All recognisable characters belong to SM. I just own the plot.

Yeah, here I go again with another story. Slow burn as usual.

Thank you to PTB for their help and insights. And lots of love to Vivi En for my pretty little banner.

And now we begin.

"Where there is perfection there is no story to tell." – Ben Okri

The elaborate interior of this building was designed to intimidate. The high ceilings and wide corridors that made way to a very spacious floor was all I could see as we walked through the foyer. The clicking of our heels with every step we took seemed to announce our arrival, although no one was there to welcome us.

Because we were late, there was no doubt they were inside the conference room waiting. It wasn't as if I had a choice to not come.

I was nervous, and for me to have to guess what this meeting was about didn't help my agitation. The people inside weren't on my favorite list – more like my steer away from list – and having to meet with them had not been high on my priority.

"We can still get out of here if you want," Rosalie said in a no nonsense tone. I had known her long enough to know she didn't say things she didn't mean.

"No, I need to do this."

"Are you sure?" The little frown between her eyebrows was the only sign that said she was worried. The almost perfect poise and the poker face she usually had on made most people think she was a bitch. Not to me. She was like the sibling I never had.

Her unwavering stare disconcerted me, and I got a little more agitated. She knew me, and I was afraid she could see the fear I tried to hide.

"Well?"

"Y-yes, I'm sure, Rose."

"I'm really trying to believe that, Bella." She had this uncanny ability to piss me off even when I was certain she wanted to help. Like I said, she was a sister – someone I loved most times, but I hated the other times.

"Aro had me backed into a corner by insisting this meeting had something to do with my mother … sort of."

"He said that?"

"Not quite that way. He insinuated it though," I told her, proceeding just as she nodded. "I have a feeling this meeting is something Alice and Cullen didn't anticipate. And that is why I'm here, Rose. I want to see them rattled."

"Hmmm … but do you think coming here is a good idea?" The way she said it left no room for doubt she expected this reunion would be some kind of bloodbath. My previous encounters with them hadn't been pretty, so she was right to worry. I wanted to believe I could deal with the aftermath of what was to come. Although I was certain there was nothing of substantial importance that warranted my attendance here, Aro's insistence of my presence told me otherwise. It had taken a few weeks, and many phone calls from him, to make me agree to come. Truth be told, I would have continued to ignore him and all his mention of inheritance and shit. I didn't give a damn then, and I surely didn't give a damn now. Even in his death, I detested Charlie Swan, along with anything associated with him.

The only thing that convinced me to change my mind was Aro's mention of the small building my mother had left me. He was vague in his explanation, just that I needed to come. I had a bad feeling about this meeting, but I pushed it aside. I needed to be confident in there. If Alice saw me unnerved, she would relish and gloat … and I would not let that happen.

"I sure hope they're ready for me, Rose."

"Is it bad of me to wish that they're not? Because I really want to see their faces once they realized you won't be intimidated."

"Let's pray I survive this shit."

"You will. I won't let you wither and die in there just to be trampled by that bitch. And you know she will if you give her a chance."

"I won't give them the satisfaction of seeing me affected by anything they say. Just make sure I'm in line with that goal throughout the meeting."

"You're sure about this?" She cocked an eyebrow like she doubted I could do this.

"I already told you I am, so let's get this over and done with."

We made our way inside the conference room knowing the next hour wasn't going to be easy. The other party, as expected, was already present. It looked as if they had been waiting a while for our arrival, and the look of disdain on Alice's face told me she didn't appreciate our lateness. She hated my guts, and it was okay with me. There was a huge history between us, and it was something I wished I could forget. The depth of her anger towards me was familiar, so the murderous glare she threw my way wasn't surprising. I should be indifferent about her. Sometimes I could pull it off, like her craziness didn't affect me, but most times, her resentment got to me. My presence alone aggravated her, and as much as I tried not to react to her, it was difficult when she made it her mission to aggravate me in every way she could.

"Good morning, Isabella," Aro greeted, and I nodded. I could feel their eyes on me, but I refused to look at them.

Rosalie took the seat opposite Emmett McCarty, leaving the seat in front of Alice vacant.

"First, I would like to say it's a pleasure to have you here today. Charlie would have been happy," Aro continued, breaking the awkward silence. "This meeting is–was very important to him."

He glanced at me, clearly checking my expression. He knew I didn't care much about my deceased father, and no matter what they said, nothing would change what I felt about him. Aro smiled before his expression turned businesslike again. His was the only friendly face amongst the other four people – Cullen, his lawyer, Alice and Helena – present. Our tardiness didn't seem to have affected his mood, and somehow that made me smile.

"Well, at least she had the decency to come and grace us with her presence." Alice said, bitterness lacing every word.

My first instinct was to react, but knowing she would use that as an excuse to have a verbal battle with me, I ignored her instead. As experience taught me, she wanted to make this difficult for me. It would be futile to explain I wasn't here to cause any problems. She wouldn't listen to me, never had. She was one crazy bitch … that I could attest. It was never a good time to get in any kind of argument with Alice. She was delusional. Unfortunately, only a few people – Rose, Jasper and I included– saw her for what she really was. All I wanted was to know what this will reading had to do with my property – the small lot with the building in the downtown area where my shop was. Although it was only a tiny piece of property compared to everything they owned, it was the only link I had with my mother and to say it was priceless was an understatement.

"You really think you're special, don't you? Making us wait for fifteen minutes like you're someone important … but honey, you're not."

She was really pissing me off with this attitude. I turned to her, ready to engage, but Rose's hand on my arm held me back.

"Ms. Sw- Isabella's lateness was due to an emergency she couldn't avoid, something I would be discussing with Aro later and no one else."

Rose's serious tone shut Alice up, but the glare she sent our way told me she was far from over it. The sound of clicking averted my attention from the bitch across the table. Rose was playing with her pen, a habit of hers when she was tense or angry. It made me realize she was just as irritated with Alice's behavior as I was. There was no surprise there. She hated Alice's guts much more than I did. It was a good thing she was a professional, or we would have a bloodbath on our hands.

A shuffling sound made me turn my head to see Edward Cullen seated at my far right, looking cool and composed next to his lawyer. The scowl planted on his face was better than the disgusted expression I was used to. There was no doubt in my mind what he thought of me. This family hated me for reasons I didn't want to know about. It didn't matter because they didn't matter. They had no room in my life, and that was how I liked it.

The frown on Cullen's face deepened, and I wanted to smack him. He couldn't intimidate me. I wouldn't allow it. I glared at him, hoping he would get the hint and stop bullying me.

He didn't.

Instead, he continued to stare, even when the sound of a throat clearing was heard. I would be damned if I would be the first to break our staring contest. Fuck him! He had always been an asshole to me, and even if I tried, which I didn't, he wouldn't want to be on friendly terms with me. He said so himself. He loved Charlie, and that was where his loyalty stayed.

Cullen's eyebrow arched slowly, mocking me, while I held his gaze. It was like he dared me to look away before it got worse. Worse for whom, I didn't know. I was becoming extremely uncomfortable, so I quickly turned my face away. I could still feel his eyes on me as I tried to act nonchalant. The tension inside the room became unbearable as the seconds ticked.

"Mr. Cullen has an important meeting in two hours. We need to begin," Emmett announced, arrogant and confident just like his asshole of a client.

"Very well," Aro said, but I heard a trace of relief in his tone. Perhaps he was as exasperated with our drama as I was. He gathered some papers on the table in front of him, shuffled some and proceeded to the formalities. He was the executor of my father's affairs.

He proceeded to inform us once again about the reason we were all here – the reading of the will of the late Charles Michael Swan, known to everyone as Charlie.

"Charlie had left behind his wife, Helena, his eldest daughter, Mary Alice, his son, Edward Anthony and his other daughter, Isabella Marie," Aro continued to read from the paper he held. "The following are his bequests. His assets will be divided between the four of his beneficiaries, except for some certain properties." He continued with his reading, but I tuned him out. I was not interested in the least about any of Charlie's things. They could all take it and shove it up their asses.

There was a long pause, as if he flicked his eyes towards me for a second before he returned his attention back to reading the will.

"A certain building in Seattle –"

The property he just mentioned was the only exception to my indifference. It was mother's building. My building. My heart started to race because I had this feeling of dread creep up on me. There was something wrong, and I didn't want to hear it.

"will be transferred to Edward Anthony Cullen."

"What?!"

I could feel the haze of anger surround my eyes. The sound of my heart hammering against my chest was so loud, and it was all I could hear.

"What the hell is going on? That property is mine!" I shouted, so angry I couldn't think straight. I even broke my resolve not to be affected by anything here, but fuck, they were giving away the only thing I had of my mother's. I wouldn't just sit here and allow that to happen.

I shouldn't have glanced at Alice, but I did. She smiled maliciously at me, and I wanted to slap it off her face, so she would know this wasn't a laughing matter. I glared at her, shooting daggers as she continued to smirk.

How the fuck could this happen?

"Bella," I heard Rose say, her hand on my arm in an attempt to calm me down. When I searched her face, she gave me the look, so I settled back on my seat, even though I wanted to tear the will apart … to shred it into pieces.

If Charlie's wishes were followed, Edward fucking Cullen would own my property. Over my dead body!

"Charles Michael Swan also gives his sixty percent shares of EC Recording to Isabella Marie Swan-"

"What the fuck?! The hell he will!"

I didn't need to see who spoke to know Edward didn't like where this meeting was going. It was quickly going to shit. I turned to see Emmett trying to pacify Edward just like Rosalie did to me earlier, but the murderous glare he sent Aro's way summed up the way he felt about what he just read.

"EC Recording is mine. He can't fucking do this to me, Aro!"

"And in case Isabella refused this inheritance …" Aro continued like he didn't care about any of our outbursts. His steely gaze, however, was now fixed on Edward in warning "… it would be given to a charity Charles had chosen prior to his death."

No, no, no! This can't be happening! I closed my eyes, hoping when I opened them everything I just heard was a hallucination.

Aro continued to speak, but I tuned him out. All I could think about was my building. Edward owned it now, and somehow that thought fueled my anger more. I wouldn't give that bastard and his sister the opportunity to have a hand on the only thing I had left of my mother.

"Rose-"

"I know. We'll sort this out, Bella. I swear."

I could see the promise in her eyes, and it calmed me a little bit. If there was someone who could handle this mess, it was Rose. I sure hoped she could work her magic, although the uneasy feeling inside me didn't go away.

"Aro, are you sure about Edward's studio?" Alice cut in. Now that it was her favorite brother who would lose something important to him, she was pissed about it. I wanted to mock her like she did to me earlier, but I was too tired to even make the effort.

"Yes. It's all here." Aro wasn't rattled, in fact he looked like he expected this sort of thing today.

"This is bullshit!"

"No, this is a fucking catastrophe! " Edward said angrily, in agreement with Alice's protest. "She can't have my studio, no fucking way!"

"I don't want it," I spat, suddenly angrier than I'd ever been.

"Good because you're not getting it."

Rose's hand on my arm prevented me from giving a snarky retort to Edward. I glanced at her, and she gave me a small nod like I was supposed to know what that meant.

"Isn't there something we could do so Edward's studio wouldn't go to …" Alice pointed a finger at me "… her?"

I opened my mouth just as Aro said, "There's a stipulation here that could resolve this problem between Mr. Cullen and Ms. Swan."

"Tell us then." It was Edward, his voice hard and commanding.

And so Aro did. Then we were left speechless because the solution was unfathomable as it was absurd.

"You've got to be kidding me!" It was Edward who first voiced his disagreement.

"No Mr. Cullen, I'm not. This is Charlie's wish."

I hated Charlie … more so than ever. Even in death, he could still fuck with my life.

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