Edward's POV:
I stare at her, confused, as I see her fall forward onto the table, face-first into a plate of salad.
"Ella." I whisper, shaking her gently, with a frown on my face.
Ms. Natalia smiles at me as if this is the most normal thing in the world. "You probably don't know this yet but Ella has a strange illness. If she gets stressed, she passes out and wakes up shortly after, so don't worry." She explains calmly.
I feel my frown deepen, as I reach over to move her hair and check on her. "Shouldn't we take her to the hospital to get checked out?" I asked, concerned.
She shakes her head, and smiles at me amused,"It's not necessary. This has happened before. We don't know why it happens. just that it does. She'll wake up soon. Well, I'll go bring her some water with lemon so she can drink it after." She says as she excuses herself. "Handcuffs." She scoffs shaking her head in disbelief.
As soon as she's gone, I lean forward and shake her gently.
"Ella, what are you doing?" I whispered to her, as I tried to wake her up again.
She, however, remained unconscious.
This worried me, making me think of doctors whom I could call. Carlisle. Peter…. Damn it.
"This isn't funny, please wake up. Ella, I know you're doing this on purpose. Wake up." I told her, quietly, as I pushed some of her hair out of her face, and pulled the plate off from under her face.
I used my napkin to wipe her face, before sighing and shaking my head in disbelief.
"Ella, you've got to be kidding me. You're not sick." I told her, as I tapped her face gently.
Before I could say anything else, a flash blinded me momentarily and I turned to see three women from this morning, standing there looking over at us shocked.
Ella's friends appeared by the door, waving at me, as they made their way onto the terrace.
"Uh, hi, welcome." I greeted, slightly concerned as I looked back down at Ella.
Ella suddenly sat up, blinking, and shaking her head, groggily.
Fuck, that meant her aunt was telling the truth, meaning I was going to have to be careful to not stress her.
Maybe we should stop all of this engagement shit before she gets hurt… but fuck we already told everybody about the engagement party tomorrow. Fucking shit.
I almost sighed in relief as I heard her whimper softly as she moved a little, "Did I pass out again?" She groans as she wipes her face, and frowns when some sauce and dressing come on her hand.
"Were you being serious?" I asked, frowning.
"Here. Drink this." Her aunt says as she sets a glass of water and lemons in front of her.
Ella frowns as she sees her friends stand around the table. "Where did you three come from?" She asks as I hand her the napkin.
She misses the mess and I sigh, take the napkin from her, and use it to wipe the mess off her face.
"Since Mr. Edward was in a hurry this morning we weren't properly introduced." The tall dark-haired one said, in an unimpressed tone.
"Yeah, uh, Ella said we were in a hurry," I replied smoothly.
Ella narrowed her eyes at me before it turned to a smile.
"So you do everything that Ella says." The dark-haired one says, unamused. "She said you two are engaged." She adds.
I nodded, "Yes. By the way, tomorrow we are having an engagement party." I inform them, watching as Ella blinks in surprise.
"Engagement, tomorrow?" The blonde one sputters.
"Wait a moment, Ella? You hadn't told me this." Ms. Natalia says, looking at Ella.
"Uh, well, we just decided today. We just decided, today." Ella sputters. "A little while ago, actually. We want to make the engagement official." She adds.
"Ah, and the wedding at midnight?" Her aunt sarcastically says.
"No, auntie dearest, I promise you that there is no possibility of that happening," Ella reassures her as I cough to hide my amusement, as she elbows me. " I mean, in this case, it'll be months." She sputters.
"Yes, because we'd like to get to know each other better. It's not easy to get to know here. She is a bit … original." I say, wincing as she elbows me again.
"Ow." I mumble.
"Stop." She mouths, before turning back to look at her friends.
"You care about her?" Her friend asks.
I swallow hard, debating for a second before opting to answer honestly, and nod, as she beams at me.
"Oh, I've made a mistake, I forgot to put the cherries on the cake I made earlier today. Ella, why don't you go put them on? Go on." Ms. Nat tells her.
"But, auntie, Edward doesn't like sweets, he doesn't-" She began to say before her aunt shook her head, "We'll offer it to him. If he doesn't want to eat it, he doesn't have to." Her aunt reassures her.
"Alright." Ella sighs in defeat, before standing up and heading inside.
I watch her make her way inside. Her narrow hips swayed delicately from side to side as she did.
"Girls, go help her." She commands gently, as they all get up from their seats. Except the short, dark-haired, round one, "Alice. Alice, go," She orders firmly now.
I understood then what she was doing.
She wanted to speak to me without anyone around. Smart woman. Very smart.
"Come on, Alice. Let's go help, B-Uh, Ella." Her friends said forcefully, as they pulled her inside.
"Sorry." She apologized, as she offered me another helping of lasagna. "Lasagna. It has Italian sausage, ground beef, and three different cheeses." She informs me.
I nod, looking down at my plate, slowly gathering the strength to eat. As it was I had already eaten too much.
"You eat, I'll talk." She tells me. "Because you have no idea how much effort I am making so that I don't get an anxiety attack." She adds, smiling tightly at me.
I nod, "You're right." I say, as I slowly begin to eat, keeping my face expressionless, so as to not offend her.
"Mr. Edward, look, I have always supported the decisions that Isabella has made. I have never questioned her, that's how I raised her to be. Now, I have no idea as to why she has gotten engaged to you. She is not the type of girl who gets engaged to someone whom she barely met a few days ago. She hasn't told me why. But sooner or later I am going to find out." She tells me, as she stares at me, unblinkingly.
I nod. "I understand your worry-" I begin before she cuts me off.
"No, Mr. Edward. I can assure you that you don't. You don't understand. Look, Ella's childhood and her life have been full of trauma, pain, and a lot of things. Did you know?" She asked.
I blinked, "Traumas?" I asked, slowly, trying not to frown or show how concerned I was at this revelation.
She shook her head, sighing, "She'll tell you when she's ready. If she wants to. It'll be her decision alone." She cuts off before continuing, "She has managed to build herself a small, happy life. She's single, but has dignity, respect for herself, and is very intelligent and beautiful. If you break her beautiful heart or hurt a single hair on her head, I will tear your world apart.." She promises. "Am I making myself clear?" She asks, smiling.
I take a deep breath, and nod, as I wrap my head around everything she just said, "I promise that Ella will not suffer in any shape or form." I immediately say.
She smiles, "It's obvious that you are a man of your word. So, I will believe you, for now." She says as she offers me more food.
"I can't have another bite." I tell her, honestly.
"Eat." She gently commands.
I sigh, and take yet another bite, knowing that this woman has the ability to kill me without moving an inch.
If the dangerous glint in her eyes is anything to go by.
The look causes me to shift uncomfortably in my seat.
"My Bells tells me that you are a hypochondriac." She casually says
I title my head, before sighing and shaking my head, "Oh? T-That's what she told you?" I asked, letting out a tight laugh.
"That's exactly what she told me." She says as she begins to eat too.
"Wonderful." I deadpan and shake my head.
She smiles, "Next time you're here, I'll prepare a bigger assortment of dishes so you can choose what to eat. Or you know, some steamed veggies, since you don't seem to like meat very much." She replied as she gave me a knowing look before she leaned back in her chair.
I could see where Ella got her mischievous streak. That is definitely alarming.
Bella's POV:
I sat there shaking my head as all three of my friends tried talking over each other, shaking my head as they grew louder.
My head was already pounding from my brain's inconvenient little coping mechanism.
Why did this have to happen right now, in front of Edward, no less! I felt so embarrassed I was debating climbing out the back window and heading to a hotel to hide out.
"Woah! Woah! Hang on, ladies!" I called as I slammed my hand on the table and stood up. "Ladies, will you stop talking as if I am not here?" I asked offended. "Please, I need you to be on my side and not working against me. Can't you just trust whatever the hell I'm doing like before? No questions asked?" I all but begged.
"But of course, we are on your side." Alice immediately says.
Angela closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before shaking her head, "I just don't want to see you get hurt, Be. Nothing would hurt us more than to see you get hurt. You realize that, don't you? We are only trying to figure out what is going on." She finally says.
I nod, "I know, which is why I am asking, no begging, you to trust me." I respond.
Kate nods, as she moves to pull me into a hug, "Of course. We will trust your judgment. Only if you promise to be careful." She quietly says.
I sigh, and nod, "Of course, I always am." I replied as I hugged her back.
"I want a hug too," Alice says as she joins our hug, smiling as Angela sighs in defeat before joining us.
"You ladies are my best friends. My sisters." I tell them.
Kate cries out in pain, and glares at Alice, "You stepped on me." She complains.
Alice gives her an apologetic smile, "Sorry, Kay, it was an accident." She mumbles.
They begin to banter as Angela turns to look at me, a careful expression on her face, "You're not lying to me, right?" She asks one final time.
I shake my head, "No, I am not. I think- I think I love him." I finally tell her, feeling my stomach swirl with butterflies as I utter these words.
She sighs and shakes her head, "Right, well, let's go get something to drink, I have a headache, and need to eat something before I pass out. Come on." She says as she moves to leave.
"Right, let's go." Kate agrees as she moves to leave, pulling Alice with her as she goes.
"Hey, I wasn't done getting the deets!" She cries out indignantly.
"Yes, you are. Now, come on, let's go!" Kate snaps as she yanks her in the direction of the door.
"-The Space Needle is actually a very interesting architectural wonder. One of many in the world. It stands at 605 feet tall, the tower is designed to withstand very strong winds up to 320 kilometers an hour. It's even survived quite a few earthquakes." Edward tells my aunt.
"Yes, I grew up in Seattle, I spent my weekends in high school working in a bookstore a few blocks from there." My aunt replies, enthusiastically.
As I make my way over with the cake, setting it down on the table.
The cake itself is double chocolate, with chocolate chips inside, with fudge frosting, and some cherries on top.
It was my favorite treat.
My aunt usually made it for special occasions. The thought made my throat constrict as I moved to sit down.
"If you ever care to go all you need to do is tell me ahead of time, and I can arrange it." Edward says, nodding.
"We will not be visiting there." I cut in.
Edward frowned but nodded, "Alright." He says.
I sighed before checking the time, "Edward, aren't you going to be late for your meeting?" I asked him.
He stares down at his wrist and shakes his head, "Don't worry about it. I've rearranged the meeting and had it changed." He informs me, as he leans back."But you are right, I should be heading out." He adds, with a sigh as he moves to stand up.
"Ms. Natalia, I give you my thanks for preparing such a lovely meal for us, from the bottom of my heart." He breathes. "I am sorry for being unable to finish all of the food. It was all very amazing. We shall see you tomorrow at the engagement party." He adds as he extends his hand towards my aunt.
"Yes, of course. I am glad that I got a chance to meet you. I feel better knowing that there is someone else out there who cares for my beautiful Bells." She says, with a smile.
They nod before Edward turns to look at me, "I'll walk you home if you want." He tells me, with a gleam in his eye.
I immediately stiffen when I realize that this isn't a suggestion but a gentle command. Opting to avoid any more questioning to make my headache worse. I turn to look at him, sharply.
"I live here, with my aunt." I point out stiffly. "I told you earlier," I add in the same tone.
"Ah, Be, say less, honey, show your fiancé the house." My aunt says, nudging me gently.
"Uh, it's not, uh, that is…" He trails off as my aunt gives him a look.
Shit, she's gotten to him too.
We were toast.
"Come on. Let's go." I sigh, as I grab his wrist and pull him into the house.
"Well…" He sighs, "Okay." He says as he allows me to yank him into the house.
"Good night, kids." My aunt calls after us as we leave.
"Goodnight!" We call back in unison as I pull him to the stairs and in the direction of my room.
As we enter the guest room, I drop his hand and turn to look at my bed, sighing when I notice that the bed is made.
He remains quiet as he stands behind me, taking in everything in the room.
"Hello, my name is Isabella, if you don't like it, it's your loss." He reads out loud, amusement clear on his face.
"I love slogan bumper stickers," I whispered as I moved to sit down on my bed.
He hums, "Bumper stickers?" He asks amused.
I nod, "The bumper stickers have all kinds of inscriptions and pictures. I collect them. It may seem strange to you but I love them." I tell him, as I smile at my snoopy sticker, before moving to leave, "Let's go." I tell him as I head back up to the terrace.
I can feel his stare as I head down the rest of the stairs, making my way into the living room.
"This is the living room, and my favorite place to sit on chilly days," I inform him.
"It's a nice place." He says as he moves toward where I am standing.
"My room is upstairs if you want to check it out.." I whispered, stepping away from him.
He follows me again, as I move to open the door.
He freezes as he sees his badly abused picture pinned to the wall. Half his face is gone from all the darts I've thrown on it, and the thought makes me smile.
He takes a slow breath before turning to glare at me. "And this is the love you have for Edward Cullen." He states dully.
I smile angelically at him, "Mhm. I am your admirer." I snipped.
He lets out a disbelieving laugh, before he takes a step inside, and moves to go onto the second terrace outside of my room.
"The house is very much like you." He comments as he makes his way towards the chair.
"How so?" I ask as I move to stand on the edge, hands wrapping around the metal framing.
"It's original. Very unique." He says after a while.
I nod, as I stare at the sight with a small smile, "I love it exactly like it is." I replied. "With all the flowers, post-it notes lingering here and there." I sigh.
We stare at each other, wordlessly, before he moves towards me, reaching up to touch my face with his fingertips.
"What are we doing here, Ella?" He breathes.
I smile, taking his hand in mine, "You tell me. I am as clueless as you are." I replied honestly.
A small smile appears on his face as he shakes his head, leaning in to press his lips on my forehead, before stepping back, "I think I can see myself caring for you." He finally confesses.
I smile, "I think I can see myself caring for you too." I replied in the same tone.
"I don't know what I am doing." He admits quietly.
I shrug, as I wrinkle my nose and smile, "It's okay none of us do." I reassure him, causing him to let out a strained chuckle.
I can feel his eyes on me, as I stare up at him amused.
"Does this make us friends now?" I finally asked him, hesitantly.
He thinks about it for a second before giving me a small shrug, "Do you think we can be friends while we're at each other's throats every day?" He asks, amused.
I shake my head, "Business buddies, it is." I reply as I take a step back to relieve the sudden tension that is between us.
"Or how about we don't label this? I am tired of people around me labeling everything. Let's just be us. If it changes in the future we'll circle back and talk about it. Alright?" He suggests.
I nod, looking away, and moving to change the subject. "Thank you. For coming tonight. It meant a lot to my aunt and me." I say, in gratitude. "You have eased my aunt of her worries," I mention.
"It's as per the contract. I am just doing what I am supposed to." He says, offhandedly. "It's all a part of the game." He adds, in the same tone.
I nod, looking away, "You're right. It's all a part of the game." I mumbled, awkwardly.
We stood there for a little while longer before he sighed, "I should get going. Have a good night, Isabella Swan." He tells me.
I hummed, "You too, Edward Cullen." I replied before walking him to the door.
I watched him leave before heading inside feeling more confused than I was this morning. What the hell was that? And why do I feel like my stomach has been replaced with an automatic mixer?
