Edward

"What are you doing?" he asked, sipping his coffee. Freshly showered after their jog, he grabbed a cup, and finding the house quiet, he found Rosalie on her computer in the office, her hair wrapped in a towel.

She turned to face him and blushed as she met his eyes. "I'm checking my emails…you know for announcements, messages from my agent, etc."

"Aren't you taking a break from that?"

"Yeah. Old habits die hard. Sorry." She clicked out of the screen and rose from the chair. "What?" She turned away, covering her face with her hand. "You caught me without makeup. God doesn't even know what I really look like."

"It's okay, Rosalie. You're still beautiful."

She froze. It was a compliment.

"I was just wondering what we were doing today," he said.

"Well, we're supposed to meet with families this week, and I was waiting to hear back if my dad was available for tonight for dinner."

"Dinner with the folks. Right."

She breezed past him and he followed as she poured some coffee into a large pink mug that had the word STAR embossed in gold. "Don't tell me you're nervous," she said. "You are a parent's dream come true. I'm the one who should be worried."

In fact, Edward hoped they would meet Rosalie's mom and dad before they met his own. He didn't know how to handle his own father. If only he could prove him wrong—that this whole situation would work out, then it wouldn't be so difficult to meet the old man's eyes. Edward still remembered the burn, the almost victory he'd seen in his eyes at the reception. He didn't say the words "I told you so." But he didn't have to. And he'd really hoped that either they wouldn't have to meet with him again, or if he did, it would be under very different circumstances. The run-in they'd already had with his aunt had been more than enough of an insult to Rosalie.

Was he feeling protective of her now? Could it be they were actually on the same team?

She looked down at her phone, and her face fell. "Oh boy. I was hoping he wasn't free, but not my luck. I guess the show must've contacted him about being available this week."

"Okay, no problem," Edward said.

"No problem for you maybe."

"What's the worst that can happen?"

"That he declares how he's right. That I should've listened to him. That if only I did what he said my life would be so much better…"

To Edward it sounded like what he would expect to hear from his own father. And he didn't look forward to any of it.

"The thing is, we're still trying. It's not like we're giving them news of a divorce," Edward said.

"It won't matter," she said. "Even if we say that we're taking it slowly, then he's still gonna gloat, saying that you can't force these things..."

"Hmmm…I have an idea if you're game. We're a team, right?"

"Yes. And I'd love to hear it. What did you have in mind?" Her eyes met his with intense focus.

"We will both have the same issues with our parents. And we don't actually have to tell them anything. They won't see the truth until later."

Rosalie allowed a smile to take over her face. "Yes. I see where you're going with this. Actions speak louder than words."

"So, we're agreed?"

"I'm an actress after all. It's what I do. Now to set some ground rules…"

Rosalie

It felt good to be part of a team. And like she told him, acting was what she did. Sure, it wouldn't make sense to the cameras, but she didn't care about that right now.

Edward held a vase with an arrangement of roses and carnations, her mom's favorites, and she held a bottle of wine as they stood at the front door of her father's huge home. Pete, their camera man, stood behind them, and Rosalie knew that another crew had already been there to set up, having placed personal microphones on her parents. Here she stood at the entrance of her childhood home, which seemed ridiculous and showy now, but this had been her life. Daddy had been gone most of the time, Mom busy with charities and committees and organizations. The staff had been a larger part of her life, and it did bring her a measure of comfort to see Arthur as he answered the door, the man, ageless, must have been in his seventies, if not sixties. With his butler attire, his bald spot and side hair graying, and warmth in his gray eyes, he looked as he had since she was a child. Except for more wrinkles, it was hard to see any change in the man as he stood tall, despite his 5 feet, 10 inches height, and Rosalie almost met his eyes now.

"Miss Rosalie, what a pleasure to see you. Your parents have been looking forward to seeing you…and…"

Rosalie smiled and dispensed with the formalities. "This is Edward, my husband."

She smiled wider. The show had officially begun.

Edward extended his hand to the butler, and Rosalie saw he was uncertain about whether to do this or not because a traditional butler didn't engage with people this way, but things were different with Arthur and Edward was following suit.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

Arthur smiled, and Rosalie saw the difficulty maintaining his composure. Their butler wasn't used to having a camera being pointed at him. Who was? "An absolute delight to meet our Rosalie's husband. Please come inside." He opened the french doors wide, and the shiny marble flooring greeted them. The wide staircase with its polished railing led up to three grand floors.

Rosalie tried to imagine what this would feel like for someone who'd never been here. She'd always kept people more than an arm's length away, and anyone outside her parents' circle had never been here to see this part of her life. He led them inside to the sitting room down a ways to the left, and she looked past all the luxuries she'd grown up with — the pieces from the museum, and the acquisitions from the art shows her mother had collected. One painting alone was worth more than a single person's yearly income.

Her mother rose and Rosalie's face lit up. Mother and daughter greeted with a cheek kiss. Deborah Hale, dressed impeccably in a peach-colored skirt suit, had that hint of plastic to her features, which gave the illusion of being in her forties, even though Rosalie had just turned 30 herself. Not a single blond hair from her french twist was out of place as she accepted the flowers from Edward. Her every movement flowed with ease and grace. Rosalie fancied following in her mother's footsteps in so many ways, except that Deborah's needs seemed to fall by the wayside. A former dancer, she'd given up her career once she'd gotten pregnant and did what was expected of her, looked and acted as a woman of her circle would, and that was one thing Rosalie could not do. Deborah took Edward's hand in hers—the proper thing to do, because the Hales were not huggers. Well, that was one thing that Rosalie never understood. Why did they have to be so stiff?

"Doctor, it's so nice to see you again. Welcome to our home and to our family," Deborah said.

Doctor.

"Thank you, but call me Edward, please."

Deborah was obviously trying to avoid the cameras, and Rosalie sensed her discomfort. Rosalie had become more at ease with the crew, and at times she found herself forgetting they were there, but they were still a presence, and not a welcome one.

"It's so wonderful seeing you again. We were just talking about how fortunate our Rosalie has been to land herself a doctor."

Rosalie's father stepped forward, straightening his posture to meet Edward's height, though he failed by a few inches. Gregory Hale had always had more than enough confidence in words and hadn't needed to physically measure up to anyone. His stature exuded power, and as he took Edward's hand in his, her father was already demonstrating who owned the room. The hint of Gregory's age was only betrayed by the gray at his temples and mustache. He was the prime example of how men aged like fine wine. His eyes darted back and forth from Edward to Rosalie, and Rosalie sprung into action and stole Edward's hand back from her dad. She threaded her fingers into his and lay her head onto Edward's shoulder.

"Isn't he a dream?" Rosalie gushed. "The show really knew what they were doing." She imagined what Pete must be thinking and the producer was nearby. Her brow had shot up, and Rosalie anticipated being prompted for an interview.

"Really?" Gregory said, his eyebrow crooked. "You two didn't seem to hit it off at first, if I remember correctly. But that certainly wasn't your fault, eh, Edward?"

"A misunderstanding," Edward said with a laugh and leaning into her. "That's all behind us. Your daughter is a delight!"

Gregory was not impressed. "Really? I can't say that anyone in her life has ever referred to her that way."

"Are you kidding? I mean, I really scored with this one! She's beautiful and can fix a car! How many women do you know who can do that?"

Rosalie's eyes widened, and her cheeks heated. "I…it was nothing."

"A tinker," Greg said. "She's always tinkered with things. Not really a job for a woman."

Deborah Hale stayed quiet, to Rosalie's dismay. Where was her sense of feminism?

"I believe she's an exceptional woman," Edward said, rubbing his hand down her arm. "You really get so much more than you'd expect. Like when we met, I had the wrong impression of her."

"You mean that she's a self-centered actress? I'd say that was correct."

Here we go. Leave it to Daddy to bring the criticism to America. She tried to remember what Dr. Saltz said. Forget about them. Who cares what they think?

"Not at all. I'd say that she's learning who she really is. And when you've lived your whole life one way, it's hard to break free from that. Let's not forget though, that she is a very talented woman. I've heard her play the piano."

"Years of piano lessons. We thought she might follow in her uncle's footsteps. You've heard of Sam Gallaway?"

"Sam Gallaway, the pianist, who plays for the Philharmonic?"

"The very same."

"My brother," Deborah said, stepping into the conversation. "He saw that Rosalie had talent from a young age and at one point was grooming her. She had all the right connections. If she'd worked at it she could've gotten into Juilliard."

"But it wasn't what I wanted to do, Mother," Rosalie said. "Becoming a pianist wasn't my dream."

"Of course not," her dad interjected. "Why would you even consider doing anything that might make us proud?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Edward said. "This is my wife you're talking about here. Your daughter is a very special woman and very talented and sweet." He lightened his tone. "And this is not the way you talk to someone who is going to give you grandchildren someday."

"Grandchildren?" Deborah said, her face lighting up.

"Someday," Rosalie said, darting a look to Edward. "Not anytime soon, but yes, of course I…we want to have children."

"Well, now…yes, that's something. Except the whole Hollywood aspect can be very damaging as I understand it."

"Our children are going to be protected from all that. They're not going to have unreasonable expectations placed upon them!"

"Unreasonable?" Deborah burst out. "Why, Rosalie, we just want you to be happy."

Rosalie clenched her fists. "Happy? I don't ever remember being happy. Probably because I was always made to feel like I couldn't do anything to please you. I tried, Mother. I gave three years to the piano, and Daddy, I tried the accounting thing even, took the classes in college, studied business and finance…"

"You did, huh?" Edward asked, surprised.

"Yes, I minored in business. I was good at it, too, because I inherited that from Daddy…"

"You should've stuck with it, Rose! You could take over the business when I retire."

"I've told you over and over again, I don't want your business!"

"But you sure like the money and security it gives you!"

"Now, now everyone…" Deborah said, her words drifting off. Rosalie remembered this scenario quite well. Her mother was as much at a loss as everyone else. She didn't know how to quell the impending argument. It was always the same. It reminded Rosalie of why she stayed away.

"Rosalie doesn't have to count on you for your finances anymore. She has me," Edward said, and Rosalie's eyes opened wide at that. "Wait. What?"

"My family has money too."

"Uhhh…Edward…can we talk privately?"

"It's about the prenup probably," Greg told his wife.

"Daddy, can you just stay out of our business?"

"I'd say your financial situation is very much my business!"

"Uggghhhhh!" She stormed off and dashed up the stairs and the camera followed her, and she hated feeling like a teenager still under her daddy's leash. Edward came up behind and put his hand on her shoulder. "Why did you say that?"

"What? I was trying to help you."

"That's not helping, Edward! I had a plan."

"Well, do you mind sharing what that was?"

"You know already. I'm going to become rich and famous and I won't need his money…until then… I can't rely on you."

"Isn't that what married couples do? Support each other?"

"I can't do that, Edward. It's not fair to you. We don't even have a real relationship."

"Okay, let's take a breath here. You want to figure out who you are, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"How are you going to do that if your father is supporting you?"

"I…uh…I am going to make it…I just need his help…"

"What if you don't need his help?"

"You don't understand, Edward. We're talking about millions of dollars."

He put his arms on Rosalie's shoulders. "Are you happy?"

Tears streamed down her face. "No."

"Then do you think maybe you can just… walk away from it?"

"No! I'm not smart enough to make it on my own, Edward. That would be a really dumb move."

He met her eyes. "First of all, you are a very smart woman and you don't give yourself enough credit. As long as your dad sees that you rely on him he's always going to treat you this way. Why don't you take the opportunity and walk away from it?"

"It's millions, Edward."

"I get it. Listen, you'll have my support; just please stop putting yourself in this situation."

"What if I can't?"

"Or won't? Either way, it's up to you. It's hard for me to be around him. He treats you like you're nothing, and you deserve so much better."

"I know. I'm just gonna tell him we're leaving."

"Rosalie, you took a chance doing this show. You decided along the way to find yourself. Now, who are you? What kind of treatment are you willing to accept?"

With her fingertips, she swiped underneath her eyes, wiping away the wetness.

"You're right."

"Of course I am. America's watching to see what you're made of. What are you going to do now?"

She sniffled and took a few breaths. Then she nodded. "Here goes nothing."

Rosalie took Edward's hand in hers and they descended the stairway with Gregory Hale at the bottom.

"Oh thank goodness. I thought you were going to go on with your little tantrum."

"Sir…" Edward started to say, but Rosalie held out her arm to stop him.

"I'm done, Daddy. I don't want your support anymore."

"Rosalie," Deborah said. "You can't be serious."

"I am serious. I don't want your money. I'll move out of my house tomorrow. And I'll leave the car."

"This is more than about your house and car."

"I know, but I can't do this anymore. I'm going to make it on my own without your criticisms. So I guess this is goodbye."

Shocked, her parents looked at Rosalie and then to Edward, and the corners of Edward's lips curled upward. "Goodbye, Mr. and Mrs. Hale. Thank you for…uh…having us." He took her arm in his and Arthur, who'd always maintained his composure, showed concern on his features as he opened the doors for them to exit.

"So, that's what you're going to do, are you, Rose? Going to try to survive on your husband's money? He has no idea how expensive you are to maintain."

Edward turned back to face the anger on her father's face. "With all due respect, sir, Rosalie is not a car. She will be taken care of."

Rosalie shook her head and held strong to her resolve. "No, you will see; I'm not going to rely on either of you. I will make my own money."

He held his hand up to his face as if he was trying to speak to Edward privately. "She's been saying that for years."

Closing her eyes, she turned away. "Just wait."

"Okay, Rosalie, you understand how I don't joke around when it comes to money, particularly not your inheritance. I'll have Oscar draw up the papers in the morning."

Deborah tried to interject. "Just wait, Gregory. I think we're all being a little hasty."

"Do you expect anything less? Look, we have goddamn cameras in our living room. Our daughter married a stranger for chrissakes. Now, I think for the first time that Rosalie is making some sense. I'd very much like to see her make it on her own."

"Okay, okay, Daddy. Your wish is finally fulfilled. Not having to take care of your 30 year old daughter anymore! No more worries. Goodbye!"

She rushed out, and Edward ran after her. She unlocked her BMW with her key fob, and then stopped. "We should've brought your car. Dammit."

"I'll call an UBER." Edward pulled out his phone and began tapping out their location. And the two walked the long driveway that led to the huge gates. "Wow, Rosalie, you really did it."

"I can't believe I did that. I think I made a mistake. I think I just made a very big mistake."

The cameras, unfortunately, were following, and a van pulled up and part of the crew began setting up lights. The producer called out, "Cut!" Then she proceeded to tell everyone to take a short break until they set up again, including Rosalie and Edward.

Rosalie wished they didn't have to do this here, and the flood lights lit up the rose bushes, the statues, the manicured lawn, and Rosalie wanted to run and hide. She imagined her dad and mom watching this from their security camera.

The producer called out again, "Pick it up from where Edward said," she looked down at her notes, "Wow, Rosalie, you really did it." Edward had this "what the hell" look on his face, but he repeated it anyway, and then it was Rosalie's turn to talk.

She felt fresh and new and empowered as she said she couldn't believe she did it, but the emotion of it came back to her as the words "made a mistake" passed from her lips. A very big mistake.

"You didn't," he reassured her. "You stood up to them. Showed them they can't treat you that way."

"Yeah, but what am I going to do? I'm not going to be able to afford…"

"This is the new you, Rosalie. Let's find out what the new Rosalie really needs to be happy."

She stared at the shiny car before her as if seeing it for the first time. "I guess the new me doesn't need a BMW… or a $3000 purse."

"That's right. Let go of the old you. Show your parents and America how you can become who you really are. You have my support."

With the crew surrounding them, standing at the gates, she bordered the bold beyond. Possible freedom…

"You really are too good, Edward. I couldn't…wouldn't have done this without you." This could really work, Rosalie thought, and she imagined the dramatic music that would accompany their dialogue. A future full of hope. Independence.

One person had made this possible.

She leaned in and threw her arms around him and squeezed him so tight. Then she did something that surprised them both. She pressed her lips to his.

A/N: Gasp! Stay with me for more. Thanks, as always, to those who follow, review, and for all of you for sticking with me!