A/N: Thank you all your reviews and love! Y'all make my day!

Special thank you the amazing Mel Cee for betaing. (All mistakes are my own)

Song suggestion:

After all by Cher and Peter Cetera (Thank you to Tracey and her amazing crew for recommending it)


"Do you need to hit every friggin' pothole in the city?"

Edward glanced at Alice in the rear view mirror, giving her a pointed look. This was the third time she'd complained about Edward's driving, and they hadn't even left the city yet. Bella laughed at their banter, taking his hand in hers.

"What's with the stick up your ass, Ali?" Bella questioned, placing a kiss on Edward's hand that wasn't clutching the steering wheel.

Alice sighed, shifting nervously in the back seat. "I'm sorry, guys. I don't mean to be such a bitch. It's just that I'm nervous. This is the first time I'm seeing my daughter on our terms. I want it to be perfect. I want to be perfect," Alice admitted, a bit embarrassed to be unloading these issues on her friends who were significantly younger than her. She felt like she should have her shit together.

During Alice's phone call with Maria, they both agreed to meet face-to-face to air out their grievances toward one another. Alice didn't have grievances toward her daughter per se, but she did want to know what lies were "told" to her. She also desperately wanted to beg her daughter to tell her what she needed her to do to repair their relationship. Alice was willing to accept crumbs to start.

Maria graciously invited Alice to lunch during her day off from school for a teachers' convention. Once Alice texted Bella to tell her the good news, Edward offered to drive her Upstate, hence the road trip. Alice needed all the support and strength she could get.

Edward pulled the car over at the restaurant, running around the car to open Bella's door, while Alice rolled her eyes at the exchange, smirking. Secretly, she was thrilled for the lovebirds.

Once they were all out of the car, Edward went over to Alice, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Alice, if there was hope for us, there's hope for you. You deserve this. You're the perfect mom for her," Edward murmured, sincerely.

Bella looked on as her best friend and boyfriend exchanged words. Yes, Edward asked her to be his girlfriend during their sexcapades. She was thrilled that Alice and Edward not only got along well, but they had their own special bond. Aside from Edward and Charlie, Alice was the only family she really ever had.

Bella went over to hug her bestie. "He's right, Alice. You're a terrific mother. I would know." Bella's eyes filled with tears. Alice took on that role in Bella's life when she felt hopeless. She thanked her lucky stars every day for Alice.

Now it was Alice who deserved her own happiness.

Bella stood on her tippy toes to reach Edward's lips, locking him into a searing kiss. Alice backed away, blanching at these two making out so freely.

Their tongues entangled, not caring about passersby or poor Alice having to witness this public display of affection.

You would have thought they went days without seeing each other. Not just an hour while she went to her apartment to pick up the replacement painting to hang in the hallway at the restaurant.

Rosalie had been badgering Bella to paint something to go in the empty space where the painting Edward bought once hung.

Bella smirked into Edward's mouth at the memory of finding her painting hanging in his foyer. Like it belonged there. Like she belonged there.


"Edward, why is my painting of us hanging in your apartment?" She called him from the living room. Edward apprehensively made his way out of the bed, slipping on his boxers, and peeked his head out of the master bedroom to look at Bella.

She stood with her hands at her hips, hair wild from the rain and their love-making, eyes wide and expectant. Bella started tapping her foot on the hardwood floor to show she was waiting for a response as Edward stared at her slack-jawed.

"About that…" He palmed the back of his neck, rubbing it nervously. "I might have forced Rosalie to sell it to me," Edward admitted sheepishly, hiding his head behind the door frame, afraid of ruining the moment.

Bella rounded the corner and stood in front of him, giving him a once-over, chuckling at how quickly he confessed. "Oh that's all?" Bella scoffed, raising her hands dramatically. "How did you know I painted it?" She pursed her lips, eyes narrowing, wanting to kiss him but also needing to hear what he had to say.

"I was coming out of the bathroom after lunch with Rosalie and Emmett, and I looked up and saw these two kids and it reminded me of us, y'know." Edward put his hands on Bella's hips, gently squeezing. "I then asked Rosalie about it, and she got all nervous saying she didn't want to get involved. That was when I knew the artist was you. I had to bribe her to sell it to me."

Bella looked at him questioningly. "What is she making you do?"

"Invest in this business venture she and Emmett are doing. A fucking food truck. Can you imagine?" Edward shook his head. He couldn't believe those two.

Bella nodded, satisfied with the answer, but she had more questions so she took Edward's hand and sat on the bed, motioning for him to sit across from her. He mirrored her, also crossing his legs, waiting until she spoke.

They sat like that for hours going over everything. There were tears, anger, rage, laughs, regrets, but most importantly love and devotion. A raw and candid flow that they had lost somewhere along the way.

Edward was horrified and disgusted to learn more awful truths about Liz and Ted and their atrocious behavior toward Bella. He vowed to never let her feel inferior again. Edward really wanted to confront Ted and his smug ass, but ultimately, he wanted to enjoy his reunion with Bella.

Bella fought the urge to cringe as Edward explained how Ted pushed Tanya into his orbit and how easily he fell into her waiting arms.

They laughed at the irony of how they both tried to move on from the other on that fateful New Year's Eve.

At the end of the day, their second chance began, and all of the past was just that—the past.

Bella was making pancakes when Edward wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, caging her in.

She turned in his arms, looking at the man she almost let slip away.

Edward's hands moved to her hips and guided her to sit down on the counter. He pressed against her, so she could feel how much he wanted her. Always.

It was more than just sex. It was being loved from the inside out, over and over again. Every time better than the last.

Edward started kissing and sucking on her neck, probably going to leave a bruise.

"Again?" Bella moaned as Edward nipped at the spot behind her ear that made her toes curl.

Edward smirked, loving exploring all the little places that made her squirm. "We have five years to make up for." Pressing his lips to hers, he let his hands roam her body, peeling off her shirt to expose her perfect breasts, enjoying the weight of them in his hands. He roamed lower and lower, rubbing and pinching, along the way.

"I suppose we do." Bella groaned when he stopped to remove his shirt.


Edward and Bella had spent the last two days holed up in his apartment, blissfully unaware of the outside world and all the trials and tribulations attached to it.

Alice clapped her hands together, snapping the lovers out of their love bubble. She'd had enough of the show. "Didn't you guys get enough of each other over the past two days? Poor Embry, that dog will never be the same," she quipped, chuckling as she opened the trunk and carefully carried Bella's painting to where she was leaning against the car. Edward took it from Alice, motioning for one of the girls to open the door to the restaurant.

Once the painting was situated in its new home and Rosalie was satisfied, they headed out to the front of the restaurant, ready to get back on the road and made the trek upstate. Of course, they weren't able to leave so easily. No, Emmett had some crude comments to share. He ribbed Edward about how the condoms he kept giving him after the stripper prank must come in handy. Pun intended. Edward laughed the jokes off because his friend was right. If it hadn't been for those condoms, his physical relationship would have been on pause. Now that they had been intimate, neither one of them could get enough.

Not surprisingly, they were met with bumper-to-bumper traffic once they were outside of the city. Alice bit her nails feverishly, nervous and excited all at once. She was practically jumping up and down, and the whole car shook as a consequence. "Alice!" Bella scolded, craning her neck to give her a dirty look. "Please relax, it's going to be great. Just the fact that she wants to meet you is progress."

"We're with you every step of the way, Al," Edward reassured, looking intently at the standstill of cars ahead.


Two hours later and the demise of Alice's fingernails, they arrived at the little coffee stop Maria suggested meeting in front of.

It was a beautiful sunny fall day. The Upstate air was crisp and clean. The leaves were all different colors, indicating change was near.

There were bistro tables set up outside of the little hole in the wall. It was a picturesque scene for a mother-daughter reunion. A few minutes passed and Alice spotted Maria walking down the street, not noticing Alice in the backseat seat of the parked car.

Alice's hand grasped the door handle, but she paused when it came time to open it.

Tears streamed down her face as she thought about how much time she had lost. Her baby wasn't a baby anymore. All those little moments she lost. Bella's eyes watered watching her friend and mother figure struggle with this decision. Struggle with decisions that were made for her. Bella knew all too well how that felt, as she'd experienced having her choice taken from her by Edward's parents and their interference.

"Alice, you don't have to do this. We can head home, and we will never speak of it again," Edward offered, giving her an out.

Alice shook her head and wiped her eyes. She dug in her bag for a mirror and fixed her makeup swiftly. "Wish me luck," she whispered softly. Hand back on the door handle, with a newfound strength and perseverance, Alice opened the door to her future. As she got out of the car, she closed the door to shame and regrets.

Bella and Edward sat wordlessly, watching Alice slowly approach Maria, similar to how she trapped her stray cats.

Maria was a short teenage girl, with a short brown, almost black, bob haircut. She wore a tattered t-shirt and too short shorts. She reminded Bella and Edward of Charlotte.

Speaking of Charlotte, Edward remembered to tell Bella about Charlie's strange behavior when he went to check on her. Bella was concerned about Charlie and vowed they would try to check up on her as soon as they could.

"Let's text her a picture of the two of us. I'm sure she'll be thrilled," Bella suggested as Edward chuckled, thinking back to Charlie's thwarted plan to get them back together.

They sent Charlotte a selfie of themselves with the caption "your Parent Trap worked."

The pair laughed, thinking back to how different their lives were just a week ago.

Edward knew that he had some difficult times ahead between Ted's nefarious business dealings and his parents meddling in his love life with Bella. Not to mention how unfairly Bella was treated in his world. He had a lot of uncomfortable conversations and decisions to make.

Pondering what and how to go about it all, Edward looked over at Bella, fresh-faced and biting her nails as they looked on at Maria and Alice seemingly having a productive conversation. He knew in that moment, there wasn't anything that he wouldn't give up or trade to have her next to him. Beside him as an equal. While he once thought Ted and Liz's world was his world, he was quickly brought back to earth.

Edward's phone beeped, notifying him of a text from Felix:

"Meet me in my office tomorrow. It's urgent."

After replying to Felix's message, assuring him that he'd be there first thing, he told Bella what was going down with Ted and the company. She couldn't say she was surprised that Ted was even shadier than she thought. However, wanting to keep the peace between them, she decided to not shit talk his parents to Edward until everything was sorted. After all, they were his family of sorts.

Family.

What a crazy concept. Neither one of them had a family from a young age, but they forged their own family along the way, slowly adding in new players that made it complete.

Edward and Bella had been each other's family from the minute they met. It was undeniable. Circumstances tried to tear them apart with "better offers," but like they always say, "the grass isn't always greener on the other side."

All of Edward's high hopes and the expectations placed on him meant nothing when he didn't have the one who knew him best to share it with.

Edward hoped one day to expand their family by having babies with Bella. But first, he intended fully on marrying her.

Alice waved to the couple excitedly, gesturing for them to come over to the table where she and Maria sat. The pair got out of the car, hand-in-hand, and walked to where another family was being mended.


"Can you believe my parents said that to Maria? I mean, who involves a child in their problems? The lies, the manipulation, oh and the tears. Maria told me my mom used to cry and tell Maria if she called me, it would break her heart," Alice ranted. Her hands flew up expressively from the back seat.

Edward and Bella had heard this story three times since they'd left Maria. Even so, they gladly listened, thrilled for Alice and her newfound progress with her daughter.

"Oh and she wants to have a sleepover next week at the apartment!" Alice squealed.

The car swerved as Edward hadn't been anticipating Alice's excitement. He looked at Alice from the rear view mirror, seeing her apologetic grin.

"I hope you don't mind, Bella," Alice droned on. "Not that I expect you to be over the apartment much anymore. Not now that you've got Pretty Boy back in your life."

"You're just jealous." Bella turned to wink at Alice, playfully. Edward threaded his fingers through hers, giving her a gentle squeeze.

The girls' banter continued until the next exit when Edward pulled over to get gas and snacks at the gas station. "We're starting slow to get back in the groove of mother-daughter. Last thing I want to do is push her and scare her," Alice explained as she and Bella walked toward the convenience store to grab snacks, leaving Edward to answer his ringing phone.

He looked down at the name on the screen, and Edward groaned. "Hello," he answered, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"Edward, I hope you didn't forget about the anniversary party on Friday. Your mother is beside herself that you only called once since that temper tantrum of yours at the shareholders' dinner. You do know she has a bad heart, don't you?" Ted reprimanded, clearing his throat.

"Yeah, I'll be there," Edward said neutrally, completely ignoring Ted's digs. He couldn't blow up about everything Bella had told him until he met with Felix and they devised a plan on how to handle the shell corp.

Edward had called Liz to catch up with her last week, and he had also sent a text to Renata to check on how Liz's health was faring. Ted must not have known about those interactions.

"You better be. And when will you be returning to work? I have to say, I'm disgusted with your lack of work ethic." Ted blew out a breath, and Edward could almost hear him rolling his eyes.

"I'll have to get back to you on that. Oh, you know what, I have another call coming in. Emmett's getting married soon and needs my help. Great talk." Edward hung up the phone quickly, shoving it in his pocket. He leaned against the car, smiling like a fool, waiting for Bella to finish buying every snack the gas station had.

Wow, this was what life was supposed to be like. Happy.


The next morning, Edward pried himself away from Bella's naked body, giving her a lingering kiss goodbye.

"Lunch at the restaurant or back here?" Bella called after him. He was tying the shoelaces on his tennis shoes. Suit and dress shoes be damned until he really needed to bust them out.

"Here. And I want dessert." Edward winked and blew her a kiss. Bella plopped back on the pillow, throwing the covers over her body. Edward willed himself to leave her. This was a good enough reason, but he couldn't wait to be back in her arms.

With a quick goodbye to Embry, Edward was out the door.

On the road, Edward called Emmett to make sure he was still meeting him at Felix's office. Since Emmett found the incriminating dirt on Ted, Edward figured he'd want to see it through.

"Come in and shut the door," Felix instructed, peering out into the hallway. His desk was overflowing with papers, and the once put-together man looked disheveled and as though he hadn't slept.

Edward and Emmett exchanged concerned looks, entering the office and taking seats in front of Felix's desk.

"Gentlemen, I've done some digging, and I've found quite a bit of disturbing information." Felix broached the sensitive subject, running his fingers through his gray locks.

"What?" Edward's eyes widened. He couldn't imagine what could be worse than what Ted's already done. Framing his brother-in-law and trying to pay off his son's girlfriend were two of his largest offenses.

"I must tell you that it's unpleasant and upsetting," Felix warned, waiting for objections. "After speaking with Ted's banks in the Caymans, posing as an assistant, I uncovered the fact that not only has Ted framed Carlisle should the shell corp be discovered, but he also has put Liz's name on multiple life insurance policies. Upon her death, all those funds would go to the shell corp." Felix sat back in his chair, waiting for the information to sink in.

"So not only will he profit immensely when Liz dies, he's gearing up for the shell corp to be his main source of income, funneling funds through," Edward clarified, his mind whirring with just how deceitful and treacherous his adopted father was.

Felix nodded. "Also you should know that Masen Point is in ruins. The reports showing these massive earnings and gains are all simulations. Fakes. The sole investor truly profiting is someone with the initials A.A.D. Do you know anybody with those initials?" The older man poured his fourth cup of coffee this morning, offering his company a cup as well.

Emmett nodded his head, while Edward thought about the initials in his head. Why did they sound so familiar?

"A.A.D.," Edward recited out loud over and over again. A moment passed, and it all hit Edward like a ton of bricks. "The fucking prick," Edward whispered in disbelief, letting out a scoff.

"What is it, Edward?" Felix inquired, genuinely trying to help, handing Emmett a cup of coffee.

"Can I use your computer for a second?"

Felix got up from his chair, motioning for Edward to sit.

Edward went to Google and typed in a name he should have known would have been attached to this disaster. He chuckled in disgust when the search results popped up.

Turning the computer screen for Felix and Emmett to see, Edward spoke up, "Alistair Anthony Denali." He sucked his teeth, so fucking pissed at Ted. "He's our smoking gun."

"Holy shitballs!" Emmett spat out his coffee all over the office, covering Edward and Felix in the spittle.

A/N: Let me know your thoughts and prediction for what's ahead:)