A/N: I do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.

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All of the air I had been holding in my lungs rushed out in a torrent. I'd wished, hoped and prayed that Edward still felt something for me and here it was, laid out for me, but I was completely dumbfounded and incapable of simple comprehension.

"You…you wanted me?"

Edward's eyes glimmered with unshed tears as he silently nodded his head.

"But why…why would you get married? To a woman! I just don't understand how -"

Before I could finish my sentence, Edward interrupted. "Jasper, when I lost you I didn't want to think of myself with another man, or anyone else for that matter. No one else caught my eye or made me feel that spark I always felt with you, so I was resigned to being alone. Then Bella came into my life. She was sweet and kind and we shared a lot in common. After awhile I started to care for her and she felt the same. Unfortunately, she cared more for me than I her."

I sat still, completely mind fucked, as he continued.

"I honestly thought I could build a life with her. I figured if I couldn't have who I really wanted, then I could at least live the normal life and have a family. Mom and Dad were happy, but very surprised and confused to say the least. Months before the wedding they constantly asked me if I was sure. Of course I wasn't, but I had made a promise to my future wife at that point and I couldn't go back on it. I was determined to give her what she wanted and needed."

"Even at the expense of your own happiness," I countered bitterly.

"We were happy in the beginning. As you're well aware, I'm a romantic, so I did all kinds of sweet things for her, but whenever we got around to sex it was always a…struggle. I knew she was frustrated and I tried to make it up to her as best as I could, but it just didn't work. It must have been a stroke of luck, or the heavens smiling down upon me, when we conceived Alice. It was one of the few times I was able to actually get through the entire act. I was over the moon happy during her pregnancy and when Alice was born I felt a love I hadn't felt since…"

He trailed off as I waited with bated breath to find out who else made him feel the intense love he now held for Alice.

"Anyway," he continued, "I think she always knew something was different about me. I don't know. I spoke about you, that long lost friend. When you contacted me months ago, she said she saw an immediate change in me. The attention that I once showed her was now on you through texting, IM-ing and emails. She told me she couldn't rip me away from the computer if her life depended on it, but I was just happy to have you back in my life. I guess she couldn't take it anymore, so she turned to someone else."

I snapped out of my temporary stupor then.

"What? Bella cheated on you," I asked.

"Yeah, she met some guy while she was in Port Angeles for a teaching seminar. She said she felt bad at first, but after awhile she thought she had the right to feel love and passion from someone."

"That's bullshit," I exclaimed. "If she was so unhappy, why didn't she just leave before she cheated? She may have been frustrated or whatever, but that does NOT give her permission to cheat."

Edward smiled, confusing me even more.

"Jas, while I appreciate you taking up for me, you have to admit that we were both in the wrong. She cheated, but I also married someone I didn't love and couldn't have a real relationship with. We were both unfair to each other. I'm actually glad she's found someone who gives her all the happiness and love she needs."

"If you're so glad, why have you been walking around like a zombie for the past few days?"

"I'm worried about what this will do to Alice. Only having one parent in her life is going to be difficult for her."

My blood boiled as my hands clenched into fists.

Through gritted teeth I somehow managed to speak. "Are you saying that Bella is going to take Alice away from you? Is she crazy? How in the world could she think that's the right thing to do? It's one thing to be pissed at you, but to cause her child unnecessary suffering is horrible."

Seeing my increased anger spewing into the universe, Edward reached over and grabbed my hand, rubbing his thumb across my knuckles. That small gesture was all it took for my blood pressure to decrease and my anger to slowly subside.

"Jasper, she's not going to take Alice away from me. She's giving me full custody."

I was now wondering why I even wanted to have this conversation. I wasn't sure how much of this fuckery I, an innocent bystander, could take.

"What? Why?"

Edward exhaled loudly and ran his free hand through his hair. It didn't escape me that he still held my hand in his.

"She said she wanted to start a new life…without any reminders of her failures."

"What the fu-"

"Jas, I'm not going to stand in her way. If that's what she needs to do, so be it. My main focus is on Alice and making sure she has everything she needs."

I nodded my head in agreement. Alice was the most important consideration at this point, and if Bella wanted to start her new life without her young daughter, fine. Edward was an incredible parent and I had no doubt he would give Alice enough love to make up for the loss.

I flipped my hand upside down and entwined my fingers with Edward's, enjoying the warmth and the feeling of rightness. He smiled at me, making my heart beat a little faster.

"So," he started, "Now that that's out of the way, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Okay. What's up?"

"Are you in love with Riley?"