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

Thanks to my Beta MadMooey18 for making this readable.

Bella is not sure what she expected, but it sure as hell is not this. She was sure that letting Edward know part of what happened to her would change their relationship in a bad way.

To her utter surprise, it didn't. If anything, their bond has grown stronger. Sure, sometimes she will catch him looking at her with sad eyes, but never in a pitiful way. The best comparison she can think of is to the one she gives Adam when he does or says something that reminds her that he grew up around Charlie. However, whenever he catches her eyes, he turns that sad frown into a brilliant smile and she momentarily forgets what he was doing before.

She has tried to figure out what triggers his frowns. Even going as far as to dedicate a small notebook to write down all of the details surrounding those moments, hoping to notice a pattern. So far, nothing has come out of it.

One thing that Bella sometimes wonders is, now that Edward knows more about Charlie, does he worry that she has parts of him in her? What does that mean for her? Does he think less of her? Is that why he has toned down his interest in her recently?

One look at Adam chases those thoughts away. If he thinks that about her then fuck him. Adam has no parts of James in him the same way she has no parts of Charlie in her, and if he doesn't see that in her, then it's his loss.

For the longest time, she struggled to believe in the good in her. If it wasn't for her, her mum would still be alive today. She felt like something is inherently bad in her, and that's why both James and Charlie decided to harm her.

That was all until Adam was born. If there was anyone she hated then more than Charlie, it would be James. The only person she hates more than James today is Charlie. If she were to compare the duo to anything, she would say that Charlie is the devil and James is the one person who is enough of a low life to do his bidding. At least the devil has a purpose, James on the other hand, has no morals, or ethics.

When she saw Adam, a moment was all she needed to know in her heart of hearts that Adam is nothing like James.

She suddenly found herself needing to believe in the good in herself because she believes in the good in her son, and if anyone challenges the good in her, then by principle, they challenge the good in her.

She rubs the fog on the mirror from her hot shower and quickly puts her hair in a towel and does her skincare routine. Then she wears her watch and leaves the bathroom.

Spotting her, Seth ends the call he is on quickly. "Who were you talking to?" Bella demands in a playful tone.

"Tonight's date," he replies then gets to cleaning the counter. Bella raises an eyebrow at that. Now, she is learning new information.

"Didn't know you were talking to anyone," Bella states popping a strawberry in her mouth.

"I joined this Facebook group for Native Americans in New York City and met a girl through it," he replies and continues his cleaning.

"I am sorry, but am I hearing you correctly? Where is the dude that told me that the indigenous people of America are a diverse ethnic group and shit that places all of them under one umbrella aims to strip them of their diversity and make them into a uniform group that is more simple and digestible for the White Man?"

"Well," Seth tells her rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "I still stand by what I said."

"Then what changed?" Bella asks, not in a judging tone, but a genuinely curious one.

"Connecting with native Americans who aren't Quileute is better than connecting to no one."

"Interesting," Bella replies nodding her head and then she pops another strawberry in her mouth.

"Maybe we'll double date sometime," Seth suggests, pausing to gauge her reaction.

Bella raises an eyebrow then says, "I'm not in a relationship, but I'll keep you in mind if I do."

"That's what she is saying now," Seth mutters under his breath.

"What's that?" Bella asks in a warning tone.

Seth looks up and gives her a challenging look then states, "It's only a matter of time before you do. Edward adores you and you tolerate his existence."

Bella barks a laugh at Seth last statement that makes him look at her and tell him, "It's not funny. If his attention was unwanted, you would have kicked him out of your life a long time ago, so it's a matter of time before you date him, so when will you do it?"

Bella is taken aback by his question and takes a moment to think it over before she finally answers, "I don't know. Recently his interest has mellowed out."

"Duh," he tells her making a face. "He figured that you need space and decided to give it to you."

That makes sense.

Bella shrugs her shoulders and tells him, "I guess our double date will have to wait until he figures out that I am ready." And she is ready. She realizes that for the first time, she is ready. More importantly, she wants someone and that someone is Edward.

"Or you could make the first move," Seth states.

"Ask a guy out? Are you kidding! I would never!" Bella throws her hands in the air as she exclaims loudly.

"I thought you were for female equality and the capacity of women to do anything men can," Seth states and shakes his head in mock disappointment.

Bella rolls her eyes at him. "I am but my capacity to pursue things whether it be people or actual objects is limited so I would rather save it for my career instead of my personal life. He, on the other hand, as a man, has more privileges which means he has to do less pursuing for his career which means that he can afford to pursue me."

Seth thinks over her words and nods his head in understanding then tells her, "Don't ask him out, but give him a bit of a push or encouragement because at the speed the both of you are going the boys will going to college before you go on your first date."

"But how?" Bella asks him intrigued by his suggestion. Seth's reply makes sense but she has no idea how to allude to her being ready or interested without coming off as a try-hard, pathetic, or needy.

"Can't you think of any girl-move or trick that alludes to you being ready?" Seth asks her in surprise. Bella shakes her head. Her dating skills are rusty at best and nonexistent at worst.

"You really can't think of anything?"

"Nope," Bella answers honestly, popping another strawberry in her mouth.

Sometime later, as Bella talks to Edward, she smiles over at Seth and covers the phone to whisper to Seth, "Thanks."

After twenty minutes of brainstorming Seth had the genius idea of Bella telling Edward that she wants to go out on a hot date.

"If he is interested in you, he will get the memo and he will think that this is his only shot with you and jump at it. If he is no longer interested, he will offer one of his friends up, or caution you on what to do as to not blow up your PR relationship."

Now as she and Edward banter back and forth, she can't help but feel thankful for Seth's advice. She couldn't have asked for a better one.

"I'm gonna shower," Seth whispers to her and she gives him a thumbs up only to regret it a minute later when Peter starts crying and she has no choice but to end the call with Edward to take care of him.

"I understand that Jess, but can't you make them postpone it for a couple of days. I won't even get a full day with my kids between it and the Colorado photo shoot," Bella tells her as she lines her eyes with a brown eyeshadow.

"Not more than a day," Jess's reply comes quickly. Bella sighs in disappointment. The Colorado trip will last four days and the London one will be for five days. She doesn't want to be away from her kids for that long.

"Bella, this is a really good one. You don't want to pass it by. We are finally getting offers that pay really well. You don't want to shoot your own foot by being picky when you haven't paid your dues yet," Jessica tells her in a warning tone.

"Fine," Bella mutters loudly as she throws the mascara in her makeup bag even though she knows that the years she modeled for in high school should count as her paying her dues, and not for the first time, she curses Charlie.

"Good," Jess tells her then hangs up. Bella straightens her back and then takes a couple of breaths to calm herself down.

Chill! You can't go to the date this wound up. Don't let this phone call spoil something you have been looking forward to for the longest time.

Sighing, Bella gets up and stands in front of the mirror to inspect herself. Her hair is in slight waves, the result of her sleeping with her hair in braids instead of using heat. Her makeup would look natural if not for the ruby red matching her knee length skirt that is paired with a pink blouse.

Man do I look good! I will blow his mind.

Happy with how she looks, she picks the red clutch on her bed and goes to sit in her living room. A couple of minutes later, Bella gets a message from Edward telling her he is two minutes away from her building. Quickly, she puts on a pair of pink strappy heels and then rushes out of the house.

She spots his car as she is leaving through the building's door, rushes to the side of the curb, and opens the door before the car has fully stopped.

"You are so lucky that the boys are with Seth already at Phil's house, or I would have needed an hour to come down," she tells him giggling nervously as puts on the belt instead of saying Hello.

Edward makes a sound but doesn't say anything. Instead, he pulls out of the parking spot. Despite Bella's best interest, things just keep going downhill from there. Bella makes a couple of attempts to pull him out of whatever funk he is in, but fails spectacularly.

See? This is what I was talking about. He was all for the two of you dating then the moment you start the date, he realizes that he doesn't want you.

Shut up!

Don't try to shut me up. I saw this and I told you that you shouldn't date him, but no. You had to do that to yourself. You can't protect yourself from getting hurt. I am the only one who can.

Her pride kicks in and before she can stop herself, she finds herself telling him to drop her on the side of the road and opens the door the moment the car parks, "Stop! Where are you going?" Edward stops her by holding her left hand and pulling her back into the car.

"Leaving to get a taxi," she says pointedly, letting her anger show. She knows that she shouldn't be angry. She can't control how people feel about her, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt like a bitch to know that the person she loves doesn't want her back.

Yes, she loves him. Sometime between getting into the car and him stopping it, she realized that she loves him. Nothing has ever hurt her in her life as the cold shoulder he has been giving her since she got in.

She might be in love, but that doesn't mean that she lost her self-respect and dignity, and she will be damned if she lets him see her tear up, or cry.

"That's not why I stopped. I need to talk to you and I can't focus on both driving and talking," he tells her scratching the back of his neck.

She swallows the lump in her throat and prays to God her voice doesn't crack then tells him, "Okay, talk."

Taking a deep breath, Edward tells her, "I just. I heard something about you recently. I don't want to believe it. I don't believe it. In my heart of hearts it's impossible, but this thought just keeps festering in my mind and eating away at my nerves. I need you to confirm to me that the crazy shit Jasper said to me isn't true, so I can function normally. It has been driving me insane since then and I don't know what to do."

"Is this why you asked me out because you want to know if whatever Jasper told you is true?" she asks, masking her disappointment as anger.

That's how a girl who is mildly interested but not hopelessly in will react.

God, he isn't even interested in me. He never was.

"No, no, no. That was never the case. I talked to Jasper after we made plans. I asked you out because I like you. Please never doubt that," he quickly tells her, trying to convey in his tone as much sincerity as possible. He reaches to hold her hand in but she swats it away. She sees the hurt look on his face before he hides it, but Bella doesn't have it in her to feel sorry for herself, when it feels like he just pulled her heart out and ore it into pieces.

"Okay, tell me what Jasper said."

"He said that you and Aro are having an affair."

Edward waits with baited breaths for Bella to react and after a full minute of silence, she breaks into laughter. "You think I am dating Aro?" she says between laughs as tears stream down her face with how hard she is laughing.

Who knew that Edward is a prankster?

Edward is too surprised by her reaction to say anything or even make a sound. "You think I am dating Aro?" she asks again as her laughter slows down and it finally down on her that he isn't joking. This isn't some elaborate ploy to prank her. He truly thinks that.

"That's what Jasper said," Edward tells her quietly, feeling uncomfortable. The way she reacted to this shows that what Jasper said is most defenitly not true. What was he thinking letting Jasper get to him?

"You aren't joking, are you?" she asks, seriously missing all the humor in her voice.

So that piece of shit and Alice are a match made in heaven, and Edward is a dumb son of a bitch who doesn't smell the crap people in his family sell him!

Perfect! Just my luck.

Edward shakes his head.

"Why would you even believe that about me?" Bella demands angrily.

"Jasper told me about all the times you visited Aro when he was in town. He spoke with such conviction that he made me doubt everything," he answers quietly.

Bella barks a laugh then tells him, "His words made you doubt me and my honesty. Don't hide behind vague descriptions to try and minimize what you are telling me," No longer interested in dealing with his nice guy schtick.

Edward nods his head and looks down at his lap in shame.

"I should have known that you weren't as good of a guy as you pretended to be," she mutters, making him look up at her.

Edward opens his mouth to try and defend himself, but before he can, she puts her hand up and tells him, "Don't bother!" and gets out of the car.

Edward takes off his seat belt and quickly tries to get to her but misses her by seconds and stands by the side road as she leaves in a taxi. He sighs to himself and slowly walks back to the door.

Getting into the car, he pulls the phone out of the pocket and types: For what it's worth, I never doubted you for one second. I am so sorry, then hits send.

Putting on his seat belt, he drives off to his apartment. The closer he gets to his apartment, the angrier he gets. Bella's meeting with Aro isn't such an atrocious thing. If he found out about it on his own, he wouldn't have thought anything inappropriate of it. But no, Jasper had to jump to the conclusion in his head, then keep going on and on about it until it took over his mind.

"God damn it!" he screams loudly as he smacks the steering wheel.

"Hi!" Bella exclaims, smiling the moment Seth opens the door for her while holding Peter.

"I thought you had a date. Why are you back so early?" Seth asks her as she takes Peter from him and holds him closely to her and whispers into his ear.

She inhales his sweet baby scent and instantly feels all of her heartbreak and anger resolve away.

Peter giggles and pats her cheeks as she walks into the living room. She walks over to Phil who is helping Adam read a book and hugs him.

"Are you having fun with your grandpa?" she asks Adam, still bent down from giving his head a kiss.

Adam nods as the crease in his forehead intensifies then he returns to sounding the words out loud.

"I guess that's all I am getting," she mutters to herself as she walks to the sofa and sits down then continues while looking at Peter. "You are never gonna ignore me, are you?" she asks.

Peter's answer to that is him slithering off her lap and going to the corner to play with his Lego. "Great! You are abandoning me too," she mutters to herself.

Seth gives her a look silently demanding that she talk, and she tells him everything. "So for how long are you going to be mad?" Seth asks her.

Bella raises an eyebrow and asks, "What makes you think I will ever forgive him? What if it's a deal breaker?"

Seth tilts his head to the side as if thinking over her question then shakes his head and tells her, "You like him too much to make this a deal breaker."

Bella frowns and tells him, "You know me too well." On the way, Bella realized that she doesn't want to lose out on what could be a great relationship over something initiated by that asshat.

The piece of shit, she will get to him. No one goes after her and gets away with it. Gone are the days when she let people harm her and live to tell the take.

But first, she has bigger fish to fry. Edward did wrong by her when he believed that crap and she will be damned if she gets in a relationship with a man that would value the words of another man over hers. She needs to teach him a lesson about trust before she goes after Jasper.

Hello lovely people,

I apologize for the long disappearance, but as you know life happens. I was traveling for a while, and then got sick. Add anxiety, burnout, and an accidental deletion of the chapter, and you get a late update.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I loved writing it. How much groveling will Edward do before Bella forgives him? What will Bella do to Jasper?

The answers to those questions and many more, will be answered in the upcoming chapter.

Until then, tell me your thoughts in the reviews section, and stay safe.