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!

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"Daddy?"

Edward smiled, apologising to the committee at the boardroom table as he left the room.

"Hi, Eli, sneaking on the phone again?" he asked, imagining his daughter's adorable face.

"I'm sorry. Mrs. Cope is out with Sam, and I just wanted to know if you're coming in today"

"Are you out of sweets so soon?"

"Yes." She couldn't help a laugh.

"If Mum finds out you' re eating so many, she'll kill me. You know that don't you?" A sigh from the other side.

"She said that sweets are bad for your teeth..." At the silence, he imagined her biting her little lip. "Can you bring just one?" Edward smiled again.

"We'll see, I love you, baby, I have to get back to work now, take care of your brother for me, okay...?"

"Sam scared me with a bee today," she interrupted him, "he misbehaves, he's been playing in the sand and screaming, he's the one who filled the entrance with dirt, and he ate all the sweets. I won't love him anymore, he's so mean!"

"But how terrible Sammy is, I'll talk to him when I get there, ok? He shouldn't be doing all those things. Be good princess, I'll see you later."

"I love you daddy; I'll see you in a bit!" Edward rubbed his chest, feeling a warm sensation as he went back to the board.

That night, as he stretched his neck to the side after spending all day with the children, cleaning up and picking up everything they had done, he thought about asking Mrs. Cope to come back. The children could get just... a little too enthusiastic.

"Do you have to go?" Sam whispered, stretching out until he was in his lap on the couch. Edward buried his face in his son's hair, smiling at the sweet smell.

"Not yet, is there anything else you want to do?· Jesus, his children seemed to have an endless supply of energy.

"Can we watch SpongeBob?" Elizabeth asked.

"Of course."

Not five minutes into the cartoon, all three had fallen asleep.

O~O~O~O

When Bella arrived home, she wasn't surprised to see Edward's car in the driveway, but what made her heart skip a few beats was the sight of her children on top of their dad. All three were sound asleep on the couch. With a sigh she stared at the scene, in all this time she had never seen such a thing, on the one hand she was deeply happy for the children, because they finally had their daddy, because they could feel loved and supported as they should have always felt. She knew it every morning as they told her about things they did with Edward, as she drove them to school or made them breakfast. On the other hand, though, it felt strange that she couldn't have the same trust that the children were having with their father.

She couldn't help but wonder if Edward was just pretending, or if this would last more than a couple of days, or if the memory of Angela or any other woman would throw him away. She couldn't imagine a future where he would actually change, not when she had waited for years for it to happen. Maybe it was a good idea to start going to therapy too, he'd ask Edward for the phone, maybe?

"Bella, what time is it?" The deep, slightly husky voice made her close her eyes, avoiding a shiver. "I'm sorry I overslept." Edward looked around, trying to wake himself up as he held Sammy in his arms.

Isabella watched her son, he looked peacefully asleep in his father's arms, Sammy had changed a lot over the months, he was no longer cautious around Edward, and Elizabeth knew she could call him at any time of the day and get anything she asked for.

"Don't worry, I can put them to bed on my own..."

"I'll do it."

"I've carried patients bigger than one of my children," she rolled her eyes, "trust me."

"You've mentioned it to me before," he gave her a side smile, "but as long as I can spare you a hernia at home, I'll do it."

She looked up at him, blushing, as he walked around the room carrying the children to their room, and then quietly escorted him into the room.

"Have you had dinner?" Bella couldn't help but smile and she would be lying if she said she wanted him out of the house, she was getting into the habit of having dinner with him and chatting about unimportant things, before finally going to bed. A cold bed that was too big for her alone, by the way. With a sigh she closed her eyes as she loosened her ponytail and let the long waves of hair fall behind her back, stretching her tense muscles a little.

"No, I'll prepare something for us, alright?" When she opened her eyes, she gasped as she saw the depth in Edward's eyes, he looked as if he would jump at her at any second, as if he were a huge predator, and unable to contain herself, she shuddered as she recognised the look. Edward inhaled before shaking his head.

"What can I help you with?" he rasped, stepping closer to her.

O~O~O~O

He knew that minutes ago he had made his wife uncomfortable, but he couldn't help it. He missed her in every way, needed her more than he ever needed anything. Crucify him if Edward didn't feel like being anywhere else but here, I mean, no one expected him at his brother's house, apart from moans and bad faces, all courtesy of Rosalie Hale. So while Bella cleared away the dishes after dinner, it was normal for him to say goodbye and the evening to continue its frustrating course, but not this time, when he remained in his seat gazing at his wife.

She was petite, but curvy in all the right places, the uniform looked amazing on her, and her hair was almost a fetish for him. Long, full, and wavy, hair that smelled like strawberries, and in which he liked to bury his face before bed, the smell of it comforting him like the best of balms. Sitting in the dining room, Edward rested his face on one hand, unable to take his eyes off her. He knew very little about the woman he had been married to for years. Which made him look like an imbecile, so he decided that even if it was too late, he might as well start getting to know her now.

"I don't remember how your dad died anymore."

Although, given the look on Isabella's face, he should have thought twice before starting any kind of conversation. Why the hell didn't he just ask what her favourite ice cream was? For some patient? Hell. He was so rusty on all this.

"That's because I never told you," she sighed, sitting back down across from him. "He died when I was very little, Charlie was a policeman, and he had an accident in an armed robbery that ended his life. After that, my mum got... turned on herself a bit." Edward sighed as he watched her sink a little, it must have been hard for her to spend that time alone.

"Do you think that's why your mother moved to Forks?"

"Partly; Seattle has always seemed like a violent place, and she was looking for peace and quiet, but I also think she did it to get away from it all... if you know what I mean?" He frowned.

"No, I don't, actually." That made her sigh.

"I think she left more because I remind her of Charlie. She said it all the time, and since Dad died, she's never been the same. Somehow, she managed to make the house not feel like... you know, "our house" anymore." She shrugged. "She was never there; she spent her time meeting friends or travelling. The truth is, I grew up feeling very lonely, but I can see now that didn't change much over the years."

Definitely for another round of questions he would start with the weather. Edward sighed, stretching out his hand a little, and when he reached for hers, he let out a small gasp as she gave it a light squeeze and didn't immediately pull back. A part of himself agreed with what she had told him. He'd always felt alone, even surrounded by his family, by luxury, by whatever, he'd never felt like he was really a part of anything after his parents died and growing up living from one relative's house to another. He and Emmett had felt helpless for years, until finally their aunt Esmerald took them into her home, she put a lot of effort into bringing them up, until her sudden death from a heart attack. Angela had been there to support him... and well, so yes, he knew well what it felt like to be alone, expecting nothing from life. But now, at this impasse with his wife, he hated himself for dragging Bella back to the hell he'd always wanted to escape from, it made him feel even shittier if that was even possible.

"That's why you were living alone when I met you."

"Yes, I thought it would make things easier for both of us that way."

"And that's why you agreed to marry me, you had this desire to belong," she understood.

It all made sense, it was the answer as to why someone as noble and kind as she was would marry someone as fucked up as he was. Edward could understand her now, for he had needed to belong to someone for years, he knew the feeling. What he never believed was that his simple deduction would set Bella on fire with burning electricity, and she stood up immediately, releasing him as if his touch burned, pulling away from him.

"Bella," he whispered stunned, rising to go to her.

"No," she growled, holding up her hand, as if asking him to stay away.

Ignoring her, he moved forward, and again she backed away. But this time, he didn't stop until she ran into the kitchen wall. Bella looked away in irritation, her tense body telling him he'd struck a nerve.

"Hey, take it easy." Very slowly he cupped her face in his hands and met her haunted gaze. "Thank you for telling me what happened to your dad, and for trusting me. I'm sorry if I made you feel bad with what I deduced, but for what it's worth, I knew it because I feel the same way. I never believed that someone like you would marry just because she was pregnant, I always wondered what the reason would be, that's all. I wish you could understand that I'm here now, for you and I'm so sorry for dragging you back to the last place you wanted to be."

"Do you still feel that way?" Edward smiled, stroking her cheek.

"Sometimes, and I confessed it to the therapist, and she told me that every human being is programmed to feel good about being accepted and bad about being excluded. In the end we all have that desire to belong, we need company."

Her dark eyes swept over his face, confirming his sincerity, he assumed. Slowly, the last vestiges of resistance faded, and Edward took the opportunity to pull her against his body. He clasped her delicate body in his arms and allowed himself to bury his face in her hair. He had waited so long for this, prayed to any deity to have the chance again to even touch her... yet he soon realised that her body was still tense, so he began to gently massage her back. He wasn't going to let go of her, he couldn't let go of something he had been begging to have back for months.

"Talk to me, what are you thinking?" He asked after they'd been holding each other for a long time.

"I don't know if this is real."

Pulling back, he found himself staring into those unfathomably dark eyes.

"What do you want to say?"

"I mean I have too many problems and complications coming at me from all sides... "Work, the kids asking me about you, my mum not convinced we'd come so quickly. You are the cause of it and oddly enough the only thing that makes sense at the moment. I can't get hurt because of you too."

He smiled at her words, stroking her face with his knuckles. God, he was so dying to kiss her.

"This is real, and I'm not going anywhere."

O~O~O~O

Bella looked at Edward and realised that this was real. So real that it hurt.

And it hurt because he had hit the nail right on the head, she needed to feel protected, loved, she had longed to belong to someone, but to hear him say those words, for some reason it felt wrong. Right after giving birth to the twins, she had looked for some sign that what she felt for her husband was reciprocated, some clue as to where Edward was. But there had been nothing that she had been able to see, nothing apart from unperturbed stares, luxuries, and empty sex. Bella had always been on the other side of the connection she'd wanted with him, staring at a blank wall. But in this moment?

It was the first time she'd had a glimpse of what she'd always longed for. So, for him to say he felt the same way had left her feeling quite unsettled. Stroking her cheek one last time, Edward exhaled, breaking away to walk to the room where he had left his coat, and only until that moment did Bella realise that her mind and spirit were with her, but her body was elsewhere. That would certainly explain why he never tried to touch her more inappropriately or kiss her despite the multiple opportunities he'd had. That he confessed to her that he was going to therapy perhaps made sense of why everything was so chaste now. Kisses on her hands and cheeks, never on her lips.

His fingers always on the edges of her body, never brushing or caressing anywhere more intimate, not even by accident... God, she didn't know what to expect of herself. She no longer understood their relationship. What she had with Edward was now robbing her of sleep, even her life while she worked, it was extremely exhausting to think about it all day long.

"Well, thank you for seeing me today."

Then, as had been happening all the other times, he leaned towards her to say goodbye. Bella found herself a little embarrassingly breathless, every time they said goodbye. Would he kiss her this time...? No. Today was no exception either, she knew when she softly felt his lips right next to her mouth. What if she turned her face away just a little...? And then he felt terrible, faced with the knowledge.

She remembered those days after Angela died, Edward would visit her mostly drunk, grieving over his girlfriend's death, and at the end of the night, when Bella walked him to the door, he would always kiss her like this. It was unbearable, she couldn't keep seeing him like this any longer, then she remembered how her crazy hormones and intense loneliness had caused her to turn her face away from him, bringing their lips together. He had been surprised, she could feel it in the soft gasp that escaped his lips, but Bella refused to open her eyes, instead, seized by the confidence she didn't feel, she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his neck, drawing him in hesitantly. Fortunately, surprise and confusion were quickly replaced by incendiary passion as he growled, lifting her against him, stealing a cry as he urged her to wrap her legs around his hips as they re-entered their small flat. Angela had told her that Edward was a carnal man who didn't subsist on kisses... and back then she'd taken full advantage of that.

Even later when he'd claimed what had happened between them.

Bella remembered that night in particular when things went too fast, one second, he was complaining to her about not feeling anything after they'd slept together so few months after Angela's death, and the next all she knew was that Edward started sobbing and that she was at his side, holding him. He was hurt, drunk, confused, nothing he hadn't been the last few nights, but even though she knew he hated her for what they had done, she didn't care. At that very moment, the man she loved was in her arms, and in a way, she couldn't feel guilty for enjoying it. She wished she could stay that way with him forever.

She looked up, meeting those jade-like orbs, everything was so different today. So she took a step back, and for the life of her, she could swear Edward looked disappointed.

"Goodbye," he whispered.

"Goodbye, Bella," he said in turn, giving her a small smile before turning and heading for his car.

She watched him go, standing in the doorway as she always did, the ache in her chest growing as she watched the car's lights disappear into the distance.

I know a lot of you may think Bella is stubborn but to her credit... Edward hasn't told her what she really wants to hear, what would you do?

Kelkat: I'm glad you're enjoying this story! Things are getting really intense!