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Chapter Two: How She Became Mrs. Edward Anthony Masen Cullen.
With a gasp, Bella fell back against her seat.
"You have to meet him, Bella," her mother, Renee pleaded. "If not, he is going to take the boys, and for their sake; we can't allow that to happen."
"But why? Why do this now?" Bella murmured as she struggled to find some reason for the legal documents that she was served with just an hour ago.
"You know why, Bella," Charlie intoned, gently rubbing his hand down his daughter's back. "That man was quite clear on what they believed was going on and I think that the only way that you are going to stop this from happening is by going to Mr. Cullen and telling him the truth. Hopefully, he is a man of reason and will at least hear you out."
"It's not like I have a choice," Bella sighed, lifting her head to look at her sons, who were sprawled on the floor, under a fort that they had just built using her parents' couch cushions, completely oblivious to their mother's turmoil.
"When will you go?" Renee asked gently. "We could keep the boys for you."
"I'll go tomorrow. Just get it over and done with," Bella sighed, her voice cracking. "And could you keep the boys tonight, too? I don't want them to see me fall apart."
"Sweetheart," Renee whispered before pulling her daughter in for a long, comforting hug. "I will be alright. You better stay, too. Go take a bath and get to bed. Your dad and I will handle the boys."
"You sure?" Bella asked hesitantly, though a hot bath did sound like heaven after her sixteen hour shift.
"I'm positive. I was planning to make macaroni and cheese and grilled chicken; I know the boys will be fine with that. Go and take care of yourself and get your head in the game," Renee smiled before kissing her daughter on her forehead and leaving to prepare dinner for the rest of the family.
Kissing her father on his cheek, Bella silently made her way up the stairs, pausing on the third step to look back at the boys, Theo and Chase Swan.
She could still remember the first day she saw them…..the first day she ever knew about them.
It was December 14th, 2011. She had woken up in search of another blanket, hoping to fight away the biting cold that always accompanied a Forks winter. It was during this search, she heard the first of her son's cries. She could remember how she trembled when she opened that front door that day; the lawn was covered with a thick bed of snow, and the wind was blowing at unimaginable speeds, yet her sisters had left their most precious gifts, bundled in tattered blankets on her porch with one small bag of shredded clothing between them.
She remember the hysteria that filled her as she attempted to pick them both up, her panicked cries caused the Thomas', her elderly neighbours, to run over to see what was wrong. It was Mrs. Thomas who took Bella into her room and ordered her to strip off her t-shirt so that she could use her own body heat to warm the pale, shivering children back up. Mr. Thomas was the one who called her parents before running back to his own home for the bottles and formula they kept there for their own grandchildren, as well as any baby blankets and clothes that were left behind.
By the time her parents got there, Bella had the little ones comfortably wrapped up in blankets, fed a bottle each, and cuddled in Mr. and Mrs. Thomas' arms. She remembered leaping into her father's strong arms as her mother walked over to the children.
Even though a letter was found buried in between the few baby clothes, none of the Swans needed to read the letters to know that they were staring at Alice and Rosalie's children.
After the children were placed to sleep in Bella's bed, and after the elder Thomas couple left the shaken family, Charlie, Bella's father, opened the letter.
To this day, neither Bella, nor her mother, Renee, knew what was written in the letter since Charlie threw the letter into the fireplace after reading it.
Whatever was written there, though, had ignited a fury so strong in Charlie that it truly frightened Bella, but she never had a reason to fear for herself or the children. In all honesty, she feared for her sisters because all she could keep asking herself was what happened that had caused her sisters to abandon their children on at her door. Had they been kidnapped? Robbed? Murdered?
The fear she felt for her sisters truly did paralyze her, but all of her worries ended when her father revealed to her that her sisters had abandoned the children, leaving behind all of their documents such as their birth certificate and social security numbers and had also left behind legal documents handing over guardianship of the children to her.
Wide-eyed, Bella sat stunned as she stared at her father in disbelief. She was nineteen and living in a house that she had inherited for her grandmother, but it was in desperate need of repairs. She was working at the bookstore, making just enough to survive. But, other than that, she was in no position to take care of two children. Unfortunately, that was the hand that she was dealt.
In the beginning, Bella and her parents had tried to transfer the guardianship for Bella to themselves, but Alice and Rosalie had blocked that by filing a baseless complaint against their mother for child abuse. Try as they might, by the time they had finally had the complaint against her mother investigated and subsequently dismissed, the Swan family had fallen into a routine that surrounded the two children.
Four years later, Bella, on her twenty-third birthday, officially adopted the boys and the fact that they were biologically not hers, was buried deeply under all the love that she carried for them.
The joy of her memories were strong enough to cripple her and now she was faced with the fear of losing them, Bella was a mess.
Finally, when she was able to pull herself up the stairs and away from her boys, Bella walked herself into the bathroom and submerged herself in the hot water of a most needed bath while she thought.
She knew she needed to call her lawyer and see what ground Edward Cullen had to stand on to actually take her children away, but something told her that Edward Cullen had no intentions to playing along the lines of the law. He was going to play dirty and she knew that she had no chance in hell to win against a power house like Edward Cullen.
The next morning found Bella up at the crack of dawn. In truth, she had been up since three a.m.; her dreams were plagued with nightmares of the boys being taken from her. To keep herself occupied, Bella cooked the boys their favourite breakfast of porridge and fresh fruit and prepared lunch for her father to take to work and for her mother to have on hand since the boys were going to stay with her while Bella went to meet Edward.
"You're dressed already? Couldn't sleep?" Her father's deep voice pulled her out from her dark thoughts.
"Yeah….um…I made you breakfast," Bella nodded towards the table before turning her gaze back towards the window.
"It will be fine, Bella. It will work out," Charlie muttered as he walked over to his daughter.
"I do hope so. I will leave in a bit. I made you lunch as well. It's in your lunch bag. Breakfast for Chase and Theo has been prepared, too. The fruit is in the fridge. I made them pasta for lunch and it needs to be heated through before Mum serves it up. I made you macaroni and cheese, a BLT, and a fruit salad for lunch. There is fresh orange juice in the fridge if you want to take some with you," Bella rattled over, reaching over for her purse and car keys.
"Bella, sit and eat something before you go. It's only six thirty, sweetheart," Charlie said.
"But I can't. I can't' stay here knowing that they can be taken from me. I can't do it, Dad. I have to go; if it means waiting the entire day, I will do just that," Bella all but shouted.
"Alright. Call me when you get there," Charlie whispered as he kissed his daughter on her head and then watched with a twisted stomach as his child drove away to meet a man who could destroy her.
A little after ten that morning, Bella found herself parking her tiny Honda in the visitors' parking lot at the headquarters of Cullen Enterprises. With trembling hands, Bella reached down to her purse and pulled out a mint and popped it in her mouth, hoping to alleviate any reminisce of the hurried stops she had made along the way to empty her twisted stomach of its non-existent contents.
This is it, she thought to herself. No stopping now. You can't stop now.
Steeling herself, she got out of her car and made her way into the immaculately constructed skyscraper and approached the help desk located next to the elevator.
"Um…excuse me?" she stuttered uncertainly. "Is Mr. Edward Cullen here?"
"Do you have an appointment?" The bubbly blonde asked with a kind smile on her face.
"No but..." Bella started to say but was cut off by the receptionist.
"Then I am so sorry, but I cannot help you. You need to make an appointment to see Mr. Cullen," the blonde smiled softly.
"Please," Bella's voice cracked. "I have to see him. My children…. He's going to take my children."
"What?" The receptionist said with wide eyes, moving around the desk to help the silently crying woman into a chair.
"He…." Bella tried to speak, but her throat tightened tightly in her grief and panic.
"Hold on," the receptionist said softly, handing Bella a tissue and bottle of water before she got on the phone. "Good day Mr. Cullen. There is woman down here who wants to see you...Yes, I know she needs an appointment, but she said that some man was trying to take her children away and I think she needs help...Her name? Um…I'm not sure. She's been crying since she got here. Her looks? Short. Tiny in size. Brown hair. Her eyes? Brown…Hello? Mr. Cullen? Um…Miss. I think you need to make an appointment," the receptionist said softly to Bella as she gently rubbed her back.
"Okay," Bella whispered tearfully but before she could say another word, she was spun around so strongly that she crashed into a firm chest.
"Humph!" Bella coughed, her breath being knocked out of her.
"Hello, Ms. Swan," a deep voice purred seductively in her ears. "I must say you got here much sooner than I anticipated."
Pushing herself away from the firm body, her eyes locked on the figure of the impeccably dressed man in front of her.
"You're Mr. Cullen, I presume," she spat at him.
"I am," he chuckled, his green eyes filling with unexplainable mirth.
"And you want to take my children from me?" she shrieked in outrage, drawing curious stares from several people in the lobby.
"I am," he nodded, but before she could say anything else, he walked off.
Ignoring the voice in her head, the one telling her to think before she acted, Bella hurried after the retreating man with every intention to force him to listen to what she had to say.
If she had been thinking, she would have noted the relaxed posture Mr. Cullen had taken as he stood in an empty elevator. If she had been thinking, she would have noticed the way he smirked as the elevator closed behind her, locking them away from the world. If she had been thinking, she would have realized long ago that Edward Cullen was setting a trap and she had already fallen into it.
"Mr. Cullen, would you care to explain to me why you are trying to take my children from me?" Bella spat out.
"On the contrary, Ms. Swan, there are those that would argue that those children are not yours," Edward smirked, loving the pink hue that bloomed across her face as fury turned her soulful brown eyes into liquid coal.
"They are mine!" she roared, so gone in her fury.
"I am sure they are," Edward responded in a sarcastic manner before the elevator doors opened, directly leading the pair into Edward's office.
"Mr. Cullen, I am unsure of what you were told, but those boys are mine in every sense of the word. They are my sons, my babies," Bella said passionately.
"Well, how about I tell you what I have heard," Edward stated as he took his seat behind his desk before gesturing for Bella to have a seat, a seat which she refused to take. "My brothers, Emmett and Jasper, came to me several weeks ago and asked for my help in a private matter. You see my brothers are dating your sisters. In fact, Emmett will be getting married to your sister in a matter of days."
"Heaven help the poor bastard," Bella muttered, unaware that Edward had heard her.
"They came to me, asking me to help them find the long lost sons of your sisters. They were told that your mother and father had taken the children away from them and then disowned them, leaving them on the streets with nothing but the clothes on their backs," Edward continued on, completely ignoring her interruption.
"But that is not true," Bella gasped. "That didn't happen at all. They abandoned them; Chase and Theo. Alice and Rosalie left them at my front door in the dead of night in the middle of winter."
"I am aware of that, Ms. Swan," Edward nodded.
"Then why are you threatening to take two children away from the only mother they ever knew to give them over to the mothers who did not give a damn about them," Bella shouted.
"I have no intentions of taking your children away from you," Edward said calmly, turning his eyes away from the woman. "In fact, I have no legal ground to do so. Legally, you are their mother and you have solid proof to support your case…..so solid, in fact, that no one could ever take those children from you."
"Then why send those documents?" Bella whispered, shakily sitting down on a chair.
"I sent them because I am an opportunist," Edward said as he stood and moved over to pull a chair over so that he was sitting in front of Bella.
"I don't understand."
"Ms. Swan, for months now, I have been investigating your sisters. Something about them did not sit right with me. Within days of starting this investigation, I learned that your sisters were simply after the money that my brothers have through their trust funds and investments they had made. As time went along, I came across more and more irrefutable evidence of your sisters' plot to rob my brothers of every penny they had." Edward confessed.
"So, did you tell your brothers about their plot and then did my sisters, in turn, tell your brothers that my parents and I were using the children to blackmail them or something like that?" Bella asked hesitantly.
"Actually, it is nothing like that. In fact, I have not told my brothers anything," Edward shrugged.
"What? That makes no sense! My sisters are the worst of the worst. Really, you need to protect your brothers and tell them the truth," Bella exclaimed.
"No, Miss Swan. I have done and will do the opposite of that. You see my brothers truly love your sisters and I refuse to have them hurt that way," Edward stated.
"That is twisted," Bella gapped at him.
"Maybe, but I know that your sisters won't be going through with their plan because, you see, your sisters fell in love with my brothers, too and I guarantee you that if they had the choice to redo the inclusion of their children in their attempt to rob my brothers, they would do it all over again in a heartbeat," Edward shrugged.
"Still… why am I here? Why not leave us alone if you knew it was a farce?" Bella asked, completely puzzled.
"As I said before Ms. Swan, I am an opportunist," Edward smirked. "And I saw an opportunity that I just could not miss out on."
"And what opportunity is that?" Bella asked, looking Edward in his eyes.
"You, Ms. Swan. You were the opportunity that I could not miss….the opportunity that I cannot miss," Edward whispered.
"What?" Bella chocked.
"I had my men following you and day after day I would see you with your children. I would see the love you have for them and for the first time in my life I saw myself wanting something, not for myself, but for my children," Edward muttered as he reached out to take hold of a picture frame near to him. "Two failed marriages and I was left with two children. My ex-wives want nothing to do with them and it kills me to see my children yearn for that maternal connection. A man in my position cannot date, Ms. Swan and as such my children have suffered greatly."
"I'm not following you," Bella whispered.
"What I am saying is this…my children need a mother. You are an excellent mother so you will become their mother," Edward said in a frank manner.
"What?" Bella shrieked, her pulse beginning to race.
"I do not think I need to repeat myself," Edward rolled his eyes.
"But I can't be their mother. I am not their mother. I don't know your children. I don't know you. What the heck?" Bella blurted out.
"I am well aware that you are not my children's mother, Ms. Swan, but you will be or else I will do everything in my power to have your children taken from you," Edward spat.
"But you just said you couldn't do that!" Bella rebutted.
"But sometimes things happen and CPS must be called. I did say that I couldn't have the children returned to your sisters, but I also didn't say that they would never be taken away from you," Edward chuckled darkly.
"Why are you doing this?" Bella asked in a daze.
"My children need a mother. You are a woman who I have had watched for months and I have seen the love you have for two children that are not biologically yours. Not many women can do that, so I believe that you will be perfect," Edward said.
"And how do you propose I go about becoming your children's mother, Mr. Cullen?" Bella said heatedly, rolling her eyes at the absurdity of the argument.
"It will be very simple, Ms. Swan. You will marry me and legally adopt my children as yours," Edward said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
"Are you insane?" Bella shouted. "No, I will not do that. Never. I will never do that, Mr. Cullen. I have my boys to think about. No! This will not happen."
"Yes, it will, Ms. Swan, or else there will be a call placed to CPS in a matter of minutes by an elderly woman who saw you hit your child in the park," Edward roared back though his anger diminished in seconds as he watched Bella struggle with the weight of the threat he had just thrown at her.
"My boys…I have to think about my boys. I can't just be a mother to your kids while my boys suffer. I will not abandon them. Never," Bella replied with a shake of her head.
"You will not be abandoning your boys, Ms. Swan. In fact, they will become my sons, too. After all, if you adopt my children, it's only fair that I adopt yours."
"This isn't right!" Bella sobbed. "Talking about children like they are chess pieces."
Silently, Edward dropped the picture frame he was holding into Bella's lap, fighting against himself as he watched her softly trace the outline of his children's faces in the picture with her fingers.
"Help me, Bella," Edward pleaded. "Love my children and I will give yours the world and I promise to protect them."
"But marriage?" Bella sighed. "It just seems so over the top."
"I want my children to have the stability...our children."
"And what about our lives? My parents?"
"I will deal with all of it," Edward promised, internally smirking as he realized that Bella was on the verge of giving in. "I would prefer that you don't work. My younger child is only eight months old, and if you agree to this, your children will never want for anything again."
"It's not like I have a choice though. Not with you threatening to take my children away," Bella pointed out. "Damned if I do. Damned if I don't. How are we going to go about this? The marriage and adoptions?"
"I am glad you can see things my way," Edward smirked, reaching over to his desk to grab a file before handing it over to Bella. "I have all the paperwork here. You can go through it all."
Wiping away her tears, Bella slowly began to read through all the documents in front of her while Edward resumed working. Once in a while, she would stop and call her attorney, just to ensure what she was reading was for the best of her children.
There were so many different documents.
Marriage certificate.
Adoption papers.
Papers to change her name and the boys from Swan to Cullen.
As she read through each page, she fought against her churning stomach and light headedness.
An hour later, Bella finally finished and cautiously cleared her throat. "Um…..Mr. Cullen?"
"Yes, Ms. Swan?" he responded without lifting his eyes away from the papers he was reading.
"I'm ready to sign," she whispered causing Edward's eyes to shoot up to look at her.
Nodding, he straightened his tie and stood before making his way over to the woman who was anxiously biting her lips.
Wordlessly, he pulled out a pen from his pocket and quickly signed the documents before offering Bella the pen to do the same. Edward felt a deep sense to victory fill him as he watched Bella sign her name next to his on the various documents.
"So… what now?" Bella asked shyly handing him back his pen.
"Now, you and I will go to your home and inform your parents about what has happened. We will collect Theo and Chase and then return to my home where you will meet my son, Alexander, and my daughter, Cayla," Edward informed her as he collected his belongings to leave for the day.
"Am I really your wife?" Bella asked as if unable to compute what had happened.
"Yes, Ms. Swan. You are now my wife. You are now Mrs. Cullen," he replied and, in that moment, Edward was never more thankful for his speedy reflexes as he rushed over to catch his new wife as she fainted.