A/N:

This idea came to me as a complete story and I wrote it in two days. This is my first, possibly only attempt at canon. For Edward fans, please wait until the end of this first chapter before you click that little 'x'. I promise to make it worth your while.

Thanks to my awesome beta SweetT129 for keeping from making some very embarrassing and dumb errors. Seriously.


Part One: The Courtship

Mrs. Cope eyed the floral arrangement with a mixture of intense joy and extreme doubt. After twenty years of marriage, could her husband possibly have remembered that today was her birthday and be thoughtful enough to get her flowers? Not only get her flowers, but send them to her at work so everyone would make a fuss over her and cluck about how lucky she was to have such a wonderful husband? Until she actually had the card, not in an envelope, in hand, she held out hope that such a situation had occurred. Her hopes were crushed, and jealousy flared, as she read the card.

"To Marie Swan

You are the most beautiful creature to walk this earth.

All my love,

..."

Of course the flowers were from him, but Marie was just a freshman, and he was a senior. She had a flash of fear for the girl, but pushed it away.

"I'll call her classroom and let her know." Mrs. Cope worked to keep the bitter disappointment from creeping into her voice.

"No can do, lady. We got instructions to be here at exactly this time and to wait for him to pick 'em up." As the delivery man slurred through his explanation, the handsome senior in question breezed in to the office.

"Thank you, I'll take those now." The boy was beautiful, but had a coldness about him that ensured no one questioned him. As quickly as he arrived, the boy left.

With purpose, he walked through the halls to the cafeteria. He had chosen lunchtime to make his entrance because he knew that Marie was painfully shy. With such a large crowd, he expected she would do no more than blush and mumble her thanks.

Meanwhile, Marie and her best friends, Jessica and Mike, were sitting in a corner of the cafeteria trying their best to be invisible. Well, Marie was trying to be invisible. Jessica and Mike were busy making plans for their weekend.

While the three had grown up together and been the best of friends, Mike and Jessica had recently become a couple. No one was surprised, since Mike had never kept hidden his feelings for the sweet, yet plain, Jessica.

The lunchroom began to buzz with hushed whispers when people saw the gigantic flower arrangement and the one carrying it.

Every girl in the room wanted to be the one to receive that arrangement. The prettiest and most popular girls began straightening their clothes and checking their makeup, for surely he would choose one of them. No one in the lunchroom was more surprised to see the flowers placed in front of her than Marie Swan herself.

As she felt all eyes on her, her face flushed. With very slow and measured movements, she sat up straight in her chair, put her bookmark in place and set her book to the side.

"W-w-was there someone you wanted me to take those to?" Marie stammered, knowing that they were certainly not for her.

The boy smiled a sweet smile at her. "Marie, these flowers are for you. I hope you will accept them, and my heart, for they are both yours."

Marie ran from the room to avoid vomiting in front of nearly the entire high school.

After his first attempt at winning her heart failed, the boy started sending smaller gifts to her. A nice dinner sent to her while she studied at the library, smaller floral arrangements, and the occasional stuffed animal were left at her doorstep - he had learned his lesson about embarrassing her at school.

Eventually, his efforts were rewarded with shy smile and a peck on the cheek. After that evening, he rarely left her side. He drove her to and from school, carried her books to each class, bought her lunch, and took her on dates every Saturday.

He insisted that Marie attend his prom with him, and even provided the dress he thought would look best on her. Since she was still just a freshman, he did not press the issue of sex, though he was feeling fairly desperate for the release. Instead, he taught her how to please him in other ways.

She grew close to his parents, who treated her like she was their own. Eventually, even her father started to approve of her relationship. She never missed school, her grades were even better than before, and her very polite boyfriend never kept her one minute beyond curfew.


Part Two: The Isolation

His graduation was a sad time for Marie. She had grown accustomed to his attention and the little perks being his girlfriend provided.

He decided to stay fairly close for his college courses. The idea was that, once Marie graduated from high school, he would be ready for graduate school and she would go with him to the school of his choosing.

Marie wasn't sure how well that suited her, but for the time being she wouldn't push the issue. After all, four years was a long time.

When he felt like it, he would come home to visit Marie. More often than not, he stayed on campus. Marie suspected that he was getting the attention she could not yet provide. The thought broke her heart, but not enough to broach the subject with him.

One night, with a start, she woke to find him watching her sleep.

"You scared me to death! What if I had screamed and Charlie had come in and seen you?" She hissed, her blanket wrapped around the hands held at her throat.

"He wouldn't care and you know it," the boy replied with a cocky smile.

"What are you doing here? It's Wednesday at... at 1:45... it's Thursday morning, and you have class." she whispered, her arms relaxing to rest at her chest.

"I had to see you. I couldn't wait. I... I miss you." His voice sounded broken as he hesitated through his explanation.

"You could have called. Or better yet, you could have come home last weekend." She wanted to feel tenderness toward him. Instead, resentment flowed through her as she thought of the other girls he must have entertained instead of coming home to her.

"I told you I couldn't. What did you do? I tried to call you here, but your dad said you were out." He was upset to find out that she was out on the town when he wasn't there to escort her.

"I went out with Jessica and Mike to a movie."

With that, he moved to her bed, grasping her face in his hands. "I don't like not being able to reach you, Marie. What if something had happened to you?" His face was drawn with concern. Heartache shone through as he thought of losing her.

"Nothing was going to happen, I was with friends."

"I don't like it, Marie. I bought you a cell phone, so we can stay in touch." He put the small box on her desk.

"You know I don't need that, right?" She shook her head, doing a poor job of hiding her irritation with the gift.

"I need it, even if you don't. I want to be able to keep in touch with you." She kissed him to silence the conversation. Kissing him always did distract him. If kissing his lips didn't work well enough, kissing him lower always did.

ooOOoo

During her junior year, he made more of an effort to visit her each weekend. He made it a point to take her away any weekend he could get her away from her books.

"I want to take you out on a nice date. It seems like forever since we've gotten dressed up and paraded around the town." His face was lit with a beautiful smile that told Marie that he was not prepared to take no for an answer.

"Sure, that sounds like fun. What time do you want to go, so I can get ready and tell Dad?"

"I'll be back in two hours, don't keep me waiting!" he said with a genuine smile, then kissed her and headed for the door.

She took her time getting ready. She shaved and plucked and primped every part of her body. The dress she picked was his favorite color and, while it was bit too revealing for her comfort, he loved it on her.

As she made her way down the stairs, he knocked. Upon opening the door, she got a frown where she expected a smile.

"What's the matter? You don't like this anymore?" Concern laced her voice as she swished the flare of her dress.

He shrugged "It's pretty, but you didn't need to put on so much make up. You're so pretty without all that goop on your face. And it's likely to be chilly, so you'll want a sweater." His voice was harder than she was used to, so she didn't make an argument.

"I'll go wash my face and grab a sweater. Wait here?" She asked, not sure what was wrong with him tonight. His only response was a curt nod.

When she came back down, he smiled at last.

"Now there's that sweet, fresh face I love. You really don't need all that other stuff. Shall we go?" It was her turn to give a mute nod.

On his weekends home, he brought up her makeup more and more until finally, Marie refrained from wearing makeup the days she knew he'd be home. After a while, she stopped wearing it altogether. It really was a lot easier to forgo the hassle in the mornings.

ooOOoo

At last, Marie was a senior in high school. She had so many plans for her year. Socially, she was booked through the senior class trip one week after graduation. She applied to several schools, including the one her wonderful boyfriend wanted to go to. She really hoped that her grades and all her extra works would push her to the top of the admissions list. If not those alone, she knew a letter from his dad would help, too.

After midterms, Mike proposed to Jessica. Marie knew it was coming, since Mike asked her to help him pick out the ring. Neither of their parents were very pleased, but said they would be more supportive if the couple promised to graduate from college before starting a family. To the young couple, it seemed an easy compromise.

Marie was very excited about the engagement party, and helped plan as much of it as she could.

She called to make sure that her less-than-attentive boyfriend would make the party.

"I don't have time for that right now, Marie." His voice was full of irritation. "And besides, I can't believe they'd do that to you and you still want to spend time with them."

"What are you talking about?" Her mind raced trying to figure out what exactly he meant.

"They would just flaunt it in your face that I can't be with you. I mean, aren't they supposed to be your best friends? What kind of friends do that?" Malice flowed through his words, doing damage Marie was not even aware of.

"Are you kidding me? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. They are my best friends. I'm sorry you can't make it. Just so you know now where I'll be, the party is at seven on Saturday. I assume you won't need to call me, and I'll just let you know when I get home." She was livid at the suggestion that her friends were treating her badly.

"Look, I don't want you to go. It's not going to be safe for you to be out late like that on a Saturday night. You know the drunk driving statistics." He used several more weak excuses to keep Marie from attending the party.

"Oh, just stop it. I will be fine and I will call you when I get home. Good night, my worry-wart." She disconnected the call, but could not disconnect the small seed of doubt he planted in her mind.

At six-thirty Saturday evening, Marie walked to her antique truck to head for the party. She slid the key into the ignition, expecting a loud roar as the vehicle came to life. Instead, she got nothing. No grinding, or slipping, not even the 'click' of a dead battery. It was then that she noticed the black cable sitting on the seat next to her. With trembling hands, she retrieved her phone.

"Jessie, my truck won't start. I am so sorry that I can't make it!" Marie cried into the phone as she swatted away the tears streaking her face.

"What? Do you want me to send someone to pick you up?" Jessica felt so disappointed that her best friend would not be there to help them celebrate. At the same time, she wondered if Marie was just skipping out on the party to spend time with her boyfriend. It wouldn't be the first time.

"No, don't go to any trouble. I'm so sorry, Jessica. Send my love to Mikey, and you enjoy your night." That was all the confirmation that Jessica needed.

"I can't believe you'd just blow us off! It's him, isn't it! He's home and he doesn't want to come so you're going to let him talk you out of coming, aren't you!" Jessica seethed, holding onto the volume of her voice so no one would overhear.

"No! I can't believe you'd even say that! I... I don't even know what to say to you right now." And with that, Marie hung up with Jessica and braced herself for a very unpleasant conversation.

"You didn't even hide it or try to cover up that you broke my truck!" Marie gripped the cable in her trembling hand. "You could have come with me if you were going to take the trouble to come here and sabotage my plans!"

"Aw, honey, it's not like that. I really didn't have time for the party, but I was worried about you. I wanted to leave it out so your dad could fix it for you in the morning. What if something happened to you? I couldn't live if something bad happened to you, Marie. You have my heart and I can't live without it!" His voice sounded sincere, and she wanted to forgive him, just not so soon.

"I can't believe you came all the way out here and didn't even stay to spend time with me, or take me back with you." She added a little extra pout in her voice to milk the situation a little more. When he was putty in her hands, she would forgive him.

Senior skip day came and went. It was another day in which Marie's plans with Jessica and Mike were torpedoed by her overprotective boyfriend. This further drove the wedge in their friendship, and Jessica stopped asking Marie to do things with them.

Marie felt sad at the loss of her friends, but threw herself into her studies, and, when he came home, her boyfriend. She was finally ready to take the next step in their relationship. After a few times, she really started to enjoy sex, and every chance she had to get him alone found him stripped in great haste. He, of course, was more than willing to 'suffer' at her hands and do all he could to tame her wild libido.

ooOOoo

She was ecstatic when she received her college acceptance letter. Before she told anyone, including her father, she called him.

"I GOT IN," she hollered into the phone. She could picture him holding the thing at arms length to avoid a ruptured eardrum.

"This is wonderful news! I knew you'd get in. Even if you didn't right away, Dad would have taken care of it." He was please that things were falling into place and they would have the life he had dreamed of.

"I know, I know. But I did it! I did it on my own!" She was so excited that she was pacing the floor and waving the letter over her head.

"I'll come home after my last class and we can celebrate, how does that sound?"
"That's a lot of trouble for you. I want to say yes, but I think it'll be best if you just wait for the weekend, okay? I worry about you driving when you're tired." She smiled at the sweet gesture.

"Okay, but this weekend I am taking you out!" After whispered vows of love, they disconnected the call.

Marie had originally planned to go on the senior class trip after graduation. Plans changed when the love of her life dropped to one knee and proposed to her at his graduation dinner. He arranged for a week-long cruise to celebrate her graduation from high school, his college graduation, and their engagement.

Marie cried that night, realizing that she had no friends to tell, since Jessica and Mike no longer talked to her.


Part Three: The Betrayal

Wedding preparations took the better part of a year, and Marie was grateful that her soon-to-be mother-in-law helped make all the plans. It helped ease the sadness Marie felt at not having her mother alive to go through this with. It also helped out so that Marie could focus on her studies.

Everything was in place, and plans were finalized by the time spring arrived. The wedding was a elegant and extravagant affair. While it was tradition for the bride's family to pay for the wedding, the groom's family had more guests to impress, and the money with which to do it.

Marie felt like a princess the whole day. She felt giddy each time she thought or said 'husband' or 'Mrs.'. Her new husband was at her side the entire day and into the evening. Finally, they said good bye to their guests, and, in a flurry of rose petals, they left for their equally extravagant two week honeymoon in Bora Bora.

Upon their return to school and their lives as a now married couple, things were smooth. For a while.

That changed when Marie took an advanced chemistry class that was giving her a bit of trouble. She thought she was very lucky when she found that she sat next to a boy who had no trouble with the class. In fact, he was a bit disappointed that it wasn't more of a challenge.

After class, they met at her usual lunch table to go over the assignment. He sat next to her so they could both look over his notes, and she could see exactly how he came to his conclusions.

So caught up in her discussion, Marie was unaware that her husband watched from a few feet away. She was also unaware that his face was contorted in rage while his hands flexed and relaxed in effort to control the desire to pummel the man sitting next to his wife.

So caught up in her discussion, Marie did not realize that her husband had not joined her for lunch. When she realized the time, she simply gathered her books and walked to her next class. Fortunately for her tutor, he did not follow in the same direction.

That night was the first night that Marie's husband let his true colors show. She was left with a few colors of her own. Mostly purple and deep blue fist-shaped patches of color on her ribs. There was also that one bright red, hand-shaped mark across her cheek. It was a little puffy there, too. She hoped that the ice he was holding to her cheek would reduce the color and swelling before she needed to go back to class the next day.

He apologized for his loss of control. She believed that he was sorry, that he just let his emotions get the best of him. He swore he would never raise his hand to her again. Tears stained his face as he held her in his lap and begged her forgiveness.

Months went by without incident. Marie was very careful who she spoke to and where she went. Mindful that, while he did promise never to hit her again, she really did not want to test the strength of that promise.

For all her planning, she could never have predicted the next thing to set him off.

"Why the candle-lit dinner, honey?" He came in and set his books down.

"It's a very special night, my darling husband." She smiled and danced around him before pulling him in for a deep kiss.

"I guess I can handle that!" he grinned back, feeling his body respond to her luscious kiss.

She sat him down and served his food as he watched her with amusement. He moaned around the delectable food she prepared before the suspense got the best of him.

"So tell me what has you so happy," he prompted. He smiled and watched as she took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Okay. I know it's early, and we haven't really talked about it, but... I... we... are going to have a baby!" She was squealing and clapping her hands when she said it. It took her a moment to realize that he had yet to respond. He sat as still as a statue.

"I know it's scary, but you'll be a great dad!" Her smile faded a bit. She had no way of knowing that she had misunderstood his reaction.

"You are pregnant?" he said as he tried to get a grip on himself.

"Yes. We're having a baby." Marie smiled.

"And you're sure it's mine?" His voice was laced with venom now.

She was so shocked. She thought he must be joking, asking a question like that.

"Of course the baby is yours. You're the only man I've ever had sex with!" Her voice got louder as she started to feel more and more angry. He made a quiet snorting noise that set her off.

"I can't believe I tell you this news and that is the reaction you give me! I expected you to be a little shocked and worried, but to accuse me of sleeping around..." her voice trailed off when he stood up from the table.

"I'll tell you what I can't believe," he hollered "I can't believe that you would let yourself get knocked up knowing that we can't afford a baby right now. What about school, huh? What about my career? I can't start this kind of career worried about a baby! You fucking idiot!" Spittle flew from his mouth as he leaned over her still-seated body. She held hope that he would not strike her. The force of the blow to her cheek sent her hope reeling into the stars that shone before her eyes.

He was in her face, holding her by her neck when he drew back his fist. Her scream was a choked and garbled sound when his fist landed between her hips. Over and over, he drove his fist into the softness of her belly. Over and over she screamed and begged for him to stop. Her hands flailed out, scratching and grasping at his hands, his arms, his face. Nothing stopped his assault. When he was satisfied that no baby could find a hospitable environment within her, he dropped her to the ground and left the house.

He must have called 911, for she woke in a hospital bed with the family doctor looking over her. She was given antibiotics to help stave off any infection as a result of her miscarriage. Her husband sat beside her, weeping at the loss of their baby. In front of the doctor and his parents, he promised that they could try again after she was healed physically and emotionally. The tightness of his grip on her hand let her know that she was to make no effort to ruin the image he presented.

Marie was more than upset when the doctor would not make eye contact with her. Of course he knew. Of course he would say nothing.

The day she came home from the hospital, she left him.

That night, he found her.

He took her to his parent's house to 'recuperate', and she was relieved that she would be with them. They loved her and had always treated her well.

She wasn't sure what excuse he would come up with for the condition of her face, but she knew he would say something.

When they arrived, her mother-in-law was waiting to help her out of the car. Her eyes widened at Marie's condition. She kissed and waved her son away, and, with tender care, she helped Marie to the parlor.

"You poor, sweet girl," she said with the voice only a mother can offer. The older woman rocked and soothed Marie. Marie broke down, sobbing into her beloved mother-in-law's shoulder.

"There, there, Marie," she whispered as she rocked the weeping girl. "What did you do to make James so angry?"

And with that one sentence, the betrayal of Marie Swan was complete. She knew no one would ever help her.


A/N: So, Edward fans, did you make it this far? Were you surprised? Was it worth the read? Do you trust me to tell a good E/B story? Let me know!

BamaBabe