I don't own twilight. What I own is my character's, personality, background, and the plot of my story.
Author's note below.
Bella stands back and watches as the people she hired decorate her backyard. Today is Cece's birthday. A day she has dreaded and anticipated. She woke Cece up with a cupcake that she got to have for breakfast and then they had a normal morning since it's a school day.
Now that Cece is in school, Bella can get to the decorating. The theme of the party is Easter. Yes, she is aware of how weird the theme is. Bella and Cece don't celebrate Easter. They barely celebrate Christmas. She only does it for the gifts. Religion isn't a big part of this household. Cece was invited to an Easter event held by one of her schoolmates, and she got obsessed with the idea of searching for eggs.
They aren't hiding eggs of course. It's small packages that make up the gift Bella and Marco got her. They got her a ton of small things. They got her a couple of books, some accessories, a couple of gift cards, and a couple of toys. Each of those gifts will be accompanied by candy. That way, Cece gets the gift and whoever found the gift will get the candy.
"So, how are you doing?" Charlie asks placing a hand on her shoulder.
Bella shrugs telling him, "This could be a great birthday for her, or the first day of Cece hating me for the rest of her life."
"You aren't planning to tell her today, are you?" Charlie asks with concern.
"God, no. Of course not. But that doesn't change the fact that I am really worried about how things will play out," she tells him shuddering at all of the possibilities playing in her head.
"You are worried about how Marco and Edward will react to each other, aren't you?" Charlie asks her.
Bella turns to the backyard and asks, "Am I that invisible?"
"Not really, but I am your dad."
They stand silently for a minute as they both watch as the workers hide the gifts where she told them to. "I talked to Marco and explained everything to him. He won't make a scene. You know he is a mature guy. Plus, he is bringing his girlfriend with him."
"Good for him," Bella states nodding her head.
If she heard that news on her daughter's last birthday, she might have been heartbroken, but the year has given her a perspective she didn't have then. Marco and she bonded over their mutual hate for Eleazar. For the longest time, they did pretty well for themselves as a couple, but hate can get you only so far in a relationship. Bella has hoped that she didn't scar him too much, and it seems that she hasn't which makes her happy.
"But he isn't the one you are worried about," his father states and when she stays silent, he continues, "In a way, this is the ultimate test for him."
"I don't understand," Bella tells him frowning.
"I haven't met Edward so I can't judge if he has changed, but I know that Edward is smart. I don't think that will ever change. His signing over his parental rights means one of two things; he has truly changed and wants you to be in control and feel safe in this entire process, or he doesn't want to feel guilty about not being in his daughter's life and wants you to kick him out of it."
Bella takes a minute to absorb the second option he mentioned before she asks him, "Why today?"
"Today is extremely important to you. There will be a lot of people and it's Cece's birthday. If he were to pull a stunt on any other day, you might let it slide, but if he pulls that same stunt today, you will automatically cut him off. He might goad you, but in the end, you were the one that did the act and so he can live the rest of his life, guilt, and child-free."
Once the clock hits four, slowly but surely people will start trickling in, but not Edward. He is 30 minutes early. "I hope you aren't here to get in my way," She states as she places the cinnamon rolls, drinks, and the chocolate he was responsible for bringing in their right place.
"Of course not. I didn't want anyone to arrive when everything isn't in its place yet, and I also wanted to tell Cece about her gift before everyone arrives," Edward replies fighting the urge to roll his eyes while smiling. It's not a fake smile. It's a genuine one. Every day is another one closer to Cece finding out he is her dad.
He was initially scared, but now that he knows what he is responsible for and is part of the plan-making, he feels confident in himself. Especially, since Bella liked his contributions to the plan.
"I don't know about that. Dad is already here," Bella tells him wincing at the expression on his face.
"The one person I was hoping to avoid. If only I arrived a bit earlier," he grumbles to himself.
"Not a bit earlier. Try seven hours earlier."
"Really?" He asks in shock.
"Where do you think she got her love for birthdays from? It wasn't from us. That's for sure," she tells him like it's obvious.
Edward is silent for a moment before he tells her quietly, "I just assumed that it was Marco's influence."
Bella is surprised at the casual mention of Marco but decided to not make a big deal of it if he doesn't. "Nah, he indulged her as much as he could, but really it was all Charlie. Growing up, he would make a huge deal out of my birthdays to make up for the fact that I only had one parent celebrating them, and over time, it became part of his personality. Now he makes a big deal of everyone's birthday, including himself."
Edward nods his head in understanding and then suddenly asks her what pops into his head, "How come I don't know that?"
Bella is silent for a moment thinking to herself. "I don't know. You tell me. How come you don't know that?" she asks him pointedly.
Edward frawns as it dawns on him. How much more did he miss out about her because he was being negligent?
Heavy footsteps followed by light ones alert him to the fact that Charlie and Cece are coming his way and he puts those thoughts away to be examined on a later date and smiles.
"Is everything ready Bells? People will start arriving any minute. Oh hi Edward," Charlie adds his greetings as if Edward is a last-minute thought.
Before he can let it bother him, he feels hands wrap around his feet as Cece tells him, "Edward! I am glad you are here."
"Like I would miss your birthday for anything," Edward tells her right before he picks her off the ground and spins her around until she starts giggling loudly.
"What did you get me?" she asks him seriously once she stops giggling.
He taps his chin before he asks her, "Is it a deal breaker if I don't get you anything?"
Cece nods her head seriously as she tells him, "Yes. You have to get me a present to celebrate my birthday. It's the law of the Swan land, right grandpa?" She turns to Charlie to direct her question at him.
"Yes, dear."
"Well Cece, I wanted to talk to you about this. You see, your mummy only told me about your birthday three weeks ago. Due to that, your gift isn't ready yet. Once it is ready, I will give it to you."
"What is it?" she asks him raising an eyebrow.
"A surprise."
She leans back and stares at him trying to discern if he is being honest or not, before turning to Bella and asking her, "Mummy? Is he telling the truth?"
"Of course sweetie. He told me what his gift is and I know that you will love it," Bella answers her honestly.
Cece turns to Edward and sighs in defeat then tells him, "Fine, I believe you, even though I don't trust people who come to birthday parties without gifts, but only because Mummy would never lie."
"Of course, Mummy would never lie," Edward replies to Cece looking at Bella with adoration in his eyes that even Charlie has trouble not believing.
Bella looks down at her hand, uncomfortable with his gaze until the spell is broken by a third party. "Is anybody home? Where is the birthday girl?"
"Marco Polo! You are finally here!" Cece exclaims and then jumps out of Edward's arms and runs to Marco who is grinning like the Cheshire cat.
And just like that, Edward is no longer Cece's center of attention.
Hello lovely people,
One of you commented in the previous chapter that by buying the books, Bella is still helping Edward and he isn't being independent. That is most definitely true, but I also imagine that as a mum Bella doesn't want Cece to be heartbroken. Obviously, Bella still can cut Edward out of Cece's life if he isn't attentive to his daughter, but within attentiveness, I would imagine that she would want more than one incident to cut him out, not one. In other words, she would help him to protect her daughter, but won't let it pass just like that and keep the score.
Marco isn't here to get between Edward and Cece or Bella. He is someone that is very important in Cece's life as he played an important role in it during her most formative years. Please don't be angry at his presence in the reviews. Frankly, he is one of my favorite characters.
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