Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. This storyline and all original characters belong to the author. No copyright infringement intended.

Hugs and squidges to my beta, Mauigirl60, and also to Cared and Midnight Cougar – I am so fortunate in my brilliant support team.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

April – July 2011

Much later, Bella would look back on the months following her return to England and struggle to recall anything other than a general impression of feeling numb and detached from the world.

Easter was a bit of a mixed bag. The three friends headed to Klosters, as planned, but Bella struggled to enjoy herself, and then felt even worse for ruining the trip, despite the girls' denials. During the second week, Jess and her family did their best to make it fun and include her in everything, and Lauren returned for a couple of days to dispense her unique brand of humour and advice, but Bella found it impossible to engage with anyone or anything around her.

Only at night, when she was exhausted from presenting a calm, stoic face to the world, did she relinquish control and give her emotions full rein. And often, as she cried into her pillow, trying desperately, but unsuccessfully, to muffle her sobs, the door would quietly open and, without a word, Jess or Lauren—and sometimes both—would crawl into bed with her and hold her tight until she fell into an unquiet sleep.

But even then, her dreams taunted her.

It was always some combination of chasing after something she could never reach. More often than not, she would be in a vast, labyrinthine house, walking or running from room to room in a desperate search for something which was never really defined, although it didn't take a degree in psychology to understand what—or who—she was looking for.

Back at school, Bella lost all interest in rebellion—all it had got her was a broken heart. She did exactly as she promised Edward she would do; she focussed on her lessons and course work, studied hard and avoided social situations as much as possible. Besides, immersing herself in work was a good way to stop herself thinking too much.

Jessica and Lauren remained stalwart friends, understanding when she needed cheering up, and when she needed to be left alone. They both grieved for the loss of their carefree, fun-loving pal, but revelled in any small progress Bella made towards closure and normality—be it a guarded smile, a quiet chuckle or a rolling of her eyes at Lauren's latest fuckery. They were steadfast in their support, knowing—or, at least hoping—that their friend would come out of it on the other side. They longed to rail against Edward, to call him every name, and rain down every conceivable misfortune on his head—from herpes to haemorrhoids—and between themselves they did just that. Bella, however, would not allow one word of abuse to be spoken in her presence. Not that she wanted any words spoken about Edward in her presence, good or bad.

And gradually, as is the way of such things, the pain became a little more manageable and Bella didn't have to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other, didn't have to remind herself to breathe, and no longer had to force herself to find a reason to get up every morning.

She heard little from Edward, and when he did communicate, it was only ever by email and was generally about the company or legal matters. Occasionally, he would ask about school but apart from rather formal enquiries about her health, he never touched on anything personal. Bella would respond in similar terms, such that a casual reader who knew nothing about them would probably assume they were little more than acquaintances.

Occasionally, Bella would get an email from Rose, which she both loved and hated. Loved, because Rose was deliciously caustic about everyone and everything, frequently making her smile, and because she assiduously avoided any mention of Edward. Hated, because she assiduously avoided any mention of Edward.

Bella wanted so much not to care how he was, what he was doing… who he was doing it with. She longed for the black hole which had set up residence inside her, consuming every part of who she was, to reach critical mass and just either implode and disappear, or go supernova and take her out.

Curiously, in not one of Edward's admittedly infrequent emails, did he ever mention divorce. Perhaps he didn't trust her not to return to her wild-child behaviour, and wanted to ensure that she couldn't just tie herself to some bad boy looking to steal her money. However, Bella inevitably assumed that it was because he really didn't care that much—had even, perhaps, forgotten all about it. Maybe he wouldn't give it another thought unless he decided he wanted to remarry—a notion which hurt so much she quickly shut it away in a locked compartment of her brain, refusing to give it credence until she was forced to.

So, in this way, Bella survived. Not whole—she couldn't conceive of a time when she would be whole again—but because of school and her friends, she got by and started to let herself feel again, tentatively at first, but, as time went on, with more confidence. The hole inside her, which at first had felt like it took up her entire chest cavity and abdomen, now seemed to have shrunk to manageable proportions, so much so that sometimes she could go hours without thinking about what she'd lost.; hours when she could smile or even laugh, and feel like a normal teenager; hours when she thought maybe the future held only good things for her and that she could and would move on, maybe even meet someone and fall in love again.

And then something would happen and she'd find herself wrapping her arms tightly around herself, as if she feared that all her insides would spill out onto the floor if she didn't hold them in. It might be seeing or hearing the name 'Edward'… Edward Rochester, Edward Scissorhands, Edward Ferrers, Edward Norton, Prince Edward, Edward VIII—who knew there were so many bloody Edwards. Or it might be something more direct… an email from Rose or, worse, from Edward himself, each cold, unfeeling word slicing into her like a thousand paper cuts.

Then, of course, there were all the phantom sightings… the ones where you see the object of your desire everywhere you look. A flash of auburn hair; the back of a tall, broad-shouldered man in an expensive suit; even an Aston Martin in British Racing Green flashing by.

Each momentary raising of her hopes, only to be dashed, seemed to form another callous on her heart, and if it hadn't been for her friends, Bella knew she would never have survived the final months of her school days. Their constancy, together with the huge amount of work to be done leading up to A-level exams, kept her functioning and sane as the end of term loomed, and she forced herself to enter into the swing of post-exam celebration plans.

"Lucinda Bodley-Henshaw is throwing a zombie party in the Upper Sixth Common Room." Lauren looked between her two best friends, a disturbingly gleeful look on her face.

Bella and Jessica looked at one another and grimaced. The three of them were in Bella's room, Lauren on the bed, Jess sitting sideways on the armchair, her legs thrown over one arm, and Bella on the floor leaning against Jess's chair.

"A zombie party? Where everyone dresses in their shittiest clothes and goes out looking like a car crash survivor? Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Lumpy's got less sense than mummy's springer spaniel, and we all know that Bathsheba is the dumbest dog ever to chew on a Bonio, bless her," Jess said, looking at Lauren as though she thought the girl might give her mother's dog a good run for her money.

Lauren huffed and stuck her tongue out at Jess, who immediately mirrored the gesture.

Bella smiled, shaking her head. "Come on, Lobbie, there's got to be something better than Hacksaw and her Barbie-brained, anorexic friends. I'd rather go into Brighton. Tara says that Deadmau5 are playing at Digital that weekend and there's a bunch of people going. That's way better than dressing in rags, pouring ketchup over yourself and dancing to One Direction in the Common Room, where the only thing to drink will be lemonade and fruit punch." Bella pulled a face at the very thought.

"Sounds great—good call, Bell." Jessica smiled at her and directed an expectant look at Lauren. She didn't say anything, but she was delighted that Bella had volunteered a suggestion for their night out, and a good one at that.

"I s'pose you're right, even if every man in the place will be as gay as Christmas. I wasn't serious about the whole zombie thing, I just wanted to scare you two into coming up with something better. Kudos to me, I believe!" She grinned at them, licking her index finger and making an invisible mark in the air.

Bella and Jess simultaneously picked up a scatter cushion each and threw it hard at Lauren, hitting her on the chest and head. With an odd gurgling shriek, Lauren fell back on the bed, causing her two friends to giggle at her expense.

"Bumholes, you two are both a pair of rancid, wanking tosspots, and I hate you," Lauren muttered, sitting up and throwing the cushions back at them. Neither hit their target and the two girls laughed harder.

"Oh, God, Lobz, you throw like a… a… well, like a girl," Jess snorted.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, toe-rags."

"Aww, you don't hate us, you luuurrrve us, Lobbie Loo," Jess giggled.

"Yeah, like I love constipation," Lauren grouched.

"Bollocks! You've never been constipated in your life, minger, you pooh like a heifer on sennapods and you have to hold in your farts in case you fill your knickers," Jess cried.

"And in case you render us all comatose with the noxiousness of your back door burps," Bella added, barely able to speak for laughing.

"Ha, so speaks the woman who let one go in assembly, causing everyone to move a safe distance," Lauren said, pointing an accusing finger at Bella.

"I so did not, that was that ghastly girl, Amelia Pocklington, the one with the moustache."

"Yeah, you always say that, but she was one of the first to move," Lauren responded.

"And that just proves it—she who smelt it, dealt it," Bella pronounced triumphantly.

At this, all three girls started giggling hysterically, only stopping when they could no longer breathe and their ribs ached.

It felt good to laugh so freely, and Bella revelled in the lightness of the moment, thankful, yet again, for the friendship she shared with Jessica and Lauren. It had been a long road to this point, and she knew there would still be difficult times ahead for her emotionally, but each time she experienced a moment like this she felt the black hole shrink just a little bit more. If nothing else, it gave her hope, and that had been in short supply since she returned home.

Of course, there were still setbacks. One such example came only a few days later, just after she completed her maths exam. Her friends had yet to finish and they had all agreed to meet in the Sixth Form Common Room when they were done. Whilst waiting, Bella decided to check her emails and pulled her iPad out of her bag.

As soon as she logged on, despite the numerous Facebook alerts, the email from Edward stood out as though it was highlighted in fluorescent purple. At first she tried to ignore it, but her curiosity got the better of her.

From: Edward Cullen
Sent: Monday June 20, 2011 07:08
To: Isabella Swan
Subject: Graduation

Bella

I hope this finds you in good spirits and that your exams are going well.

It occurs to me that you never responded to my enquiry about graduation – presumably it will be sometime late this month or early July. Also, what date does school let out and what are your plans for the summer? You should perhaps think about an internship at SP, as it will be good to have on your résumé for college.

I hope to be in London soon, if I can get away, so would be happy to attend graduation if you would like me to – if so, I would very much like to be there. Also, it would be a good opportunity for us to call in on Jonathan Harker to discuss the various matters which should be dealt with prior to your 18th birthday. And that thought makes me feel so old – 32 today, in fact.

Anyway, let me know your plans and I will so all I can to fall in with them, as we really do have a lot to talk about.

Yours
Edward

Edward A Cullen
CEO – Swan Publishing Inc

Bella stared at the email, reading it over a second time. It was Edward's birthday. She had been so wrapped up in revision and exams—as well as trying hard to put all things Edward out of her mind—that she had completely forgotten. She hadn't sent a card… but then again, would he have wanted her to?

Her heart fluttered at the thought of him coming to England, of seeing him again.

Damn him, every time I think I'm making progress, he throws me another googly.

Bella wrapped her arms around her midriff in an unconscious gesture and willed herself not to cry. Hearing familiar laughter coming from over by the door, she took a deep breath and released the tight grip she had on herself, turning off her iPad and slipping it back in her bag before her friends joined her. She would reply to Edward's email later, when she was alone in her room.

~o0o~

From: Bella Swan
Sent: Monday 20 June 2011 23:09
To: Edward Cullen
Subject: RE: Graduation

Edward

Thanks for your email and I'm well, thank you. Just took my maths and sociology exams today – I think I did okay.

With regard to your enquiry about graduation, I'm afraid there's little point in your coming to school as we don't do American style graduation ceremonies here in England, although we do have a Speech Day and prize-giving, but that was in November. We finish our exams, go out and celebrate and then bugger off home – or, in my case, someone else's home. Actually, Jess, Lauren and I have decided to go sit in the sun for a couple of weeks when we break up for the summer. Lauren's mum has said we can stay at their villa in Tuscany and we plan to eat, drink and chill, just to get school out of our systems before we have to start thinking about uni. I have offers from Magdalene College, Cambridge, which, as you know, is my first choice, and from Bristol, which would also be cool, if my grades aren't quite good enough for Cambridge. I will let you know as soon as I know.

School breaks up on Wednesday 6th July and we're flying to Italy on Monday 10th, so if you need me to go through any paperwork, please send it to me. I'm thinking about staying on in Italy for another week after Jess and Laurie return, or maybe more. I have decided that I want to go to Volterra, to see where Mum and Dad died – I know it's probably a bit morbid, but it feels like the right time now, before I start my new life at university. I'm not sure why, but it seems important – I suppose you Americans would call it closure or something. Anyway, that's my plan, but it means I probably won't have much time between finishing school and going up to Cambridge, especially as I need to sort out somewhere to live. I have it in mind to rent a house rather than live in halls, or maybe even buy a place, as I have the means to do so. It would be a sound investment, as it will give me a secure and comfortable place to live for 3 or 4 years and thereafter I can rent it out to other students.

So that's all my news. Hope you're okay and that work isn't stressing you out.

Bella

PS: I don't think working at SP is a good idea, and it will hardly be worth it by the time I get back from Italy. Besides which, I have already arranged to do some voluntary work for the homeless charity, Shelter.

PPS: Happy birthday – sorry I didn't send a card.

Bella read through her email and then pressed 'send'. Twenty minutes later, just as she was about to turn off her laptop and get into bed, she heard the ping alerting her to a new email.

From: Edward Cullen
Sent: Monday June 20, 2011 23:30
To: Isabella Swan
Subject: RE: Graduation

Bella

I didn't realise you have no culture of graduation ceremonies there. It seems a shame that students don't have some kind of recognition of the work they've done throughout their school years and that you just all walk out of school without anything to mark the occasion. I guess you don't have Year Books either – English schools are weird! Surely you have Prom?

As you are going away pretty much straight from school, I would like to try and meet you, say on July 6th or 7th – would that work for you? I could come and pick you up from wherever you're staying – presumably at Jessica's or Lauren's – and then bring you back after. Let me know if this suits you.

I can't say I'm entirely comfortable with the thought of you wandering about in Italy on your own, and I'm not sure visiting the site of such a devastating loss for you is a good idea. After all this time, I'm not even sure you would be able to find it, and there would be nothing there. I think all it would achieve is to open old wounds and I doubt you would get the closure you think you would. Please reconsider this plan or, if you really feel you have to go, at least take someone with you. I don't ask much of you these days, but I am asking now – please don't do this.

Yours
Edward

Edward A Cullen
CEO – Swan Publishing Inc

From: Bella Swan
Sent: Tuesday 21 June 2011 00:02
To: Edward Cullen
Subject: RE: Graduation

Edward

I attend an English boarding school for girls where American traditions such as Prom are frowned upon.

Please arrange for any documentation to be left with Uncle Jonathan; I will go up to town when I return from Italy and sign everything then. My understanding is that the requirement is merely for me to sign it all before my birthday, and that we don't both have to sign it at the same time. I see no purpose in meeting with you, as I'm sure Uncle Jon can explain what I need to know, and I really can't spare the time right now.

With regard to your final remark, you asked everything of me, and, like a fool, I gave it all. I have nothing left. I follow my own path now and you have no say in my decisions and no right to ask anything of me, least of all this.

Bella

She turned off her laptop, killed the light and crawled into bed, where she cried until sleep claimed her.

~o0o~

Edward stared at his computer screen, his elbows propped on either side of the keyboard and his hands buried in his ravaged locks.

As he read Bella's final missive, pain sliced through him like a red hot dagger to his heart.

The last few months had been pure torture for him. Never had he imagined that it would be possible to be in such pain with no means of easing it or seeing an end in sight. Each day, he told himself to stop being such a weak, pathetic fool. But nothing in his life up to this point had prepared him for the indescribable torment of Bella's absence. No woman had ever before impinged on his life, let alone his heart and his psyche, the way she had. He tried to convince himself he was being ridiculous, that feeling this way over a seventeen-year-old girl he'd known since she was a child was clearly insane, that he was crazy to let the memory of her invade every part of his existence. But nothing he did could stop him from missing her, sometimes to such a degree, he thought the loss of a limb would be easier to come to terms with.

And it was all made infinitely worse by the knowledge that he was the architect of his own downfall… that by hurting Bella so deeply, his own pain was, to all intents and purposes, self-inflicted.

He buried himself in work, wanting to fill his time and his mind to such an extent that there would be no room for thoughts of Bella, but no matter how hard he tried, the memories inveigled their way into his head, taking up residence and refusing to leave.

And there was no escape at night. When he was able to sleep—which was all too rarely—his dreams were filled with visions of her… under him, above him, moaning and crying out his name as he moved inside her. At first, the exquisite pleasure of reliving those moments made him feel whole again, but then the dreams always changed to something far darker and very unpleasant.

Sometimes the beautiful brunette beneath him would morph into a blonde hellion with red eyes who looked like Tanya, and he would try desperately to pull away from her, only to be held to her by the death grip she had on him, squeezing the air out of his lungs; on these occasions, he would jerk awake with a gasping cry, her maniacal laughter still ringing in his ears.

Other times, Bella would be riding him hard when all of a sudden, just as his climax was approaching, her lovely brown eyes would empty of all emotion and she would bring a huge knife from behind her back and plunge it into his heart. At this point, his own screams would pull him violently into wakefulness, sweating and shaking, and unable to even contemplate trying to go back to sleep.

One of the few things that provided him with any kind of solace or satisfaction, was his pursuit of James.

He had, in fact, started looking for him the moment he and Bella had arrived back in New York from Las Vegas, although he had said nothing to her about his quest. In fact, he hadn't told anyone, including Rose or Emmett, keeping his decision to hire a private detective to himself until such time as he either found James or drew a blank.

In the end, of course, it had taken remarkably little time or effort to locate the man, as he had been able to provide a name and description to the investigator, who had, in very short order, been able produce a shortlist of six individuals. On examination of the various profiles emailed to him, Edward had been able to quickly pick out the relevant one, whereupon the PI had then put together a detailed profile of where he lived and worked, his financial status, who his friends were, where he hung out and what car he drove. Much to Edward's irritation, James had not lost his job and seemed to have picked up right where he left off on his return to New York.

And so he started to makes plans on how best to deal with the piece of crap who almost destroyed his Bella. At the very least, he hoped it might go some way to ameliorate his anger at himself.

He did not mention it to Rose or Emmett.

~o0o~

Ironically, things at work had begun to resolve themselves. Shortly after Bella went home, Mike Newton was able to identify the mystery share buyer, who turned out to be Jane Volturi, whose father owned the Volturi Group, the publishing arm of which was one of their main rivals. Jane had been buying up shares through various holding companies which were registered under her married name of Jane Constantinou, even though she was divorced from her husband, Demetri. Further delving revealed that these holding companies were, in turn, part of the Volturi Group.

Edward had decided to confront the problem head-on—if for no other reason than it would give him something to focus on, something tangible to fill his time, and thus push thoughts of Bella to the back of his mind. He knew Jane a little—the publishing business was quite a small and incestuous community—and called her office to see if he could set up a meeting. Much to his surprise, she was more than agreeable and offered to buy him lunch.

As it turned out, their encounter was remarkably pleasant. Upon being challenged as to her intentions, Jane was quite forthcoming, telling Edward that as Swan Publishing and Volturi Publishing had similar markets, they surely had similar goals and should be natural allies.

Jane was an attractive and amusing companion, and Edward found himself relaxing and even laughing for the first time in what felt like years. Blonde, blue-eyed and petite, Jane was intelligent and knowledgeable about the business, with a sharp and acerbic wit which kept Edward on his toes, and, despite their business rivalry, he found that they had a lot in common.

For her part, Jane found herself exactly where she and her father wanted her to be. Aro Volturi had, for several years now, coveted control of Swan Publishing, with its A-list authors and expanding digital division. When Edward Cullen had first set up in New York, the Volturi brothers had dismissed the little-known British company as an also-ran, just a small-time family firm which would, at best, be nothing more than a niche business and, at worst, would fail within the first year. They soon realised that they had underestimated Charles Swan and his dynamic young protégé, and had watched with ever increasing disquiet as SP had grown and flourished in the hard-nosed world of New York publishing.

For Aro and his younger brother, Caius, there was too much at stake to allow this to continue, although they knew they would need to bide their time. However, when Charlie and his wife had been killed, they began to form a strategy. At first, with Cullen in sole charge, and with control over more than 70% of the company, there was little they could do, but it was Jane who had seen the potential opportunity as the Swan heiress was approaching her eighteenth birthday.

Her plan was a simple one—and had the benefit of a Plan B, should Plan A go awry.

Jane had long regarded Edward Cullen as a potential suitor, even before her ill-fated marriage, and more so since her divorce—he was, after all, one of New York's most eligible bachelors. If she could gain control of 21 percent of SP's shares, this would make her the second largest shareholder, ahead of Edward. She would then suggest joining forces with him—both in the boardroom and the bedroom—in order to enlist his undoubted powers of persuasion to get Isabella Swan to relinquish her own share of the company to Jane and Edward. But they needed to do it before the child reached her majority and whilst Edward still wielded control as her guardian.

Should an alliance with Edward fail, then Plan B would involve side-lining him and joining forces with the girl, driving a wedge between Isabella and her guardian, and then, once she was isolated, using whatever means available—be it gentle persuasion or outright intimidation—to make her part company with her shares. Certainly, Jane wasn't above ordering—or, indeed, personally using—physical violence to achieve her aims.

Either way, Jane intended to gain control of Swan Publishing and its highly-lucrative contracts, and then absorb it into the Volturi Group. So far, she had acquired 9 percent of the available shares, so was nearly half way to overtaking Edward, but getting hold of any part of the remaining shares was proving to be something of a challenge, even for her. There were half a dozen shareholders in possession of the stock she wanted but who were resistant to the overtures made by her agent. They were all British and all seemed to have some kind of misplaced loyalty to Charles Swan, or something, so she was having to box clever to get them to relinquish what she had already decided was rightfully hers. It might be that a little more than money would be required—her agent would need to get creative with his methods of persuasion, and not for the first time.

What she didn't know, of course, was the current marital status of the two main protagonists with whom she intended to engage in battle. Indeed, other than the newlyweds themselves, only Rose, Emmett, Jessica and Lauren knew about it, all of whom were sworn to secrecy.

Jane's hand was being forced a little earlier than she would have liked, but now that the cat was out of the bag, she had no hesitation in pursuing her goal. So now, here she sat, opposite Edward, whilst she put phase one of her plan in place; namely, charming the pants off him—and, hopefully, not just metaphorically. Jane knew Tanya Denali well enough to know that Edward was great in the sack, and she wanted some of that. Demetri had been a passable lover but she had quickly tired of him. He had been one of her father's foot soldiers, a mere cog in the wheel who had risen through the ranks by dint of his innate cunning and foresight. But marrying the boss's daughter had its downsides as well as its upsides, and when Jane accused her husband of having an affair, despite her own frequent infidelities, Demetri found himself out on his ear with no job, no home and no alimony.

When Jane wanted to hurt someone, she made sure she left them crawling, broken and helpless, in the dirt.

And now she was on the hunt for more than just a business partner. She saw Edward as a challenge, and a man who could be her equal in all things. He was an alpha male, truly worthy of her attention. What's more, rumour had it that he and Tanya Denali were now history and that Edward was once again on the market.

Unaware of Jane's Machiavellian plotting, and fresh from the devastation of his break-up with Bella, Edward was looking for a friend and maybe someone who could fill the aching void.

And blondes were his thing, weren't they? He'd always preferred blondes… always. Jane was the absolute antithesis of Bella. She was independent, clever, confident, sexy… legal. He told himself that Bella was just a disingenuous girl who had flattered his ego. Wasn't he approaching that dangerous age when the attentions of a pretty young woman could momentarily blind a man to reality? A sort of temporarily madness, if you will. Yes, that was it. And allied to that was the very real need to protect the company. Yes, the company was what mattered, everything else was incidental.

That was, after all, why he was sitting opposite the daughter of his arch rival, listening to her talk eloquently and rationally about how, separately, their two companies could continue to plod along in the wake of such power-houses as Random House, Harper Collins and Simon & Schuster, or they could join forces to become a major player.

"Tell me, Edward, what happens when that sweet little girl turns eighteen and decides she wants to try her hand at being a businesswoman? What are you going to do when she decides that everything you've spent the last eight years building should be run differently? She's a 51 percent stockholder and has zero percent knowledge or experience. She could wipe out everything you've achieved in a matter of months. Surely, it would be better to give the girl options. I know you can't buy her out on your own, but you and me, together, we could come up with a deal that would set her free from all the responsibility and make her a very rich young woman."

Jane observed Edward, who was quiet for the moment, looking down at his coffee cup, a contemplative look on his face, and she knew she had tapped directly into his biggest fear. Looking up at last, he turned his speculative gaze on her.

"I don't think you understand how important SP is to Bella. It's her father's legacy and you shouldn't underestimate what that means to her."

"Oh, Edward, she's just a child, a hormonal teenager. She probably has the attention span of a fruit-fly. I think you overestimate her."

Edward smiled, shaking his head a little as he picked up his coffee and took a sip. He glanced back at Jane, but waited for her to continue.

"Look, I don't know the girl—"

"Her name is Bel—Isabella, and no, you don't know her," Edward interrupted, trying hard to keep the irritation out of his voice.

Jane smiled, but knew she needed to tread carefully. There was history here and she couldn't afford to alienate Edward.

"Of course, you're right. I'm sorry. As I was saying, I don't know Isabella, but I know girls of her age—I was once a spoiled seventeen year old with too much money, you know." She laughed softly at the thought. "I couldn't imagine wanting to get involved in daddy's business, all I thought about then was clothes and boys… not necessarily in that order," she giggled, the lie falling easily from her lips.

"And yet, look at you now, Jane, Queen Bee of the Volturi Group, and Aro's trusted partner and confidante," Edward pointed out.

"True, but only with daddy's guidance and support. Had he decided that the company would be better served by pushing me in a different direction, not only would he have done just that, but I would have trusted his decision to do so."

"Your point being…?"

"My point being, Edward, that it may be in the better, long term interests of SP that Isabella is encouraged to go her own way and leave the business to those who know what they are doing and how best to take it forward. And as her guardian, you have the most influence over her, she probably trusts your judgement and would take your advice. If you told her that it would be better to sell her interest in the company to you, or even extend your current power of attorney over her shares, then I'm sure she would understand and go along with it."

Jane paused, reaching out to cover Edward's hand with her own where it rested on the table.

"Just think about it, Edward, that's all I ask. Think about how great we could be together."

Edward looked at her, not missing the double meaning behind her last words.

"Okay, Jane, I'll think about it, but I will obviously need to discuss it with Bella. It has to be her decision." He didn't bother to correct her assumption about his guardianship… and Jane didn't miss his use of a nickname for the girl.

"Of course, and I'm sure you will explain it perfectly. But do make sure she knows she has options. You say she's a bright girl—which means she can be anything she wants. She doesn't have to be tied down to a future that's set in stone for the rest of her life. Being rich and pretty means she has the world at her feet, and I'm sure, if you care at all about her, you want what's best for her. And you do care, I can tell you do. So let her fly, Edward."

He regarded her for a moment, and although he knew there was a very large element of self-interest in what Jane said, for the first time it dawned on Edward that there was also a good deal of truth. Did Bella want to be tied to SP for her entire working life, or did she simply believe that was what was expected of her? Did she have dreams to do something else… to be something more? Perhaps she wanted to be a writer or a designer, maybe she wanted to sing or act or paint. He had no idea. What the hell had she said she wanted to study at college? Politics? So perhaps Jane was right. And if Bella truly wanted to pursue other paths, then she might be happy to sign over SP to him… well him and Jane, he couldn't do it on his own.

And if she was no longer part of Swan Publishing, then she would no longer need to be part of his life or vice versa. Maybe this was the answer. Cut off all ties, make a clean break, move on with their lives.

Edward closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to help him suppress the gasp of pain that threatened to burst from his lips.

Then he felt Jane's small, cool hand squeeze his and he opened his eyes to meet her crystal blue orbs, which seemed to be full of concern.

"Hey, are you okay, Edward?" she asked softly.

He smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. And you're right, Jane, I need to explain to Bella that there's more than one future mapped out for her."

"Absolutely, and like I say, she trusts you, Edward. If she's as bright as you say she is, she'll let you guide her. And should she decide to sell, then the sky's the limit. There's no end to where we can take a Swan-Volturi joint venture. We can move out of the minor leagues and be a real force to be reckoned with in the major league." She grinned at him and he couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm.

"Hey, here's an idea. I really have to run now—I have a meeting down on Wall Street in half an hour—but there's still so much to talk about, so why don't you and I have dinner next week?"

"Uh…" Edward wasn't at all sure about dinner. Lunch was one thing, but dinner was a whole different ball game.

"Come on, Edward, I promise I won't bite… well, not unless you want me to." She giggled coquettishly, her eyes sparkling with amusement, and Edward forced himself to smile in return.

Meeting her gaze, Edward nodded. Jane was exactly the kind of woman he should be with, so why not enjoy dinner and perhaps something else… something more. It was time to move on.

"Okay, tell me where and when and I'll be there."

Translation:
Googly – a cricketing term; this is a ball thrown with a particular spin put on it which gives it a curved and unpredictable trajectory.