I DON'T OWN THE WORLD OF TWILIGHT

CHAPTER 2 – EDWARD

"Alice can you get my mail, please," Edward called out to his secretary and sister as he walked into his office from his morning meeting. It had gone as smooth as to be expected, they were even able to score the new record label they were hoping for, but Edward had been distracted to say the least.

It had been about 5 days since his interview with TIME magazine and he was still hung up on her words, "the perfect woman". Of course he had contemplated marriage before, he was in his thirties! Still it struck a cord within him to have someone ask. He had always dreamt about settling down and having a family of his own like his parents and siblings did. Even his little sister, Alice, was married at 23. A knock on his office door pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Come on in Alice," he called and she did just that. Barreling through the door with a stack of mail and a big smile on her face. His sister definitely kept things interesting in the office with her upbeat spirit, most people had a hard time believing they were related much less siblings. Edward was always so serious, too serious his mom would say but they didn't understand that in his business he had to be.

Cullen Records has been open for just about 7 years now and business was booming. Edward and his brother Emmett started the business when they finished college. After getting off to a rough start the company had blossomed into now over 15 actual recording studios across America but their central office was located in Seattle, Washington where they lived. Recently Edward took a step towards more of the business side of things while Emmett traveled to all the locations meeting with new clients and making deals. When Edward stepped back he invited their younger sister to work with them as his assistant since she and her new husband had just moved back into the area.

"Hey brother dearest, I got your mail."

Edward rolled his eyes at her and took the mail from her hands. She sat down in front of her desk and babbled on about some project her and their mother, Esme, were planning for the new house she and Jasper were building. He somewhat ignored her, nodding and making small responses at the appropriate times. The mail was mostly junk or something Emmett would be more interested in than him but one letter in particular caught his attention. It was written out to him personally not to the company.

"Edward are you even listening to me."

Edward glanced up to see his sister sitting there with her arms folded and a slight glare on her face. He chuckled at her and signaled for her to continue while giving his undivided attention. Edward and Emmett have always been putty in her hands since the day she was born. Their eleven and thirteen year age difference played a big part in it but she was their little sister so they were always very protective of her.

Soon after Alice left giving him specific instructions about the weekly family dinner they had every Friday evening. Edward turned his attention back to the letter in front of him. Opening and reading it carefully, his face changed at the words his mind was trying to comprehend.

Dear Mr. Cullen,

I'm writing you this letter out of pure desperation. I saw you interview recently about the "perfect" woman you have been searching for and I think I could maybe we could really help each other. You see I'm dying right now as I write this. I've been battling lung cancer for over four years now and it's become very clear in recent months that I'm not going to win this fight. I have no other family, my wife died fourteen years ago, besides my 18 year old daughter Isabella. She truly is the light of my life but once I die she will be all alone in this world. My daughter is many years your junior, believe me I know this, but she is very mature for her age. Some say she has an "old soul". I can't stand the thought of her not having a single person in this world to have her back, to keep her safe, even to give her company when she will need it most. I'm babbling I know but I'm trying to make you see how special of a person she is to me. I'm hoping you would consider coming out to Fork, Washington to meet me and her. Maybe just maybe there could be something between the two of you, even if it's only her gaining a friend she could count on. I just want to let you know I am in no way expecting or asking for any kind of money from you. Only to consider a dying man's wish. My contact info is below. Please if you are considering this request act quickly. I may only have a couple weeks left.

Highest Regards,

Charlie Swan

He read the words again and again, trying to make sense of what this man was asking of him. He had no idea who this man, Charlie Swan, was.

Edward decided to call in his head of security, Eleazer, and have him look into him and his daughter. If what he was saying was true he wanted to think he could help. Even just being a friend to this girl.

Edward spent most of his afternoon tying up loose ends at the office. Alice came in a few more times with messages and notes left at her desk. She asked if he was ok once or twice stating he looked tired, but he waved her off saying he didn't sleep well the night before and it must be catching up to him. As the day came to a close he was anxious to hear from Eleazer, he knew time was of the essence and thought about maybe trying to look up some info on his own but decided to leave it alone until her had heard from him. Right as he was packing up his things to head home Alice buzzed in.

"Edward, Eleazer is here to see you. Should I send him in?"

"Yeah Alice that would be great. Get home safe ok. Love you."

Alice bid him farewell and shortly after his door opened and in walked his longtime friend and head of his families' security detail. Edward, Eleazer, and Emmett have been friends since grade school so it was a no brainer to ask him to head up their security team. There were not many people Edward trusted in this world, especially with the nature of his business and the amount of traveling they did but Eleazer was like family.

"Hey Eddie," He teased, as he took a seat and popped the top on a can of sprite he took from Edward's personal stash.

"What did you find?" Edward wasted no time with asking what he want information he had found. This family had been on his mind all day and he was ready to know all he could.

"Geez. How was your day Eleazer? Yeah it was good Edward. Thanks for asking old pal"

"Eleazer.."

"Fine fine. What do you want to know?"

Everything. Edward wanted to know it all. Was what the letter said the truth? Was this some kind of scam like the dozens that came before it? I mean what kind of man asks someone he never met to come take his daughter. Much less a man who was many years her senior. Edward came to the conclusion that only a desperate man would. Sure many women had come up with sob stories over the years and had thrown themselves at him and his fortune but unless this was a women posing as a sick man he had never had a father request this of him. It was definitely a first.

"Just tell me what you got." He settled on.

"Ok. Well Charles Swan AKA Charlie is a patient at Forks General Hospital. He has been on and off for about four years while undergoing cancer treatment but it seems in the past month or so that the stay has taken more of a permanent tone you could say. It is true that he has a daughter names Isabella and she is 18 years old. Her birthday is September 19 so this year is actually her golden birthday." He said, while wagging his eyebrows at Edward who shot him a short glare before he continued. "She graduates from Forks High School in less than a week and is Valedictorian of her class. I took the liberty of stalking her Facebook page for you and found some pictures. She is actually very pretty."

He slid some printed pictures across Edwards desk and watched as he carefully looked at them. Pretty, Edward thought. This girl was absolutely beautiful. Her dark brown hair was slightly curly and frames her heart shaped face. It has a tint of auburn in the sun and matched her chocolate brown eyes perfectly. There beside her in the picture was an older man in a wheelchair.

The man couldn't have been any older than maybe late 40s to early 50s but you could tell he was sick. Many years of treatment made him look much older than he really was, although you could definitely see his daughter in his eyes. They looked very much alike and very close for that matter. Edward felt his heart tighten a bit when he noticed the sadness in Bella's eyes. He couldn't imagine losing one of his parents even at the age he was now and Bella was on the verge of losing the only parent she had left. The only family she had left, actually.

"Did you find anything else?" Edward asked after Eleazer cleared his throat.

"Not really other than a couple life insurance policies he has, retirement pensions, and some inheritance that will go to Bella. He seems to have really made sure she is not left with nothing when he dies." He watched Edward nod and go about packing his things up for the evening.

"What are you thinking Edward?"

Edward glanced over at the clock on his wall. It was 4pm. More than enough time to make the hour drive to Forks.

"Well right now I'm thinking if we leave now we would make it to Forks by about 5pm to meet Mr. Swan."

"Wait you want to go tonight," Eleazer questioned. Edward was never one to make hasty decisions. Eleazer thought back to when they were kids and even teenagers remembering how Edward was always the one who had to "sleep on it". "Are you sure?"

"If what this letter and your saying is the absolute truth then we really don't have much time to wait around weighing the pros and the cons. Charlie may not make it to his daughters graduation day and if that is going to be the case I don't want her to be alone. I know this sounds crazy but Eleazer I feel drawn to help him, to help her. I don't want my family to now about this quite yet so I am hoping you would accompany me?"

"Of course. You know I'm here when you need me, no way would I allow you to go alone."

They made their way down to Edward's Volvo and set out on their way. GPS made finding the hospital pretty easy but honestly Forks was such a small town you couldn't miss it. As they were trying to find a parking spot Edward started to get a little nervous. He didn't know where this would lead him but he knew he was doing the right thing.

After parking they made their way to the front receptionist and asked where they could find Charlie. She directed them to the fourth floor oncology unit with warm smile and told them he was in room 4414. The hospital was fairly small and very quiet, when they arrived at his door Edward froze, his hand ready to knock, when he heard a small voice behind them.

"Can I help you?"

They spun around and he came face to face with Bella. Her hair was pulled up into a loose ponytail and her eyes were red from crying he assumed, she was holding a cup of coffee and her fingers were dancing nervously around the edge.

"Uhhh yes I was hoping to speak with Mr. Charles Swan.." Edward started but she quickly interrupted him.

"About?"

When it took Edward a second to respond she sighed and continued, "My father is a very sick man and was very tired when I left to give him some rest. I'm not sure if he is up for visitors. I can ask him if you'd like, is he expecting you? Mister?"

"Cullen. Edward Cullen and yes he is expecting me" It wasn't a complete lie, Edward thought. Her father was expecting him to hear from him or hoping to hear from him I guess. He smiled at her as he saw her thinking, probably trying to remember if she had ever heard her father mention his name. When she came to the determination that she hadn't she nodded slightly and slid past them into the room. Edward and Eleazer heard the two of them murmuring to each other and quite a few seconds past before Bella opened the door and invited them in quietly.

Edward looked past her to see Charlie laying in the hospital bed. He was on oxygen and looked very frail, worse even than Edward has anticipated. In his defense he had never seen anyone dying of cancer as his grandparents passed from other illnesses or just old age but this, this was different. He watched as Charlie tried to lift himself up by himself making Bella walk quickly to his side and try to help him up. He slightly shooed her with his hand and she rolled her eyes while still staying close.

"Mr. Cullen, thank you so much for coming to meet me. I didn't think you would come, please have a seat." His voice was raspy and slightly out of breathe as he gestured for them to sit on the small sleeper sofa across from his bed. He looked over at Bella, who watching her father with her father and his new "friend" with a confused look. Edward came to the realization that Mr. Swan never mentioned the letter to his daughter. He suddenly felt uneasy at the thought of blindsiding her, it was never his intention to force her into his friendship or anything like that but he also couldn't deny the feeling he felt at the sight of her being upset. He wanted to wrap her in his arms, the thought both thrilled and scared him.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Swan. I came as soon as I could after received your letter, I do wish it was under better circumstances of course." Edward went to continue but Bella cut him off holding a finger up.

"Wait. What letter? What's going on dad?"

Edward and Charlie both exchanged glances before Charlie went on to tell Bella everything while Edward watched her reaction. Every once in a while she would jump up to interrupt or speak her peace but would respectfully sit down when her father would wave her down. It was gut-wrenching to watch her cry while he tried to make her realize that he was only doing this because he was worried about leaving her alone when he was gone. When Charlie was finished speech, Bella tried to argue her point.

"Daddy I know your worried about me but I will be ok," she said, while holding his frail hand. "You can't control everything . I have to learn to live my life without you and I'm sure Mr. Cullen has a life of his own to get back to. I will be fine I have to be." With that she turned to Edward. "Thank you very much for coming here at my father's request. I'm sorry if it caused you any inconvenience."

"Now Bella don't go apologizing for me! I'm still alive and I'm still you father," Charlie's voice rose. Bella went to argue back when the monitors surrounding Charlie's bed started to go off.

"Dad! Dad," Bella screamed as both she and Edward darted to his side only to be pushed away by a flurry of medical personnel trying to attend to her father. They yelled for the room to be clear and Edward could see Bella turn white as a ghost. He ran to her side and caught her just as she passed out. Cradling her in his arms he ran out of the room to the nurse's station across the hall. Eleazer wasn't far behind when a nurse called out to them.

"Oh Bella!" She exclaimed, as she came over to Edward. "Bring her in here, please"

The nurse walked them into an empty patient room and Edward gently placed her on the bed. She was starting to come around and clung to his shirt as the nurse came over with a cool wet towel for her head.

"Poor dear. It's been such a rough road for her. I doubt she has had anything to eat today besides coffee. I'll get her some juice," said mumbled, while scurrying out of the room.

Edward wasn't sure if he was speaking to him or herself but he didn't have long to ponder as Bella began to open her eyes.

"Bella. Bella, you're ok. It's Edward."

"Edward?" She said, still a little out of it and confused. All of a sudden it's like she remembered where she was and shot out of Edward's arms. "My dad. Is he ok? I have to get back to him." She tried to get out of bed but the nurse from before came in and forced her to sit back down. Scolding her slightly for not eating while Bella blushed like a child being caught. The nurse made Bella drink some juice and told her that she would tell her father's doctor's where she was and to update her whenever they had any news. They sat quietly for a couple minutes until a couple of doctors walked in with somber looks on their faces. Bella immediately sat up and Edward heard her breathing speeding up. It was the first time in his life that he felt completely helpless as they waited for the doctors to deliver their news.

"Ms. Swan…"

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