CHAPTER ONE
Stranger
It's been almost a year since that day at the clearing, the day we came too close to losing everything. I cannot say it is all a distant memory now, I still remember the feeling of desperation I had when I saw the entire volturi clan closing in on us with impending doom. With an unplanned miracle, that day ended in our favor, in a scenario better than anything we have ever imagined or even hoped for, but we knew better to assume it was over. The battle was behind us, yes, but the war was still up ahead. The volturi won't accept being overpowered by any other coven especially not ours. The coven that could change the whole foundation of the vampire world, that offers other options, other possibilities, and gives the potential of a more peaceful existence, the coven that proves day after day that vampires don't have to be monsters to survive.
Things have been quiet at the Cullen's over the past year, our lives revolved around Renesmee, or "Nessie" as everyone fondly call her now; I have Jacob to thank for that. She is growing up more slowly now, but still faster than any human rate. She is the joy of the whole family, our source of serenity and pride. She can read, write and play the piano. Edward couldn't resist teaching her, and she didn't disappoint. She learned how to play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in one hour. Their duets were breathtaking, no one in the family could resist when those two sat down for a head-to-head.
My life was perfect, but I always feared perfect, perfect never lasted for long, especially not for me. I constantly have that feeling, that something is about to happen, something that will ruin my happiness.
Alice and Jasper are coming home today, after a long two weeks trip to isle Esme, celebrating the day they first met. I really miss Alice, I hated having her away, I felt safer with her around. I was very excited when her yellow Porsche parked in front of the house, and before I could come out to see her, she was at the door. Nessie stormed out of the kitchen and threw herself into Alice's opened arms
"Alice...I missed you," Nessie said flashing a wide smile, while Alice held her deeper
"I missed you too Nessie," Alice replied in her warm singing voice and then turned her eyes to us "I missed you all so much."
The whole family was in the living room now welcoming Alice, but she was distant, something was on her mind, and once our eyes met, I knew for sure something was troubling her, something that could only be a vision. My biggest fears were coming to life through Alice's wondering eyes.
It took all the patience I had to keep up with Alice little stories about her trip, I wished she would just cut to it and declare whatever it is she is trying to hide. The way she was carefully eyeing Edward every now and then, made me more scared. It involves Edward I just feel it. What is she waiting for? I couldn't take it anymore, I was about to break down when she finally spoke...
"Edward, I keep seeing a girl coming here for you, but she keeps changing her mind, through the last hour alone I saw about 20 visions of her, she is driving me crazy. I can see her close now though, she looks harmless, but I thought you should be warned ahead anyway!" Alice stated in a composed voice but I could sense the tension behind it. Her visions were changing that's why she was reluctant to tell us.
I didn't know what to make of it, but Edward certainly did. He just stood there, stunned, focusing on the images of that girl he could see in Alice's thoughts. The expressions on his face varied in a flash, from shock, disbelieve, to contentment, alleviation, ending with exhilaration, and longing.
" Oh, My God!" he exclaimed with a satisfied smile, then he stormed out of the door, running with all the speed he had to the forest, he didn't even stop when I screamed after him.
Without thinking I followed him, I couldn't make out who the girl was but judging by his smile, she is probably not dangerous, but I couldn't stop myself, threat or not, something told me I had to be with him.
I desperately sprinted behind him, but Edward was always too fast, he was barely visible when he crossed the river, running deep into the forest, I was a few meters away from him, when he abruptly came to a stop, he didn't seem to notice I was even there, he was so absorbed, very deep in thoughts that are not his own, and then he spoke...
"It's too late, I know you are here, you came too far to change your mind now."
He was answering her thoughts obviously, like Alice noticed, that girl whomever she is, is hesitant, but why? Who is she? And why is Edward convincing her to stay?!
Curiosity was killing me, I kept watching carefully, when a tall girl with very long dark hair, walked from behind a tree, peeking, like a little child caught in trouble, the pale skin, indicated she was certainly a vampire, but her notably wide eyes reflected the strangest color, her chestnut eyes weren't similar to the Cullen's "the vegetarians", she also didn't have red eyes like the nomad vampires, so where does that put her in terms of classifications. One thing was very clear, she was the most beautiful, most delicate vampire I have ever seen, the contrast between her baby features and perfect body made her seductively charming. She was like the brunette equivalent to Rosalie, that fact, in addition to the way Edward was behaving since he saw her in Alice's head made me extremely uncomfortable.
"Still reading minds, I see," she spoke in a tender, soft voice that was a bit too weak for a vampire.
She knows him and of course he knows her, an old friend?! How come he never mentioned her before?
"Em, it's really you," Edward sighed with pure joy but mostly relief reflected in his tone, he was unbelievably surprised, yet so thrilled to see her, he held his arms wide opened for her, and she just ran like a baby and jumped into him. The embrace was tight, warm and long, and I was falling apart only a few steps away from them.
Edward gently held her face between his hands
"I can't believe it, what happened? How did you...? I thought you were d-e-a... Ah, I just missed you so much."
"Oh, Edward, I missed you too,"
She said in a breaking voice, delicately tracing his face with her hand and staring into his eyes. He held her close again, swirling her around, their laughter filled the forest, and echoed inside my head like an alarm going off. For the first time since I became a vampire I felt insecure.
When Edward finally noticed I was there, he held the girl's hand and moved toward me with bright eyes...
"Bella, this is Emma, my first sister. Emma, this is Bella my wife," he pleasantly introduced us.
The word sister calmed me down, gave me a chance to hide my worries and discomfort, I reached out and shook her hand.
"Hi, Bella," she nodded and then she turned her gaze to Edward "I already know her, I have seen her before,"
I was as confused as Edward this time
"How? Where?" Edward asked puzzled
"I'll tell you everything later, now I just want to see Carlisle, I can't tell you how much I miss him, and Esme of course."
I hated how she singled Edward out, but I was slightly relieved Carlisle was in the equation.
Edward took her hand again, and reached for mine too, with a firm grip I held on to him, and the three of us began our trip back to the house.
Emma was probably the clumsiest vampire I have ever seen, she kept falling, tripping over rocks, and bumping into trees. At first I thought she was faking it to get Edward's attention, but she was really getting hurt, slight wounds and small cracks were breaking through her hands, legs and even her face. Eventually Edward left my hand to fully assist her, he secured his arm around her shoulders, and slowed down to keep pace with her. With worried eyes he kept on checking her, while she gave him weak apologetic looks.
I hated that she was weaker than me, more vulnerable, more in need for Edward protection and support, more like me when I was still...human. I hated the satisfaction I could see in Edward's eyes, he likes being responsible for someone, being protective is a part of who he is.
There was no way she could jump over the river by herself, so it was no surprise to me when Edward carried her across. Once on the other end, he rested her gently on her feet, and she didn't drag it either, she moved fast to his side and they continued toward the house. Seeing her in his arms clinging to him, made me wish for the first time since I became a vampire, that I could be human again.
" You go ahead, ask him to come out, I want to have some time alone with him before meeting everybody else," she said shying away from me, after her intimate contact with Edward, which made me a little bit less flustered, for at least she knows he is mine.
"Why?" Edward asked anxiously with a touch of anger in his voice.
"Well... I need to know his decision first, before invading your lives."
"Carlisle doesn't decide for the whole family Emma."
"He does for me Edward, please for once just do it my way."
"Fine..., just promise me you won't just leave without talking to me first," Edward's tone was more imperative than pleading.
"I promise, but you have to promise me something in return," Emma answered softly absorbing his rage.
"What?" Edward skeptically asked.
"No ears dropping."
He gazed into her eyes trying to read behind her proposed term, or may be even read into her thoughts, but she just gave him a warm reassuring smile and continued,
"Don't worry, there are no tricks here, I'll keep my promise, just give me yours."
"Fine then, I promise," he said through gritted teeth.
I was totally out of the picture, they had that strange aura about them, something private about the way they related to each other. Finally Edward looked at me, I was totally lost, sinking into my own thoughts, and one more time I was grateful he couldn't read my mind. He reached gently for my hand and stormed into the house screaming at the top of his lungs,
"Carlisle ... Carlisle."
Once inside, everyone noticed the change in Edward, something about him was different, but what was it? I was tormented by curiosity, I wanted to get Edward alone as soon as yesterday, I needed answers, still I was dreading them.
I was relieved when Carlisle finally answered Edward's screams. Few more minutes, I kept telling myself, few more minutes and I will have Edward explain everything to me, but what if? what if I didn't like what he would tell me? what if that girl was about to burst my bubble, ruin my perfect life? There is a huge potential, she could be Edward's first love, but where would that leave me. Is it even possible that Edward lied to me about that? What if he lies to me now about what she means to him, just to protect my feelings? May be I shouldn't be talking to Edward, maybe I should just ask Carlisle.
"Carlisle, I have a huge surprise for you outside, you won't believe it, you just won't."
Edward's voice brought me back to reality again, just like being slapped on the face.
He followed Carlisle who was taking curious steps towards the door, but I firmly held his hand and stopped him.
"No ears dropping remember, besides I obviously need to talk to you."
Sensing the tension in my voice, and finally noticing I was breaking down, he held my face in both his hands, kissed my forehead gently and whispered in his velvet voice,
"You are right, I'm sorry, I got carried away, let's go to my room and talk it out, shall we?"
The whole family was curious, so it was inevitable being interrupted, Alice stood in our way and cheerfully asked
"So brother who is the girl that brought that light to your face." She was right, that was it, Edward's face was lightened, he always had that glimpse of pain and torture masking his eyes, even in our happiest days it was there, but today it is gone, that's the change. It's as if he was always carrying a burden on his shoulders, and today he was finally free. All this added to my impatience, made me totally rude when I pushed Alice out of our way,
"Later Alice, later."
As always Alice was more understanding than I could ever deserve, she swiftly cleared our way, and we rushed to the room before we could face any more interruptions.
I didn't even wait until we sat down, once inside the room I closed the door and let the questions gush out of me.
"So who is she? How come you never talked about her before? What went on between the two of you? And how come no one else in the family knows about her?"
"Easy Bella one question at a time."
"Don't play smart Edward you know what I want to know."
"And what exactly is that?"
"Edward..."
"Okay, okay fine, I'll tell you the whole story, just promise you won't interrupt me through it."
"Okay, Now... Please."
"I never told you this before, because I never wanted to remember it, I never really forgot it, but I kind of buried it inside me. That part of my life carried so much pain in it, that I always felt the need to spare everyone around me from sharing it. I saw what it did to Carlisle and Esme, and I promised myself no one else had to suffer from it but me.
"I first met Emma at the hospital, where my mother and I were admitted to be treated for Spanish influenza, you know that story, that's where we met Carlisle for the first time too. She was a 16 years old beautiful girl who volunteered to help as a nurse during the break out. She was young, innocent, naive but mostly stupid. I was assigned to her or something, sometimes I felt I was the only patient she cared for in the whole hospital; she would spend all day nursing me and all night on a chair next to my bed. Her face gave me hope, so I searched for her eyes around me and clinged to them.
"I don't know if I encouraged her or if she was gullible enough on her own, but she ended up developing that absurd crush on me, I rather felt it in little things she used to do, like the way she held my hand while taking my pulse, or how her fingers always ran through my hair every time she removed the ice bag off my head. She was fixated on me, and it was getting worse by day.
"Eventually, even knowing I was on my death bed, she was foolish enough to kiss me. All I remember was pushing her away as much as my strength at that point allowed, and she was just crying and tenaciously holding on to the kiss.
"It took her only 2 days before she shared the room with me, this time as a patient. I wished I could have done something, said something to Carlisle, to anyone, anything that could have prevented that from happening. That bright girl who was full of life a couple of days before was dying...dying because of me.
"That was the same day my mother died, and I just didn't want anything out of life anymore, I closed my eyes and wished for death, but it never came, instead it was Carlisle, the excruciating pain and waking up to being a vampire,"
"I went to see her at the hospital a week later, she was unconscious, her exuberant face wilted, she was lying there helpless waiting for her death. When I touched her hand, she opened her eyes and smiled, whispered my name and went unconscious again. It was pure torture thinking of her, struggling with the decision of whether or not I should ask Carlisle to change her. I was going out of my mind debating within myself, and when I finally asked him to do it, I did it for all the wrong reasons. I did it because I could not live with the guilt of causing her death, I was selfish Bella, I did not think of her, or whether or not she would want that life, if you could call it a life. I didn't have the right to condemn her soul for eternity, but I did.
"When she woke up, all hell broke loose, she was screaming every word I wanted to scream and couldn't. She was enacting everything I felt about my new existence, she hated herself, she hated what she become, what I made her become.
"She craved blood, but couldn't get herself to drink it, she wanted to kill but didn't have the heart to even hunt animals. She wasn't meant to be a vampire, she resented it all, but she never hated me.
"Three years... she spent 3 years screaming, day and night, screaming out of pain and thirst, but not once Bella not once did she blame me, every time I looked into her eyes she hid away from me in shame. It was killing me seeing her suffer, because I was responsible for every moment of pain she felt.
"When Carlisle started giving her blood intravenously, as the only solution for her to be better, the screaming was toned down, but her self contempt was still tormenting her, though she tried hard to hide it. Every single day I saw her fade away, and that made me feel so helpless, I hated being around the house, I hated the way I felt around her, so I escaped, I ran away.
"I took long hunting trips and was rarely around, and that just hurt her more. It went on for two decades, until one great day Carlisle was telling us about the Volturi, and how they are the only authority in our world that has the power to end a vampire existence. That was it for her that was what she always wanted, a way out that didn't involve me or Carlisle.
"She planned her execution, and kept it hidden from all of us. She was always very good at keeping certain thoughts blocked form me, she waited until we all went on a hunting trip and left for Italy.
"When we came back there was a note for me...
" Sorry for all the pain I caused you Edward, as much as it hurts me to leave you, it hurts me more to see you suffer because of me, you deserve to be a lot happier and you would be... without me, this is where my journey ends, good bye."
"All the pain she caused me! Can you imagine that?! I tried to stop her, I went looking for her in Italy, but there was no sign of her, no word about her, and no clue to follow.
"It was hard for me accepting that I ended her life twice, I couldn't picture her being torn to pieces and burned by the volturi guards. I was hunted by that image for far too long Bella. I got furious with Carlisle for giving her the idea of going to the volturi, this was the main reason I left him.
"I loathed myself, I hated my existence, I wished for death way too many times, but couldn't follow through, I was not as brave as she was.
"I had years to deal with this, but I never did, I just learned to live with the pain, but I never forgot it or totally got over it. She was the sin I never wanted redeemed. It was my tribute to her bracing the torture, my way of honoring her memory, the memory I was never strong enough to acknowledge except for today.
He paused, searching my face for a reaction, but my feelings were conflicted. I wished he could have shared that with me before, I wished for once he would stop blaming himself for things that were not even remotely his fault. For the most part, he had nothing to do with Emma's decision to kiss him, she was never his responsibility, but that was Edward, he always held himself accountable for anything that goes wrong around him, he always took the burden off everyone else. I was just grateful he finally knew she was alive, and that his long lasting remorse was finally over. One fact was still vague, and I did not imagine it would mean that much to me, or that it would be so difficult for me to even question...
"What's wrong?" he interrupted my silence, anxiously waiting for my reply
"Nothing," my reluctant voice gave me away, and when our eyes met, he read right through me.
"I only love you Bella, you are the only one I ever loved,"
In simple words, he answered my unspoken, agonizing question, being Edward's only love was a certainty I never want to doubt.
I threw myself into his arms and he gently pressed his lips against mine, and kissed away all my worries and insecurities. I desperately hang on to the kiss ... to my moment of reassurance. I always failed to think of anything beyond how he made me feel, and right at this point, I did not want my mind to function at all, I wanted to concentrate only on his lips.
I almost forgot about the intruder, but not for long, he abruptly cut off the kiss, as we both heard the front door close.
On our way down , we could hear Esme joyful screams filling the living room, she was holding Emma so tight, that I felt the little weak vampire was about to break.
Carlisle introduced Emma to the rest of the family, and went on with her story, skipping the part of how she actually got infected with Spanish influenza, nothing was new to me. He simply asked everybody to welcome the new/old member of the family.
"Carlisle, don't you think they should know first and have a say about whether or not I should stay?" she carefully requested, evading Edward eyes.
"Know what?" Edwards asked sharply, fixing his gaze on her.
"Easy son, Emma just have a problem with the volturi, she has some guards on her tail, and they would probably stop here in a couple of days to search for her, but I already reassured her that it won't be a problem for any of us," Carlisle was calm and confident, and he reflected that on all of us.
"It won't be the first or the last time we face the volturi, and Emma is family and we always stood by our family," Edward voice was commanding, decisive with an underlying force that compelled us all.
"Finally some action, it's been quiet over here for almost a year," Emmet said in his usual uplifting mode.
"Welcome to the family Emma, we had our share of volturi trouble before, you don't need to worry," Alice said in her warm voice, holding Emma to her heart and just being her sweet self.
Surprisingly even Rosalie was supportive, she did not say much, but she didn't object either and Rosalie always made herself heard when she was against something. Esme was all hearts for Emma, she was so happy to think beyond having her back. Jasper had the same worries I had, I saw a preserved yet concerned look in his eyes.
I didn't want the volturi close to us again, especially around Nessie, especially not knowing what they would plan for us. We are also unaware of what happened to Emma through all her hundred years in the volturi clan, how do we know we can trust her? How can we be sure she didn't plan all this with the volturi themselves? Especially with the way she was successfully blocking Edward from reading her thoughts. All these troubling thoughts were screaming inside my head, but I was certain no one would have ears for anything I say.
Nessie came running through the front door with Jacob not too far behind; she threw herself in Edward's arms.
"Nessie, say hi to Emma, she is daddy's sister. Emma this is my daughter Nessie," he cheerfully introduced them.
"Like Alice and Rosalie?" Nessie instantly asked.
"Yes darling, she will be staying with us too."
"Oh, she looks exactly like you Edward. Hello Nessie," Emma softly spoke, welcoming Nessie with a warm smile.
"Hi Emma, can I hold you?" Nessie joyfully requested.
"My God I'd love to."
I was not at all comfortable about that, I watched carefully, as Emma reached for Nessie and carried her in her arms. Nessie chose to communicate with her in her own special way, she liked showing off her gift especially to strangers; something she picked up during our search for witnesses last year. She gently touched Emma's cheeks, but Emma's reaction was a surprise to me. She wasn't shocked by the images Nessie was showing her, not at all, it was as if she is used to it, and whatever Nessie showed her, put a huge smile on her face and on Edward's.
"He is?" Emma asked, slightly shy but definitely ecstatic.
Nessie just touched her again and said "See for yourself."
I hated being in the dark, I couldn't bear the idea of her having a private conversation that involved both my husband and my daughter with me totally blocked out. With a fake smile I curiously asked,
"What is going on Edward? What is Nessie talking about?"
"She just never saw her daddy that happy before, and she sweetly thinks it's because of me."
Emma just jumped to answer, she was very satisfied by Nessie's observation, and even though it was true, I hated seeing her brag about it.
"Such a magnificent gift she has, but a bit too familiar won't you say Edward? you were thinking of me when you conceived her, don't deny," with a naughty tone but an innocent smile Emma threw her rude implication, but what was even more shocking was Edward's reaction, he just smiled sheepishly at her.
I couldn't keep it inside me any more,
"So did you?" I asked furious.
"Don't be silly Bella, we are just joking," he immediately answered sensing my tension.
"Then how is Nessie's gift familiar, Emma."
My fierce tone caught the attention of the whole family; Edward instantly moved next to me and wrapped his arm around my waist in an attempt to contain my anger before he started talking,
"Well, Emma has a gift of her own, when she touches you she could see your future and show it to you through her touch, so actually she is a mix between Alice and Nessie."
"Really, so are your visions affected by decisions too," Alice asked utterly curious.
"No, actually my gift is a lot more boring than yours Alice, I don't see an incident; I see a fast-forward version of what will happen to the person I'm touching during a day, give or take a few hours," Emma Clarified frustrated.
"I just saw I will play the piano with daddy today," Nessie said amused.
"You can see her future?" Edward asked intrigued.
"Yes, why?"
"Well, Nessie is immune to my gift; I can't see visions of her," Alice stated puzzled.
"Well, I can see her, and very clear too," Emma proudly declared.
"Yeah, I can see that," Edward said, enjoying the images he is seeing in both Emma and Nessie's thoughts.
"Hi, I'm Jacob, no one seem too keen to introduce us, so I'll just do it myself," Jacob gestured stretching his hand to Emma for a shake. Emma politely responded, but seconds after their hands touched, she abruptly jerked her hand away from him and vigorously jumped away in complete terror, landing herself on the mini crystal table in the middle of the room shredding it into a million small pieces.
"I am so sorry; you didn't know...I am sorry I scared you. I mean you no harm, just relax ... " Jacob apologized and reach out trying to help her, but she was still in panic, she barely dragged herself away from him stuttering in a breaking weak voice,
" he ... Changed...wolf...how?"
We were all shocked not by the way she reacted, but mostly by the fact that she actually could see wolfs' future.
"We are sorry Emma, we should have told you about Jacob. He is our friend, you don't need to worry," Edward stated in a composed voice helping her to her feet. Carlisle rushed to her side too, checking to see if she was injured by the shattered glass.
"Darling, Jacob is a part of our mystical family. We actually have other wolfs in the family too. We just need to make sure to tip you off next time," Carlisle laughed breaking the tension and putting a light smile on everyone's face.
"Speaking of other wolfs, how is Seth now?" I asked, desperately trying to draw the attention away from our precious guest.
Poor Seth had a terrible accident on the reservation high way last month, if it were not for his wolf supreme healing privileges, he would have lost his life.
"He is much better now, his bones have completely healed, we have come a long way since the accident, but he is still in shock," Jacob sighed bitterly reflecting how tough the whole thing was on him and on the rest of the pack.
"I should really get going; I have to take Seth for a confidence boost walk. Nice to meet you Emma and sorry again for the scare. You should know I enjoyed the brief vision so much, it was amazing, we should do it again sometime," Jacob smiled.
"I am sorry too for the way I reacted, I didn't mean to be this rude," Emma replied in a low shaking voice, faintly smiling back at him.
"You must be tired from the trip, let's get you upstairs to rest. You can stay in my room, I have my own cottage now, may be you can stop by it later," Edward said gently, assisting her up the stairs.
I didn't realize I was following them except when Carlisle stopped me.
"Bella, I need to talk to you, come with me to the office, please."
As reluctant as I was, Carlisle was serious so I didn't argue, even though I hated leaving Edward and Emma alone together, I left Nessie with Rosalie and followed Carlisle into the office.
"Have a seat Bella."
"What is going on Carlisle, what's this about?"
"There is something about Emma; I feel that only you should know."
"What is it?" I asked, intrigued wondering what this could be and why only I should know?!
"Just remember that the only reason I'm telling you this is because I want you to understand where she is coming from, and not to be so judgmental about her," his voice was composed, but he seemed to be choosing his words carefully.
"Okay!"
"What Edward knows about Emma is that she was a stupid girl, who had a crush on him and then one day impulsively decided to kiss him not considering the consequences of her action. But that is not what happened ... not at all.
"Edward became aware of Emma in the hospital when he actually had time to look, but she was always close to him, he just never cared enough to notice.
"What are you trying to say Carlisle, I don't understand." his words were stressing me, I did not at all like where this was going.
"Emma was the daughter of Dr. Richard Willis - a friend of mine, he was Edward's family physician, and also their neighbour. Emma was such a brilliant young girl, with so much potential, her dad had all her life planned, he was even preparing her to become a doctor. But she had only one obsession, one goal and that was Edward. She grew up infatuated by him, living only a few steps away, with only one year difference, he was the object of all of her affection, passion, and love... Edward on the other hand was living in his own world ... a world that had no space for love, but that fact didn't put her off, or let her down, it actually made her more attached...
"When he got sick, her whole world was falling apart, she came to see me at the hospital completely broken; with utter desperation she begged me to let her stay in the hospital to nurse him, spend whatever time he had left caring for him. Being his doctor only I had that decision, but the more I opposed the more she pleaded. I should have never let it happen, I should have known better, but under her commitment and determination to help him, I eventually caved in.
"She did great by him Bella, she dedicated all her time and effort to him, she did all she could, but there was no hope. Seeing his condition deteriorate day after day, she took the decision I never expected, but should have seen coming. She decided if he was leaving life, so would she. When she decided to kiss him, it wasn't a spontaneous reckless decision, she knew exactly what she was doing. She wanted to die, she couldn't picture her life without him, and platonic enough a kiss was her dramatic way of achieving her goal.
"It was heartbreaking seeing these two young pure souls get wasted. Burdened by guilt, I was more determined on saving them. But when Edward woke up as a vampire, with all the resentment he felt, and the pain he went through, I started questioning whether I have actually saved him, or just extended his torture; after all I had no right taking that decision for him, and that made me reluctant about changing Emma.
"But in a few days Edward asked me to change her and hope filled me again, I thought I found him a companion he could share eternity with, someone he could love, and may be ... just may be that girl will have her forever love story after all.
"Neither of us expected Emma's reaction to the whole thing, it was devastating seeing her suffer the way she did. We tried everything we could, but nothing worked, and instead of giving Edward love, I added to his torment.
"When she escaped to Italy, to end her life, Edward and I had a rough time, we blamed each other; it was hard for us accepting her death. We both needed to take time apart, but eventually we found our way back together."
"Why are you telling me this Carlisle? You know what this would do to me, what do you want me to do?"
I asked completely frustrated, it was not easy for me when she was just the stupid girl who kissed Edward, It was difficult when it was just a crush now with her grand love story, what am I supposed to do?
"Nothing Bella, I'm not asking you to do anything. I just felt you should know how she really feels about Edward, because you are the only one who could understand her. I saw how you reacted to her out there, and I do not want this to be the way you two relate to each other. She knows he loves you, she is happy for both of you. She knows what the two of you have been through. I know her too well to assure you that she respects you marriage and won't do anything to hurt it. Still she loves him, her eyes could give her away, a word could slip form her, I'm just asking you to be open minded about it, to give her the benefits of the doubt sometimes, so we could all live as a family."
I didn't answer, I was silent ... don't know for how long, it was all heavy on me and I couldn't think of a rational response, I didn't want to be rude to Carlisle, I didn't want my insecurities to hurt the people I love.
"I'm sorry Carlisle, it's just a bit too much for me right now, I will try ... that's all I can promise."
"That's all I am asking Bella, I just hope what I said does not affect our relationship, I'm not taking sides here. You know how much I love you, and I will never risk hurting you."
"Thank you."
"Bella! Edward shouldn't know about this, it's Emma's wish, it took a lot of her to block her thoughts from him, and she want her secret to remain that way."
"Sure Carlisle, you don't have to tell me."
I came out of Carlisle's office feeling numb, desperately searching for Edward, I needed to threw myself in his arms, lose all my senses and forget today ever happened.