Capitolo Diciotto


Sometimes it's not the people who change; it's the mask that falls off.


I was lost somewhere between sleep and waking. I couldn't hear anything, and I felt like I was being moved, but I couldn't force myself to open my eyes and find out what was going on. Finally my eyes snapped open, and several things happened in quick succession. The first was there was a face hovering over me, and as my eyes focused, I realized it was Ted. I gasped and tried to pull away from him. That was when I grasped that my arms were above my head and I couldn't move them. I looked up and saw that I was handcuffed to the headboard. After the initial thought of what the hell was Ted doing here, my second was where was Demetri?

"Isabella, finally awake? Great." He purred, his voice that deceivingly calm tone. The sunlight streamed in through the windows behind him, telling me it was early morning.

"What are you doing here? Where's Dem?" I asked, confused.

"Demetri," he exaggerated, enunciating the end of his name that we always dropped. "Is outside, doing his rounds. I know where every camera is. I know when he walks the perimeter. I know when you are alone. You really think that I don't have my ways?"

"What do you want?" I asked, the fear starting to spike. Ted looked like hell. His usually perfectly styled hair was in disarray, his eyes bloodshot with dark circles under them, and his flawlessly fitting suit was replaced by a rumpled t-shirt and black jeans.

He stunned me by straddling me and getting in my face. "I just want to have a conversation with my daughter-in-law without my son around. He is extremely possessive and protective of you, isn't he?"

"Yeah, with good reason. You have me handcuffed to my headboard, you psycho!" I yelled. My sassy take-no-shit attitude reared its ugly head which wasn't smart because I was immobilized and Ted was clearly unstable

I was proved right when he backhanded me, hard. I felt my lip split, and I was immediately pissed. I spat the blood that was pooling in my mouth at his face. He swore and got off of me to grab a tissue from the box on the nightstand, wiping it across his face. "You just never know when to shut up, do you? I thought when you came to New York, you would be perfect for Edward. Like your mom: quiet and docile."

"If you thought that was who my mom was, then you didn't know her at all." I looked at him, and it finally clicked. "I finally get it. She wasn't in love with you or enamored by you. She was scared of you, and with good reason too. What did you threaten her with, Ted?"

"I didn't threaten her. She told me she didn't want to continue our affair because she didn't want to be a mistress. So, I introduced her to Charlie, and they fell in love. Then he decided out of the blue he wanted to move away from the city he was raised in, clear across the country, all the way to Washington." His voice was angry and mocking.

I looked at him with narrowed eyes, and I knew that he wasn't telling me the whole story. From everything I had ever seen or learned about him, Ted wouldn't have taken the rejection in stride or my dad telling him that they were moving to the other side of the US. What had prompted that? New York wasn't just Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs. I wanted to ask all these things, but he looked like he was already ramping up for another tirade.

"You just had to come here and start spouting those ideals that Rose could think or choose for herself. You fucked Edward and got in his head. You even tricked my sister-in-law and mother into liking you."

"You have lost it, Ted. I didn't do anything but be myself. Is that really why you're so upset—I messed up your perfect family?"

He growled at me, and it was extremely disturbing that a grown man was growling at me. He undid my handcuffs and grabbed me by the hair to drag me out of the bed. Once I got up, he let go and moved away from me, allowing me to stand up, putting some space between us.

"Fuck!" I yelled because that shit hurt, getting dragged by my hair, and before I could think to fight back, he pulled out a gun. The fact that I was pregnant made me much more careful, so I froze in my tracks.

He gestured toward himself with the gun. "Get over here."

I shook my head. I wasn't stupid enough to get closer to him. "No."

"I really don't want to paint your bedroom wall with your brains, so get over here, now," he said, his irritation clear in his tone and face. I slowly made my way over to him, and when I was close enough, he grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. He spun me so that my back was to his chest. His hand went up to my throat, applying the slightest amount of pressure, and he raised his gun to my temple, the cold steel making me shiver. "You really should have taken me up on my offer that night. Things would have been so much easier. But it doesn't matter because in the end, I always get what I want."

My stomach turned because the implication of his intentions was starting to become clearer, and I needed to get out of this situation now. I heard the front door close, and I took my opportunity to yell. "Up here, help!"

Ted clamped the hand that was resting on my throat over my mouth. "You really shouldn't have done that. Now I'm gonna have to shoot your bodyguard. Here's what's going to happen. We're going to leave, and you're going to be a good little girl and cooperate, or I will just knock you out and still carry you out of this house."

I tried to scream behind his hand, but it came out muffled. He pushed me forward with his chest, urging me to the door. I walked as best as I could because it was awkward as fuck with his hand over my mouth and a gun to my head. I heard footsteps slamming up the stairs, and then my bedroom door flung open. I was relieved to see whoever it was had a gun drawn and it was raised, ready to shoot first and ask questions later. Instead of the sound of a shot echoing through the room, I saw the gun start to lower as my would-be savior faltered. Looking up and expecting to see Demetri, I was surprised to realize it was Edward. On his face, he wore a shocked expression, no doubt taken aback by the fact that not only was his dad here, but that he was holding a gun to his wife's head.

"What the fuck is going on?" Edward asked, eyes wide, eyebrows raised and mouth set into a tight line, indicating that he was beyond pissed.

"I was just having a word with my daughter-in-law," Ted said coolly, as if this was just an everyday thing.

"Bullshit. You're holding a gun to my wife's head, and your hand is covering her mouth."

Realizing he no longer needed to cover my mouth, he let go, only to grip my throat again. Edward gritted his teeth and the muscle in his jaw started twitching again. I let out a strangled groan, and I knew I had a little over a minute before I would pass out from lack of oxygen. I was concerned about the fact I was pregnant because otherwise I would be fighting tooth and nail to get free. Edward and his dad were in a stalemate, so I had to do something.

I drew my elbow forward before slamming it into his stomach. He let out a groan and released the hold on my throat, giving me the opportunity to drag in much-needed air. I was feeling dizzy but was surprised when I heard a gunshot, followed by a gun clattering to the floor. I was shoved forward, and I hit the bedpost, causing me to fall to the floor. My head slammed to the ground, creating a ringing in my ears. Through the fog, I heard Edward yell my name, but before I could respond, a foot slammed into my stomach.

The air in my lungs wooshed out of me, and I was having a hard time taking in more air. I remembered the last time I felt this—I was ten and had fallen out of a tree in our backyard. My dad called it getting the wind knocked out of me. I was in a lot of pain, trying to stay conscious and trying desperately to breathe when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my torso. Panic set in, thinking that Ted had succeeded and was going to take me as he had planned, but calm fell over me as I realized they belonged to Edward, his touch and smell one I'd recognize anywhere.

He hoisted me up into his arms, carrying me out of the room. My vision grew hazy, unconsciousness creeping up on me, and I let it swallow me in its comforting blackness.

~NDMN~

When I groaned and opened my eyes, the incessant beeping of the equipment immediately clued me onto the fact that I was in the hospital. Edward was sitting on the side of my bed, holding my hand. His head snapped up to look at me, and the expression on his face made my heart stutter. His eyes were watery, like he had been crying, a sad look creasing his handsome face. My free hand immediately traveled to my stomach, cradling it protectively. "The baby?" I croaked out.

He smiled sadly and nodded. "The baby is fine, tesoro. You have a broken rib and a concussion."

I groaned again because the pain from my rib ripped through me, and it almost took my breath away. "Oh my god, that really hurts."

"The nurse is looking to see if they can give you anything more than naproxen because you are pregnant."

"You're sure the baby is okay?" I asked, trying not to panic.

He nodded. "Yes, I heard the heartbeat myself. Now that you're awake, everything is fine."

"Why were you crying?" I asked, saddened that he was upset but touched that he cared so much.

"I wasn't crying, but I was worried about you. When I came home early from work today, I never imagined I would find my dad holding a gun to your head. Not to mention what would have happened had I not gotten there when I did and heard you yell."

"Yeah, your dad has completely lost it, Edward. He blames me for a lot."

Edward leaned over and kissed my lips softly. "He is gonna pay for this, cara mia. Not only did he injure you, he very well could have hurt our baby."

I shook my head, the tears pooling behind my eyes at the look of absolute menace mixed with a sadness that broke my heart. "Edward, he's your father."

"I know. That's why it will be up to me to take care of this." He sighed and raked his hand through his hair. "I should have seen it coming with the way he's been blowing me off. I'm just sorry it took him trying to hurt the two most important people in my life before I did anything about it. Will you forgive me?" He looked at me with pleading eyes.

I swallowed and shook my head. "I don't hold anything against you, Edward. There is nothing to forgive. Come here." I gestured him toward me with my arms. He pulled me into a gentle embrace before perching on the side of the mattress, his arms still wrapped around me. I took in his smell and the feeling of absolute safety in his arms.

When he held me like this, I felt like nothing could touch me. I felt protected and…loved. I wanted to say those three words that seemed so innocent, but they always had the power to shift the dynamic in any relationship once they were out there. For someone who didn't believe in love, I think saying them to Edward would cause a whole clusterfuck of issues. It seemed silly, but I equated it to the look your parents give you when you tell them you still believe in Santa Claus. I cleared my throat and pulled away from him minutely. He looked at me with confusion in his eyes, and I just shook my head.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, my ribs hurt," I said, brushing it off. They did hurt, but I was trying to breathe through it.

He kissed me on the forehead and then rose from the bed. "I'll make sure someone comes to help you. That nurse should have been back by now." He left the room, and I blew out a big breath, which in turn made my ribs hurt more.

"Oh, Bella, you are so screwed," I told myself sardonically. It was so confusing. He said things like I was one of the most important people in his life and was very protective of me. The things he did you would expect from someone in love. I just wished that I could change his mind, or at least have some hope that maybe someday he would fall in love with me. I really started to wonder if I could do this. It wasn't an issue before when we were just two people that were getting married for our different reasons. But now I was in love with this amazing man who couldn't love me back. I wanted to talk to Rose so badly right now.

I was broken out of my musing by the sound of Edward yelling, and I knew he was probably harassing the nurses. This was confirmed when a stressed-out looking woman in scrubs walked into my room. "Mrs. Cullen. So glad to see you're awake. Let's get some vitals." She went through checking my blood pressure, temperature, and oxygen saturation. She also got some supplies out of her locked cabinet and filled a syringe. "Here is a pain medication that is okay to take during pregnancy. The doctor wants to check you over now that you're awake, and then we will get you out of here. We will send you home with some pain relief meds too."

Edward and I ended up being there for almost another hour before we were discharged and able to leave. When I was wheeled out the door of the ER, there was Edward's SUV waiting, and I wasn't surprised to see that Dem was driving it. "Are you okay, Mrs. Cullen?" His tone was genuine and distressed.

I nodded and smiled at him, happy to be out of that hospital room. I was grateful that Edward was worried, but he was starting to stress me out and I was near tears. When we got home, Edward acted like he wanted me to go to bed, but I told him I would relax on the couch. I didn't want to be in the bedroom without him right now.

Edward was going to go get my prescription and some other groceries, so he asked Rose to come over and keep me company. I tried not to get annoyed at him and tell him I didn't need a babysitter because I knew it was coming from a good place. When Rose arrived, he headed out, promising not to be gone too long. As soon as the door had shut behind him, she gathered me into a hug, her eyes red-rimmed and glassy from the tears I could tell she had shed.

"Oh my god, Bella. Edward completely freaked me out when he called. He did let me know the baby is okay and so are you," she said as she led us back to sit on the couch.

"Rose, I need to tell you something, and I need your advice," I told her, trying to steel my resolve.

"Okay. What's up?" She looked at me expectantly.

"I think I've fallen in love with Edward."


A/N: So, yeah. That happened. As always, leave a review and let me know what you think. Thank you so much and until later lovelies!