Victoria, Adelaide is Australia's 5th largest city and has a population of 1.23 million, not 10 people and it is not the outback!

Btw I love it when someone guesses where I'm headed with this story, shows I'm not the only one who has issues with 'Bella' (or the person who played her.) This is therapy, clearly I'm writing this story for myself, not trying to please anyone.

Safe

Chapter 8

EPOV

As much as I felt pure joy knowing Bella would be in my arms every weekend, I admit I feared for her sanity.

The nights I had spent debating how much to tell her about Jake were irrelevant now. She knew far more than I did, and I knew from her eyes that he was still screwing around. He must have been indulging in 'meaningless sex' and not true affairs, but still, I couldn't imagine the scenario that was really in play as Bella debated with herself in the night as she dreamt, and tried to convince herself Jake was doing what he was doing for them.

To me the closest I could guess was that it sounded like a man might fight with his conscience if he could not work and support his family, so his wife had turned to prostitution to put a roof over their heads and food in their mouths.

I don't know why but their situation seemed similar, only Jake was the one working the streets.

Bella banned the whole subject by day and insisted while we were together, it had to be about us or she would completely lose her mind.

I was obviously her safe haven and she needed me to create a bubble here, away from the madness her life had become.

Here we were Edward and Bella, though now it seemed we were going public, so long as I made sure none of my family misread the situation and saw us as a forever couple.

Jake was definitely still in the picture, and still the focus of her existence, as Charlie and my Mom had always warned me he would be.

I was still secondary to him in her heart but now it seemed I was more important, if only because she needed me to keep her grounded.

My strategy was to make no demands and merely show her she had somewhere else to go if she ever needed to leave him to save herself.

I took her down to the construction site the next day, before my brother's wedding and showed her the houseplans as I pointed out where new walls would be constructed, and how the space would be divided.

Downstairs was simple. Kitchen in the far end, so one could enjoy the views out of the long wide window across the end wall of the former church.

The dining area was attached, all open plan, so guests or family could talk to the cook while he or she worked.

Then an interior wall across the whole span of the building, with two doors. One led to the hallway off which was the downstairs bathroom and the other to the utility room.

Next came the fully enclosed media room; then the enormous open sitting/living/family area at the front of the building.

A staircase rose up against one wall, and there would be three small arched stained glass windows at different levels as you climbed.

Then the landing, which overlooked the front of the house, just the small entry room below. That meant when you walked inside the front door,your eyes immediately looked up at the wooden balustrade above but there was no view into any of the upstairs rooms.

A door opened onto a hallway that divided the space, and two bedrooms with small en suited shower rooms, sat either side.

Next to those, the music room, and opposite, the library were located..

Then was the family bathroom on the right and a room I intended would start life as a Nursery then be transformed into a study when it was no longer needed, but it was labeled as a Study on the plans.

That just left the main bedroom.

It was large and square and had a sloping attic ceiling as all the upper floor rooms had, but this one was special. There would be a skylight above the area where my bed would be, so I could always have the hope of looking up and seeing Bella the star, if the clouds allowed it.

Each side wall of the room would house large dormer windows so there would be plenty of light coming in, and in one window space was to be a claw footed tub, Bella's most desired object of affection.

The actual bathroom would be through a door situated next to the bedroom door itself so the upstairs plumbing was all located in the one area.

My grand piano would live in the music room, and if all went well, Bella's books would fill the library and our child would sleep in the Nursery.

I didn't say anything about that but I'm sure she knew I was creating her ideal house, rather than my own.

"So, lots of windows up and downstairs. Are you putting in a lot of stained glass?" she asked enviously.

"About half the windows will be clear but I want to keep something of the original design and feel of the building, so yes,a lot of stained glass windows."

"It's going to be exceptionally beautiful," she stated. "A home to cherish and love living in. I am glad you are looking to the future and planning on it being a family home. So, does this mean you are making headway with one of the nurses?"

Her words were a blasphemy.

Couldn't she see and feel this house? It was ours, for us.

No other woman would enter it, just as no other woman would ever enter my heart.

This home was my heart, and I wanted only Bella inside it.

"One day you will love some other girl as much as you love me," she sighed.

"Yes, I believe I will," I replied, but the girl I was thinking of would be our daughter.

XXXX

Emmett was nervous, which was new, but I managed to keep him upright and conscious as we stood together at the front of the aisle. The wedding was happening too fast for there to have been time to book any venues, so it was a backyard affair, but my parents backyard was vast and more beautiful than any venue here anyway..

Rose looked great. She had timed things just right, and was still sporting a completely flat slim waistline, yet had a larger rack than normal, so she had the best of both worlds.

The nausea was over and the extreme hunger stage had hit, so even Emmett knew better than to ever get between her and a plate of food.

Alice danced up the aisle ahead of the bride, tossing rose petals because this wedding had to be her idea of perfect.

All that she had lived and breathed was this wedding in the past few months and today, instead of it being the ultimate reward for all her hard work, all she could think about was Bella's friend.

Bella and Jasper were seated next to my parents, seeing she was as close as family already.

I kept turning to smile at her as we waited for the bridal march to begin playing. She was totally in the moment and smiled back at me, her eyes happy and clear at last. Then I had to devote all my attention to the bride and bridesmaid. It was all business as Emmett took Rose to be his lawfully wedded wife, but I couldn't help smiling as I felt the presence of Bella sitting there just behind me.

Carlisle and my mother seemed to have given up trying to make Bella and I think of the consequences of our actions now. I guess they knew we would do whatever we both wanted anyway, no matter what they said.

To me, the changes that had happened in Bella and Jakes life were positives, all in my favour.

She was shattered, shocked, disillusioned, what more could I ask for?

Jake was no longer high on his pedestal but down here on the ground in the dirt with the rest of us. Jake had made mistakes and confessing them had not erased the hurt.

Bella was lost and needed comfort and I was here.

Removed enough from their 'real' lives to be an acceptable port in the storm for her.

I did not condemn anything Jake had done when she told me snippets over the following week, just listened and held her body against mine as I kissed away her tears.

Of course I hurt for her, but in truth, I rejoiced that my competition was such a douche. He could not have played his role better if I had scripted it myself.

Bella felt their relationship was shaky and uncertain and she was genuinely confused about how Jake could just dismiss the cheating on both sides, and the fact that even now they both knew what the other was doing, it didn't have to stop.

She was needy,of course, and a better man may have refused to take advantage but I needed to do whatever it took to steal her from him so I never hesitated to make love to her when she initiated sex. I asked nothing for myself, afraid to push her at the wrong moment when she was suffering a flash of guilt and blaming herself for what had evolved.

Better to just respond when she touched me in such a way I knew she needed the comfort of me inside her.

I was gentle, and caring, and showed my love for her constantly, because she would reflect on all this when she went back to New York, and I wanted her to only recall me in a positive light.

I was only unsure whether to apologize or not.

Would she want me to say I should never have let any of this happen between us, in case she believed what Jake had done was a result of that first night?

Clearly it wasn't. He'd been playing away for years prior to that, right from Jessica's sixteenth birthday party orgy.

That was two whole years prior to the night we first slept together and we refrained from repeating that for four years.

If anything, we were the more noble ones.

Even Bella could see whatever sins we had indulged in were the lesser evil.

Originally she and Jasper had been booked on a flight back two days after the wedding, but she hadn't felt ready to leave and had delayed the departure date by an entire week.

Jake had grumbled a little then just accepted it, his mind back on business before their only phone call even finished.

Alice , naturally, had thought of a million reasons why the two should stay on and not travel until her best girlfriend felt ready to face her real life again and none of us were fooled that it really was Bella's welfare she was thinking of.

She and Jasper were madly in love, just like that.

Once again, I was the Cullen who lacked the magical ability to just captivate my soul mate and enslave her entire heart.

I approved of Jasper as my future brother-in-law, not that Alice would care even if I hated him and tried to tell her she could do better. I actually believed they were evenly matched.

Their 'honeymoon' night had taken place the night of the wedding, less than twenty four hours after they met, but even my Mom just shrugged and said when it was right, it was right.

She questioned Jasper at length about his family and how they would feel when he told them about Alice. And how he felt about living in Forks some time in the future.

A done deal.

Mom was already plotting and planning their nuptials and imagining what her grandbabies would look like; a combination of his height and fairness, and her shortness and dark hair.

I could read her like a book and was happy for them all, but I still wanted to rant and scream "What about me? Why can't I have what I want, too? What did I ever do to deserve to fall so completely in love with a girl who's heart was already spoken for?"

Bella lay naked and warm in my arms, but I could tell she was awake, just silent. Her brain was in danger of exploding, and she couldn't ever turn it off unless I tired her body to the point where exhaustion forced her to sleep.

"Are you okay?" I whispered. She wasn't crying, so I had no way to tell how she felt right now.

"As well as I can be in the circumstances," she sighed.

"Am I still four months?" I queried, not sure which way the new information made her see me now. Many a girl would have packed a bag and left someone like Jake right there and then, the night of full disclosure.

Many others would have called a halt to us and thrown all her energy into salvaging what she could with the man she loved the most.

Bella did neither.

I hoped that meant she was keeping a way out for herself.

Keeping me on side until she could rationally think again and figure out just how much she could take from Jake before the negatives outweighed the positives and she had to leave to save herself.

If she had somewhere to go, and a loving pair of arms welcoming her here, it might just tip the balance in my favour.

"I've no doubt the scales will balance out again once I get my head around this, but right now , in this exact moment, you are nine months and he is three," she admitted.

Yes!

"Edward, right now I wish I could hate him. I wish he could push me that extra step so I could walk away because nothing is how I thought. I know what we did was wrong, but at least I knew and loved you. I know that doesn't make it right, but he sleeps with strangers. Worse, he sleeps with wives of clients to make money. How is that not prostitution? They may not leave the money on the dresser but it's the same thing. He fucks them, they sweet talk hubby into signing, and Jake profits from it. That's not the actions of the Jake in my heart and in my head."

"For some people, the ends justify the means," I murmured. That was true. Whatever I had to do to win her and claim the larger part of her heart was allowable.

I was little better than he was.

I was hoping my investment in her would pay off in my favour.

xxxx

Eventually the two guests left and I kissed Bella goodbye at the airport and she promised to text me when she landed. And to keep up conversing with me from now on.

I would be happy to keep listening for as long as she needed to keep talking.

She was more crushed by the knowledge Jake had slept with girls here in Forks than by what he was doing now. He had shaken their foundations; and she avoided meeting up with anyone but her father while she was here, scared some girl would smirk at her because she knew Jake in the biblical sense, as well.

Charlie knew immediately something major had happened and he fought to show his support and keep a grin off his face, and the two of us avoided eye contact in case we started high fiving one another or something equally stupid that would just make Bella angry.

"Come back after you do the airport run, Edward. I need to show you the new lures I bought."

"We can stay a few more minutes if you want to show him now," his daughter replied.

"No, these things take time to discuss and savour," Charlie replied. "Edward and I need to spend some time fully appreciating them."

"You fish with my Dad?" she queried as we headed for the airport.

"Charlie and I understand one another. We enjoy spending time together," I answered honestly.

I had to physically remove my sister from her 'one true love' so Jasper could board his flight, so

parting from Bella was not quite as devastating as it could have been.

Alice alternately sulked and gushed about Jasper the whole trip home and I was glad to send her to Charlie's kitchen to prepare a meal for us all while we talked mentalk in the garage downstairs.

He listened as I informed him of what I knew and although he paled in shock, he was still more jubilant than angry at my words.

"Surely this will break them up? How can she let him touch her after he comes home from someone else's bed?"

"He has never had a problem with that when she left my bed and went back to his," I pointed out.

And even I had never hesitated to love her though I knew she slept with him.

Maybe people just accepted the wrongs along with the rights as long as the end result was in their favour.

xxxx

BPOV

There was no Jake waiting to met us, only one of his more lowly staff members. I wasn't that surprised; no doubt Jake was busy.

I sent Edward a text as promised and smiled at the instant response from him.

"Has something happened?" Jasper asked our driver as we walked to the car. I barely knew this man sent to collect us so how could Jasper, who must know him even less, pick up on Daniel's mood?

"There's been an accident. Mr Black and Mr Uley are safe. Mr Black wants to tell you what has happened himself. I'm to take you both to them, at your place."

Jasper took my hand inside his own and asked to have the privacy screen in place between us and Daniel on the trip to the apartment.

"Bella, what are you thinking?" he asked, his eyes looking searchingly into mine. I almost felt like he was hypnotizing me.

"I'm thinking maybe Sam and Jake took out a couple of Volturi wives and were involved in a bingle. Or maybe someone got drunk, or maybe a Volturi husband pulled a gun on one or both of them. I don't know. Jake and Sam are safe. Maybe they blew the account but we can survive."

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I meant, what are you thinking leaving your twin flame and coming back here to Jake?"

"My twin flame?"

"Sometimes one soul will split into two so each can have Earthly experiences, but rarely are they on Earth at the same time. When they are, often only one half knows the true situation. That half would be Edward."

"I'm his other half?" I mused.

"You and Edward will spend eternity together, never doubt that. While you are here, you have free will but you are choosing wrong."

"Why don't I feel it?" I asked. I wasn't into this sort of spiritual mumbo jumbo normally, but Jasper spoke as if his words were the truth and I couldn't doubt them for some reason.

"You do feel it. Don't think about the answer. Describe Edward for me, in just three words."

"Safe, loving, home,"

"Describe Jake for me now."

"Need, sorrow, devotion."

"Blind devotion."

"Devotion is a good thing. I love him."

"Devotion is only good if you are devoted to the right man."

"If Jake was the wrong man, I wouldn't be devoted to him."

"Charlie Manson's followers were devoted to him. They proved that. Can you honestly say devotion is always good? Think about that when Jacob asks you to save him. Sometimes you have to save yourself."

Daniel parked and we hurried inside. The first thing that hit me was how Jasper's face changed to one of a man in excruciating pain before Jake opened the front door.

"Are you okay?" I cried out, grabbing his arm as he stumbled.

"It's not me," Jaz replied, sitting on our stoop, holding his head in his hands. Jake stepped forward, tugging on my arm.

"Bella, for God's sake, leave him there. Come inside, Sam needs us."

"What's going on?" I asked as I saw Jake's best friend's face.

He looked like death. No, he looked like a man who wished for death with all his heart and soul.

"Emily has been killed in a car accident," Jake stated.

"Oh God no."

The room swayed and Jake held onto my arm tightly, his fingers gripping into my flesh. The pain was the only thing keeping me from fainting.

" God, no, not Emily. She was so happy. I can't believe this. When? When did it happen, Jake?"

"Three days ago."

"You didn't call me! Why didn't you call? I would have come straight here. I can't believe I will never see Emily again."

"Maybe because I knew you would be less than useless. This isn't our loss, it's Sam's. You are supposed to be here for him, not make this all about yourself as usual."

Sam held out his arms, and I went into them and felt his entire body shake against mine as he clutched onto me tightly. His tears soaked my hair and his lips struggled to speak.

"I can't believe we let that happen. She was doing it for us, and she died, Bella. We need to do something. We have to go back and not let her leave with him. I don't care about the account.

I just want my Emily back."

"Sam, it's time, take these," Jake ordered, handing him two small white pills and a glass of water.

He grabbed them and swallowed them down as if they were all that stood between madness and sanity. Jasper appeared at Sam's side and I felt myself be released from the desperate embrace as Sam sank onto the sofa again.

Jasper sat beside him, taking both of Sam's hands in his own, shutting his eyes. I was grateful that he did that because his eyes reflected all the same agony as Sam's did, yet as far as I knew, Jasper had never met Emily.

"She's okay. She's transitioning. Sam, she wants you to know she isn't in any pain. She felt nothing. She left her body before the impact. Emily doesn't blame you at all. She agreed to do it out of love for you, and this was an accident. She's at peace."

Jake stared at Jasper as though he was crazy so I led him to the kitchen before he could say anything.

"What the fuck is he saying?" Jake asked.

"Jasper would appear to be an empath or whatever they are called. I saw a documentary about them. He absorbs other people's emotions and because they are not his own feelings, he can analyze them and see what's happening on all levels. He must be a psychic or a medium as well, if he can contact Emily."

"But that's all bs. Nobody can really do that," Jake argued.

"Does it really matter, Jake? Look at Sam."

Sam was still pale, still shaking, but a new calmness was appearing on his face as he gazed at Jasper. He lay down on the couch and Jasper stayed beside him, talking softly, and to our surprise, Sam closed his eyes and slept.

"That's just because the pills have finally kicked in and he hasn't slept since the accident," Jake said crossly.

"Jake, as I said, does it matter why he has calmed down? I have no idea if Jasper is for real but who cares, if he can help Sam. Tell me what happened."

"You haven't heard the worst of it," Jake sighed, sitting down at the table and taking the cup of coffee I was handing him.

"Emily was out with Aro Volturi, and they were T boned by a drunk driver. They were both killed outright."

"Aro's dead?" I replied in shock. Shock upon shock.

"He hadn't signed," Jacob added, his face crumbling.

"Seriously? Two human beings are dead, one of them a good friend, and you are falling apart because you missed out on a business deal?" I cried in disbelief.

"It's not just a business deal, it was the deal that could have saved the company. We will go under now. We've been holding on by the skin of our teeth and now it's all over. Sam and I have lost everything. We will be bankrupt."

"I don't think Sam is going to care about losing the company," I growled at Jake. "He just lost his soul mate."

"He'll meet someone else in time. Don't you always blather on about how we have seven of them? We'll never have the opportunity to have another company like this one, Bella. It's all gone."

"I need some air," I replied, grabbing my coat and heading for the front door.

xxxx

The funerals were so different to one another.

The Volturi's held theirs first and Jake insisted we attend. I was surprised, seeing there was nothing in it for him any more. Sam was in no shape to go, and Jasper was constantly at his side, so Jake and I went alone.

The women were all in black and the service went on forever, as they wailed and cried out loud.

"Where is he being buried?" I whispered to Jake as we finally left the church.

"They are flying the body back to Italy. They will have a second funeral there."

"We don't have to attend that, surely," I hoped.

"No, they would not welcome outsiders."

He sighed and shook his head.

"Emily was sure it would happen that night. She had him panting for her, and she was going to refuse to go on any further dates with him unless he signed. Rosa told me over dinner it was all decided. We came that close," he sighed again.

I walked to the car and sat inside, waiting while Jake spoke to the Volturi women. He took Rosa into his arms and kissed her forehead, and I wondered if he had bonded with her in any way.

Then I wondered if she would inherit the company.

Because if she did, that could put Jake in a position where he had to choose between Rosa and what she owned; and me, and what we shared.

This Jacob was not the Jacob I fell in love with, so I couldn't begin to predict how he would choose, if it came down to it.

My heart was in my mouth as we drove home.

I wanted to ask, but I was afraid of the answer.

xxxx

Emily was cremated after a simple ceremony with only Sam and Jake and I, and of course, Jasper, in attendance. Sam could barely stand to keep breathing if Jasper were not there beside him. As well as being able to absorb some of Sam's pain, Jaz also seemed to be able to lend the man his strength in return. Sam needed Jasper like he needed air.

Without Emily, he was just a shell.

Her family was all gone now, she had been the last of her line and now there was nobody left in the world who was related to Emily.

That made me feel even sadder. How many people would remember her?

Sam obviously would. He would never forget.

He would never forgive himself, either.

I refused to think about what 'dating' a Volturi involved. Maybe Emily just went out to dinner and to see shows with Aro. Maybe only Jacob felt it necessary to use sex as a means of persuasion. I hoped to God that was the case. Sam had more than he could bear already, if he had that extra burden of knowing she had been sleeping with the oldest Volturi brother, he would collapse under the strain.

xxxx

"You have other clients. You've made a pretty good living up until now," I pointed out to Jake.

"It's all on credit. It's not cheap, renting the office in that building, and leasing the cars. It's all about show. To be successful you have to look successful already. We've barely been making the payments lately. Then Sam insisted on hiring Jasper because he says the man can tell instantly if a new account will bring in a worthwhile profit or whether we are wasting our resources wining and dining certain clients. Every penny counts, Bella.

He wanted Jasper to monitor the Volturi situation once they signed."

Jake tried to hold what was left of the company together in the weeks that followed. His face was always creased with strain and worry, and I knew he was right and it was all about to collapse. My wage would never be enough to keep us both, not living here in the city.

Either we would have to return to Forks, and Jake would have to face the humiliation of no longer being the local boy who had gone away and done good, or he needed a miracle.

Just weeks after the funeral, he rushed home, his face jubilant and I felt the earth disappear beneath my feet.

"Aro's Will has been read," he said excitedly.

Fuck. I had a feeling he was about to find the middle aged fading Rosa appealing enough to leave me for, now.

"Cass inherited."

"What?" I said in relief and surprise.

"Marcus got their Mother's fortune when she died, so their father left everything to Aro, and he has left everything to Cass."

"But isn't Cass underage?" I pointed out.

"Actually, Bella, he turned twenty one when you were away in Forks. He was disappointed you weren't here so you could attend his party with me. We could still salvage something here. Cass holds the purse strings now, and guess what? Cass likes you. Very much. You could save us, Bella."