Worth the Fight Update

 WTF Ch. 15 on FFn

WTF Ch. 15 on AO3

WTF Ch. 15 on Stars

WTF Ch. 15 on Wattpad

“We both were burned by cheaters,” Bella sighed.

“I’m here if you want to share. I feel strangely better after telling you about the debacle that was my life,” he snorted humorlessly. He blinked to look at Bella, who was shifting on the blanket. She twisting her watch again. Gently stopped her hand, making her jump. “Or, you don’t have to.”

“No, I should …” she whispered. “You shared your darkest secret. It’s only fair that I do the same.”

“Bella, if this is too painful, you don’t have to tell me anything,” Edward murmured.

“No, not even my best friends know the whole story. I mean, I had my suspicions about Jacob for a while, but I’d hoped that they were not true,” she shrugged. “I’ve known Jacob for most of my life. Before living in Seattle, I lived in Forks. It’s a tiny town here in Washington. Jacob lived at the nearby reservation. His family were from the Quileute tribe, who lived on La Push. His father was one of the tribal leaders and he was close friends with my dad.”

“Did your father and Jacob’s father have hopes of you getting together?” Edward asked.

“Billy, yes. My dad knew me well enough to know that I was my own woman, and I didn’t need anyone telling me what to do,” Bella smirked. “Jacob was younger than me by a couple of years and we didn’t get together until after I’d graduated college. He was training with my dad at the point, and I’d taken over as the general manager of the gym. I love my dad, but he’s a hot mess when it comes to maintaining the books, remembering dates, and paying bills. Thank goodness for automatic bill pay, which I had set up when I was in college.”

“Tell me about it. With me not having a permanent address until a few hours ago, I had everything set up through email and my actual mail was sent to Marcus.”

“Your former doctor?” Bella asked. “He still has connections to Volterra.”

“He might have connections to Volterra, but his allegiance is to me,” Edward explained with a cocky grin.

“Explain,” Bella demanded with her own smirk.

“After you finish your story,” he countered.

Worth the Fight Teaser

 “We both were burned by cheaters,” Bella sighed.

“I’m here if you want to share. I feel strangely better after telling you about the debacle that was my life,” he snorted humorlessly. He blinked to look at Bella, who was shifting on the blanket. She twisting her watch again. Gently stopped her hand, making her jump. “Or, you don’t have to.”

“No, I should …” she whispered. “You shared your darkest secret. It’s only fair that I do the same.”

“Bella, if this is too painful, you don’t have to tell me anything,” Edward murmured.

“No, not even my best friends know the whole story. I mean, I had my suspicions about Jacob for a while, but I’d hoped that they were not true,” she shrugged. “I’ve known Jacob for most of my life. Before living in Seattle, I lived in Forks. It’s a tiny town here in Washington. Jacob lived at the nearby reservation. His family were from the Quileute tribe, who lived on La Push. His father was one of the tribal leaders and he was close friends with my dad.”

“Did your father and Jacob’s father have hopes of you getting together?” Edward asked.

“Billy, yes. My dad knew me well enough to know that I was my own woman, and I didn’t need anyone telling me what to do,” Bella smirked. “Jacob was younger than me by a couple of years and we didn’t get together until after I’d graduated college. He was training with my dad at the point, and I’d taken over as the general manager of the gym. I love my dad, but he’s a hot mess when it comes to maintaining the books, remembering dates, and paying bills. Thank goodness for automatic bill pay, which I had set up when I was in college.”

“Tell me about it. With me not having a permanent address until a few hours ago, I had everything set up through email and my actual mail was sent to Marcus.”

“Your former doctor?” Bella asked. “He still has connections to Volterra.”

“He might have connections to Volterra, but his allegiance is to me,” Edward explained with a cocky grin.

“Explain,” Bella demanded with her own smirk.

“After you finish your story,” he countered.

“Fine,” Bella sighed dramatically, opening a container of brownie bites. “In order to continue, I need some comfort chocolate.”

Worth the Fight Update

 WTF Ch. 14 on FFn

WTF Ch. 14 on AO3

WTF Ch. 14 on Stars

WTF Ch. 14 on Wattpad

After picking up some coffee for Bella - she’d been delayed thanks to her phone call with Jacob - they drove to the first of three apartment complexes. Edward did not like the layout or the drive to the gym. It was the farthest from Bull Dog, located in Redmond.

The realtor, an older woman with sharp eyes and friendly smile, gave them the address for the second place, which was in a neighborhood near the Space Needle. As Edward drove to the second apartment, he slyly looked at Bella. She was staring out the window, twisting her watch around her wrist.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Edward asked.

“Just thinking about what you said in my office,” she murmured. “Grieving what I had with Jacob … we’d known each other for as long as I could remember. He used to be so sweet, but once he got a taste of winning and notoriety, he changed.”

“Most people do. I’m not the same guy from when I started fighting,” Edward shrugged.

“Why did you? I mean, you said you went to Northwestern. You could have used that degree in business,” Bella said.

He blew out a breath, narrowing his eyes. “I started fighting because my dad lost everything. My mom, she died when I was really young and with that a part of him died, too. He started drinking. His alcoholism became his driving force. I didn’t matter. Our home didn’t matter. His job …”

“Oh my God,” Bella murmured.

“Yeah. We lost the house and were forced to move into a shithole apartment. We kind of floated because he’d cashed in my college fund. But, he didn’t care about me. I was just a cruel reminder of what he’d lost,” Edward sneered.

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“I look a lot like my mom. Same coloring, similar mannerisms and …” he trailed off. “My dad, who was also Edward, adored her. Tolerated me. I was the thing that stole my mom’s attention away from him. He resented me and when she was gone, that resentment changed to hate. Trust me when I say that I hate him as much as he hated me. I don’t use that terminology lightly.” He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “I got accepted to Northwestern and received a decent scholarship. That scholarship was not enough to cover it all and I couldn’t get student loans. My dad had opened up credit cards in my name in order to get more money for booze, tanking my credit score.” “Your dad’s an asshole,” Bella snorted humorlessly.