Chapter 12

I stared at my phone for a while not knowing what to do, but after a couple more rings it finally stopped. Three questions went through my mind: did Edward know that I went to the club with Henry the previous night? Did he suspect that I knew about him and Tanya? Was he calling me to ask me out again? The last one sounded particularly stupid considering the previous events.

After the third call of the day within ten minutes, I was still in my room reeling. When I was finally able to put things into perspective, I decided that it didn't matter whatever he had to tell me. My decision didn't falter, not even when I received a text message alerting me that I had a new voicemail message. I silenced my phone and went to the kitchen hoping to busy my hands and mind by making lunch.

"You looked wonderful last night. I'm so proud of you baby…" Mom started excitedly as I entered the kitchen, worsening my vulnerability in all matters concerning that particular moment of my life.

"I don't remember you being so excited when I finished Med School, Mom. If I knew before that you'd be so proud about seeing me on some gossip site, I would have made a different career choice... Do you think I should try my luck on some reality show or something of the kind?" I said, trying to guilt her into silence.

"Someone got out of bed on the wrong side this morning…" Emmett snickered.

"She drank a little too much last night," Rosalie offered in my defense, but we both knew that wasn't the case.

"Hangover is a bitch, little sis," Emmett guffawed, purposely too loud.

"You should know, Emmett."

"Come on, honey, you got to give us the details. That man in the picture is the same one you helped on the plane, right?"

"Yes, Mom, he is. We kept in touch and since he's alone here I asked him to accompany me to the opera last night."

"Did you know he was a Duke? It said in the article that he was the owner of the More Enterprises. By the way, where did you get those earrings you had on in the picture?" she asked suspiciously.

Come on mom, do you have to notice everything?

"They were a gift from Henry," I didn't even bother lying.

"Oh my God, Bella," Emmett said with a disgusted face. "Are you going out with that old guy? I mean… he's like a hundred… money or no money, he's old enough to be your grandfather! It's just… gross!"

"Are you crazy? No, he's a friend. We met on the airplane, where I was asked to give him some assistance, as you are well aware. We started talking, and when he told me that he came alone to Australia, I invited him to go to the concert with me. It's really, really, nothing like that. Thank you, Emmett, for thinking so little of me," I huffed.

"I'm sorry, I believe you, but you have to admit that's what it's going to look like if people find out that he's giving you that kind of expensive gift."

"He does have a point, honey…"

"Mom, don't help him," I scolded her and they just looked at each other conspiratorially. Great, they've been bonding.

"If you're my brother," I continued, "and you have conjectured as much, I can't even begin to think what the world will make of it."

"Bella, I didn't mean it like that…" he defended himself, realizing that he hurt my feelings. "Anyway, little sis, I hope you don't value pretty boy's face too much… that Edward guy is seriously going to get his ass kicked. There are pictures of him pretty much swallowing the Denali chick on the same website where you appear with the old dude. I mean, come on! The guy is all over you and has a girlfriend? He's got to know that he has it coming," he chuckled, trying to no avail to lighten the atmosphere around us.

"Emmett," Rosalie scolded him.

"It's not like we're in a relationship," I started telling Emmett exactly the same thing that I told Henry the previous day, "and it's not like anything happened between us, we had a picnic together and that was it. Nothing happened!" I knew focusing too much on stating that nothing happened sometimes meant the exact opposite, and Emmett knew me too well.

"I saw the way he was staring at you over dinner, forcing you to talk to him at any chance. Come on, he was like a starving man looking at the juiciest hamburger on earth."

"Baby, stop comparing your sister to food. Besides, you're clearly missing the point here. Bella went out on a date for the first time since 'the incident' six months ago… It's a good thing that she put herself out there on the market again, so to speak. The way I see it, Lord Cullen was a means to an end. It's not like they had a future together to begin with," Rosalie pointed out. "You're making rash assumptions and blowing everything out of proportion. About everything!"

"Thanks, Rose. At least someone in this family has their judgment intact. Anyway, there's something I want to ask you, but before I ask you, please keep an open mind, and don't jump to preposterous conclusions," I said, eyeing Emmett, who nodded in my direction.

"Like what?" Mom asked.

"It seems that we went a little overboard with the festive decorations this year…" I began cautiously.

"I should know," Emmett snickered, receiving a smack on the head from Rosalie. "Ouch!"

"So?" Rosalie asked.

"It would be nice to let someone else enjoy the festivities with our family, and enjoy it with us. I would like to invite Henry over for Christmas."

"What about his family?" Rosalie inquired, trying to find a reasonable way to make my offer seem inappropriate.

"He doesn't have any," I answered her truthfully. "At least not close relatives. I haven't said anything to him about it because I wanted to ask you how you feel about it first. But it's the Christian thing to do, right? No one should spend Christmas alone…"

"I don't know, sweetie, we don't know him that well… and he's obviously rich, I don't know if we'd feel comfortable having him around," was my mom's reply.

"He's really very down to earth, Mom. You're going to like him," I assured her.

I wanted to tell them that he was Grandma's first love and that he was ill and this would probably be his last Christmas but I couldn't tell them anything about his health - I knew he didn't want to be pitied by anyone. Instead, I appealed to their kindness and they didn't disappoint.

"He has no family? No kids?" Emmett asked.

"No."

"It's fine with me… What if Dad didn't have the Blacks to spend Christmas with this year? I couldn't stand the thought of him being alone, either… So we'll do as the Blacks… if this Henry dude is alone this year and is your friend, the more the merrier, that's what I think. Baby?"

"You're right. Bring the man, Bella. I kind of like him already. You should have seen how he dealt with Edward yesterday. It looked like he'd ground him like a little kid and confine him to the corner of the classroom, facing the wall. After you left, I spent like… ten minutes with them and you should have seen the reverence that Edward was forced to give Lord Henry. I don't recall a single smug smirk on his pretty boy's face. And the Denali chick? Totally in check," Rose chuckled.

I laughed with her wholeheartedly. It was hard for me to imagine Henry as an intimidating individual, but he was Henry to me, not His Grace the ruthless business man that he was known to be by almost everyone else. And that settled the business, Henry was coming for dinner, he just didn't know about it yet.

We all ate quietly for a while until Mom broke the comforting silence. "Baby, I'm dying here! You've got to show me those earrings!"

"Fine, I'll go get them, after lunch," I told her.

"You're finished! Go on, I'll do the dishes for you, I'm really dying here."

"They really are great, they were the first things I noticed yesterday," I heard Rosalie saying while I headed to my room. I surrendered to the little bug that was eating me inside – and in a moment of weakness I decided to check my phone. I had another missed call from Edward. Although I ignored Edward's call, some sick part of me was happy he called. Nevertheless, I would not falter, and with that in mind I made my way back to the kitchen.

"Hey guys, what are we going to do today? Does anyone have plans?" I asked as I entered the kitchen with the little black box in hand.

"We were just talking about that. Why don't we go to Manly beach? God knows you could use some color," Rosalie said joyfully.

"I'm in. Can we take the ferry?" I asked, a little too excitedly. I just wanted to enjoy a regular day with my family.

"Sure. That'll be even better, sometimes it's hard to find a parking space."

"I'm going to put on my bathing suit!"

"Show me those earrings first!" Mom scolded me. She could be persistent, I'd give her that much.

I threw the box carelessly in her direction, and she grabbed it mid-air.

"You don't throw ten thousand dollars earrings like that, Bella," Rosalie admonished me. "If you don't want them, I can sacrifice myself and keep them for you," she smirked.

As Mom opened the box and picked up one of the earrings, Emmett whistled.

"Whatever, guys, I'm going to put on my bikini. Anyone coming?" I said, and turned around without another word.

An hour and a half later, we were sitting on the ferry, heading to the beach. The ride was surprisingly fun as we sat outside in the sun and took several pictures together. I pitied my brother and sister-in-law for having to endure our tourist experience, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves as well. Emmett and Rosalie were the ideal of a perfect couple, and in each photo they were hugging . There was that special spark in their eyes that just couldn't be missed, even when they were bickering with each other, namely after Emmett's inappropriate comment about some girl's breasts seated a little ahead of us.

The funniest moment of the day was my mother's. Mom was terrified to walk with her bare feet on the beach, quoting something about Australia's wild life, so she never took her flip flops off, not even to get into the water. It was hilarious when a wave made her lose her balance, because she lost one of her flip flops buried in the sand and ended up falling in the water altogether because she refused to put her right foot down on the ground. We all ended up with teary eyes from laughing so hard.

We were all sitting playing cards animatedly when Mom asked, "So, guys, it's Saturday night and I have yet to get acquainted with Sydney's night activities…"

"Yeah, Mom. These ladies right here," Emmett said, pointing at me and Rose, "got to dress up really nicely and go out and we were stuck at home, watching a movie. It was so lame… Let's go out, Mom! Just you and me. It's their turn to sit around doing nothing…"

"That's not fair, I was working! Bella, on the other hand did nothing but have fun on her own over the past few days…" Rosalie defended herself.

"Traitor! I'm not staying at home alone! Where are we going?"

"I want to go to the casino!"

"Really, Mom? We can do better than that… Besides, Rosalie doesn't let me look at the ladies that take cash from the confinements of their underwear…"

"Oh Emmett, shut up! I nearly vomited last time we were there and that… lady, since I lack a more suitable word to describe her, took five hundred dollars from her panties! I mean, she just bent a little, pulled up her dress and reached somewhere between her legs! That's when I realized why everyone was wearing gloves there…"

I burst out laughing first, and so did Mom and Emmett soon after. Rose's face was priceless, contorted with the revulsion of her memories.

"Money truly is filthy, I guess I'll never look at it in the same way!"

And some people with money appeared to be filthy too, but I decided not to allow that train of thought to proceed.

"Speaking of filth, if we want to make ourselves presentable before dinner, I think we should get going," Rosalie reminded us.

We packed our belongings and went back home. After showering, I decided to e-mail Dad a few of the pictures we took today. I knew he'd be sad, for that would only make him even more aware of his loneliness, but I knew that it would comfort him knowing that I was thinking of him and missing him. My e-mail was simple. I kept the gory details of the last few days to myself, and focused mostly on how beautiful the city was, how happy Rosalie and Emmett seemed to be and how much I missed him.

"Hey sis, what are you doing?" Emmett asked with his head awkwardly peeking through the door.

"I just e-mailed Dad. I miss him."

"Yeah, I know. I do, too."

"It seems like you and Mom have been bonding over the last couple of days…"

"I guess. I'm trying, you know? And sometimes, I don't need to try so hard anymore."

"It sounds like you're mending. I'm really happy for both of you. It's really hard for me to see how strained your relationship is."

Emmett looked around before entering the little library, and closed the door behind him.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm cheating myself for allowing her to come near me again. Like I should guard myself, like I'm betraying Dad or something. And then I feel like shit, because you're all collected, and you helped her all of her life, and you stood by her no matter what and I just looked down at her. I avoided her, my whole life, like she had the plague! And I hate myself for it, because I can't undo what I've done, but I'm angry because I blame her. It was all her fault and it's a vicious cycle, the way she makes me feel, you know? And you… you just deal with everything so… perfectly, and I'm ashamed to let you know, but… sometimes I even resent you… and I know you don't deserve it! And I…"

"Emmett," I interrupted him. "Look, it's only natural to feel that duplicity in your heart. Do you think I don't feel the same? Of course I do, I just hide it better. If you put everything aside, at the end of the day she's still your mom. You're doing great, and I know that her going back to Forks is awakening some long buried emotions. But maybe it's for the best. Maybe Mom and Dad are finally going to be able to solve whatever was left unsolved between them. Or maybe not, but they're adults and no matter the stupid decisions they might make, they're only human… and they are our parents."

"What really aggravates me is that Mom only thinks about herself. She always disregarded other people's feelings, and not just anyone's feelings, her beloved ones' feelings. Sometimes I think she only loves herself."

"It's not that simple. Mom is just… it seems to me that emotionally she's a teenager. She acts like one… she was over protected since infancy, being an only child. We both know how Grandpa spoilt her, protected her. When she got married, she was still relying on her parents to take care of her, how could she take good care of two children? She loves us, although I have to admit that this time I won't be so indulgent with her. I promise you I'll protect Dad, by all means!"

"So, what? You're moving back to Forks?" Emmett teased me.

"No, but I have my ways to keep them in check."

"Right… I knew before you that Dad went out on a date with Sue. Come on, I'm not even in the same country!"

"That's because you and Jacob are two gossiping old ladies!"

"I mean it Bella, if she ruins this for Dad I'll seriously reconsider calling her a mother."

"Give her a chance, Em. You're assuming the worse. They've been divorced for so long… and honestly, if Dad goes back into his old ways and falls for her charms again, I'm not going to pity him at all! Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me! I think, as always, you're blowing this out of proportion," I told him earnestly and he huffed at that.

"I understand your worries, and I share your opinion so far, but ultimately I think they can manage themselves! Now, on another matter, when are you and Rosalie going to make me an aunt? If you want to get back at Mom, you just have to have someone call her grandma!" I laughed out loud.

"We've been trying for the last six months…"

"Really?" I asked him, surprised.

"Yeah, Rosalie didn't want to say anything to anyone. She getting more frustrated as time passes, you know? PMS has a whole new meaning in this house right now. What if something is wrong with us?"

"Emmett, lots of women don't get pregnant as soon as they start trying, you know that? By definition, we consider infertility as the failure to conceive after one year of regular intercourse, without the use of contraception. So, as a doctor, I say you should keep practicing," I smirked. "And take special care to do so during her fertile period. She must know her body… besides, you should enjoy it. Women's libido is usually increased when they're off the pill."

I winked at him and he blushed a little, it was so cute. We were interrupted by a light knock on the door.

"Come on, dinner is ready!"

"Great, babe. I'm so hungry, going to the beach really did something to my appetite."

"Like you need the extra incentive to eat… Please baby, promise me you'll never stop going to the gym."

"If I do, you just have to find me a better way to burn off the extra calories," he said, wiggling his brows at her.

"Guys, I'm right behind you… Oh, my poor and sensitive ears!"

"Mom," Emmett shouted. "Dinner is ready, I'm hungry!"

"Bella! Someone is calling you," my mom yelled back. A few seconds later she showed up in the kitchen with my phone, still vibrating in her hand.

"That thing almost fell off the bedside table. Here, it's Edward, baby! Someone's got it bad," she snickered at Rosalie. "Oh look," she continued, "it stopped."

And it did, for a few seconds, only to begin again. Everyone was staring at me in confusion and I just snapped.

"Renée, do you hear a sound?" I asked her in a purposefully brash tone; the irony couldn't be lost on her.

I hated that everyone seemed not to respect my personal space and affairs anymore.

"No?"

"Why do you think that is?" I asked her rhetorically. "If I wanted to be disturbed, it would be ringing right now, and not vibrating in some dark, forgotten corner of our room."

Everyone stared at me in disbelief.

"See, Emmett? I don't deal with everything perfectly."

I grabbed my phone out of Renée's hand when it stopped buzzing again. I had six missed calls. What caught my attention was that none of them were from Henry. I turned the phone off immediately after that, placed it on the kitchen counter and took my seat at the table.

"Mom, please refrain from going through my things anymore. My cell phone is something personal. We are only temporarily sharing a room and I will not be forced to share my private affairs with you, as well. Can we just have dinner and forget about this? Please?" My voice was flat. I knew I was taking my frustrations out on her over a silly thing. There was just so much repressed inside me, that I'd surely make quite an impression on Freud himself, had he been able to meet me.

After a few moments in shock at my abominable behavior, they all stood around the table looking at me. There must have been something in my eyes that made them forgiving, though, for none of them questioned my rudeness as they took their places at the table. As Mom sat next to me, I apologized to her, gaining a smile in response. I knew I was forgiven.

The dinner was a little tense but eventually I was able to relax. Once in a while I would give a quick look to the offending object on the counter, but that was it. After dinner, I wasn't in the mood to make an effort to dress up for the night, so I ended up wearing my favorite dark jeans, a red V-neck shirt and, at Rosalie's insistence, some heels. I kept my makeup simple and was ready to go before anyone else.

As usual, Rosalie drove us. We parked somewhere at the back of the casino and had to cross the street, entering through what appeared to be a side door. As I went into the casino, I realized that I had forgotten my purse in the car. Emmett and Mom were already past security, so Rosalie went with me to fetch it.

As we were going back to the casino, I was nearly hit by a car. I cursed internally; why they had to drive on the wrong side of the road was beyond me.

"God, Bella, are you trying to get yourself killed?" Rosalie asked me.

"Sorry. I tend to forget that they drive on the wrong side of the road, so I looked to the wrong side before I started to cross the street."

My heart was beating fast from the scare and I was growing impatient for some reason.

"Rose, I think I need a drink."

"I think you need a drink, too. Let's go to the bar on the 17th floor. They make acceptable cocktails. I'll text Emmett to let him know."

We got to an elevator that went straight to the 17th floor. There was a pleasant jazz band playing live, and we sat for a while discussing a few trivialities over Cosmopolitans. Rosalie finished hers first, and excused herself to go to the bathroom. I picked up my half empty cocktail glass and decided to go outside for some fresh air. The heat inside all of a sudden felt stifling.

The night breeze was colder than it had been the night before. I only felt a slight discomfort from the cold, but the stress of the day was numbed by it, so much that while quickly going through the last few days events I found myself thinking how paltry everything seemed to be. It seemed crazy that from nearly being in tears I felt the urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation I had gotten myself into. That kind of… stuff, for lack of a more suitable term, only happened to me. It was laughable, indeed. So I nervously laughed to myself, shaking my head slightly. I saw Edward being serviced, so what? I suspected he had a girlfriend and kissed him nevertheless, so what?

Was I the only one to blame? No.

Would I do it again? Definitely not!

Should I bury myself in shame and guilt? What good would come of it? I knew the answer to that as well. So, once again guided by the city lights, I came to an understanding with myself. I'd just forget about it. The calls would surely stop, if not that day, soon after. I just needed to have fun, enjoy my brother's company, and rest enough to endure the long hours that awaited me once I was back to work.

I smiled briefly at no one since I was the only one on the balcony. As I turned around to go back inside to Rosalie, I found myself unable to move as piercing green eyes stared furiously back at me.

I didn't foresee that turn in the night's events, but I looked back at him impassively. He didn't flinch nor make any effort to move. He was standing stiffly before me, effectively blocking my escape. Before I could ask him what the hell he was doing, he snapped at me.

"Do you have the habit of ignoring your calls?" he asked me, going straight to the point.

Good, I preferred talking to him this way, when his guard was down.

"Not out of habit, no."

I was pleased that my voice came out calm and unfaltering; nothing gave away my inner turmoil. I saw the change in his demeanor as he processed my plain answer and the lack of a socially acceptable excuse. He told me he was going to call and at the time I had had the intention of answering. But not after what I saw. His body language showed that he didn't get the answer he expected, and was perplexed.

After a few seconds the surprise wore off and his eyes grew harder and glistened with anger.

"Hmmm," he hesitated, trying to decide what to say next. I was utterly shocked by what came out of his mouth.

"You must have been quite distracted, displaying your paraphilia…" he spat at me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, getting more impatient by the minute.

"I remember reading in my father's psychiatry books about paraphilias. You may have special interest in gerontophilia."

You didn't… I was beyond mad at this point.

"I think that accompanying a friend, regardless of his age, to the opening party for a store he helped to fund can hardly be classified as a paraphilia. I should know, I'm a doctor."

He was trying to start talking again, but I continued.

"Oh, wait, you're right in a way! But I think you must be confusing medical terms. Then again, I feel like I should enlighten you… the paraphilia you're talking about isn't gerontophilia, it's voyeurism! But I can assure you that although the involved individuals were unaware of my presence at the time, I certainly did not actively seek them out, and I definitely did not enjoy the show, not even a little bit."

"What…" he was confused for a moment, but a knowing look replaced the confusion he had shown before.

Bella 1, Edward 0. I patted myself on the back, figuratively, of course.

I took advantage of the fact that he was speechless to make my way back to Rosalie. After I took only a few steps, Tanya Denali joined us on the balcony, followed by Rose.

"Eddie, come back inside, it's chilly out here," Tanya complained.

"Bella," Rosalie said a little too loudly, "there you are, I was looking for you."

She took her place next to me as Tanya embraced Edward. His arms fell limply, without embracing her back.

Tanya purposefully ignored me as she tried to cuddle in Edward's arms, trying to make a claim. Honey, I do not envy you. Not at all. Then, probably because of his stiff position and lack of a warm response, she forced her eyes upon me.

"Eddie," she asked him sweetly, "aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Sure, this is Bella Swan, Rosalie's sister-in-law. Bella, this is Tanya," he replied coldly. She looked at him quizzically. She must have noticed, as well as I did, that he failed to present her as his girlfriend.

She shook my hand limply. I disliked her instantly. I appreciated and advocated the value of a firm handshake.

"Aren't you the escort Henry took to the party yesterday? Oh, yes," she continued without giving me time to respond, "I hardly recognized you. You're nothing like in the picture. I suppose with the right dress and stylists...although I don't understand what all the fuss was about that dress. It didn't deserve my second look when Rose asked me to take it."

"You refused to take my sister's design to her party, when you're being paid to model for her?" Edward asked her with a nearly murderous look.

"Well," Rosalie interrupted them, "Bella agreed to wear it, so it received all the attention it deserved. Actually, I was the one that suggested to His Grace that he should attend the party, since it would guarantee us more publicity for the event. Bella was so kind to agree to go with him." She lied so well, that if I didn't know better, I would have believed her myself.

What she said next made Tanya widen her eyes in my direction; I had to suppress the urge to burst out laughing.

"Actually, Lord Cullen," Rosalie said in an earnest but deceitful voice, "I believe you were the one that suggested Bella could be the face of our next campaign. I thought you'd approve. Besides, I think you agree with me when I say that it would be a shame for one of the best dresses out of the collection not to be displayed publicly."

Nice save, Rosalie!

"You should have mentioned your plans to me, Rosalie," Tanya told her angrily. "I'd happily walk on the red carpet on Henry's arm. Baby," she turned to Edward. "Do you really think that Rosalie should continue heading the advertising project for 'a.m.' ? This kind of behavior is outrageous and unacceptable! You have to speak with Henry about this, it's obvious that she's putting the welfare of her family ahead of the store. Look at her!" Tanya said, pointing at me.

A lady doesn't point with her finger like that.

"She's not even a model. She's a mousy little thing, I didn't even recognize her."

I didn't like the course the conversation was taking. I knew that Rosalie couldn't afford to lose her biggest account, but I didn't know what to say that wouldn't hurt Rosalie's position even further. All that I could think of was, "I didn't recognize you, either. Have you tried the Atkins diet?" I knew there nothing was more unpleasant to the unhealthy skinny type than to make fun of their weight. I knew she'd probably excuse herself to go to the bathroom to purge her dinner salad. I was bitter and I was about to say something I regretted when Edward surprised me, once again.

"The face of a.m. should be elegant! I believe Bella made quite an impression yesterday, from what I've seen so far. A new face for a new clothing line," he said, his eyes meeting mine. "It was a wise move, but don't pull that kind of stunt without going through me first. His Grace might have helped funding it, but I'm the one in charge."

"I'm sorry," Rosalie said without being able to fully conceal how displeased she was.

"Rose, it's really cold! Let's go inside to find Mom and Emmett. I'd like to try the poker table before we go. Miss Denali, Lord Cullen, I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening."

I grabbed Rosalie's hand and walked around the couple without waiting for their reply.

Goodbye Edward.

AN:

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight…

Thank you Scooterstale for all your help. You're the best Beta and it is thanks to you that this story is readable!

I also have to say thanks to TLammy, MEdward, ShadowDancerUrami and o0s0o for reading this in advance and for all your great suggestions.

TLammy suggested an EPOV of the party (vide chapter 11), and although I'm always apprehensive about writing an EPOV, I decided to give it a chance. I'm uncertain if I'm going to post it as an outtake of this story or if I should post it as chapter 13. What do you think?

About my new story, if you're interested, we submitted a new chapter today as well. It is called Who wants to live forever? (we decided to change the name). It's a collaboration with aniratacanna and I'm writing E'POV. The link is available on my profile page.

As always, please read and review. Today is very important that you do because my reader traffic stats have been down for the last 3 days. Last time it happened, I spent 10 days without any kind of stats. So, I decided I shouldn't delay the update any longer because of that. I don't know what's wrong with my account. Have you had this kind of problem? I emailed the ff support but they didn't reply.

So please, I have no way to know how many hits I have, if you don't review I won't have any kind of feedback.

Nofrure.