Big thank you to my two wonderful betas, Sherry and Paige! I definitely wouldn't be able to do this without either of you! Any mistakes in this chapter are mine.
I'm working really hard to finish this story and I really hope that you guys are going to like it! Right now, I think I'll have this finished in September! Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this one!
BPOV:
I'm not the same girl I was the last time I graced these streets. It's odd, reconciling the starry-eyed, naïve teenager, with the woman I've become. The horror I've seen and the trauma I've experienced has caused me to look at the entire city in a different light.
When I first arrived, I was fascinated with the bright lights of the marques, the smoke-filled streets that were congested with automobiles and a sea of pedestrians, and the many store front windows that displayed the latest styles on mannequins would glisten in the sunlight. Last year I'd been able to find the beauty in everything I passed by. I even found the trash on the busy sidewalks beautiful, because it was part of the city I loved.
Now, I look upon so many things with a jaded eye. I try to venture back to the girl I once was, while fearing more and more, with each passing day, that I'm becoming like my mother. I'm sure she acted so abominable because nothing in the world seemed to please her. Nothing kept her wavering attention for long. I never understood her yearning for something more, until now. These past few months have taken away the innocence I once had, but they have not broken me. Nothing will ever break my spirit. I might be young, but I know the type of woman I am.
At least this is what I keep telling myself as I trudge through the city searching for a slice of normalcy.
In my A-line shirt, fitted sweater, and pageboy hairstyle, I can pretend that I'm my old self. I walk through town with the allowance my husband has given me, with a bright, yet forced, smile on my face. I keep telling myself, if I walk around like the carefree and cheery girl I once was, perhaps I'll feel that way once again. A real smile brightens my face, as I see City Light Books on the next street corner.
That small bookstore holds so many memories for me. The first time Edward and I spoke was in that small, cluttered shop. I don't remember what words were exchanged, but I remember the way he made me feel. I was taken completely aback, aroused, and nervous when I first spoke to him. Even then, he made me feel like the only girl in the entire world. I was drawn to him from the very first moment I saw him, but it wasn't until he spoke to me that I realized my feelings for him. I loved Edward before I truly understood what love was.
I enter the bookstore and smile, as my senses are overwhelmed by my favorite smells in the whole world, tobacco, vanilla, and the old pages from used books. My heart swells as I suddenly feel as if I'm at my second home. I walk through the aisles, my fingers trailing across the spines of different volumes, until I reach the classics and stop. Looking at Dickens, Austen, and Hardy, I feel as though I'm surrounded by old friends. Those authors kept me company growing up, while my mother took her time to climb the social ladder. I pull a copy of Persuasion from the shelf and bring it to my nose to smell, an old habit I'll never be able to break. The scent is comforting and brings me back to a time where everything in my life was so much easier.
The bookstore is quiet on this Monday afternoon, and the only sound that fills the air is the buzzing of automobiles on the street as they zoom by. The familiarity of this place, with the added bonus of being practically vacant, makes me want to get lost in here for hours. I could if I wanted to, I suppose. Edward is spending the day with his boss and urged me to do something fun. I doubt he would like the fact that I'm walking the city streets by myself, but I like being alone. I like the freedom to do whatever I please and not having to worry about putting on airs for anyone. Times like these make me feel truly content for the first time in a while. My eyes scan the shelf once more, looking for any interesting editions of books that I love.
As I'm pulling down an attractive, but worn copy of Great Expectations, I hear a few books crash to the ground from the shelf behind me. Startled, I turn to look, expecting to find a customer passing by, but I come up short. I peer around the vicinity and can't see a thing. However, I hear the thumps of feet as they scurry across the bookstore's hardwood floor. It's most likely nothing other than a careless customer, but I can't help the feeling in my gut that it's something more. Suddenly, I regret walking around the city by myself. Unable to help my curiosity, I quietly walk around the aisle and peer down the next one, which leads to the front door. A woman with familiar red hair and a lithe frame makes her way out the door and onto the busy sidewalk.
I want to follow her, curious to see where she's going. However, by the time I make it to the exit, she's lost in a wealth of people. As the shock wears away, dread fills my stomach and causes me to sway where I stand. I don't know this woman, and I don't know what she's up to, but there's something about her that makes me incredibly uneasy. I don't know whether she's a former fling of Edward's or someone who's a threat to my safety. Whoever she is, she makes me feel incredibly uneasy. I'm too shaken to continue shopping I walk toward the front counter and pay for my books with the money Edward gave me.
I debate on whether I should have another conversation with him about this woman. Am I being silly about this? Perhaps she was just here looking for books as well and wanted to leave when she saw me. Maybe this is just a coincidence… or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part. I walk out of the store with a small stack of books. As I walk, I look around the busy streets, but this time I'm not looking at the sights around me, I'm searching for the mysterious woman who keeps popping up.
I want to see her, and yet, I want to be as far away from her as possible. After twenty minutes of wandering the city streets, to only come up short, I decide to give my little search a rest since she appears to be nowhere in sight. I'm exhausted from my excursion and want to go home to bury myself in one of my books. I bring one hand to my mouth and whistle to hail a taxi cab. A relieved smile tugs at my lips as I watch a cab come toward me. It usually takes me several times to hail a cab, despite being a young and attractive girl.
As I take a step off the sidewalk and onto the street, I feel someone bump into my back, hard enough to cause me to fall to my knees. The pavement skins my knee and I quickly whip my head around to see who rudely knocked me to the ground. The culprit didn't wait around, but I see the familiar red head as she continues down the street as if nothing happened.
"Hey! You, there! Wait," I holler, jumping to my feet.
I grab my books off the ground and push my way through the crowded sidewalk, hollering at her every chance there is for her to turn around and see me. I know she hears me, but she doesn't stop. I shove myself through the crowd until I'm almost caught up with her. I reach out, wanting to grab the fabric of her dress to pull her back to me, forcing her to stop.
"Ma'am, please wait up!" I spit out, saying 'please' as if my politeness would compel her to stop this madness.
Frustrated, I reach out and end up grabbing a fistful of her curly hair. Finally, she stops and turns around with a mirthless smile on her stunning face. I quickly let go of her hair and take a step back, now that I know she's going to stay put.
"Who are you?" I demand, standing up a little straighter in my penny loafers.
Her gaze travels up and down my frame before she finally smirks at me. The look on her face suggests she knows something I don't. I stand my ground, and she does hers as well. This would feel quite awkward if I were not so angry.
"Who are you?" I spit the question out again in frustration.
"I'm a friend of your husbands," she answers, with an impish look dancing in her hazel eyes that I don't want to acknowledge. "Tell Edward that I said hello."
"What's your name?"
"He'll know," she says with a mischievous look on her face before turning to walk down the street.
I watch her leave, still shaken by the encounter. It takes a moment for me to realize I'm standing in the street gawking at a woman who's no longer there. Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I raise my fingers to my mouth and once again whistle to hail another taxi cab.
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"How was your day?" Edward asks between bites of his steak.
I pick at my food before deciding that I'm not hungry. Since I've returned home, I've felt completely out of sorts. Edward's been so consumed with his work since he arrived home, that he hasn't seemed to notice. This, I am thankful for. I hate having to answer questions when I'm not ready.
"It was fine," I shrug, before taking a small sip of my wine.
"Fine?" Edward inquires, cocking an eyebrow at me in indignation. "Did you spend your allowance?"
I nod. "I purchased two books and saved the rest for later."
"I'm surprised," Edward says as he sips on his whiskey. "I know my cousin loves to shop."
"I didn't go with your cousin," I mumble, as I play with the food on my plate.
Edward reaches across the table and stops my fork from scratching along my plate. "You didn't go with Alice? Who were you with then?"
I shrug, as I explain, "I decided to go by myself. I wanted to do some exploring on my own."
Edward's eyes widen for a moment, before he frowns at me. "Isabella, I told you not to wander around Chicago by yourself. Do you understand how dangerous that can be?"
Yes! My subconscious screams.
"I understand. I won't do it again, I promise."
After today's incident, I know I won't be up for another excursion around the city by myself for a very long time.
"What's wrong?"
I look up at my husband and try to appear as calm and collected as possible. I don't want to talk about what happened over dinner… at least I don't want to talk about it until he finishes his steak and has a few more glasses of whisky. He's been stressed since he came home, and I don't want to add to his already dark mood.
"Nothing, Edward."
He gives me an incredulous look, but doesn't comment, choosing to go back to his dinner. I breathe a sigh of relief and go back to pushing my food around on my plate and sipping my wine.
After dinner, Edward retires to his office to make a phone call, while I go slip into the comfiest nightgown I can find before getting into bed with my book, for the moment. As much as I want my husband with me, I enjoy the time he gives me on my own. I get under the covers and open my copy of Emma to the page I have marked. I fall easily into Miss Woodhouse's world as I await my husband.
He comes into our bedroom about a half hour later, looking tired and absolutely drained. I give him a weak smile, knowing I have to speak to him about what occurred today. As much as I would like to put the conversation off, I know that avoiding the subject will only make matters worse. I watch as he goes to our bathroom to wash-up and smile as he returns in his sleep pants and a white t-shirt. It's always strange seeing my powerful husband dressed so casually, but I like him like this because he looks so much younger. He slides in on his side of the bed and I give him a quick peck on the lips, to sweeten him up before I tell him my unfortunate story.
"What?" He asks, before I can even open my mouth.
"What?" I ask sheepishly in return.
"Isabella, you obviously have something you would like to say to me. Be a good girl and just spit it out."
He fluffs his pillow before leaning back against it and giving me an expectant look.
"I ran into that woman again while I was shopping," I admit, not wanting to look him in the eye.
"What woman?"
"The one with the red hair," I explain, wondering how many other women could be possibilities for this topic of conversation.
Finally, I look at Edward and find that he's simmering with what could either be anger or annoyance. Whatever it is, I truly hope it's not aimed at me. I give him a small, pathetic smile before continuing.
"I think she was following me, Edward. I saw her the bookstore, but she left before I could say anything to her. I decided to follow her through the city and the moment I thought she was gone, she appeared right behind me and pushed me down onto the street, causing me to skin my knees up."
Edward's eyes widen at this news and his jaw clenches shut as he watches me. He looks livid and barely in control of himself. As much as I want to move away from him, just in case I'm in for a verbal thrashing, I put my arm around him instead, wanting him to understand that regardless of what happened, I'm all right.
"Who is she?" I finally ask. "She told me to tell you she says hello, but when I asked for her name, she wouldn't say. She told me you'd know who she was…" I trail off.
Edward looks at me for a long moment, as if judging whether or not I would be able to handle whatever he has to say next. Finally, his shoulders relax and he reaches out to hold my hand, bringing it to his lips for a quick kiss.
"Bella, I think it's time for you to hear my story. I want you to know what's going on, so you can understand what we have to do."
My eyes widen in disbelief. He's never disclosed any personal information about his past with me. I've only seen glimpses of the man he once was, but I've never heard anything too revealing. I lay next to him on the bed and turn on my side so we're staring into each other's eyes. He takes a deep breath before he begins.
A/N: So, what do you guys think Victoria's deal is? The next chapter is with my betas, so I shouldn't keep you hanging for too long!