DISCLAIMER: THE STORY DOESN'T BELONG TO ME; THE CHARACTERS ARE PROPERTY OF S. MEYER AND THE PLOT BELONGS TO DANNYSK. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME SHARE YOUR STORY IN ENGLISH!

GRACIAS DANNY, POR DARME ESTA OPORTUNIDAD!

The discussion with Edward naturally did not end in her favour. Bella grabbed her car keys with trembling hands, she had to get out of there, she had to... She looked around for the children and found them playing with their uncle in the front yard of the house, Emm saw her and nodded as if saying "go away".

Bella didn't need any more incentive than that, so she just smiled at him gratefully, even though it probably looked like a grimace. In the car, things didn't go well either, tears blurred her vision, so she stopped on Alaska Street right in front of the pier where she always went on days like these. A little later she got out of the car, the smell of the sea and the fresh wind cleared her mind and dried her tears. She was so lost in the boats on the horizon that she never felt when a big, burly man pulled up beside her.

"Bells?" The young woman gasped, putting her hand to her chest.

"J-James? What are you doing here? How did you know it?" He sighed, slipping a lock of hair that the wind had blown out of her ponytail behind her ear.

"Rosalie told me that you gave her your passes. I've been calling your phone, but it went straight to voicemail. Did you fight with Edward again?" The woman bit her lip before nodding. There was no point in pretending. She'd never been good at it anyway. "I figured. That bastard deserves to have his face smashed in."

"Don't say that. He's the father of my kids."

"He's just that, Bella. He's a sperm donor. Nothing more than that. You two have never been united by anything other than the twins."

Then, just as she had done in the past few weeks, the thought that perhaps she had made a mistake in marrying Edward came back to haunt her. Bella thought that over time their love would be enough for both of them. But now, as she realised the abyss that separated them, for the first time she wondered if she could live her whole life in the knowledge that he didn't love her. That he had asked her to marry him only because it was the right thing to do when she became pregnant. The thought that he had to settle for her when he could have found another woman broke her heart.

Isabella couldn't even think that anything more than their children brought them together. She insisted on believing there was something more, there had to be, or how did she explain the times he fell asleep cuddled up to her or the way he kissed her as if there was no one else for him?

"It's not as it seems" she sobbed, mortified with herself.

"It's okay honey." James pulled her close, and though she tried not to feel good in the arms of a man other than her husband, James certainly gave her everything she was clamouring for. "Why don't you tell me what caused the fight now?"

"Because of the dance, he didn't want to go." She turned away, grimacing. "I don't really know what I made such a drama if I already know that he doesn't like those things… I told him I was going with his brother…God. "She shook her head, a bitter smile tugging at her lips." This is so pathetic. I've decided I'm not going, I just wanted to show him that I'm not dependent on him."

"You'll go Bells. You'll be my partner." She looked at him with big eyes.

"What are you saying?" She smiled incredulously. "Edward will go incredibly mad. No, thank you."

"I don't care about that jerk. You have the right to go out with whoever you want to." He held her chin. "We're going to that stupid dance and you're going to have fun. Period."

"I-I don't think so, James, but I appreciate it anyway." The sapphire gleam in his eyes told her not to take anything for granted.

Minutes later, she was grateful for the change of theme when they sat down on a small bench where she told him everything that had happened with Sam, and when she least expected it, twilight shimmered on the horizon. With James, time flew.

O~O~O~O

"Again Angela forgot you?" she asked smiling, making him raise an eyebrow. She looked stunning in the tight white uniform. Shaking his head he frowned at the strange thought.

"You make it sound like I'm an object." She laughed before tugging on the hand of a guy accompanying her.

"This is James. He's our classmate." Edward analysed the blonde up and down. He didn't seem like a bad guy, he just... wasn't someone he liked for Bella. And the way he seemed to be ogling her, for some reason it unnerved him. No one had the right to look at someone like Bella that way. She was beautiful, yes, and for that, she deserved only the best.

"Nice to meet you." They both introduced themselves, and then there followed a tense silence where the men did nothing but measure each other before James finally left to go back to class.

"So…are you dating him?" The question was too personal, his tone hard and sharp. Bella was just his friend, he had no right to make it sound more like an accusation, but he couldn't help it anyway.

"I n-no…I mean, no." She blushed shaking her head. "He's just a friend."

For being just a friend, her blush and nervousness betrayed her, and what the fuck was happening to him?

"So here you are!" Angela crooned, surprising him by hugging him from behind. "Shall we go, love?" Edward smiled and nodded, silently grateful to be interrupted at such an awkward moment, but when he looked back at Bella to say goodbye, her eyes were shining with... pain? No. Surely, he was misunderstanding her.

"When are you going to stop being a fucking bastard?" His brother's deep voice caught him off guard, bringing him back to reality.

"Stay out of this, Emmett." He muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'm in it because my nephews get hurt too, you never stop to look at their faces when you scream." Edward pinched the bridge of his nose harder.

"You'd better go."

"Sure, I'll go, but look at you, you're turning into someone else. Our parents never treated us like that, that wasn't their example, I understand that Angela's accident marked you but..."

"Don't mention her ever again!" He grabbed him by the lapels of his expensive suit. "Never, do you understand?" His brother pushed him away, pulling out of his grip with difficulty.

"You're a jerk. You've turned your past into your eternal present and you're dragging your family into this shit. Don't be surprised when you suddenly look around and find yourself alone." Edward glared at him, hoping he'd finished his lecture by now, but his brother was on a roll, he knew it when a malicious smile tugged at his lips. "I'm sure that Bella will find someone who can take care of her and the twins properly. After all, she's young and beautiful, and your kids are adorable."

And with that, his brother stormed out of the house, slamming the door. Edward clenched his hands into fists, Emmett's words had gotten to him. He knew full well that his brother had every reason to have said that Bella could date anyone since Emmett was well aware of the way he was jealous of James, and he took it upon himself to feed that hatred against the son of a bitch by making subtle comments like this.

Edward remembered again that ever since they had been in college, James had been after her, now they worked together and shared quite a few things in common. Even the way the kids would gleefully talk about him whenever they had a chance to see him at the hospital's family gatherings, which of course Edward never attended. The mere thought of imagining his wife with someone else, however, raised the level of his anger to the point where it almost felt like an earthquake that shook his body.

Shit. He was becoming an asshole, an arrogant asshole, and he'd never wanted that. None of it, absolutely none of it. He looked around him, the house, the toys, the bills, all of that he could bear, gladly, even thankful every day if he was living this very thing next to her... next to Angela. He took a deep breath. There was no point in dreaming again of a future that would never exist. He had to give his brother some reason, he was living in the past. When he looked out the window again, he realised with surprise and alarm that it was late enough, and Bella hadn't returned.

"Where is Mom?" asked Sam, shifting uncomfortably in his dining room chair. His green eyes were glued to the table.

"She had to go to work."

"I like sandwiches for dinner." Eli muttered, spooning her cereal back and forth, not looking happy.

Of course. He never made dinner for them. If Bella had a night shift, by this time they would again be in the care of Mrs Cope, who, in fact, was not long in coming. Edward rarely stopped by the dining room, let alone at this hour, which he used to burn off stress at the gym or doing anything else. The reality was that he started doing it to escape from home, but then it became a routine. One that he was paying dearly for, given the looks on the kids' faces, even Elizabeth's eyes were glazed over as if she wanted to cry. Shit, was he some kind of monster to everyone?

"Sir?" Mrs Cope asked, entering the kitchen, her face surprised to find him at this hour. The smile the children gave the woman warmed Edward's heart, but at the same time left him with a bittersweet taste. "Did Mrs Cullen leave earlier?"

No. She hadn't even come back yet.

"Yes. I'll…stay home. If you want, you can take the day off." The lady looked at the kids.

"Well, since I'm already here I can make dinner for you and I'll go, is that okay?"

Edward nodded distractedly, where the fuck was Isabella?

So...Hello. I did not forget yesterday to update, I just was so tired that I couldn't even go to the room where my laptop was and upload this!

Since we got to 50 reviews, you'll have an extra chapter on SUNDAY. Ok? I thought of posting two today and the other one tomorrow (Saturday), but I preferred to give you a chapter per day. Next goal? 75 reviews! When we get there, you'll have an extra chapter.

Thank you all for reading this story! Remember that you get a teaser of the next chapter if you leave a review ;)

So, rochinha058, , Guest(s) (I wish I could give you a name!), Fran S. Flower, slpmom, biblepam, 3c cullen, readergoof, vivarobsten, Lisalouise, EdwardsFirstKiss, GalitAvigail, THANK YOU! You know I love reading your theories and answering them ;)

See you tomorrow!