Author's Note: Moosals is my pre-reader. I can't get anything past her. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.

I am still blown away by the response to this silly story. Keep it up, guys!

Seems like everyone agrees that Jasper and Bella would never have been able to come back from him catching her red-handed, so to speak, though some think he's rushing things by talking about divorce already.

Chapter 3

Except to use the bathroom, I didn't leave Angela's couch for the rest of the weekend. I cried nearly constantly, using up pretty much an entire box of Kleenex. I couldn't even eat a slice of toast without feeling like I was going to be sick. Angela finally threw me in the shower Sunday night, telling me I was a little "ripe."

I called in sick to work on Monday morning, still unable to face the thought of getting out of my makeshift bed. The next day, Angela decided enough was enough. She took the day off work with me, forced me into the shower again, then made me get dressed before dragging me out of the loft. We headed to a diner for some greasy food before going apartment hunting.

After checking out three different apartment complexes, I chose a studio in a relatively new high-rise building a mile from our office. I fully intended to win Jasper back before summer, but just in case I was still living there, I thought walking to work when the weather was nice would be good for me as well as the environment.

Once we left the apartment, Angela and I went to IKEA, where I purchased a bed, a small dresser, a couch, a TV stand and two bar stools for the breakfast bar. Jasper and I hadn't discussed splitting up our bank account yet, so I stuck with just the essentials for now, instead of spending a lot of money trying to furnish the entire apartment

After a trip to an electronics store for a small television, I bought all of the necessities like dishes, bedding and towels for my new place. I probably could've asked Jasper for some of ours, but I really wasn't prepared to see that cold look on his face again so soon.

I called in sick to work again on Wednesday morning, opting to take the rest of the week off, as my new furniture and TV were all set to be delivered on Thursday when I moved in to my new apartment. I was very thankful that my boss was so understanding when I explained that I was having very serious personal issues and wouldn't be able to give my full attention to editing until I got my head on straight. I only hoped that I'd be ready to work again by the following week.

Once I got settled in Thursday, I texted Jasper to give him my new address, and asked if I could stop by the house while he was at work on Friday — and Edward was in school — to pick up the rest of my things. I was disappointed in the simple "Fine" that I got back as a response.

As I sat in my new studio apartment Thursday evening, I'd never felt so alone before. The place seemed way too quiet. Even though things had been strained between us for several months, I missed my husband terribly.

I'd purchased a bottle of wine along with my groceries earlier, and I decided to open it, mostly for something to do. As I drank, I thought about all of the mistakes I'd made. I should've told Jasper that I suspected Edward had feelings for me, so he could talk with Edward. I should've tried harder to stop Edward from kissing me. I never should've agreed to let him touch me. I shouldn't have agreed to go upstairs with him the following evening. I shouldn't have let him talk me into just one more time.

An hour later, I was drunk and sobbing, eventually crying myself to sleep. I woke up around 2am, still on my couch and sporting a very stiff neck. Stripping off my clothes, I fell into bed naked, too exhausted to remember in which drawer I'd stored my pajamas earlier.

When I woke again, my head was pounding and I had to pee — badly. After relieving myself, I took a couple painkillers and brushed my teeth. It was late — almost noon — and I knew I didn't have much time to waste if I planned to get everything packed up at the house before Edward got home from school.

Arriving at Jasper's and my house — yes, I still thought of it as mine — I used my key to let myself in, praying Jasper didn't ask for it back. I'd brought my two suitcases along so I could pack up the rest of my clothes.

Once I had my clothes packed, I found my laptop in our second guest room-slash-home office, digging around in the closet for its case. I had to go downstairs to the basement for a couple boxes for all of my books, CDs and DVDs.

I was just loading the last of the boxes into my car when I looked up and saw Edward hurrying down the street toward me. I quickly shut the back door and opened the driver's side door, hoping I could be gone before he reached the house.

Too late. I managed to get myself into the seat, but Edward grabbed the door before I could close it.

"Bella, wait," he begged, sounding out of breath. "Please let me talk to you."

"I don't have anything to say to you, Edward. You ruined my marriage."

"Bella, I — I didn't mean—"

"Of course you meant to! You admitted that you wanted to get caught." I quickly averted my eyes to avoid the look on his face. I couldn't fall for Edward's considerable charms again.

"Bella, I've been trying to give you some space, but please just listen to me, let me explain…"

"I have to go. I just packed up all of my things… I can't deal with you right now."

I started the car, but Edward was still standing in the way of my closing the car door. "Move, Edward."

"Not until you hear me out," he insisted.

I looked ahead, and noticing there was no car parked in front of me, I decided to make a run for it. I quickly shifted into Drive and hit the gas pedal, turning the wheel to pull away from the curb. With the momentum, the door swung partially closed and I was able to grab it, yanking it closed before pressing my foot harder onto the gas pedal. Through the rearview mirror, I saw Edward behind me, staring after the car.

It wasn't until I turned onto the next street that the adrenalin rush of escaping a conversation I didn't want to have disappeared in a single breath.

"So I saw Edward yesterday," I said to Angela as we had lunch at a cute Greek restaurant early Saturday afternoon.

Angela's eyes grew huge as she took in what I said. "You didn't…"

"Oh my God, Angela, of course not! No, nothing happened. He was on his way home just as I was loading up the car. He tried to get me to talk to him, but I drove off."

"Good," she replied, taking a bite of her gyro.

"I tried to not even look at him. He's so beautiful, Ang, and when he gets this heartbroken look on his face, every motherly instinct in me wants to cuddle and comfort him."

Angela nearly choked on her drink. "I don't think what you did to him was 'motherly'," she snorted.

I rolled my eyes. "No, I know that, it's just… I can't stand to see him unhappy, and I'm driven to do whatever it takes to make him smile. If it's comfort he needs, I'll comfort him, like I did at his parents' burial."

"And if it's your body he needs, you let him fuck you."

"Jesus, Angela!"

"Bella… do you think you might be in denial about your feelings for Edward?" she asked tentatively.

"Absolutely not," I responded. "I care for Edward, but I don't have any romantic feelings for him — at all."

"I know that's what you say, but the way you let him get to you, what you'll agree to for him — it's not the comfort of a parental figure, but more like a lover. Bella, I feel the same way about Ben. When he hurts, it makes me hurt in return."

"But isn't that what a parent would say as well?"

"Well, sure, but… having sex with him goes far beyond normal parental comfort."

"He's a kid, Angela — a spoiled, immature little boy. We have nothing in common except sex."

"A lot of relationships start with sexual attraction," Angela shrugged.

"But I don't want a relationship with Edward. I want my husband back!"

"Bella," Angela began gently, "I think you may need to prepare yourself for the fact that you may not get Jasper back."

"Whose side are you on, anyway?" I asked angrily.

"I'm on your side, of course. But I also think you've done something that I personally would find unforgivable, if my spouse had done it. I'm sorry, but cheating is just a hard limit for me. It shows a complete lack of respect for your partner.

"Look, Bella, I'm not trying to kick you when you're down, but I think you need to own up to what you did. Would you forgive Jasper if he'd been the one to cheat with a young, beautiful girl?"

While I wanted to dismiss what Angela was saying, I couldn't. If I had caught Jasper cheating, I doubted that I could ever trust him again. Fuck.

"What am I going to do, Ang?" I asked, tears starting to fall.

Angela reached over and patted my hand. "I think you need to pick up the pieces and move on. Getting your own apartment was the first step. Let Jasper know that you want to fix things, but don't hold your breath waiting for it.

"And for God's sake, stay away from Edward."

Since Angela was going out to a concert with her boyfriend that night, I thought I'd call a friend from college who was also living in Chicago to see if she wanted to get together.

Bad move.

Charlotte's husband Peter was good friends with Jasper. Apparently she'd heard all about the fact that I had been unfaithful — though she didn't seem to know with whom — and told me that she didn't think we could be friends any more, as she'd lost all respect for me.

Ouch. Was this what my life was going to turn into? Was I going to have a big red letter "A" on my chest?

Pretty much all of my friends except for Angela were mutual friends of both Jasper and me. Were they all going to be on his side?

I ended up sitting alone in my new apartment, watching a couple of movies On Demand since I hadn't even thought about buying a DVD player when I got the television. As I munched on microwave popcorn by myself, I would've given anything for some human contact and comfort.

A tiny part of my subconscious tried to tell me that I didn't have to be lonely. If I called Edward, he would probably come right over. He'd give me whatever comfort I wanted, no questions asked. But I absolutely could not think like that. I was in love with my husband, regardless of whatever sexual chemistry Edward and I had. I couldn't do anything to ruin my chances of winning Jasper back.

I got out of my studio again on Sunday, heading out to Walmart to pick up some additional things for the apartment. I'd lived in a dorm in college at the University of Illinois, and Jasper and I had married within a few weeks of graduation, so I'd never lived on my own before, or had any of my own things. It was amazing how many items one needed to buy to start a brand new life.

Going back to work on Monday morning, I felt confident that I was ready to concentrate on my job — anything to get my mind off my problems. Everyone seemed glad to have me back, which meant that Angela hadn't spilled the beans about my "personal reasons" for being out the prior week. Not that I expected she would, but I was just thrilled to be someplace where I didn't feel like everyone was against me.

After two pretty good days, my world came crashing down when a special delivery arrived shortly after I got home from work Tuesday evening.

Signing for the large envelope, I opened it up and was stunned to find divorce papers inside. It took three hours of starting and stopping — and crying — before I could read all the way through them.

Jasper had proposed an equal division of all marital assets. He'd had the house appraised and was offering to buy out my half. Nothing controversial, nothing to fight over — we didn't even have a dog to argue about custody of. Just sign the papers and we'd be on our way to ending our marriage.

The only problem was, that wasn't what I wanted.

A/N: Lots happening in this chapter! I'd love your thoughts on all of it, but especially a) What do you think of Edward now? Should Bella have given him a chance to explain himself? b) Does Angela rock or what?!