For now, I'm still planning on weekly, but I may skip a few weeks here and there. This chapter gets a little heated.

Thanks for all your support!

-CL

It's three o'clock, an hour until America, Aspen, Marlee, and Carter are due. We decided to have a little Valentine's Day party in the royalty suite, also known as the King and Queen suites since they are connected, and we are almost done setting up the decorations and food. "Is all the food in here, Maxon?"

"Yes, my dear," he says, sneaking up behind me with the last plate of food, strawberry tarts, and kisses my hair.

I jump a little. "Ok, great," I say. I inspect the food table. All of it is arranged to my liking, but that's because I did it myself. Maxon and I decided to decorate and place the food by ourselves. Obviously, we didn't cook the food, since neither of us is good a cook, but other than that we did everything else on our own. We even picked out the decorations ourselves. "I think the decorations are finished," I say, adjusting a streamer that is off-center.

"Great," Maxon says, pulling me into a side hug and giving me a quick peck on the lips. "This is the last dish. After I put it down, let's…have some fun."

Maxon places the last dish and walks back over to me. "Shall we?" Maxon leans in for a kiss, but I turn my head. "What was that for?" Maxon's frowning.

I look at him apologetically. "I need to get ready, Maxon. I have to get dressed and do my hair and makeup. We only have less than an hour before they get here," I say, walking to my walk-in closet.

"Do I at least get a kiss?" Maxon asks, trailing after me.

I turn to face him. I gently rub my hands against his stubble. "When you get rid of that, maybe," I say with a smirk. I turn around and face my clothes.

I feel his hands slide to my hips. "Well, you better find a sexy dress to wear then. I'm putting all of this effort into looking nice, so you should, too." I shiver, goosebumps appearing all over my body.

I loop my hands behind his neck so we're stuck in this position. "Hmmm…let's see…shall I wear a t-shirt and some sweats then?" I ask with a giggle. "Or maybe that rose dress that I showed you?"

"I feel like you should show me again. I may have forgotten," Maxon responds slyly.

I gently pull myself away from him and turn around. "Well, I guess you're going to have to wait to see my final look." I walk into the bathroom and go through my pre-makeup skincare routine. I hear Maxon walking to his sink, running the sink. "You're finally getting rid of that?" I tease.

He turns to glance at me. "Yes, my dear. You requested so." I glance at his razor and shiver. I'm still pissed at myself that I tried to commit suicide.

I turn back to my mirror and examine my face. I'm satisfied and put on my makeup. I plug in my curling iron because yes, even though I have curly hair, I love my hair in loose curls. "I'll be back," I say, walking to my closet. I grab the rose dress and put it on. Luckily it's a simple enough dress that I can get it on myself. It's another mermaid-styled dress since I can only wear them when I don't eat. I don't know how long that's going to last, but I'll wear things that I could never wear before while I still have the chance.

The dress is a rose-red color. It's sleeveless and the mermaid part of the dress is roses, which turns into a train. It's about a two-foot train, just enough to be a train but not be too annoying. I inspect myself in the tri-fold mirror and deem myself pretty enough. I start walking toward the bathroom to my hair but stop dead in my tracks when I get a dizzy spell. What the hell? I haven't had a dizzy spell since the reception, so it's peculiar that I'm getting one right now. Luckily I'm still in my ginormous walk-in closet so Maxon can't see.

"Bella?" Maxon calls out. Fuck, speaking of the devil.

"Yes?" I respond shakily.

"There are about ten minutes until they get here," he says, walking toward the closet. "Are you almost done?"

"Ummm…yeah…" I say, but then the world goes black.

"Bella? Hey, Bella?" I open my eyes and see Maxon's concerned face. I try to sit up, but the room starts to spin, and I lie back down. "Bella, do you need me to go get Dr. Ashlar?"

I shake my head. "No, I'm fine. I just tripped on my dress. Can you help me up?" Maxon grabs my arm and places his other hand on my back. I stand slowly with Maxon steadying me. I reach for the shelving unit for more support. "I've got it now, Maxon."

"Where did you fall?" Maxon asks nervously. "What part of your body did you fall on?"

"Ummm…my back I guess? Why do you ask?"

"If you fell on your stomach, who knows if you are pregnant, what would have happened to the baby? Bella, you need to be more careful," Maxon says, wringing his hands.

His voice isn't condescending, per se, but it's still harsh. And it pisses me off. "I know, Maxon," I say. You can tell I'm pissed off. "I'm sorry that I'm a clumsy bitch that can't do anything right and everybody judges me for it. I'm sorry that I'm not good enough." I brush past him and walk out the door. I walk into the Queen Suite bathroom and lock the door behind me. "What the fuck was that?" I ask myself aloud. I walk to the mirror and realize my curling iron is in the King Suite bathroom. "Fuck!" I shout. I stomp over to the other bathroom and quickly do my hair. I hear Maxon walk up behind me, but I ignore him. He tries to speak, but I'm finished with my hair, so I walk out to where the party is being held. I hear a knock on the door and walk to open it. Maxon intercepts me before I reach the door. "What?" I ask, annoyance laced in my voice.

"Bella, what's wrong? What did I do?" Maxon asks. He gently pulls me into his arms, and I become stiff.