Buying Love Update

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I journaled until my eyes felt like sand paper and my head was throbbing from exhaustion. It wasn’t until Ellie took the journal from my hand and pushed me onto the couch with a pillow, a tiny blanket and an eye mask that I stopped. I slept hard until Carlisle shook me awake. It was dim in the waiting room, the sun just peaking over the horizon.

“Bella?” I asked, my voice scratchy and sore.

“The doctors are here. They want to speak to you and Rose,” Carlisle said.

“And my mom?”

“She’s speaking with Dr. Benson and Dr. Banner. They came up here after I called them. Agent Dean sent the helicopter for them,” Carlisle explained. “Your mom is being observed under their care. But, talk to the doctors about Bella.”

“Will you come?” I asked, gripping his arm. “If she’s …”

“She’s not,” Carlisle whispered, hugging me. “But, I’ll go with you, son. Come on.”

I stiffly got up, following him into a small conference room off the waiting area. Rose was in there, looking disheveled and exhausted. I sat down next to her. She took my hand, threading our fingers together. Ellie was also in the room, speaking quietly on the phone. Turning, she said, “The doctor is on her way.”

“Thank you,” Rose said.

Ellie left the room, leaving the door open. Slipping inside, the small doctor who had spoken to me in the hallway sat down. She looked weary. “My name is Dr. Monroe and I was one of the doctors working on Isabella.”

“Bella,” I piped in. “She prefers to be called Bella.”

“Bella,” Dr. Monroe repeated. “Right. Bella is out of surgery and in recovery. She’s in a medically induced coma at this point. The bullet caused severe trauma to her lung, ribs and ended up just to the right of her spinal column.”

“You mentioned something about her heart,” I said, tightening my hand around Rose’s.

“Her heart is fine. Strong,” Dr. Monroe said, smiling. “With the x-rays and CT scans, the location was suspect, but thankfully, it didn’t cause any damage to her heart or pericardium. We will monitor that, but she’s in the clear for that.”

Buying Love Update

Buying Love Chapter 60 Update on FicPad

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Buying Love Chapter 60 Update on TWCS

Buying Love Chapter 61 Update on FFn

I knew when Bella came into her bedroom. I felt my body relax. Clinging to her, I managed to fall into a deep sleep. I stayed that way until I heard a crash in the suite. I sat up, woozy and confused. Looking around, I saw that Bella was gone and that it was almost noon. I got out of bed, stumbling over my own feet as I made my way to the living room. Carlisle was pacing and his ice-blue eyes were blazing with anger. From what I gathered, he’d also just gotten up.

“Emmett, she did the exact opposite of what you told her to do!” Carlisle screamed, his hands clenched. “I woke up to a note from Bella saying that she had to ‘run errands’ and she’d be back in a few hours. I don’t know when she deposited that note, but it’s almost noon!”

I couldn’t hear anything from Emmett’s response, but I sat down on the couch, trying to keep my anxiety at bay. Bella was off doing something that probably had to do with Esme and rescuing my mom. She was going to get hurt, or worse … KILLED! “I’ve got to go, Emmett. Edward’s awake and he’s as white as a sheet,” Carlisle said, tossing the phone onto the table and limping to me. “Edward, how much did you hear?”

“Bella’s gone,” I whispered. “And you don’t know when she left.”

Buying Love Update

Buying Love Chapter 59 Update on FicPad

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Buying Love Chapter 59 Update on FFn

Buying Love Chapter 59 Update on TWCS

I stayed with Edward until he drifted off to sleep. Even though he was medicated, the stress of all that had happened was apparent on his gaunt face. I kissed his forehead, leaving him in the bedroom as I walked into the living room. Dr. Banner and Dr. Benson were talking quietly, obviously concerned for Edward. Emmett had this look of absolute guilt on his face, knowing that his interview, getting Edward’s statement had prevented him from seeing his mother and allowing Esme, supposedly, to kidnap Elizabeth Masen.

“We can’t definitively say that it was Esme,” Emmett said, his brows furrowed. “Her face is covered in the security footage. The height and weight match Esme’s profile, but we can’t say for certain that it’s her.”

“You and I both know that this evil bitch is the one who took out Elizabeth from that nursing home, Emmett,” Rose argued. “Who else would do such a thing? I mean, really. She used Dr. Gerandy’s signature and he’s a corpse!” Emmett leaned forward and thrust his hands into his hair.

“The question is, where do we go from here?” Carlisle asked. “I don’t know how much more Edward can take. The poor boy is a wreck as it is.”

“I agree,” Dr. Benson said. “I can’t go into too much of Edward’s case, but you will lose him if anything else happens. It would be in everyone’s best interest to find his mother and get her out of Esme’s control. There’s no knowing what she’ll do to a defenseless woman. You saw what she did to a healthy young man. The physical scars will take months to heal, but the emotional ones? They may never go away because of what she did.”

“Esme is going to pay for her crimes,” I sneered. “She’s …” I threw up my arms, angry and upset over the whole thing. “Bitch is gonna die! You all agree with me and are probably planning her demise right along with me.”

“So you keep saying, Bells,” Rose quipped, giving me a dark grin.

“You can’t go off half-cocked, Bella,” Emmett chided. 

Buying Love Update

Today's my birthday, but you guys are getting the presents: an early update for Buying Love.

Buying Love Chapter 37 on FicPad

Buying Love Chapter 37 on AO3

Buying Love Chapter 37 on FFn

Buying Love Chapter 37 on TWCS

My eyes were trained on the shattered man in front of me. He was on the ground, chanting quietly numerous apologies and pleas for forgiveness. Tears were flowing down his cheeks and he seemed so lost. Rose came in when she heard the slap.

“Fuck me,” she squeaked. “What the hell happened?”

“We were fighting. I kissed him and he wiped his mouth like he was disgusted with me. I slapped him and he fell to his knees, chanting numerous apologies,” I said, feeling incredibly guilty for cause this whatever this is.

“Esme fucked him up, Bells,” Rose murmured, squeezing my hand. I looked down at him, my heart breaking into a million pieces. “You need to get through to him, sweetie.”

“How?” I choked out.

“Love him,” Rose replied, kissing my temple. “I’ll call Carlisle and see if he can help us.”

She left us, walking to the kitchen. I sat down on the floor, staring at the broken, wrecked man in front of me. “Edward, can you hear me?”

“I’m so sorry. So sorry. Please don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt my mother,” he whispered, tears flowing down his pale cheeks. “I’ll do anything. Please … please!”

I inched closer to him, placing my hand on his knee. He jumped, pushing back and pressing his body against the wall. “Edward, I’m sorry. I won’t hurt you. Please come back.”

He curled up, hugging his legs. His face was pinched in pain. It looked like he was trying to make himself invisible. “Don’t hurt her. I’ll do anything you want. I promise. Just don’t hurt my mom. She’s all I have to live for. Please!”

“No, Edward, don’t say that,” I sobbed, taking his hand. He clenched his hand into a fist, refusing to move it, but gently I pried it away from his leg, seeing angry awful welts on his wrists. His cuffs were gone and I bit back vomit seeing the damage on his pale skin. “Edward, baby, please, come back to me.”

He hit his head against the wall. “I tried to be a good son. I tried and I failed. I don’t deserve anything good,” he said, taking his hand back and burying his face into his knees.

“You are a good son, Edward,” I whispered. “You are a good man.”

“No, I’m not,” he said, looking up. His eyes were empty, dead. 

Buying Love Teaser

“I don’t know everything, but I know enough, Edward,” I snapped back. “I know your secret.”

EPOV

Rose had backed out of the room and it was just me and Bella. Seeing her, it made my dead heart sputter back to life, but I was never going to see her again after today. Esme threatened my mother that if I saw Bella, regardless of the cost to her company, my mom would pay the ultimate price. I couldn’t let that happen.

That didn’t even come close to the physical, bodily harm she threatened to me. Even worse than what I’m feeling now.

My body was aching and sore. I was swimming in my clothes. My stomach was snarling from the lack of food. I hadn’t had a proper meal since my time in Napa. Esme was withholding food from me if called out in pain during my nightly round of torture. I was a broken man and I couldn’t let Bella see me like this. I had to break her heart and ultimately shatter mine so I could save my mother. She stared at me, her eyes swirling with anger, determination and something else. With great difficulty, I stood as tall as I could, feeling every bit of pain that Esme and Felix inflicted on me and glared at her. “You know nothing,” I snarled. “You couldn’t even fathom what I have to fucking deal with, Ms. Swan. I let my heart get involved and I was weak.”

“Like you are now?” she sneered. “I see what she’s done to you! What she’s doing to your mother!”