"What do you think?" Rosalie asks, putting down the scissors.

I touch the ends, which now fall right above my chest. I shake my head, testing the weight. "I love it. My head feels so much lighter."

She laughs. "Well you did have a lot of hair before. And it's much healthier now since all the dead ends are gone," she says, throwing the trash bag she had been using away.

Rosalie helps me put away the rest of the clothes in the closet in Edward's room and turns to me. "Well I'm parched. Fancy a light lunch?"

I help her prepare a tray of some more soup for me and a sandwich for her and she leads me out to the garden Edward had shown me from his room.

As we sit and eat, Rose tells me more about how she and Emmet met when they were teenagers when his father worked with Carlilse. Edward and Emmet had become friends first and when Emmet's parent's died in an accident while they were visiting family in a neighboring town, their family took him in.

"That was really nice of you all," I comment. Everything I learn about Edward and his family continues to show me just how kind and caring they all were.

I get a longing feeling for something I never had. A family like his, and I want to cry for the little girl who never had the opportunity to experience it. I look out into the small garden and a sliver of peace washes over me. It really is beautiful, but it reminds me too much of my own garden and I feel a crack in the walls that I've put for so long, never allowing myself to feel completely safe anywhere. My thoughts shift to Jasper. Was he the same way? Did he become the person he is now because he had to? Because under our father's close scrutiny which I was able to avoid more often, he had no other choice but to act like someone he wasn't? And maybe those two sides eventually blended together until he no longer knew where he started and where our father ended.

"Bella? Honey, what's wrong?" Rose asks, placing her hand over mine. "Why are you crying?"

"What?" I reach up with my other hand and find my cheek is wet. "Oh."

"What's wrong?" She asks again, scooting closer.

I couldn't really explain it. It was like the weight of all the things that had happened over the last few weeks, and even my life, had finally snapped something in me.

Sometimes, it takes being out of an environment to truly see how bad it was. And now that I had, feelings of disbelief, shame, and anger flooded through me all at once and I burst into tears.

Rosalie wraps her arms around me and shushes me while I sob into her chest. I cry out every harsh word from my father, everyday spent alone in my room, the fading memories of my mother, and even the lack of those with my brother.

I'm not sure how long I'm crying, but at some point, there's heavy footsteps in our directions and I register Edward's voice speaking.

"Bella? What happened? Did you do something?" He asks, a hint of fear and panic in his voice.

Hearing him only makes me cry harder, because as much as I don't want him to be, he's a part of my pain too.

Rosalie's voice is soft as she talks to him. "I didn't do anything. I think…I think she's been holding everything in for so long, it got to be too much. It would be for anyone. It was bound to happen sooner or later. And I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't the last time."

It's almost embarrassing the way I've completely lost control of myself, and my body hurts as I choke for air but I start to feel better.

"What can I do?" Edward asks, still frantic.

"Just be there for her," Rose says, running her hand along the top of my head in a soothing way.

I feel him squat down next to me. "Princess?"

I lift my head and turn to look at him, and on seeing my face, I see my pain reflected in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," I tell him. I feel like such a burden sometimes and he's the one stuck taking care of me.

He reaches up to brush my wet cheek. "Whatever for, love?"

Rosalie quietly excuses herself, leaving the two of us alone.

"For all the pain my family's caused you. For being so difficult now. You shouldn't have to deal with me and all my problems too."

"I'm not 'dealing' with anything," Edward says. He sits next to me and opens his arms. Without hesitation, I melt into the comfort of his embrace. "And you're not being difficult. I'm glad you feel safe enough here to let go when you need to. And never apologize for that, okay?"

I nod, knowing Edward would say something like this. It doesn't do much to get rid of the guilt.

"Something else is bothering you," Edward comments. "What is it?"

"I don't deserve this. Not after everything my father did."

"What the fuck?" Edward blurts. I had expected several different reactions but that certainly was not one of them. "Bella? Princess, look at me." I shift my head to glance up at him. "You are not your father."

"But-"

"Say it, Princess. You. Are. Not. You. Father."

"I-I'm not my father."

"You aren't responsible for his actions."

"I'm his daughter-"

"Princess," Edward interrupts again with a raised brow.

I frown, because on one hand, I know he's right. The logical part of me knows he's right, and yet, there's another part of me that still feels responsible. "I am not responsible for his actions."

"Do you actually believe that?" Edward asks. When I shake my head, his lip quirks up and he wipes away my remaining tears. "Don't worry. You will. And I'll remind you every single day until you do."

"I don't deserve-" Edward cuts me off with a soft but firm kiss. "I don't-" Again. "I-" And Again.

"Would you like to continue? I'm quite enjoying this game," Edward says looking pleased.

I give him a desperate look. "It's not a game."

"I know that, my love," he says. "Do you think I don't deserve any of this?" He asks, waving around to his house.

I don't hesitate. "No, of course not." Where is he going with this?

"I've done far worse things than you have."

"But you're a good person," I tell him.

"So are you. Better than me." He always seems to be one step ahead of me. The look he gives me is so filled with love I think I might burst. "You cut your hair," he says, changing the subject, taking my mind off of the issue. For now.

"What do you think?" I nervously ask as he twirls a strand of my now shorter hair.

"Do you like it?" I nod. "Well I love it."

"You don't think it's too short?"

Edward presses his head against mine. "What do you mean? It's much longer than mine." His hair tickles my cheek and I can't help but laugh.

"You're ridiculous," I shake my head.

"And you're beautiful," he says. "Especially when you're wearing my shirt," he winks.

I blush, resting my head against his shoulder. "I missed you. How was your day?"

"Incredibly boring," he grumbles. "We're planning to make our move sooner rather than later and there's so many logistics like-"

I interrupt him before he says something he might regret later. "Should you be telling me this?" I ask, leaning back slightly.

He frowns in confusion. "Why wouldn't I? Bella, I meant everything I said. I trust you more than anyone."

"But everyone else doesn't," I point out.

"Emmet does. And I'm sure my father does too."

"Okay, everyone not related to you."

"Technically Emmet's not-" I cut him off with a glare and cover his mouth with my hand.

Edward pokes his tongue out and I rip my hand away, wiping it on his shoulder. "Ew!"

Edward shrugs. "It doesn't matter if they trust you or not. I do, and they answer to me, regardless of their personal opinions."

"Still. There has to be a way to get them to see that I'm not doing my father's bidding. I don't want things to be harder on you because you're defending me."

"Don't worry about me," he assures me. "And you don't have to prove anything. They'll see. Now, are you okay?"

I felt much better now, especially now that Edward was back. I knew it would be hard to come to terms with what my life was now and what my father did outside of the castle, but I had time now that I wasn't around him. "I will be."

"Good. How are you feeling? Alice will be upset if we don't follow all her instructions."

"Much better. I really do think it was being in that bed for so long. And my leg. But other than that I feel fine. Speaking of Alice, does she not stay here?" I couldn't recall having seen her around the house at any point.

"She does but…" Edward hesitates.

I finish for him. "She doesn't trust me either."

"Well, it's not that, per se. She just doesn't know you like I do, and you won Rose over the first time you met. Alice just has to get to know you."

"Hmm." I consider what he's saying. I guess I have to come up with a way to show Alice I have nothing to hide too. "It's really nice out today. I feel like I could fall asleep right here."

"Are you tired, Princess? You weren't supposed to be moving around. Rosalie shouldn't have made you do so much."

"She didn't make me do anything," I mumble, snuggling closer into Edward. "It was nice. Different, but nice. She helped me pick out new clothes. I've never had anyone to do those kinds of things with."

"You want to go shopping?" Edward asks, sounding a little shocked.

"No, I mean just hanging out."

He sounds like he might be a little offended. "We hang out."

I glance up at him. "Are you jealous of me spending time with your sister?"

"All I'm saying is that if you want to hang out, I'll hang out with you. I'm more fun than her anyway," he says, completely serious.

"You can't be around all the time. And are you telling me you don't do things with other people? What about Emmet?"

"Yeah, but even if I'm with him, I'd rather be with you."

The whole thing amuses me more than anything and I turn in his lap to face him. "Edward?"

"Princess?"

I wrap my arms around his neck and his hands automatically come to rest on my hips. "It doesn't matter who else I do things with or spend time with because you're my favorite person to spend time with."

"Well it's not like I have much competition here," he jokes.

I roll my eyes. "Alright, don't go getting on cynical on me. Come on, let's go back inside. It's getting a little chilly."

I start to stand up but Edward stops me. "You're not supposed to walk."

"I walked all the way out here and I was fine. I need to start building my strength back up to what it was."

"But-"

"I will leave you here," I tell him, standing up on my own. It was sweet how much he worried about me but I didn't want him to think he needed to baby me.

"At least let me help you, just in case." When I give him a look, he adds, "For my own sanity."

He's trying. He's really really trying. And if what Esme said to me was true, then this was all new to both of us.

I nod, and when he stands and lightly wraps an arm around my waist, I lean into him. "Thank you. I'm sorry I'm being so difficult. I just don't want to be any more trouble. You have more important things to worry about."

"Princess, I've told you before there isn't anything more important to me than you. You're not being difficult, promise. You should have seen Emmet when he had to get his appendix removed. Rose kept having to hunt him down around the house," he laughs.

"I could see him doing that," I smile.

When we get back in the house, everyone besides Alice is waiting in the dining room. They stop talking as soon as they see us coming in.

Esme is the first to stand up and come over to us, giving me a comforting hug. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." I peer around her to where Rosalie is sitting. "Thank you." She gives me a soft smile silently asking if I'm okay and I nod.

"Well come on then," Esme says, guiding me to an empty seat. Edward pulls it out for me and takes the seat next to me. He grabs my hand with a squeeze and I squeeze back. Esme puts a plate in front of Edward and I get another kind of soup. I couldn't wait until I could eat something that wasn't mainly a liquid.

"So, Bella," Emmet wipes his mouth with his napkin. Rosalie looks over at him cautiously like she's afraid of what he might say. But Emmet has never been one to take much seriously in the time I've known him outside of his job, so I wasn't too worried. "What's it like being a disgraced princess?"

Esme gasps and Rosalie sounds horrified as she glares at him, "Emmet!" Edward next to me, just about looks ready to jump across the table and deck him.

But I know he doesn't mean it in a malicious way so it only makes me laugh. "Oh it's great. I get to wear whatever I want and nobody tells me who I have to marry or what I have to do."

"Except Edward," Emmet says, pointing his fork at the man next to me.

"More like she tells me what to do," Edward mumbles. Rosalie raises a brow and he quickly turns to me. "In the best way possible," he says, kissing the back of my hand that he hasn't let go of. I don't miss the twinkle in his eye though.

"Bet you miss that castle though, huh?" Emmet continues. "That place was nice!"

I shrug. "I guess I miss my home. All my memories of my mom were there. But I don't miss that dungeon," I shudder, remembering the dark room. "I didn't even know it existed."

"Well when Eddie takes over we can destroy that room," Emmet says with a decisive nod.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of his statement. On one hand, of course I wanted that dungeon gone, but on the other hand, to think of destroying any part of that castle wasn't something I wanted to think about, especially when I knew all of the other things that would come with it involving my father and brother.

Esme lightly scolds "That's not exactly appropriate dinner talk."

"Sorry," Emmet apologizes. "So how's the weather?"