The next morning I was sick with worry. I knew that in the long run this would help me be with Edward but there was always the chance that it would just make things that much worse. When I walked down for breakfast my mom greeted me kindly but thankfully my dad was already headed to work. I'm not sure I could look both of them in the eyes and not break down and confess everything we had planned.

"Bella I want to tell you something." My mom's voice was timid and that was not like her. Instantly I went on alert.

"Ok what is it?" She took a deep breath as if to steady herself. She was completely off and that just wasn't my mom. I knew this was going to be about Edward's dad and her but I didn't know if I was ready to hear it. Of course this would confirm for sure that I could be with him without it being legally (not to mention morally) right. The tears came next and I couldn't keep myself from going to her even as the first one slid from her eye. I wrapped my arms around her.

"He was your father's best friend." I nodded still holding onto her trying to keep both her and me together. She pulled back to look at my face "thank you I'm ok now." I wasn't so sure but shakily sat back down in my seat across from her. "After me and Charlie had gone out for a while he invited me over to his house for a get together with some friends. Carlisle was there..." she paused obviously trying to pull herself together again. I felt a stab of pity. This must have been incredibly difficult for her to admit to her daughter. After only a minute she smiled back at me and continued. "Charlie ran out of drinks so he went to the store down the street to get some. He was only gone maybe ten minutes but I felt a deep connection with Carlisle. Over the next couple of weeks I secretly saw him when I wasn't with Charlie but once..." again she had to stop to collect herself. I was so wrapped in her words I hadn't even realized that my face had twisted into an appalled expression. Quickly I relaxed it into a more neutral look before she could see and get her feelings hurt. I didn't want to rush her but I was so anxious to hear the rest of what happened. I was also horrified by the idea.

"It's ok mom you don't have to tell me the rest." I said this out loud but internally I was screaming at myself for destroying my last chance to hear the truth of her affair. Uck, even thinking the word was unpleasant.

"No, I want you to hear from me what happened." Just like when she started she took another deep breath. "We weren't careful; we were sitting together at the park having a picnic when Charlie saw us together." I winced picturing how my dad would have taken it. Kind of like the way my dad will probably react when he sees the Cullens today, I thought to myself. She closed her eyes no doubt lost in the past. "Your father was so angry, he started yelling at Carlisle and saying he betrayed him. I tried to calm him down but he wasn't exactly thrilled with me either." She stopped like she was done but I still had questions that she hadn't answered.

"But why are you mad at Carlisle?"

"Well he blamed the whole thing on me. Said I was the one who came on to him and that I instigated the whole thing. We were young that's how young kids act." I processed this for a second. Carlisle always seemed like such a great guy I couldn't imagine him blaming it all on my mom. Although he was about to lose his best friend, maybe that was the only way he could see that might not make him lose Charlie. Didn't work. I still had the big question left but I wasn't ready to ask it yet. After all my mom told me I wasn't sure how much more my heart could take. To avoid my big question I just asked something smaller I was curious about.

"If Charlie was so mad at you, why did he stay with you and marry you?" I hadn't meant for it to come out quite like that but she didn't seem that bothered by it.

"He did love me and I loved him, with all my heart. We fought for a while about it but I just proved to him and myself that he was the only one I wanted to be with and it's still true today." I would have found this comment sweet normally but I was so shocked by everything that came before it that it barely registered in my brain. Unfortunately I had run out of questions except for the one I had been most wondering about from the beginning.

"What about Edward…he's not…" I trailed off not wanted to actually put my greatest fear into words.

"Related to you?" A smile spread across her face removing all the sorrow that had just been all over it. "Of course not, he is Esme and Carlisle's" My heart swelled and tears of pure joy fell from my eyes. "The affair was at least two years before you were born." More tears replaced the ones I had wiped away and my mom scooped me into her arms.

"I have to go soon or I'm going to be late for school."

"Ok" My mom released me placing one final kiss on my cheek. Then throwing me one last smiling glance, she walked up the stairs. I got my bag off the kitchen table and walked out to my truck. Although my mom's story made me feel bad and still a little guilty about what I was going to do, it strengthened my resolve that this is what we all needed.