A/N

Happy Friday loves - as always, thank you to Fran, Kate and Pearly ❤️

Chapter Twelve: Game. Set. Match

Bella

xXx

"You need to stop being so horrible to Masen," SJ chastises, her gray eyes staring deeply into mine. "I know you want…" she sighs, "he's a sweetheart though Bells."

"I don't care," I shrug, pushing down the guilt that bubbles in my gut.

I've never felt guilty before, but I've never had a bodyguard like Masen before either. The fact that he didn't tell Charlie I was high and that he's not going to get Cilian and Jasper in trouble, I can't deny it's pretty cool of him.

I wish I didn't have to treat him like this, but I do; he has to quit; I need to keep showing Charlie that he can't control me, keep punishing him for what he did.

Masen should have quit already; I don't understand why he's sticking it out. I bite my bottom lip; I don't have school this week, so he doesn't have any time off from me during the day. It's the perfect opportunity to break him, to make him give in to his anger. If I break him hard enough for him to hurt me, well...so be it. It wouldn't be the first time, not that I would ever tell anyone about what Laurent did to me when I managed to break him.

My hand runs down my ribs, Masen's words from all those weeks ago sounding in my head. No matter what you do, you never ever deserve anyone to lay a hand on you.

So maybe he wouldn't touch me; he did seem to feel bad that he'd left bruises on me. I drop my head to the counter, my chest and stomach twisting painfully. I'm a horrible person, but this is necessary, I have to do this, Charlie has to pay, has to keep paying, and Masen will be fine anyway, once he leaves.

The sound of the door opening makes me lift my head, my body trembling in anger.

"Bella," I hear my father say behind me.

I ignore him.

"Bella," he repeats, his voice getting closer, "I'm really sorry about yesterday, honey, I was just...but listen, the shop-"

I whirl around and glare at him, "You can't do shit about the shop Charlie. It's not fucking yours."

He looks taken aback, "What do you mean?"

I smirk at him, "I mean, Mom gave it to Phil, so... It's. Not. Yours. I can do whatever I want there."

Charlie's face drains of color for a moment before it suddenly goes purple.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he explodes. "Why the fuck would she do that?"

I shrug, giving him a bored expression. "Probably because she knew you were a fucking psycho, probably wanted to leave you and was starting to prepare her stuff to make her escape." It's a low blow, and the atmosphere in the room goes icy cold.

"Get the fuck out of my sight, now!" Charlie roars, picking up a coffee cup and throwing it at the wall where it shatters with a high-pitched tinkle.

Pattie screams in surprise, and SJ guides her out the room, murmuring that "it'll be fine" in a low voice and shooting me a look that says, this won't end well.

I drag my eyes from hers and fix them on my father, laughing humorlessly. "It's funny that the only emotion you ever show is anger, no wonder Mom wanted to get away from you; it's your fault she's de-"

I'm cut off by Charlie launching a barstool across the room, his eyes almost black with anger, the look on his face murderous. He's looking at me like he hates me, and even though I hate him, seeing the expression on his face makes something in my chest shatter, leaving a hollow ache behind.

Masen suddenly appears in the doorway, his eyes scanning the room, gun in his hand. He puts it away when he sees the situation, the click of the safety, loud in the fraught room.

"Take her upstairs; she's not coming down for brunch," Charlie tells Masen sharply, before looking at me, "I don't want to see you again today, and you are fucking grounded all week. No shopping, no friends, and no fucking tattoos." Charlie glares at me. "Oh, would you look at that? I might not be able to do shit about the shop, but I sure as fuck can ground your ass, get the fuck out of my sight."

My lower lip trembles, and I start to say something when I'm scooped up off my feet and thrown over a shoulder.

"Put me down, Fido!" I scream as he starts walking. I want to slap the shit out of him, but I can't fucking touch him, so I just settle for screaming bloody murder all the way up the stairs.

I'm dumped on my bed, and my eyes fill with tears, a sob leaving my throat.

Masen stares at me for a second, his emerald-green eyes staring into mine. "You okay?" he asks quietly.

"Leave!" I scream at him.

His jaw clenches, and my door slams loudly behind him.

I bury my head in a pillow and cry myself to sleep.

xXx

I wake up to a knock on my door and sit up, rubbing my eyes. It opens before I can say "come in," and I'm surprised to see Rose.

"Rosie," I croak out.

She rushes in and launches herself onto the bed, hugging me tightly. "B," she says sadly.

I sniffle, burying my face into her shoulder, and she rubs my back.

"H-how are you here?" I ask her.

"I was coming anyway, remember! SJ told me I couldn't come in, but then your dad said it was fine," Rose says carefully. "He said to tell you that food's ready in ten minutes if you want to come down."

I shake my head firmly, "No. I don't want to."

Rose bites her lip. "He looked really upset B, what's going on? Is it just because of your mom?"

"Yeah," I deflect, "just grief, you know."

I've never told anyone the truth about my mom's death; everything thinks she died in a car accident. I can't tell them it's Charlie's fault I don't have a mom anymore, that he did this to me. I can't tell her that the day after she died, he moved into his penthouse and left me here.

"Okay," Rose says softly. "Well, how about I go down and make us some huge plates of food - Pattie made a fucking feast - and we watch a movie up here?"

I nod, wiping at my eyes, "Yeah, okay."

"Okay. Emmett just got here as well, and he told me to tell you he's coming up here the second I leave; that okay?"

"Yeah," I say, sniffling again.

She smiles at me, and I give her a small smile back. "Did you fuck the beach boy?"

Rose snorts, "Nope, didn't even kiss him."

Her hair is blonder from the sun, and the deep golden tan on her skin makes her look like an angel. She's wearing a white pantsuit, accentuating her new glow.

"You look so fucking pretty," I tell her, hugging my pillow, "meanwhile, I look like shit."

"You never look like shit," Rose says, squeezing my hand. "I'm gonna go and get us food and tell your cousin to come up and see you."

She kisses my cheek and then rushes out of the room.

I'm wiping at my eyes when Emmett bursts through my door and scoops me into his arms. Fresh tears pour down my cheeks, and he kisses my head.

"Aw, Cygnet," he sighs, holding me tightly. I bury my head against his warm chest and sob. "He didn't mean to blow up at you; he's so sorry."

"I don't care," I try to say firmly, the tremor in my voice causing me to fail hideously.

"You really hurt him with what you said," Emmett murmurs.

"It's the truth," I say sharply.

"No, it's not," Emmett pleads, "you know it's not."

"If you're gonna talk about this, just fucking leave," I say stiffly, trying to pull out of his arms.

"Fine," Emmett says, sighing into my hair and rubbing my back. "You sure you won't come down?"

"Positive," I mutter, "I just want to be with Rose."

"Okay, sweetheart." Emmett kisses my head again. "I'm sorry I didn't come over last night, we were all gonna come here, but shit went down with Cinna."

"I don't care; I just slept anyway."

"I know, Mase said," Emmett hums.

A traitorous warmth spreads in my chest. Masen's covering for me, even though I don't fucking deserve it. I force it away. He's just looking out for himself; he was right this morning; it would make him look bad if they found out.

Emmett's phone starts ringing, and he swears, kissing my head again before he dashes out the room.

"Swan," he barks into it, storming down the hall.

I bring my knees up to my chest and sigh, staring at the bedsheets. It's always the way - work first, me second.

"Isabella..." I lift my head and find Masen standing in the doorway. His bronze hair is as chaotic as always, his red lips pressed together as his vivid green eyes meet mine. He's ridiculously beautiful, especially with the longer hair, but I can't have thoughts like that, so I don't.

"What?" I ask him snarkily.

He rolls his eyes and walks into the room, crossing his arms as he surveys me, his eyebrow arching. "How did they get in without triggering the cameras?" his voice is low.

"I hacked into the system and disabled them temporarily. They were on a loop," I answer honestly. I don't want to give away the blind spot; it's my only way out.

Masen's eyes widen, and he cocks his head, "You hacked into them?"

I nod, "And I'm not going to tell you exactly how, but that's why the alarms didn't trigger."

Masen's lips twitch, his green eyes glinting with amusement. "Resourceful, aren't you."

I have to fight the urge to respond to his playful tone, something in me wanting to see that cheeky grin he gave Pattie earlier. "Are we done, Fido?" I ask, bored.

His jaw jumps, and he nods. "Don't do that shit again."

"Which part?" I ask innocently. "Sneaking people in, or almost having a threesome?"

Masen smirks. "Hey, you have all the threesomes you like, but not on my fucking watch."

"I'm sure you'd love to watch, Fido," I say, arching my brow at him. "I saw the way you looked at me last night."

He snorts, those enticing green eyes glinting. "Yeah, you've got nice tits, Isabella, but doesn't change the fact you're a fucking bitch."

I smirk. "I was talking about the way you looked at my ass, but glad to know you appreciate the front and the back."

"Are you?" Masen asks, quirking a brow as he smirks back. "Why? Do you want me to find you attractive?"

"I don't want - I am attractive. End of discussion," I say firmly.

"Maybe on the outside," Masen muses, his green eyes staring straight into mine, "but I'd be surprised if anyone's attracted to you once they see what's on the inside."

His words are sharp and cutting, and they do their intended job, slicing deep.

"Interesting observation coming from you," I bite back, "I could say exactly the same. You can wear nice clothes and Ray-bans Masen, but it doesn't hide the fact that underneath, you're just white trash. A poor little street rat nobody could ever want. I bet even your own mother didn't want you. What a fucking disappointment you must be."

I've gone too far; I can see it in the way he flinches, his fists tensing at his sides. I don't mean a fucking word I'm saying, but it doesn't matter; they're still coming out of my mouth. Guilt floods through me.

"Bella, what the fuck!" Rose says from the doorway. I look past Masen and see her looking at me with a horrified expression.

"Rose…" I say softly, "I-"

Masen storms out, and his door shuts with a huge bang, a crashing sound coming from his room.

Rose puts the plates on the desk and places her hands on her hips, "Why are you saying shit like that? Do you know how it makes you look? I know you don't think any of that."

I get up and shut the door behind her, biting my lip, "Rose...you know I want him to quit."

"But that was too far, Bella," she says angrily.

"I know," I admit.

"He seems like a really decent guy Bella, not like the other ones."

"I know," I repeat, my eyes filling with tears.

"He doesn't deserve-"

"I know!" I snap, "but I have to, Rose."

"Why?" she asks frustratedly.

"Because I…" Because it's the only way I can punish Charlie. Because the fucking bodyguards I get assigned see me more in a week than he does in a month. Because he can't control me, I won't let him.

I look away from her, lifting my chin up. "Just because."

A/N A little more insight into Bella...let me know what you're thinking ;)

See you Monday for the next chapter - it's Edward again! We're back to regular posting (for now) lol.

Have you been reading Resisting Miss Swan? Final chapter posts tomorrow!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend ❤️