Chapter Twenty-Eight

Reason Twenty-eight:

"No, Edward! Selene!" I was crying in torrents while I looked down, searching for them but it was too dark to see anything. I didn't know if any of them were safe. I closed my eyes and prayed that they were still alive and safe down there.

Tanya's mouth was beginning to curl at the corners. Was she happy that Edward and Selene fell down? What was she? She didn't even regret pushing her child towards her death.

"You monster!" I cried out, "You evil, evil monster! How could you push your own daughter towards the edge!"

"So you want to join them, is that it? Be my guest." She shrugged indifferently.

"Why did you do it?" I demanded, "Do you get a kick out of hurting people?"

"No, I want your life! You stole everything from me," Tanya yelled at me.

"W-what do you mean?"

Before she could answer, Emmett suddenly grabbed hold of Tanya's arms saying that she was under arrest and that she had the right to remain silent. "I'm sorry I was late, Bella." He smiled at me grimly. "I got detained with your butler downstairs. He sure could fight but we've got him now. By the way, where are Edward and that blond kid?"

The relief that had suddenly washed through me vanished when I remembered Edward and Selene. "They fell down from here. She pushed Selene and Edward tried to save her but he fell down too."

"I'll check on it." He nodded to two of the officers behind him and both of them began to go towards the stairs. Emmett gave me one last reassuring smile and tried to drag Tanya away.

"Wait, Emmett!" I called out.

"What?"

"I want to ask her some questions." I nodded toward Tanya who had just quit struggling from Emmett then.

"Take your time. We're in no hurry," Emmett said.

"What did you mean that I stole everything from you?" I asked her.

"I'm talking about the bet! I was still Edward's girlfriend when he first saw you, did you know that?"

I felt my own eyes widen. "No, I didn't know-"

"Of course you wouldn't, you didn't know anything that was going on in that school those days. Before you came to the school, Edward and I… we were the couple everyone was jealous of, they wanted to have the kind of relationship we do… I thought my life was perfect then but then he saw you and he began to be intrigued by you. 'Interesting' that was how he described you when I asked for his opinion. I should have known then that I shouldn't have allowed him to accept the stupid bet at the first place."

"Then why did you?"

"It was the guys at the football team. They wanted to see if Edward still has his old moves. They kept taunting him and promising him all kinds of rewards. He didn't want to agree because of me but I told him it was all right with me although I gave him one condition."

"What condition?"

"That he would stop the bet after a month. I made it clear to him that I hated the thought of him with somebody else and he agreed."

"You agreed to let your boyfriend date me while you're still his girlfriend?"

"Of course," she looked surprised that I would even ask that. "I had to let him have his fun, right? After all, I also had my fun with everyone while we were still together." She smirked.

"What exactly are you saying?"

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "He didn't want to have sex with me while we were still together. He wanted to feel some kind of… spark first. So what was I to do then- wait for him to come to his senses before doing it? No, I couldn't do that."

"So you're saying that you cheated at Edward while you were still together?"

"I had no choice. Even though he seemed like a jerk, he still had morals- I'll give him that."

"So I was actually Edward's… first?"

"Unfortunately, you were." She rolled her eyes. "He would use to tell me all about your dates, you know. It didn't take long for me to notice that he was getting a little too eager for your dates together but I thought it was only natural and we'd be back together by the end of the month." Her eyes suddenly darkened. "He broke up with me before the month ended though, believing in some kind of crap that you were both in love with each other and he couldn't stand to lie to you anymore. He gave his teammates everything he was supposed to give if he loses."

"Edward was telling the truth then? Then why did you make me believe that he was still lying to me when I saw you in bed. You made it sound like I was still a bet."

"What can I say? I was pregnant with Mike's baby; I couldn't find someone to support me besides Edward. I know Edward wouldn't escape a responsibility if he believed that he really got me pregnant then I wouldn't have to wait for my parents to take me back after they kicked me out of the house for getting knocked up before college."

"I don't understand you at all. You don't love Selene and yet you chose to continue with your pregnancy."

"You don't see it at all, don't you? My main goal wasn't Edward or Selene. Selene was just part of my plan to get Edward but what I really wanted in the first place after I was kicked out was money so I decided I could get Edward to marry me."

"But he didn't," I pointed out.

"He found out that Selene wasn't his kid a few months after you left. However, at that time, Edward knew about my financial condition so he agreed to be Selene's father and provide for both of us after I have her."

"Are you done, Bella?" Emmett asked me.

"One last question, Em," I promised him and turned back to Tanya. "Why did you stay at our house after we got married when Edward was already providing for you?"

"I saw the news of your wedding and I got scared that Edward might turn us away if he had his own children with you so I came to the house to make sure you don't get together. After you forced me to leave though, I knew I was never going to have Edward's help so I decided to ruin your life just like you ruined mine because if you didn't come to school, I would have had the life you live in now."

Emmett finally took her away after that and I rushed down the stairs, anxious to see if Edward and Selene were safe.

"Edward! Selene!" I managed to catch the sight of one gurney and felt the blood leave my face when I saw how pale Edward's face looked while he was strapped to the gurney.

"Selene? Where's Selene?" I asked the paramedics wildly.

"Mommy Bella?" I looked to my right and found Selene with a paramedic, wrapped in a warm cloth as water dripped down from her hair.

Wait a minute, why was she wet?

"Selene, you're all right." I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw her. "But then- Edward? What happened to Edward?" I pushed my way past the paramedics and went to Edward's side. His eyes were closed and his chest was barely moving.

"Edward?" I whispered. "Edward, are you all right? Please talk to me." I started to shake him but he wasn't opening his eyes. He was barely even breathing. He couldn't be- please no, he can't leave me alone! "Edward, wake up! Listen to me, please," I took one shaky breath, "I've learned everything, all right? About the bet and Tanya and… everything and I don't blame you anymore! Edward, I thought you were an ass back then- and even though I believe that you're still an ass for accepting the bet in the first place –I would miss you if you leave me so don't you dare go leave me. I still love you and if you don't wake up, I won't get to say it to you anymore. Please," I begged. I was crying on Edward's shirt as I hugged him, trying to wake him up.

I felt a hand on my shoulder pulling me away from Edward. "No, let me go! I need to stay with him!" I shouted and struggled against the hand but I found myself falling instead and everything started to fade.

I opened my eyes and found myself staring into a pair of green eyes. I blinked and saw Edward smiling down on me with the gentlest look on his face.

"Edward," I gasped and quickly sat up. "You're here! Does that mean that we're-?"

He stopped me from finishing my sentence by pressing a finger to my lips. "Love, we're not dead."

"So then what happened? Why are you alive? Where are Selene and the twins? Edward, I'm-"

"One question at a time, Bella," Edward chuckled and proceeded to explain about why he was still alive.

Fortunately, it just so happened that the pool was located near the porch and part of the pool came directly below it so Edward and Selene only fell into the pool. However, the impact of the water left him unconscious. Selene was all right because his body had protected hers from the water.

"So where are they?"

"They're with Rosalie, Alice and Jasper outside. Emmett's still at the office, finishing paperwork for this case but he'll arrive here after his done."

"Alice! I can't believe it, her wedding's tomorrow!" I groaned as I thought what Alice would say if I missed the wedding tomorrow.

"It's all right, love. We're all set to go to the wedding tomorrow. We didn't have any lasting injuries," Edward assured me.

I swung my feet off the bed and tried to stand. "I fainted again, didn't I?" I grimaced as we went outside.

"Yes, you did but that was only acceptable. You were under a lot of stress the whole night."

"Hmpf," I huffed as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"By the way love, I have to confess something to you…," he started to say.

"What is it? Couldn't it wait until later?" I was too eager to see everyone.

"Fine," he said as he opened the door. "I just wanted to say that I may have been unconscious after we fell but I could still hear what everyone was saying to me last night."

"You mean you heard me say-?"

"Yes, love. I heard everything you said to me." He grinned at me mischievously just as the whole gang saw us and went over with exclamations of relief.

Crap, he heard everything?