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.
Edward's gaze pierces through her making a chill run down her spine. It reinforces the fact that she needs to get away. She looks at Phil and as if he can feel her gaze on him, Phil looks at her too. She has no idea what he sees in her eyes, but it is something that prompts him to tell everyone that they need to go inside or they will miss their reservation. After the men do their one arm hug thing and Aro hugs Bella promising to call her tomorrow, Bella waves at the Cullen men goodbye and walks inside with Phil.
Edward watches as Bella pulls back and recoils into her protective shell that he coerced her out of with his Alice story. He could spot the change the moment it happened and he saw it clearly in her eyes as they turned murky. He spots the change in her even before Phil does, but he doesn't let that get to him.
He will have another chance to prove himself to her and ask her out. She is friends with Alice. Maybe Alice will let him hang out with them. She is his brother's girlfriend and his stylist after all. She met Jasper through him. She was dropping an outfit for him back when she was the assistant of his previous stylist, when she ran into Jasper visiting him. It's time she return the favor.
He stares at her as she waves a final goodbye at him before entering the restaurant, but despite that Edward continues staring at the doorway until he hears Aro say, "And to know that only a couple of minutes ago you were telling me to not set you up with her."
"Huh," Edward mutters as he turns around and finds Aro smirking at him. He notices then that they are alone. Jasper and Emmett were whispering to themselves a couple of feet away from them.
"The woman you couldn't keep your eyes off is my goddaughter," Aro states smiling like the Cheshire cat.
Edward is extremely surprised as he states, "You are kidding? She doesn't sound like the woman you described!"
"I didn't describe an alien," Aro tells him shrugging his shoulders.
Edward rolls his eyes and tells him, "Oh no, just a woman that aided in the killing of her father."
Aro steps closer and tells him in a quiet voice, "When Jasper does a background check on her and he will because he doesn't trust me, I want you to look at her medical record. Keep in mind her becoming a model at the age of thirteen every time you come across an injury dismissed as her being clumsy. After that we will talk about her being in the wrong."
The color drains from Edward's face. You might as well have slapped him. Abuse and Bella refuse to align in his head. Maybe it's because of how much he hates the idea of anyone getting abused. Maybe it's because he likes her and can't imagine anyone harming her. Maybe it's because she appears extremely strong and he can't imagine her taking it and staying silent, but she didn't stay silent. She made him pay for it. A strong person is only strong because it was their only option, echoes through his mind.
"I, I don't…," he stutters.
"Don't bother, Edward. It's not something I enjoy discussing. She is my goddaughter and I should have seen that and protected her, but what is done is done. If you tell her that I told you anything I will deny it," Aro mutters, cutting him off. Edward nods his head in silence. This is obviously a sensitive topic for Aro and he won't continue it.
"Of course not, Aro."
"So you still don't want me to set you up with her?" Aro asks pulling his shoulders back and smirking. You can't keep Aro in a bad mood for long.
After being silent for a minute, Edward replies, "Maybe put in a good word, but nothing more. I want to do things on my own."
"As you wish."
Bella raises the fork to her mouth and bites the shrimp. Try as she might, something about the exchange she had outside feels monumental. She keeps thinking that it's about Alice but continues to land on Edward. She isn't a boy's girl. Before her mum died, she was all about building her career. Her mum would always say Boys are a great distraction, but that's about it. Phil needed to ask her mum out four different times for her mum to say yes, and even after that, she didn't make it easy on him. After her mum's death, Bella just wanted to forget, and the first guy she finds in her way turned out to be a trap and cost Bella her freedom.
She can't afford the distraction. She can't risk dating him.
"So, what's this business I am just hearing about?" she asks sick of the internal monologue in her head and looking for any distraction.
"We did it before you came," Phil tells her after swallowing the bite he was chewing.
"Who is John Hale?"
"He is the father of Rosalie, Emmett's fiancee," he replies then sips from his champagne glass. She nods her head and continues eating. Phil finishes his glass and offers Bella champagne before he fills his glass. She refuses.
"You don't happen to know this Edward fella, do you? I have to say I don't like the way he kept glancing at you." The sound of cutlery hitting her plate rings in the air.
She looks up to find Phil appraising her from under his eyelashes and laughs nervously before saying, "Oh Phil, he was just glancing to make sure we found him funny. I know an expert entertainer when I see one. It's nothing more." She doesn't even need to pretend that he is being ridiculous. She knows that he is being nonsensical. This man is obviously successful. What would he do with a single mum of two here to relive her teen glory days of being a model? She doesn't believe that she is lesser than. She knows that she has a lot of value, but she knows that she has a lot of baggage, and most rich young men would rather take the easy road in dating. That is just how rich powerful men operate. It's sad that someone like her would be labeled undeserving, or too much work and ostracized, but it is what it is.
Plus, she is happily single. It's safer that way.
Pointing his fork at her, Phil says, "I am pretty sure you are wrong on this one, but I will let it pass since you are spot on in your entertainer reference."
"What do you mean?" She asks as she flags the waiter to come and get her plate.
Handing the waiter his plate too, Phil states, "Edward is a music producer."
She knew that his name sounded familiar. She has listened to too many songs of his over the years. He truly gave off a certain vibe that was palpable. It felt like he was extremely invested in everyone liking him. The way he held himself and spoke was quite reminiscent of how her mum held herself. The kind of confidence that comes with experience, but then she remembers something that struck her when were chatting outside.
"I got the feeling from what he said that he is in business," Bella tells Phil.
"Yes he is. He took over as the CEO of his family's company three years ago."
"That's impressive," she tells him. Truly impressive. Not everyone can say that they can balance their passion and the family business.
"You'll be more impressed to know that he probably does his brother's work in the company too," Phil tells her, putting his champagne glass down and leaning back in his chair.
"What do you mean?" She asks intrigued. From the vibe, she got from his brothers, especially the eldest, they looked down at him. They can't look down on him and expect him to do their work for them.
Phil tells her, "It's a feeling, but whenever we talk business, Edward is the most engaged one out of the three of them. They will nod their head at all the appropriate times and say the right thing, but I wasn't born yesterday. I know a faker when I see one."
"Maybe you are wrong, Phil. You can't be right all the time," Bella tells him playing the devil's advocate. Those men are probably the kind to look down on Edward for having a passion.
Phil shakes his head and tells her, "Bella the way they behaved is a replica of what my dad coached me to do when I was still playing football and knew nothing about business."
What if they are in the mafia?
I am not sure about that.
Think about it. if the Cullen's were a mafia family, it would make sense that the famous son would handle the legal side of things while his siblings handle the illegal side of the business.
You are starting to sound like a smart person.
Of course. I am you after all.
"Don't you ever wonder what they do?" Bella asks. She needs to know exactly what he thinks and then lead him to the wrong conclusion. The first rule of mafia families, is they don't exist. If you tell people that you think they exist, your head will fly off your neck.
"No, and frankly I don't care," Phil tells her which prompts her to roll her eyes. Phil has a no gossip or speculation rule in his life. He doesn't spread gossip or speculation. He doesn't even listen to it. He is quite tough with anyone in his inner circle who does that.
She raises an eyebrow and tells him, "Come on, we both know you have a theory. You aren't gonna hide it from me, are you Pa?" Any other time, she wouldn't have gone against his wishes, but she needs to make sure that he doesn't endanger himself.
He laughs lightly to himself then says, "You are playing dirty with the Pa statement but I will tell you," he pauses then leans forward and whispers, "I think like their brother they are both the artsy type except that their art never took off."
He is so off that Bella almost laughs, but conceals it as a cough before asking, "What makes you say that?"
"Haven't you noticed the tension between them? They were borderline hostile towards each other. That's jealousy darling," he tells her shrugging his shoulders.
"I didn't notice that."
Phil leans back then states, "Neither did Edward 'cause he was too busy ogling you."
"And we are back at it again," she mutters, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration.
Phil ignores her obvious disinterest in this topic and tells her, "Listen, sweetheart, if you want to date it's okay, I am not Charlie. Just let me know. I don't like being in the dark. Plus, you'd be picking the best out of the three siblings. I don't like the energy of the older two."
She raises an eyebrow at the energy statement, and tells him, "Now you're sounding like your sister."
"And you're sounding like your mother," he claps back.
"Man, they couldn't stand each other," she tells him, remembering their epic fights and laughing to herself.
"I think Mona and Renee loved each other. That was just their way of communicating," Phil states with a solemn expression on his face.
She gets a look of surprise which prompts him to say, "You know, she drops flowers at her grave every week."
'Really?"
"Oh yeah. She likes to pretend that they aren't from her backyard and I pretend like I don't know," he tells her nodding his head.
"That's so sweet. I miss her," Bella tells him moved by what Mona does for her mum.
"She was pretty bumped when she found out that she couldn't welcome you, but she will be back before you know it."
A little bit after that Phil flags the server for the cheque, pays it, and then they leave. Bella walks into the house with a smile on her face and after paying the babysitter and closing the door behind her she goes to check on her boys.
"Mummy is gonna take care of you," she says watching them breathe then picks up Peter from the crib he is in and takes him to her bed. After finishing her nightly routine, she gets into her bed and watches Peter. She glides her fingertips across his forehead with a giant smile on her face. Going out with Phil made her feel good about herself. He always could put a smile on her face and remind her that she can do anything. While Renee was always a strict parent, Phil was the fun one to be around. He would always say I am not your parent technically, why should I be a conventional one. The first time he said that, she was 13 then and decided to bestow him with the title Pa. While her mum gave her speeches about responsibility and how to fake confidence, Phil taught her how to be confident. He taught her to always believe in herself. He also taught her how to execute her plans.
With that thought in mind, she rolls to the other side and takes a bullet journal and a pen from the bedside table. She pulls herself into a sitting position and gets to business.
She knows that she is lying when she tells herself that her joy has everything to do with Phil alone, so she tells herself it is about the thrill of being wanted.
After all, Phil wouldn't just make it all up, would he?
Hello lovely people,
I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know your thoughts in the review section below. i love reading what you think.
To answer some questions I recently received; yes. The story is completely rewritten. The plot, and essence of the story is essentially the same, but the characterization of the characters, relationships between them, and how certain things will play out are different. The original was the first thing I had written and shared with anyone, so it was a bit all over the place. When I started my other story, I realized that between them my conceptualizing of stories, and writing style matured and that this story could benefit from a rewriting, so here we are.
Until my next update,
Stay Safe.