Okay, so barring any unforeseen circumstances, there will be 3 more chapters, including this one, for this story, and then an epilogue. So we're talking four more updates in all, including this one. Therefore, I estimate we'll be done by next week. :)
A&A Ch. 34 (P&P Ch. 59)
A soft vibration roused Bella from her slumber. She opened her eyes tiredly and looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand, seeing that it was indeed time for her to wake up. She'd slept like a rock, barely even remembering having gone to bed the night before.
Before the fog of sleep could completely lift itself from her hazy mind, she heard the soft vibrations again and realized that it was her cell phone, which kept vibrating from the very edge of her nightstand. Still drowsy from sleep, she answered it without looking at the caller ID.
"Hello?"
"Good morning, Beautiful. Am I waking you? This is the time you asked me to call."
Bella sat straight up. With that voice, with those few words, everything rushed back, and her heart rate spiked from barely awake to maximum overdrive.
Edward.
"Edward."
Edward chuckled. "Yes, it's me. How was your night?"
How had her night been? Apparently, she'd slept like the dead – most likely due to how exhausted she'd been from her lack of sleep the previous evening. And though she was fully awake now, she was still having a hard time placing the images currently running rampant through her head into the proper perspective and splitting them up between what had been reality and what was in most likelihood just dreams.
"You came to my house in the early hours of the morning yesterday," she whispered aloud, almost to herself as a way to organize her thoughts.
"Yes," Edward said with a smile in his voice. "I did."
"And then we kissed – a lot."
Edward chuckled heartily. "Yes, we did."
"Then we hung out with my sister and the guys."
"Yes," Edward confirmed.
Bella slowly lay back down, relaxing into her warm comforter and comfy pillow, closing her eyes.
"Then you brought me back to school, and we sat in the car and kissed some more."
She could hear Edward laughing at her quietly, but she didn't care.
"Yes, my Love, we kissed some more - though not enough for my liking, that's for sure."
She smiled, but the smile soon faded. Her sleepy eyes widened in complete and total bewilderment and disbelief. She sat up straight once more.
"What else do you remember?" Edward breathed.
"I…I…Edward, I must've been dreaming. It had to be a dream…"
"What had to be a dream?" he urged gently. "Tell me, Love."
"I can't tell you. I can't. Because if it was just a dream…if it didn't really happen…"
"Is that your way of trying to get out of it?" Edward asked, but Bella could hear the teasing tone of his smooth voice. "By pretending that you think it was just a dream, and it didn't actually happen? Well, I'm afraid it's not going to work. You agreed to marry me as soon as you graduate, and I'm not letting you get out of it by pretending it was all just a nightmare of yours."
"A nightmare?" she screeched. "Edward…Edward you asked me to marry you! You asked me to be your wife!"
"Yes, I did. And you agreed."
Bella could hear the slightly shaky quality of his voice. "I agreed," she breathed. "I said yes."
"Do you regret it in the light of day?"
"No," she answered quickly, honestly. "No, not at all. I love you, Edward."
"I love you too, Bella," he said, his voice strong and sure.
OOOOOOOOOO
Edward and Bella spent the next half hour on the phone, talking about anything and everything the way new lovers tend to do – especially those with far distances between them.
When they were done, Bella got ready for her morning run, and then went to her classes. She'd texted back and forth with Alice during the day, basic things like "how's your day?" and "hope you're adjusting after the holidays." Throughout the day, she also sent and received texts from her new fiancée, but these were very different from those she shared with her sister.
'I miss you like hell.'
'So do I. I can still feel your warm mouth on mine. And your tongue tasting mine…'
'Bella, you can't just say things like that to me without warning. I have patients - one who's about to run out of this office because of how loudly I just groaned.'
'LOL. I'm sorry, Edward. Go take care of your patients. I've got another class to get to anyway. We'll speak later.'
'Love you, future wifey.'
'Love you back.'
A huge grin broke out across her face. Edward had referred to their engagement in one way or another in about eighty percent of the texts he'd sent her so far today. Yes, their official relationship was extremely new, but by this point, Bella and Edward had been unofficially testing each other out for half a year now, with heated banter and unresolved tension and…
Well, Bella felt completely confident in her decision to marry Edward. She loved him, and she knew that no one would ever be able to get a rise out of her – in every possible way – the way he could.
The next few months' separation was going to be extremely hard.
In addition, the situation of her family still made her uncomfortable. She couldn't even imagine how the news of her impending nuptials would be received in Forks. Bella had said not a word to her mother before leaving and only a quick goodbye to her father, unable and unwilling to deal with the shock and confusion on their faces from the very graphic public display of affection they'd all witnessed between she and Edward. She was all too aware that no one in her family, save Alice and Emmett, liked Edward, and though in her heart it made no difference, in her head, she still feared that it was a dislike that all of Edward's fortune wouldn't be able to erase.
So when the day was over, before calling Edward again, she called her sister, unable to keep her happy news to herself any longer.
"You're kidding me, right? I'm being punked here. Engaged to Edward! Nope, I don't believe it."
Bella was surprised – and frankly a bit upset – by Alice's reaction.
"Well, this conversation isn't going the way I'd hoped. If no one else, I was hoping for at least your congratulations. And if you don't even believe me, I don't know what I'll have to do to convince anyone else. Edward loves me. I love him. We're engaged."
Alice was silent for a few seconds. "Bella, you're serious. It's not a joke. Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I thought you were…but I don't understand. I mean, obviously yes, there's something between you two; I saw it yesterday. But engaged? You barely even know him, and up until a couple of months ago, you hated him!"
"I did not hate him," Bella said sharply. "And that's all in the past anyway. Maybe I didn't love him as much as I do now, but even then, I felt something for him. I was just too stubborn to admit it to myself."
Alice was once again stunned into silence.
"Say something, Alice."
"I…Bella, of course I believe you. And I'm so sorry," Alice said, sounding truly contrite. "Of course I congratulate you, I'm just shocked! But...look, please don't take this the wrong way. Are you sure? Marriage is such a huge step!"
"Alice, I couldn't be more sure if I'd known him for ten years, so if the amount of time we've known each other is your only concern, then please don't be worried. I was hoping you'd be happy for me."
"Oh Bella!" Alice squealed, sounding much more joyous now. "I'm so very happy for you! And I know Jasper will be too. We actually spoke quite a bit about you two yesterday, and we talked about the possibility, but we never thought it would happen so soon. You beat us! But are you positively sure you love him enough?"
"Oh yeah! You'll actually think I should love him even more when I tell you everything. You may even fall in love with him a bit yourself, so brace yourself."
Alice laughed. "Bella, stop joking and tell me what in the world you're talking about! And when exactly did you fall in love with Edward?"
"It's been happening so gradually that I hadn't even noticed. But I can probably date it back to when I first saw his beautiful Vineyard, Pemberley," Bella mused dramatically.
By this time, Alice was rolling with laughter. "Bella, be serious, please!"
And after a few seconds of raucous giggles from both ends of the call, Bella and Alice finally calmed down. Then Bella spoke so solemnly and seriously to Alice about love and about how deep her feelings for Edward were that there was no longer any doubt in Alice's mind.
"Oh Bella, you don't understand how happy I am," Alice assured her. "I always knew that no simple, ordinary man would ever be a right fit for you. You've always needed someone who could challenge your mind as well as your heart, and I'm so glad you found him in Edward. I've always liked him, and if it were just that he loved you, that would've been enough to make me like him even more. But now that I know that he's going to be your husband, well there will be no one in the world other than you and Jasper that I can appreciate more."
Bella felt a satisfying warmth at her sister's sweet words.
"But you've been holding back on me, Bella," Alice said much more wryly. "I've got a feeling that a lot more went on in Madrona and Ithaca than you let on! What little I do know of what went on at Pemberley actually came from Jasper and Emmett instead of from you."
Bella apologized for not having told Alice about how much time she and Edward spent together at Pemberley, and about how close they'd gotten in those short couple of days, but then she explained that she'd been uncomfortable to mention Jasper to her after the way things had ended between the two. What's more, after what happened with Jessica and the circumstances that brought them all back to Forks, her time in Ithaca had been a difficult subject to discuss.
But now, she told Alice everything – including all that her wonderful fiancée had done for Jessica.
OOOOOOOOOO
Three Months Later:
"Oh great!" Renee moaned as she stood by the window. "Look who's come with Jasper; that arrogant, cheeky Dr. Cullen! Humph! Haven't heard much about him since New Year's. Suppose he got what he wanted and went on his merry way," she sneered in Bella's direction.
Bella, who'd been in the middle of a half-decent conversation with a very pregnant Jessica, ignored her mother's jab.
It was the Easter holiday, and her first time back in Forks since New Year's. She'd really only come up out of a sense of duty to her father if to no one else, having been engaged for three months now. The wedding would take place in three more months, and Edward had insisted that it was time he was allowed to officially ask her father for Bella's hand - at least before the Swan Residence actually received the wedding invitation. And though Bella found the entire asking-for-her-hand thing to be just a tad bit old-school, she appreciated how much it meant to her future husband.
As for her mother, Bella would deal with her in her own way.
"Now why in the world would he be coming here?" Renee muttered to herself. "Must we expect him every time that Jasper is in town? Bella, when they come in, take him for a walk or something, behind some bushes; whatever. Just get him out of Alice and Jasper's way."
Bella bit her tongue to keep from saying anything and reminded herself that she wouldn't have to put up with this much longer.
As soon as they entered, Jasper wrapped Bella up in a tight, brotherly hug and whispered in her ear:
"Alice showed me the wedding invitations that she helped you and Edward pick out. They're really beautiful. Maybe…maybe this summer, if your sister says yes to me, it'll be your turn to help us pick out something nice."
Bella grinned from ear to ear. "As soon as you ask, she'll say yes, and then I'd be honored to help with anything," she whispered back.
Jasper hugged her tighter and said really close to Bella's ear, "I know I already told you this last month when you were in New York over Valentine's weekend, but I couldn't be happier for the both of you."
Bella squeezed his hand in thanks.
When they pulled away, Edward was watching them through narrowed eyes. Bella gave him a look that let him know she was laughing at him.
Edward greeted the entire family with total and complete politeness, but without a hint of anything that would indicate that he was soon to be family. This had been Bella's request. If he wanted to formally ask her father for her hand, that was fine, but Bella had insisted on being allowed to speak to her mother privately about it. She had no idea how her mother would react to her news and could see it going one of two ways:
Yelling and screaming and proclaiming her never-ending opposition to the marriage due to how hateful and arrogant Edward was.
Or yelling and screaming and proclaiming her never-ending approval to the marriage due to how rich and powerful Edward was.
Either would be an embarrassment of epic proportions, and she could no more stomach the idea of Edward being witness to her mother's loud wails of protest than she could stomach his witnessing her loud wails of joy.
That evening after dinner, when Charlie walked out to his small back yard to escape the noise and commotion in his house for a few minutes, Edward followed him.
Bella's stomach was full of nervous butterflies. She knew her father wouldn't say no, and even if he happened to do so, this was the second millennium not the eighteen hundreds; they'd get married anyway. But she knew this would be a surprise to her father.
Bella had been down to visit Edward in New York a couple of times since Christmas, and he in turn had been up to Seattle to visit her on a couple of occasions, but she hadn't breathed a word of it to her family, save Alice and Emmett, of course. And though she and her father had been pretty close, she hadn't told him either.
Now she felt somewhat bad about it and sincerely hoped he didn't take out her possible mistake on her future husband.
So Bella sat in quiet misery, listening to her mother blabber on and on while Edward and her father spoke outside. She was grateful that at least Renee hadn't seemed to notice Edward following Charlie outdoors.
About a half hour later, Edward finally walked back in. With a blank and serene expression, he walked over to where Alice, Jasper, and Bella sat pretending to watch TV, and in a quiet voice said to Bella,
"Your father wants to speak to you outside."
Bella nodded slightly, and then stood up and walked out.
Charlie was pacing back and forth between the bushes outside. When he heard Bella, he looked up, his face serious and confused.
"Bella, what are you doing? I mean, yeah, I saw that kiss a few months ago. It was…quite a kiss, but marriage? You could barely stomach him less than a year ago!"
How Bella wished she'd kept her thoughts on Edward to herself all those months back! It would've spared her from awkward explanations to those few people about whom she actually cared!
"Dad," she said calmly, "I never truly hated him, but now I truly do love him."
"Or in other words, you're determined to have him. What is this? Out of spite to your mom? I mean, I understand wanting to shove this in her face, believe me I do, but think of the long-term effects of this! You'll actually be married to him! Yeah, I know he's rich and handsome. You'll have anything you can buy, even more money than Alice will have if she marries Jasper. But will that make you happy?"
Bella bristled at her father's words, but vowed to remain as unaffected as possible. "Do you have any other objections besides your belief that I'm marrying him out of spite or for money?"
Charlie smiled tenderly at his favorite daughter. "Bella, that's not what I really believe. You know that. I just had to make sure. The last time I actually heard you speak of Edward it was to say how arrogant and annoying he was. Then the next thing I know, you're locked in a seriously steamy kiss with him in front of my own house. Then I hear nothing for a few months. And now, you're engaged! But this all would mean nothing as long as you really loved him."
"I do! I do really love him," Bella insisted, tears stinging her eyes. "He's not arrogant. He's not annoying. You don't know him the way I know him now, so please don't hurt me by speaking of him that way."
Charlie's eyes widened, realizing that perhaps, this was real. This was really happening. His baby girl was in true and deep love.
"Bells," Charlie said softly, using a tone he hadn't used with her since she was a little girl, "I told him he had my consent. He's not the type of man you turn down, that much is plain to see. And you have my consent as well, if you truly want it. Let me just say one more thing; you've seen firsthand the condition of your mother's and my marriage. It's far from…ideal. And I know you, Bella. You could never just make the best of a bad situation and deal with it. That sort of mistake would drain your beautiful spirit. You need someone who can be your equal in all things; someone you could truly respect with your mind, as well as your heart."
Bella began to understand where her father was coming from, and comprehending his true concern, she was better equipped to give him the reassurances he needed; the ones he deserved.
"I do respect him, Dad. I respect him more than any man I know. I know this seems sudden, and in a way I suppose it was, but Edward and I have been getting to know each other for almost a year now, and while at first I thought I didn't like what I saw in him, I came to realize that I was simply being prideful and prejudiced because of a few stupid words he uttered while in a bad mood. And when I realized my mistake, I saw that Edward is everything I could ever want: honest, kind, thoughtful, helpful, loving…everything. Why should I wait, Dad, when I've found everything I never knew I wanted and needed?"
For a long moment, Charlie was left speechless by Bella's heartfelt words.
"Well," he finally said, his voice shaky, "I have nothing else to say then. If he's really all those things you say, then he may actually deserve you. I couldn't have let you go for anything less, Bella."
And though her father had never been much of the affectionate type, he took two steps to her and wrapped her in his arms.
After a minute, Bella pulled away and looked at her father.
"Dad…there's one more thing I think you should know. Edward is the one who found Jess and Mike in Seattle. He convinced her to press charges, and he's the one who funds the foundation that will be supporting Jessica and her baby."
Once again, Charlie was speechless. Once he was finally able to pick his jaw off the floor, he said,
"This is a night full of surprises, isn't it? And so Edward did everything, did he? He found Mike, got Jess to press charges, and provided money. Well," he snorted, "so much the better. I've felt indebted to your cousin Emmett for months, and now I don't have to be. It'll be a lot easier with Edward. Had it been Emmett, I would've had to thank him profusely for doing my job for the rest of my life, but true love is a crazy thing. I'll give my heartfelt thanks to Edward, he'll be all embarrassed about it and tell me he did it all for you and ask me never to mention it again, and that'll be the end of that."
Bella shook her head at her father, pretending to glare at him disapprovingly, but he simply chuckled.
"Now get back to your fiancée. Your mother is probably in there trying to scare him away with an evil eye."
Bella turned around.
"Oh, and if any half-decent sort of men come looking for Jessica or Lauren, let'em right in because this approving boyfriends business is kind of fun!"
OOOOOOOOOO
Bella's mind was more at ease once she returned to the living room where everyone else was. Her eyes immediately found Edward, and she gave him a wink, which he returned in kind. After that, they all watched TV and talked quietly among one another, and Bella and Edward only stole occasional glances at each other until it was time for Jasper and Edward to leave.
Alice and Jasper stood a few feet from the door saying their goodbyes for the evening, wrapped around each other and kissing and whispering quietly the way confirmed lovers tend to do, while Edward waited awkwardly, holding the door half-open.
But Bella had had enough of this situation.
With a deep breath, because she knew the crazy she was going to rain down on them now, she walked over confidently to Edward and as he watched her with bemused eyes, she got on her tip toes, drew her arms around his neck, and proceeded to kiss him soundly and loudly. Edward chuckled against her lips, his arms tight around her waist.
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay and help you with the impending explosion?"
Bella shook her head, lips still locked on Edward's. "I can handle my mother. You go on. I'll see you in the morning when you come pick me up to head back to Seattle."
Edward grinned and begrudgingly pulled away from Bella's mouth. Then he called out from over her head,
"Alice, Lauren, Jessica, Chief and Mrs. Swan, it's been a pleasure, as always."
As soon as the door closed, Bella turned around.
"What in the hell was that?" Renee smirked. "Bella, if you're now letting Edward kiss you whenever he very well feels like it, I hope you're at least smart enough to get something in return."
"Oh, I'm getting plenty in return, Mom," she assured her mother.
"Mhm. And I suppose he gets whatever he wants from you."
"Yes, he does. I gave him everything a couple of months ago when he came up to Seattle to see me, and I gave it to him again last month when I went down to New York to see him, and I'll give it to him again tomorrow when he drops me off in school before he returns to New York, and next month, and the month after that, but come summer when we're married, he'll get it even more."
Renee's mouth dropped to the floor. She stared at Bella, wonderfully speechless for a few long moments.
"He's not going to marry you," she sneered. "You're stupid if you believe that."
Bella held out her left hand, the one with the family heirloom Edward had given her on his first trip back to Seattle to see her; the engagement ring that had once belonged to his grandmother now belonged to Bella. She'd kept it in her pocket when first arriving to Forks a couple of days ago, but now it was time to show it off.
Collective gasps resounded in the air because it was a beautiful, glittering diamond that sparkled magnificently even from across the room.
"Hello! That is some kind of rock!" Jessica exclaimed.
"OMG, I feel like I'll go blind if I look at it directly!" Lauren joked.
"Well," was all Charlie managed, his mustache twitching in amusement.
Alice smiled happily for her sister, already having seen the ring many times.
And once again, Renee's mouth was on the floor.
"I believe it because he loves me, and I love him. And I believe it because I have his ring on my finger. And I believe it because the invitations went out yesterday."
"And I believe it because he just asked me for Bella's hand," Charlie confirmed.
Renee took it all in silently, her jaw still wide open, eyes blinking stupidly over and over. Finally, she closed her mouth only to open it right away, yet nothing came out. She tried a few more times before she was finally able to form words.
"You're marrying Edward Cullen?" she asked. "You're marrying Edward Cullen?" she repeated, her voice a bit more shrill. "You are marrying Edward Cullen?" she shrieked. "Oh my God, you're marrying Edward Cullen!" she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "Yes! Yes! Doctor Edward Cullen, nephew of Senator Jane De Volturi, CEO and owner of Pemberley Vineyards and utterly and completely filthy rich! Yes! Pemberley Vineyards, here come the Swans! Oh my, Bella, you're going to be so rich and important! Cars, jewels, trips, everything! Jasper's money is nothing compared to Edward's! And he's old money too; so tall and good-looking to boot! I've got to apologize to him for not having liked him before, but first," – she reached quickly for her cell phone – "I've got to tell Sue Clearwater so that she can turn positively green with envy! God, I'm so happy!" she giggled – right before having her cell phone snatched out of her hand.
"No."
"No?"
"No."
"What…what do you mean, 'no'?" Renee stuttered.
Bella hit 'end' on the cell phone and dropped it over the table.
"I mean this isn't the way this is going to work. Not anymore."
Renee glared at her in total bewilderment.
"All our lives, Mom, you've run your mouth all over town, telling everyone our business, minding everyone else's, and embarrassing our family in the process."
"Well!" Renee cried indignantly.
"This ends now; tonight!" Bella continued, her voice shaking with conviction. "My fiancée is a very private man, and he doesn't and won't appreciate his concerns being broadcast all over town. So if you want to be a part of our lives, Mom, if you ever want to see Pemberley, if you want to be a part of Edward's family, if you want ever want to be a part of your future grandchildren's lives," she said carefully, "then from now on, Mom, you'll think before you speak. If you're not sure of what you're saying, then you'll err on the side of caution and not say anything at all. Otherwise, I can guarantee you that you'll never step foot in Pemberley; you'll never be a part of that grand world of money and power that you so crave – at least not where it concerns Edward or myself."
"But…but Bella," Renee pleaded, "I have to tell someone!"
"No, Mom," Bella repeated. "The invitations are out. Whoever needs to know will know soon enough. You don't need to help the news along, not if you want to stay in Edward's good graces. Do you understand?"
Renee looked about ready to cry.
"Do you understand, Mom?" Bella inquired.
Renee huffed indignantly, glowering at her daughter, who'd never been her favorite, but well, she was going to be filthy rich now, and that counted for…well, for a lot actually.
"Fine, fine, fine!" she grumbled. "I understand! Can you at least tell me what Edward's favorite dish is so that I can make it for him for lunch tomorrow?"
A/N: Thoughts?
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