I love how everyone hates Edward, thinks he's a grade A asshole! F-ing love it! I really hope, with all my heart, that you all will continue following this story to see if asshole is all Edward can be, or if he can change for the right person, for the right reasons.
Chapter elven
Bella stared at the mahogany desk top in front of her, barley hearing the words the judge was saying. Edward had taken her straight to court, beating away anything in between.
"I, Emmett Dale McCarty, will represent Isabella Marie Swan in the case of Cullen vs. Swan."
"I, Edward Anthony Cullen, will represent myself in the case of Cullen vs. Swan, but an intern will stand for the questioning to prevent interference of our previous personal lives."
Barely two weeks had gone by since she had arrived back in Boston with Edward and the horrible letter had landed on her desk by Edward's palm. It hadn't been enough time to wrap her mind around the fact that Edward would be fighting her on everything until he got his way. It didn't matter how many times she had tried pleading with him, telling him that the letter from San Francisco had only come to exist in a spur of a weak moment.
Her words had fallen for deaf ears and by the time she was ready to crawl on her knees and beg him, she was no longer allowed to have contact with Edward outside of the courtroom. It had turned their working relationship into a hardship but Phil with his clever mind, had transferred Bella to a lower level, then given her five months leave before the birth, where two of the months would be paid leave.
Closing her eyes, Bella breathed in deeply, rubbing a hand soothingly over her stomach as she tried to control the never leaving nausea. Like every expecting first-time mother, Bella was cursing those who had named it morning sickness and claimed that it would only occur during the first two-three months. Almost five months into her pregnancy, Bella was still experiencing nausea and sickness every hour of every day, and sometimes, it hit her with such a force that she found herself lying in bed all day, a bucket next to her water and crackers.
Hearing her name, Bella looked up and met Edward's blazing green eyes. The young man next to Edward started to read a question from the legal pad in front of him.
"Miss Swan, is it true that you started working for Mr. Cullen 5th of August 2014?" the intern asked, his eyes calculating and cold as he looked at her.
"Yes," Bella answered in a voice that sounded nothing like her own.
"Is it also true that you knew Mr. Cullen already when you started working for him?"
"Yes, that's true."
"Is it because of your earlier relationship with Mr. Cullen that you came to land the job, even with your lack of knowledge of law?"
"Mark," Edward warned and the young man next to him blushed at the tips of his ears.
"Mr. Cullen?" the judge asked and Edward shook his head. "Miss Swan, you don't have to answer the question as it is irrelevant to the case."
"I don't mind answering the question, your honor," Bella tried to grace the men at the table with a soft smile as she turned to Mark, the young man. "Mr. Cullen had nothing to do with me being hiring at Dwyer, Holland & Lee. It was Philip Dwyer who read my resume and called me in for an interview. I didn't know I would be working for Mr. Cullen until my first day, when I met my boss for what I thought would be for the first time."
The blush from Mark's ears didn't vanish as Emmett took his turn to question Edward, doing a thorough job, and Bella found herself unable to focus on what was being said.
A wave of nausea washed over her and Bella found it difficult to breath in the warm air of the room without a bile threatening to rise from her stomach.
"Excuse me," she murmured, cutting Emmett off, "I need some air." She didn't wait for her leave to be approved by the judge, but quickly rose to her feet and made her way to the heavy oak door that lead out to the hall.
The change from the heavy and hot air of the room she had just left, to the lighter, slightly cooler air of the hall, did nothing for her nausea.
"Can you tell me where the bathrooms are?" Bella questioned the first person she saw and she smiled sweetly as he pointed her in the right direction, before rushing into the ladies rooms, reaching one of the toilets just in time.
Cold sweat broke out on her forehead and cold shivers went down her spine as she dry heaved over the toilet, nothing left in her sensitive stomach.
"Bella?" Emmett's voice drifted through the doors, "Are you able to continue?"
"I'll be right out!" Bella called in a hoarse voice as she pushed herself up from the floor, swiping a hand over her forehead.
The second she was out of the ladies room, Emmett's strong arms was wrapped around her and Bella sagged against his chest, drained for energy.
"Let's just wrap it up for today," Bella mumbled as she pulled away.
"You didn't eat breakfast today, did you?" Emmett asked as he led her back to the judge. "I told you to stay to toast."
"I don't have a toaster," Bella pointed out.
"You can toast them in the oven for a few minutes."
"And my oven doesn't work," Bella admitted.
"What else isn't working?" Emmett demanded to know and Bella gave in, telling him about the crappy apartment/motel she was living it.
He had gone with her when she had signed for a three month trial of the tiny apartment, where the kitchen and the living room was in the same room, as in, she could turn on the water in the kitchen while sitting in the living room. She had taken it because it was all she could afford while she waited for the money for selling Charlie's house.
"You can't continue living there, Bella," Emmett said when Bella didn't answer him.
"I know," Bella sighed, defeated.
"I know something that will you help you. You might not like it, but you're just going to shut up and do it." He didn't give her time to answer him, but ushered her back into the room, three heads turning in their direction.
"Feeling better Miss Swan?" the judge asked, looking genuinely concerned about her wellbeing.
"A little," Bella said softly, giving the judge a small smile.
"Your honor," Emmett's voice brought the judges attention to the end of the table, "I have a suggestion that might help both parts come to the right decision."
"Go on," the judge nodded in his direction.
"I think the parts in this case should live together," Bella almost chocked on the water as she registered Emmett's words. "At the moment, there's a strife between them and they are not seeing clearly what will be best for the child," Emmett continued, ignoring Edward's protests. "From what I understand, Bella and Edward's relationship before she moved to San Francisco wasn't ideal, but they respected each other and, correct me if I'm wrong, they formed some kind of friendship. I believe it's still there and by living together, they can come to know each other again."
"Your honor, I believe Mr. McCarty's idea just might lead us in the opposite direction where we need to be," Edward protested.
"I also have to admit there's an utterly motive here," Emmett said, cutting Edward off. "Miss Swan, Bella, is a proud person who will rather suffer in silence than ask anyone for help. I can tell you all that she is suffering right now and I believe that living with someone will help her regain her strength and lover her stress level. Her living arrangements as the moment are only adding to her stress. And nausea has been troubling Bella from day one, making it next to impossible for her to keep any kind of food down."
"McCarty, are you suggestion a permanent solution or a trial period?"
"A trial period of three weeks. And I suggest that it starts immediately, today." The judge nodded, looking thoughtful, and Bella watched him with her heart in her throat as she waited for his own verdict of Emmett's suggestion.
"I agree with McCarty," he said in a clear and level voice, leaving no room for argument. "We are here, battling about the future of an unborn child. As a divorce child myself, I will do anything to make the two of you see that this child will need the both of you, not only one, to feel the love of the family it deserves. I'm not telling you to find out if you love each other and force you to marry in the next three weeks, but if you can see past your own problems and see what's in front of you, a child, then the two of you will be able to raise the child together, even while living different and separated lives."
"There should of course be some rules to follow," Emmett added when the judge finished talking. "It's easy to live together when one is always away, hiding or avoiding the situation at hand. Therefore, if one of you have to leave the city or the country, the other part will come along. This way, none of you can disappear for the next three weeks, claiming to be on a business trip or whatever comes to mind."
The judge agreed on Emmett's rules.
*** C R S ***
Edward joined Emmett and Bella back to her small place after the meeting with the judge was over. He didn't hide his distaste as the small place was revealed to him and Bella would have bristled, if she had the energy, when Emmett agreed with him that it was not a place for a pregnant woman to live, alone or with someone.
She didn't much in the small apartment, her whole wardrobe from before she got pregnant stored away with the rest of the things she had brought with her back from San Francisco. In not time, the little clothes she had and her most personal artifacts where packed and brought to Edward's apartment.
"I know you don't like me much now, but you will see reason soon enough," Emmett said, unable to stop himself from smiling as Bella glared him, but she hugged him before he left.
She expected Edward to lash out on her the second they were alone, accusing her of making Emmett convince the judge that she moving in with him would be an amazing idea, but when she locked the door and turned around, ready to face him, he wasn't there.
"Bella, come up here!" Edward voice sounded through his apartment just after Bella had made herself comfortable on his couch, ready to close her eyes for a few minutes, regain some energy, before unpacking the few things she had.
Tired and sluggish, Bella climbed the stairs to his bedroom and by the time she reached the top, she was breathing slightly heavier.
Edward was making the bed, satin beddings in powder blue, when she reached him.
"My bed is better for you back," he said, his back turned to her as he fluffed a pillow. "While you're staying here, you can have my room."
"I'll just take the guestroom downstairs," Bella shrugged, though he didn't see her.
"I'm offering you the best bed and a more spacious bathroom, and you turn me down?" Edward turned to her and Bella wanted to roll her eyes when she met his angry eyes.
"I don't want to kick you out of your own bed," Bella started to explain, "And no matter how comfortable your bed is and how amazing your bathroom is, it doesn't matter when I almost lose my breath climbing the stairs. I'm not turning you down in spite, just because I don't have the energy to take you up on your offer."
"This is truly a fucked up situation," Edward sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"It's not ideal, no," Bella agreed, rubbing her eyes in an effort to keep herself awake a tiny bit longer.
"Tired?" focusing on Edward, Bella nodded.
"Exhausted, all I want to do is crawled under the covers and sleep forever."
"Sorry to disappoint you then."
"I have absolutely no energy to talk tonight, Edward. Please, just let me go to bed without any nasty words to each other, at least for tonight."
"You can go to bed, after you and the baby are fed," Bella felt her heart swell as Edward led her down the stairs, a secure hand on her arm, and she felt the tears in her eyes. "Are you crying?" he asked when he caught her brushing away a few escaped tears.
"Exhaustion and hormones," Bella muttered as she dried her eyes.
"So, is there something you're staying away from because you can't keep it down?" Edward asked as he opened his fridge.
"Everything," Bella told him, almost feeling embarrassed, "Toast is the only thing I'm able to keep down for the time being."
"Toast," Edward muttered, turning away from the fridge, "Just lay down on the couch if you want to: I'll fix us something to eat."
Taking Edward up on his offer, Bella made herself comfortable on the couch, planning on closing her eyes only for a few minutes as she waited for Edward and the food. However, when she was shaken awake by Edward, she knew she had been sleeping longer than planned.
On the coffee table were two plates with buttered toast and two bowls of vegetable soup.
"You can't live on toast for the rest of the pregnancy, but if the soup doesn't sit well with you, don't force it down. We'll continue to try out different foods to see what sits well and what doesn't." nodding, Bella bit into the buttery toast and accepted the bowl of soup from Edward, slowly sipping the delicious broth.
See what will happen next, Friday 24th of April!