Bella's POV

I pulled Alice behind me as I slowly began to fill the shopping cart. She groaned as we reached the entrance of every isle.

"Having fun?" I asked her teasingly.

She glared at me and walked over to the magazines, picking up multiple different ones a dropping them into the trolley. She seemed satisfied enough now that she had something she wanted. Sometimes Alice was like a toddler; easy to please but most of the time, a pain in the butt.

I was reaching out for a carton of milk when suddenly my phone rang. I gently pulled it out of my pocket and placed the cool metal against my ear.

"Hello?" I muttered, pushing the trolley further into the aisle just for something to do. I would come back and get the milk.

It was Jenny. She worked with me and she wanted to know where some paperwork was. I chatted to her for a while, aimlessly pushing my trolley along when suddenly it jerked to a stop.

I looked up into the eyes of my boss, a teasing expression on his face, holding the front of the trolley.

I said goodbye to Jenny and turned my full attention to him.

"You should look where you're going."

"Sorry Edward --- I mean Sir."

He frowned at me. "It's after hours, Bella. You can call me by my full name. I am your neighbour after all."

"Right, sorry." I blushed, embarrassed at what I had heard him doing before.

"Well, I guess ill see you tomorrow then. Bye" He turned on his heels and walked in the other direction.

I watched him go, and kept staring even after he had left. I wanted to talk to him more.

"Bella?" Alice called, waltzing down the aisle. I hadn't even noticed she had left. "What are you doing?"

I muttered a quick reply and continued with the shopping.

Eventually we reached the check out and I paid for the multiple groceries, my mind far away. It took the cashier three times before she got my full attention.

Alice helped me haul the bags to the car and we drove off back to the apartment block. We put the groceries away and I had some proper dinner.

After that, I was so tired I went straight to bed.

I groaned as my alarm went off, an annoying ringing sound. I had always hated it.

I pulled myself out of bed and into the shower, letting the hot water soothe me. Like usual, I let my mind wander to Edward.

I don't know why I thought about him all the time. It wasn't like he would ever take an interest in me. He had the most beautiful girlfriend. One glance at her and my self esteem was permanently damaged.

Time started to speed up and before I knew it, I was pulling into the office car park in my shitty little Toyota. Everybody else had nice cars, but I preferred to spend my hard earned money on something a little more worth my while.

I got into the lift and pressed the button for level fifteen. It hummed its way up to the floor and with a loud 'ding' the doors opened. I stepped into the warm office, said a quick hello to the lady at the front desk and sat down at my own desk.

"Good morning, Bella." Came a smooth velvet voice from behind me.

The shock made me jump in my seat, and then fall out. As I waited to hit the ground, two pale arms shot out and caught me. They stood me up straight and I held onto my chair for support.

I turned around and was intoxicated by the sweet scent of Edward. I blushed at him and stood up straight.

"I gave the paperwork from yesterday's meeting to Jenny, she wanted to finish it."

"I wasn't worried about the paperwork. I just came to say hello." He explained calmly as if my little accident never happened. He smiled.

"Well, hello." I said

"Hello." He drew his mouth into that adorable crooked smile and strolled gracefully back into his office, winking at me before shutting the door.

I sat down and took a deep breath.

I skipped lunch that day, wanting to catch up. Being Edward Cullen's personal assistant meant a lot of work.

Before I knew it, Edward was saying goodbye and hopping in the lift. I looked at the time: 6.30. He was leaving early.

I finished up the last bit of work and made my way to the car, hopping in and driving off. The sweet melody of Claire De Lune filled the car as the road disappeared under my tires.

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Edwards POV

Finally I reached the shabby apartment building, and took the lift up to my floor. I was about to put the key in the lock when I heard some commotion inside. I paused. Then a long moan travelled through the door. I recognised it as Rosalie.

A low grunt sound followed it.

I stood there, my eyes never leaving the door, listening to the horrible sounds coming from inside my home from my girlfriend and a man that wasn't me.

I turned and lent against the door, sliding to the ground gripping my knees with my arms. I sat there for a while before the elevator doors opened and somebody stepped out, I put my head in my hands hoping that whoever it was would leave me alone.

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Bella's POV

I shuffled out of the elevator and heard the doors close behind me. Making my way to my apartment I saw Edward on the floor leaning against his door, head in his hands.

"Edward?"

He looked up, a pained expression on his face. Then I heard it; the sounds coming from inside his house.

I rushed over to him. "I'm so sorry." I whispered.

"There's nothing you can do, Bella. Just go inside and forget this ever happened."

"And what will you do?" I asked, concerned

He placed his head back into his hands and sighed. "I don't know."

Looking around slowly I said "Come on. Get up. You can't just sit there."

Slowly he stood up. I walked over and opened my door, gesturing for him to go inside. I sat him down on the couch and plopped myself into the armchair.

He just sat there staring at the blank TV.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" I asked, breaking the silence.

He shook his head and went back to staring at the TV. I sighed quietly.

"Well, I'm going to make us some dinner. You should eat."

I got up quickly and started to walk towards the kitchen.

"Thankyou Bella."

I turned and saw Edward looking at me gratefully. "Anything for the boss."

I heated up some lasagne and filled two glasses of water, I was about to pour a third for Alice when the phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered

"Bella, it's me. Alice. Listen…" I heard her giggle and a playful growl in the background. "I'm going to stay at Jasper's tonight. So don't bother waiting for me."

"Yeah, Ok Alice. See you tomorrow." I hung up

I set the table silently and walked back into the living room.

"Dinner's ready." I stated

"I should charge in their and shout at her. And him, whoever he is." He ignored me.

Suddenly he got up. "Yeah, and take back my apartment."

He walked over to the door and without thinking I followed him out into the hallway. By now the sounds had stopped. He hesitated before taking out his key and turning the lock. I waited outside as he stepped in. I watched him through the door as he stalked angrily into the bedroom.

"Pardon me sir, but would you mind leaving?" He asked strained, but still polite. That's Edward for you.

"And who the fuck are you?" I heard a low voice reply.

"I am her boyfriend, and this happens to be my apartment." He stated

"What the fuck Rose?" The voice asked

There was silence.

"I SAID GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!" I heard Edward shout loudly. I could almost feel Edward's anger.

There was some shuffling and a loud thump. Then a tall well built man jogged out the door quickly giving me a strange look.

"What the fuck is this Rosalie?" He shouted

"Edward --- I just…"

"Just WHAT Rose? Just what? Just thought you might cheat on me? How long has this been going on?"

Silence again, I was about to turn around and walk away when Edward shouted again.

"How long has this been going on?" he shouted, pausing between each word.

"A month." Rosalie's voice was almost a whisper and I caught myself straining to hear.

"Get out." Edward snarled, the anger thick in his voice, yet I could still hear the pain. I could only imagine how he was feeling right now.

"I live here too, you know!" She shouted

"Yeah, and I fucking pay for it, for everything! Your fucking yoghurt is mine okay! Because I wasted my money on that shit, and you wouldn't even let me have some. You don't even have a fucking job. You just stay here all day and fuck some other loser while I'm working my ass off for you, Rosalie! It was all for you okay. And you know what, it wasn't fucking worth it. If you are not gone by tomorrow night then ill fucking make you leave!"

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Edwards POV

Rosalie was silent for a moment after my little outburst, but she seemed to gather her thoughts because she said: "Yeah and where are you going to go then?"

I paused. I wasn't actually sure. It only hit me at that moment that this was actually happening. Rosalie had actually cheated on me for a whole month. She didn't love me. I thrust my hand into my pocket and held onto the little black box.

"Anywhere but here."

"He can stay with me." Bella said as she stormed into the room, acting brave. I was going to tell her to get out and mind her own business but I needed some support and she was just the sort of person to give it.

"Who's this Edward? Your next little whore?" She spat, directed more at Bella than me.

My eyes narrowed and I directed all my rage at Rosalie. "How dare you." My voice was so frightening Bella's mouth dropped open. In that one moment, when she said that, I had never hated anybody as much as I hated Rosalie. How dare she say something like that to Bella? She didn't do anything; she was trying to help me!

I glared at her.

Rosalie was silent. I pulled out the black box and threw it at her. In mid air it opened and the diamond ring fell out of its case on the bed beside her. I grabbed Bella's hand and yanked her out of there, away from the hell hole that was my life. She didn't deserve this.

I stepped into the hallway with her and shut the door.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. For having you hear that. I should go, stay at a hotel or something." I was lying through my teeth. I wanted to stay with Bella; I knew I could count on her to keep me sane.

"Edward, you can stay at my place. Alice is spending the night at Jasper's; you can sleep in her bed. I just washed the sheets the night before, she fell asleep on the couch, so they're fresh." She said, almost as if she was begging me.

"Thankyou anyway Bella, but I don't want to intrude. I have caused you enough trouble as it is." It was the truth.

"Don't be silly." She grabbed my hand and dragged me to her door and let herself in. I followed her cautiously. I loved the homey vibe Bella's apartment gave off. She walked into the living room, her long brown hair swaying against her hips, her black skirt clinging tightly to her waist. I couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was.

She turned to look at me. "Are you going to have some of the dinner I made or what? It's heated up left overs but at least its food."

I smiled, remembering why I hired Bella in the first place. She was different from other girls; special. She didn't pry at other people's business, which I was thankful for.

I followed her into the kitchen and sat down at the wooden table and stared at the food. It looked so good.

"Eat up!" she smiled, attempting to be cheerful.

I grabbed my knife and fork and dug in, it was better than it looked. She was a great cook. Dinner was mostly silent, the odd comment about work would come up but that was mostly it. I watched Bella intently and she blushed when she saw me looking. I wanted to reach out and touch her beautiful cheek.

"So you wanted to marry her." She stated suddenly, out of the blue.

I was shocked by the question. Bella wasn't one to ask.

"Well, yes. That was before of course. I can't believe I was so stupid. I mean, I didn't even take the obvious signs. I never really noticed before how mean Rosalie can be….I thought I loved her. I really did."

Bella was silent, thinking.

"But, do you still love her? I mean: Can you? This might all blow over…" That was Bella, always thinking for others.

"I know, I thought I loved her. I realise now though that we are so different. I don't think I could handle being with her again." I really didn't. After what Rosalie did to me, I don't think I ever want to see her again. Why couldn't she have been more like Bella?

I thought the words before I had time to stop myself. Why had I just said that? The question rung through my head.

The rest of the meal was silent. Bella finished first, having the smallest serve. She got up and turned on the tap scrubbing silently away at the lasagne on her plate. I finished the rest of my dinner quickly and stood besides her, waiting for the sink. When she finished her plate she put it on the dish rack and took mine.

"You dry them."

I chuckled and stood on the opposite side of her, picking up the tea towel. In most seriousness though, I couldn't understand why I had thought that. Why wasn't Rosalie more like Bella? Why wasn't Rosalie Bella?

"Edward, I'm sorry if I was prying before." She whispered, bringing me back from the depths of my mind.

"It's okay Bella. Thank you for caring. Not a lot of people care about me anymore."

There was silence except for the running water and Bella scrubbing the plates. She glanced up at me and I smiled. Bella blushed and turned back towards the dishes.

"Why do you always do that?" I couldn't help myself. I was curious; why did she react like that?

"Do what?"

"Blush. All the time."

She blushed again. "I don't know. Just habit I suppose. I'm always clumsy, and I blush when I'm clumsy, which is very often so I suppose I just do it all the time." She went back to the dishes.

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Bella's POV

Soon we finished the dishes and decided to watch some TV. The only decent thing on was a movie, some mushy romance. I picked up the remote to change the channel, afraid for Edwards feelings when he stopped me.

"Leave it. I like this movie."

It was a good movie up until the end, when I cried. Edward chuckled at me and I scowled. His smile disappeared though when the couple got back together.

The movie finally came to an end and I got up.

"I think I'm going to go to bed. Uh, Alice's room is just around the corner and the bathroom is up the hallway past my room. There are fresh towels in the cupboard just outside. I can show you if you like. It is on the way."

"I think ill be able to find it. Ill take a shower in the morning if that's okay." Bella smiled.

"Sure. Well, goodnight boss. See you tomorrow." She said. I winked at her and strolled off towards Alice's room.

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Bella's POV

Once again I was woken to the sound of my alarm. I sat up. I had had an early night. With Edward. Edward! I stumbled out of the door only to fall into Edward himself. He caught me and chuckled.

I stood up and looked at his face.

"It's not funny." I scowled, but my mouth dropped when I looked down at him. He was wearing a tight white T-Shirt, showing off his perfectly toned body with a pair of stripy blue cotton boxers. He had a slightly sleepy look on his face and his bronze hair was messed and leaning a little to the side.

Edward seemed to have noticed me looking because he called my name, a smirk on his handsome face.

"Bella?"

I blushed and looked away.

"I was going to have a shower, did you want to go first?" he asked me politely.

"No, guests first. Ill go make some breakfast." I walked away quickly, trying not to think of Edward any more than I had too.

I scurried around the kitchen gathering the ingredients for my favourite: pancakes. I hoped Edward liked them. I listened to the shower running and Edward singing while they were in the pan.

The water stopped and I went back to the pancakes. About five minutes later, Edward walked passed the kitchen, past my room and into Alices; with only a towel wrapped around his waist. I was so preoccupied in him that I burnt one of the pancakes.

I finished them just as Edward came out; dressed in the same suit he wore yesterday. He yawned and sat down at the kitchen bench.

"Pancakes. Nice." He smiled and put his hands in front of him on the table while I placed the last pancake on the plate.

I put the plate in front of him and placed two sets of cutlery on the bench.

"Coffee?"

"Yes please." He replied, perfectly polite. I got out the plunger and hummed to myself as I made the coffee.

"Claire De Lune?" he asked

"Pardon me."

"That song you're humming. Is that Clair De Lune?"

"Yeah, it is. You know Debussy?"

"Of Course I know my favourites."

I smiled to myself and continued humming. "Me too."

When the coffee was done, I poured it into two mugs and sat down beside Edward. I looked over at his plate and realised he hadn't started yet.

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know."

"Yes I did."

Knowing I would lose, I put a pancake on my plate and started eating. He followed. He eyed me carefully all through breakfast, and then he helped me wash up when we were finished. Finally somebody knew how to do things around here.

We finished the dishes and I was about to hop in the shower when there was a knock on the door. I walked over to it, confused. Who would come knocking on the door at 6:52 in the morning?

I opened it to find a very tired looking Alice. She waltzed inside mumbling something about Panadol but stopped mid-thought when she saw Edward sitting in the kitchen.

"Good morning." He greeted her politely.

"Bella. Can I please talk to you? NOW!" she screamed

Edward looked taken aback, I muttered a quick 'excuse me' and headed into the living room.

"Alice!" I confronted her "What are you doing?"

"Bella! He's got a girlfriend. How could you! I mean, he is really cute but that doesn't mean you can go and do that!" she whispered back at me.

"Alice! Calm down, nothing happened. He just broke up with her and needed a place to stay. Because you were at Jaspers I let him sleep in your bed, I couldn't just leave him. She cheated on him Alice, and he found out."

She scowled at me. "Fine. But you're washing my sheets." She stormed off into her bedroom and I heard her mumbling things to herself, probably about Edward using her room.

"I wash them anyway." I muttered to myself after she was gone.

She came out a few minutes later, fully dressed and headed out the door.

I walked over to Edward. "I'm really sorry about that. She's a bit protective and usually she has a change of clothes at Jaspers."

I gave him an apologetic smile.

"Don't worry about it Bella. Ill be out of your way by tonight. Thankyou so much for your hospitality."

I didn't want him to leave.

I faked a smile and headed off to the bathroom. I turned on the shower and undressed. I hopped in, letting the hot water soothe me and send me into a sort of trance. When I was finished I got out, dried off and wrapped a towel around me.

I stepped out of the bathroom and into my room. I grabbed my business skirt from out of the wardrobe and slid it on, picking up a silk frilly shirt, slid it on and tucked it into the skirt. I waltzed back into the bathroom and put on some makeup before heading into the front room, grabbing my bag, keys and purse.

"Ready?" came a voice from behind me. I turned around to face Edward staring at me intently. I realised there were more buttons on my shirt than I thought. The open space was showing a bit much of my black lacy bra. I turned quickly and did the rest of the shirt up.

Edward looked embarrassed. I smiled at him and opened the front door. We walked towards the elevator in silence and I held my breath as we went past his apartment.

I pressed the elevator button and we waited for it to arrive. We got inside and soon enough we reached the car park.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at work then." I mumbled incoherently, walking over to my car.

Edward put his hand on my shoulder and my heart beat faster at the physical connection. "You should come in m car. It makes no sense to take two, and I need you to run over my schedule for today, if that's okay."

"Uh, sure. I guess."

We got into his car and he turned up the heating. Quickly I pulled out my black folder and opened it up to today.

"Right." I began. "Uhh…there's another meeting today with Aro," He scowled. "Umm…and then lunch with Rose—oh. Shit, I'm sorry."

"Keep going." He answered dryly, in an attempt to hide his emotions.

"Right…then your dry cleaning needs picking up and you have to finish off some paperwork and you're free to go home"

He sighed. "And what about you, Bella? What's on your schedule today? Working your but off for me?"

"No…I have to do some paperwork for today's meeting and pick up your dry cleaning." I answered. I wasn't really sure where he was going with this.

"I'm sorry Bella. I just…"

I waited for him to continue but he never did. We reached the tall building and he pulled into a parking space, or should I say his parking space. A small silver plaque lay on the wall in front of me.

Edward Cullen

Chief Executive

I wish I had my own parking space. It would make life a hell of a lot easier. He got up as I was gathering my stuff. He walked over and opened the door for me. I got out

"Thanks."

We walked together once again in silence towards the building and hopped in the elevator. We both reached towards the button at the same time and his hand touched mine. I pulled away quickly and he pressed the button.

The elevator let out a loud ding and the doors opened into the familiar office building. I looked up to see everyone staring, not at me but at Edward. He frowned and walked over towards his office.

"Bella, could you please tell me when to meet with Aro." And with that he shut the door. I stood there blank for a moment before Jenny came up to me and pulled me to my desk.

I smiled at her gratefully and took out my iPod. The music blasted through my ears and I sat down in my chair.

Okay, I know this story isnt really getting interesting...yet. I have much more in store, but please review.

For me?

Cat. xx