I was furious with Edward. He had abandoned me, tossed me away like an old toy he was bored with. I was so tempted to just walk away with Jacob, to let him die. But my heart pulled me along with Alice to the Volturi and him.

When I saw him there, preparing to step into the sunlight and end his life, my heart screamed for him. Now I stood with his arms around me, almost shaking with a combination of fear, anger, and relief as Aro walked slowly towards us.

"It is delightful to finally meet you in person, Miss Swan," Aro smiled at me openly before frowning. "But… you do not look like Edward remembers you." He leaned toward me and Edward's arm around my waist tightened almost painfully. "You have been burning, haven't you? Someone hurt you deeply."

My eyes widened, "How do you know that?"

His smile returned. "Attention to details that no one else would usually notice." He reached out and lightly brushed the tip of his finger against the skin under my eyes. "Your eyes… for example, they show that you have spent many days crying. They're swollen ever so slightly, there's the faintest hint of red at the edges, and dark circles below them."

I smiled sarcastically, "I haven't been sleeping all that great thanks to recurring nightmares. Fact, I think the last night I slept without them was when I got a concussion crashing my motorbike and Charlie had to wake me up every half hour."

I felt Edward's arm fall from my waist as he moaned, "Bella… I specifically said to not do anything reckless!"

That did it. The anger won over fear and relief as I turned to face him, my eyes burning with my fury.

"Oh? You want to talk about things you said?" My nails bit into the palms of my hands as I clenched them into fists. "How 'bout when you said, 'I'll never leave you, Bella.' Or better yet, how about we talk about when you said, 'It'll be like I never existed!'" I could feel the tears beginning to form in my eyes and the stares of the Volturi, but I didn't care, I was in a rage. "When in truth, it was like someone had ripped a hole in my heart! And you left me completely defenseless! Do you even know what I've been through these last few months?!"

I could see the pain in Edward's eyes at my words but I continued onwards in my wrath. "What with those horrible nightmares and that stupid voice in my head driving me crazy constantly? 'Bella, you're worthless! Bella, you're nothing! Bella, you're only a vampire's plaything, tossed aside as soon as he got bored with you! You're only Alice's dress up doll! You're only Emmett's pet! The only reason Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper liked you was because the rest of them did!'

"And the only time I got relief from that voice was when I was asleep and the abandonment nightmares restarted! Or when I did something RECKLESS and your voice replaced it, telling me I was being stupid! And I didn't even figure that one out until I met Laurent again and he tried to KILL me! The only reason I survived that was because of the wolf pack!

"Oh, and VICTORIA! Didn't it ever occur to you that she might want to avenge her mate's death?! The only reason I'm still alive is because the wolves were there!

"Did it ever occur to you that I would actually be SAFER WITH you there?!"

Edward's hands suddenly snapped up, capturing my face gently, but firmly, between them and he was kissing me, more fiercely than normal, crushing my lips against his.

"Bella," he breathed, kissing me softer now between words, completely ignoring the gasps of shock coming from the Volturi, "I…am… so…sorry. I…should…never…have…left." Edward pulled back and softly rubbed my tears away, staring straight into my eyes. "Will you ever be able to forgive me?"

I sighed as I stared into his topaz eyes, perfect as usual. "When do I ever not?"

He smiled and kissed me again before Aro cleared his throat and we were reminded of the danger at hand.

Stupid, I know. But I really wanted Bella to flip out at Edward in NM, but she didn't. So, I did.