AUTHORS NOTE –

A LONGER CHAPTER, YAY!

AND THANKS AGAIN TO Linwe-Ancalime AND eddiesgirlx – YOU SHOULD TOTALLY GO AND READ THEIR STORIES!

--

"Alice and Edward were having an affair?" Emmett repeated raising an eye brow in question. He wanted to be sure he had heard her correctly. Rosalie's eyes never moved from their spot on the floor, she simply nodded her affirmation.

The room was once again completely silent. No one dared interrupt to ask any further questions. Everyone except Bella and Rosalie were focused on Jasper, trying to gauge his reaction. He didn't move at all – no denial, no understanding, no emotion. "Bella, did you know about this?" Emmett asked, regaining control of the situation.

"No." She murmured, her quiet words barely reaching his ears.

"Jasper, did you know about this?" Emmett asked tenderly.

"No." He whimpered. It came out as more of a shudder than a spoken word, as if it were the sound of a bleating lamb rather than an invincible vampire.

"Can I assume that no one here knew about this, except for Rosalie?" Emmett asked, all his usual lack of tact had disappeared, instead the good cop Emmett had taken over and everyone was grateful.

Carlisle and Esme both nodded – Rosalie had been the only one.

"Rose…" Bella said timidly "Did they sleep together?"

"Yes." Rosalie murmured , once again her eyes trained on the floor. This wasn't her dirty secret to tell, but she had no choice. She wanted Jasper and Bella to return to their normal selves, to be the way they were – however impossible that might be. For one, Bella's heart no longer beat, she was a vampire; one of the family in all aspects. And Jasper, he was more broken than he had ever been before – of all the monstrosities he had seen, for the thousands he had killed, he had always been the Jasper that they had come to love – but what now?

"In our bed?" Jasper's growl struck the living room although he remained as still as stone. "Tell me! Was it in our bed?"

"I don't know, Jasper…" Rosalie admitted. Jasper twitched menacingly, like the werewolf Jacob used to before he phased. His hands shaking and twisting tightly together as if to stop them from lashing out.

"Da- Carlisle, may I be excused?" Jasper said – his usual serenity returning though now it was laced with sadness and depression.

"Emmett, can you accompany your brother please." Carlisle said, not as a question more of a request.

"No…" Jasper said, the silent tears approaching like an impending thunder storm. "I want Esme to come… Please, I promise I won't hurt her…"

Carlisle looked to his wife, whom Jasper was now leaning against on the couch. He understood but was still not keen on the idea. He knew in his deepest heart that Jasper would rather have Esme there, because he could not hurt a woman, and that if he snapped she would be far safer than if it was Emmett with him.

"That's fine, dear." Esme said, standing up and offering to take Jasper's hand in her own – he shook his head slightly and drew his hand to his side. He stood up smoothly and quickly left the room, moving rapidly up the staircase. "It will be okay. He just needs to calm down."

"I love you, darling." Carlisle said as she too left the room. Before she had reached the top of the stairs, she turned and blew a kiss to him.

--

"So, Edward and Alice have been having a relationship for how long?" Emmett asked Rosalie. He had moved next to his wife now that Jasper was no longer there. Bella and Carlisle had taken seats on the couch.

"Alice said at least 5 years." Rosalie said – more confident now that Jasper wasn't there, sitting like a ticking time bomb. "So before Bella was on the scene…"

"Well that's alright then" Bella said sarcastically.

"How could that have happened?" Emmett said so low pitched, that it was almost a growl in his chest. "Under our own roof…"

They all turned to Carlisle at the same time, 3 faces ranging from false amusement to rage – he didn't really have an answer for Emmett, a way to console Bella or even a reassurance for Rosalie.

"Carlisle…" Rosalie started.

"Rosalie, I believe that it was around 5 years ago that it probably started – can you remember the song that Edward wrote on his piano? The love song?" Carlisle tried to unravel it all inside his head, and certain strings felt familiar now that he thought about it.

"The one that he said was written without anyone in mind…" Rosalie confirmed, suddenly understanding the whole time line.

"The piano." Bella laughed maniacally. The others turned to look at her immediately, maybe she was cracking up. "The piano."

"What about the piano, Bella?" Emmett asked.

"The piano!" She repeated louder, almost shouting. "I DON"T WANT IT IN MY ROOM! Get it out of there!"

"Bella, we can move it later…" Carlisle said. "We shall move it once we get to the bottom of this…"

There was a roar above them, anger exploding from every available space in the room. Time moved slowly, but no one could react. The sound of smashing glass, the window plate in Bella's bedroom. Next they heard Esme's rushed and urgent words echoing all of their individual worries. Finally, they say the grand piano falling towards the grass outside of the house – smashing into thousands of pieces, tens of thousands of pieces. Time sped up again.

--

"Are you okay?" Esme kept repeating. "Jasper… are you okay?"

"Me?" Jasper said calmly. "I am fine."

The others burst into Bella's bedroom, knocking the door of its hinges. Carlisle pulled Esme away from Jasper and assumed a defensive position in front of his mate. Emmett and Rosalie crouched close to the floor, waiting for Jasper to attack first – so that they'd have the chance, if needed, as a pair to bring him down.

"Jasper!" Bella gasped. "What did you do?"

He turned his head towards her, his chest still again. Not breathing, even though there were no humans for miles. His face was smooth, but his eyes were ablaze – the animal literally pacing behind the cracked glass, waiting for more weakness. Unexpectedly, he ducked his head and swallowed the venom in his mouth.

"I…I'm sorry – I didn't mean to destroy it." Jasper stuttered. He looked at Bella, almost begging for her forgiveness with his eyes alone. "I didn't mean it, please forgive me!"

"Jasper…" Bella laughed, the others turned to look at her. The threat of Jasper being outweighed by their curiosity of her response. "It's okay… I didn't want the piano. In fact, I'm glad you destroyed it."

"You are?" He gulped again.

"Yes" Bella beamed, her smile illuminating her entire face. "Did you not hear me say that I didn't want it?"

"No." He said, allowing himself a small smile. "I was trying not to listen."