We were well into the 6th month of our marriage and enjoying our much delayed honey moon phase.
It was interrupted when we received a phone call on a cloudy afternoon.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Hello is Mr. Cullen there?" a voice asked. I handed the phone to Edward.
"Hello?" he said keeping an arm wrapped around me. The longer he stayed on the phone the more his face contorted into a mask of pain and it worried me. After half an hour he was done talking and silently set the phone down.
"Edward?" I asked quietly. He didn't look at me. Instead he looked at the sheets unwrapping the arm he had around me.
"Edward" I whispered shaking him violently.
"We have to court." He finally muttered. "What, why?" I cried.
He finally turned his head to me with a somber expression. "We've been assigned to 6 months separation, Bella." He finally whispered. The elbows I had kept myself propped up on gave out from underneath me. "w-what?" I finally whispered. "Remember the contract?" he asked. I gulped nodding at the fact that I remembered that dreadful document.
"Yeah well Carlisle changed it, instead of divorcing we have to go through six months of separation." He quietly explained.
I covered my mouth to muffle a sob. He pulled me to his body sitting up as I clutched his shirt and burst into sobs.
"Shh." He cooed rocking us back and forth. "No, please Edward no I can't." I choked lifting my head to face him. "I can't lose you either, Bella." He whispered dejectedly.
"What are we going to do?" I asked as he wiped my tears.
"We ask if we could forget about this, and if we don't get that you probably will have to move out, I'll try to get them to let me to move out if it comes down to that though." He answered.
"What if I have to move out?" I asked.
"Then you will move out to the guest house I built for you, it's in your name." he replied. "I have a house?' I asked.
"I had it in my name but it was a house I was going to give my future wife, when she deserved it and well as of 10 o clock this morning you are now officially the owner." I buried my face in his chest.
"You really shouldn't have." I muttered.
"Why not?" he asked tilting my chin to face him.
"You know I don't like grand gestures, I just want you; I won't be able to give you anything as grand as a house." I mumbled.
"And I'm not asking you to; please take it." He whispered.
I nodded too tired to fight with him. He rocked us back and forth until I managed to fall asleep in his arms.
When I next woke up it was to an empty bed. I got up and padded downstairs to find Edward sitting at the kitchen island with a cup of coffee and his head in his hands. I slowly approached him, hugging his shoulders from behind as I rested my chin on his shoulder.
His head turned to the right where my head was so he could brush his lips across my temple. I reached over him and took the cup of coffee from his hands and took a sip as he pulled me into his lap.
"Sleep well?" he questioned.
"It could have been better." I murmured taking another sip.
He kissed my forehead taking the cup from my hands before he took a sip.
We shared the cup of coffee until it was done. I didn't want it to be over, that meant we had to have a conversation. A conversation I was dreading.
"I called our lawyer." He started. I sighed.
"And?" I questioned.
"We have to go to court next week." He replied after a moment of silence. I sighed.
"I knew it was too good to be true." I muttered under my breath.
"I promised you eternity, and that's what you'll get." He vowed lifting my chin so he could look directly at me. I smiled weakly at him.
"I love you." He continued.
"I love you too." I whispered quietly.
He pulled my chin closer to his so he could kiss me softly.
6 days later we were sitting in a court room.
Edward was rubbing soothing circles across the back of my hand and I kept tapping my foot nervously. He placed his free hand on my knee in effort to stop my tapping and I stopped smiling sheepishly at him.
He kissed my head as I snuggled closer to his body.
The opening of the large doors off to the side pulled us apart and I sat straighter in my seat as the grumpy judge sat down in his seat.
Our lawyer stood up and explained the situation we were in, briefly but with detail. The judge silently listened until the lawyer sat down and then turned to us, slowly assessing every single detail he possibly could. I shrunk into Edward under his scrutinizing gaze. The judge cleared his throat and I sat up straight again.
"Well, I have come to a conclusion." He said after a minute.
"As stated in the contract you both will spend 6 months apart from each other in separate homes, which means Mrs. Cullen you will have to find a place to live in until those six months are up. You have 24 hours to move out. Furthermore, there is no sexual intercourse involved what so ever. If there are any changes no matter how minor you must report to the court." He said and I blinked back tears.
Edward rubbed my arm and we stood up as the session ended and I leaned against him. We walked out of the courthouse quietly. He opened my door and helped me in before rounding the front of the car and sliding in behind the wheel.
When we got home I silently went upstairs and started packing.
"What are you doing Bella?" Edward asked softly from the doorway.
"You heard the judge; I have 24 hours to move out." I muttered putting my clothes into the suitcase.
His fingers closed around my wrist as he tugged it gently making me look at him. His other hand came to cup my cheek as his eyes darted back and forth looking into my eyes. A sob bubbled from lips and he immediately pulled me to him, the hand that was cupping my cheek to wrap around my shoulders as the other wrapped around my back pulling me closer to his frame.
I buried my face into his neck as my fingers gripped the back of his suit tightly. My sobs shook my body violently as he pulled me tighter to him and rubbed my back.
"Shh, don't cry my love please?" he begged quietly wiping my tears.
A sob bubbled from me as he leaned down to take my mouth in his.
My tears stained his face as he kissed me fervently lowering me to the bed, setting my luggage on the ground.
"Let me make love to you." He whispered against my lips. I nodded my assent silently, unable to form coherent words. Slowly we peeled each others clothes off and he entered my awaiting body and I had to choke on a sob. The feeling of being whole with him was something I was going to cherish. We made love slowly coming to our releases together. An hour later he was asleep beside me, cuddled to my body. I couldn't bear to leave him; I had fallen for him hard and rapidly.
I wrapped my arms wrapped around his frame hugging myself to him, never wanting to let him go. He turned in his sleep, bringing me closer to him. I sighed and slipped from his arms.
I found his discarded shirt on the floor and threw it on before padding downstairs. I made a cup of coffee for my self and explored the house I called home.
I took my time looking at every single picture that flooded our walls, tables and mantle. There were many of them that Alice had taken, catching us doing something 'cute'. I loved a lot of them. The one thing in all of them was the constant love for each other that our eyes held.
My fingers involuntarily brushed across the frame while my brain silently memorized every feature of my husband's face.
The pictures didn't do him justice, he was much more handsome than the pictures could capture. When I felt two arms snake around me I sighed leaning back into the firm, bare chest.
"What are you doing?' he asked.
"Looking at pictures." I whispered. He kissed my hair.
We eventually did the inevitable and packed a few of my belongings. I left most of my things like half my shoe collection there since I was coming back in 6 months.
Once everything was packed I silently made dinner, he never let me out of his grasp. I didn't want him too.
After dinner we called the servants who were taking another vacation. They would start to work again tomorrow, Edward needed them.
The next morning Edward drove me to the house. It was just as grand as our home. We unpacked all of my belongings in silence. The clock in the hallway soon chimed and Edward sighed. It was his cue to leave. At the doorway I clung to him tightly already choking back sobs.
His arms wound around me as he too hung on to me.
"I'll miss you" he whispered pulling back so he could see me clearly.
"Me too." I whispered back. He kissed me then.
The court had given us strict orders; we couldn't have any intimate relationships outside our marriage or a relationship that involved a bed between our own relationship. The court had accepted kissing and hugging but that was basically it.
I sighed as we broke away.
He kissed my lips softly again before he rested his forehead against mine with his eyes closed and his jaw clenched.
"I love you." I whispered tracing his lip.
"I love you too." He whispered finally opening his eyes.
He left a little later.
The house was too big and eerie. My bed was cold and I didn't sleep properly that night.
