Disclaimer: We do not own Twilight and any of its characters. Some lines that you may recognize are borrowed from the book series.
Summary: It was only a job – one to save her life. However, the boundaries between Edward and Bella slowly fall apart and they are forced to face the inevitable truth: that they must look past their pretenses and take a closer look at their reality.
BUSINESS VERSUS PLEASURE
CHAPTER ONE
"You look beautiful, darling," a soft voice spoke in my ear.
I looked up and met my mom's eyes in the mirror. I supposed I could agree with her to an extent and offered her a small smile.
"Thanks," I whispered, unable to talk any louder without fear of my voice cracking. I felt her clasp my hand in hers and gave a small squeeze.
"I got you some things," she said. I turned around and gave her a questioning glance when she passed me a silver box. "Tradition."
I fought the snort of derision that was about to escape me and quickly untied the bow that held the box closed. I looked at my mom curiously again before I pushed the lid off and gasped at its contents.
There, cased in the soft velvet, was a beautiful diamond necklace. With my eyes wide open, I ran my fingers over the precious stones, lingering over the small, almost blue gem at its center. This was the necklace Renee had worn on her own wedding.
"I can't take this," I muttered, trying to put the lid back on. Renee shook her head, plucking the delicate jewelry from me before I could protest.
"Nonsense," she scolded me, brushing my hair over my shoulder to clasp it around my neck. I felt the weight of it immediately. "You're my only daughter, Bella."
Guilt wracked through me at her words. I stayed quiet while she showed me the other accessories I would be wearing. At one point, my mind started to drift and I only snapped back to reality when she took my wrist and fastened on a delicate looking bracelet.
"It's something Edward bought," she said absentmindedly as she stared at me in adoration. "Something new." I took in a deep breath and she beamed. "Edward looks dashing, Bella!"
"Oh, Mom," I sighed. Even my mother knew more about Edward, my husband-to-be, than I did. At least she'd seen him. I had no clue what he even looked like.
"I'll be downstairs helping Alice with the last minute preparations," she told me. Before I could reply, she kissed my cheek and swooped out of the cathedral's backroom, her cream colored dress swaying behind her. The very moment she left, the smile I managed to summon dropped from my face and I turned around again to inspect my reflection.
The dress was too tight. It was the latest design in Paris and I supposed it was pretty. I ran my hands down its front, feeling the soft texture of the cloth and beading. It was strapless and had a sweetheart neckline that made the most of my cleavage. I resisted the urge to tug it up and adjusted the ridiculously long train behind me instead, marveling at its soft feel. I wondered how long it had taken to make this dress as I took in the countless crystals and beads beautifully sewn into it.
My make-up felt caked to my face and I was afraid to move my facial muscles in case it cracked. My eyes were lined with dark kohl and my eyelashes were elongated by coat upon coat of mascara. There was a slight flush on my cheeks and my lips were a medium pink. I stared at the stranger in the mirror and frowned. Never before had I looked so beautiful and fake.
There was a knock on the door and I automatically called them to enter. I blinked in surprise when I saw the balding head of my dad. He was wearing a black and white tuxedo and he looked much more comfortable in it than I thought he would.
"You look great, Dad," I said, my voice hoarser than usual. I didn't miss his flinch.
"I'm nothing compared to you," Charlie shot back, trying to sound humorous. Unfortunately for both of us, it fell flat. I watched him make his way to me and put a heavy hand on my shoulder. His eyes were tight.
For the first time in a week, I felt tears stinging my eyes. I opened my mouth just a tad to gasp, hoping that Charlie didn't pick up on my hysteria. I failed miserably and felt him gather me in his arms a second later.
"It's going to be over before you know it," he murmured to me. I tried to believe him.
"I'm scared, Dad."
"I know, Bella," he said. I could pick up the faint traces of pain in his voice. "I promise that Edward's going to take good care of you –"
"I'm not scared of him!" I said harshly, pulling away from him. I blinked rapidly to push back the tears that pooled in my eyes. "What about you? What if they hurt you - ?"
"Nothing will happen to me," he assured me calmly. I stared at his face, taking in the wrinkled old skin and the warm brown eyes I had inherited.
"Dad," I started, licking my lips. I almost cringed at the taste of the lipstick, but I refused to be sidetracked. "Tell me what's going on."
Charlie's face fell. "Bella, you know I can't."
I could feel the anger building up in me again. "You're making me marry a man I don't even know –"
"It's only for show," he cut in quickly. "It can get annulled –"
"It doesn't matter if it can get annulled!" I growled, glaring at him. "You're completely missing the point! I'm marrying a guy I never even met! You're saying it's for my protection –"
"It is," Charlie interrupted desperately.
"Protection against what?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. I waited for several long seconds for him to answer, but all I got was silence. "Dad?"
"I can't tell you, Bella," he said quietly, pleading for me to understand. I shook my head, unable to stop a few stray tears from falling.
"Dad, please?" I whispered brokenly. "I'm going to marry him. I just want to know why."
Charlie looked torn and I took his right hand in both of mine. My voice caught in my throat when I tried to talk and his face crumbled so fast that it startled me. I watched the tears streak down his face in bewilderment and despair; in all my twenty-four years of life, I had never seen Charlie cry. He hadn't cried when he came home with his arm in a cast, or when my mom divorced him. It hit me with an astounding force the pain the situation was making him feel.
"I'm sorry –" I tried to say, horrified.
"No, Bells, you're right," he spoke over me. Despite myself, I was relieved when he hurriedly wiped his face with the back of his hand. "You certainly have a right to know."
"If – if it's too much, you don't have to tell me now."
"Sit down with me for a few minutes," he told me, pointing towards two plastic chairs in the corner of the room. I glanced at the clock, noticing that the wedding ceremony was about to start in fifteen minutes.
"I have to get ready –"
Charlie tugged on my hand and forced me to sit down on one of the chairs. I plopped down on it, mindful of the thick material of my dress, and watched him pick up the long veil propped on the seat next to me. He motioned for me to turn my head and I obeyed silently, watching him in the mirror.
"You know how … dangerous my work is, don't you?" he started, his voice casual. I nodded briefly. When I was younger, I thought that Charlie was the chief of the police in Forks. Now, I knew that his profession was bigger and more dangerous than that: he was in the FBI.
"Go on," I urged him. He held up the veil against my head for a second before taking a small pin from a basket.
"Remember when we were in Phoenix? Five years ago?" he asked. I nodded again. Before moving to Forks, Charlie and I lived in Phoenix. I was just blocks away from Renee, my mom, and I was surprised more than anything when I came home and Charlie announced we were moving away. Renee, of course, added the move to the long list of things she hated about her ex-husband.
"We moved after that big assignment you had."
"Right," he said. "There was a big gang there and I was sent to pick up their leader."
"The Nomads," I recalled. "And you got him," I said, proud of his accomplishment. He smiled briefly.
"I got him," he agreed. His mouth was in a line and he paused on his work on my veil. He put his hands on either one of my shoulders. "Bella, I wasn't completely honest with you."
"What?"
"The reason we moved was because when I caught James, the gang leader, his girlfriend got away," he went on. He was talking very fast and I had to strain my ears to catch what he was saying. "Victoria wanted to get revenge on me for putting her boyfriend behind bars and I was afraid she would hurt you to get to me."
"So we left Phoenix for my protection … again," I stated blankly. "How long have you been telling me half-truths?"
"Bella, please," Charlie choked out, sounding on the verge of tears again. "Please understand that I did it for you own good – because I love you."
"Why didn't you tell me?" I mumbled, looking down at my lap and clasping my hands together.
"You would have stayed in Phoenix," he said automatically. "Bella, I wouldn't know what to do with myself if something had happened to you –"
"And now? Why am I sitting here, in a wedding dress that I hate and getting married to a man I never met?"
"Victoria's back," Charlie said tightly. He pinched the bridge of his nose and he suddenly looked twenty years older than he really was. "There were some reports that she was spotted around Phoenix and gang related activity."
"In Phoenix?" I repeated. I stood up and faced him. "But that's miles away! We can just move away again!"
"Bella, she could easily come here! When we moved, I chose Forks because not a lot of tourists come here. I thought it was the safest place to stay – far enough from Phoenix that we wouldn't bump into some of the free gang members by accident, but close enough that they wouldn't expect it."
"How do you know that she's going to try to come after us?"
A wry smile appeared on Charlie's face. "She left a message in our old house."
I stared at him, not blinking. "A message?" I shrieked. "What kind of –?"
"You don't have to worry about it," he cut in. I opened my mouth angrily, but he said, "You just worry about getting everybody to believe you're in love with Edward."
"Why marriage?" I bit out, a million questions begging to be answered.
"You live in Forks, Bella," Charlie answered slowly, looking at me as if I should have known this myself. "People in Forks would talk if you were living with a man and you weren't married."
"My reputation is hardly an issue to me," I said dryly. Compared to this huge farce of a marriage, my reputation was the last thing I was concerned about.
"People will talk and it might get to the gang members that Isabella Swan's living in sin with a man." Charlie gave me a pointed look. "I trust Edward not to try any funny business with you." My jaw dropped and Charlie shifted his feet. "Well, I am your father and I wouldn't like –"
There was firm knock on the door that interrupted me.
"Charlie? Are you in there?" an unfamiliar voice called through. "It's time to bring out the bride!"
"Yeah," Charlie called out loudly. He hurriedly fixed up my veil again, pulling part of it over my head so it covered my face. My knees suddenly felt weak as I turned my head to look at the time. Five minutes to three o'clock.
Five minutes before my wedding.
"Dad –"
"Edward will explain everything," he said softly, tugging me to him and hugging me. I tried to steady my breaths as I breathed in my dad's familiar and comforting smell. "Everything will be okay."
"Yeah," I tried to say, but it came out as a gurgle instead. Through the veil, I saw Charlie's worried face and sent him a wobbly smile. "Let's do this, shall we?"
He was quiet then he started, "Bella –"
"It's okay, Dad. I'm not angry at you."
Charlie's eyes watered again but he took my hand and led me out of the door. My high-heeled shoes made soft clicks on the floor and I concentrated on not tripping on my own two feet. It wouldn't do to have a torn dress. We went up a flight of stairs before we crossed the landing.
There was a flutter of people standing in front of large wooden doors and I looked at a frazzled looking woman telling them where to go. She was wearing a headset and I supposed she was taking orders from the main wedding planner. When she saw me, she nearly keeled over.
"You're here!" she gasped, waddling over and hauling me to stand at the end of a long line.
"Bella! Bella!"
"Angela!" I cried out, returning her embrace. She pulled back seconds later and smiled.
"You look stunning," she complimented me. I gave her a genuine smile, giving back her praise. Her hair was piled up on her head and she was wearing the customary red halter dresses that the brides maids wore, and it did wonders for her honey colored hair.
"Thanks for being my maid of honor," I said. "I know it was such a short notice -"
She waved away my apology. "Don't even worry about it. You're one of my closest friends, Bella. Of course I don't mind." She paused to look at me curiously. "I just wished that you told me about your fiancée sooner –"
"Everyone!" the frazzled lady from earlier shouted, clapping her hands. Immediately, the small crowd of people quieted and I was sure they did it out of pity. "Everyone knows what to do, right?"
I didn't know what to do, but I didn't dare open my mouth. The poor lady looked ready to faint and I wondered how hard just about everyone had been working for this wedding. I gulped and Angela smiled at me comfortingly before she was ripped away to stand in front of me, her arm hooked around a man whose face I couldn't see.
"Good luck," she said just loud enough for us to hear. She hurried over to my side after she made some sort of hand gesture. "Where's the mother of the bride?"
I saw Renee's head bobbing in the throng of people and I chuckled slightly at her panicked expression. The lady gave her a look before leading her to my side, passing me a large bouquet of red roses. It felt ten pounds heavier than it actually was and I gulped. She smiled at me. "Good luck and congratulations, Isabella."
"I can't believe my little girl is getting married," Renee said. I fidgeted and I felt Charlie do the same.
"Yeah," was all I could say.
The double doors opened and two little girls, the flower girls, made their way forwards, digging their little hands into some baskets and throwing white petals in the air. It became harder and harder to breath as less and less people stood in front of me. I felt Charlie hook my arm around his.
"Bella –"
"I love you too, Dad."
I didn't realize it was our turn to walk down the red isle until I heard Charlie's sharp intake of breath. The melody that filled the air immediately turned softer as I crossed the threshold.
"Oh, it's so beautiful," Renee breathed.
At first, I kept my eyes down to make sure I didn't trip over anything. I was well aware the guests couldn't see me anyway because of the veil. Charlie allowed us a short pause in the doorway and, when I heard the collective sound of people standing, I looked up. My cheeks colored at the attention and I took in the decorations of the church.
The church was familiar to me; I had gone here a few times to hear the Sunday preaching. In my time here in Forks, however, I had never seen it like this. The church always had an old town charm, but never the regal air it portrayed now.
My eyes started to get blurry and I could barely make out three women in red on the left side, and four men in black tuxedos on the right a few feet in front of me at the altar.
Left foot, then right, then left.
Charlie had a smile plastered on his face as he guided me down the isle. Renee was smiling prettily at everyone. When my vision cleared, we were already standing before the vicar. I was about to ask what was happening when the vicar spoke.
"Who gives the bride away today?"
"Her mother and I do," Charlie said. He pulled on my hand a little so that I was partly facing him and he reached up to draw the veil off of my face. He kissed my cheek softly, gave me a smile before stepping aside for Renee.
"Bella," Renee said tearfully, kissing my cheeks. Charlie dropped the veil again and looked at someone behind me.
"Take care of her, Edward."
"I will, sir," a smooth, silky voice spoke. Charlie took Renee's arm and they both turned around. I watched them with a heavy heart. Suddenly, a cool hand was on my arm and I jumped, my heart feeling like it was about to burst out of my chest.
"Relax," Edward said softly, his head tilted closer to mines. In the back of my mind, I was aware this gesture would have looked incredibly sweet to anyone else watching. Unfortunately, it was anything but for me and I couldn't bring myself to look at him yet. My eyes were frozen on the small little man as he opened a small book in his hands and held out his arms.
"Welcome, everybody, to this great celebration. We are here to join Edward Cullen and Isabella Swan in the most joyful of all occasions: marriage."
I felt the blood rush out of my face and felt Edward send me a concerned look. I concentrated on my breathing.
Edward Cullen. His name was Edward Cullen.
That was the only thing I knew about the man I was about to marry.
It sounded like there was a roar in my ears. I shook my head slightly, feeling the veil brush against my shoulders. Suddenly, a warm shoulder pressed against mine.
"Are you alright, Isabella?"
I looked up and, for the first time, laid eyes on Edward. I had been doing breathing exercises only moments ago, but I was sure I forgot how to breathe. The man standing beside me was striking.
He had such a masculine air around him that it made me stare. In the back of my head, I was wondering how many drunken female guests would try to cop a feel at the reception. Just like every woman, my eyes dropped to his feet and slowly made their way up.
He was wearing shiny black leather shoes that looked new, and his legs were covered with black slacks. They led up to narrow hips and made way for a broad chest. The white dress shirt he wore under the tuxedo jacket hinted at a well-defined chest, emphasized by the red tie hanging around his neck. Finally, my eyes landed on his face.
His hair was between red and brown and was stylishly tousled, just long enough to graze his neck. Though he was paler than usual men, his skin tone complemented his facial features. His nose was straight – one that reminded me of carefully bred aristocrats – and his lips were full and slightly pink. I tilted my head, wondering if he was wearing lipstick too, when I caught sight of his eyes. They were green – an intense emerald green that I had never seen on anybody else. They were mesmerizing … and were full of amusement.
I looked away, cheeks redder than they had ever been today, and closed my slacken jaw. I could have sworn I heard him chuckle next to me. What a fantastic way to meet my future husband. Really.
"Will you, Isabella, take this man to be your wedded husband?"
I took a shuddering breath, my eyes going over to where Charlie was. His forehead was crunched and his mouth was in a frown. His eyes met mine and I nodded, turning back to the vicar.
"I do."
Charlie was my father. Though we weren't as close as some families, I did love him. Both of us were never comfortable showing emotion, especially to each other, but the incident right before the wedding was solid proof that we did care for each other even though we didn't say it in so much words.
While I wasn't directly needed in the wedding rites, I quickly went over what I read three days ago. We just finished the Declaration of Intent … Was it the Wedding Vows that came next?
Before I knew it, Edward took my hands in his and turned me slowly. His mouth was open; he was clearly saying something but I missed most of it. My eyes widened but he looked at me, giving me a small nod that anyone could have missed.
From somewhere beside me, I heard someone cough out, "Vows!"
"Oh!" I gasped. I heard some laughs from those in attendance but I trained my eyes on the spot between Edward's eyes, the words I had memorized days before spilling out of my mouth. "… to love and to cherish, till death do us part …"
I was still staring at the skin between his eyes when he dropped my right hand, squeezing it tightly before he did so, and I looked down at the platinum band he had in his hand. He let the ring hover over my left ring finger before sliding it on, the cool metal forcibly making me more aware of everything. I reminded myself to be more aware of my own wedding.
A ring was given to me and I took it, clenching my left hand into a fist before reaching across and taking Edward's. I swallowed the lump that had appeared in my throat.
"With my body I honor you, all that I am I give to you, and all I am I share with you. With this ring, I thee wed," I recited, the words coming out surprisingly even. I slipped the ring on his finger and was about to drop it, but he held on.
"By the power of your love and commitment, and the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife," the vicar said loudly. He motioned to Edward. "You may now kiss your bride!"
I was so preoccupied with everything else in the wedding that I never really thought about the end. I was vaguely aware of the flashes of light from some cameras as Edward reached up and pulled my veil over my head. My breath hitched in my throat as he bent his head.
"Relax," he whispered against my lips before leaning down further. His voice was deep and it would have soothed me in any other circumstance except this. My heart was hammering so loudly that I knew he could hear it. I was schooling my face not to show the disgust that I would surely feel. Kissing strangers was certainly not my definition of a good kiss.
Edward just pressed his lips against mine but I lurched forward against him without my conscious consent. There was something about his lips …
The kiss was uncertain, awkward, clumsy …
But it was addictive.
His lips froze underneath mine, but responded with enthusiasm a few seconds later.
To my horror, I felt like my bones were liquefying. The world certainly felt like it was spinning. Edward was pulling away from me, but my arm somehow found its way around his neck and tugged him closer, my lips on his again. His skin was cool, but it warmed me nonetheless and I melted against him
"For the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cullen!"
The loud whoops and whistles, combined with the lack of oxygen in my brain, made me aware that it was time to tear myself away from him. I was mortified; what must he think of me now? I just threw myself at him, never mind he was my husband!
But his lips were refusing to let go of mine. I felt him cup my cheek and I angled my face upwards to meet him easier. I felt like I was floating and falling through air at the same time.
I should have known …
I was lucky that Edward's arm was already around me because I was sure I would have cracked my skull open if I fell on one of the marble stairs.
Authors' Note: Please review! Constructive criticism is welcome.