Chapter 9
Reason
"My great-grandmother?" said Bella. "My great-grandmother! You have got to be kidding me! Oh, my God. I can't. I don't understand."
"There's still more to know, Bella." said Jane. "Would you like me to tell you?"
"No." said Bella. "No."
"But, don't you want to know whatever became of this?" said Aro.
"I-," said Bella. "I suppose. I-,"
"The flu epidemic hit Chicago a year or so after they got engaged," said Aro. "Isabella's parents decided to move away so they wouldn't get infected. When Isabella went to tell this to Edward, he went into a fit of rage. At that time neither he nor his parents had contracted the virus. He tried to stop Isabella from leaving but there really was no stopping her. Her parents wanted to get away. And they did. And poor little Edward was left behind with a broken heart. He never saw her again. Soon after, he and his parents fell ill. The rest you know."
"But-," said Bella.
"But," Jane continued. "There is more, of course. Forty or so years after that, Alice joined the Cullen family. It took a while, but Edward eventually told Alice about his first love, Isabella Kennedy. He had never told anyone else in the family. Not even Carlisle. In 2002, Alice and Jasper went on a little trip to Arizona, which is where Alice saw you for the first time. You didn't see her, though. When she saw you, her attention was immediately drawn to you because of your scent. She somehow realised who you were and when she returned to Alaska, Edward read her mind and found out about this close encounter. Alice kept watch of you and when you made the decision to move to Forks, Edward convinced his family to move there immediately so that he would already be there once you arrived."
"So Alice saw me moving to Forks in a vision?" said Bella.
"Exactly," said Aro.
"Of course the Cullens agreed to go because of the perfect Vampire weather conditions and also because Edward is very convincing. So Edward sat and waited for you to come to Forks. And when you did, it was such a shock to him. He hadn't seen Isabella's face in a very long time. And you looked exactly like she did. He also noticed that he was unable to read your mind, as you know. When you walked into the Biology classroom, he found it extremely difficult to be around you."
"Those few days he was a no-show at school," said Jane. "He had gone to Alice and told her that he cannot go through with this anymore and that they have to leave Forks. But then you became a danger-magnet. And seeing as all he did all day was watch you, he was of course always able to save you from whatever danger you were currently in. He wanted you to stay away from him. But then he couldn't stay away from you. And then you found out about him being a Vampire and the two of you fell in love. Somehow."
Bella sat quietly as she took all of this in.
"So it was all a lie," she said. "From day one. All a plan. None of it was real." Bella broke down into tears. Jane started comforting her. This lasted quite a while. Aro excused himself, as did Brennan. Jane held Bella as she sobbed. Her heart was physically hurting. It felt like it was being squeezed by a Vampire's hands, with sharp nails digging into it at all sides.
"All this time," said Bella. "All this time. I can't- I can't believe this. It just-it just doesn't make sense. I can't!"
Bella looked up at Jane. Her eyes were redder than those of a hungry Vampire. Her face looked like it was about to burst open. She was a mess. "I never want to see him again!" she screamed. "Never!"
