Chapter 14:

"I can't believe you, Edward Cullen!" Rosalie bellowed as she lunged at Edward. "That's a low blow, even for you." In a flash, Carlisle was on his feet and held her back. He wrapped his arms around her arms and waist in a vice grip. "Let me go! I'm going to kill him!" she screamed as she struggled to fight against Carlisle.

"All I did was tell Emmett that I couldn't figure out what's wrong with you," Edward said with a smug look on his face. "Obviously you have more problems than we originally thought if you're reacting like this." With that said, Edward headed into the kitchen and away from the explosion that was coming from Rosalie.

"You bastard!" Rosalie spat as she worked even harder to get free from Carlisle.

"Rosalie, please," Esme pleaded as she held her hands up to try and calm her down. "There's no need to use that sort of language. I'm sorry Edward didn't mean to do whatever it is that's got you so upset." Rosalie finally managed to wretch herself free from Carlisle and fixed her hair while doing her best to compose herself.

"One of these days, I really will kill him," she said darkly as she smoothed down her hair. Her gaze caught Emmett's. She saw the pain in his eyes and knew that she was the cause of it. "Can we talk?" she asked him softly.

"Esme," Carlisle whispered as he took Esme's hand in his and lead her upstairs to their bedroom to give the young couple their space.

Rosalie didn't know where to start. She began to pace nervously back and forth as Emmett sat rooted to his seat on the couch, afraid to disturb her.

"I was born in 1915," she finally started as she went to grab a scrapbook from one of the bookshelves lining the wall with the fireplace. She flipped through it until she found what she was looking for. "My dad was a banker, so the Great Depression didn't have any effect on us." She took a seat next to Emmett and held out the scrapbook. Inside, was a picture of her and Royce, announcing their engagement. She had no idea how in the world Esme got her hands on this article, or why they even bothered keeping it; it came from a part of her life she longed to forget. "I was incredibly beautiful, even as a human and my parents used that to their advantage. I was the favorite child, even above my two younger brothers. One day, I met Royce King II, his father owned the bank my father worked at, and they were one of the most powerful families around. After several months, we were engaged." Suddenly, Emmett realized why Rosalie had been so reluctant to accept his proposal. "Everything was going so fast, both of our families wanted it to be the wedding of the century. One day, I went to see my old friend, Vera. She seemed so happy. She had a husband who loved her more than anything else in the world and an adorable son. I knew that I wouldn't be able to have that if I married Royce, but I couldn't do anything to stop the wedding." Rosalie stopped and took a deep, shaking breath. "It was late when I left Vera's." Her voice was barely audible to Emmett, even with his vampire powers. "I knew I should have called my father and had him send the car, but I didn't think that it would matter. On my way home, I saw a group of drunken men standing under a broken streetlight. I suddenly wished that Royce was with me to protect me, until I realized that it was him standing there with his friends. He saw me and smiled. He pulled me over to his friends, and they began to talk about how beautiful I was." Rosalie's voice caught in her throat for a split second. "Then, Royce pulled off my jacket. The buttons fell onto the sidewalk. They beat me, and they raped me, and they left me in the alley to die. I would have died too, if Carlisle hadn't saved me. He had wanted me to be a companion for Edward, but I guess you know how that's turned out." She laughed bitterly before looking at her hands folded delicately in her lap. "I understand if you don't want to get married."

"Why in the world would I ever want that?" Emmett asked as he tilted her face up to look him in the eye.

"Didn't you hear anything I just said!? I'm damaged! My ex-fiancé raped me!"

"And he'll pay for that," Emmett urged. Rosalie shook her head.

"You're a little bit too late for that. You know, I can claim to have the same clean record as Carlisle. I only have the blood of seven men on my hands, five of them, including Royce, were there the night I was raped. The other two were guard protecting Royce, as if that could stop me. I didn't drink their blood though; I've never tasted the blood of a human. I tortured and killed all five without spilling a drop of blood." Emmett ran his fingers through Rosalie's soft hair and kissed her cheek softly.

"I don't care about any of that. I don't care if you tortured and killed a million people. I don't care about any of that. I love you so much, and I wish you had told me sooner." He looked at the photo in his lap. He traced Rosalie's smiling face gently with his finger. "You're so much more beautiful now," he whispered lovingly as he looked up at her. He leaned forward and pecked her lightly on the lips. "I have something for you," he whispered as he pulled away slightly. He then held out the engagement ring. "Rosalie Hale, will you still marry me, a poor mountain boy from Tennessee?"

Smiling, Rosalie replied, "Of course I will." He slid the ring on the appropriate finger and kissed her tenderly. He then pulled her close, afraid to let her go and lose her once again.