I'm deeply sorry for not updating for a looooong time. I had review classes—I need to take them so that I can have a good chance of getting into the top universities here—so there wasn't much free time. Another reason would be that I had Writer's Block for a long time.

Well, hope you enjoy this. In case you haven't noticed, I put up THREE chapters! WEEEEE! Ha-ha.

~*~*~ Playing Mommy~*~*~

Isabella Swan

"You got a job?"

After I met up with Edward, I called Alice to tell her the news. "That's great—terrific!"

"Yeah, yeah," I said as I put down my photo on the kitchen counter. I approached the fridge, opened it, and grabbed a can of soda. "Very lucky of me."

Alice sensed my lack of enthusiasm. "Wait, aren't you happy?" she asked. I sighed. I opened the soda and took a sip. The fizzy substance made my stomach rumble.

"I am happy," I said, forcing my best cheery voice. I took another sip. "I mean, the pay's really excellent." Excellent, indeed

"By the way, what is your job?" she asked. I had hoped she wouldn't ask me that. But I could have expected it… since it was Alice.

"I'm working as an assistant to some hotshot lawyer," I left out what I was assisting him for. What she didn't know won't hurt her. And I knew she would just play Conscience on me.

"I thought you wanted to have something journalism-related?" it was really hard getting off a conversation with her. Geez

"It is—kind of," I said. Truthfully, there was no hint of journalism in it.

"Well, at least you have a job," she said. "But, what if you get accepted into Harvard?"

"Actually, it's just a temporary job," I admitted. I owed her at least a bit of the truth. "It's more like a project."

"Some kind of business trip?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said. Then someone knocked at the door. Thank goodness someone was kind enough to interrupt. "Uh, I better go. Someone's at the door."

"Oh. Bye," she said then finally hung up. I put down the phone and went to open the door. Wordlessly, Rosalie, Emmett's wife, stepped into my apartment. "Rose, what are you doing here?"

"I need a break," she sighed then plopped on my couch. She leaned back her head and put her hands on her face. "I can't believe how hard it is to be a parent."

I sat beside her and grinned. "Did you really leave Emmett with them?" I asked, a bit incredulous.

"He owes me," she said then turned her head so that she was facing me. She narrowed her eyes. "Laugh if you must. I bet you will be extremely tired before bedtime if you were in my place."

I laughed faintly. Little did she know I was going to find out…?

A week later

My bags were finally packed. I looked in the mirror to see if I looked a little bit like a mom. I had let my hair down, letting my natural curls cascade freely to the middle of my back. I was wearing a plain white sleeveless top underneath my light blue cashmere sweater, a khaki skirt that ended just below the knee, and a pair of strapped sandals. And for the final touch, I dabbed some lip gloss on my mouth.

As if on cue, someone knocked on my door. I looked through the peephole and almost felt my heart beat slightly faster at the sight of Edward—he was talking to someone on his phone. I took a deep breath, grabbed my bags, and opened the door. I showed my best friendly smile at him, which immediately faltered when he just nodded at me and continued talking on his cell. Inconsiderate

Without even bothering to lend a hand with my bags, he turned away. Very inconsiderate!

I cleared my throat as loud as I could. "A-hem!" I practically shouted. He stopped and looked at me over his shoulder, looking annoyed. I arched a brow and pointed at my bags. "Mister Cullen, don't you know that respectable gentlemen help ladies with their bags?"

He rolled his eyes and murmured something on his phone and closed it shut. He walked back to me and slung my bags over his shoulder. He looked at me sarcastically. "Happy?" he asked.

I grinned. "Delighted," I said. He snorted, which still made him look cute—SHUT UP!

I followed him down to his car wordlessly. That was because he didn't bother make conversations. I couldn't believe I thought he was the polite kind. He put my bags in the trunk of his car then stepped inside the driver's seat. I went in the front passenger seat on the other side and strapped my self in.

"Let's start discussing what you're going to tell Renesmee," he suddenly said, being straight to the point. He began to drive out of the front of my apartment building and we were soon on the busy road. "You came from France…"

"I have a degree in journalism so I better did something related to it," I suggested. He sighed.

"Fine," he said. "You went there to study their culture and history."

"I wrote my experiences to a small publication," I added. He sighed again.

"Yes," he agreed. "You decided to take a break so you came to visit us here."

"That's simple enough," I admitted. "I can handle it."

"Good," he said. He briefly looked at me. "I'm hoping you know how to act..?"

I blushed. "Kind of," I said, embarrassed. He sighed. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Stop that!"

"Stop what?" he asked.

"Sighing," I pointed out. "You keep sighing. It's irritating."

He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

I pursed my lips. "So," I started. "What happened to her real mom?"

"She died giving birth to her," he said.

"So you didn't have the heart to tell her," I stated. He nodded blankly. I groaned.

"I don't get how lawyers can be so emotionless," I huffed. He glared at the road, but I knew it was supposed to be directed at me. "Oh, don't even try to deny it. It's true."

"Maybe that's because our job requires us to be serious," he countered.

"Well, it doesn't have to take over your life," I countered.

"It'll be harder if you keep up two strong emotions," he debated. I was speechless. Stupid lawyer tactic! "It will obviously confuse the brain."

"Well, I still think it's not healthy," I huffed. He rolled his eyes. Silence ensued after that.

…

The place where the Cullens lived was obviously for the hotshots. It was huge and looked excessively classy for my taste. With my bags in tow, we went up to the fifth floor. Edward wordlessly led the way. I mentally scoffed. Lawyers…

He opened the door that had the number 478 on it and we were immediately attacked by Renesmee, his daughter—or should I say: our daughter. Her curly hair was tied in two braids and she was wearing a cute red dress and white flats. She hugged Edward then leaped into my arms, almost knocking the wind out of me. I did my most convincing love-filled hug, and I ended up doing it for real. The girl was very lovable.

"You're here!" she said excitedly. When she pulled back, she kissed both my cheeks. "You're really here!" I grinned and kissed her forehead.

"I missed you, baby," I cooed then hugged her again.

"Gloria, would you take these bags to our room?" Edward said to a middle-aged woman. I pulled back from Renesmee.

"Yes, sir," the woman said and prepared to take my bags. But I stopped her.

"Wait, I'll help you," I offered. She smiled.

"It's okay, ma'am," then she slung my bags over her shoulder. I bit my lip. Then Renesmee tugged at my skirt. I looked down at her.

"Mommy, do you wanna tour around?" she asked, her grin reaching her ears.

I smiled. "Sure," I said and she tugged at my hand to follow her. And as we walked away, I heard Edward talk on his phone again. Was that guy really all about work?

Renesmee showed me different rooms—hers, her grandma's, and her dad's. When I asked her if I could sleep with her tonight—because I wasn't going to sleep in one room with Mister Workaholic, handsome he may be—she just giggled. "That wouldn't be fair to daddy," she said.

"Right," I murmured. She looked at me with confused eyes.

"Don't you want to sleep with him?" she asked. Uh-oh…

"Uh, I just thought maybe you want to sleep with me," I covered.

"Maybe next time," she grinned. Then she whispered in my ear teasingly. "I know that mommies and daddies spend time together after being apart. Daddy probably missed you more than I did." I blushed, even though it wasn't true. I only met Edward yesterday.

"Next time, then?" I asked. She nodded then gave me a hug.

"See you later, mommy," she said when we pulled apart. "I'm going to my friend's house."

"Have fun, baby," I grinned. She skipped away toward her nanny and they left the apartment. I let out a breath. I was free for now. Since I didn't have anything better to do, I decided to go to my temporary room.

Inside I saw Edward doing something on his laptop. He looked preoccupied but since he hadn't been exactly polite, I wanted to give a little taste of his medicine. "Oy!" I said. He jumped in his seat then looked at me over his shoulder, looking annoyed at my interruption. I kept my face blank as I leaned on the wall casually.

"If you're wondering where to put your clothes, the closet's beside you," he said as he returned to his work. I looked briefly at the closet then turned back to him.

"There's no way I'm sleeping the same room as you," I said.

"Don't worry. Our feelings are mutual," he said. I think my eye just twitched in annoyance. "But if we want to make this believable, we have to share this room. Besides, when you accepted the offer to be her mom, it's automatically understood that you would also be my wife—for a month or so."

"No way am I sharing a bed with you," I said stubbornly. He looked at me cynically.

"And why the hell not?" he asked. I shrugged and fought the urge to blush. Luckily, I succeeded in suppressing it.

"I don't sleep with guys next to me," I said nonchalantly. "They can't be trusted."

He stood up from his chair and grabbed a blanket and a pillow from the bed. "Please," he said. "Like I would even attack you"

I narrowed my eyes. He was completely insulting my being a woman here.

He ignored my glare and laid out a makeshift bed using the blanket on the floor. "Since you're highly choosy, you're going to sleep here" he announced. I shook my head. This guy obviously didn't know how to be a gentleman.

"No," I said. He glared at me. I sat on the center of the bed and crossed my legs. "I'm sleeping on the bed. You sleep on the ground."

"Whatever," he said. He glared at me—I glared back. "Just as long you stop complaining." I shrugged.

This was going to be a long month.