I don't own twilight. What I own is my character's, personality, background, and the plot of my story.

Author's note below.

"No, Edward. You can't get her an Ipad. She is too young for that," Bella tells him on the phone.

"I just saw her playing on one yesterday," Edward tells her in an accusing tone.

"It's mine," Bella replies rolling her eyes. She knows that he is just throwing a temper tantrum, and his tone is harmless.

"But she plays with it which means that she isn't that young to have one," he argues. Bella shakes her head at his stupid logic. That's how she knows he is at the end of his rope. He isn't being logical. The smart lawyer in him is gone and in his place is a teenager irritating his parents to make a point.

"There are so many wrong things with this statement, but let's tackle the most important thing first. Just because a kid can handle the responsibility of a thing for a couple of hours, doesn't mean the he should own it. Using an iPad responsibly isn't a responsibility a 7-year-old kid can handle. Second of all, just cause she plays with it for a couple of hours, doesn't mean that she even wants to have her own Ipad."

"What kid doesn't want an Ipad Bella?" Edward exclaims in frustration.

Ignoring his tone which is starting to grate at her nerves she explains, "We have a rule in our household. There isn't a time limit on her screen time, but Cece has to spend double that time outdoors. It can be in the park, hiking, helping me in our backyard, or even fishing with her grandpa. As long she sticks to that, she can spend as much time as she wants to," She then halts for a second before answering his question, "Most kids might want an Ipad, but most kids don't have the rule Cece has which is why Cece won't want the Ipad because she won't want to spend time using it and it will be a useless gift to her. She will thank you and tell you that she liked it, but it will only be because I raised her better than that, so stop acting like I am just telling you this to be an asshole."

She hears a huff followed by silence from the other line, before he finally tells her, "I know I am an ass and I am sorry for that. You know how I hate not being prepared for things and it's less than a week away. I hate that I don't have a gift yet. Why can't you just tell me what to get her and put me out of my misery."

"Because I will not be a crutch you use with our daughter. You need to build an authentic relationship with her. It can't be orchestrated by me," she answers him simply.

They are preparing for Cece's birthday which is in a week. Edward hasn't figured out what to buy her yet and has been pestering her since he found out about her birthday a week ago when they had their talk.

They decided that they will continue meeting in the park or her place every week until two weeks after her birthday when they will tell her that he is her dad. From there they will continue with their meet ups for two more months and then Cece and Edward will start doing the outings on their own.

Edward's hope is after three months of doing that Cece will be ready to spend the weekend at his place. That is something Bella dreads. He also started paying child support recently and he told her that he wants to pay her all of the child money he missed out on. Initially she was against that. She doesn't need money, but then she paused for a second to think.

Since the birth of Cece, Bella has been the sole parent. She has spent time and labor taking care of her child. Time and labor that she will never have back. She doesn't regret her daughter, but that doesn't change the fact that while Edward was putting all of his energy into furthering his career, she split it between her career and her daughter. While Edward had a lot of time on his hand to have fun, go to therapy, and do things that ultimately made him happy. He had a choice in how to spend his time. She didn't have that choice.

Yes, parents choose to take care of their children, but if you are a good parent, taking care of your children isn't a choice. It's part of your being.

She decided to take all of that money and invest it in herself. She isn't sure what she will do with it but she knows that it will be something for herself. He is also investing money into Cece's college trust fund. Agreeing to that was a no brainer.

"He still hasn't figured out Cece's gift?" Angela asks her from her place on the couch.

Bella shakes her head. "If he doesn't get her a good one he can kiss having a good relationship with his daughter goodbye. You know how she is about birthdays," Angella tells her.

Bella does know which is why she has a plan B. "I already got her a gift card to a bookstore near his house and a list of his favorite books. They can go to the library together and buy his favorite books and her favorite ones and start her a small reading nook at his place. This way they get to read together. That will be something they can bond over. If until the last minute, he has no idea what to get her, I will give him those."

"So you are being a crutch to him," Angela concludes putting down her crochet and turning to look at her.

Bella shakes her head and tells her, "No I am not. Do you know how when you trip and fall, you put your hand forward to break your fall? I am being that hand. I am not helping him walk, I am making sure that if he trips, he does not get a concussion."

Angela nods her head and then silently stares at her for a moment. "But you are still helping him."

Bella shakes her head and tells her, "No I'm not. I am protecting my daughter because in this anologue, if he falls, he falls on my daughters and crushes her."

It's interesting how Bella loves using analogies to hide the truth behind, since this analog is transparent. Even she can see through it.

Hello lovely people,

I had an awesome second day of Eid with my family. We went with my aunt's family to a park and then went on an extremely long hike. It was uphill and I lagged everyone by pausing every five minutes to enjoy the view and be present at the moment. I also spotted a lot of different insects and plant. I know that I sound like a kid getting excited over insects and plant but I don't care this is who I am. The food was meh, but it was an otherwise awesome trip that I enjoyed a lot, so it should tell you how much I love you guys that I took time out of it to write, edit, and post.

Please leave a comment in the review section. It could be your favorite part, thoughts, feeling, or even criticism. Any and every comment you leave is read and taken into consideration. Your comments motivate me to update faster, and help me grow as a writer.

Until my next update,

Stay Safe