Capitolo Terzo

A/N: Posting this chapter early. It is fairly short compared to most chapters but this is important. First EPOV of the story. Thank you so much to everyone who reads and reviews. Thanks to my prereaders and beta. Off we go.

Trusting you is my decision. Proving me right is your choice

EPOV

As my mom dragged Isabella and Rose inside with her, I headed over to my dad who was having a heated discussion with Alec.

"She just lost her parents. She doesn't need you hitting on her. Plus she's too young for you." My dad hissed.

I scoffed because "the younger the better" was Alec's motto. As long as they were legal, he was going to shoot his shot. Alec just said okay and then headed off with Felix. I followed my dad inside to his study after that.

I sat down and he took a seat at his desk. "So, you gonna tell me who this chick is?"

He looked bored with this conversation already. "She told you who she is. She's Charlie and Renee's daughter."

"But how does she know who you are?" I raked my hand through my hair. "I haven't seen Renee or Charlie since I was nine years old." My eyebrows furrowed as I tried hard to remember them.

He nodded. "Exactly. They moved to Washington right after your ninth birthday. Three years later, they had Bella. Your mom and I flew out there to see them and offer our blessings."

I scoffed, my eyebrows raised. I noticed that he didn't answer my first question, but I could tell that his patience would run out soon. "Really? I have a vague memory of you and Mom fighting about Renee."

My dad crossed his legs and leaned back in his seat. "Your mother hated Renee until she married Charlie and was all head over heels in love with him." He ground the words out through clenched teeth. It was a sore subject with my dad that Renee was happier with Charlie than with him. That was the thing about being a goomah though. You weren't a priority, and you got the time that was given to you and were grateful for it. Unless you weren't and decided that you deserved more—like Renee had. "As with all long distance friendships though, we drifted apart. We stopped talking as often, and the birthday cards became more infrequent until they stopped altogether. With a small child, they were unable to travel far, and my business dealings were becoming more hectic, so life went on for all of us. I wish they would have told me that they were in trouble though. I could have helped them." He sighed as he steepled his hands under his chin, his eyes turning distant.

"That doesn't explain why she is here, Dad. Did you send for her, or tell Renee to send her?" I tried to keep the frustration out of my tone.

He sighed and leveled me with a look. "I don't know, Edward. Like I said, I haven't talked to Renee or Charlie for a while."

"So, she's not here to be another goomah?"

He let out a dry laugh. "That's very flattering, but she is about forty years younger than me. Barely legal isn't really my thing." He gave me a studying look and tilted his head. "What is with all the questions anyways? Do we need to have another conversation about your role? You are to be boss to the capos, but I don't answer to you. The girl is here now, and she is under our protection. Deal with it. She's a college student from Washington who found her parents brutally murdered, not a criminal mastermind."

"I'm just trying to find out what the deal is, sir. If I should trust her," I said through gritted teeth. I hated when he threw his rank around. If he would retire like my mom wanted, then this conversation would be a very different one. I didn't trust the girl with her chocolate eyes and chestnut hair. She was very pretty, and that usually meant that I should be more wary of her than anyone else. I'd fallen for it before.

"She's trustworthy. Now go find out what the hell Jasper and Emmett are doing. They haven't checked in."

"They did. While we were at the celebration. I tried to tell you in the car, but Bella was there. I imagine she has no idea who we really are." There was no way she'd be so calm around us if she knew the business we were in.

He shook his head. "No, and she doesn't need to know unless absolutely necessary. Now, I'm late for a conference call with Aro and Carlisle. See yourself out."

I nodded and headed out of his study. I knew that call wouldn't amount to anything, and Aro would be contacting me soon to have a sit-down. The day had been a long one, and Isabella's arrival had thrown a wrench in the day's plans, so I went to my room to change my clothes, deciding that I did need to call Emmett and Jasper after all. Once that business was taken care of, I relaxed in the living room until it was time to go to bed. When Rose and Bella returned from whatever errand they had run, my dad took Bella to his study. I was curious about what they were discussing, but I imagined it was about what had happened to her parents. I ran to her in the hall when she was on the way back to her room.

She had been visibly crying and still had tissues clenched in her fist. She acted like she was fine and put on a brave face. That was the second time I saw this happen. She was still mourning, as any person would given her situation, but she didn't want anyone to see it for some reason. To see her cry and be vulnerable—I don't know why, but I felt bad for her. I had been around death and have had people in my life die, but what she went through at only twenty years old, it was something no one should ever have to experience.

My dad told me that I could trust her, so I would push aside my initial instinct to be suspicious of outsiders. I just hoped that she didn't give us a reason to regret that. I headed to my own room, took care of my nighttime routine, and then went to bed, knowing I needed to get up early for work the next day.

NDMN

The next day was Friday, and I couldn't remember any time recently being so happy that it was almost the weekend. It wasn't like I did anything exactly fun or noteworthy, but I was in desperate need of a little bit of time off. Work had been especially stressful on all fronts, and having a few days where I didn't have to put out fires would be a welcome luxury. If I were being honest, lunch at my Nonnie's house after church on Sunday was always one of my favorite highlights of the weekend. It was odd, but my mind instantly went to whether or not Bella would be there. I tried to push thoughts of her out of my mind, but it was hard when I ran into Bella in my kitchen with Rose. Both of them clad in swimsuits. I assumed that the suit Bella was wearing had to be her own, but I wasn't sure. It looked really good on her, but it wasn't skimpy like Rose's usually tended to be. It showed her long smooth legs, a flat stomach, and it made her tits look amazing.

"Are you guys going swimming?" I asked as I made my way into the room.

"We are sunbathing until it gets a little warmer, and then yes, we are swimming. Bella mentioned that she loved to swim," Rose said, nudging Bella's arm while smiling.

Bella blushed as she grinned at Rose's comment, and I found myself thinking that she was really beautiful when she smiled. Where the hell did that thought come from? I shook my head and forced a chuckle out. After I grabbed a thermos of coffee, a granola bar, and an apple, I clapped my dad on the shoulder as I passed him to go wait for him by the car. He entered the kitchen, and I heard his voice, followed by giggles from Bella, and I rolled my eyes. So much for her being too young for him. That man flirted with anyone in a skirt.

My dad and I were quiet on the drive into the city, which wasn't a rare thing. I didn't necessarily enjoy riding with him, but it was convenient. Our main office was in Manhattan, and several of my legitimate businesses were there as well. We parted ways immediately upon reaching the building, and I took care of the several calls and emails that had piled up from my being out of the office yesterday for my dad's scholarship celebration. My secretary Gianna knocked on the door, her nails tapping against the wood, and I inwardly groaned. She was hot as hell and I knew she was down to fuck, something she had made perfectly clear on more than one occassion, but I had it ingrained in me since I was a teenager to never shit where you eat. She was fairly competent and could be easily replaced, but it all just seemed like too much of a hassle and headache to go there for a few hours of fun.

Luckily she was just there to get my lunch order and not throw her tits in my face, and so once she scurried out of the office with my order, the day continued to grind on. Just after lunch, Gianna told me that my dad had to slip out of the workday early to handle something that needed his undivided attention, which I'd come to suspect was probably code for him needing to visit one of his goomahs. I shuddered, not wanting to think about how my father screwed around on my mom, constantly running off for afternoon quickies with whatever flavor of the week he'd decided was worthy of his attention. But seeing as how he'd basically stranded me in favor of getting some ass, I called Alec so he could give me a ride home. I ran into my mom on my way in and gave her a bullshit excuse for where my dad was, letting her know that he'd probably be home late. I hated when I had to cover for him. While they seemed to have an understanding, I wanted nothing to do with that. I may not believe in love and all that utter bullshit that came along with it, but I would never want to juggle several women all at once. To live a life where you had to constantly remember your lies, and who you told what—it just didn't seem worth it. If I ever got married, I would never have mistresses.

After I excused myself, I headed up to my dad's office, and I poured a glass of whiskey from his stash before I retired to my room to change out of my suit. I was lounging on my bed, about halfway through my glass, when there was a knock on my door, followed by the person just opening the door and barging in.

"Fuck, wait for an answer, Rose. What if I was like jacking off?" I said as I rose from the bed, ushering her back to the door, and followed her out of my room.

"Wow, calm down there, Eddie. It's time for dinner," Rose teased.

I flung one arm around her shoulder and used my other hand to mess with her hair. "Don't call me Eddie."

She glared at me as she fixed her hair and then hip checked me as we walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. I was still chuckling as I sat down. The only free chair was right next to Bella, because why wouldn't it be. My dad had finally dragged himself home in time for the family dinner. I bet Mom called him as soon as I got home, bitching him out about keeping up appearances for our guest.

Of course, we seemed like the perfect family from the outside, and I could just imagine that Bella was blissfully unaware of what she had fallen into. I could only hope that her ignorance didn't end up coming back to haunt her.

A/N: And there we have. Now we know how eddieboi feels about Bella, conflicted. Leave a review and let me know what you think. Until later lovelies!