Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.

MARIE CULLEN. (ISABELLA)

I woke up to an odd feeling on my stomach. Something was pressing down on my abdomen, making movement almost impossible.

I opened my eyes, blinking rapidly a few times as I tried to adjust to the harsh morning light coming through the open window.

An arm was draped across me. I turned my head to the side to see Edward's sleeping form laying next to me.

My first thought was to jump up, to push him off of me and out of my bed, to yell and scream at him until my lungs hurt and my voice faded.

But I couldn't do that.

He looked too peaceful, it was a state in which I had never seen him in before.

Edward always slept with one eye open. He was always ready to jump up and attack at the slightest noise. But now, if it weren't for the steady rise and fall of his chest, I would have thought him dead.

He must have been very tired and I wondered when was the last time he had a proper night's sleep.

I removed his arm off of me with as much care as I could. I positioned my pillows on the bed and rested his arm on top of them before I quietly climbed out of the bed.

I grabbed my bathrobe and headed out the door knowing very well that if I were to use my bathroom he would more than likely wake up.

There was a bathroom downstairs that guests would use whenever Carmen and Eleazar entertained, I would have to make do with that this morning.

When I made it into the kitchen, Carlisle was already there making coffee. I glanced at the clock on the fridge, it was only five-thirty in the morning, what was he doing up so early?

"Good morning," he said.

"Morning," I mumbled, covering my mouth to block my yawn.

"Coffee?" He asked.

"Yes, please." I nodded. "Thank you," I said, taking the offered cup from his hand.

We sat together at Carmen's kitchen table in an awkward silence.

Carlisle and I, we never had a problem communicating with one another.

For someone in his line of work, Carlisle was very easy to talk to and could be quite funny. At times it was hard to believe that the man was a mafia boss, a career criminal when he was so laid back and easygoing.

But looks are deceiving and first impressions are always lies. To the outside world, to those who didn't know the Cullen family, the first impression one would have would be that of a loving family. One that works together, supports each other and offers unconditional love. But once that mask, that facade is removed, a dangerous and sometimes deadly truth is revealed.

Living freely in Sicily, I had seen things and heard things that would have made anyone else in my shoes runaway as fast as their legs would take them. Of course I didn't have that luxury, I knew I would never make it very far if I tried. Chances were, those two men would have been on me before I even reached the front gate.

I understood Carlisle's reason for sticking them with me, although he had never spoken the words out loud, it was clear that Carlisle was afraid of me.

Sicily was and is still very much controlled by the mafia and it was clear that Carlisle's family controlled the majority if not all of the territory.

But even with that in mind, there would have been nothing stopping me catching a flight to Rome or any other European city and running into a US embassy.

Carlisle was afraid, even after all this time, that I would do just that.

I wasn't stupid, I knew that Carlisle also kept track of every phone call and message I sent, as well as my search browser, which is why I had never looked up my own parents.

None of that bothered me though, not as much as it should have, because being here was better than being over there where regardless of what Edward said or did, I was nothing but a prisoner in his home with a nice view of Central Park. I liked it here, and no matter what Edward wanted, no matter what Carmen had said, I won't leave, I won't go back with him, back to that life of hiding me away.

"What are you thinking about?" Carlisle asked, dragging me out of my thoughts.

"Why is he here?"

"For you," he sighed.

"Why? Why now? Why did he wait three years?"

"He never knew where you were, but he never stopped looking. He thought he could get around me. I have to hand it to him, he was very determined to find you." He chuckled as he took a sip of his coffee.

"My own son has held a gun to my head more times than I can count these past years, all for you."

"I'm sorry," I said, although I'm not sure why.

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

"Carlisle, I'm begging you," I started. This was it. If he wasn't going to answer my question now, he never would. "This has been eating away at me for a long time and I need to know the truth. Why didn't you just tell him where I was? Why did you help in the first place? It seems like you only created more problems for your family by helping me."

Carlisle was silent as he let my questions sink in. He stared back at me with what I could only describe as a look of pity, maybe anger, it was hard to understand.

"I had every intention of killing you," he said, his voice void of any emotion. "You were a complication that should have never happened. Because of you, my wife and my daughter were arrested and treated like animals. My granddaughter was left traumatized. They destroyed my home searching for you," he said still not bearing any emotion. He took a long and deep breath before he continued.

"However, none of it was your fault. My son knew better than to involve you, yet he still chose to travel down that road." He stopped, pondering over that thought for a moment. No matter what Anthony had done, he was still his son. Carlisle, he is a strong man and not one to show his emotions freely. But his son's sudden death had scared him, it scared the whole family.

"The reason I chose to help you, well, my wife had a part to play in that. If it weren't for Esme we would not be sitting here, you would not be sitting here."

Esme! Every time Carlisle spoke of his wife, even when she angered him, his face, his eyes would light up. Even after all those years of marriage, it was very clear that Carlisle loved his wife just as much as he did on the very first day. I believed that in his eyes Esme could do no wrong.

"I should thank her for that," I said.

"I won't lie to you. I wanted you to make a mistake, I wanted you to try and run so that I may have a reason to get rid of you without my wife hating me. I am however surprised you never tried, but I admire that also."

"I did think about it many times," I admitted.

"What stopped you from trying?" He asked.

"What would have been the point? I knew I would never get away with it. I knew about to two men you had following me almost right away."

"They were supposed to keep their distance," he said, clearly annoyed.

"They did. Yesterday was the first time I had seen them face to face or spoken to them."

"Then you are very observant." And I don't think he was happy about it either.

I shrugged. "I like it here, why would I run? Let's say I did manage to get away, what then? Face a media circus? Go to trial?

You're not a good person, I'm sorry to say that, but you're not. But you have been good to me when you didn't need to be. You have given me a chance at a normal life again, which in the situation I was in was more than I could have ever hoped for. Because of that Carlisle, I would never betray you," I said.

"I didn't know what to expect from you, Isabella," he said, but I cut him off.

"Please don't call me that," I begged.

"Sorry." For the first time Carlisle looked upon me with sympathy. "But it suits you better than Marie."

"I'm not that person anymore," I said, looking down at the table top.

"No matter what, Marie, you will always be that person, only stronger. Believe me, I have seen it all."

I believed him. After what I had seen at Victoria's, nothing surprised me anymore. I had seen abuse and rape day after day and night after night and now the man who had caused all of that, the man who was behind the abuse of those women and girls sat opposite me looking like he was the most harmless creature on the planet. The man that also happens to be my father-in-law.

"Someone else in your shoes would have crumbled by now, they would have gone crazy or taken their own life. You are a very strong person, that much I've learned about you. I hope you give Edward hell, because trust me when I say this he deserves far worse."

~MINY~

By eight that morning, Edward was still sound asleep. Not wanting to chance my luck, I borrowed some clothes from Carmen and headed out. I didn't have a class today and I had nowhere else to be, but I needed to get out of the house and away from him. I needed to put some distance between us so that I could have time to think without him close to me, clouding my judgement.

I won't lie, I'll admit the truth, I had missed him. But seeing him now was both joyous, and painful. I had worked hard at trying to put the past behind me, to move on and find an ounce of happiness.

I was happy here, could he not see that? Could he not understand that?

I was walking down the boardwalk by the docks. It was a beautiful morning, it was always beautiful here. The warm air, the bright sunshine and my favourite coffee shop only a few feet away. It was Eleazar that had taken me here on my first week, it was sort of his way of cheering me up. He said, if I liked coffee and if I loved chocolate I would love this place and he was right, everything they made was magnificent.

I was well aware of the man following me. There was only one today. I wondered where his partner was?

I was happy here by the water, my attention solely absorbed on the beautiful scenery. I was so absorbed that I hadn't noticed the person in front of me and collided right into their back.

"Are you alright there?" He asked. The first thing I picked up on was that, he spoke to me in English with a heavy Irish accent, the second thing was his piercing blue eyes, deep and dark, it made me feel as if I were staring into an ocean.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying where I was going," I said. I could feel my face heat up as I admitted my own carelessness.

"That's alright love, no harm done," he said, offering me a warm smile.

"I really am sorry."

"My name's Michael." He introduced himself, holding out his hand for me to shake. "Might I have the pleasure of knowing the beautiful lady's name?" He asked as he brought my hand up to his lips. It was something I had become accustomed to here. Men, no matter young or old, would always kiss a woman's hand.

"Marie."

"Only Marie?" He asked with a cheeky grin, revealing a deep dimple on each cheek.

"Only Marie," I said. That was all he needed to know. At the mention of the name Cullen, people reacted differently, they would treat me differently because they were afraid of that name.

This Michael could be nothing more than a simple tourist, still, he was a stranger who did not need that piece of information.

"Well then, only Marie. I would not suppose you have time to join me for a coffee, it would be my pleasure?"

"I...Um…"

"Please, Marie," he said, flashing me a pearly white smile and putting those dimples back on display.

This is a bad idea. I should refuse and walk away. I turned my head around to see my guard leaning against a signpost with his phone in his hand. He wore a pair of dark sunglasses, making it impossible for me to know where his attention was, but he was without a doubt reporting back to Carlisle. I wasn't doing anything wrong or dangerous and Carlisle had no reason to stop me from making a friend.

"Alright, sure," I said, smiling up at my new friend.