Can we start over?

All the happiness you 'deserve'

Previously on Can we start over?

"Yes, though if we going to continue working together I must insist you call me Bella"

"Everything in these papers basically says that you are now the sole heir to the swan fortune."

"Time to face the music"

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Bella stood in the middle of the room watching her mother pace the floor like a squirrel on crack. She laughed at her thoughts.

" do you think this is funny Isabella?" Her mother asked for the third time that day, apparently Phil decided he couldn't sneak around anymore and it was time to meet the daughter. Bella scoffed of course but decided to keep her thoughts to herself lest she wanted her mother to keep her here longer. Throughout the last 3 months, she made use of a gym and gained considerable muscle but it made her look feminine and not bulky.

Her speed was nothing to scoff at either but she wasn't on par with Edward but she could definitely beat Emmet in a foot race. She went through a growth spurt too, her mother never paid attention, so she didn't need to worry, though another part of her went through a growth spurt too one she'd rather not mention. Her hair had grown out and was now in the middle of her back, the mahogany streaks shined even brighter with direct sunlight. She lost most of her baby fat too and once again if her mother actually paid attention she would've realized that her daughter changed tremendously. She kept her mouth shut and decided to just ride the waves instead of making new ones but her mother was being ridiculous.

Because currently she was prepping Bella on what to say or rather what not to say, when Phil came for dinner. Her favorite was to call her 'mother' not Renee as she told her before when entertaining multiple boyfriends who could be Bella's brother.

Bella rolled her eyes, she towered over her mother and folded her arms across her chest.
"No mother" she drawled out sarcastically, it was clear that the sarcasm went right over Renee's head because she gave her a nod and continued to ramble on and on about what Phil liked, and how much she loved him apparently.

Before her mother could delve into all those reasons the doorbell rung thankfully.Bella laughed softly at her mother scrambling to get to it. Her mother probably thought she was stupid or oblivious because it was clear that they were engaged considering the ring on her finger, but she decided to hold bite back her sarcastic comment about ' why not wait till the wedding to introduce your new husband to your 17 year old daughter'

" Phil come in" she heard by the door, she slowly but surely managed to add clothing to her wardrobe and Renee being the dolt she was paid attention to that but nothing else, Bella merely shrugged it off as extra pay she made from her job. Renee looked skeptical but didn't question it further because as long as the bills got paid she didn't care. Bella had a sneaking suspicion that Renee wondered whether it was from Charlie, but couldn't prove it.

Bella was in fact in contact with her father, she spoke to him regularly since she got a phone, she told him that the Swans estate manager contacted her and he didn't seem surprised but just told her to work carefully with whatever money she received, which was what she was doing regardless. She didn't need to tell him how Renee was treating her either because her father had some idea.

He once told her "Bells I love you, but your mother had a court order and used my job against me so I wasn't able to keep you.. I wanted nothing more than to keep my baby girl but I'm so sorry.. I haven't been there" that call had her crying the entire night, she never knew how hard her father fought for custody, but Renee didn't budge. If it wasn't clear before she really disliked her mother, she used her own daughter as a prize not one she could particularly care for but one that would show Charlie that she was better. Bella shook away her thoughts as was now introduced to the minor league baseball player.

"Hi I'm Phil" he said holding his hand out, Bella plastered a polite smile on her face, and decided to get the farce over with.

"I'm Isabella, nice to meet you" she said politely, she felt her mother's eyes on her as she greeted the man, and raised an eyebrow in question but her mother didn't say anything other than usher Phil to the dinner table, which she cooked but Renee took the credit.
Bella rolled her eyes mentally and sat down, as Renee played the perfect house wife to be. It was comical but she once again held her comments back.

Dinner was silent with small conversations between her mother and Phil, he looked much younger than her mother but she wasn't going to judge, it was his funeral she supposed.

"Bella your mother says you like to read?" He asked politely

"Hmm I do, it's one of my favorite activities actually"

"Yeah Bella never goes anywhere, she always has her nose in some book" commented Renee, Bella kept the polite smile on her face.

"Hmm well I'm an old soul, besides I have so many chores that any free moment I have is dedicated to reading" she remarked with slight smirk on her face, directed at her mother who now, narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean so many chores aren't -"

"Don't worry Phil anyways tell us more about you and your baseball career" said Renee quickly, spying Bella and gave her a nasty glare, one that would've made her shiver before but now it made her smile widen even further.

" ahh yeah I'm looking to move up into the.... -" Bella tuned most of his inane babbling out.

'Small victories' she mused not bothering to listen to the rest of the conversation, between Phil and Renee. While she was inflating his ego, and he giving her compliments on the food. It took her a lot to swallow the bark of laughter that wanted to come out of her throat but decided to question the couple of the upcoming nuptials instead.

"So mother... when do you plan to tie the knot?" She asked airily, Phil flushed in embarrassment of being caught out  while her mother pinned her with a glare before clearing her expression and directed the answer to Phil.

"Uhm we're not sure?" He said with a bit of a shrug and looked to Renee who seemed to planning Bella's death.

"Well I for one cannot wait for you to get married, it would make my mother extremely happy. She just doesn't stop talking about you" she paused and saw the look on her mother's face before continuing " I wish you every bit of happiness you deserve" she emphasized the word 'deserve' as she gave her mother a smile, that looked outwardly like sincerity but inside she felt nothing but disgust to her so called mother, she was nothing but 'an incubator' her mind chided and for once she could agree more.

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After dinner ended she went straight up to her room ignoring the calls of her mother, she locked the door and took out her cell phone. She bought herself an iPhone one of the older models but it helped that Matthew told her it would be best if she chose the phone with the laptop, so that everything could link up and be saved to her cloud. She couldn't agree more it was practical and saved plenty of time.

She hid her laptop under the creaky floorboards in her closet, she didn't need her mother questioning her. She could've easily said it was a gift from her dad but she knew better than to give her mother more information than necessary.

All she needed to do was to ride out the next two months. Continue her routine, ignore Renee, engage only when necessary. Tonight was an evening she could be herself, well not herself but she was pleased with the outcome.

She felt sorry for Phil, because all he would be eating when he got married was bacon and eggs it was the only thing Renee could make without burning down the kitchen.

"Yeah all the happiness you deserve" she echoed her words from earlier with a chuckle.
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A/N short chapter

okay so yeah Bella is changing she's more confident and sarcastic.

Her relationship with her father for me was always awkward so we'll be fixing that bit.

Next chapter will be Bella arriving in forks? We haven't seen what she could do in terms of magic but there wasn't any reason for her to use it though..