Chapter 16

Previously: After saying my farewells to Carlisle, I returned to my desk. As I massaged

my temples with my fingertips, I glanced wearily at my grandson and said, "Now, let's

talk about Isabella Swan."

Alec POV

"What about Isabella?" he snapped. "I thought you said she was safe!"

"She is safe," I said before warning, "and you better watch your tone. The line you're walking is thin as it is; don't give me another reason to kick your ass."

Crossing the room, I handed him the crumpled piece of paper that I had gotten from Jasper. "What do you have to say about this?"

With a look of bewilderment, Edward took the paper and began reading it. Once he realized it was the letter Bella had written to him, he ran a hand through his hair and exhaled.

"I'll take care of this. Trust me; she'll learn to be more respectful. I'll see to it."

What. The. Fuck.

"Are you seriously shitting me? You think I'm upset with Bella? You're more of an idiot than I realized."

"Nonno!" Edward began arguing.

"Will you please shut the hell up for once!" I bellowed. "Did you even think about what she said when you read that letter? Or were you too strung out to comprehend it at the time?"

"I -I - I…" he stammered not knowing what to say.

"Well, I read it and let me tell you, its contents made me sick to my fucking stomach. How in the hell could you treat her the way you have? It's absolutely disgusting.

And for you to claim to love her?" I sighed. "I can honestly say I've never been more disappointed in someone in my entire life than the way I am with you."

The fact that Edward looked ashamed by my words gave me the slightest hope that he wasn't completely lost.

"B-but," he protested, shifting in his seat, "Pops said it was my duty as her soulmate to guide and direct her upbringing. I've only tried to do what I've felt was best for her."

"Exactly. What you thought was best! Did you ever once consider what Bella wanted? I mean, seriously Edward, you were even picking out her damn clothes for her! Don't you see how controlling that is?"

"Again, I was only trying to protect her. You know how guys can be. They get ideas when girls dress a certain way. Pops advised it as well; he told me if I didn't get a handle on her behavior now, I would regret it one day in the future."

"You are absolutely ridiculous,'' I scoffed, shaking my head before adding, "and apparently so is your father. After seeing the way you've treated this girl, I don't even think you want a life partner. All you seem to want is some type of Stepford Wife who's going to blindly follow your every command."

As Edward sat and pondered my words, I became more and more disgusted with myself as I considered my role in the entire debacle. I should have stepped in years ago and put an end to this nonsense. Carlisle had obviously done a shit job preparing the boy for his soulmate and his counsel on how to treat Bella was abhorrent.

Edward didn't have a chance of getting it right.

But I couldn't completely excuse Edward's behavior. He was an adult when he had met Bella. He ultimately made his choice, and now he was going to have to face the consequences.

Sitting next to him on the sofa, I took the letter from his shaking hand and quietly said, "You do realize, she's probably never going to give you a chance after all the shit you've pulled over the years."

His eyes went wide at my declaration. "But she has to…"

"Why should she? Can you honestly give me one reason why she would have anything but contempt for you? Because, personally, I can't think of a single one."

Edward buried his head in his hands and remained quiet. Maybe he finally understood, but at this point, it was more than likely too late.

"You're to leave her alone from here on out," I said gruffly. "No more contact. Nothing. Not even through your aunt and uncle."

"But that's not fair! How will I be able to protect her?" he cried out in astonishment.

"In my opinion, the only person she needs protection from is you," I admonished. "I mean it, Edward. Don't bother that poor girl ever again. She's off limits, and I've told your father the exact thing so don't even think about going to him for help."

"For how long?"

"For fucking ever, as far as I'm concerned! That girl deserves to make decisions for herself for a change and to live her life the way she sees fit."And with that, I stood and walked towards the door. My heart ached as I heard Edward break into sobs. Being so cruel to him was one of the most difficult things I had ever done, but there was no other option at this point. If this boy didn't get his act together this time, I didn't think there were any chances left for him.

Carmen POV

When Nonno and I had made our escape plan, he never told me where he would send us, and I had always assumed it would be Italy. Imagine my surprise when we landed in sunny Orlando, instead. Even Eli, who had just learned about our plan, was skeptical.

"This can't be right, can it? Why would he send us to Florida?" Not having an answer, I had just shrugged my shoulders in response.

Once we disembarked the plane, a limo was waiting to take us to a house in Winter Park. The gated, five-bedroom home was situated on Lake Sylvan. When we entered the foyer, a gift basket awaited us by the front door.

"Oh my God," Alice squealed as she began dancing around the room with something in her hand. "Tickets for Universal Studios! I finally get to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!"

Even though the past forty-eight hours had been some of the most stressful ones of our lives, Eli, Bella, and I couldn't stop ourselves from laughing at Alice's antics.

"Bella, look! There are Disney World tickets too!"

While the girls dug through the contents of the basket, Eleazar texted Nonno to let him know we had made it to the house.

"Did he reply?" I asked after a few moments.

"Yes, he just said to enjoy our stay and that he would be in touch within the next few days."

Well, this was not at all what I had expected when we had fled from our home late last night. I didn't think we would essentially end up on a mini-vacation with tickets to amusement parks.

It all seemed a bit surreal if not like a clichéd, nineties, television commercial.

Hey, Carmen Cullen, you just escaped an insane mobster. What are you going to do next? I'm going to go to Disney World!

After we settled in and unpacked, we headed out for dinner at a local restaurant. I could tell Bella was worried about Mike. She hadn't heard from him the entire day and knew he was more than likely with Edward.

"He'll be okay," I whispered into her ear as I gently squeezed her hand. "Nonno won't let anything happen to him."

"It's just that I don't know what I would do without him," she quietly said while discreetly wiping away a tear, "If only he would have come with us. He can be so stubborn sometimes."

When I had first learned that Bella and Mike Newton had established some type of friendly relationship, I will admit I was taken aback. But after seeing the two interact the previous evening, and now watching her fret over his safety, I was coming to the realization that their bond was much stronger than I had first believed.

With a small laugh, I replied, "Most men are."

Our conversation was cut short when the waitress approached the table to take our orders.

As we waited for our food, Eli began teasing Alice.

"So, what should we do tomorrow? It's supposed to be a nice day, and I know Cocoa Beach is only a little over an hour away by car–"

"Cocoa Beach!" Alice interrupted. "What about Universal Studios? You know how long I've waited to go!"

"Oh, I guess I do recall you saying something about that a time or two. I guess we could go there instead if that's what you really want," he said as he attempted to maintain a nonchalant facade.

"But the beach does sound nice," Bella surprised us all by saying.

"Bella!" Alice whined before everyone broke out into a fit of laughter.

I'm only kidding. Let's go to Hogwarts!" Bella agreed.

After three days at Universal Studios followed by three more days at all four Disney Parks, we were pretty much ready to relax at home and do nothing for the remainder of the week.

Even Alice, who hadn't taken off her Mickey Mouse Ears since getting them several days prior, admitted defeat after returning home from EPCOT late last night.

"As much fun as the last few days have been, I think I'm ready to just stay home tomorrow. I want to check out the pool and work on my tan."

When Alice had made her declaration, Eli, who was standing behind her, had made a fist pump in the air.

He didn't share her love of roller coasters.

While the girls were outside swimming, Eli and I decided to call Alec. He had sent us several, short texts throughout the past week, but we hadn't had the opportunity to have a lengthy conversation.

"Eli?" Alec greeted when he answered on the first ring.

"Yes, and Carmen, too."

"Hello, cara mia," Alec said warmly. "Are you enjoying Florida?"

"Yes, we are," I replied before adding with a laugh. "I must admit Alice is the most though. The girl has been in absolute heaven the past few days. I thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head when we first arrived at Universal Studios, and she saw Diagon Alley."

"I'm glad she's enjoying herself. What about Bella? Has she had some fun?"

"Honestly, she was very upset the first few days, but once she heard from Mike and learned he was okay; she was able to relax."

"Good. Good. The poor girl deserves some happiness and fun," Alec said in a soft tone.

"So, where are you?" Eli asked. "Are you still in the states?"

No, Edward and I arrived in Italy yesterday. Carlisle was here as well, but left late last night."

"Carlisle?" I said surprised to hear my brother-in-law's name.

"Yes. Unfortunately, we needed to have a talk, and it needed to be face to face."

Alec then proceeded to tell us about Edward's apparent drug addiction, and his plans to keep him in Italy for the time being.

He also told us that both Carlisle and Edward wouldn't be interfering with Bella's life any longer.

"Babbo," Eli began. "You can't seriously mean to keep Edward away from Bella. It just isn't right. They're soulmates."

Alec sighed before stating, "Son, I've already said this to your brother, to your nephew, and now I'm saying it to you. Bella is her own person, and she is an adult. From this moment on, she better be treated as such. No one makes one more decision for that girl ever again. Not Carlisle. Not Edward. Not you. Am I clear?"

AN:

I am terribly sorry for the delay. Christmas, work, and illness made me fall behind in my writing schedule.

Much love to Fran, Gabby1017, AllTheWayIntoTwilight, and DICATAKADD for their help with this chapter. I couldn't do it without them.

Thank you to all my readers. I hope you all have had a wonderful New Year's Day and 2018 brings you nothing, but happiness.

Until next time,

HE