I'm glad that a lot of you are being so nice and giving this story a chance. I can't give away too much, but I can tell you right now that Catholics do not believe in divorce. It says in the bible that if a man divorces a woman and then marries another, he is committing adultery. When my uncle got divorced, his Catholic parents (my grandparents) were so upset that they are now basically estranged. It's sad.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter and leave me some feedback.

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"Bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do." –Colossians 3:13 13

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Bella Cullen

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen." I did the sign of the cross and then squeezed my eyes shut so that I wouldn't cry as I continued to pray. "Lord Jesus, I am sorry for my sins, I renounce Satan and all his works, and I give you my life. I accept you whom I've just received in communion. I now receive and accept you as my personal Lord and my personal Savior, and as we just prayed, fill us with Your Holy Spirit. Amen." Tears trickled down my cheeks despite my attempts to stop them. I ran my fingers across the crucifix next to Edward and my bed.

"I saw you."

I jumped when I heard Edward's voice, and whirled around to see him leaning in the doorway of our bedroom. He was still wearing his church clothes, black pants and a light blue shirt. "I saw you." He repeated, and I flinched at the fierceness in his voice instead of the usual kindness. "You and Jacob." Edward paused, running one of his hands through his reddish brown hair. "I can't believe you, Bella. You are my wife, and you have dishonored God and this entire family with your actions."

My eyes flooded with more tears, and I bit my lip. "I'm sorry." I whispered, but Edward just looked angrier.

His jaw clenched and he stepped closer to me, and I shirked back slightly. But Edward gripped me by the wrist and pulled me up off the bed. "You're despicable, Bella. You cannot apologize for something that you haven't even confessed to. Tell me. Tell me how long you've been disgracing God like this." I continued to cry and Edward frowned, pushing me up against the wall. "Tell me, Bella." He said sharply, squeezing my wrist even more tightly. "I deserve to know. Explain your sins to me! Can you even bear to speak of them?"

"I'm so sorry." I continued to cry. "It's been going on for months…I don't love him, I love you." I professed.

Edward squeezed his eyes shut as I continued to cry. He started to say something else, but we were interrupted. "Mommy?" Rachel stood in the doorway of our bedroom, her eyes widening as she took in the sight before her. Edward slowly released his grip on my wrists and slowly stepped back away from me as I rubbed my sore wrists. "What's going on?" Rachel asked haltingly, looking between Edward and me.

"Nothing's wrong, baby. Go do your homework." I said softly as Edward and I continued to stare at each other. Edward's chest was rising and falling rapidly, and the pendant of Saint Raphael, the archangel believed to be the patron saint of healing, was moving along with it.

"I have to go to work. I have a night shift tonight." Edward finally said, refusing to look at me. I kept my back against the wall and my eyes trained on the floor as Edward moved around the room, putting on his scrubs and getting ready for work. Tears continued to run down my cheeks, and Edward eventually walked over to me and curled his long fingers under my chin, forcing me to look at him. "If you repent before God…I might be able to forgive you for this. Serve your penance and…" He swallowed heavily. "Never see Jacob Black ever again."

I nodded quickly, gulping down air. "I promise, I promise. Edward, I never meant to hurt you." I whispered, but Edward left the room without saying anything else. I stayed pressed against the wall, closing my eyes and breathing heavily as I tried desperately to regain my composure.

"Mom?" I opened my eyes to see Rachel in the doorway again, walking towards me slowly. "Mommy, are you okay?" She asked hesitantly, her voice sweet and innocent.

Taking several more gulps of air I nodded my head and held my arms out to my daughter. "I haven't been a very good person lately, Rachel." I told her softly, running one of my hands through Rachel's long brown hair. "I hurt your daddy." I explained, not wanting her to know the entire truth.

Rachel was silent for a moment, pressing her face into my stomach as she put her arms around me. "Are you going to talk to the priest?" She finally asked, looking up at me curiously. "You and daddy always tell me that I have to tell Father Michael when I do something wrong."

"Yes, baby, I have to go to the priest." I said in a low voice, trying to stop my tears. "I definitely did something wrong." Looking at the clock on the wall, I leaned down and kissed the top of Rachel's head. "Get into bed, okay? I'll be in later to tuck you into bed." I said, ushering her out of the room. Rachel did as I said, dutifully leaving the room and closing the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, I collapsed onto my bed and closed my eyes, not wanting to move as I was crushed by my guilt and sin.

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Edward Cullen

I was silent as I stitched up a patient. Night shifts in the ER were always busy, and usually I was counting down the hours until I could go back home to Bella and our children. But not tonight. I was too angry, too sickened, and too ashamed. My wife, the woman I placed all my love and trust upon, the woman who I thought shared all my views, had betrayed me by doing the unthinkable.

Adultery. It hurt to even think the word, let alone what that word entailed. My wife, my Bella, had been with another man intimately. I blinked rapidly, trying to put all my attention onto my patient as I stitched up her knee. She was four years old, the same age as my son Noah, and she was so much quieter. She had fallen off of her bed and cut her knee open on the corner of her dresser, and she had yet to shed a tear. She just watched me with wide eyes as I carefully placed the five stitches.

"All done." I said quietly, looking up at my young patient and forcing a smile. "You were so brave, I'm proud of you." I said, picking her up so she wouldn't have to hop down off the bed. After getting everything settled with her, I had a moment to myself. And I hated it.

Thinking back to earlier this night, I was disgusted with both Bella and myself. She had done terrible, sinful things, but I had hurt her, something I had sworn to never do. We were both in the wrong. Closing my eyes briefly, I whispered out a quick prayer under my breath. "Faultless Lord, enduring death for me, you have consummated the debt of my sins: Your sacrifice of forgiveness was absolute. Grant me the strength to also forgive others, to excuse their transgressions against me. So I may truly reflect this spiritual fruit, Obliterate any persistent feelings of malice. Let each trespass end as a closing chapter, my continuing on the road of righteousness. Forgive my sins as I aspire to forgive others. You are truly archetypical of forgiveness." Taking a deep, shaky breath, I ran my hands through my hair before pinching the bridge of my nose between my thumb and index finger.

My faith called for forgiveness. If Bella confessed, repented, and was honestly apologetic, I should be able to forgive her. But will I be able to? I have never felt so hurt and betrayed and dishonored. I had never expected Bella to do something like this. She and I had been so alike in our faith. We had promised to love and to cherish each other in the eyes of God, and we had built our lives and our family on our strong Catholic faith. My wife had broken one of the Ten Commandments, and it cut me straight to the core.

I did not get done with my shift in the ER until eight o'clock the next morning. I practically had to drag myself back home and when I arrived, the day had already started. Just as I walked up the sidewalk to the house, Sarah, Rachel, and Abigail were trudging out of the house, holding their lunchboxes and book bags. Bella stood in the doorway with Evangeline in her arms, watching them go. I quickly kissed my daughters on the forehead as they hurried off to the bus stop, and then stood on the sidewalk for a moment, staring at Bella.

Her brown eyes were rimmed in red and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was staring at me evenly. "Are you coming inside?" Bella finally asked, and I wordlessly walked into the house. There were three children in the room, plus Delilah and Noah, who I kissed and hugged before walking into the bedroom. Bella was fast on my heels, but I turned around in the doorway to stop her.

"Bella, please, give me space." I said in a firm voice, and she fell back. I kissed her on the temple and then stroked Evangeline's cheek before walking into our bedroom and closing the door behind me.

That night before the children went to bed, Bella asked to do the reading from the bible. We sat stiffly next to each other on the couch, and things were almost painful at this point. I could hardly look at my own wife.

"Colossians." Bella said softly, and then started to read. I paid attention during the reading, trying to find an answer from the word of God. What was I supposed to do?" Bella continued to read, and my heart thudded at the last line of scripture. "Bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do."

I was supposed to forgive her, but I didn't know how.

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Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie