A/N: Thanks to our beta, SunflowerFran. Any mistakes are mine.

~.~

The rain streaked the windows of Edward's hotel suite as he stared unseeing out into the familiar vista. He fiddled restlessly with the curtain pull-cord weights as his eyes tracked the view outside. Grey clouds hung low overhead, and below his window, passersby huddled against the downpour, splashing across the plaza and disappearing into the mist only a block or two away.

He wanted to continue his relationship with Bella Swan, but what Charlie had said was true. He had never wanted to get serious with anyone. He liked Bella. He liked her a lot. But he wasn't any good for her. However, he selfishly admitted to himself that he didn't want to stop; he wanted to keep seeing her.

But Charlie's words echoed in his mind. "She's such a little fish. Throw her back in the water." It would be best for her if he let her go. Broke it off gently, while she still felt she had to keep up the pretense of being a worldly and wise femme fatale. That would keep it peaceful. No scenes.

He sighed. Despite his playboy life, he really had tried not to hurt anyone. For the most part, he had stayed away from the serious ones for precisely this reason. Because he knew they could be hurt. He had not wanted to take anyone's innocence. This jet-setting life of parties and affairs that he had found himself entangled in—it was not really what he wanted.

But sometimes, he just couldn't help himself. There was a part of him, a creature with little conscience and desperate cravings, that he had to indulge occasionally or risk losing complete control. It had been a bargain he had struck long ago, a bargain with that side of him, the part that raged and hungered. The deal was simple. He kept that part fed and satisfied, and in return, he was able to maintain control of his life. Mostly. But it seemed that it had become harder and harder to uphold, and that he was becoming more and more dissatisfied.

His restless hands stilled. He had never met a woman who could satisfy both parts of him. The crazy wild man who craved beautiful and desirable women—and his quieter side, the part that had been submerged for a long time. The part that yearned for a more innocent lifestyle. For the deep satisfaction of a true connection…the kind of connection he hadn't really felt since he was thirteen years old.

His father had always been gone on business, and it had been his mother who had raised him. He had been a sickly child, frequently ill, and his mother had lavished love on him, while his father had been dismissive of his "weakness."

The accident had happened one day when he and his mother were alone in the house. It was the cook's and maid's day off, so he had been especially demanding of his mother that day. He had even argued with her that morning. How selfish he had been.

She didn't come when he'd shouted from his room. He'd searched the house, calling her name.

He found her at the bottom of the stairs, unmoving.

A tray of food lay spilled on the floor. Food she'd been bringing upstairs for him.

~.~

A/N: Sorry, everyone, for the delay. I've been at the hospital for hours every day visiting a family member. But I'm going to upload the rest of the chapters, and if I can't get to them in the next few days, Sophia will do it for me. Thanks for your patience, and I do read your reviews on my cell phone every day as I'm sitting in waiting rooms, and they cheer me up. So thank you!

What did you think of the EPOV? Would you like more?