A/N: Hey readers! So hows life going, huh? Ok, ok. I know it has been a while since I posted, but what can I say? New college, new place, entirely new people and bla bla bla. I'm not going to bore you with stories of my "new" life and will let you go at it ;)

As always this would have not been possible without the valuable help of my guiding lady EdwardsFirstKiss who is still ready to help. Thanks to her, and happy reading! :)

Previously...

"Shit!" he muttered and jumped out of the bed.

"Yes, you asshole. You could have come out of that ring earlier..." I huffed and climbed out of the bed after him. "I wore that ring all the time and you were in it?" I countered with my hands on my hips. Now I know why the ring glowed with the familiar green color. His eyes! "And I mean all the time..." I glared at him.

"C'mon, love. It's not like I haven't seen you naked," he rolled his eyes.

"But you haven't seen me pee," I screeched.

"Hey! Your ring was on your finger, so how could I see you pee? And we both know you don't... pleasure yourself with that finger... Shit, Bella. I'm...," he sputtered, seeing my face red in rage. Or was it humiliation?

"You're a dead man, Edward Anthony Cullen," I screamed horrified.

CHAPTER 16

BELLA

I was running in the hallway; from whom, I don't know. It was dark, and silence was everywhere. A few minutes later, I realized I wasn't running from anyone. I was running towards something; searching for something. Breathless by the running, I stopped in front of a metal door, panting with my palm pressed to the hard metal.

I must have applied a little force behind my palm as the door opened with a creak. I gasped as it resounded in the entire silent hallway. I hurriedly went inside, and stood with my back pressed to the door, eyes closed. Slowly, I opened my eyes. I have to cup my hand to my mouth to prevent a cry from escaping when I saw a familiar human body hanging from the ceiling.

Ring...

Ring...

The body slowly faded away as the sound increased. I was dreaming. I opened my eyes quickly and surveyed my bedroom. The noise continued, followed by some hard knocks and cries of 'Bella' coming from the front door. I climbed out of my bed and rushed to open the door.

"Bella! What the hell were you doing? We have been banging on your door for ten minutes now," Rose asked frustrated as she entered my apartment with Emmett. I peered at the clock and saw it was six in the morning.

"Well, what are you doing here this early?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"We wanted to stop and check on you before Rose left for work," Em explained.

"Oh! Sorry, but I was sleeping," I apologized.

"Alright, Bella," Rose replied absently as she took out some jars and packets from her bag.

"What's that, Rose?" I came to stand beside her.

"For your breakfast and lunch," she said dismissively, her eyes on her task.

"I can make breakfast on my own," I rolled my eyes.

"Alice has already given me a hard time for leaving you alone last night," Rose pushed past me towards the kitchen. "So I don't want to risk her calling me irresponsible again," she air-quoted irresponsible.

"Okay..." I said slowly as I followed her to the kitchen.

"You can anticipate a call from Ali anytime now," Em grinned.

"Shut up," I punched his arm lightly. Like he had jinxed my cell, it started ringing. "Shit!" I rushed to get it from my room after shooting a scowl at a giggling Rose and grinning Em.

"Hello," I breathed into the cell as I answered.

"Isabella Marie! Why would you do that?" Alice shrieked, and I shifted my cell a little away from my ear to shield it. "Why didn't you let Rose stay with you last night? You know how worried I was...,"

"Ali, Ali. Calm down. I'm not a baby to be pampered and whose needs are to be attended to every minute. I could manage on my own for one night, couldn't I?" I rolled my eyes.

"But you're not well...,"

"I just have a sore right arm, Alice. And Chelsea came yesterday, so Rose had to attend to her," I explained.

"Oh! She told me nothing about her mother-in-law's arrival," Alice complained.

"There could be two possible reasons for that. One- maybe Chelsea wanted to surprise Jasper and you. Two- maybe you didn't give Rose time to explain," I offered.

"Huh... umm... ok fine. But are you okay?" Well that's the million dollar question, isn't it? Physically, I was just fine but still sore, but mentally I was a mess. The events of last night came crashing down on me which reminded me of Edward. Where is he? I looked around my room but couldn't find him. He... he was real, wasn't he?

"Bella...," Alice's voice came through the speaker.

"Yea...," I cleared my throat. "Good. I'm good, Ali. I've an appointment with Dr. Warner tomorrow morning, so I will probably have permission to go back to work."

"Don't hurry, sweetie. You've lots of personal days saved up, and I don't think either Esme or Carlisle would mind if you take a week or two off," she suggested.

"I know, Al. But I personally want to work again as soon as possible. Oh, and Ali? How are you feeling now?" I asked, remembering her upset stomach.

"Ughh... don't ask. I feel like thousands of rats have died in my mouth," she gagged.

"Umm... That was pretty... descriptive... Ok. So... You rest, Ali. Don't worry, I'll be fine," I assured her.

"Mmm... I'll come to see you when I stop puking my guts out," she hummed. I chuckled at her easiness over the subject 'puking'. We said goodbye, and I walked out of the bedroom to check on Rose in the kitchen.

However, as I stepped into the kitchen, a gasp left my mouth, and my hand flew to my chest in a moment of shock.

"Bella? Are you alright?" Rose rushed towards me, her hands covered in batter. "You look like you'd seen a ghost," she commented. Oh, only if you knew the half of it, Rose. I averted my gaze from the sight which shocked me and looked at Rose.

Maintaining my posture, I said, "Nothing...," I cleared my throat. "It's just... I... Emmett was standing in the living room when I left, and now he is sitting at the kitchen table. I was just taken aback by seeing him... there," I blurted out, waving my hand in his direction. Emmett too looked at me curiously for a second but resumed reading the newspaper. Rose gave me a suspicious look and returned to her work. Ha! Even I know I gave her a lame excuse.

As soon as she turned her back towards me, I glared at the man laughing hysterically at the table. Now I know for sure that I hadn't imagined him last night. I walked over to sit beside Em with my head held high. When I entered the kitchen, Edward was sitting across from Em, reading the back of the newspaper in Em's hand. I hadn't expected him to be sitting there, so it had taken me off-guard.

"Are you having a nervous breakdown, Bella?" Em chuckled into the paper.

"Not one I know about," I rolled my eyes.

"Tell him about your sleep-talking tendencies. That will explain the extent of your mental illness," Edward laughed. I don't know why, but I expected Em to laugh at that just like they both used to tease me in the past. But probably, Edward could neither be heard nor seen by anyone except me. That thought brought a moment of sadness as I thought over how I could help Edward. And what would happen if I failed? I... I could lose him forever. All it would take was one mistake. One wrong move and Edward would be gone. I swallowed thickly at that.

A foot nudged mine under the table, and I looked up to meet Edward's questioning gaze. I shook my head and smiled slightly. He raised an eyebrow and then touched two fingers to his lips, passing me a flying-kiss. I blushed and bent my head downwards. His sweet laughter brought a wide smile on my face, and I couldn't help thinking about how my situation had changed overnight. The gloomy thoughts I was having a minute ago would have upset me to no end on any other day. But now, when these thoughts were disrupted by Edward's interference for real, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

"Bella? Are you sure you're fine?" Rose's hand came to my shoulder. I turned my head to look at her. "A few minutes ago, your face was white as sheet and now you are all... red," she frowned. "I think you're running a fever," she touched my forehead.

"I'm good, Rose. It's... The pancakes smell delicious... Mmm... Bring me some, fast. Otherwise, Em will eat all of them," I grinned at her as Em shouted 'hey'!

"Now I know for sure something is not right with you," Rose commented with wide-eyes.

"Huh... What?" My brows furrowed.

"You are asking for something to eat, Bells! It's the first time in two years. You used to find an excuse not to eat. I was beginning to think you have an eating disorder!" she exclaimed. I chanced a look at Edward, but his face was stoic.

"I... I'm just hungry. It has nothing to do with my reluctance towards a meal...," I looked at her pointedly. "Besides, I don't have a fucking eating disorder," I spat.

"Fuck my life," Em gasped, slamming the newspaper onto the table. "Bella Swan said fuck," he looked at me dramatically.

"What?" I asked confused.

"You haven't uttered a serious cuss word in two years," Rose stared at me gob smacked.

"And now she dropped the F-bomb, Rosie," Emmett clapped happily. I looked at them open-mouthed. Edward was also witnessing this mayhem curiously with his chin atop his folded hands on the table.

I thought over what they said. I was using curse words frequently in my thoughts these days. Edward was alive... well, a half-alive victim of my verbal lashings. If I go back in time to two years ago, I could remember my lifeless body. They were right; I hadn't seriously cursed in front of them since then. Using curse words in speech indicates that you're emotionally engaged in the conversation; whether the emotion was one of rage, happiness, excitement, etc. But I had been emotionless for the last two years. I had become a workaholic. I had refused to give myself the time to ponder on my emotions. So, these sorts of inventive words as well as my humor had been missing both inside and outside.

But I could see the development in myself. The last few weeks had started breaking down my shell. Edward's return had been the final nail in the coffin. I could feel all of my emotions. I felt complete. And that's how I realized; I would give anything to have that feeling of completeness forever.

"I think I'm finally breaking the walls down that I had built up for so long," I smiled at Em and Rose.

"That's... that's great...," Rose came forward and hugged me tightly.

"Don't abandon me," Em yelled and jumped forward, grabbing both of us in a massive hug. Rose and I giggled at his excitement. But as I felt another pair of arms wrapping around my waist, I couldn't help but smile.

"Forever Yours," Edward whispered in my ear and kissed my neck.

Maybe I could finally have my completeness forever.

Rose and Em left shortly after we finished our breakfast. Rose has to attend an early meeting, but she promised to check on me in the evening. It was difficult to calm her when she was in mama-bear mode. She would really make a great mother someday.

"Ha! Finally," I sighed heavily as I closed the door behind them. "I thought she would chain me in my room so that I would follow her orders to take a proper rest," I laughed, turning to look at Edward.

"What?" I frowned as I looked at his thoughtful expression. He was sitting on the couch, looking as handsome as ever, but his brows were wrinkled.

"Nothing," he shook his head and smiled tightly. I came forward to sit beside him on the couch. Putting my head on his shoulder, I took his hand in mine.

"What is it?" I whispered close to his ear. He tilted his head towards me and kissed my forehead.

"I was thinking over some things," he stared at me solemnly. "You really had it bad, didn't you?" he sighed heavily, averting his gaze.

"I... Bad what?" He was making me confused by all this.

"When I was gone... Rose said...," he trailed off.

"Oh," I whispered, sitting straighter. So he was talking about my time without him. But why does it matter now when he is here?

"Why does it matter?" I asked, picking at a loose thread on my shirt.

"Really? That's what you're asking me?" he looked at me in disbelief. I shrugged a shoulder but didn't look up at him. I don't want to remember the moments I spent without him by my side. "Hey, look at me," his fingers met my chin, and he tilted my face towards him. I met his love filled concerned eyes. "I'm sorry," he caressed my face.

"No," I shook my head. "None of this was your fault. I... Please don't apologize. I've realized that some things are bound to happen; we can't control them," I took his face in both of my hands, cupping his cheeks. "I love you, Edward. I'll do anything to save you. What happened before was a bad dream. But now we have awakened, and we have all the time to start afresh."

He took my hands by the wrists and kissed my palms. "How do you make all of this sound so easy?" he smiled at me. I blushed and bit on my lower lip. He moved his face closer and my eyes were glued to his. I was breathless in the anticipation of what was about to happen. "I love you," he whispered as his lips touched mine softly. I moaned as his hands ghosted towards my lower back. Pushing my fingers into his hair, I scratched his scalp with my fingers lightly. "Ugh... Bella," he groaned, and in one swift move, he ushered me onto his lap. "Love... I...," I stopped him from speaking by biting at his earlobe. "We... we should... st-opp...," he managed to speak.

"What?" I distanced myself a little from him.

"Yea," he dragged a hand through his hair. "Love... I... We don't know if it's safe for us to do that...," he waved his hand in circles. "I mean... It has been two years, and I'm not even a human. I... I don't know whether we are even compatible...," he sighed. "It's... It's hard to control myself around you without us kissing, and doing what we were just seconds ago... it's too much."

"Oh," I nodded solemnly and moved out of his lap to stand.

"Hey," he held my wrist. "You're not angry, are you?" he asked slowly.

"Of course not. I don't want to pressurize you. You need space," I replied determined.

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow and pulled me down on his lap. I gasped at his sudden action.

"Edward," I moaned as his lips met my neck. "I would have guessed you're a vampire if I didn't know better," I whispered tilting my neck further to give him more access.

"Mmm... For you my love, I could be anything," he bit gently on my neck.

"Jake is right to name you vamp," I chuckled and closed my eyes. He stiffened, and his lips left my throat. "What?" I turned my head towards him. He shook his head and motioned for me to get up. "Edward?" I asked cautiously.

"Bella," he stood up suddenly to stand in front of me, his eyes burning with some unknown emotions. "When you were at the manor... I heard Em and Jasper talking about you and Jacob... I mean," he frustratingly raked a hand over his hair and averted his gaze. "Forget it."

"No!" I said out loud and cupped his cheek. "Did you seriously expect me to move on?" I asked quietly. "How can you even think something like that?" I whispered more to myself.

"I'm sorry..."

"No," I turned my back towards him. "Minutes before, we were talking about my life without you. I... How can you stand here and doubt my love for you?"

I heard shifting of feet, and his hands came to rest on my shoulder. He kissed behind my ear and breathed deeply. "I'm sorry, love. I didn't doubt you. I just thought that you would be better off without me...,"

"And who the fuck are you to decide that?" I shouted as I wiggled out of his grip to confront him. He sighed and dragged a hand through his hair.

"I said I'm sorry. It's not like I'm demanding to know more about you both," he shrugged.

"Because there is nothing to know!" I exclaimed. Taking a step forward, I touched his cheek and looked into his green pools. "It has always been you, Edward. Even when you... left- I loved only you. Jake expressed his desire for us to get together but...,"

"And I'm gonna kill that motherfucking son of bitch for the bullshit he said to you at the hospital," he spat angrily.

"Edward," I rolled my eyes at him.

"So are you happy now?" he asked hesitantly taking my hand in his.

"No," I shook my head, and he tensed visibly. "I'm so elated that I feel like screaming my love for you from the rooftop," I finished and threw my arms around his neck.

"Oh," he chuckled nervously.

"Mmm... Now, do you plan to stand here all day, 'cause my feet are hurting." I complained playfully as I kissed his neck. His hands came to rest on my hips, and he gave me his crooked grin.

"Why, love, I plan exactly to just stand here and suck faces," he teased, and I slapped at his chest.

"Then don't let me interrupt your stand all day game Mr. Cullen. I'm going to shower," I waved dramatically and left. His loud laugh followed me all the way.

"So...," I said slowly, my fingers massaging Edward's scalp. He looked so much at peace that I hated myself for bringing up this conversation. But it was necessary.

"Mmm...hmm," he hummed, his eyes closed.

"I love you," I smiled and bent my head to kiss his forehead. A wide smile graced his lips.

"Not more than I love you," he teased.

"Edward," I called again, ignoring his teasing. My voice must have indicated my inner turmoil as he opened his eyes to look at me.

"What is it, love?" he said gently taking my hand in his.

"I...," I gulped loudly. "We should discuss our next move, Edward."

"What move?" he asked confused and sat up straight in front of me.

"About your Captor...," I trailed off as realization crept in his features.

"Oh," his brows furrowed. I lifted my hand and brushed it off at his brow.

"I just want to know what would be my role in all of this," I whispered, kissing his forehead.

"Your role...," he tasted the phrase on his tongue. "I... You should stay out of this, Bella," he sighed.

"What?" I asked bewildered.

"Baby," he shifted closer to me and took my hand in his. "I know I asked you to help me but... Last night I thought over things again and feel like I should not involve you in all this...,"

"Shut the hell up, Edward Anthony Cullen!" I forcefully snatched my hand out of his. "I think you have some kind of bloody personality disorder or your virtual brain has stopped functioning. Otherwise you wouldn't have said such nonsense. In what sort of alternate universe have you thought that I would leave you alone to be fed to the wolves?" I glared at him.

"You know you are overreacting, Bella," he huffed.

"The fuck I am!" I stood up angrily. "What do you think you would do, huh? Fight alone? And then what? Disappear again? I'm sorry, but I have been through that shit once, and that was enough for one lifetime. I don't know about you, but I... I can't lose you again," my voice cracked at the end.

"Hushhh! Oh, baby... I'm so sorry...," he carefully stood up in front of me, wiping off imaginary tears underneath my eyes. "We'll do it together... sshh," he hushed me as silent sobs erupted from somewhere within me. He wrapped me up in his arms and hugged me to his chest. We stayed like that for who knows how long, wrapped up in our cocoon of love and fear. Love- for each other; fear- of the unknown.

Ringggg...

Ringggg...

I really have a strong connection between sleep and strange noises. This time the sound, which seemed to be coming from my front door, woke me up. I rubbed at my eyes and tried to shift on the bed, but immediately stiffened as a hand tightened its grip around my waist.

"Shit!" I cursed out loud and turned my face. I realized my head was lying on a firm chest.

"Edward?" I moaned sleepily.

"Don't go," he whispered. I raised my head to look at him and saw his pained expression. That alarmed me.

"What is it?" I demanded.

"If I asked you not to open that door, would you listen?" he asked with his eyes closed.

"Depends on who is at the door?" I raised an eyebrow in question. He sighed and nudged me to get up.

"Of course, you won't listen," he concluded and stood up, facing away from me. My first instinct, which always pushes me to comfort Edward whenever he is upset, urged me to go to him. But another instinct which I had discovered hours ago, which had taught me the art to ignore him whenever he turns into his "Keep-Bella-Ignorant-of-The-Situation" self, commanded me obstinately to leave him be and to find out who the bell-ringer is myself.

Jumping out of my bed, I carefully put on my flip-flops, watching Edward's movements, or lack thereof out of the corner of my eyes. I shook my head to clear off the sleep and stood up to open the "magic door". Irolledmy eyes at that last analogy.

There was a loud knock before I reached the door. I know I should have looked through the keyhole to see who was on the other side, but I think Edward's negligence to tell me this beforehand made me careless.

However, when I saw the monstrous frame in baggy pants standing in front of me, I learned my lesson. Never open the door without looking through the keyhole; that is what they are meant for.

ooOOoo

A loud crash resounded in the room. Mahastra was pacing like a madman in the big room.

"How much time do you assholes need to fetch his sorry ass?" Mahastra barked.

"Mahastra... He... he- your father... he is surrounded by an invisible sh…shiel... aa..hhh," the timid messenger fell on the floor and screamed in pain. "I- I'm sorr...," he gasped as Mahastra laughed.

"Scream, boy. Scream at the top of your lungs," Mahastra continued laughing as he tortured the man with his magic. "Useless shits," he growled. "And that fucker- old man, you brace yourself as you won't get a chance to defend yourself this time," he yelled and turned to reach his crystal ball. He chanted some spells and glared at the shinning crystal.

"Come on!" he sound frustrated. "Ugh... I will kill you, witch," he shouted and threw the expensive glass vase at the messenger on the floor who died when it hit his head.

"Hide him as long as you can. But know that your shield isn't enough to protect him. Cullen is mine," he seethed.

ooOOoo

Phew! Finally here it is! So guys tell me what do you think? I tried to create some beautiful moments between Bellward here. Now we know only Bella can see and touch him. Who do you think is the bell-ringer? Let me know how far your pretty minds can go!;) And then there is this whole Mahastra issue. Again- who do you think he is? Do REVIEW readers; I'm dying to hear from you.

Your reviews...

tomboygirl2: I'm happy you like the cuteness. Even I loved it. :)

Cheshire15: Thank you! :D

bettononalice2: You know I really appreciate the way you interpret my chapters. I'm delighted to read your fresh perspectives. :)

Guest1: Here's the new chapter! Hope I still have you as my reader. :)

marymary123: You can call Savior whatever you want. :) I'm happy to see your indulgence in the story.

Guest2: Ok. I don't know what you think is getting weirder. I'll appreciate if you take the time to elaborate. :)

I love that you all took the time to read it. Thanks for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing. I love to hear you so please REVIEW. :)

There's one change that happened in my life in the last two months. It's not related to the story and you can skip reading it; i won't mind. :) I just want to get it out of my system and as I always say, writing is therapeutic, let me have my moment. Five months back when I first started writing this, I was this whole negative person. I started writing just to escape some disturbing things. That's why even my story began on a sad note. I believe that usually what we write is related to what we are feeling. Don't know if I'm making sense or not, but long story short, I've changed for the better. I met a childhood friend, very close and near to my heart, and he is fantastic. He has this aura of positivity around him that even if we haven't met in person yet, his words always fills me with a new passion. A passion for life. This chapter is dedicated to him, as for the first time since I started writing, I wrote with an optimistic attitude. Thanks to him for that. :)

Well... long note... Sorry for that. ;)

See you soon.

-K