence fills the space as he waits for her to explain herself, "I think he will do something on the day of the gala to publicly humiliate her."
"You think so? Where is the gain in that?" He wonders out loud.
"Tanya is obsessed with her image. If it took me a couple of months to notice that, you think her boyfriend didn't? Any tarnishing of her image will destroy her," she tells him like it's obvious then puts her seat belt on and, pulls out of the parking space.
"How will he do that?" He asks watching them pass the cars by. Bella is a law abiding driver when Cece is in the backseat. When she is not, all bets are off.
"I don't know. That is something you need to figure out. Hack into his mobile phone and laptop and find something," She replies giving him a brief glance and returning her eyes to the road.
He rolls his eyes because of course she expects him to hack him, "I don't even have his number. I can't hack it."
"I will give it to you," she tells him reaching behind her for her phone in her clutch that is in the back seat.
"That can't do. I need to call him or message him to be able to hack him. What excuse do I have to do that?" he replies which is true even though the reason he was quick to answer is that her driving is reckless as it is and he doesn't want to test fate by adding using the phone while driving to the equation.
"I guess we will have to go to the party and you will have to find an excuse to call him," she tells him shrugging her shoulders.
"Now?" He asks his voice rising in pitch as he holds on for dear life.
"Of course not. We will join them in three hours," she states giving him the same look she gives Cece when she does something stupid.
"How will we know where they are?"
"That's the easy part," she tells him then fiddles with her phone while maneuvering her way around the cars in front of her.
She raises her phone to her lips and says "Hey Irina, I just want you to let me know which club you are going to when you find out. I just left. Cece has an arts emergency. Don't ask. It's a long story," she pauses for a second to breathe then continues, "The thing is I am thinking that Marco and I might be able to make it to the club, but we aren't sure yet, so we don't want to disappoint Tanya and Edward by making promises we can't keep. Tell me where you are meeting once you hear this."
She drops the phone in her lap and throws a wink in his direction, "How did you think of getting Irina's number?"
"I am a genius," she replies looking at him and smirking.
He picks up the hand not holding the steering wheel and kisses it before he says, "okay genius, keep your eyes on the road and drive us home safely, so you can get your reward," which prompts her to giggle and step on the pedal.
Bella stares into her own empty eyes as she stands in front of the mirror and finishes her make up. she knows that she has to do this. There is no other way around it, then why does it feel like she is walking toward her execution?
She is deep in thought questioning for the hundredth time the need to go to the club when Marco comes at her from behind and hugs her. He moves her hair over one shoulder and kisses the other as she melts back into him. He frowns against her shoulder feeling the tension deep in her bone.
"Once all of this is done i am taking on a trip, somewhere sunny. Some place where we will spend our days in the sun till we get sunburned and our nights soaking in a baking soda and oatmeal bath," he states his voice taking on a dreamy tone as he stares at her through the mirror.
"Baking soda and an oatmeal bath? What are you gonna do to me, put me in the oven next?" She replies giggling.
"No smarty pants. It helps with sunburn," he replies smirking.
"In that case." she states pausing to spin around in his arms and face him, "I am going to hold you accountable to your words," she mutters against his lips.
"I wouldn't dream of it any other way," he states pecking her lips.
"What if you don't stay by your words? What will I do?" she wonders her fingertips gliding up and down his arms.
"Do as you wish. I am after all your humble servant," he states stepping back and bowing for her. She giggles at him. This isn't the first time he pulled such antics. it won't be the last. He always does that when she feels anxious. He goes out of his way to make her feel better.
She walks to him and hugs him tightly, "Thank you. You have no idea how this makes me feel."
He pulls back and asks her, "What are you worried about?"
"Everything."
"What do you know? Maybe it's your biases and fears speaking and your prediction is false," he tells her placing the strap of her bag over her neck and shoulder and sitting it across her body.
"I know that it is," she mutters looking at her feet.
"How can you be sure?" he asks. Marco always does this thing where he probes her to say what's in her head out loud. It helps him to understand where she is coming from and it helps one to hear their thoughts out loud to realize how ridiculous they are.
"I just am," she tells him feeling uncomfortable with the direction this discussion is going.
"Are you sure that it's not your prejudices speaking?"
She walks toward the couch in the corner and falls on it before she says, "Do you know that Carlisle isn't Edward's biological dad? Edward didn't know that until he was 19 years old."
He raises an eyebrow at her and asks, "What does that have anything to do with what I was asking?" Of course, he would think that she was trying to change the subject. She would always do that whenever she felt uncomfortable. He thought they were past that, but it seems that they aren't.
She raises her head to look him in the eye and rolls her shoulders back before stating, "It does. Edward is the middle child. What comes to your mind once you hear that?"
"That his mum cheated?" he replies more of a question than an answer not sure where this is going.
"That is exactly what Edward thought and he decided to confront her. When do you ask? On his parent's 20th anniversary in front of everyone attending their party?" She replies getting on her feet and crossing her hands across her chest daring him to tell her about her biases and prejudices.
After a long minute of silence, he stutters out, "What?"
"Thankfully, the genius had the misfortune of getting drunk with Seth and spell the bean. Seth went straight to his parents and told them. His parents sat Edward down and talked to him about it. Turns out Esma was raped and he was the result of it. That's why they never told him of his true parentage."
She walks toward her closet and takes out a brown coat and tries it on in front of the mirror. She hates the way it looks, so she returns it to the closet and takes out a bright red one.
She walks to Marco and plants a kiss on his lips then tells him, "Come on darling. we have a club thing to attend."
Too shocked to speak Marco is led by a smiling Bella out of the door.
Bella pulls in front of the club and cuts the engine. She looks at Marco who has been silent during the entirety of the car ride. She touches his hand gently and he looks up at her with a strange expression on his face. She shouldn't have told him about it. Despite all of the harshnesses he has seen in his life, he still has that innocence about him, and she likes that. she wants him to stay that way. she wants that purity that comes with genuine kindness and optimism. She is always afraid that she will rob him of that. she always worries that one day it will be too much for him. Even more, she is worried that one day he will judge her for all of these things. She hopes and prays that he won't, but every time she does, she gets a bad feeling in her gut.
She leans towards him then props her chin on his shoulder and whispers, "Are you ready?" Her breath tickles his ears and her perfume overwhelms his senses, but he takes a deep breath and breathes it in, nonetheless. Sometimes the things that overwhelm people can calm them too. He nods his head.
When his hand touches the door handle she whispers, "If it makes you feel better, Edward later told Seth about the idea that he had and told him that as much as he wanted to do it, he doesn't think he would have had the heart to do that to his mum."
"I don't know if it does Bella."
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