The Wrong Kind of Monster…In-law Contest

Title: Undisclosed Secrets
Name: randommama
Pairing: Edward & Bella
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot rights to this story. Stephanie Meyer owns everything Twilight.

For additional contest entries, please visit: www (dot) Fanfiction (dot) net/u/2326991/Monster-In-Law_Contest

A/N: I always have to give many, many thanks to my wonderful beta, Cheermom, who continually allows me to bombard her life with stories to edit and revise. She always finds time for me, no matter what she has going on in her busy life, even if it means having to spend late nights doing her beta duties—that's how much I intrude on her life. She always manages to give me 110%. She doesn't mind that I'm literally a contest h00r, and actually finds that quite amusing about me, I think. So, basically, I love her lots!

When I said "I Do", I literally didn't realize that I was going to propel myself into my very definition of hell on Earth. Bella and I had come so far with our trust issues, and here I was now, deliberately lying and keeping secrets from her.

It pained me greatly to have to be so deceiving, and I agonized over it constantly, causing me to lose sleep. Of course, I did the best I could to hide my internal conflict from Bella. Occasionally, she'd get wind that something was seriously the matter, and I'd chalk it up to whatever seemed appropriate at the time, like a particularly bad day at work. It would temporarily appease her. I'm sure, by now though, she's noticed how awkward the recent family gatherings have been.

I never asked to be her family's gatekeeper of their secrets. I just accidentally stumbled upon them. It was a terrible habit of mine, and I really wished I could've prevented myself from finding out. Oh, the secrets they keep just to protect their precious Bella from the fuckery that is their lives. Believe me, I wished I had never known. It would have been better if I had never known.

I couldn't expose them, not if I valued my life any. They all personally threatened to kill me, and I don't doubt that they would. Bella, after all, was a mob princess, the daughter of one of the most notorious organized crime bosses, Charlie "The Don" Swan.

You would think I was safe, because I was Bella's husband, but I garnered no more loyalty towards me than any other average joe out on the street who dared double-cross them. The truth was, to them, I was dispensable. Bella may become heartbroken with my passing, and granted they'd feel some sympathy towards her, but in time, she would heal and probably find someone new. Then the family could terrorize whomever the next unlucky man would be to fall in love with her.

It was bad enough coming to terms with the fact that her family was part of the mob, and that automatically meant a code of silence. Then I had to go and do something completely idiotic, even in my book, and uncover even worse secrets. On top of that, I actually let them know that I knew their secrets. Could I be any more stupid?

It wasn't like these were little secrets either. They were huge secrets, and every single one of Bella's family members had one, and kept it from her and each other all this time. I was the unfortunate one to have slowly uncovered them, one-by-one, and now am charged with taking them to my grave, which might actually occur sooner rather than later.

They were a formidable family. I certainly didn't want to do anything to get in their bad graces. However, if they didn't end up killing me because I knew their secrets, or accidentally spilled them, I may just die from a coronary. The stress of it all was beyond tolerable.

My anxiety about these secrets caused me a great amount of distress. The thought of them turned what should've been good sleep into a nightmarish event. Some days I was so gripped by paranoia, anxiety, and fear that I couldn't eat, concentrate, or function properly. I truly lived in a constant state of fear that these secrets were literally going to be the death of me. What was worse was that I had no one to share the burden of truth with. I couldn't share my information with anyone, not even my own family, since I didn't want to drag them into my plight. My family still didn't know that I was married to a mob daughter. When they met Bella's family, they figured that she came from ordinary, typical, suburban roots. Oh, how I wished that was true.

Of course, I reassured Bella's family that their secrets were safe with me, and would never go beyond myself. Besides, God forbid, the rest of the mob found out about their secrets. However, I feel strongly that Bella has a right to know. This is her family after all. Each of her family differed greatly with that opinion; they preferred otherwise, and strongly advised me to keep my mouth shut, which I have been doing. However, the burden was wearing on me. I seriously didn't know how much longer I could keep up with the deceit.

Bella should know that her parents were notorious porn stars in their younger days, that's how they met, and now they were kinky swingers, and that the brothers she's come to known and grew up with, Emmett and Jasper, may not actually be her biological brothers because of her parent's alternative lifestyle. They never struck me as possibly being related, to be honest.

Bella should also know about her psychotic sister, Alice, whom she never knew, that is actually housed in the mental facility in the city, with whom her father visits regularly. In fact, Emmett and Jasper, should know about her also.

Bella also has a right to know that her big bear of a brother, Emmett, isn't as manly as he seems. Emmett is one of the family's enforcers. He is huge, menacing, and quick on the draw with his gun. However, Emmett is actually a big drag queen that loves gay porn and frequents gay clubs. Of course, the mob, doesn't really look too kindly upon openly gay members, so it's important for Emmett to remain closeted; however, I think he should be able to be his true self with his family. Bella would understand; she has no prejudices.

Admittedly, it would be overwhelming for Bella to find out those secrets. As if they weren't bad enough, I still had one more secret I held, about her brother, Jasper.

Jasper, poised to follow in the footsteps of his father and brother, and join the ranks of the mafia, was already ahead of the criminal game. He moonlights as a male stripper, and what's even more incredible, subjects himself to male prostitution. Thank goodness, it was for a females-only escort service, or else he may have encountered his own gay brother on one of his jobs. My mind cringed at that thought.

Jasper, although rich enough through the family's mob money, was able to accumulate wads and wads of cash through these other means. If he wasn't careful, the mob might presume he was skimming off their take, and that wouldn't bode well for him. I doubt that he'd freely explain where the money came from. The mob didn't condone any of their own having outside sources of income that they didn't share with the rest of the group.

Like, I had said, I had stumbled on their undisclosed secrets quite by accident. I never meant to discover them.

Geez, I was already slightly connected to the mob, and all the secrets that entailed. That was a burden, in of itself, but I had to go ahead and add their personal secrets on top of it, and that made for a volatile situation.

For the most part, I kept my nose clean, and kept myself and Bella as far from that life as possible. I didn't want any hand in their dealings, and thankfully, they complied with my wishes to not be initiated into their way of life.

Apart from our basic knowledge, Bella and I truly had no idea of the nature of their businesses, what they involved themselves with, and who their associates were, save for the relatives. Our lack of knowledge served us well. If anything were to happen to the family, like our criminal justice system finally catching up with them, Bella and I wouldn't have to feign ignorance. We were really more or less oblivious.

Charlie made sure that we were kept as much in the dark as possible also. It was probably due more to the huge liability I posed, being a loose canon outsider. I'm sure they greatly preferred that I didn't know the intimate inner-workings of their operation. I was certainly glad to keep that way.

I found out all their secrets before Bella and I were even married. Crazily, I still went through with the wedding. That's how greatly I loved Bella. Not even the constant threat of death could keep me apart from her.

I innocently found out Jasper's secret first. He had approached me about helping him invest his newly found wealth. At first I refused, thinking that the money was blood-money from the mob, and I wanted nothing to do with it; however, he had reassured me that it wasn't at all what I thought it was, and that it was working income. I had only known Jasper to be working for the family, so I investigated a little, needing to prove the legitimacy of the money, and that's when I found out Jasper's other jobs. Once he got wind of my little investigation, I didn't deny that I knew. I really should've played dumb instead.

I found out Bella's parent's secrets when they were helping us get settled into the starter cottage that they gifted to us, which was going to be our new home after our honeymoon. The three of us wanted the cottage ready for when Bella and I returned from our island getaway, which meant moving us in beforehand. The in-laws forgot how much junk they had left in this old cottage. Old furniture, old files, and boxes upon boxes of memorabilia and heirlooms had to be removed and taken care of.

During one of our clean-up days, I picked up a box, vaguely marked as movies, and was proceeding to move out of what was meant to be our master bedroom. The box was heavy and improperly taped, so the bottom fell out, causing all the movies to spill forth. Little had I known that the movies were actually copies of old pornographic films that the in-laws had kept. Low and behold, Bella's parents were even on some of these covers, both individually and together, in all their naked, porn star glory.

My eyes had bugged out from the sight, and my stomach turned from having seen in graphic detail, what a future son-in-law should never see of his future in-laws. It was too late, however, as the images were permanently emblazoned in my mind. I would've given anything to pour bleach down my head and erase such vomit-inducing visions.

The in-laws didn't miss my fumbling with the box, and after they realized I had already seen what I was never meant to see, they had no choice but to confess and be open about their life before the children. They were absolutely certain that Bella was theirs together; however, not so much the boys. They were even more candid then I would've liked, going on to explain about Alice.

Instead of finishing the move, we had spent the rest of the day in disturbing conversation. A conversation I wished I was not a part of, and one that I was ordered not to breathe a word of. Of course, again, it didn't occur to me to feign ignorance about the contents of the box.

After that point, I thought I was done with dealing with the secret lives of Bella's family. I was already troubled with what I had found out thus far, and what I was forced to keep secret from Bella, that it was interfering with my personal relationship with Bella.

Bella attributed my sudden change in behavior with feeling tense about our upcoming nuptials. In a way, she was partially correct. I had no doubt in my mind that I wanted to marry her and spend the rest of my life with her. I just had reservations about the family I was marrying into.

To help curb my stress, Bella arranged for a guys' night out before the wedding. Admittedly, since getting engaged to Bella, I hadn't had the time to spend some quality time with my male friends. It wasn't a bachelor party, that was to come later, but just a night where I could relax with buddies and not have to worry about the mob, the secrets I had to keep, or the wedding craziness that was surrounding me.

One of my friends, Mike, was a homosexual, and he thought it would be fun to give us a little insight into his gay world. By that time, the rest of the guys and I, had already downed a few beers at the bar, and were game for some added entertainment. Mike took us to the hangout he frequented, and it was some place. It was like Studio 54 meets Priscilla of the Desert. I had never been there before, because, frankly, I was a straight man. Unfortunately, that was where I also ran into my future brother-in-law, Emmett. I must've done something terrible in my past life, because right then, karma was a bitch laughing at me.

Emmett was all decked out in what I could only describe as a leather cat-suit outfit, skin-tight on his large frame, complete with high-heeled, spiky stilettos, whip, too much make-up, and a wig that screamed Red Light District whore. He was a sight for sore eyes, literally seeing him dressed that way physically hurt my eyes.

I could've played the whole incident off, pretended that I didn't recognize that it was Emmett; however, again, I made it obvious that I knew him, just by the look in my eyes. It was just as well, I was already a little tipsy and probably would've done a terrible acting job anyways.

As soon as it dawned on him that I recognized who he was, when we bumped into each other in one of the crowded corridors of the club, he immediately took me outside into the back alleyway of the club, produced a small 9 mm pistol from the double D cup bra he was wearing, and aimed it at my head. I had never had a gun aimed directly at me before, so you could imagine that Emmett gave me the fright of my life.

I spent the next few minutes talking him down from shooting me dead on the spot, citing whatever reasons my racing mind could come up with. To be honest, it really wouldn't have been prudent to shoot his beloved sister's fiancée' just a week before the wedding. He finally relented on thinking about killing me, but then I had to spend the next few minutes convincing him not to shoot the other men I had come to the club with, who incidentally were all supposed to be groomsmen in the wedding. I don't think Bella would've approved if my groomsmen were suddenly absent from the wedding due to their sudden, mysterious deaths.

Emmett certainly needed to protect himself. He couldn't have word of his alternative life style leak past the club doors. I assured him that none of the other guys had seen him yet, nor would even recognize him come wedding time if they had. It was the truth. Half the guys were already pretty hammered. I doubt that they would've remembered, in detail, an experience such as the gay club.

Emmett was stubborn, but eventually was satisfied not to use his gun that night. I was relieved to know that I saved not only my own life, but the life of six others. Again, my mind was to erase that the incident ever happened.

My in-laws never failed to impress upon me that I should keep their secrets out of obligation to them, since they begrudgingly condoned me marrying Bella. I was grateful for their approval. Frankly, they could have said "no", and I would have to let Bella go. I wasn't necessarily the new family member they wanted. I'm sure they would've preferred Bella to find her mate within the organization. Even after we had been together for a while, her family still tried to play matchmaker for Bella with available guys within the mafia families. Bella wasn't interested. Thank fucking God! Because they loved Bella and they could see how much she loved me, they gave up on trying to pair her with others and allowed our union. In a way, I owe them a debt of gratitude for that. They could've very easily just killed me to get me out of the way. So, I felt that I had no choice but to remain silent about all that I had found out.

As much as I'd like to have forgotten these secrets, instead they plagued me. Having to lie to Bella about yet another thing weighed heavily on my mind. My moral upbringing also didn't help matters. It was simply wrong of me to keep anything from Bella. I didn't think she kept any secrets from me, not after what we had gone through before, with her initially keeping the truth from me about her mob family.

I was growing wary of the secrets. The in-laws kept dragging me deeper into their sordid lives, even going as far as having me cover for them with Bella.

They knew I was growing wary also. They could probably see it on my face and in my actions. The Swans were nothing, if but observant. They were waiting to pounce, ready for me to crack. I think living with that knowledge was more agonizing than dealing with the secrets themselves.

At our wedding, as I stood at the altar, finally exchanging my vows with my Bella, I could feel their glares boring into me. The four sets of eyes were piercing, as if they wanted their glares to penetrate right through me, leaving huge gaping holes in my flesh, and it wasn't exactly making me comfortable. I knew they were all silently communicating to me that I better keep my promises, or else Bella was going to be a young widow, soon after she exchanged vows. I tried to block it out as best as I could.

On the outside, I was the picture of nothing but happiness and calm, whereas on the inside, I was an anxiety-filled mess. I concentrated heavily on reciting my vows from memory, keeping my frame even and steady, and my face showing nothing but my deep and profound love for my Bella, as I didn't want to cause her any alarm.

It was her wedding day, and all she needed to think about was looking more beautiful than I'd ever seen her before, being the center of attention which she loathed but had to tolerate, and showing her profound love for me by agreeing to be my wife. Nothing else should have mattered.

I couldn't say that it was the most enjoyable of weddings. I, and the rest of the Swans, had quite the awkward interactions. Emmett, Jasper, and Bella's parents, each separately pulled me aside to warn me that I needed to behave, and remain in their good graces by keeping quiet about their secrets, or it was the end of the road for me. I tried to not let them get to me. I don't believe I had done a good job showing that, however.

The Swans were rightfully panicking about our impending time away from their watchful eyes. When we left for our honeymoon, they could no longer monitor me. They were afraid that my conscience would get the better of me and lay it all out for Bella, especially now that she was my wife. Who knows what could come stumbling out of my mouth in the throes of passion?

I, of course, had to reassure them once more that I gave them my word that I would keep their secrets, and that I was following through. Believe me, the last thing I wanted to think about was them when I was on my honeymoon with my hot, sexy, new wife.

I had made it through the wedding unscathed, and without Bella sensing any tension between her family and me. I was looking forward to boarding that plane and getting away from the family drama.

It was a blissful two weeks on the island where we went for our honeymoon, it served as an escape for me. The Swans really had nothing to worry about, as they were never a topic of conversation. In fact, Bella and I did very little talking while we were there. We were rather preoccupied with each other, making love as much as we had energy for. We hardly managed to leave our little beachside bungalow, although there was the two days before we were scheduled to leave that we figured we should fit in some sightseeing. It would've been a sham to have gone to such a beautiful island getaway and have only seen the inside of our bungalow.

Of course, the escape from the Swans, the secrets I held, and the constant fearing for my life came crashing back all too quickly, when we returned back to our hometown of Forks. The secrets and the rest of the Swans continual fear of exposure always hung in the air like a suffocating python. The close scrutiny and the anxiety they caused me was stifling. It led to where we were currently, my relationship with Bella being poisoned, because I didn't have the inclination to even socialize with my in-laws lately, and that bothered Bella a great deal. If she only knew the reasons why, then she wouldn't blame me, I don't think.

I wanted to stop deceiving Bella about all I knew about her family. Admittedly, I knew that it would cause problems for me if I did, since I had been blatantly lying to her for months. No woman, especially not Bella, would look too kindly upon that treachery. Even when she started getting suspicious, as I gradually grew withdrew from her family and retreated from any family interactions, I still avoided telling the truth.

To make it easier on everyone involved, I asked Charlie and Renee, Emmett, and Jasper to just come clean with Bella. I knew that she would be understanding about all their secrets. She definitely wouldn't appreciate the deception, but I felt that she would get over that after some time.

Bella loved her family dearly; she wouldn't let their indiscretions get in the way of her relationship with them, at least not for too long. It may be a bumpy road initially, after all of the truth comes out, but the minor sacrifice would be worth it in the end. We'd all be free of the secrets. We'd all stop with the insanity and the threatening of my life, and start anew on a clean slate. Unfortunately, none of the other Swans, echoed my sentiments. If anything, I gave them more reason to dislike me and want me dead.

I struggled to maintain some sense of composure throughout my hellish existence. It wasn't easy living with the disapproval of those close and dear to my wife, but it was ten times worst knowing that I could meet my end at their hands, over something as silly as secrets. It really led me to live such a guarded life.

Tonight, Bella arrived home, after having spent time with her family again at another one of the family's famous mob parties, for which I gracefully declined to accompany her. The more I stayed away from the Swans, the better off I'd be, I figured.

I had been busying myself getting us prepared for our upcoming trip. It would be our first vacation away together, since our honeymoon nearly a year ago, and I had specifically planned the trip to once again escape the pressures of being the son-in-law to Charlie Swan. I figured running away with my Bella was a good way of dealing with the stress I experienced on a regular basis due to my "monster" in-laws.

I don't know exactly what happened at the party, but Bella came home in some kind of mood. She didn't want to talk about it. Instead, she chose to jump my bones.

I could never resist a frisky Bella. She had a predatory gleam in her eye when she proceeded to get us naked and to the bedroom as quickly as possible. We almost didn't make it to the room, and actually stopped short of getting to the bed. We collapsed on our bedroom floor in a tangle of limbs, proceeding to fuck like we had never fucked before. It wasn't just sex, and we certainly weren't making love. It was raw, animalistic, and Bella seized control mid-way.

Bella was like someone else and the sex was something else. I had never seen her so dominant and feral. She wanted me to push harder, thrust faster, give it to her rougher. It was almost punishing on both of our bodies. Admittedly, it was amazing sex, not that normal sex with Bella wasn't also fantastic. This was just a different type of amazing. After making our bodies weary with our efforts, and Bella coming a couple of times before already, we climaxed in a mutual release. I came with such a powerful force that it caused Bella to experience another orgasmic high.

Undoubtedly, the hot sex with Bella, helped ease a lot of the tension I had been feeling of late. I let all my worries and frustrations slide off of me. It felt good to be completely relaxed for once.

I grabbed the blanket from the bed, and draped over it over us. We just laid there in companionable silence for a time, basking in our post-coital glow. Again, it was bliss.

I should've known, though, that my bliss wasn't meant to last. Reality hit back quickly, snapping me out of my sex-induced high.

Bella grabbed my face, forcing me to look intensely into her eyes. Her brown depths were heated, but not in a sexual manner. She was angry; more angry than I had ever seen her before.

"So, Edward. When were you planning to tell me that you were keeping secrets from me about my family?" Bella stated calmly, but there was a coldness to her voice.

I just looked at her completely stunned and speechless. I swallowed the huge lump in my throat that formed. I was in big trouble!

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