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 her constant support and help in making this story what it is today.
An outing that has cemented Edward Cullen not only as our favorite male producer but also the internet's boyfriend.
A week ago, Bella Swan and Edward Cullen were seen having a lunch date together in everyone's new hotspot Carmila, and since then, the internet-shy producer who prefers being in the background became front and center in many internet discussions and got voted unanimously as our internet boyfriend.
What made this date so special, you wonder?
They had with them Bella's Swan's son, Adam. Videos and pictures all over the internet taken by the paparazzi show as Edward Cullen shielded Adam from the paparazzi's lenses and carried him to the car. The care with which he handled carrying his girlfriend's son and the protectiveness that shined through with the glare he gave one of the paparazzi when they got close to touching him set the internet's pulse racing and started many conversations at the same time.
Is it time to retire paparazzi? Is it acceptable to take pictures of celebrities' kids? Has our culture gotten too invasive? Is the spectatorship we treat celebrities' lives with dehumanizing them? Is being a private couple in the public eye a form of protection? Or does it open you up to more danger? How serious is Bella Swan and Edward Cullen's relationship? Does meeting her son mean that they are more serious than the media has led us to believe? All of the magazines keep saying that their relationship is casual and they aren't in a hurry for anything but isn't meeting your girlfriend's son the antithesis of that?
And in the middle of this storm of questions there is a man in love. A man in love who does not only care for her, but also cares for everything she cares for.
Sources in the restaurant claim that the trio looked like an adorable family more than a guy meeting his girlfriend's son. They were very engaged with each other, and Edward Cullen paid special attention to his girlfriend's son. "The young boy was very lively and was rapidly engaging both his mother and her boyfriend. Giggles and chuckles were being heard all over the restaurant from their table."
The only problem that arose, was when the paparazzi arrived and started taking photos of them from the outside. Edward Cullen sprang to action and closed the curtain, but the damage had been done. Adam's mood became sullen, and it dictated the mood throughout the rest of their meal. That is not to confuse the somber mood with an unhappy one. The loving pair kept giving each other tender glances and they managed to get a giggle or two out of Adam.
Overall, Edward Cullen has reminded the ladies that they need to raise their standards, because the Edward Cullens of the world will rise to the occasion.
Bella rolls her eyes at the last sentence as she closes the tab and throws her phone beside her. As if she needed to be reminded just how much out of her league Edward is.
For the last week, article after article of people's positive reactions to their date and their reactions to them being together has been getting pushed at her by her publicist. Infographics of how many times people googled her and their relationship over the last week, the increase in followers on her socials and a jump in viewership on her YouTube channel. Hell, even the stupid music video she starred in has received over a hundred thousand extra views. Since Tim has added their short film to IMDb two days ago and added her as an actress in it, she has received a couple of scripts to read and now her modeling agent is telling her that she should look into having an acting agent, too.
All that this has managed to do is remind her that Edward could do better. Just him taking care of Adam did all of this. Bella isn't stupid. Any other girl might have kidded herself into thinking that this is a group effort, or that people are interested in them as a couple, but Bella is a realist. She knows that this is all him and she has nothing to do with it. While a large part of herself is happy that he is finally getting the public interest that he deserves, a bigger part of her knows that it's only a matter of time before he realizes that he could choose a lot better than her.
Her phone pings alerting her to a message she received. She picks it up and views it without opening her phone and finds it from Edward. She drops her phone and gets up to check on the food having no interest in replying to him. He probably wants to meet up, and that's the last thing Bella wants to do.
I need some space. We can't become one of those codependent couples that can't go a day without meeting.
Sounds more along the lines of running from him.
Why would I do that? I love Edward.
And you don't want to face the fact that he will eventually want better than you, so you are protecting your heart by staying away from him, mourning the loss of something before you lose it.
Of course not! I just don't want to be one of those pathetic girls who is consumed by her boyfriend.
Stop lying to me. I know what you are thinking. Instead, face things head-on.
What should I do?
Break up with him now. Don't attach yourself to him anymore. It will only end in heartbreak. Cut your losses.
Bella is out of it throughout the rest of her dinner preparations. She isn't even sure how she manages not to burn the food. A couple of times, she is tempted to call Seth and ask for his help, but she promised him a break from cooking.
When Bella started planning for Thanksgiving three days ago, she asked Seth for his favorite Thanksgiving traditions and dishes so she could include them. To say that that didn't go as she thought it would is an understatement.
"You can count me out," Seth tells her dismissively.
Bella shakes her head and tells him, "Nonsense, you are family. Family celebrates together, so let's combine our traditions."
"Bella, I don't celebrate Thanksgiving. My people don't celebrate it," Seth answers her.
Bella frowns at him in confusion and asks him, "Why? Do you like, have a thing against turkeys?"
Seth rolls his eyes at the absurdity of her question and tells her, "Bella, Thanksgiving is a celebration of the taking of this land by white people. It is a celebration of the genocide of my people. Why would I celebrate it?"
That statement ended up sending Bella down a rabbit hole of thinking and reading that led to a couple of decisions being made; instead of celebrating Thanksgiving next week, they will have a family dinner, and on Thanksgiving day, they will volunteer, and give back. Adam is especially excited about the idea as he has never tried it before. Even Phil, his sister Mary, her husband, and their daughters Lulu and Emily decided to join them to her surprise.
That is, if this dinner doesn't end up tasting like crap.
"So, Adam has taken well to Edward," Phil states as he closes the balcony behind him.
"Yeah, he did."
After a very lively dinner, Mary and her family left. Everyone loved the food she made. Although, she couldn't tell you how a single thing that went down her throat tasted like, if her life depended on it.
"I don't understand your love for sitting in the cold," Phil mutters as he hands her one of the cups of tea in his hand.
There is something nauseating about the festivity under her roof. It's like everyone is out to get her with their smiles. Every toothy pearl was an extra finger around her neck. Phil deciding to hang out with her kids gave her the perfect excuse escape to the balcony.
"Edward and Adam getting along is a good thing, right?" Phil asks her as he tightens the blanket he brought out with him and watches her nod in silence looking pensive.
Studying her face for a minute in silence, he then asks her, "Why do I feel like you're not happy about that?"
"Of course not. It's a great thing," Bella replies, facing him and trying to muster as much enthusiasm as she can.
"You know, I was fucking terrified when your mum decided we were serious enough for me to meet you." Phil laughs a bit as he finds himself going down memory lane.
Bella turns to him and at the dreamy smiles she finds on his face urges him to tell her more about it. There has always been magic around her mum, and the one person who gets the closest to capturing it when speaking about her is Phil.
Maybe she is being selfish by asking him to speak about her mum. Maybe she just wants to see him smiling like that. Whatever her reason is, it doesn't matter to Phil as he always wants to talk about her mum. Phil has mastered the on thing many spends year attempting; he can speak of her with the same fondness one uses when thinking of someone who is still alive.
"The way your mum spoke about you, you were her whole world, Bella. She never said the words, but I know had you not liked me, we wouldn't have lasted one hour after that. We would have been over just like that," Phil tells her, snapping his fingers.
Bella smiles a bittersweet smile as she tells him, "She was the best wasn't she?" Unlike Phil, Bella can't seam to think beyond her mother's death.
"She didn't just consider you her daughter Bella. You were her best friend, her North Star. Everything she did, she did with you in mind. I remember when she would tell me about all of the things that she used to take your opinion on, I would think to myself that it was crazy. Bella is just a child. I still think it's crazy, but knowing now what I didn't see then, it all makes sense."
Bella looks at him in confusion unsure of what he is talking about. What has he seen since then? Her mum died. What could he have discovered in that period to change his thoughts?
"Renee's faith in you was in its place," Phil answers her unasked question which prompts Bella to roll her eyes. Nothing cements someone's faith in them like moving in with a psychopath, getting knocked up twice, and starting her career from scratch after years of absence.
Phil takes her empty mug from her to get her to face him then tells her, "Roll your eyes all you want, but that doesn't change the fact that you are the second strongest person I know after your mum."
Now he has officially lost it.
"I understand wanting to make me feel good about myself, Phil, but don't kid me," she mutters angrily, not happy with her comparison.
Phil smirks at her then states, "I think this is the most honest I have been with you."
"She was a single mum when she came to New York to start her career in a competitive industry from scratch. We aren't the same," Bella mutters, but the moment she finishes she realizes how similar they are.
"Okay, yes we are similar, but our similarities are surface level. I have the apartment she left me, and I am a nepobaby."
"Hence why you are the second strongest person after her," Phil states in a triumphant tone, but at the look of disbelief on her face he continues. "Heck, you have two kids, not one, and you have more emotional trauma than her, and yet you managed to let go of your fears far faster than her. It took you less than a year to date. It took your mum three. Maybe I should consider you stronger than your mum."
"It's not a competition of who went through more shitty things, Phil," Bella tells him in a quiet tone frustrated with him.
"No it's not, but your ability to thrive in a healthy relationship despite the shitty things you went through makes you fearless."
Bella leans back into the chair she is sitting in and closes her eyes as she whispers, "I don't feel so fearless. I feel terrified. All the time."
Phil stops himself from smiling, happy that he finally managed to get her to talk about what is bothering her. "You're fearless not because you don't feel fear, but because you don't let your fear paralyze you."
Bella ignores the self-help nonsense he just told her and instead asks him, "Is it really a healthy relationship if you know that all of the shitty things you went through will eventually put an end to your relationship?"
It's Phil's turn to roll his eyes at her and tell her, "Just because you have some baggage, it doesn't make you unlovable. By that logic, your mother,"
"You just said I have two kids, not one, and I have more emotional trauma than my mum ever did. We aren't the same," Bella cuts him off before he can finish.
Phil opens his mouth to argue with her but then he closes it when he comes up empty. A few seconds later, he opens it again, only to close it another time. Bella smiles in satisfaction knowing that there is no way for him to argue against what she said.
There is a certain type of morbid satisfaction to being proven right, even if her argument is that she isn't meant to be happy. It's like aiming for your foot. It might be a painful thing, but isn't there a certain degree of happiness with knowing that the bullet went exactly where she was aiming it?
"Then end it already," Phil states, surprising her and snapping her out of her thoughts of self-righteousness.
The smile on Bella drops at an uncomfortable angle as she asks him, "Like go and break up with him?"
"No, go and tell him all of those shitty things that will make him wanna break up with you. What's the point of postponing telling him if he will leave you when he finds them out? Get it over with, instead of getting attacked. After all, you are pretty sure he will break up with you."
Bella is quiet for a moment as she thinks over what he just told her. "Yes, you are right. I will do just that tomorrow. I will get it over with," she tells him as she walks inside looking for her phone so she can text Edward that she wants to talk to him.
Whatever point Phil was trying to make flew over her head. After all, why drop your gun when you can aim for your foot and show off how great your aim is?
Bella exits the elevator and walks steadily toward the door of Edward's penthouse where Edward meets her. He greets her by kissing her chastely and then hugging her. If he feels her hesitation, he doesn't let on. Instead, he gets out of the way, so she can come in.
Bella opens her mouth the moment she gets into the living room, but he beats her to the punch. "You came right on time. The food I ordered arrived five minutes ago, and I had just finished plating it when the guard alerted me to your arrival," Edward says, putting her coat in the coat closet and then going to the kitchen.
"We are eating?" Bella asks him in surprise.
This isn't how things are supposed to go. I tell him stuff and then he pretends that he is okay, only to ghost me the next or something. We aren't supposed to have lunch together.
"You didn't think that you would come over during lunchtime and not have lunch with me, did you?" Edward asks her leaning against the kitchen's doorway.
Bella shrugs, not sure what to tell him. How do you tell someone that you are here to for all intent and purpose break up with him?
Edward shakes his head then marches toward her with a determined look that makes her nervously lean back into the couch as if to put space between them.
"Bella, what will I ever do with you?" he asks her gently as he leans downward and holds her face in his hands.
"Not tower over me." Comes Bella's automatic defensive reply.
Edward bends his knees so that his face is on the same level as Bella's then leans forward until their noses are close enough to touch and tells her, "Bella, I don't know who you dated before me, but I am not them. I will wine you and dine you and do everything you deserve. I am not your ex. Don't expect me to act like him, okay?"
Bella nods her head silently which prompts him to kiss her forehead then straighten up and go to the kitchen. "You know, if you keep acting surprised by me being a good boyfriend my head will get too big," Edward tells her as he walks to the living room with two plates in his hands.
Before she can stop herself, Bella finds herself telling him, "I am sure one of your brothers or father will fix that by knocking you down a peg or two."
As soon as the words are out of Bella's mouth, she slams her hands on her mouth, mortified by what she just said. "Edward, I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me. That was an awful thing to say," she mutters, standing up unsure if she should stay away or approach him.
For a moment, Edward is too stunned to say anything, but soon, he feels his shoulders shaking followed by his quiet chuckles at the expression on Bella's face.
He turns around and goes back to retrieve two more dishes as he shakes his head then returns while muttering loud enough for her to hear, "I swear to god, I am dating a monster."
Feeling comfortable with herself since Edward is obviously not bothered, she jumps to defend herself. "Take that back," she demands, crossing her arms in front of her chest and looking at him defiantly.
"Or what?" Edward asks her, coming to stand right in front of her.
"I will eat all of the mushrooms on your plate," comes Bella's weak reply.
What the fuck? That was the best comeback you could come up with.
Don't talk to me like that. I don't operate well under pressure.
"That sounds very scary," Edward replies sarcastically.
"If you give me long enough, I will have something scarier," comes Bella's quick reply, not letting his sarcasm bruise her pride.
They have a silent staring contest for almost a minute before Edward's shoulders fall and he sighs telling her, "Fine, I am not dating a monster. I am dating a princess."
Bella's nose scrunches at that like she just smelled something nasty and tells him, "No, that's lame. Don't call me that."
"What should I call you then?" Edward asks her, taking her criticism seriously.
Bella thinks it over for a couple of seconds before she tells him, "A witch."
"Because a witch is better than a monster?" Edward asks sarcastically.
Bella rolls her eyes and tells him, "Of course. It has better vibes. It's all about the vibes, babe." Then Bella pinches his cheeks for good measure before sitting on the couch.
For a moment, Edward finds himself lost in her eyes, but then he remembers that he needs to bring the rest of the food.
"So what was your family dinner like yesterday?" Edward asks her ten minutes into them eating in silence.
Bella thinks over yesterday trying to remember what it was like since it was overshadowed by her thoughts. "It was okay."
"Only okay?" Edward asks her in surprise. From what Alice told him the other day, not only did Bella love Phil's sister dearly, but she was good friends with her daughters.
Bella puts down her fork, feeling full then leans back. "It was a bit awkward."
"Aren't you close?"
"We used to be," Bella answers him.
Noticing her no longer eating, Edward asks her, "Are you done?"
When she nods, he takes one of her hands in his then pulls her into a standing position.
At the confused look on Bella's face, Edward tells her, "Come here. I don't like having you this far away from me."
Still, not a hundred percent sure, Bella scoots over until she is sitting beside him. He wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her toward him until she is leaning into him as if he is hugging her.
Do I hug him for a moment and pat his shoulder then let go?
How would I know? I am not a real person. I am just a skeptic voice in your head.
I mean, I can't reach his back. He is leaning into the couch, but his shoulder will do, right?
"Relax, will you? I am not going to bite you. I just like having you in my arms," Edward whispers acutely aware of the rigidity of her muscles.
Bella is uncomfortable, to say the least. She isn't sure how to proceed. She can't remember the last time someone held her just because they simply wanted to. Is that even a thing?
"Okay," she finally whispers to him.
"So, tell me. Why aren't you friends anymore?" Edward asks, deciding to distract her.
She looks up at him as she asks, frowning, "Friends with who?"
"The daughters of Phil's sister."
"Oh," Bella mutters in surprise as she lays her head back on his chest and thinks over her answer. "There's not a specific reason per se. I think it's more along the lines of having different interests. I have become a mum, and they aren't. I can't afford to spend my time thinking of the gossip they like to talk about or prioritize the things they prioritize."
Edward kisses her head and then asks her about the things they liked to do together. It's only when she finishes speaking and they lapse into silence, that Bella realizes that the only reason he got her talking was to make her relax which worked spectacularly because, to her surprise, Edward knows her pretty well.
Before Bella could stop herself, she raises her head and captures his lips with hers. Edward is pleasantly surprised and hums as he deepens their kiss by grabbing onto the back of her neck to keep her there.
"What was that for?" Edward asks her breathlessly once they pull back for air.
Bella peeks his lips quickly and then tells him, "For being an awesome boyfriend."
Edward theatrically sighs then tells her in a joking tone, "Thank god. I thought you wanted to tell me something bad like you are breaking up with me or something."
To Edward's shock instead of the intended effect, Bella freezes for a moment then shakes her head and tells him in a serious tone, "Don't ever say that again."
At the silence Edward meets her with, she repeats herself, "Promise me you won't crack a joke like that."
"I won't," Edward tells her earnestly. Bella nods her head then lays her head back on his chest.
She doesn't know why, but for some reason when Edward jokingly said her intentions out loud, all she felt was shame. It was almost as if his words signaled a spectacular failure on her part.
If she doesn't tell him what she came for, is she being dishonest, or making an executive decision for both of them? Does Edward care about all of that stuff in her head?
I will do therapy and fix myself.
After all, it's not every day that you find a boyfriend that holds you because they like having you in their arms.
Hello lovely people,
How are you doing? How has this new year been like for you so far? How did you spend your new year? I spent it journaling and planning awesome things coming your way if you stick here long enough.
I wont make you wait this much for the next chapter. I will update it by the 19th. If you are wondering about my other story, I will update it by the 14th.
God did I cringe while writing the article at the beginning. Did anyone feel awkward reading it?
What did you think of this chapter? I know I dipped into politics for a little bit in this chapter with something maybe none of you were comfortable with, but I hope you received it with open hearts, and it didn't turn you off this story.
If you want someone to blame, blame my dad. Between my two parents, he is the American one, and is the one who refused to celebrate Thanksgiving. Plus, he was part of the dynamic duo that raised me to be the opinionated woman I am, but don't get too angry because there is no point in being angry at someone who passed away.
Just kidding. This is all me. If you want someone to be angry at, be angry at me.
The discourse I dipped into obviously has more nuance to it than what happened in this chapter, so If you want to go beyond that, you know that my PM is always open.
To the people who left a review on my last chapter, I want to sincerely apologize for not sending you a sneak peak. For some weird reason I forgot all about it. I promise that won't happen again.
Until my next chapter,
Stay Safe