Thank you to Team Harpy.

Chapter 41

Alice

I'm pacing the Cullen's den going out of my mind with speculation and worry. All of Bella's calls are going straight to voicemail and Edward isn't picking up. I fidget some more then pour some coffee.

"I hope you saved some for me."

I whirl around. "What happened? Did you see her? How did she look? What did she say to you?"

He ignores me and helps himself to my coffee.

"Oh sure, drown yourself in caffeine. "

He blearily looks at me over the mug. "Yes I saw her."

"Did she forgive you?" He shoots me a look. "More importantly, will she forgive me?"

He shakes his head, defeated.

I walk past him and sigh.

He starts pacing and I wait impatiently but after five minutes he still hasn't said anything.

"Edward, please tell me what happened."

"I was right. Like I told you that first night. She's in love with Masen, not Edward. She hates me."

"She doesn't know Edward. How do you expect her to love him… you? And I don't blame her."

"Thank you for that. Really."

"And don't be too sure it's only Edward she hates. You both lied to her. Ugh. It's like you have a multiple personality disorder."

"I came clean about all of it; the blackmail and how afraid I was of losing her. And all she did was ask for her ring back."

"Why should she believe you now after all those months?"

"Because I told her the truth."

"But you didn't tell her the truth. She discovered it all on her own then you did damage control. And how many times did I tell you…"

"Don't. Don't say I told you so. Don't gloat."

"You can't possibly think I am enjoying any of this. You know if she won't forgive you, she certainly won't forgive me."

"Well, she has to forgive me. I just have to give her a little more time and somehow get her to listen to what I'm saying."

I sigh. "Okay, Okay. Was there anything else, anything… I mean after she asked for her ring back and told you she hated you... was there any sign of her cracking... even a little bit?"

He shakes his head. "None. Her family did threaten to dismember me. So they won't be any help."

"What a mess. Wait a minute. You're still wearing her ring." I realize. "Why didn't you give it back?"

"I couldn't give it back. It may be all I have left of her."

He paces some more.

"I don't care what it takes. I have to spend the rest of my life with her. I can't imagine it any other way."

"It's not just up to you."

"I'll do whatever she asks of me. Even if it takes every penny I have."

"You still don't get it! She doesn't care about the money. She never did."

"Then what am I going to do?" He whispers. "I don't... How else do I fight for this?"

"Persistence. You have to keep at her until she really believes that you loving her is the only thing that matters."

He deflates. "You didn't see her. Those eyes… those beautiful brown eyes. I used to think whenever I would look into those eyes that anything was possible but there we were just the two of us and then it all changed. What I saw in those eyes was anger, betrayal… no more innocence, no more sense of wonder and when she said she hated me, I saw that too."

I sigh, "Oh Edward."

"If I killed that; if I destroyed that in her, I will never forgive myself. And if I can't forgive myself how do I expect her to?"

"Okay, you need to be realistic about this. Did you really think this was going to turn out otherwise?"

"I mean, I wasn't thinking. Obviously, I was delusional. But what she doesn't realize is that everything I did was about loving her, about protecting her, about keeping us together."

"I know but this is a lot to ask of Bella especially when she knows that Angela was waiting at the other end of the drive that whole time."

"Angela! This is all her damn fault."

"I hate Angela too but you made this bed, both beds even if Angela wasn't laying in one."

"You should have heard me try to explain this all to her. I mean I wasn't even halfway through and I thought to myself, 'what a crock'. How did I get myself into this disgusting web of convoluted lies?"

"It's not all lies. I know that you really love her."

"Thank you for knowing that. Thank you for believing ."

"I'm on your side. You know I've always been on your side. I mean that's how I got myself into this mess in the first place. "

"You're the only one who gets it."

"But I can't help you tapdance your way out of this, not this time," I inform him regretfully.

"I know. So I will just have to figure a way to move heaven and earth all by myself."

I place my hand on his arm sympathetically but take it off when Ed comes in.

"Oh well, there you are, back from your wandering."

I can see him stifle his groan. "And you got me."

"I want to know the whole program, A to Z. And what's the status of this inconceivably ridiculous mess you've gotten yourself into?"

I'm noping right out of this conversation. "Would you look at the time? I've gotta go. I'll see everyone later." I have my own damage control to do. Edward is on his own for now.

Edward

I update Grandfather after Alice flees about the events after I left them last night.

"So she wants nothing to do with you?" He summarizes.

"That's what she said," I reply sadly.

"Well, that's that. Time to pick up the pieces and move on with your life. Now about Angela..."

I turn to face him, incredulous at his lack of sensitivity.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on. I have no intention of moving anywhere."

"Don't be ridiculous. You never should have married Bella to begin with. Even though she's beautiful and charming and utterly delightful." He smiles.

"And I'm in love with her to the depths of my soul."

"Fine. Wonderful. Then you should have done with her what we have been doing for centuries with women like Bella. You set her up in her own nice apartment , and you shower her with gifts and you visit her whenever your needs dictate and then you marry some woman who makes sense in your life." He pats my shoulder condescendingly.

"Bella is the only thing that makes sense in my life and I won't allow you or anyone else to treat her like a common whore."

His face goes slack at my crude language.

"Oh, hell, you're serious." He realizes.

"Nevermore so, and you better get used to the idea because I have no intention of letting her get away."

"Well, I suppose I should find some small comfort in that. I can only imagine what it would cost if she went after you in divorce court right now." He grimaces.

"Well, that's not an issue because we have a prenuptial agreement."

"Oh, true love huh? At least you kept your pants on long enough to keep your butt covered." He guffaws.

"It was her idea."

"Oh, that's a disappointment. I thought she had a head for business."

"She also has a heart. But I expect that's too much for you to understand the importance of that."

"Or the folly of it. As long the finances have been predetermined, you can chase her from here to China. But not until we get Angela out of our hair."

"She's been neutralized."

"Oh no, to the contrary. She's demanded a family meeting."

"And you gave it to her? Now, who's soft in the head?"

"And you'll be there."

"Fine. Five minutes with her and then we will send her packing." I shrug. "But then I'm done with this. I have to focus on Bella if I'm ever going to get her back. And no one, least of all you, is going to get in my way."

Rosalie

I pull up to a modest home- one very much like I grew up in before I met Royce and he dazzled me with his promises of a grandiose life. Behind those doors stands a woman betrayed by a rich man except she wasn't swayed by promises of wealth and material possessions. Those things didn't matter to a woman like Bella. But our end result is still the same only Edward Cullen is still alive. For now. I kid. Mostly.

I get out of my car and grab the bag in the passenger seat and head towards the side door. Instinct tells me that's the door most used as it leads to the kitchen. The heart of an Italian home. I knock and am greeted warmly though hesitantly as Mrs. Swan doesn't know me and my clothes scream 'wealthy socialite' ions away from her life.

"Mrs. Swan, I'm Rosalie King. I came to check on Bella."

"Oh, Rose! Bella has told me all about you. Please come in and call me Renee." She opens the door wider and ushers me in.

"How are you, Renee?" I ask.

"Good. Fine." She hesitates. "Not so good. I mean, you know what's going on."

"How's Bella doing?"

"You can't imagine. Her heart is broken. I want to skin that creep alive but at least now she is home with her family and she can start to mend."

"She's very lucky to have you. And I've been worried about her since last night. And I'd like to see her if possible."

She hesitates.

"I don't mean any harm," I assure her. "I've been seeing a lot of Bella lately and her well-being has become very important to me."

"The record company." Her mom nods. "She was so excited about that. She thought all her dreams had come true."

"Not just that. She's the only person I've met that doesn't judge me for my past. Which is why I went into business with her in the first place."

Renee looks at me shrewdly and I see where Bella got her moxie. "I'm gonna ask you something and I want you to be honest. Did you have anything to do with this?"

"If I had known what Edward was doing, I would've put a stop to it immediately. I like Bella too much to let anyone stomp on her heart like that."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. In fact, I was as surprised as the next person when Bella jumped out of that cake."

"What? She what?"

"She didn't tell you?" I laugh. "That's how she blew the lid off the whole scam- at Angela's birthday party. You know who Angela is?"

"Yeah, I put a pox on her." She practically spits as she says it.

"Good for you. Anyway, she threw this fancy pants birthday party for herself at Mac's and they wheeled in this massive cake. Out jumps Bella. She hands her marriage license to the barracuda, has her say then storms out. I tell you it was one hell of an entrance."

"My baby. She doesn't take the bad stuff lying down. I…"

The door swings open from what I'm guessing is the living room and Bella appears. Our laughter is cut short as she eyeballs me.

"Honey, Rose and I were just chatting, but I'll leave you two to handle business. I'm in the other room if you need me." She pats Bella's shoulder before she leaves. She's still eyeballing me.

"I'm sorry about all of this and I…"

"Stop it. There's only one thing I want to hear from you. Did you know?"

"Not a clue, I swear. Alice never let on and I'm unhappy about that."

"See what happens when people lie? Huh? Nothing good ever comes of it. Did you two have words?"

"Yes but mostly I talked. It went along the lines of 'what the hell is fucking wrong with you', 'does sisterhood mean nothing to you', 'fix this shit now'... stuff like that. She let me have my say. I don't understand how she could try to tear down everything we are trying to build with BAR."

"Well, I guess she blew it."

"But.. it's breaking her heart. She's wrought with despair."

"No, Don't talk to me about broken hearts, Rose. I'm the walking wounded here!"

"I know, I know but I'm telling you. I saw her late last night at the office when I went to check on you. You weren't there, she was. She is owning up to her part in this and she's taking responsibility."

"Well, it's too late."

"Maybe not. We all know how important BAR is to you, to all of us, and even with all of that, Alice offered to step down if you wanted her to. I am hoping it doesn't come to that. We need both of you to make this work. BAR is Bella, Alice and Rose, remember? Now I'm not trying to sway you one way or another, I'm really not but…"

"No, don't tell me not to be angry. It's the only thing I'm holding on to right now and if I let that go all the hurt is gonna rush in and I'm just gonna die, I know I am."

"You should be mad! You have every right. But what's that saying? Don't throw the baby out with …"

"The bathwater. My Ma still says that all the time."

"Whatever else is happening, BAR might be the only good thing to come out of it. It's important to me and it's important to Jasper. He's an innocent bystander in this just like we are. He's out there hanging wondering where his future lies."

"With his talent, he'll be fine."

"You are the key to the company's success. However you decide to play it out with that creep you married is your call but professionally speaking even without the Idle Rich, Jasper is ready to bust out. We have your nose for talent and you have me and Alice, if you so chose to keep her, behind you all the way. The bottom line is you are the spark plug that makes BAR run. We are useless without you and frankly speaking, you don't seem the type to hide out when the going gets tough. So what are you doing?"

"Rose, I don't know what to do. It just hurts so bad." Her facade starts to crack and she starts crying. I pull her in for a hug and let her get it out. I can't do much for her but I can do this.

I let her compose herself once she lets it all out. She blows her nose loudly in a paper towel.

"You okay?" I ask.

"No. I feel like a first class idiot." She sniffs. "I was taken by a con man."

"You didn't know."

"The very first words out of his mouth to me were lies. Masen Whitlock? Real estate scout? It all went downhill from there. How can a man live with that?"

"I guess he avoids looking in the mirror."

"Everytime he told me he loved me, I fell for it."

"According to Alice, that may have been the only thing that was true."

"Okay yeah, like I'm supposed to believe her?"

"She said he was so nuts about you he had to keep lying as it was the only way to keep you." She rolls her eyes and walks away from me.

"Hold on now. You love him too, right?"

"How can I love someone that I don't know. Rose, he was so good at lying. He made me feel like we were somethin' special. Like we were the happiest couple on earth. Then he would kiss me goodbye, tell me he had to get on the road for some big meeting all the while he was disappearing into that great big mansion at the top of hill and climbing in bed with that blonde barracuda."

"You can't do that to yourself. You never know if you can forgive the guy if you keep pulling up images in your head like that. Alice says he says he wasn't sleeping with her."

" Like I'm supposed to believe that. Come on, Rose. You and I both know how men are. You gonna tell me Royce didn't have a gooma?"

"He had several in fact."

"Then how can you talk to me about forgiveness? How can I do that? Listen to me, the first thing that is the most important to me is love. Then trust. If I am ever stupid enough to forgive that man, how do you think I'm ever going to be able to trust him?"

"There is a lot to work out, Bella. It isn't my job to tell you what you should or shouldn't do with your marriage. But as your friend, you are not doing yourself any good hanging around Forks licking your wounds."

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"Come back to Tacoma with me."

"No, absolutely not. I don't want to see Masen or anyone who has anything to do with him ever again. Besides, I can't face him."

"It's not like you to hide. You're a fighter. That's what I love about you."

"What am I going to do there?"

"Do what you do best! Music. I need you, Jasper needs you. I can't launch his career without you getting in my face telling me telling me how much I'm screwing up."

"Well you know you're pretty hopeless." She smiles a little.

"I know. You gotta see Jasper through the next few weeks. Besides you'd kill yourself if you weren't there to reap the rewards of everything you started."

"I guess I could throw myself back into the work." She muses. "If I stay here I'm gonna drive myself crazy thinking about the mess the rest of my life is. You know I will confess something to you."

"What's that?"

"You know I love my folks but I was lying in bed this morning thinking they take such good care of me I don't ever have to leave this house ever again. I don't want to do that. I have to face the world eventually."

"The sooner the better."

"Yeah. Yeah, You're right. Thank you. I'm gonna go pack my stuff."

"Wait, before you do that. I have a gift for you." I indicate the bag on the kitchen table. She looks at it curiously.

"What is it?"

"Sit down and I'll show you."

She does as I say and I reach into the bag and take out a rectangular box.

"This is an iPhone. It has all the capabilities of a computer. Every tidbit of information you might ever need to know about anything or anybody is right here at your fingertips. That way you never have to be caught unaware ever again. Knowledge is power, Bella. And you deserve to take your power back. And don't worry about the cost. Consider it a business expense."

She turns it over in her hand and looks up at me with her eyes glistening. "Thank you, Rose."

"You're welcome. Now go pack. We have a business to run."

She runs through the door and yells for her mom.

"And I have an artist to speak to." I say out loud to myself.

It's time I formally introduce myself to 'Masen Whitlock'.

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