I don't own twilight. What I own is my character's behavior, personality, background, and plot of the story.
A huge thank you to my beta Madmooey18 for putting in the effort and helping me make this story what it is.
Author's Note at the end.
Bella opens her eyes and finds gray ones she thought that she had escaped staring at her. Scared out of her mind, she opens her mouth but feels fingers touching her lips before she hears, "Hush, mummy, Peter is sleeping."
Thank God. It's just Adam.
"What are you doing here baby," she whispers hoarsely. She notices then that her throat feels scratchy. She touches her throat and lightly pats the areas where it's sore from the outside.
"I heard you crying and I didn't want Peter to wake up," Adam whispers.
Ohh. Was I having a nightmare?
She tries to remember what she was dreaming of but comes up empty. She only notices Adam's arms then hugging her and she hugs him back. She looks to her left and finds Peter soundly sleeping. She smiles at that. While Adam is a light sleeper, Peter is a heavy one. Nothing short of a parade would wake him up. He hates sounds and most of the time is grumpy if he doesn't sleep well. Then once he is up, everyone is up with him.
Since Adam was a year old, her little angel would climb out of his crib, crawl to her bed, and then silently watch her sleep. He never woke her up. Does Adam watching her silently creep her out a little bit? Sure, but with who his dad is, she counts her lucky stars every day that staring at her in her sleep is his worst offense.
"Mummy," he whispers, snapping her out of her daydreaming.
"Yes, baby," she replies, looking down at him.
"Why were you crying?" he asks.
Bella tries to think of an answer that would quench his thirst for knowledge, but comes up empty under his gaze and settles for the truth. "I don't know," she answers simply.
Adam frowns at her for a minute as if in disbelief then he smiles at her and says, "Don't worry, mummy. You'll find out. You always do."
I hope I never do.
Bella kisses his forehead and then tells him to go back to sleep. He snuggles up in her arms and soon, she joins him in dreamland and has a sound sleep that leaves her feeling rested.
Usually, she wakes up at 6 o'clock in the morning. She starts her day with a cup of green tea and then does a 30-minute run on the treadmill. After that, Adam wakes up and joins her with her stretching. Once done, she makes breakfast for him, showers, and gets ready while he eats. After waking up Peter and getting him ready, she takes Adam to school and then takes Peter to play in the park before going back home so she can start her work day.
Not this time. She decides that they, as a family, will have a cheat day which means: sleeping in, no running, no work, and no school. They end up wasting the day away watching TV. Someday Adam will be too old to ditch school and her time with him will fly by before she knows it. That's her excuse.
It's around five o'clock when the doorbell rings. "Adam, don't open the door. I'm coming," she yells from the bathroom as she washes her hands.
"But it's just the food," he replies.
"Adam, I said don't," she yells louder as she dries her hands.
"Fine," Adam sighs as she swings open the door of the bathroom and finds him staring at her.
She kneels till she is at eye level with him and says, "I am sorry, babe, but a rule is a rule. Only adults open the door."
She gets up and walks to the door with Adam trailing along behind her. "Who is it?"
"It's Alice," replies a shipper voice from the other side of the door.
"It's Alice," replies a shipper voice from the other side of the door.
She looks at Adam whose disappointed face matches hers as she opens the door. "Come in! It's not like you didn't call beforehand," she mutters sarcastically.
Alice walks into the door with a glint in her eyes that puts Bella on edge because this look always spells trouble for Bella. She turns to Adam and kneels to give him a hug and kiss his cheeks.
"You think you can give me time with mummy? I have an adult thing I want to talk to her about," Alice tells Adam.
Adam turns to Bella with an endearing apprehensive look on his face that Bella settles by telling him, "It's okay, baby. Go to the living room and keep an eye on Peter."
She watches as he nods his head and then leaves the door area. She turns to Alice and finds her staring at her with the same glint in her eyes that she had when she came into the apartment.
This is going to be a long night.
She silently leads Alice to her office area that occupies the second floor of her apartment. "How can I help you, Alice?" she asks, pasting a fake pleasant look on her face.
Alice turns around and walks slowly around the second floor ignoring her question by saying, "I like what you did with the space. An office for you and a play area for the boys. I would ask why you changed it after your mum left it, but what would you do with an indoor, outdoor area when you don't have anyone to hang out with."
Covering the grimace bubbling to the surface, Bella rolls her eyes at Alice. Of course, she would start showing her fangs this early on. What was she thinking expecting her to wait a bit longer before she starts with her bullshit?
It seems that someone got too comfortable in her place and needs to be reminded of who Queen B is.
Bella laughs lightly as if someone tickled her before saying, "since the outdoor area is heated, what's the need for an indoor one? I am pretty sure no one will miss the games. My family is larger than it used to be and I wanted to use the space to accommodate myself accordingly. I don't care what people think of how I utilize my space and no one who wants to hang out with me will. I would expand more on that, but I will save my lecture for someone who understands."
Bella squints her eyes at Alice and waits to see what she will say. Of course, she disappoints by changing the topic instead of fighting back, "So what is going on in your personal life?"
Bella frowns at her, not sure where she is going with her statement. "What do you want to know?"
"I want to know why my best friend did not tell me that she is dating my other best friend. I would have gone to him, but I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt," Alice tells her sitting in one of the chairs.
Bella gets a confused look on her face as she asks, "What do you mean?"
"I am disappointed in you, Bella. I assumed that I would be the first one to know if anything happened in your life," she says, giving her puppy eyes.
Losing her patience with Alice, Bella crosses her arms across her chest and tells her, "I have no idea what you are even talking about."
"You wanna have it your way, fine," Alice huffs, pausing to take her mobile out of her bag and scrolling through her phone till she finds what she wants and thrusts her phone at Bella then tells her, "See for yourself."
Bella takes the phone from Alice and does a double-take at the headline and then reads the article.
Look out for the new couple in town; Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen.
The daughter of Renee Swan and the CEO of the Cullen dynasty and the 15 Number #1 producer were seen together in the west village looking intimate. Though they were not kissing, they more than made up for it as Edward held her hands delicately while helping her climb out of his car.
The pair met through celebrity stylist and daughter of businessman Jack Brandon, Alice Brandon who is dating Edward Cullen's brother; Jasper Cullen. Alice Brandon and Isabella Swan are childhood friends who met during primary school and have been connected since then.
Edward Cullen previously dated cinematographer Emily Moretz for a year before calling it quits due to busy schedules and Assistant director Molly Jules for 8 months before that. Isabella Swan is a single mother of two young boys with the parentage of the boys being unknown although sources close to her claim that their mystery is for the better as the father is out of the picture.
Whether the spark between the two of them blossoms into the romance of the ages or goes down in flames remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, we were the first to tell you of this new couple and we will be the first to have the scoop on them in the future.
Bella places the phone on the table in shock trying to make sense of what she just read. What are the odds of a photographer being in the exact spot to take pictures of Bella and Edward? What kind of luck would have that happen?
She doesn't want to be linked to anyone. She doesn't want any false information being spread about her. She is a mum of two boys. She can't have the media speculate about her dating every guy she is friends with.
But he isn't just a friend, is he?
Shut up? Why can't you shut up?
I'm just saying you are interested in him. Just because he isn't more than a friend doesn't mean that he is just a friend.
Those photos are no joke. They really are more offensive than the moments they captured. While in the photos it seems like that moment goes on and on. In reality, they were short moments.
How could they know when and where to show up?
A voice inside of her that has been whispering since she read the page gets louder as it tells her that it was planned. This wasn't a lucky shot and she knows who tipped the paparazzi. It's the only person who knew of their meeting.
She runs down the stairs to her room and closes the door behind her ignoring Alice's questions. The last thing she wants to do is answer her on something she knows nothing of. She quickly changes her clothes and leaves the room.
"Adam, I am sorry. Something came up and I really need to leave, but it's okay. Alice will eat with you and finish the movie," she tells him, bending at the knees to kiss his forehead and then she walks to the door.
"You didn't even ask me to take care of your kids," Alice mutters angrily at Bella.
Bella stops and turns around suddenly and asks, "Will you stay with the boys?"
"No," Alice states harshly.
"Thank you. I will make it up to you. I promise," Bella states, ignoring her answer.
"Bella, I am being serious here," Alice huffs, stomping her feet.
"Alice, I have an urgent thing to do. You are the only one who can take care of them now and the only one free. If you can't do me this favor, I will reevaluate our friendship," Bella states firmly. Alice swallows audibly and nods her head in silence which prompts Bella to give her the shortest hug in the history of hugs and leave through the door.
Bella taps her foot in frustration as she waits for the elevator to arrive. Once it lands, she steps into it and presses on the 23 floor. She keeps herself busy by checking how she looks in the mirror of the elevator. For a woman in a hurry, she dresses pretty well. She is wearing a black wool turtleneck, a red leather skirt that hits a couple of inches above her knees, white knee-length boots with black tights underneath, a white cardigan, and a black and red coat on top.
As she touches up her makeup, she reminds herself that she needs to give him the benefit of the doubt and hear what he has to say before she attacks. As much as she wants to tear him to shreds, she can't help but remember the part of her yesterday that thought he was trustworthy. She needs to honor her intuition by giving him the benefit of the doubt.
She takes a deep breath and then knocks on his door. A minute later, she hears the sound of approaching feet and then the door swings open and Edward's surprised face greets her.
Not bothering to cover up his shock, he tells her, "Bella! What are you doing here? Please come in." He opens the door wide and steps aside so that she has plenty of space to enter.
Once she enters he asks for her coat and offers to get her a drink but she declines and tells him that this isn't a social visit. "What kind of a visit is it then?" he asks her then.
Bella waits until he sits down on the couch opposite the one she is sitting on with her hands placed on her knees and then tells him, "Something happened yesterday and I need to know if you had anything to do with it."
Sounding exhausted he tells her, "Can't it wait? I just spent 10 hours being Emmett's back up and I am exhausted." She notices then for the first time since she entered how he looks. His shoulders are hunched, his wet hair is messy and sticking in all directions and even the way he is sitting screams I am tired. The sweatsuit he is wearing looks extremely comfortable but also like it should have been burned 10 washes ago.
"What did he make you do? Lift bags of cement? You don't look exhausted. You look haggard, like you were just run over by 10 trucks," she tells him.
Who am I kidding? If this is how he looks after a couple of hours of being his brother's backup, he is in no way, shape or form sneaky. Sneaky people don't hold themselves the way he is currently doing. Even if they were run over by 10 trucks.
Edward laughs sarcastically before he tells her, "You are so funny and so complimentary. I don't know what I would do without the extremely important information that could not have been kept to yourself. Where will I find someone who tells me that I look like I was run over by 10 trucks?"
His glaring doesn't deter her from replying, "You're welcome. I will forever aim to please. By the way, you don't just ramble when you're nervous, you do so when exhausted too."
His cheeks redden a bit as he answers her, "No I don't."
She tilts her head to the side and ignores his statement and tells him, "Let's hope you never get kidnapped and tortured for information cause it won't be difficult to extract information out of you."
"I don't ramble," he mutters stubbornly as he crosses her arms.
"If you say so," she tells him smiling as she shrugs her shoulders.
After a minute or so, he tells her, "So what is it you wanted to ask me about."
"Forget about it. I am pretty sure you have nothing to do with it," she tells him dismissively.
"Come on, now I am intrigued," he tells her, sitting straight and looking at her expectantly.
"Well, a paparazzi took photos of us when you were helping me out of the Jeep. They aren't that discriminating, but with the so-called source the magazine has, we are officially dating," she tells him.
He is silent for a moment then he tells her, "You are right. I had nothing to do with that."
They are both silent for a moment and then she states standing up, "Well now that that is established. I am leaving you to rest."
"I think we should play along with the rumors." His statement makes her pause two steps away from the door.
"Huh?" she mutters in surprise, frowning.
"I am just saying. This is good publicity. Now that the seed is planted, all we have to do is walk red carpets and attend events together and the media will do the rest for us. We are friends and friends hang out anyway, so it's not like we will go out of our way to promote the rumors," he tells her.
Bella is silent under his stare for a minute trying to make sense of what he just told her. She opens her mouth multiple times to speak and then closes it not sure what to say. She can understand in theory what he wants, but she isn't sure if she wants that.
Finally, she mutters, "Isn't that shady?"
"Half of the industry does it," he replies not missing a beat.
"But I am not that half. I don't like being shady," she replies, sounding unsure.
"It's not like we will explicitly lie. We will just behave like our normal selves and everything the media comes up with is outside of our control," he tells her softly.
"I don't know. I think I need to think of it," she tells him honestly.
He nods and then before opening the door he tells her, "Think it through and let me know. If you aren't comfortable with that, I will have my representative contact the magazine and deny the story."
She nods her head then thanks him leaving with more unanswered questions than the ones she came with.
Hello lovely people,
I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.
What else are you reading other than my stories? Fanfiction, or non-fanfiction, I would like to know. I am currently reading Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
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Until my next update,
Stay Safe