Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

I sat at the long table with a small plate of cake watching Edward smile politely as Esme dragged him from table to table to show off her prodigal son.

"He's such a good sport."

The soft word caused me to jump with surprise as I had chosen a table in the back alone to avoid the crowd of people that I did not know. I turned to find Dr Cullen standing above me with a wide grin that reminded me of his son.

"Sorry," Carlisle chuckled, apologizing for startling me as he sat down across from me with a plate of cake in hand.

"It's ok," I whispered as I swallowed the piece of dry yellow cake, not caring that I was talking with my mouth full. I watched as Carlisle as he poked at the cake with a slight scowl before looking back up at me with a grin.

"You'd think they could at least have chocolate cake, right?" he asked me as we both laughed before he launched into his hatred of yellow cake.

"Who likes this stuff?" He snorted just as Esme appeared above him.

"Mother. That's who," she corrected him as he rolled his eyes with a grin.

"Speaking of her, she wants to know why her favorite son in law has not come to greet her on her birthday yet?" Esme asked in a tense tone as I watched Dr Cullen's shoulder slump as a grim line of irritation appeared on his face.

"I doubt she's asked about me, but if it makes you happy, dear, I will go say hello," he sighed as he stood up and looked at me with a grin before giving me an uncomfortable wink just as I felt Edward slip in beside me on the bench.

"Grandma hates him," Edward snickered as he stole a bite of the dry cake off my plate.

"Why?" I asked as I watched Dr Cullen walk across the room hand in hand with his wife and then smile at the old, lady who sat at the head of the table like a queen presiding over her court.

"Why what?" he asked in a muffled tone as he spit it into the napkin her had stolen from me.

"Yellow cake," he muttered with a grimace before turning to face me once more. His green eyes were bright and his hair was smoothed down to weirdly tamed waves that his mother preferred, but I abhorred.

"Why does she hate him?"

"I don't know," he sighed as he looked in his dad's direction. "I doubt she knows either at this point. I was once told it was because she blamed him for the lack of grandchildren."

"Some people are just never happy," he muttered as he turned to look at me once more.

"How could she want more when she has you?" I teased earning a sly grin of approval before he leaned in for a kiss.

"That's what I told her too, but you know they never listen to me," he whispered before pressing another frosting flavored kiss against my lips.

That was a lie.

Esme Cullen hung off of every word that Edward had ever uttered.

His grandma, maybe not, but Esme? Edward was her world.

I didn't blame her.

Edward was amazing and he made it easy to make him your world.

I, of all people, knew that all too well.

It was in that moment that I realized what a horrible, life crushing mistake I had made by taking this bet.

I would not recover from this and just the thought of going back to normal, whatever normal was for our relationship left me sick to my stomach.

"You ok?" Edward asked me with a worried look on his handsome face.

The concern in his eyes was real and only added to the sickness that settled over me as I thought about when this ride with him would be over.

"Yeah," I lied with a forced smile as I watched the concern ease in his eyes as he moved on to telling me who was who in a room full of strangers as we huddled in the back corner together.

AN:

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