I was having a good week. The paps had laid off me for a while; I was wasn't interesting anymore. I had another ultrasound. It was all going well, no abnormalities at all. Needless to say, we were both very pleased. I got invited to Taylor Lautner's 18th, but I unhappily turned it down. Edward's motion mostly. Shame, it would have cool to have met Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. Apparently they look Edward and I.

Edward made up for it by cooking me dinner. I didn't even know he could cook. When I asked me, he just smiled and said: "Food Network". I raised one eyebrow at that. At any rate, it was delicious.

The good week turned into a good month. I was getting larger by the day, but it didn't worry me, what with Edward reminding how beautiful I looked everyday. By the time I was 6 and a half months, I couldn't see my feat. The doctor's told me I was due in June. I didn't know if he or she would be on time, because I was early, or so my mom said, when she was she was sober once. That's right, once. I didn't see her sober very often.

But all good things must come to an end.

I was in the studio, sipping my cup of tea, when Steve comes barging into the room. I was about to tell to cool it, but the look on his face told he would have bit my head off if I did. He plonks a magazine in front of me. It was Celeb Weekly, the magazine that had interviewed me a month ago. The main story was about me. The title on the front cover was: Penny's Secrets Revealed. I stared at it for a while, then turned to the article.

Penny's Secrets Revealed: the pop star's secrets from the last few months explained

No need to say Bella Swan's life has been a mess lately. She confirmed her pregnancy, of which she was indeed her boyfriend Edward's. Edward Cullen, the reason behind the trouble with Jessica Stanley.

Jessica Stanley, who spoke to us several months ago, claims that the star' stole' Edward off of her. Bella did not deny this.

"It is true, I did kind of steal him in a way. Mostly I think she's desperate to get him back."

During her trip to Melbourne, Australia, for her most recent tour, a cat fight was fought backstage at the show. However, she insists that no violence was used. This is a contradiction to Jessica Stanley's statement, who insisted that Bella attacked her. A lie to cover herself?

"She did approach us."

Also during the tour, Bella had a 'dizzy spell' on stage, causing her to collapse. She claims that: "It was a combination of morning sickness, dehydration and stress." She admits that she hadn't told her manager, Steve Fielding, about her pregnancy, and her dizziness before the show. She would not tell us why. Afraid of being judged? Is there something she was hiding? Afraid of telling others, such as the father or her child? All valid questions.

Speaking of her boyfriend, Edward, his most recent performance at the Los Angeles Annual Charity Benefit has sparked rumours that it will launch him into the same profession as his famous girlfriend.

"He's being stubborn, I'm working on that," Bella said, when I mentioned it to her. While talking about songs and albums, she let slip that she would be releasing a new album shortly. Will Edward feature on it?

At any rate, it is a certainty that Penny's new album will not sell as well as her last one. The events in her life at the moment cannot be ignored. They have turned her life upside down, and sales of her other albums are going down.

My prediction is that her career will be dead within the next year. No one wants to buy songs from a boyfriend-stealing, fainting washed-up pop star. It's a sad thing, but it's true.

Nice knowing you, Bella Swan.

- Mike Newton

I read the last line five times before it sunk in. They had double crossed me. Made me think I was settling the score, when really I was only making it worse for myself. Paraphrasing and out of context references are the bitches. Now I understood why Steve was so angry.

It was rather ironic that they had said I would fail, as their article would soon do that for me.

That one line was bouncing through my head like a rubber ball. Nice knowing you, Bella Swan. It was the nail in my coffin, the final straw for my career. I threw the magazine on the floor. I didn't want to look at it anymore. Edward picked it up and read it. His face quickly mirrored Steve's.

"Get Rosalie on the phone," Edward said angrily.

"She can't help us. Paraphrasing isn't illegal. Besides, the interview was perfectly legit, it's not the law's business what they do with the information," he said, just as angrily.

I couldn't be angry. I didn't feel anything. It was like my brain had detached from my body, I just sat there, with a blank look on my face. Edward sat across the room with his head in his hands.

Despite how I felt, I didn't to see Edward that way.

"This article won't change anything," I said, even though I knew I was lying, even before I said it.

"Don't be stupid. It will change everything Bella," Edward says quietly, managing to control his temper.

"You don't know that."

"How could it not!" he shouted. He had lost it. He stood up angrily, walking over to me. "People will read it and believe it. They are going do exactly what Mike said they will. They're not going to buy your album," he said more quietly. Mike had said it, but the words coming from Edward's mouth was more hurtful than the article itself. I felt the tears spill over.

Through my watery eyes, I could see Edward standing over me, the magazine still in his hand. He wasn't looking at me. He was staring angrily out the window. I sob, wiping my eyes. He turns to me, and realises that I'm crying. He reaches out to stroke my cheek the way he usually does. But he pulls his hand back, replacing it by his side. I looked up him, questioning. It was not normal for Edward to not comfort me.

Edward stares at me, but his eyes are not warm. It's not the same.

He goes to the bin, chucks the magazine, and walks out.

This couldn't be happening. I can't deal with it. I follow him, running to keep up. I saw him go out the door, even though it was raining outside. I caught up to him, getting soaked from head to toe.

"Edward!" I called. He didn't turn, so I called again. When I reached him, I pulled his arm, to make him turn. He did. He didn't speak, so I started first. "What are you doing?" I ask loudly, over the rain.

"I can't deal with this anymore! Your career will be gone in a matter of months!"

"So you my career's over, now you don't want me anymore? She's done, move on to the next one?" I cry.

"No, I just…"

"What, Edward? Are you going to leave, or should we wait until the baby's born before you break my heart?" I sob, still getting drenched.

"I can't deal with the stress anymore! I want a normal life! One with no secrets or rumours! One where you go out without having to worry about people following you! One where you can just live!" He shouted. I could see it in his head, us, a normal family, living a normal life. I could see it all. And I wanted it.

"It will be like that soon! When my career goes down the toilet no one will follow us ever again!"

"It will never be like that, Bella," he said more quietly. He turned and walked away from me, shaking his head. Then I really broke down. I collapsed in the street, almost lying in the puddles. I didn't care, I was soaked to skin anyway.

After a little while, someone helped me up. I didn't see who it was, but they put me in a car and dropped me off at my house. It might have been Steve.

I shuffled into the house, going up the stairs at a snail's pace. I headed straight for the shower. I noticed the door on Edward's old room was closed. He was still staying here, but he wouldn't be in the same room as me. I didn't ponder his reasons behind it for very long, because the warm water engulfed me and my thoughts very quickly. For twenty minutes I stood there, letting the water unfreeze me.

Eventually I had to get out though. I changed into dry clothes; my pyjamas. Recently washed and dried; they were still warm. I shuffled back into my room. I unthinkedly climbed into my bed, reaching out for the warm arms that weren't there. Realising that they might never be there again, I started to cry. And I couldn't stop.

I cried myself to sleep, even though it was only the late hours of the afternoon. It felt like night, either because of the dark storm, or the dark feelings that clouded my mind.

Each movement in my bed sent in a new wave of tears, because each time I moved, it reminded me that there was no one else here.

I slept all through the night, waking up at intervals of around two hours. Nightmares flooded my head each time I fell asleep.

It was of him, walking away from me, in the rain. Replayed in my head, over and over. It would not get out of my head.

The last time I woke up, it was not because of a nightmare. The dream I had had was of Edward, singing Just The Way You Are to me, at the Benefit. How I wanted that dream to be real. I looked at my clock; it claimed it was 7 in the morning.

Then it hit me. I didn't think, I jumped out of my bed and ran to hallway. I stood near Edward's door. The words and memories filled my head, I didn't need to hear the pitch of the first note.

"When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change, cause you're amazing, just the way you are!" I sang loudly, almost shouting. I gasped for air, breathing heavily. The door stayed shut. "When you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while, cause you're amazing, just the way you are!" I shouted the last line. Then I heard a noise from inside his room. The door creaked, and slowly opened, to him, staring wide-eyed at me.

"Singing won't fix things, Bella," he said quietly.

"Wait, please can we just talk about this?" I reasoned, trying to buy at least some time to look at him.

"There's nothing to talk about," he said bluntly. He started to close the door, but I put my hand against it. He looked at me.

"I don't care about it anymore. The fame, I mean. It means nothing to me. I would much rather trade it all in for you. We could move to Australia, have the baby there. Or move to some remote island where no one would bother us. I'll say that I'm retiring, and tell reporters to piss off. I can't live without you. I'd set fire to the house and give all my money to charity if it meant I got to keep you," I said in a rush.

He opened the door fully.

"You would?" he asked with warmth in eyes. I nodded sincerely. He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into a sweet hug. The tears overflowed again, but not with sadness, with joy. I hugged him back, knowing that I would never have to be without these arms again. "Shhhh, it's ok…" he murmured into my ear.

"I'm so sorry," I managed to say between sobs.

"No, I'm sorry. I should never have thought that way. I could never leave you, as much as I try," he said, chuckling a little bit. I looked up at him, kissing him with all my strength. The tears were still running down my face, but I was smiling. We had got through the worst of it, and now we had to endure the rest.

"Are we really going to move to Australia?" he asked, when I had finished kissing him.

"Well, yes, if that's what you want. Personally I think it's a great idea," I said, grinning.

"I would love to," he grinned back.

Suddenly my life wasn't so dark anymore.