Just to be clear…I rarely fall to pressure, but I know how hard this is to get through, so I'm giving you another chapter tonight. I don't want you to freeze me out : ) Thank you for your reviews, by the way. I'm so flattered you're interested in this story, and I find myself overwhelmed at your responses.

SMeyer owns. I do not.

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6.

Christmastime, Three Months Later

"Chelsea, we've got the Lambert House and the Met under contract. Can we do both?" I asked my assistant as I stood at her desk.

"We've got it, Izzy, I swear. Your father called again, and a woman named Alice Whitlock called. She asked for Bella Cullen. I told her there was no Bella Cullen here. She left a number." Chelsea offered me a piece of paper, which I took and crumpled up.

Edward and I weren't officially divorced, but I'd turned over the conservatorship to Carlisle when I left Washington. I landed in New York where my friend from design school, Aro Volturri, had a studio. I asked him for a job, and he asked me no questions. He and his wife had been good to me. They knew there was more to my story, but they never asked, and I never offered.

I'd made a (new) name for myself in the short time I'd been in New York…figuratively and literally. Izzy Madison was my new moniker. It was ridiculous that a change of name allowed me to function like a normal person, but it was New York, and no one questioned anyone's personae.

"I'll call my dad. There's no Bella Cullen anywhere near here, right?" I posed.

"I've never heard of Bella Cullen," Chelsea lied. She'd made copies of my driver's license and social security card when I started with AV Designs, both of which read Isabella Cullen, so she knew better, but she was loyal, and that's what I needed.

"Oh, hey, are you coming on Christmas Eve? Aro and Renata want a head count. Will you have a plus one?" she teased.

"I'll be there, but I won't be with a plus one. You know I don't date," I reminded as I grabbed my mail and walked up the stairs of our studio to my office. She'd surreptitiously tried to fix me up with her cousin at Thanksgiving, and while he was handsome and seemed to be a very nice guy, he wasn't ever going to be anything more than a friend. I explained to her I wasn't relationship material, but she'd promised she wouldn't give up. I wished her the best of luck.

I sorted through the mail, seeing invitations to holiday parties I put in the 'no' pile. I found a few sale brochures I might peruse when I got home that night, so I put them in the 'save' pile, and then I found a thick FedEx envelope addressed to me…Bella Cullen. I ripped it open and found another envelope inside with "Bugsy" on the front.

I froze. Only one person called me that name. Why he didn't go through Peter was a mystery, but he had sent the FedEx himself. As I looked around the sample Christmas ornaments in my office, I remembered when we went shopping for ornaments and our only tree together before the accident.

"Are we going to put up a real tree or that fake crap?" Edward asked as we stood in the Macy's in Seattle the weekend before Christmas. We'd spent the weekend at The Fairmont as our gift to each other, plus, we planned to finish up our Christmas shopping. It had been a lovely time.

"Elmer, it's up to you," I responded as I looked at some Christopher Radko ornaments. They were so cute, I couldn't resist. Based on his question, I assumed we were getting a real tree, so I picked out the lightest ones I could find, remembering Christmas' with Charlie wherein our little pine trees couldn't hold the weight of heavy ornaments.

"So, real it is. Now, Bugsy, you sexy little vixen, what's your stand on garland versus tinsel?" he asked. I remember laughing and hauling him back behind a fake Blue Spruce so I could kiss the hell out of him. Kissing led to the handsome doctor's hand up my skirt and my hand down his trousers, both of us finding our happy ending with a tree full of Santa's looking on.

After a bath and two glasses of scotch when I got home that night, I opened the envelope. It was filled with what appeared to be a legal document with a note paper clipped to the top. I pulled the mess out, and poured another glass of scotch. Scotch reminded me of Edward, and if I was going to deal with being officially dumped, I was going to wallow for just another moment in the happy life I would never have.

I remembered being in Vancouver for our three-day honeymoon. We'd only gone out of the room once, opting for room service and lots of sweaty sex.

"I'm not going out there. You're out of your mind. We leave the room to give the maid a chance to change the bed and give us fresh towels, and you bring me here?" I complained. We were at the Capilano Suspension Bridge over the Capilano River, and it was really fucking high. I looked down and felt my stomach drop to my feet.

"You are going out there, my darling bride. It's only seventy feet over the river," he pushed.

I looked down again. "That's a hell of a lot higher than seventy feet, Elmer. I'd guess, since we're in Canada, its seventy meters," I corrected.

"Ah, meters…feet…It'll be a great picture. Now, Mrs. Cullen, scoot. I'm right here behind you just as I always will be. I got your back, Jack," he joked as he kissed my neck, having moved my hair to the side.

I walked out to the middle of that damn bridge and held onto him for dear life as someone took our picture. The smiles we wore couldn't be misconstrued by anyone. We were in love, and we were on our honeymoon, however short it happened to be.

That photo was in the album I'd left on our bed in the penthouse when I packed my clothes to leave. I had no idea if he ever looked through it, but I wished I'd taken it. The mental pictures didn't do justice to the photographic evidence of how happy we were. Or, maybe, I made it out to be more than it was. Maybe the Edward Cullen, MD, I fell in love with was the mask, and the bitter man I tried to nurse back to health was the real Edward Cullen? I hoped that wasn't the truth because it would shatter the fragments of my heart into even smaller pieces.

I picked up the note from the front of the divorce papers and read it. I wasn't really surprised.

Bella,

It's been a while. If you want the divorce I'm sure you'd love to have, you need to come back here and fill in some gaps for me. I've got some things back, but not everything. I need you to help me out…if you want out.

Meet me at home on Christmas Eve, six o'clock. Don't call to cancel because I won't answer, and you can't get out without meeting me face-to-face.

Edward

I read it four times, and I contemplated calling everyone in the family, but I gave up the idea because this was between Edward and me. There was no use dragging anyone else into it. We'd all lived through hell, and it was time to put a cap on it. I'd deal with him alone, just as I had in those dark days, and I'd keep the family out of it as much as possible.

##

When the plane landed at Sea-Tac, I was truly happy to be near my hometown. I still had a four-hour journey, but it would give me time to get my head together as I made the drive alone, or so I thought until I saw the guy standing with a sign that was printed with "Bugsy" in screwy letters.

"Hi, I'm uh…" I stammered a bit, not feeling as confident at Sea-Tac as I did in Manhattan.

"Bella Cullen?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"This way," he instructed as he led me to baggage claim. I pointed out my suitcase, and we were on our way.

Before we left the airport, he handed me a jewel case with a post-it note that read "What's this?" "Mrs. Cullen, I was instructed to give this to you." I popped the CD in the portable player on the seat next to me, and when I saw my face on the screen, I was floored.

"Okay, Bugsy this is one for the history books and our future children. What are you doing?" he asked. I had flour all over my face, and my hands were caked with pie dough. I was truly a mess.

"Well, your grandmother, my future offspring, has ordered…quite harshly since I denied her a big wedding when your daddy and I ran off to the courthouse and got married at his insistence…I am to bake the Thanksgiving pies. I'm trying to make pie crusts in advance, which I've never done in my life. Edward Anthony, if you don't get that camera out of my face, you won't have children to show this video," I threatened.

I laughed when I saw how playful and full of love our marriage was at the time. My heart ached. We could have been so good together.

"Come on, sweetheart. You know you love me, and what we just did in the bedroom is pretty much insurance I'll have children," Edward commented.

Then, he turned the camera to himself. "Kids, I just did your mom, and she loved it," he whispered. I slapped him on the chest which ended up in a tickle fight in our kitchen.

We made love on the kitchen floor that morning amidst the flour and my gooey hands. It was exactly the way first holidays should be spent when a couple was first married.

I wiped my eyes because the tears were too much. I popped the DVD out of the player and tossed it back into the front seat with the driver. I thought Edward could only hurt me with his words. Apparently, I'd underestimated him. Reminding me of our happy life while I was trapped in a car on the way to sign the divorce papers…he might as well have coated the car with anthrax.

##

I walked into the lobby of the very familiar building, seeing it decorated for Christmas just as it was a year prior when I'd ran out of there like I was being chased having just been told about Edward's accident. The one thing I didn't expect to see was Jacob standing behind the desk with a huge smile on his face.

"Mrs. C! It's so good to see you," Jacob greeted with the dashing smile I remembered from the nights I'd entered the lobby so broken I didn't know if I could make it to our home. Jacob's bright smile always gave me a little pick-me-up.

"Hello, Jacob. It's so good to see you. How're Nessa and Carlie?" I asked. Just then that little streak of happiness ran out from behind the desk and hugged me around the waist. She was as beautiful as the first time I laid eyes on her.

"Hello, sweetie. How are you?" I asked. She tugged on my sweater dress, so I stooped down to meet her at eye level.

"I saw Dr. Edward tonight. He had kisses for me," she informed. I looked up at Jacob who smiled.

"Dr. C looks good. He was complaining his hair doesn't part the same, which gave me a good laugh. He told me to give you this when you came in," Jacob offered as he handed me a key to the elevator so I could go to the penthouse.

I caressed it between my fingers as if it was a precious jewel. I stood up and looked at Jacob likely for the last time. "It's been such a pleasure to get to know you and your family. I wish your family health and happiness in the New Year," I whispered as I kissed his cheek. I leaned down and kissed Vanessa on her cheek as I hurried to the elevator, seeing I was going to be late.

The second Edward hated tardiness, and since I didn't know how much he'd changed, I didn't want us starting off on a bad foot. I shoved my key in the lock and hit the 'P' button. Once the elevator jarred to move, I took a deep breath.

"Okay, Bella, don't get your hopes up. You're here to sign divorce papers. The letter was barely congenial, so don't think it's anything more. You've got a life in New York…you've got a life in New York…" I chanted to myself until I reached the top floor.

I pulled the key and stepped off, walking to what used to be my front door. Instead of using the key to let myself in, I rang the buzzer because I couldn't believe he'd changed that much.

I heard movement behind the door, and I held my breath. It wasn't like I knew what the hell was going to happen, but I wasn't about to get my hopes up, only to be broken yet again.

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So, she did what she had to do to save herself, of which I applaud her. She's a strong woman, but there comes a point in time where you have to save yourself, right?

Well, what do you think she'll find when she opens that door? (Sorry for the cliffie…)

I just read the greatest story... "Departures" by TheFicChick. I'm late to the party on it, but if you haven't checked it out, go. A man in uniform…snowed in at Chicago O'Hare Airport after the holidays…delayed flights…who knew? It's complete and it's wonderful. (I'm trying to make up for leaving you at this point in the story.)

Thanks for reading.

Till next time…xoxo