Thank you to Team Harpy.

Chapter 45

Edward

I walk into BAR about a week after Dwyer opened his investigation thinking I might try to talk to Bella. I tried to come by on her birthday but the dark cottage and locked doors told me I didn't need to intrude. I settled for sending her a text which was left on 'read'.

I'm not the only artist here today. Jasper is on the phone setting up something for tomorrow in regards to rehearsing. He hangs up and I decide to talk first.

"Hey."

He looks up, his expression guarded. "Hi." He leans against the desk and looks me over.

"Is Bella here?"

"She and Alice went out to pick up an amp."

"Oh."

"She'll be back any minute."

"Okay, I'll wait. If that's okay?"

"No problem."

He waits a beat then...

"So I finally get to meet the famous Masen Whitlock."

"All this time it's just been little old me."

"The famous Masen Whitlock and the mysterious Edward Cullen all rolled up in one. How did you do it man? I'm impressed."

"Don't be. All it's gotten me is a whole lot of trouble."

"But keeping it all straight in your head."

"Bigamy is a full-time job."

"And how's Angela?"

"Still unconscious. Which makes life perilous again." I get up and walk towards the fireplace, running my hand over the stonework.

"How did you do it for so long? I mean, being in two places, living two lives at the same time."

"It's a sad and complicated story," I reply morosely.

"You must love Bella so much."

My head snaps up and I look at him. There's no judgment, no subterfuge. Just total and open honesty. It reminds me of looking at Bella's face.

"I beg your pardon?"

"To do all that for her. To spend all that time and energy, maintaining secrets and lies just so you wouldn't let her down."

"I wish she saw it that way."

"Bella feels betrayed, humiliated. It's not possible to expect her to see what you put at risk, not yet."

"Not yet?" I ask, hopeful.

"Oh, I think she will forgive you the day she understands what all you went through."

"And how is it that you understand it?"

"I don't think it's hard to imagine. You've lost the woman you love, your performing days are about to be over, your life as a singer is about to end. That's a lot to lose."

"That's a lot of insight. You don't know how good it feels to have someone who is relatively objective to allow as to how much I might love Bella."

"I know you love Bella. I mean first, who wouldn't? Secondly, Alice told me you do love her and she knows more about this situation than anyone, and third, I saw how much Bella loves you."

"You did?" I ask, hopefully.

"Yes, and no woman could have been so full of happiness unless she had felt love in return."

"Yeah well, I just hope it's not too late. Uh, you don't have any bright ideas on how I might get her back, do you?"

"Patience. Perseverance."

"Oh, If it takes the rest of my life, I'll win her back." I vow to him.

"Good luck, my friend."

Bella and Alice spill through the doorway just then and I watch the laughter drain out of her face when she sees me.

That guts me. I took her sunshine and made her all cloudy.

Alice looks between us both then makes up some lame excuse about taking Jasper to get a bite to eat. Jasper follows her and then it's just us.

Her lips are pursed and her eyes are flashing.

"Please don't look at me like that." I plead.

"How am I supposed to look at you? With love? With trust?"

"Don't look at me then. Just close your eyes and listen." I walk towards her and she walks to the desk.

"No. No more games."

"Please just let me explain."

"Explain what? How I dropped every defense known to mankind? How I believed in you more than I've ever believed in anyone in my whole life? Why don't you explain to me where I left my brain."

"You were right to trust and you are always right to tell the truth."

"Enough with this truth business. It doesn't fly with you Cullens."

"Would you like to know what you accomplished by telling Dwyer the truth about the family?" I ask.

"Your family deserved it. I have never seen a more self-serving pack of wolves in my entire lifetime. Lying around in their designer silk robes dissecting each other and everyone else. Someone had to tell the truth."

"You're right. That's why I had to come down here. To thank you and to tell you what has happened as a result. You have freed me from the blackmail and once again you have saved my life."

"How does that work?"

"Phil now knows what happened but he has no way of proving anything without any corroborating evidence which he won't find or if James confesses which he won't do. So he has decided to drop the case. Therefore Angela has no weapons to blackmail me. She's defanged. Completely, not to mention comatose. We're free."

"That happened because of what I did?"

"With the help of Victoria. She and Phil go way back and she called in a few chips."

"Yeah, okay. Now we're getting to it. God forbid the truth stand on its own without a few favors. Is this entire town as corrupt as you Cullens?"

"No, we take the cake. But Phil is a man who knows when he is fighting a losing battle and he had the good sense to give up gracefully."

"Why don't you do the same?"

"Because there is no way and no reason why we can't go on with our lives now that Angela is out of our lives."

"And now you're gonna tell me that was what you wanted all along- to get out of your marriage to her?"

"Yes, desperately."

"Desperately enough to kill her?"

"Of course not. You know me better than that."

"Cullen, I think it's safe to say I don't know you at all."

"Alright, okay. You know what I mean." I watch her plop down on the couch.

"Assuming I do, who did poison Angela?" She asks me.

"I don't know and I don't care." I walk over to her. "I'm more concerned about you and me. Mainly you." I crouch down beside her.

"You know before she took a header, Angie said something very interesting. She said men get very obvious when they're desperate. I think this is a perfect example. So I'm supposed to believe this routine?"

"It's not a routine. Listen to me, I will do anything to win you back."

"And at the risk of stating the obvious, you have had plenty of chances and you chose to lie."

"Don't you understand how many times I wanted to tell you the truth and every time I tried something went wrong?"

"You chickened out."

"In a sense, yes," I admit.

"And you were afraid you would blow your little game."

"No. No, I knew that the family was still under Angela's thumb and I was afraid of what she might do." She crosses her arms and turns away from me so I sit down next to her on the couch so she'd face me. "Bella please listen. I only married her because of the blackmail and I only allowed her to push us around until I got something to hold over her."

She stands up. "I've heard enough."

"If I had found something sooner I would've used it. I swear."

"I think it's time for you to go now." She's by the now open door.

"Alright, okay. I'll go." I walk past her out the door. " But only for now."

Her answer is the slamming of the door.

Bella

He's been gone for half an hour now but his presence still lingers. Probably because he is living rent-free up in my head. His words keep catapulting around my brain.

"Don't you understand how many times I wanted to tell you the truth and every time I tried something went wrong?"

I think back to a couple of times in my old apartment when it seemed he wanted to tell me something then a conversation on our honeymoon comes unbidden to my mind.

"Given I do believe you, there's something… a fairly fundamental something, a fundamental truth that I need to tell you."

"Tell me. What is this fundamental truth?"

"I'm scared to death of losing you."

"You can't. You won't. I'm here."

And again right here where I stand now when I knew but he didn't know that I knew.

I made some choices that were wrong."

"Like what? Like marrying me?"

"No! Sweetheart, that is the one thing I do not regret."

"So what do you regret?"

"Well, I regret having not been completely honest with you for starters."

"Honest about what, Masen?"

"The real reason I couldn't quit my day job…"

I sink down on the couch on the verge of tears. "Oh Masen, am I being too hard on you? No. But you did try to tell me the truth, didn't ya? But there are so many lies too.

"You're a pro, right? Just passing through town?"

"Yes, I am a pro… a professional businessman. I'm in real estate."

"I don't buy that."

"Wanna see my portfolio?"

"You're really just a boring old businessman?"

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't bother explaining. We can have a real argument when you start sounding human and less like a frog. Don't look so sad. I know I said this could be a con but that was a knee-jerk reaction. Worst-case scenario, it's psychosomatic. I have a hard time believing you would do something like this to me on purpose. Would you?"

"Bella, no…"

"Cullen, you bum. It was all a setup. Nothing but lies right from the get-go." I slam my hand down on the desk in fury. I feel the nail break under the pressure. "Damn it! I hate you. I hate you so much." I sob. "Why did you do this to me!" I scream out into the void.

Alice finds me half an hour later trying to fix my nail. I'm calmer but the tear tracks are showing I guess cause she looks at me with pity. She decides to help me.

"Keep your hand still." She says.

"I can't. My mind is racing."

"Well, let your mind race but keep your hand steady or we will never get this fixed."

I try, I do but I just am so frustrated that I grab my hand from hers and slam my palm on the desk. She gives me some space.

"There he is again."

"Who?"

"Cullen! Every time I remember something sweet Masen did, here comes evil old Edward...ugh Liarward Cullen you know, Jumps right in front of him. All the lies, I can't even keep them straight."

"I know, let's stop talking about it. Every time I think about it, it just breaks my heart." She grabs my hand again and starts to file.

I glare at her. "Oh please. Your heart is fine. Mine is the one with one big huge gaping hole. All those nights he would drive all night just to see me. But he had to be gone by dawn, right? Not to sell real estate but to be a corporate mogul, running hotels and properties and running around with Angela, the comatose." She is about to glue when I throw my hands up and scream. " I'm telling you I just want to knock his head off!"

"Okay, your nail can just grow back then, I guess." She puts the manicure supplies away. "Look I know what he did was stupid but when are you going to realize he loved you so much that he was willing to go against her threats to the family to be with you."

"No." I point at her accusingly. "He left me for the arms of another woman."

"No, he did not. If you don't believe anything else that I tell you, then believe that. He never once strayed. Not once."

"He made a fool of me and that I will not accept. I will not spend the rest of my life thinking he got away with it. He is gonna suffer."

"Bella."

"No, I am mad. But now I am gonna get even."

**B**

"Here we have in my hot little hands and well, all around us, our first shipment of t-shirts, hoodies, keychains, posters, decals, and CDs from BAR Music Management of Jasper Hale and of What's-his-name and The Idle Rich. I went kind of low on numbers because I'm not sure of demand yet but if I have to order more after Jasper's big gig in Seattle, there is a one to two-week turnaround since I went with a local distributor."

Rose turns the CD I handed her around in her hand.

"It's awesome, right? It's the result of all of our hard work and all of our creative effort…and...and…"

"Bella, can I ask you a question?"

"I'm fine," I state automatically.

"Don't lie to me."

"Hey, this is the moment we have been waiting for isn't it? I know I was supposed to celebrate this with Masen but I'm glad you're here and I couldn't have done it without you."

"I appreciate that but I know it's not the same."

"The fact of the matter is there is no Masen so I will not wallow in anger or self-pity because it's negative, it's pointless and it's counterproductive. I mean hell, look at us, we are an honest to goodness recording company. And we have got CDs and merch to sell"

"Which brings me to my next point."

"Which is?"

"Half of our business is tied up in our Masen CD. We need to promote it."

"Okay."

"Is there an Idle Rich or not? Have you talked to the guys and let them know what's going on?"

"They've left me messages and I haven't called them back. I don't know what to tell them. I don't even know what to tell myself."

"I'm trying real hard to be sensitive to your situation, I really am but let's be practical."

"Okay. I can do that." I reply seriously.

"We find ourselves in an interesting setup. Edward Cullen is a man with a lot of clout." I roll my eyes. "And the money to back it up. When he says he's willing to do anything, the sky is the limit, I think we should give that some thought." I'm shaking my head no before she even finishes.

"No. I don't want his clout. I don't want his money. I don't want his family or their craziness. I don't want any of that stuff rubbing off on me."

"Okay, let's take a look at the CD we need to promote. We got the CEO of a major corporation wanting to front a band called the Idle Rich. I don't know about you but I see a lot of irony in that."

"Yeah, well, it's pretty twisted, I guess." I admit.

"If you can't turn that into a payday, I don't know who can."

"Alright, I can understand what you are saying and I can even admit you are right. What I don't know is if I can actually go through with it."

I settle down in front of the boxes of CDs and start to organize them. Rose silently comes to help me, giving me a moment which I appreciate.

We start to chat casually and I hear the door open. I don't look up as it's probably Alice.

"Hey, look who's here." She says brightly.

I look up to see Cullen with he then look back down at my project.

Rosalie greets them both.

"Good morning, Bella." He says.

"Good morning." I'm curt in my delivery.

"Rose, I have something so interesting to show you in the studio."

"Like what?" Rose asks.

"I'll let you know when we get in there." I feel Rose glance at me but she gets up. "Remember our conversation." She says.

"We'll see."

"Okay." She follows Alice to go look at nothing and Cullen smiles at me. "Good to see you again. It's been a few days."

I get up and go to the desk. "The Idle Rich CDs came in and we have some business to discuss."

"Actually that's the reason I came down here. I have a business proposal for you."

"Oh?" I look over my calendar. "And what would that be?'

"I happened to be looking at a report of Cullen, Inc holdings this morning and something very interesting just leaped out at me. We have a building downtown that's just sitting there empty. And I thought of you trying to run this business out of this tiny cottage. Not that you're not doing a great job."

"Remarkable isn't it?"

"But these aren't exactly the ideal quarters."

"I guess this is a little close for comfort for all concerned."

"That's not my point at all. But this place is really small and you and Alice don't even have your own offices. Let alone the studio you deserve. I figured with more space you could have the top-notch studio you deserve. So I talked to the property manager and made all the arrangements."

I turn to face him slowly. "What arrangements?"

"It's yours. The whole building. To do with as you wish. You can move in anytime. So what do you think?" He's grinning at me like he just told me he cured cancer.

White, or maybe it was red, hot anger soars through my blood and my ears are rushing with it. "You bum." I hit his shoulder. " You pig." A shove. " You jerk. Who the hell do you think you are? I'm not Angela."

"Of course you're not." He's backing away with every hit.

"You can't buy me."

"I wasn't trying to buy you." His hands are up in defense.

"You think you can just throw money at a problem and it just goes away? Well, not this cookie."

"Stop. I was simply trying to support your career."

"It has nothing to do with you."

"Of course it does."

"Wrong. You are an artist on this label, nothing more. You are never ever allowed to make decisions for me. Where my offices are located is a matter between me and my partners. Not you, or Jasper, or your bass player not your drummer. So you keep your opinions to yourself." By this time I have backed him into the fireplace and he is sitting on the hearth dodging my shoves.

"Okay! I am in a position to help so I thought maybe…"

"No you are in a position to make me disappear quickly but it ain't gonna happen. You can't get rid of me that easily, just know that."

I'm being ripped off of him by a shockingly strong Rose. I'm still shouting and pointing my finger at him while he yells his defense. Alice tells him to shut up.

"I can't believe the gall of that man," I tell Rose.

"I'm sorry I was just trying to help you. Ask Alice." Alice leads him away from me quickly and towards the door, telling him it's time to go.

"LIsten, Mr. Leather Pants, you work for me, I don't work for you. You remember that the next time you get one of your big stupid ideas!" I scream at the closing door.

"Bella, he's gone."

"I want to hurt him something awful!" I walk away to cool off.

"Your artist relation skills leave something to be desired." Rose admonishes.

"What was that even about?" Alice asks.

I told them about our conversation.

"So he offered us a whole ass building for free?"

"Yeah."

"And you threw him out on his ass?" Rose asks. "Look I don't want to get in the middle of this and your emotional responses are yours to have but it's safe to say you overreacted on this."

"I did?"

Alice and Rose look at each other and nod. "Yeah."

I get up and start pacing. "He has that effect on me and I am not wrong in saying that he can't just write a check for this and make it alright."

"No, he can't but maybe, just maybe, he was just trying to do something nice for you."

"It is in the realm of possibility." Rose agrees with Alice.

"I hate this. I pride myself on being the ultimate professional at all times and here I am putting my two partners in uncomfortable situations." I hug them both.

"It's okay."

"I don't deserve you guys. I just don't function well with a broken heart."

"Here's what I want you to do. I want you to feel your way out of this and we will take care of business."

"I think I need to go into the studio and put the headphones on and blast myself to oblivion with rock n roll. Then maybe I'll figure out what to do." I smile weakly at them then make my way to the studio and do just that.

Edward

"So what is this about?"

I look across the table at Rosalie and Alice. We are at Mac's where I asked them to meet me for a quick pow wow.

"I'm here because I want to honor my contract with BAR. I'm ready to get back to work."

Rosalie's expression is shrewd.

"So what does that mean? You want us to broker negotiations between you and Bella?"

"The hell with Bella. I want you to set me up a concert."

They both look at each other then grin.

"What brought about this change of heart?" Rosalie asks.

"Bella and I have a verbal agreement."

"And what exactly are you prepared to do?"

"Sing, perform, tour, record. Whatever."

"Promote?"

"Might as well go all the way. I want to schedule a promotional tour."

"As Edward Cullen?" Alice asks.

"If BAR thinks that's best."

"And what about the Cullens?" Rosalie inquires.

"I'll handle them."

"Sorry, it just takes a minute for this to sink in." They both laugh.

"I'll spell it out for you. I want you to do whatever you need to to make my singing career a success. Use me, abuse me, throw me on a tour bus or a talk show. Whatever."

"Oh, I get it. This is The Courtship of Bella Swan chapter twenty-five." Alice realizes.

"What does that mean?"

Alice ignores Rosalie's question.

"You dog. You plan on exploiting Bella's love of music to get her back."

"I'm tired of waiting around. I wanna get back to work. That's what I do best. Besides, I miss the singing."

"Right, and you miss Bella. And you think this is how you're gonna get her back. And I agree with you. It's actually brilliant." Alice gushes.

"So, this is a scam?"

"Well if questioned I'll deny it but sure. I have nothing else to try. I'm desperate." I tell Rose.

"And now you're using your brain! I mean this will just be our little secret." Alice hops a little in her seat.

"But I meant what I said about singing again. Will you help me?"

"We'll sell you harder than you've ever been sold before."

"Thanks, you won't regret this. I gotta go finish some things at Cullen, Inc so I can hit the ground running tomorrow."

I leave them to their celebration. The second emergence of Masen Whitlock coming soon to a stage near you.

Playlist:

Not Ready To Make Nice- The Chicks

There are a few of you that think Bella should calm down and listen. That isn't happening anytime soon. He has a lot to make up for. Also, I don't condone violence but Bella gets a pass because for one, she's Italian and also she's fictional. Before you come at me, no fictional bigamists were hurt during these chapters.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving (for those who celebrate) and I'll see you Sunday. Stay safe and wear your masks.