Okay! I am pleased to say that I was able to get this one out a lot sooner than I thought I would, and so I do hope you enjoy!
Bella woke up the next moment to the smell and sound of sizzling bacon. It seemed that Edward was taking care of her again, just like her friends had instructed him to do, and she couldn't have been more pleased with that particular piece of encouragement. She was glad that he seemed to be following it, too. Rising from the bed, she stretched out almost like a cat before walking over to the kitchen, seeing Edward cooking and the sight making her smile.
"Why, hello there sexy husband of mine," she said to him, a smile on her lips. Bella was feeling like spending time with Edward today, mostly on the couch, or she could have him watch her paint after she finished her confusion painting. Because she was certainly past that stage now, there was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to be with Edward. The question was, exactly to what extent did she feel for him? Was it love that she felt towards him? Or was it only a huge amount of like?
That was the only that was plaguing her mind at the moment, making her question, but she was certain she would figure it out in time. "Why, good morning sultry wife of mine," Edward responded, smiling gently at her before turning away from the stove a moment to press a gentle kiss to her lips. Bella was unable to keep herself from smiling as she pulled away from him, biting her lip a little bit before stepping away and taking a seat at the table.
"What is my stud muffin making for breakfast today?" she asked him cheerily.
"Stud muffin? Well, I am making some awesome bacon, delicious sunny side up eggs, and some toast with butter and a light dusting of garlic powder on top," he informed her with a smile as she nodded at him.
"Well, that sounds delicious," she said to him, smiling a little bit as she relaxed in the chair, content to watch Edward move about the kitchen. He found him adorable, the way he acted as he moved through the motions of cooking.
She thought he seemed almost graceful in the way he moved about, doing this and that to get everything ready for their consumption, and she found it sexy. A man that cooked certainly earned bonus point in the sexy department, which she greatly appreciated that her husband possessed. It was a bonus to things. She was certain that if Edward was less attractive but still acted the same way, she would be equally as interested in him.
"Breakfast is served," Edward declared as he placed a full plate in front of her, making Bella smile.
"It looks absolutely wonderful," she said to him with a smile on her lips.
"Good, that was my intention. Now tell me if it tastes nearly as good as it looks, why don't you," Edward said, fixing himself a plate before taking a seat next to you as he smiled brightly at her. His smile melted her heart a little bit, she loved that smile. It warmed her right down to her toes and she wasn't afraid to admit it anymore.
She couldn't help but consume the whole plate of food that Edward had made her as he had done a fantastic job of cooking. It was almost obnoxious to her, how good Edward seemed to be at everything, but at the same time she found it a bit endearing. She liked that he was good at things, it meant that she didn't have to work at the everyday little tasks nearly as much. If they stayed married, she wondered if he would keep this up or if he was only doing it to impress her. She couldn't help but be curious about that. Something told her that this wasn't something he was doing in an effort to impress, but something he was doing because it was a part of his nature.
"So, Bella," Edward said as he finished his food and picked up her plate, taking it to the sink as he started to wash the dishes, "Do you want to tell me about your ex, that Jacob guy? Your friends seemed to think that it was important that you did. If you share that, I will tell you exactly what it is that I do," he said to her, smiling a little bit.
She tensed at the sound of Jacobs name reflexively but quickly relaxed. It had been a long time since he had been in her life, and she was thankful for it. But the memory was still painful, she was surprised that she had gotten through the conversation she had with Edward so easily the other day. Maybe his presence just made it easier to remember and still function.
Bella sighed for a moment, running a hand through her hair and looking at the ceiling. "Alright. But I want to do some painting first, okay? I have a lot I want to get done with the stuff I have right now, and then I will talk to you, how does that sound?" she asked, her stomach pitching about at the thought of having to tell Edward all about her experiences with Jacob. She hated to remember it.
"That's fine," he said, smiling gently at her, seeing the distressed look in her eyes. Having finished with the dishes, he walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her, kissing her forehead gently, "Remember, when you tell me, I will be right next to you, and I'll even hold your hand through it, okay? If it's important to tell me, I still want you to, but I will make it as easy as possible," Edward promised her, kissing her temple sweetly before releasing her.
"Go on, now, work on that painting of yours, I have some work I need to get done today, too. When you are done, let me know. I can stop whenever you need me to," Edward promised Bella smiling gently at her.
"Thanks, Edward, for understanding," she said, kissing him quickly on the lips before she stood and headed straight to her studio to work.
As she worked, she wondered how she was going to bring things up to Edward, how she was supposed to properly tell him about what had happened with Jacob, why her friends thought it was so important that she shared it with him. Obviously it was because she had been abused by a man for quite a long time. She had been smart enough to get out of it as soon as she could, once she had been able to get some help from her friends that is.
She shuddered a little bit, remembering the way that he had cut her off from her friends and those that loved her. He hadn't wanted her to be able to get help from anyone, he wanted her to himself and he made her paint every day, paint for him specifically. He said he would provide for her, that she didn't have to worry about making money as long as she painted for him. For about two month after she had escaped him she couldn't stand the thought of painting as it reminded her of him.
Then, she did a series of paintings about anger and abuse and it seemed that she had managed to cure herself, that she was able to kick the feeling about painting that she irrationally had gained from being with Jacob. Of course, she would be telling all of this to Edward rather soon, she hated that her mind was dwelling on it.
Bella still managed to work though, finishing this particular painting and smiling at it a little bit, it had turned out the way she wanted it to, and she wasn't going to start the next one today, she would let the other dry completely before she moved it, after all, she did have an important conversation with her very wonderful husband that she had to have.
Leaving her studio, she went to clean herself up, getting the paint that stained her skin off before she walked out of the bathroom to see Edward still working, his fingers flying over the keyboard at a rather impressive speed. She always seemed to be impressed by Edward, it was hard not to be with the way he was.
"Edward? You at a good stopping point?" she asked him, wringing her hands together. She wanted to share with him, but she was extremely nervous about doing so. She didn't know how to handle herself in this situation. She wished she could, but she hadn't been around a man that cared about her other than family in several years, and it was nerve wracking to have to do this, but she was going to. Because if she didn't she was certainly going to be murdered by her friends. Edward was a good guy, she felt like he deserved to be told about her sticky past.
"Of course," he said, quickly saving and setting his closed computer to the side before opening his arms to her, urging her close to him. Bella smiled and found a bit of a refuge inside of his arms. It felt good when Edward held her, unlike what it had felt when Jacob had held her towards the end.
"I hope you can be patient with me, I haven't had to tell anyone about this in a very long time, so I am sure you can imagine that I am just a little nervous about this," Bella said, biting her lip, glad that she didn't have to look at Edward to do this, if she did, she was certain that she wouldn't have been able to handle it.
"It's okay, Bella," Edward said, kissing the back of her head and squeezing gently, "I promise I can be very patient, haven't I proven that so far?" he asked her with a soft smile on his lips, his hands finding hers and lacing his fingers through her fingers in a means of trying to support her as much as he could.
She smiled a little bit at the way Edward was acting. She loved that he was so supportive of her. "Okay, good," she said, nodding a little bit before she went silent, her heart pounding as she was nervous that telling Edward everything would scare him away from her. She didn't want him to leave her, even if she may not want to stay married to him, she still wanted to have a relationship with him.
She took a deep breath to prepare herself, taking comfort in the way that they Edward was slowly running one of his hands up and down her arms. "Okay," she said, "So, you know that Jacob met me outside of one of my freshmen classes?" she said, starting out as she heard Edward mumble an "mmhmm" to her.
"Well, he was a Junior at that time, and, at that point I was flattered that an older guy would be interested in me. I was embarrassingly interested in him. Just because it was so novel did I allow us to go out to coffee a couple of times together. And he seemed really nice, and we dated for about two years, he got a good job and then he asked if he wanted to move in together, after all we had been dating for a long time. And, since it seemed only natural, I said yes, and so I moved in with him. We were living together for my senior year and that's when it all started," she said, taking a deep breath, and squeezing Edward's hand a little bit.
"He had had these moments before, where he seemed to get really angry about little things, like me talking to a male classmate, or forgetting to text him where I was when I said I would, or even when I didn't promise anything. But I thought nothing of it, just that he really cared about me and was a little bit jealous, and I didn't mind. I honestly liked the attention, I had never been the object of someone's attention before, at least not that I knew of," she said, smiling a little at Edward, remembering what he had told her.
"Anyway, we moved in together, and we shared a bed and everything. Jacob and I had never … sealed the deal. I always told him that when I thought it was time that it would happen, but not before then. And, he seemed to think that my moving in with him was going to mean that once everything was settled, it would be okay. It was one night after I had gotten ready for bed in my lovely oversized t-shirt and shorts that he kinda … forced himself on him. Before I knew what was happing our cloths were off, he had a condom on and then … it happened. I hadn't gotten even a chance to tell him no, it hurt pretty bad, and he just kissed my face, told me that he loved me, and that it would feel good soon. I just wanted him off, and wanted him to stop, but … I came involuntarily," she said, shivering as she remember that.
"I had thought that it was silly to feel awful over what had happened. But … I felt dirty, Edward. Extremely dirty. He told me that it was okay, that we were living together, had been dating for two years so it was only natural and that I would feel better over time. He was so sweet to me after that, and he didn't push it again for awhile. And … Looking back on it now I know that what he did was rape. I know it. Then, I was just … too naïve to think for myself. I should have ran then. I haven't been with anyone other than Jacob, and I'm kind of scared to. Even you, Edward. I know you won't hurt me, but I'm more afraid that I'd freak out because of some weird psychological thing," Bella told him taking a deep breath.
"So it wasn't until a few months later, when I had spent a night out with friends and forgot to tell Jacob when I was going to be back and where I was going, so he wouldn't worry, that he first hit me. I walked into the apartment at about one in the morning, still laughing at a friends joke as I closed the door behind me to turn around and see Jacob standing in front of me with his arms crossed. He was so angry and we fought and then he hit me, right on the jaw. He made me fall on the ground, and I was so stunned I couldn't speak. He apologized, so much, he felt awful, or I thought he did. And then he took me to bed and he "made love" to me, but I didn't want it, I just went along with it so he wouldn't freak on me again," she said, shaking her head, "That was the first bruise he gave me, right on the jaw. I couldn't go out in public with out putting concealer on it for weeks. He said he didn't want anyone to think that he was abusing me. I didn't realize that was what he was doing," Bella said to Edward, shaking a little bit in his arms as she continued to speak.
"Things went on like that, it didn't happen often, but every time it did it was a little worse, I had a broken bone a couple of times and he fixed it while I was a sleep and told me that I needed to pretend it didn't hurt, so no one would know and then I could go to classes. And that was what I did, I was so scared that he would be angry at me again. I didn't want Jacob to be angry with me.
"Once I graduated, things got even worse. He got extremely protective of me. Extremely. I wasn't even allowed to leave the apartment, he wouldn't let me see his friends and he told me that his job would pay for everything I needed, that as long as I painted for him, made him beautiful artwork, that he would take care of me and love me. And I believed him, I believed that he loved me and I thought that I loved him, too. Why else would I be sticking by his side. Then he started coming home angry and drunk and he'd beat me and when I would wake up the next morning, he would have made me this wonderful breakfast, and bandaged me up, and he would be so sweet to me, for a whole week, and then it would happen again.
"It was one day when he came home and I hadn't finished cleaning up all the dishes in the kitchen, because I had been painting, when he got seriously angry. He yelled at me, screamed, told me that I was a worthless whore and a bitch that no one would ever love. He beat me the worst then, kicking me, hitting me, he even slammed an aluminum bat into my legs to make me fall, and hit my back and … it was awful. He had beat me so bad there was no option other than him bringing me to the emergency room, he just left me there, telling them that he would check on me in a couple of hours, so he would be able to go and get some things figured out with work so he could stay with me.
"My friends got there before he did, and they got it out of me that Jacob had done this to me, and that I was scared. We got the police in there, my dad was called in, and we quickly got together a restraining order. Then Jacob ran. I was free of him. It was obvious that I was an abuse victim, when they took x-rays they could see the places where the bones didn't heal quite right. It was a month before I was let out of the hospital, three before I could paint again, and four before I could handle painting without thinking of the bastard that I had thought I loved.
"I went to therapy for this, and it helped. But I still am worried I'll back slide. Part of the reason you freaked me out so much was because a man was in my home again and last time I was alone with a man things didn't go so well," she said, cringing a little bit, "But it's been over a year now, since I had gotten all better. And … that's where I am now. That's why my friends thought it was important to tell you and why, well, why my family is so protective. Emmett doesn't make it very obvious, but when he found you in my house I am certain he was ready to beat you to a pulp if you had shown any inkling of a hint that you might possibly hurt me in any way," she said to him.
"And … that's it," Bella said, her body shaking a little bit at the memory of things. It was scary. Having to remember this stuff. She didn't want to remember it, but she knew that she had comes to term with it all, but that didn't make it any easier for her to remember the experiences.
She lifted a hand to her cheek and found tears there, frowning a little bit at the presence of them on her cheek. Edward had turned her around by that point so he could look at her face, his hands reaching out and slowly brushing the tears off of her cheeks before kissing her forehead gently and sweetly. "I am so sorry you went through all of that, my beautiful wife," he informed her, speaking sweetly, "I promise you, I will never hurt you like he did. Only love you, and love you for real not whatever weird possessive love he felt towards you," he said, placing gently kisses below each eye as he wiped away her tears gently.
"I promise," Edward whispered to her.
Bella nodded, smiling at him a little bit before she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into his neck for a moment, taking in his masculine scent, and loving it. She liked the way he smiled. She would have to tell him that some time. Eventually pulled away and took a deep breath. "I'm better now," she informed him with a smile.
"Good," he said, kissing her forehead, "Does that mean you are ready to finally have me tell you, straight up, what it is I do?" he asked, smiling.
"Of course," she said, wanting to hear his job title, she knew he wrote, but she had no idea at what level or for what.
"Well, I am a published author, under a pen name. You know that writer with the quite popular books? What's the name … David Stone?" Edward said, smiling at Bella before leaning forward and whispering in her ear, "That's me," he said to her before he pulled back and saw her eyes go wide.
"Wait … are you telling me you are a millionaire?" she asked him, incredulous.
"Yes, yes I am," he said to her, kissing the tip of her nose.
"And you have been living in my apartment for the past few weeks? When I am sure you are used to much more … luxurious living?" she asked him.
"Yes. But I actually prefer this. It is nice," Edward informed her with a smile, seeing her look of disbelief.
"Prove it to me," Bella said, not believing that he was a famous author, of course, she could believe he might be a broke and starving author, but a famous and successful one? No way.
"In the next book, you find out the birth story of the main character, a couple more things are revealed, and it's set up for the final novel, which is already finished, but they are going to wait another year and a half to actually publish," he said, "Oh! And I am working on a new series, one about a particularly enchanting woman. You've been my muse for that one," he informed her with a smile before pressing his lips to her forehead again.
"You're kidding," she said, surprised.
"Not at all. Still want that annulment?" he asked her.
"Maybe. If I'm not in love with you. But, damn, you keep getting more and more amazing," she said, shaking her head at him.
"Does that mean you believe me?" he asked her with a smile.
"It means that I will pretend to believe you. I can't possibly have ended up drunkenly marrying a millionaire that is the writer of my favorite book series," she informed him before shaking her head and kissing his lips, "But I suppose, if you say so, I will believe you."
"Good. Now, come on, I think I owe you a wonderfully delicious lunch, filled with comfort food and dessert like foods," he informed her picking her up and carrying her over to the kitchen with a smile on his face as Bella smiled at him, laughing lightly a little bit.
So now Edward knows about Jacob and Bella know's exactly who/what Edward is/does. Yay! If you liked the chapter, leave me a review, please! :)