EPOV

"I wanted to do a PhD in Bioscience... But it seems to be a long journey now," Bella said to me over breakfast, "I'm just wondering if I should think about some other career option. Something that could give me better opportunities just after a bachelor degree."

"Why do you want to switch it if that's what you planned to do earlier? I'm just curious." I said.

"Ummm… I don't know. I feel like a PhD is a long way to go. Something else might give me better financial stability sooner than that." she said.

I sighed.

What am I going to do with you, Ms Swan!

"Come on, Bella! If you planned to go for Bioscience, you should do that! Please, please, please don't worry about the financial perspective. I told you, we have more than enough money!" I said.

"But it's not mine." she said.

"But it was Emmett's," I said.

"I stand by my statement," she said, "It's not mine."

So stubborn!

"Bella… Okay, let's forget about taking money from us. But think about your career, your life! If you end up doing something you don't like, well, you're not going to be happy. Please don't make any hasty decisions. Think about what I'm trying to tell you…"

"I don't know…" she sighed, "But yeah, I'll think about it."

"Thank you," I smiled, "And if you ever feel like discussing anything, I'm all here."

"I know. Thanks," she smiled.

I sighed again. I wished Emmett was here. I bet she wouldn't be worrying about this stuff if he was still here.

But I didn't get a chance to think about it during the whole day. We had a critical issue to tackle and I had been extremely busy with that.

"Come on, Dad! I'm not being aggressive," I said in the evening as I opened the door. I saw Bella sitting in the living room. I waved at her, and made my way to my room.

"Nobody is taking me seriously because I'm young. I need to show some aggression." I continued.

"Look, I know what you're trying to say," he said, "But some things can be done without aggression. I know you're young, but believe me. Everyone values and respects your opinions, and they trust your judgement. Of course, they will doubt your judgement sometimes because you're young and because you've a lesser experience compared to others, but don't let that get to you. You're doing good without that."

"Okay, I'll try," I sighed, "Anyway, you're joining the meeting with the client, right?"

"No," he said, "It will be late in the night, and I think you can manage."

I smiled. This was him saying that he trusted me, and that made me extremely proud of myself. Of course that put pressure on me, but I felt like, maybe finally I was getting there.

"You're lucky you didn't blast me even for once." Jane said after we were finally done with the meetings at five am.

We were finally done with back-to-back meetings and calls at five am, and the conclusion was Jane and I would make a business trip to London for the next steps with the client.

Jane was Dad's business partner Marcus Denali's daughter, and she was brilliant. She was a year older to me and also a year senior to me at our business. Her intelligence, her work ethics and her 'no nonsense' attitude were something I always admired. And her opinions always mattered a lot to me. We often challenged each other, and we always felt it's good to have a healthy competition sometimes.

"Because you were not at fault. I was blasting only those who were at fault," I said.

"As if you haven't made any mistake in your whole life!" she said.

"Whatever." I chuckled.

"No dude, seriously! You were on fire today. Sometimes in a good way, and sometimes in a bad!" she chuckled, "But I'd say I'm impressed with you the way you handled everything today."

"As if I give a damn about your opinion, but well, thanks!" I joked.

Even though it was a stressful day, I was really feeling happy with myself about the way I had handled the situation. Of course, I did plenty of fuck ups, but it was a good learning, and I felt I was on a right path. Today was a good reminder about how much I loved my work, and how deeply I cared about our business.

"Yeah, whatever," she said, "Anyway, I'm extremely sleepy now. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Good night."

"Yeah. And I'm extremely hungry right now," I said, "Good night."

I put the Pasta I had brought for dinner in the microwave when I heard a voice from behind.

"Busy day at work?"

"Jesus Bella, you startled me," I said as I put my hand on my heart.

"I'm… I'm really sorry!" She chuckled weakly.

"No, it's fine. I didn't expect to hear any voice at this hour," I smiled, "Why are you still awake?"

"I couldn't sleep. Nowadays I don't have any sleep routine anyway." she smiled.

Oh, I didn't know that. I thought she slept soon after we said our 'Good night's every night. Or maybe not. I doubted if I had even given a thought about it!

"You want some Pasta?" I said as I got them out of the Microwave.

"No, I had my dinner," she smiled, "By the way, is this supposed to be a late dinner or an early breakfast?"

"Good one." I chuckled, "Early breakfast I guess!"

"I see." She smiled, "Busy day at work?"

"Oh yeah, don't ask about it," I said, "It was extremely stressful, but I'm lucky to have a really good team. Oh, by the way, I need to leave for a business trip to London tomorrow, for a week."

"Oh I see," she said.

"There're going to be some new challenges on this trip, but I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a good learning experience."

"That's great." She smiled.

"So… Do you want me to go back to Gran's house while you're out?" She asked after some time.

Umm… what?

Why would I want her to do that?

We were one hell of a married couple! I mean, why would I want her to leave the house while I was away on a business trip?

"Bella… No! I don't want you to do anything like that." I said, "Please treat this as our own home."

"Ummm thanks," she said.

"Please don't overthink about anything," I smiled.

"Yeah," she smiled, "But I was thinking… Maybe we should talk about our… situation when you're back?" she asked.

Well, she was right.

We needed some clarification on this.

What were the boundaries?

How long did we expect this to go on?

My theory was till she got her life back on track, and it seemed she was on the right track?

So, did we really need this marriage?

One thing remaining was, I had to convince her to get money from us for her education.

But again, did we really have to stay married for that?

I could do it without that!

"Sure." I said, "Let's talk once I'm back."