A/N: I do not own Twilight.

A Jasper For Me and HMPObsessed are my betas. They are awesome...and I flove them. =)

Thank you to EBS for all the help. All mistakes are still mine, however.

Please be patient. Edward and Bella will have their much-needed talk, but not in this chapter. Very soon, I promise. You just have to trust me. If you don't...*shrugs*

Chapter 7 – Pickles and peanut butter

"So are you planning on staying long?" Aro asked. He had a cigar in one hand, a trademark of his that was popular with the press. The billionaire recluse that loves his money as much as he loves his cigars was the common repeated phrase when he was described. We were on the deck of his log home in Colorado overlooking the fairway of a golf course. Even if he had many better houses all over the world than this one, he loved it here. This was his fortress, his refuge.

"I'm not sure yet," I replied as I swirled the scotch around in my glass. He offered me a box full of his Cuban cigars, but I declined. "You're here with me, and that has always been a reason for me to stay longer."

"You're so full of shit, son." He chuckled before taking the cigar between his lips. I smiled. He was more of a father to me than a business associate. He was the one who taught me the ins and outs of the investing world. I was rich because of him.

"Don't you have some better things to do than hang out with an old man like me? Some girls to screw?" he asked teasingly, glancing my way. "Because if I was still your age, I would be banging every girl I meet."

I gave him a snort. At age sixty-five, he was still banging every woman he met who was willing to put up with his eccentricities.

"You know I don't lack beautiful women interested in me, old man. The question is if they're interesting enough to make me want to give them a chance," I replied smugly.

"I bet those women would choose me over you, boy."

"Of course, you're richer than me."

He laughed at that, and I joined in, happy I had decided to visit him. I missed the old fucker.

"Haven't seen you in almost six months. Why the sudden visit? Don't tell me you're ready to admit that you missed me, and that's why you're here…because I won't believe it," he stated nonchalantly, his lips curved upwards in a smile. He was jostling me to engage in our banter he loved so much.

"I'm just trying to cool off. Take my mind off some things." I tried to keep my voice impassive, but I think he knew me too well to know something was plaguing me.

"Why? Is there something you wanna talk about?" He had his cigar halfway to his mouth; his eyes were carefully scrutinizing me. I tried to ignore him, but Aro could always read me easily, like I was some kind of crystal ball.

"Is your being here have something to do with your ex-fiancé?" he asked cautiously. I was certain he intentionally didn't mention Bella's name in respect of my feelings.

I tried to avoid his eyes. I took a sip of my scotch, contemplating on what to say to him.

"Look at me, Edward," he said authoritatively. I heard him move. He was now turned sideways and looking at me through his lashes while he smoked his cigar. "You're like a son to me, and I love you. I hate to see you like this."

I frowned, knowing where this conversation was headed. "Like what?" I asked, still trying to act as if I didn't know what he meant.

Somehow, I knew we would end up talking about Bella. I even wished it. That was the main reason I was here. Selfish as it was, I didn't come here to see him. I wanted to hear him say it to my face…how fucked my life was.

"Like you don't care, like it's not killing you. But I know you, Boy, it's eating you up…consuming you," he said so matter-of-factly. I could feel the anxiety build up and ran through me. He was right, he was absolutely right. I felt my hand grip the glass tightly, trying to transfer the tension to the inanimate object. "I know about the therapies, remember? She was the reason you needed those. And I bet my old crinkled ass, you're still not over her."

There was no use acting stupid, like I didn't know he was correct on his assessment of me. I sighed and ran my hand over my hair.

"She's married, Aro."

He seemed to contemplate what I just said. He continued to smoke, his forehead crinkling into a frown, telling me he was deep in thought. A few minutes of silence passed before he spoke.

"Do you remember Midnight?" he asked so suddenly. The cigar was still in between his lips, and he was chewing on it.

"Oh, yeah. The stallion you were so in love with," I told him. "So what about him?"

"Remember how I fought to get Midnight from Cauis?" he continued, not looking at me but at the scenery before us. Midnight was a racehorse that was owned by Cauis. Aro fell in love with the black thoroughbred the moment he laid eyes on it. If you asked me, there wasn't anything special about the horse, but what did I know? Aro wanted it, so he did everything to get it. He offered Cauis a certain amount of money for the horse. However, Cauis, who was a crafty businessman, refused several times. Finally, they agreed on a price that was three times the price of Midnight.

"Yes, I remember. You paid so much for that one horse that doesn't even look any different from a normal horse," I taunted, and he scowled. "You paid a million dollars for an animal just to die after you paid the owner. If you ask me, you got a shitty deal out of that." Unknowingly, Aro purchased a sick horse and Cauis had kept that information from him. A few weeks after procurement, it had come to Aro's attention Midnight had some kind of disease, and the vet advised he be put to sleep. An animal lover, Aro agreed immediately.

I heard him chuckle. Obviously, he wasn't bitter about it any longer. Maybe he did get some kind of revenge on Cauis I didn't know about.

"So a million dollars lost is a laughing matter? You're one weird soul. I'm sure of that now."

"It's a given fact that I am. But what do we say about you then? Hanging around some old recluse eccentric."

"I'm more fucked up than you, Aro."

"Damn, you're so right there, son."

"So why did you mention Midnight, old man?" I stared at him, knowing he wanted to tell me something by talking about the horse that consumed him almost eight years ago.

"Listen well, Edward." He pursed his lips before he turned his piercing gaze at me. "I wanted that motherfucking horse, and I got it. I paid a lot for that thoroughbred, but shit I'm rich, money isn't an object. I wanted him, so I bought him. At the end of it all, I still got to own him, and that was the most important thing." His eyes held something. I wasn't quite sure what, but I had a funny feeling he was on to something. I could feel his eyes boring into mine.

"If you want something so bad, there won't be anything or anyone that would keep you away from it. Determination is the key, my friend."

I knew he wasn't talking about the horse anymore.

I sighed.

"You're one dumb asshole, that's what you are," he muttered loudly. "Fucking with another girl when you had the one you wanted all along. Stupid, stupid!"

I clenched my jaw in irritation. Hearing I was fucked up wasn't new. I have heard it all actually, but coming from Aro just cemented that kissing Tanya was a monumental mistake. I had my reasons and if only Bella had listened, I knew she would have understood. Goddamn, she didn't give me a chance to do that.

"Are you going to let her go just like that?" he asked so suddenly. He reached for a pickle beside his chair and dipped it in peanut butter. It was an odd combination, but I was used to Aro's weirdness by now so nothing shocked me when it came to him. It looked nasty, but he swears by it.

"So you're deaf now? I asked you a question boy, now goddamn answer me!" he snapped, his mouth in a sneer, waiting impatiently for my answer. One of Aro's faults was he had a very short temper, something I think I inherited environmentally from him, if there was such a thing.

"Edward, I asked you a question. I think you owe me at least that. Are you going to let Bella go just like that?"

"She's fucking married, okay? What's there to do?"

It was the first time I had admitted defeat openly. My heart rebelled on that thought of just giving up. Just a few days ago, I was even adamant on stealing her away from her husband, but she didn't seem to want me anymore. Physically, I was sure she was still attracted to me. I knew I could get her to fuck me again if I tried, but I wanted her to love me. I wanted her to emotionally want me like I needed her. Not just in the physical aspect, because that was only always a temporary thing, everyone knew that.

"So you're telling me that because she is married to some douche, you're just letting her go? Then you're a fucking fool! I taught you better than that," he snapped angrily. He huffed, his lips pursed, his hand was now holding the pickle instead of the cigar.

"How the fuck do you even know her husband is a douche?" I asked, irritated. He had no right to push me around.

"Well, if she married someone who isn't you, then he is a douche in my book."

I wanted to kiss him at the moment. Instead I chuckled. Aro and I definitely had the same way of thinking. He really did teach me well.

"What's so funny, boy?" he asked, his forehead in a frown. But I could see the edge of his lips curl, a beginning of a smile.

"You," I answered. I glanced at him. "You think like me." His eyes shone. If I was not mistaken, he seemed to be proud of me; proud I became just like him.

"No, you think like me. You best remember I'm fucking older than you. I'm the teacher and you're the student."

He leaned forward, still chewing his pickle, and patted my back. It was a sign of affection and I appreciated it.

"You go get her, boy. You couldn't be whole without your other half. Damn what the rest of the world thinks! She belongs with you…to you."

With that he stood up, leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"Will I be seeing you in Palm Beach?"

"Yes," I answered. Volturi Beach Resort was opening in a few weeks. I owned a forty percent share. I didn't know anything about running a hotel, but I invested, knowing my money would grow. It was what I did. I put my money where I would gain from others' knowledge and expertise. I was in the business of making money from other people's hard work. Aro had taught me everything about how to do it; that was why my grandfather was so fucking proud of me now.

"Give me a visit when you get her back, okay? I demand it."

I nodded, grateful for his support.

"I'll do that."

"Now, get up and go get her back."

I stood up, still holding the glass of scotch. I wiped one sweaty hand on my jeans.

"I'll do that too."

xxxxxxxxxxx

I was looking at all the information about Bella scattered in front of me - everything she had been doing and where she had been for the year and a half after she left me. I had finally succumbed to my urge of hiring that private detective, especially after I had that talk with Aro. It had taken the investigator almost a week before he came back with everything he could find on Isabella Swan.

It had been over a month since I saw her in Brazil. Once again, she had disappeared on me. That incident plus Aro's support, prompted me to finally look for reasons why she left me, why she was married now. Maybe in knowing what she did in the months after her ditching me would give me some insight and answers I desperately needed.

She was all I could think of, and it was driving me mad. Even though I really needed to let go of her and move on, I couldn't seem to do it, no matter what anybody said. It was consuming me.

She was currently working as a waitress at a small bar in Seattle. I wondered what came into that pretty little head of hers…why she decided to work at such a mundane place. Jasper would never allow her to do that. He loathed when she would go search jobs that were beneath her station. I wasn't a snob, but Isabella was a fine arts graduate. Not to mention, she had loads of money. She didn't need to work, especially to serve and wait on people. She could even buy the whole goddamn bar she was working in.

And where the hell was her husband? He was supposed to be providing for her, protect her. There was little information about him, and from what I could see, it seemed he was not that interesting. James Hunter from Canada. He had gotten married to Bella only four months ago. That bit made me frown.

I scanned the papers again that held the information of where Bella had been before her brother's wedding. She was in Rome for a few months; then she went to New York, where she worked at a museum. She had restored some well-known paintings there. Bella was one damn good artist, and I would rather she painted than do this whole restoration crap.

Did she stop painting? I didn't want to believe she had changed so much in the eighteen months I hadn't seen her, but there were a lot of things different about her, and it was hard to get my head around it. She seemed to be pre-occupied with other shit like cooking and grocery shopping that she didn't do before when we were together. I wonder why that was.

She was still one damn big enigma to me. I had loved her, lived with her, and fucked her all the ways I could, but it seemed I didn't know her at all.

I gathered all the papers and stored them in the drawer. I needed to make a trip to Seattle. If I had to kidnap her, then so be it. I needed to finish this once and for all.

Any thoughts on this Aro? I like writing him. ;)

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