Author's Note:
I don't know if this legal side in this chapter is accurate. But for the sake of the story let it be.
I want to thank all of you for giving this story a chance, and having an amazing positive reaction to it.
Anyways, Enjoy!
When I got to the apartment, I went to pick up Charlotte immediately from the Blacks' apartment.
Leah saw the look in my face and immediately told the kids to go back to Embry's room to watch SpongeBob.
"What happened?" She asked me quietly, as Jacob pulled out two shots and the bottle of tequila.
"I'll watch the kids. You two talk." He told us as he kissed Leah's hair and hugged me before disappearing in the direction that the kids had gone.
Leah stared after him for a second, before turning to look at me.
I pushed away my shot and shook my head, "Don't want to drink, at least not alcohol…" I said.
"How about some coffee or tea?" She asked.
I sighed, rubbing a hand roughly over my face. "Tea…. That will definitely help me calm the fuck down before I see Charlotte." I mumbled, as I brought my arms up, and set them on the table before dropping my head into my hands.
She nodded before disappearing into the kitchen to prepare the tea.
My hands shook as I took deep breaths, trying to calm down and wrap my head around what just happened.
She took a few minutes before reappearing with a large mug with two bees on it. It had the words 'Let It' looped in cursive before a bee was painted on the bottom of the quote.
She set it down before turning back and heading to get her cup from the kitchen.
I snorted at the sight, despite my crappy mood, and looked up at her. "That's an interesting cup." I told her as I took a sip.
She snorted too, "Jacob bought it the other day with you in mind. You know, if I wasn't sure that my husband only liked you as a sister, I'd be totally jealous of your relationship with him." She told me amused.
I snorted, "You don't need to worry about us… we're just friends... he's like the annoying brother I didn't know I needed in my life." I told her, amused.
She nodded as she sat down. "I needed some coffee so this is perfect… Now, tell me what happened…" She encouraged.
I took a large gulp of hot mint tea, and sighed. "Well…" I began.
By the time I finished Leah looked to be as pissed off as I felt.
"I'll kill her and make it look like an accident." She growled.
As she got up, we heard Jacob reappear and grab her, "Woah, hang on, Rocky. Where are you headed looking so heated?" He asked her.
She turned to look at him, then at me, silently asking for permission.
I sighed, before looking at him. Jacob stared at me, a gleam in his eye as I did.
He didn't look the least bit surprised at Leah and her anger. In fact, he looked like he was holding back his anger. "You little eavesdropper." I told him, amused.
"Sorry, I couldn't help it… If it makes you feel any better, the kids fell asleep a few minutes after you started talking ... so the princess didn't hear anything." He told me.
I sighed, "She's asleep?" I asked, surprised.
He nodded as he pushed the chair Leah had vacated back and sat down, pulling her into his lap. The gesture looked sweet but I knew he was doing this intentionally, to keep her here.
"I should probably take her home now." I mumbled to myself.
"Bells, hey, it's okay if you need to have a night to yourself. Let her stay here for tonight...If she needs you, I'll call you myself." He told me.
I shook my head, "I— I…" I began but found the knot in my throat making it difficult to speak.
"He's right, Bee. You need some time to calm down and gather your thoughts. Leave her here. If she needs you, we'll call you or take her to you." Leah promised as she tapped his hand.
I sighed, before looking down at my watch. "Alright… but if she needs me…" I began.
"We'll call you." They repeated.
"Thanks guys... I— I'm grateful for this and you." I whispered.
"We love you too, Bells. Now, go get some rest, babe." Leah told me, as she smacked Jacob's hands away from her waist.
"Goodnight, guys." I whispered, before I stood up, grabbed my bag and headed back to my apartment.
I slowly walked across the hallway, unlocked the door and went in. Heading directly to my bedroom to shower and change.
As I was getting into bed, Marcus called me to inform me of the latest development.
"Hello?"
"Bella, hey, so, I just got an interesting call from Jason Jenks." He told me.
I sighed, "What is it now?" I asked, tiredly.
"We don't know how exactly but word has gotten out that Edward has an illegitimate daughter with an old flame. It's all over the news." He told me.
"You're kidding... You've got to be kidding me." I whispered, as I turned to grab the remote off the bedside table, and quickly flipped it on.
Surely enough, there it was.
"No…" I whispered, feeling as my legs began to shake.
I moved to sit on the bed before I got hurt. But I could feel my panic fill my being as I watched the screen.
"Look, there's no need to panic. I'm trying to do what I can to get the situation under wraps as fast as possible…" He told me.
"Does this put Charlotte in danger?" I asked.
"I'm not sure, yet." He told me honestly.
i nodded, taking a deep breath to ground myself and think. "Alright... Um. I'm going to keep her out of daycare for right now, and try to work from home…. I'll call out tomorrow morning." I whispered more to myself than to him.
He sighed, "That is a great idea. I'm trying to get in contact with Judge Romero to see how to handle this situation. I've got Aro getting in contact with all the news and gossip outlets as we speak to figure out how this happened…" He told me.
Fuck.
"Has Edward said anything?" I asked, trying to keep my breathing steady.
"Yes, actually, when I called him directly, he told me that Emmett and the guys were the ones who called to tell him. They think one of the roadies or security guards might have broken the NDA… Him and the guys are trying to figure out who it was. They're keeping me posted on that situation as well.." He informed me.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
"Do you think it's safe for us to be living here?" I asked, feeling my anxiety skyrocket.
"I think you're safe there. For now. If things, however, do get worse, I think it best to have you and Charlotte relocated. I have a place in mind but I'll need to contact a few of my friends and have them send over a few security guards to ensure Charlotte's and your safety." He told me.
All I wanted was for Charlotte to be safe. How could one fucking night fuck up all our lives?
I barely slept a wink the rest of the night.
Come morning, I was on the phone.
I first called my boss and explained to him the situation, and while he wasn't exactly happy about it, he allowed me to work from home.
After I finished that call, I proceeded to go over to Jake and Leah's and explained the situation to them.
Then I brought Charlotte home, and explained the situation in a way that wouldn't scare her.
Once that was done, she went to her room to watch a movie while I got breakfast ready, and figured out what to do.
My anxiety was fucking going through the roof and I didn't know what to do.
Once I calmed myself down, I did call my dad to tell him as well, but once every was done, all I had to do was focus on any possible calls from work.
Then Marcus called, again.
"Did you find anything? What's going to happen?" I asked, as I paced the length of the room.
"I— Yes. It was a woman, by the name of Florence 'Flo' Wrightwood, who did it. She heard the little scuffle between you and Edward the night of the concert. Sold the story to TMZ and ENews. Even had a video." He told me.
"Was she under an NDA?" I asked, frowning.
"To my knowledge, no. But there's a good possibility that she broke a contract with her previous employer." He told me.
"How so?" I asked, frowning.
"She worked for the theater. She broke contract by doing this. Which means she was probably terminated very recently." He informed me.
"What will that do?" I asked, as I watched Charlotte color a SpongeBob and Patrick picture that Embry gave her before we came back home.
"If my suspicion checks out, we've got a motive and can proceed to take her to court for child endangerment, slander, and defamation of character… The last one may be for Edward, though." He told me.
"Child endangerment?" I asked, shocked.
"Yes, by her doing this she placed Charlotte and you in unnecessary danger." He stated factually.
"I see…" I mumbled.
"Bella, you don't need to worry, Aro and I are on top of this. Rest assured that there will be consequences for this." He told me before hanging up.
As soon as he did, I turned the television on, and put on a random movie in a poor attempt to distract myself.
The rest of the day, I distracted myself with menial work, before I pulled out my old leather bound book and began to write my thoughts out.
I decided not to go on tour with Jacob and his band in the end, until this situation got sorted out.
Though I allowed them to record my voice as back up and use it before they left.
The next few months became very hectic.
I had to head back into work, for at least a few hours. Meaning Leah was watching Charlotte for those few hours.
I hated being this worried, hated that our lives were once again turned asunder because of the actions of a irresponsible, careless, and greedy person.
But it served to give me a few lessons.
One, not everyone is genuinely happy for your achievements.
Two, you can't trust everyone who surrounds you.
Three, even the worst person possible can change.
Edward was a great example of that.
He was genuinely worried about Charlotte and my well being when he found out.
He even asked Marcus for my personal number, given with my permission, of course, to check on us.
Which was fine with me. I wasn't going to oppose him checking on Charlotte, she is his daughter, after all.
Since the situation hadn't gone away, we decided to reschedule the monthly visit, and wait until it calmed down, or to relocate it to another place.
Though that wasn't the case because things only went from bad to worse.
I was now strictly working from home. My bosses hated it but I had no other choice. My daughter was in danger. My job wasn't going to help keep her safe. I knew that.
On a different note, the same subject of danger though, we were now being hounded by paparazzos, being watched at all times of the day.
We could no longer go to the store, or park, or do menial tasks without our pictures being taken. It got so bad that we eventually did have to relocate to the place Marcus had told me about a few months prior.
Though I was originally adamant about staying. Wanting so badly to give Charlotte a normal life, but when a group of those stupid cameramen almost caused us to crash. I knew at that moment that it was time to go.
As much as I tried I couldn't protect her by myself. When the time came, I realized I had failed and I knew it.
So, we began to secretly and quietly plan the move. Only telling a few people, who I knew I could trust, of my move. Without it drawing too much attention to me or Charlotte.
We decided that we would be relocating to the house of Marcus's friend, Didyme Condé. She was the CEO of a successful French Export company, and owned multiple homes here in Washington and across the globe.
I had only met her twice in the past two years. But she was nice both times.
From what Marcus had told me, I knew that she was born in France, but grew up in Washington. And that was thanks to her mother being from Washington originally.
The house was secluded and surrounded by greenery. It was private, and it was located ways away from civilization.
It was a four bedroom, three bathroom house. It had a great view of the city, yet was set out far enough that no one could access it, unless they had the code and proper access for the gate.
Marcus had gotten a team of security guards for us, and they would be placed inside the house and around the small, yet spacious property. He told me to only pack our clothes, and necessities.
So, I put all of our clothes in one luggage bag, Charlotte's toys in another bag, and our shoes, bathroom toiletries, and my hair products and utensils in the other. The last duffel bag held a few mementos of my childhood, past, and Charlotte's. That was all we really needed.
It was around two am when Marcus knocked on the door. He and Aro were going to drive me to our new home.
I had only slept about an hour, maybe two, before I woke up to get ready.
I had everything I needed including my laptop, tablet, and a few other devices I owned.
I was leaving Jacob and Leah. with the key to the apartment to empty out the refrigerator, and the furniture.
He was going to place them in a storage unit for now.
We had already made arrangements to Skype with the other band members as soon as this situation was settled. In order to decide whether or not my recordings were needed or not.
As I moved to open the door, I took one look at the now bare walls, holding back tears.
"Hey, I brought you some coffee and donuts." Marcus told me as I opened.
"Thanks." I whispered thickly.
"Where's Little Bit?" He asked.
"Sleeping in her old room." I told him with a smile.
He nodded, "We took the box with the blankets the other day. Her room has been arranged to look like this one… only slightly bigger." He told me, amused.
I nodded as he grabbed the bags.
"I'll be back right back." He said as he disappeared with the bags.
As he left, I moved to place the pink box of donuts on the table and opened it.
I grabbed a white icing and chocolate sprinkles, chocolate donut, scarfing it down with the coffee he brought me, before slipping on my jacket and shoes.
My purse was sitting on the couch with a throw blanket.
I grabbed it, and went to the room to get Charlotte. Gently bending down to pick her up, and grabbing the fluffy blanket and Bruno, the dog Edward gave her. Which had become her favorite companion since she got it from Edward. She took it everywhere with her. Even daycare, but she kept him in her bag until I picked her up.
I covered her entire form with a blanket and walked out. Slowly making my way down the stairs and placing her in her car seat in the black SUV Marcus brought. She hardly moved as I did.
Then I made my way up the stairs to grab my purse, blanket and computer bag.
"Did you get everything you needed?" He asked me.
I nodded. "Yeah, I just need to lock it." I whispered as I turned the lock on the doorknob and closed the door behind myself.
Then we made our way down the stairs and got in.
My eyes tear up as we slowly make our way safely out of the lot.
"It'll be okay, my dear." Aro said as he turned to pat my knee.
"I know." I mumbled, wiping my face.
We drove for the better part of an hour before stopping to get gas and use the bathroom.
After that we continued to drive for a while longer, before we finally reached the house.
As we arrived at the driveway, my phone began to ring.
"Hello?" I breathed.
"Hey, I was just calling to see how the move went..." Edward said.
I exhaled heavily, before answering, "We only just got here… I think it's safe to say that we made it alright. We even stopped for gas earlier." I told him as Marcus leaned out of the window to gain access to get through the gate.
He let out a breath of relief, "That's good. I'm glad you two made it out alright." He told me.
"Thanks. Charlotte is asleep again. I think the trip tired her out more than I thought it would." I mumbled looking over at Charlotte in her seat.
"Aw, poor thing. Do you know when she'll wake? I want to see how she's doing." He told me.
"Probably around seven, eight... maybe nine." I sighed, as we began to drive up the long, curvy driveway.
"Okay. I'll try to call her at that time then… Oh, Bella?" He asked.
"Yes, Edward?" I asked, as Marcus stopped the car.
"Thank you." He finally said.
I frowned as I reached over to take off the harness in her car seat. "For what?" I asked, confused.
Charlotte chose that moment to wake up, and frown, "Where's Bruno?" She asked, groggily.
I held him up, laughing as she hugged him to her chest.
"For keeping Lottie safe." He finally said.
I sighed, "It's my job to keep her safe. So, don't thank me for doing my job." I told him, plainly as Aro helped her out of the car as I slid off.
"You make giving you a compliment so difficult." He sighed.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, "Yeah, well, I'm not trying to be rude ….but this situation has made me a bit stressed… Sorry if I am coming off as rude... I'm not trying to be." I told him, apologetically.
"It's fine.. we've all been on edge since the incident happened… I'm not butthurt or anything, I understand. The important thing is that you two are now safe…." He replied, "Hey, did you by any chance figure out what you're going to do about the situation with your car?" He asked, in an attempt to change the subject.
"I'm getting Aro to sell it." I told him.
"So, how are you going to move around then?" He asked, confused.
I sighed, "Um. Marcus is going to let me loan me his SUV… I don't need to go anywhere at the moment, but he's leaving it with me, just in case of an emergency." I told him, as I followed everyone into the house.
As we made our way inside, Aro and Marcus took Charlotte to see her room, before coming back down to sit with me in the living room.
"Tell Marcus to take his SUV." He finally told me as I sat down.
I frowned, and pulled my phone away from my ear to check to see if I had heard properly.
Phone broken? No. Working properly? Yes. Static? No. Huh. I guess I had heard correctly.
I frowned again as I brought the phone back to my ear.
"Hey? Are you still there?" Edward asked me, amused.
"Uh. Yeah. I was just checking to see if I heard correctly what you said. With that being said ...Come again?" I asked, blinking.
He snickered, "Tell Marcus to take his SUV home. I'll take care of the car replacement." He told me.
I sputtered, "You don't have to do that. I— I'll raise the money for a new car, eventually... I can use Marcus's SUV it's fi—" I argued.
"Bella, seriously, this is the least I could do. It's my fault both your life and Charlotte's has been upturned and chaotic." He cut me off.
I sighed, realizing that he was only trying to help. "Are you sure you want to do that?" I asked, unconvinced.
"Yes, I do. The SUV will be under your name, so don't worry about it…" He told me.
I sighed, "I'm not worried about that… I just… I've never had to ask anyone for help… it's hard to accept that I need it." I mumbled, leaning forward and rubbing a hand over my face.
"Oh, I remember…" He mumbled. "But, hey, look at the bright side in all of this. You and Charlotte are now safe." He said, ruefully.
I laughed, "Right. You miss the fact that now we are located in the middle of nowhere." I replied amused.
I could hear as he sighed, "Hm ..I know how I can distract you..." he mumbled distractedly.
"How?"
"By asking you a question." he told me.
"Uh-oh." I replied laughing as his responding scoff.
"It's nothing bad." He promised.
"I'll be the judge of that..." I teased.
"Right... So, I actually wanted to ask you... well for your permission." He told me, nervously.
I raised a brow despite the fact that he couldn't see me. "Okay... So ask." I told him.
"Would it be alright if my family and I went to visit Charlotte and you? My older sister is going to be in town. She wants to know if she can meet Charlotte… if that's alright with you." He told me.
"How will that work? No one is supposed to know where we are." I pointed out.
"You leave that bit to me. So, can we go see you?" He asked, trying to hide his excitement.
I debated it for a second before sighing. Charlotte had been asking about him for the last few days, so I guess we could arrange it since we didn't get a chance to go to the courthouse this month or last.
Even though the visits weren't able to happen, we did begin a nightly routine where Edward would video call her if he wasn't busy, and they'd talk as she gets ready for bed.
Charlotte asked once for Edward to sing to her before she was supposed to go to sleep. He sang to her the Winnie The Pooh theme song. It was adorable. Once she heard him it became a part of the routine.
She was really starting to miss him since he'd been busy for the last four days.
I sighed, realizing that it would probably be alright for them to come here and visit. I did need to clear it with Marcus and Aro first.
"Tell me when you wish to come and I'll have Marcus clear it with Judge Romero." I finally said.
"Thank you. You won't regret this, Bella. I swear." He promised.
"I better not." I told him, teasingly.
"You won't. It'll just be my parents, sister, and me… and possibly my brother in law." He told me.
"So, your entire family. Got it." I mumbled, gasping when I felt something touch my arm.
I hadn't realized Marcus and Aro had returned until he sat next to me, and touched my arm.
'Where's Lottie?' I mouthed.
He brought his hands up together and tilted his head on them, and closed his eyes.
"Oh." I mumbled.
"So, how'd the date you told me about go?" Edward asked me, suddenly.
I blinked and snorted, "Oh, Paul and I decided to be friends. We're still talking, but we're only friends." I told him.
Wanting to wring Jacob's neck for even bringing that up when Edward visited Charlotte a week ago to bring her flowers and some food, with Marcus. It was the day I got sick after Charlotte and I got caught in a downpour. Luckily for me I was the only one who got sick.
Jacob and Leah were there watching the kids while I took a nap... When I woke up Edward was there with Marcus and they were talking while the kids are their happy meals.
"Hm." He replied, bringing me out of my thoughts.
"Look, don't worry about me dating. My friends thought it'd be a good idea to put myself out there, but Charlotte is my number one priority, and always will be, so that's not my main focus right now." I told him.
"Well, I was only asking because the holidays are coming soon and I want to know what your plans are." He told me, quietly.
I snorted, "I don't have anything planned besides spending Thanksgiving with Marcus, and Aro. My friends and their family may come but that is maybe not an actual yes." I told him.
"I-Is my being there a possibility?" He asked.
I frowned, "Aren't you and the band on tour right now?" I asked.
"No, our last gig is in Austin, Texas. Two days from now. Then we'll be back in Washington in a few days, and we're taking a few weeks off on the holidays." He informed me.
I nodded, humming in thought. "I mean I don't have a problem with that. My dad is going to come too. So… the more the merrier, I guess." I replied, amused.
"Great. Well, I should let you get some rest, I'm sure the last few days have been chaotic." He told me.
"They have." I agreed with a small laugh.
"Good night— uh, morning." He stuttered.
"It's now around six. So, morning is correct." I told him, amused.
"Ah. Okay, so, good morning?" He sighed, "Go get some rest before the kid wakes up." He finally told me.
I held back a yawn, "I probably should." I mumbled tiredly.
"Yes, go to sleep… I'll call Charlotte later, Bee." He told me.
"Yeah, you get some rest too." I mumbled to him.
"Will do." He said.
"Bye." I finally said.
After we hung up, I turned to Marcus to ask him if it would be okay for this to have them over.
He reassured me that it would be fine. Promising to ask Judge Romero when he has the chance.
Everything seemed fine, for once, until I called my dad to inform him of the change of plans, and he dropped a bigger bomb that decimated whatever hope I had of my family being ok after all this shit storm cleared and passed...
My parents were getting a divorce...
Fuck my life.