BPOV

It was the first night you didn't come to my bed.

I knew you were with her.

The whole night I thought about it.

Wondered why you stayed with her.

Then tell myself it was typical for a man to sleep in the same bed with his wife.

Are you getting tired of me?

I shake my head at the absurd thought.

Days leading up to it, I saw you start to change.

You weren't distancing yourself from me.

Quite the opposite, actually.

You took your time.

Cataloging every sound you wrung from me.

Every arching ripple though my body as you gave me pleasure.

You watched like it would be the last time.

But it couldn't be.

Could it?

They why didn't you come back to me?

"Miss Izzy, is everything alright?"

I smile at the name Emmett has bestowed on me.

It's an inside joke.

A play on my old title in the playroom.

"Everything's fine."

He doesn't believe me and turns back to his burger.

"Try not to think about it. It was in the contract long before you came."

I'm not shocked that he knows what I'm thinking about.

I'm shocked that I'm not performing my duties and he feels he needs to cheer me up.

"I really am fine."

Another smile.

As genuine as I can make it look.

He still doesn't buy it.

"It's partly my fault."

My brow furrows and I tilt my head to the side.

"As the eldest, I should have been the one to marry one of the Denali sisters. Fate had other plans and threw Rosie into my path. As punishment, Carlisle gave the company to Edward. I just couldn't see myself with anybody other than her. Alice saw this and all but eloped with Jasper. That left Edward to take the bullet."

"The merger was that important."

"It had been in the works for years. Then—"

He focuses on dragging a fry through a glob of ketchup.

"Then we found out Rosie couldn't have kids."

I see the pain in his eyes.

I place a comforting hand on his.

At least my training hasn't left me completely.

"It was a hard blow to my family. For years the Cullen legacy has passed through the generations."

"What about Alice?"

He shakes his head.

"She was pregnant once. Couldn't carry it to term. When the doctor told us that it was a blessing and that the birth would have killed Alice, Jasper went out and, you know."

He makes a scissoring motion with his fingers.

"He loves my sister."

"And Edward?"

The apologetic smile says it all.

He's the family's only hope to secure their legacy.

With the lack of children running around, I'm guessing adoption is unacceptable.

I wish you didn't need Tanya so much.

That I could be the one to give you all you need.

But it could never be.

A family that traditionalistic could never accept a bastard child.