Edited by Stilldreaming85.
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.
Marie Cullen.
Maybe I was the crazy one. Maybe I was the one with the issues and not them. After all, how was it possible to go from taking someone's life in cold blood to throwing a lavish party as if nothing had happened at all?
Was I missing something? I wasn't sure. There had to be something wrong with me, a reason why I could not relate or see things their way even after all this time.
Carmen had thrown this party every year for many years now. But I had never once had an interest in attending, nor did I now. If it wasn't for Edward, I would be enjoying the night all to myself.
But that is something Edward hadn't done since last night or this morning, and that was leave me alone. I think the admission that I had tried to drown myself had scared him or maybe it had just fueled his motivation. Maybe in his head I wasn't allowed to die. I wasn't allowed the easy way out. It had to be on his terms and on his orders.
No matter what his reasoning or motivations were, I had gotten his message loud and clear.
Stefan was suppose to be Michael. Edward had sent a clear message to me of what he would do to Michael if I were to ever see him again.
I didn't want that for Michael. I didn't want him to die, especially at the hands of Edward and because of me.
If it meant never seeing or speaking to Michael again, then it would all be worth it.
I did like Michael. I did feel something for him, something more than I should, something more than friendship.
I can't lie and say I have not thought about Michael or that I won't miss him. Because I have and I will.
I will miss knowing that at one point I had someone in my life who treated me as if I was no different to anyone else, yet at the same time still managed to make me feel as if I was someone special.
I will miss the way he'd looked at me, as if I were a simple, normal person. That's more than I can say for everyone else in this town. Besides Carmen and Eleazar. Everyone else knew that I was Edward's wife and they did not dare approach me, only if it were necessary and even then it was uncomfortable. One would think I was the grim reaper ready to take their souls. Little did they know that mine had already been destroyed.
But none of it mattered to me because I had found a small amount of happiness in this town, a happiness I knew I would never have been able to find or have in New York.
I had built a new life, a new me and Edward had managed to destroy all that the moment he had tracked me down.
I will never forgive him or Carlisle for what had happened because I could not see a way they could redeem themselves from that.
But I knew that I had to somehow move on. I had to pretend it would all be okay. I had to lie to myself so that I could see a reason to go to bed at night and wake up in the morning.
It will all be okay, I kept repeating to myself over and over. It will all be okay.
I stood in front of the full length mirror, focusing on myself, trying to recognize the person staring back at me.
The red lace dress was beautiful. It was not something if given the opportunity I would have chosen for myself, but Carmen had insisted on it.
I had my hair done and my make up. Dare I say the person staring back at me was almost perfect. Of course she was perfect. All of her flaws were covered with cosmetics and a designer dress.
But it didn't matter what was hidden underneath as long as what was on the surface was immaculate. Because that's what these people were, that's what they did. They masked their true selves and created the illusion of perfection, but underneath it all they were all monsters, criminals and murderers and my husband was the worst of them all. A true manipulator. A true liar. An illusionist.
My husband, the man who now stood behind me dressed in his tuxedo and looking every part the illusion of perfection.
My husband, who looked at me as if I were some sort of fine caviar that he was ready to devour.
He rested one hand on my hip, while stroking my arm with the back of his fingers with the other.
"You look...Beautiful, dolcezza," he whispered in my ear. "Il mio fiore perfetto."
"Thank you," I said, with a nod, wanting and not knowing how to get out of his reach. But he held onto me a little tighter, resting his head on my shoulder. He breathed out a sigh of relief, I think, or maybe he was expecting me to push him away. I didn't know what to do. When he became like this, in this way. It was as if he were a completely different person, someone I didn't know how to handle. But I do wish he would stay like this all the time, but wishes very rarely come true, in fact, they never did.
"One day," he said, looking in my eyes through the mirror. "Maybe, one day I might be worthy of your forgiveness."
"Maybe," I said. It was easier to reassure him with false hope than to let him down with the truth.
"We need to get going or else we are going to be late. I don't think Carmen would forgive us if we were late after all the hard work she has put into tonight," I said as he nodded his head. It didn't escape my attention the way his face and posture changed at the mention of his aunt's name. I wondered why. I wondered what Carmen could have possibly done to upset him or why he was almost defensive around her.
"I had the car brought around to the front," he said, holding his hand out to me. Left without a choice, I reached for his outstretched hand. He gladly wrapped his fingers around my palm, gently tugging me towards him and placing a kiss on the back of my knuckles.
~MINY~
The estate was something to behold. It was more a castle than an estate. I had been here before with Carmen when she was planning the events. It never occurred to me that this massive castle was under the Cullen name. I always thought Carmen would rent it out for the occasion. Imagine my shock when she told me it had been in the family for generations and it now belonged to Carlisle.
Edward didn't pull the car up to the valet. He drove around the side of the massive estate and parked the car outside a mass staircase leading up into the main hallways.
"You don't want anyone to know you're here or you don't want someone to see you with me?" I asked, getting out of the car as soon as he had stopped the engine. Not giving him the chance to open the door for me like he had wanted.
"That is a very stupid thing to say, Isabella. Why would I not want to be seen with you?"
I shrugged. I could think of a few reasons why, but none that I wanted to say out loud. "It seems like you are trying to hide something."
"I don't like waiting for my car at the end of the night, and if the need be, it is also a quick getaway," he said.
"Are you going to need a getaway tonight?"
"Let's hope not. But I do not like to be caught off guard."
"No, we wouldn't want that," I said, letting him take my hand as he guided us up the stairs and inside the estate. The soft music from the ballroom could be heard all the way from here.
No matter how many times I had been here with Carmen, it still took my breath away. The place was beautiful. Every corner, every wall, every turn, there was something new to discover. A new painting, a sculpture, even the door handles were crafted to perfection. But walking down these halls with Edward, the place didn't seem as beautiful as I had once thought. It was only a perfect illusion just like they were.
"Please don't leave my side tonight," he said.
I didn't answer him, not verbally. I nodded my head to show him that I had both heard and understood him. He seemed pleased with that.
"Marie, look at how beautiful you are," Esme said, approaching us. She lightly shoved Edward out of the way and kissed me on both my cheeks.
"Thank you," I said.
"You never came down last night to greet Rosalie and Emmett. They were looking forward to seeing you again, Sofia as well. Apparently she talked about her zia Marie the whole flight."
"Oh mother, leave her alone. We did arrive late," Rosalie said. She was every bit as beautiful as the last time I had seen her. "But my daughter did tell me she found you last night. Thank you for sending her to bed by the way." Rosalie followed after her mother and kissed both my cheeks as did Emmett.
"I'm sorry I didn't come down to greet you, I was a little..." I trailed off.
"That's alright. It is good to see you though, Marie," Emmett said.
"Thank you, Emmett. It's good to see you both as well, and Sofia. I cannot believe how big she had gotten."
"Come on, come with me. I will introduce you around," Esme said, linking her arm with mine. I did not care who she wanted to introduce me to or even where she was taking me as long as there would be some distance between Edward and me.
"Mamma, no," Edward warned. For a moment I thought Esme would give into his warning. But she brushed him off as she led me away.
Esme never introduced me to anyone. We walked around the room. Occasionally she would stop and pick up a new glass of champagne and then we were on our way again. People would nod as we walked by them, stop and raise their glasses, but no one was willing to say a word to us. It was frustrating, annoying even. I felt like a puppet on a string, a doll on display.
"Are you going to introduce me to anyone or are you only going to parade me around as if I am some sort of possession?" I asked her, after having enough of her antics. But Esme didn't seem bothered by my tone or maybe it was that she's had one too many glasses of champagne and it was all neutral to her now.
"I thought you could use a break from Edward. I know he has been glued to your side all day. I know how frustrating that can be. Carlisle has done the same to me on more than one occasion. I wanted to kill him after the first few hours," she said with a wide smile.
"I cannot say the thought of killing Edward has not crossed my mind today," I admitted.
"I know what happened and I am sorry that you had to witness that. But sometimes…"
"You know what, Esme, I don't want to talk about it," I said, unlinking her arm from mine.
"I didn't mean to upset you."
"You haven't upset me, Esme."
She offered me a sad, apologetic smile as she tucked a loose piece of hair behind my ear.
"I have to go to the bathroom," I said, making an excuse to leave.
"I'll show you," she said.
"I know where it is."
I left Esme and went straight to the bar. "Qualcosa forte," I said to the bartender.
"Si signora," he said, pulling out a bottle and pouring my drink. "Ecco qui."
"Grazie." I took a swig of the amber liquor, welcoming to burn it left down my throat. It was strong, but not strong enough.
I turned around and watched those around me. This was like nothing I had ever seen before. This could not be real. I was in a room full of criminals all family and friends and associates of the family, yet they were acting as if they were royalty.
"Pathetic," I whispered to myself.
Through the mass of people, a face stood out to me, but it could not be. What could he be doing here? If Edward were to see Michael, he would surely kill him and I am sure half if not all those in this room would help him.
And just like that he was no longer there. But I was certain it was him. His piercing eyes were hard to misplace.
I got up and made my way over to the other side where I had seen him down next to the hallway. But there was no one here that resembled him at all. I sighed, closing my eyes. I was starting to see things. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me because I had been thinking about him all day, maybe.
I sighed again as I opened my eyes and looked through the room of people. All around me the music played and people danced and laughed. They were completely unaware.
I gasped out loud, my breath catching of the back on my throat when I noticed the red dot skip across his forehead.
I didn't know where Edward was, or even Carlisle and Esme. I didn't have a chance to warm them, I didn't even have a chance to scream.
At the stroke of midnight all hell broke loose.