Here is the next chapter, we are still in between chapters 20-23 of BSOL (from 2013)

Let's see what happened with Bella and Edward

Shoutout to the story I'm betating: The Condemnation of Power by: Baisers Ardents check it out if you have a chance!

Chapter 21.1:

Reconciliations and Births

Edward:

I don't understand why Bella doesn't answer my calls. Before leaving she said she had a family emergency, but that was three days ago.

Did something happen? Will she be upset with me? Could it be that she didn't like what we did? Is she already tired of me? She had a thousand unanswered questions.

I called Renée and the only reason she gave me was that Bella was unwell, that she was sick. And although that didn't match what she told me the last time we saw each other, knowing that I sent her flowers and some of her favorite sweets. I was waiting for her to answer me, for her to call me but I received nothing.

I called her again but she didn't answer. I left a voice message.

"Bella, honey, I hope you're okay. I'm worried, it's not normal that you don't answer me. I hope what you have is not something serious. Please call me, okay? I love you"

If she doesn't answer me in one more day, I will go look for her personally. No matter what Mom or Alice tell me, this behavior from Bella is not normal. Something is wrong with her and for some reason she is hiding it from me.

Bella's POV:

I got home quickly, got out of the car and went inside. I ignored Mom and Phil's greeting. I ran to my room and slammed the door. I lay on the bed and let the tears fall from my eyes.

I don't know how long I was crying lying in bed. I didn't lift my head until I heard a knock on the door.

"Bella honey, dinner is ready. Are you going to eat?" Mom asked.

"No, I'm not hungry, Mom," I told her.

My stomach was in knots, I don't think I could eat anything without throwing up.

"Well, I'll save it for later," Mom said. I didn't eat it later either.

I fell asleep and didn't wake up until the next day. I had no desire for anything, my head and chest hurt. I could still hear Esme's words running through my head. No one had ever humiliated me like that. I didn't know if I should tell her mom, I know she would get angry and go to Edward's house to confront her and I didn't want her to do that, not in her state. I didn't want anything to happen to her or the baby because of me.

My cell phone rang, I had several messages from Edward. Seeing them made me sad, but at the same time it made me angry. I grabbed the phone and threw it on the floor. My bladder couldn't take it anymore so I reluctantly got up and went to the bathroom.

The Bella in the mirror looked like a truck had run over her. My hair was disheveled, my face was all red and puffy, and my eyes reflected my sadness.

I didn't know what to do... I love Edward but was our relationship really worth it? Could I continue to put up with his mother's rudeness and insults? At this moment I don't know. I have to think about what I'm going to do, there are only two options: stand up to Esme and stay with Edward, or break his heart and break up with him forever.

Edward:

After my college classes were done for the day I asked James to take me to Bella's house. I rang the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door.

"Oh, Edward it's you" Phil said as he opened the door.

"Sorry to bother you, is Bella home?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes Edward, she is there but I don't know if she wants to see you," he said in a somber tone.

A horrible feeling spread through my chest at his words. What's going on?

"Is she still sick?" I inquired. "Yes, she's still not feeling well, sorry," he replied his tone flat, as if he was trying to get rid of me. What the hell was going on? I thought annoyed.

"Phil, I know something's wrong with her, she's been ignoring me for four days. I need to see her please, I don't care that she's sick" I said distressed.

"Edward, I don't know if I should let you in, Renee isn't here and Bella..." he began to say.

"It's okay Phil, let him in," a gruff voice said from inside. "Are you sure?" Phil asked. "Yes, it's okay, please come in Edward," the voice said again.

"Beautiful is that you?"

"Yes, I just lost my voice," Bella explained. I felt her small hand on my shoulder as she guided me to her room, she didn't need to, I already knew the way. Bella closed the door after I entered and walked forward until I felt the foot of the bed with my cane, "can I sit down?" asked.

"Yes, please," I sat and felt the bed dip near me.

"How are you?" I asked after a few seconds, I didn't like the silence between us. Bella didn't respond.

"Are you really sick? What do you have?"

"Edward, I was just going to send you a message today" she began.

"I needed to talk to you," she continued. "Well, here I am. What's up?" I told her.

"I don't know how to tell you this..."

Ever since Bella and I started our relationship, I was hoping that something like this would happen, that she might not want to be with me anymore and would leave me. I guess that time was now, although I hope that's not the case because I couldn't stand it. Would she really be able to break up with me? Is that why she ignored me? She didn't know how to tell me.

"What's going on?" I asked scared. "I love you, but I don't know if it's best for me to stay with you," she said.

She knew it, she was thinking about leaving me. "What happened Bella? Why do you say that to me out of the blue?"

"It's not out of nowhere Edward, I've been thinking for several days" she replied in a sharp tone.

"Bella, please tell me what happened because I don't understand anything," I begged.

"The last time we saw each other, that day at your house..." she began.

"Yes, what happened? You went to get water and then you said you had a family emergency and you left. It wasn't true Bella, I called your mother and she told me nothing had happened. Why did you lie to me?"

"When I went to the kitchen to get the water, your mom pulled my arm and insulted me," she finally confessed to me.

Why would mom do that? She was finally accepting Bella. Or were we wrong?

"Why did she do that?" I asked him, intrigued. "Because she saw us Edward" she said as if it were obvious.

"How did he see us? What are you talking about?" I did not understand anything. "She saw what we were doing in your room," she explained.

It took me a few seconds to understand what she meant. "Mom saw us kissing and touching each other?" I asked horrified.

"Yes, Edward, she saw us" she confirmed. "Oh God!" I muttered. She waits said that mom insulted her...

"Bella, what did mom tell you?" I asked.

"Edward, I don't want to tell you what she told me. I'm trying to forget it, please don't make me repeat it," she told me with a broken voice. "But if you want to know, she said horrible things to me, no one has ever talked to me like that, Edward."

"I can imagine where this is going, she told you that you were a slut or something like that," I commented.

"Yes, to put it that way," Bella said.

I couldn't believe it, well... it was to be expected, mom still thinks I'm a boy. She forgets that I'm nineteen years old, not five.

"That's why I can't continue with what we have Edward, I love you but it's not fair that I have to continue with this push and pull attitude. With Esme it's three steps forward and five steps back and honestly I'm already tired of this" She told me. Fed up? Was Bella sick of me?

"Are you sick of me?" I asked with a broken voice.

"No, Edward, not from you but from your mother's ambivalent attitude," she told me.

"I don't want to continue putting up with her rudeness," she added after a few seconds.

She was right, but I didn't want her to leave me. I love her and I want to be with her, I had to find a way to make her change her mind.

"Bella, I don't agree with your decision," I told her honestly. "You made it without consulting me," he added.

I only received silence from her, but a few seconds later I heard her sobbing. I approached her and took her hands praying that she wouldn't reject me. "Don't cry Bella, please," I begged.

"I love you and I want to be with you, please don't leave me," I begged her.

"Edward, it's not that I want to leave you, but I can't take this anymore," she repeated.

"Is there another option?" I asked.

Bella took a breath before answering, "one option is to ignore your mother and stay together... you already know the other, to end this forever even if I love you and it breaks my heart," she told me between sobs.

I had to find a way to be with her, I don't want to lose her. Bella is the best thing that has ever happened to me but I understand her point, it wasn't fair for her mom to belittle her like that. I was also already tired of this situation to be honest, but since Mom had improved her treatment of Bella I thought things would change but I see that I was wrong.

"Please Bella, let me fix this," I said. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll talk to Carlisle and Alice, I need their opinion on the matter, but long story short I'll give Mom an ultimatum. Either she changes her attitude or she forgets that she has a son. I'm willing to leave everything for you, even if I have to go to live in a motel, under a bridge or wherever, I don't care," I said sincerely.

"You would do that for me?" Bella asked with surprise in her voice. "I would do anything for you," I stated.

"You don't have to go live under a bridge Edward, you could stay here," Bella suggested.

"Honey, thank you for the invitation but I don't think that's possible. This house only has four rooms, the guest room will be for the baby or am I wrong?" I smiled.

Bella, Alice, Rosalie, and I would be older siblings in a few months since our mothers are pregnant.

"Well yes, but there's still the office, there's a bed there," Bella said.

"Okay, thanks for the offer, I'll take it into account," I told her.

"Can you give me a couple of days to talk to her?" I asked him.

"Yes, that's fine"

I took her hand again, "Bella, no matter what happens, I choose you. I promise that nothing mom says or does is going to make me leave you," I promised her. I raised her hand and kissed her knuckles.

"These days without hearing from you were torture," I admitted.

"Sorry, I just didn't know how to react to everything that happened and I didn't want to take my anger out on you," Bella explained.

"It's understandable, but next time please keep me in the loop. It was agonizing not hearing from you."

"Yes, it's okay Edward," she replied in a solemn tone. "Your cell phone is flashing," she indicated.

"Ah, it must be mom, she doesn't know I'm here," I said.

"Oh well, leave before she sends the cavalry to look for you," she laughed.

I smiled at her, "it's okay, I'll text you later…can I?" I asked.

"Yes, it's okay," Bella said, now more animated. "Goodbye"

"Goodbye, Edward."

I got home quickly and apologized to Mom for being late without warning, then after dinner I talked to Alice. She got really angry when I told her what had happened. It turns out that Bella had ignored her too, but after she explained her reasons he understood that she didn't do it out of spite.

Alice agreed with the options Bella gave, but she also agreed that she should give Mom the ultimatum. She didn't want me to do it now since she didn't want to affect her state, but it was necessary. Already in my room I wrote an email to Carlisle to his doctor's email so that Mom wouldn't see it. I didn't dare call him or text him, I didn't know how she would react knowing what had happened.

When I woke up in the morning I read his response. Carlisle was sad but at the same time what mom did made him angry. I asked him for help to talk to mom, and he responded that I had his full support. I smiled knowing that even though Carlisle was her husband, he was there for me like a father.

I started to think about how different everything would have been if Dad hadn't died and I wasn't blind. Mom would be a completely different woman and Bella and I would not be 'separated'. I missed the Esme from before, the one who gave kisses and made cookies. The Esme who said sweet things and made me feel better with just a word. But there was no trace of her anymore... well sometimes I saw her when she interacted with Carlisle, he was the only one with the power to unearth that Esme.

It wasn't easy talking to mom but I made her understand my point. I gave her the ultimatum, I told her that either she changed her way of thinking or she could forget that she had an older son. Alice also supported me and together we told her that if she didn't change we would leave the house. With the money that Dad had left us for our education we could easily pay for a dorm room at the university. Our conversation wasn't easy, but I made it clear that Bella was the most important thing in my life and that I wasn't willing to lose her. I told her that she had to understand that I was already a man and that I didn't need her.

There she started to cry, I knew that was her Achilles heel. I reminded her that now she would have a baby to take care of and dedicate all her attention to. But that I hope she wouldn't make the same mistakes with him or her that she made with Alice and I because of her attitude. I also asked her that when she was ready she apologize to Bella, but that this time she be sincere and that I really hoped her attitude would change.

It was good that we talked because she told me how she felt, and because she acted the way she did. There were things she told me that she had to say to Bella and not to me, I told her that too.

After talking to mom, I went to Bella's house with a giant bouquet of flowers, it's worth mentioning that we reconciled. I told her everything that happened with mom and she was willing to talk to her to smooth things over and finally put everything that happened behind her. Mom and Bella are the most important women in my life and I didn't like there being a chasm between them.

Bella ran towards me excitedly and she almost knocked me over. I chuckled as I wrapped my arms around her waist and sought her mouth to kiss her. We had been apart for a few days, but it seemed like an eternity to me. But finally, everything was in place and everything was fine for now.

Months later…

Bella's POV:

"Push, Mrs. Dwyer, push with all your might," the nurse encouraged Mom.

"Come on love, in a few seconds our baby will be here, I know you can," Phil whispered as he held her hand tightly. I was supporting her on the other side.

Mom was tired, she had been in labor for almost ten hours. They were about to take her to the operating room for a C-section, but that wasn't what she wanted.

"Come on mom, Phil and I are here for you, you can do this," I told her as she moaned and pushed.

"I see the head!" The doctor said.

"See mom, come on, keep it up" I kept telling her.

"One more push and that's it! Come on Mrs. Dwyer, you can do it"

"Argh!" she growled as she pushed with what strength she had left.

There was a wet sound and the baby's cries filled the room.

"Here is your beautiful child," the nurse said, placing the bloody lump on my mother's chest. Phil quickly bent down to look at him, I couldn't hold it in anymore and started crying. My little brother was finally born.

I reacted and took a photo of the three of them, then the nurse called Phil to cut the umbilical cord, from there they took him to clean him and do all the tests and procedures. While that was happening, the nurses were dealing with the placenta and cleaning my mother and beginning the postpartum care process. Phil was at the foot of the bed stroking mom's head and saying things in her ear, they were happy. Although he was much younger than her, I knew that he truly loved her and that their relationship with her was not a game. They had been together for many years, and I was happy that they were finally able to have a child. I don't know why they hadn't had one before, it didn't occur to me to ask. It had been nineteen years since Mom had me. But she was not yet forty so she was within reproductive age.

Mom and Charlie had me when they were eighteen, the result of their winter adventure. Mom was passing through town, she was a free spirit back then. They were together until the new year. Then mom left, but she called him a few weeks later to tell him she was pregnant. Dad thought marrying Mom was the right thing to do, so he proposed and they quickly got married. They were together for a few years, but then decided they would be better off apart. A few years later, Mom met Phil and they started dating. After a few years and a lot of prodding, Mom finally gave in and married Phil.

The nurse brought the baby clean and wrapped and placed him in our mother's arms. I watched while they spoke softly to him. I took photos for posterity, they looked beautiful together. This baby was the missing piece in our family, I know Phil loved me very much, but now he had a child of his own to raise and care for.

"Do you want to carry him Bella?" Mom asked me after a few minutes, I nodded with a smile as if I was six years old and not twenty. I approached the bed and she handed me the baby, I immediately melted. It was the smallest, most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

"Hello little one, I'm Bella, your sister. I love you very much, I'm very happy that you are here" the baby snuggled into my chest and relaxed when he heard my voice. As he grew in the womb I talked to him and told him stories. Mom said he used to relax inside her when he heard my voice.

A few minutes after carrying him, Phil's parents and sister entered. They congratulated them and I showed them the baby.

"Son, you have us on tenterhooks, tell us what our grandson's name is," Phil's dad asked.

"Isaac, his name is Isaac James Dwyer" Phil said proudly. "Oh son, that's a beautiful name. He is perfect!" said his mother, excited about him.

We took several photos and everyone had a chance to hold the baby before he started crying and the lactation consultant came into the room to instruct Mom on how to get the baby to latch onto her breast and feed. Apparently, Mom hadn't had much success with me, but she was willing to give breastfeeding another chance.

I wasn't the only one who became an older sister, a few days ago Esme gave birth to her baby, also a boy. They named him after his father, Carlisle Stephen Cullen or CC as they called him in short. Alice, Edward and Rosalie were beside themselves with excitement. Rosalie still couldn't believe that her children had an uncle younger than them.

After what happened with Esme, Edward and I reconciled and are better than ever. It took a while for Esme to say sorry to me, but the important thing is that she did it and that she did it genuinely. Carlisle suggested that she go to therapy and she accepted, that helped a lot to change her way of being. I was glad that she was giving herself a chance to be completely happy.

Thoughts? Let me read you, see you on the next chapter!