DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property to the respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Meyer (and Wicker Park). No copyright infringement is intended.

February 14, 2014

2:15 PM

Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois

I was going to give Jasper some bullshit excuse about forgetting a belonging of mine back at the hotel, but Kate exited the restaurant and ruined my plans of a quick escape. I cursed under my breath. It irritated me to see her there.

My fiancée.

The one reminder that my life without Bella continued.

I regretted every second of those days now, and was pissed at myself for not trying harder to bridge the gap. How far was Paris anyway? No amount of money or irrational fear should've gotten in my way of having what I wanted, but I was a young man and in love for the first time. My pride did me in. It kept me in Chicago; too stubborn to go chasing after her. She left me without so much as an explanation or goodbye. This woman, who grabbed my heart and fucking squeezed it, caused a pain that was irreversible. Being angry at her, fucking hating her, was far better than the alternative.

No, I refused to let her beat me down and opted for denial, but I couldn't stay here in Chicago. I needed to get the fuck on.

God knows Bella did.

Besides, if I continued to smell that damn perfume of hers in my house and see the mirage of her on these streets, I was going to blow God damn my brains out. It was a desperate jump from a broken man.

Moving forward and away from this city, these memories of her, was difficult, but I did it. But now the aftermath of my decisions was staring at me with these big blue eyes. Kate was the polar opposite of everything Bella was, and maybe that was why I sought her out.

Now I felt trapped.

This whole thing we had was a mistake. I was an idiot, knowing damn well that I should have never got involved with her. But I was alone and needed a distraction from the truth.

And after some time, it became a well established and elaborate lie. My words were carried no weight, telling her day after day how much she made me happy. It was only on the surface…this happiness. I had no idea what it meant anymore, but she believed me and my tepid touch.

Hell, even I convinced myself the shit I was spinning was the truth. It got me to put a ring on her finger.

"Edward…honey," Kate's voice was high, whiny, and not as low or sensual as Bella's, "is everything all right?"

I stared down at the diamond. It was massive; something I'd bought not because I felt it suited her, but because the store clerk said it was the best. The best…wasn't the best anymore. Kate wasn't the best.

I'm a bastard.

"Um, can you," I glanced back and forth between the confused faces of Jasper and Kate, "excuse me for…?"

The sentence wasn't out of my mouth before I was fleeing back inside and rushing to the phone booth where Bella was last seen. The scent of her was gone outside. She was slowly fading away. I couldn't let that happen.

Not again.

The desperation had taken the last bit of my sanity.

Pulling the door open, I shut it behind me and locked myself in the small confines of the four glass walls. Leaning against it, I inhaled her as deep as I could. It was sweet and floral. It was the same as I remembered three years ago. Nothing had changed. It was her…

My Bella.

She would dance around me and the air would be saturated in that scent. I would watch her move elegantly around my apartment as I took pictures. She was my muse. All the beauty in this world lied within her. I was lucky enough to capture it…even if it was for a brief moment in time.

Tap, tap, tap. "Edward! Are you in there?"

My eyes snapped open and my whole body went rigid. Kate was at the door, heavy concern in her voice, but I doubt any of it was for me. My plane for China leaves in an hour, and Kate's father was depending on me to close the deal. It was a huge opportunity for us—for them. If my efforts were successful in landing the account overseas, the Advertising Agency I worked for would expand exponentially, and I would be promoted to Vice President.

It was something that I worked my ass off to get, but I wondered if part of the reason for this break was because I was about to marry the boss's daughter. That was the whispers around the office. I tried to ignore it, but fuck it, they were right.

More tap, tap, tap. "Edward?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." I bit the inside of my mouth. She couldn't leave me alone for one minute. "I'm just making a call." And then I pretended to pick up the phone.

"Don't you have your cell on you?"

Shit!

I wanted to bash my head in with the receiver. This was 2014, who in the fuck uses pay phones these days? I smiled, knowing only one person who would relish in the thought of being old school. But Kate was still knocking on the fucking glass and I knew my time was up. Standing straight, I turned to walk out when a newspaper caught my eye. It was folded on the shelf below the phone. I picked it up and a key card fell out to the floor.

The Drake Hotel.

This was my first bread crumb. A long shot, granted, but it was better than roaming all over the city shouting out her name. The sad part about that, I was pathetic enough to do it.

"Edward…"

I shoved the key card into my breast pocket of my jacket and slid the door open. Kate had her fist raised, poised to knock one more fucking time. Again, I forced my best smile and greeted her with a kiss on the forehead. She seemed perplexed by my sudden affection. I wasn't that guy who enjoyed PDAs, and the last time I'd ever kissed someone in public was Bella. The last day I'd seen her. It had to be bad luck.

"Are we ready?"

Kate nodded slowly; still unsure of me and the tight grip I had on her hand. "The car is outside and Daddy has already paid for the check."

February 14, 2014

3:20 PM

Chicago O'Hare Airport

Bessie Coleman Drive, Chicago, Illinois

"You go there and knock em' dead, Kid. I trust you." Mr. Whitlock gave me a pat on the back. It was a last minute pep-talk, one I am not sure I even needed.

We've been hammering out the details for the past three weeks, what I would say and what point I would stress, but none of that shit mattered. It all depended on if Mr. Wong and company were interested in what I was selling. My ideas had little bearing on the outcome of this deal.

At this point, it was patronizing. Don't fuck it up was his general message.

I nodded and said, "I'll do more than my best, sir."

"I know you will." He gave another hard pat and a half-hearted smile. That was all. He got back into his limo and dialed up his stockholders. Money was about to come pouring in.

Jasper was more my speed, wishing me luck and actually meaning it. The best thing about marrying Kate was having him as family. I'd met him first in the line of Whitlocks when I applied for the job at his father's advertising company. It was our friendship that got me the interview, and then later, it was my relationship with Kate that got me hired as the lead executive in all the international accounts.

Was I lucky or cursed?

Either way, I didn't want to know.

"Thanks, man." I held up the newspaper left in the booth by Bella. "I've got something to do for the next fourteen and a half hours."

Kate laughed. "I don't think you'll be awake that long, sweetie."

It took me awhile, a lot longer than it should, to understand her meaning. Right before I went to the bathroom and heard Bella, Kate had handed me a sleeping pill to help me relax on the flight. It was a well known fact how much I hated flying. I was grateful for the gesture and swallowed it down without a second thought.

Now, like every other decision in my life, I regretted it.

"Well," I shifted my bag over my shoulder and took a step closer to TSA, "I better get going then."

Jasper said goodbye and headed out towards the waiting limo. It was Kate who stayed behind and followed me towards the gate. I sped through the terminal, and her heels clacked on the floor as she tried to keep up.

When we couldn't go any further, I turned around and looked at her one last time. She wore a black coat and pulled her blonde hair back into a tight bun. There was nothing colorful about her, maybe besides her lips. The red hue washed out her skin. Kate was a beautiful girl. I always thought so. But I couldn't dispel the memory of brown eyes and yellow scarves.

"So," I stuck my hands deep in my pockets and tilted back, already creating distance, "I guess this is it."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

It was barely convincing, even by my standards, but she never questioned it.

"Call me when you get there." She touched my cheek with her hand and it felt unnatural.

"Okay."

"I love you."

I've said it a million times to her, and I know at one point I've truly meant it, but like her touch, saying it now felt unnatural. It was a second, a long hesitation on my part, and all I managed to do was whisper it back. The kiss to her lips sealed the deal. Maybe it was a final goodbye, I didn't know what I was doing, but all I knew was my feelings for her and this life had changed.

"Bye." She waved, her eyes following me down the escalator until a solid concrete blocked her view.

I sighed. The extra pressure of acting like the man she knew was taken off my shoulders.

As soon as I reached the bottom floor, I went back up. My flight left in forty-five minutes, but I wasn't going to be on it. I glanced down at my watch and calculated the time in my head. It would be early morning in China and someone was bound be in the office by now.

Four rings later.

"Hi, yeah, I was just calling to let you know Edward Cullen won't be making the meeting with Mr. Wong tomorrow." I pushed open the door to the cold Chicago wind. "Cullen. C-U-L-L-E-N." My eyes searched for a cab on the busy streets when I saw Kate. "Shit!" I ducked behind the nearest wall and turned my back to her. I whispered, even if I knew she couldn't hear me. "Uh, yeah, no, he's not on the plane." I watched Kate drive off. I rubbed my forehead as my heart returned to its normal pace. Fuck, what was I doing? I was risking everything, but I couldn't stop. "He's sick…" more lies laced with truth, "…very sick. He's got food poisoning. He'll be there within the next couple of days."

I listened as my meeting was moved up to next Wednesday. They rescheduled my flight for Monday. That gave me two days to find her. Only forty-eight hours. I was running out of time.

"Thank you." I hung up my phone, and as I spun on my heel to hail a cab, I ran into another large chunk of my past.

"Edward!" The man smiling at me was not as skinny as he was three years ago, but he looked just the same.

"Emmett?"

A/N: Here's the deal, ladies, since this twific is based on Wicker Park, Twilight characters will be used sparingly. The only true canon couple will be Edward and Bella. After all, this story is mainly about them. It's not a big deal, or at least I hope it's not, I just wanted to give you a heads up. And also, if you haven't watched the movie, I recommend that you don't. You'll enjoy it much more after this fic is complete. Which, I don't intend on making it a long fic. It'll be fifteen chapters at the most. Hold me to it, okay? As always, thanks for reading. I'll see you soon.

A special thanks to my girl, Brina! I miss you.