The bonds of matrimony are like any other bonds - they mature slowly. ~Peter De Vries

AMOC: Chapter 14: Home Sweet Home

BPOV:

We ate breakfast quietly in the downstairs dining room before we left to pick up Charlotte. I was relieved that Paul and Rachel were tired. I wasn't really in the mood to be interrogated or teased about our first night together as a married couple. Taking Charlotte with us we made our way to the new house. Jake was anxious to show us the work that had been done since we saw it last. I still thought we should remain at my house until all the repairs were completed but Jake insisted it was more than livable at the moment.

Charlotte was also as anxious as Jake. She clapped her hands excitedly when we pulled up in the driveway. Walking inside the house she wiggled out of my arms and raced up the stairs to her new room. Hearing her squeal alarmed me but Jake was quick to explain her bed and toys were already in her new room. Apparently the movers Jake hired put our stuff in our allocated rooms so honestly, going back to my house would have left us with nowhere to sleep. I'm sure Jake planned that all along. He really was starting to irk me with his OCD characteristics.

I followed him into the kitchen. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into designing this kitchen. Normally I wasn't a fan of decorating but the kitchen was always the one room I felt the most confident.

"I think these marble countertops are going to make this kitchen look elegant. What do you think?" He asks as he runs his fingertips over the smooth white marble.

"White? Why white?" I frowned.

"A kitchen should look pristine. Don't you think? I thought we could have these cabinets redone with a more contemporary look and it would go great with the new fridge and stove I ordered."

My head began to pound. Why was he invading the one room I had to myself? We both agreed when we purchased the house that the kitchen would be my domain yet here he was designing it to fit his own needs and character.

"I've done something wrong, haven't I?" He looked sheepishly at me.

His smile didn't remove the ice from my heart. Okay, so we had sex and yes it was hot and everything I could ever dream about but at the end, well, that part wasn't a dream come true. Who wanted to be reminded that the relationship they were in was for practical reasons? Alright, so I knew what I signed up for but every time we became intimate or closer, Jake threw it in my face. It was like he wanted to make sure I was clear about his feelings for me.

It was disappointing and perhaps even bittersweet and I really had to get myself out of this funk before I made things more awkward between us.

"I thought that by my agreeing to live in this gargantuan house, you would allow me to do some decorating of my own especially in the kitchen. I mean, you won't be the one in here preparing our meals. I will." I replied with a tight smile.

"Oh. I...well...I wanted it to be a surprise. It was my way of saying "thank you" for agreeing to the house."

"Really?"

My gut instincts were warning me he was just trying to charm his way out of this mess. He had no intentions of making this a surprise for me. No, it was just another sign that he was anal as hell and wanted things done his way.

"Yes."

"I was really looking forward to doing this project myself." I admitted.

"I sense that now. I didn't before. You were so against us purchasing this house because of all the work it would require to make it up to your standards. I thought I would lighten the load."

"My standards?" I scoffed.

"Well, yeah. You complained that the house needed too much work and you didn't like having contractors in and out of the while you planned the wedding I made some personal choices in dealing with the house repairs. I thought you would be pleased that some of the work was completed already."

"I liked that you took initiative but I asked for your input on some of the wedding details."

"True but the wedding was more about making you happy.. It was your day, not mine." He sighed.

"Oh! But the house is yours, so you should have a major say so in how it's designed?" I clucked my tongue as I stared angrily at him.

"I didn't say that." He growled.

"Sure you did. Will it be like this the whole time we are together? You pointing out what belongs to you and what belongs to me?"

I knew I was being an ass but I couldn't stop the words from vomiting from my mouth. I was tired, frustrated, and even disappointed at the start of our marriage. It became clear to me after last night's sex fest that Jake liked to be in charge of EVERYTHING and I wasn't about to live with a man who thought he owned me. Edward already tried pulling that crap on me and I wouldn't let Jake startup where he left off.

"What is this really about? Are you still pissed off at me cause I didn't fill your ears with tender words of my undying love this morning?" He snapped.

My eyes widen, my fists curled at my sides and I felt my blood pressure hit the roof.

"You know what...you can...kiss my …." My teeth grinded together as I tried to fight back the urge to slap him across his smug face but his phone rang and interrupted me.

"I need to take this call." He rolled his eyes and walked out of the room.

Gulping hard I pushed the bile in the back of my throat down while I tried to calm down. It wouldn't be good for Charlotte to come down stairs and hear Jake and I already fighting on our first day here. However, later, I would get my point through his thick head one way or the other.

Leaving the kitchen I made my way upstairs to check on Charlotte while Jake walked into the living room to take his call.

XXX

JPOV:

"Tyler I have the money I will be in town tomorrow to give it to you." I whispered.

"Look, dude I'm glad to hear you got it but Jesse is out for blood. He didn't believe me when I told him you left town to get the money. He thinks you ran out on him." Tyler replied nervously.

"I can have the money for you tonight. Meet me at my apartment."

"Thanks man. I really don't want to see him get a hold of you or that new family of yours."

"Family? Did you tell him about my marriage?" I hissed furiously.

"I had to man. I told him you left town to get married and pick up some money from your old man. I hoped it would calm him down. He knows your dad gave it to you last time." Tyler cried out.

"Shit! I will kill him if he comes to town and hurts even one hair on anyone's head."

"Then hurry and get the fuck here man! I'm serious he has my balls in a tight grip. He won't let me take any more bets until you pay him back."

"Fine. I will leave in an hour and head up there."

Hanging up the phone and shoving it in my back pocket I gulped hard as my pulse raced nervously. I couldn't afford to let Jesse step foot in this town. He would ruin me and hurt Bella's chances of keeping custody of Charlotte, if the Cullen's learn of my bad gambling habit.

Leaving the room I went in search of Bella so I could come up with some lame excuse why I needed to leave town on our first night in the house. I knew she was still pissed at me already for my rudeness after our sexual encounter. I didn't like hurting her but I wasn't going to mislead her either. She needed to understand that any sexual encounters we experienced would always be just about physical pleasure and nothing more.

Bella deserved better than me. I wasn't the romantic sort of guy and I won't ever be. It wasn't in my nature.

Walking into the Charlotte's room I found her and Charlotte unpacking her clothes.

"This is sooo big." Charlotte ran back and forth in her closet.

"Yes it is. Be careful I don't want you to get lost in it." Bella chuckled.

"I can't get lost." Charlotte rolled her eyes playfully at her mother.

"Well, this house is much bigger than our other one and I don't want you to wander off without telling me where you are going." Bella warned her.

Charlotte nodded her head in agreement.

"Hey guys." I said making them aware of my presence in the room.

"Hey Jake!" Charlotte smiled happily at me.

Bella ignored me while hanging up clothes.

"I have to take an unexpected trip to Seattle. I need to walk with my landlord around my apartment so I can get my security check back." I lied easily.

"When you are going?" Bella mumbled while keeping her eyes lowered, never looking directly at me.

It bothered me to watch her act like a wounded child. I didn't want to hurt her, hell, I thought us having sex might lighten up the mood between us but it seemed to have the opposite effect. We were back to square one again. Crap, this marriage was going to become more complicated than I bargained for.

"Right now. I want to hurry and get there and be back late tonight." I answered.

"Oh. Okay." Bella looked at me and I saw a mixture of pain and relief in her eyes.

"You ladies have fun unpacking." I teased .

"Bye Jake. Hurry home." Charlotte ran up to me and threw her arms around my legs, startling me.

"I will try." I gulped hard.

"Be safe." Charlotte waved at me before she ran back to help her mother with her things.

I waited for Bella to say something but she didn't. She continued to give me the cold shoulder.

Well, go ahead and be angry at me, it's better this way.

Leaving the house I made my way to the bank before they closed and took out the money I needed to hopefully keep me from physical harm. I didn't plan on spending another week of my life in a hospital bed thanks to Jesse and his goons.

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BPOV:

After several hours of unpacking and moving stuff around I decided to take a break and work on finding something for us to eat. Arriving in the kitchen I looked for the fridge. Smacking my forehead with the palm of my head I felt my anger for Jake returning. We were still without a fridge.

Grabbing my phone I called in a couple of pizzas. Charlotte picked a corner in the living room where she wanted to put some of her playthings. I was relieved at how well she was handling our new environment.

The doorbell rang giving me an excuse to walk away from a box. Opening the door I expected to find a teenage boy or girl holding my pizza delivery but instead I was faced with Alice and Jasper.

"Hey."

"Hey girl! I can't believe you haven't called me back." Alice cried out before pulling into her arms for a big hug.

"Uh?"

Walking over to where I left my phone I saw that I had indeed missed her calls and a couple of text messages.

"I'm so sorry. I was so swamped with unpacking that I must have not heard it."

"We were worried about dropping by unannounced. I mean, you are married now and the only reason we could dream of that you would ignore our calls would have to involve that new husband of yours." Alice wiggled her eyebrows seductively.

"OHHH! NO! I wasn't ignoring your calls and even if I had been, it wouldn't be due to him or that." I replied sarcastically.

"Do I hear trouble, already?" Jasper teased.

"No, just...it's all soooo much." I threw up my hands and took a step back to let them come inside.

"WOW! I mean WOW!" Alice's voice was so loud it nearly echoed.

"Amazing house Bella. Love the original architecture." Jasper looked around in awe.

"Me too. Jake wanted to rip most of it out and make it more contemporary looking but luckily I talked him out of it."

"Smart girl." Jasper winked playfully at me.

"Would you like a tour? It's not much right now. Between unpacking and remodeling it's a mess." I warned them.

"I don't care about that." Alice clapped her hands together with glee.

Jasper and I both chuckled as I called for Charlotte to join us and we made our rounds.

When we returned to the living room I saw a gleam in Alice's eyes when she sat down on the couch.

"What's up with you two?" I asked curiously.

"Us? Nothing new." Alice shook her head. I looked down at her foot that was tapping nervously on the floor and knew that was a sign that she was trying to hide something from me.

"What is it!" I cried out frantically.

"Well, if you insist." Alice sighed heavily before lifting her hand up in the air and exposing the gorgeous yellow diamond ring on her finger.

"OH MY GOD!" I shouted as I rushed over to her and yank her hand up closer to my face.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" I looked between them both and saw they both shared the same over the top happy looks on their faces.

"Yep!" They said in unison.

"I can't believe it! When? When did you propose to her?" I dropped her hand and looked directly at Jasper.

"I had planned to do it on her birthday but when I was at your wedding last night I knew I couldn't wait that long. So after you left for your honeymoon I walked Alice down onto the beach and under the moonlight I proposed." Jasper replied with a voice that was thick with love and admiration for his fiancee.

"I'm so damn jealous." I heard the words spill out of my mouth before I clamped my lips tightly together.

"Uh? Are you kidding me? Look you had a gorgeous wedding and HELLO, look at this house. What more could you ask for?" Alice stood up and gave me another big hug.

"Your right, of course. It's just that...well...you two did it for the right reasons. You guys are meant to be together." I sighed sadly.

"You and Jake will be happily in love in no time." Alice vowed.

"Yeah, okay." I snapped sarcastically.

The doorbell rang and this time I knew it would be my dinner behind that door.

Taking the food I returned to the living room where I found Jasper playing with Charlotte. She was explaining to him how all of her dolls got their names. He looked so interested in everything she had to say. He would no doubt make a wonderful Dad someday. Alice was a lucky woman.

"Pizza is here. You guys want some?" I offered.

"No. We have dinner with my parents." Jasper kissed the top of Charlotte's head before walking up toward us.

"Sorry hon. Maybe once you get that dreamy kitchen ready, you might invite us over for one of your gourmet dinners." Alice winked.

"You know you will be the first guest I will invite once the house is finished." I promised them both.

"Congrats guys! I'm really so happy for the both of you."

"Thanks Bella. I'm happy for you too. I promise this is going to turn out far better than you ever dreamed of." Alice gave me another quick hug before I followed them to the front door.

Locking it up behind me before I went to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of paper plates and cups. Sitting down on the hardwood floor we ate our first meal together in our new home, all alone as usual.

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A/N: Just wanted to say Thank you, to those of you are continuing to read my story and especially for those of you who find the time to leave such wonderful reviews. I hope you all have a safe and wonderful Holiday. Xoxo August