AN: To Elbereth49, thank you for helping me out. This chapter would never see the light of day if not for you.

Chapter 25

"I can't sleep at night because of you. My heart constricts at the thought of any man coming near you. I worry that someone is out there trying to kill you and you don't have the faintest idea of how to keep yourself safe. I could have let you drown, and I'm not just talking about that night I pulled you out of a nearly frozen river. Instead I'm here. It would be easier to take over or just to walk away from it all. God knows I've tried..." he shouted.

And then he kissed me, his lips glued to mine with full force, unmoving and undeterred by my protests. No matter how hard I shook my head he wasn't letting me go."

"I have no idea how this has happened to me," he whispered. "I've tried hard to deny it. But can't you see how much I care for you? How much you mean to me?" his voice was now soft and pleading and he loosened his grip around my arms.

All the fight eluded me when I found in his conflicted stare a flicker of something that looked a lot like longing, need and devotion, like... I held my breath. I couldn't risk thinking much of it, until he said it aloud.

"I love you."

His words fell in a dark pit of my brain. The sincerity of his eyes rendered me speechless and astounded me even more than his words. I could tell there was a battle being fought inside him and which gave a glint of madness to his stare.

In that moment I had no doubt he believed what he said.

He loves me. As the echo of those words resounded in my mind, his eyes never left mine, searching, with despair, for a mirror of his own. I guess he found none for he let me go, seemingly ashamed of himself. He stood up silently and walked away towards the door.

"I'll have someone drive you home," he said clearing his throat, his back to me.

Make a decision! In my haste, realizing he was probably irrevocably shutting himself away from me, I jumped out of bed after him, tripping in the blankets he had cocooned me previously. I fell down, face flat, with a bang which made him turn around and run back to me.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

My eyes felt moist all of the sudden. "Edward, I'm sorry," was all I was able to say.

"Don't," he cut me off sternly, "are you okay?" He repeated.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little clumsy." I knew it was a feeble attempt at a joke, but I couldn't bear being the cause of his pain.

He avoided looking me in the eye and that unnerved me. As he leaned to help me stand up, I held his face tightly with my hands, forcing him to stay just some inches apart from me.

"I am sorry," I reiterated. He gently tried to move away, but my grip on him remained firm. "Please," I asked. For an instant, a spark ignited between us and I just kissed him. He was hesitant at first, his lips barely moving, but after a while he became fully engaged in the kiss, bordering on forceful, with an intensity that was very unique to him.

At last, he gave up trying to bring me to a standing position and sat beside me, pulling me awkwardly into his lap, my legs still tangled in the blanket. After a while, once the burning quieted down, he gave me soft pecks and caresses with what seemed to be a weird reverence, his long fingers tracing the contours of my face awkwardly.

"This complicates things," I managed to say after a while.

"I know." He seemed deep in thought before he added, "Does this mean you're giving us a chance?"

"Yes."

He inhaled sharply, held his breath, and then exhaled with relief. His stance changed, from guarded resignation to predatory.

"You haven't said it back, but I'll wait. I have no intention of rehashing Henry's mistakes, nor bend to his will."

"Please, let go of that resentment… he's dead now, let him be at peace. He had his reasons to act the way he did…"

"He left you unprotected…"

"Because he didn't have the time to prepare me. You can blame him for many things, but his sudden death cannot be among them. I knew him for only a short period of time, but I came to care for him. He introduced me to a part of my past unknown to me and I'm grateful for it. He didn't spare me the gory details, I know exactly how he acted toward my grandmother, I know he was selfish and shallow - I know he had a dark side. But he was also committed in the end to make something good… I'm aware of his wishes. He wanted me to be the daughter or even the granddaughter that he never had and that's why I'm his heir… It's his way of making things right, of proving to himself that he loved, that he really cared! He was selfless in the end, making sure that his beloved's descendants would be alright in the end. He felt he deprived us somehow of –"

"Then why are you his only heir? Why not your brother? Why not your mother?" he said cutting me off.

"Why are we still discussing this? Whatever reasons he might have had, we will never know them now, will we? So it's a moot point! Besides, we both know why you were cut-off…"

"Let's forget about this, I shouldn't have brought this up."

"Now that we're talking about that, what are you going to do about Alice?" I asked, remembering our major point of estrangement.

"Can we just let it be? Like I said before, she doesn't remember, my brother will soon be married and that will be the end of it."

"Edward, your sister can't have a normal relationship with anyone because she thinks she was date rape. It's better with Seth now. He's nothing but kind and patient, but still… If she knew, maybe..."

"It would just reopen old wounds. I've risked a great deal to keep this a secret and lost too much to go back. I made my decision years ago and I'm not going back. Besides, I don't think she'd ever forgive me for not telling her, and I'm pretty sure she'd find a way in her heart to forgive Jasper."

"The memory is there, Edward, lurking. What happens if she wakes up one morning knowing everything?"

He seemed to ponder my words, but remained silent.

"The way they look at each other?" I continued, nearly whispering, as if ashamed of what I was saying. "They have such longing in their eyes. She idolized him throughout the years, and until recently, no one could ever compare to him. And even now I'm not sure someone ever will. Can you understand what I'm telling you?" I said softly.

"Please, let it go." He begged, as he caressed me gently, his voice was aged.

"Are you trying to manipulate me?" There was no reprimand in my tone. I was slightly amused with his change of tactics.

"Is it working?" he asked with a hint of a smile across his face leaning for another kiss.

"No," but I kissed him back. We were still on the floor, tangled up in blankets. What have I gotten myself into? "She's my friend, and I want her to have the best chance possible at being happy. I know you're trying to protect your family, but she deserves to know. Maybe you don't have to tell your family, maybe not even Jasper, but you owe your sister that piece of knowledge, so that she may have some closure."

"What difference would it make? It's been years now. I couldn't risk it!"

"If you really don't know the answer to that question, I think you're hopeless."

"That I am," he mumbled somberly, as he hugged me a little too tight. "Do you want to go back to More Park, or would you rather stay here for the night?"

"I promised Professor Walker I'd go over some things today, but I overslept," I informed him.

"You looked so tired," he said contouring the hollow beneath my eyes. "You can't keep doing this. Your medical career isn't compatible with the demands of the world of high finance. Surely you've realized that."

"I should go back to More Park." There was a debate I didn't want to get to.

"I'll drive you. Should I stay over?" He asked timidly, and I laughed at him.

"Are you laughing at me?" he demanded to know, clearly vexed. "You didn't say it back..." And with that he was his usual self again, composed with a Machiavelian glint in his eyes. That was when I realized the enormity of the situation- I dared laughing at His Grace, Lord Edward More Cullen, the eleventh Duke of Vidal.

I had always possessed a healthy sense of self-preservation; everything about this man screamed at me to get as far away as possible. If not for that little moment that glimpsed at some sort of frailty…

So, I did what I always do best when there is nothing to be solved. I straightened myself, gave him an encouraging smile, and followed after him to the car.

"Hey, wake up, we're here." I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep.

The house was quiet. It was well after midnight when we arrived.

"I hope you don't mind, but I called Professor Walker on our way over to let him know that you were a little late. He suggested starting early tomorrow, around 7 a.m. Is that alright with you?"

"That'll be fine, although I have so much work to catch up on. I should really have done something more productive today…" I exhaled crankily. "I'm not sure if there's a room prepared for guests." I mused.

"I reckon it would only be simpler if we stay together, I mean, I can share. Can't you?" He provoked.

"I'm not sure it's wise. And don't even consider saying anything further on the subject," I scolded when I realized what he was going to point out.

As he followed me upstairs, a soft noise came from behind us that froze us both mid-stairs. I turned around and saw Greta standing nervously gaping at me, clearly beyond words. I suppose she was surprised at Edward's presence.

"I was getting worried about you", she managed to say after a few seconds, making a quick recovery. "I have been expecting you for a long time now… I thought we agreed to go over some subjects that require your attention today. You have a few papers that need to your signature. When you didn't show up I thought something might have happened," she frowned. "You dismissed your bodyguards today and they were not very accommodating to tell me where you were. Well, you're here now so…" she stopped mid-sentence, clearly mad at me, as she probably should be considering I had left her waiting the whole afternoon.

"I'm sorry," I began to say, starting to descend, when Edward interrupted me.

"She spent the whole time with me, and was probably safer than usual." He took my hand and resumed his previous intention. When he noticed my resistance, he paused briefly. "Dr. Swan is very tired and unable to focus on anything with clarity. That being said, she's going to have a good night's sleep. I recommend you to go home and try to do the same since I remember she told you we'd be taking the rest of the week off. Maybe tomorrow I might be of some assistance to her and Professor Walker."

She hesitated for a moment before asking, clearly bewildered, "we?"

"I need his help, Greta. I'm sorry if you weren't notified that I wouldn't be coming home after lunch, but I was really beat. Besides, I thought you were taking the rest of the day off."

"Of course. I could use some rest myself," she agreed and followed us upstairs. I didn't think much of it, but Edward was obviously annoyed.

"Don't you have a cottage nearby?" he asked bluntly.

"I do, but I also have a room here. It was His Grace's wish, considering we frequently worked for long hours," she explained.

"Of course," he agreed with an arrogant note in his voice.

I observed their interaction with interest, and didn't even consider protesting when he steered us both to my room. Greta's was in the opposite direction, but she remained unmoving at the intersection of the corridors.

"Really Edward, was that really necessary?" I scolded him, as I closed the door behind me.

"You should be grateful that I didn't give her a little floor show. I neither like nor trust her. She seems to exert too much control over you."

"She's been great and really helpful, so I'd like you to treat her if not with kindness, then at least civilly," I argued back.

He shook his head, but refrained from pursuing the discussion any further. I turned my back to him, while he hovered nearby, going through some drawers for clean underwear and pajamas, and headed to the bathroom. There was something unsettling about Greta's behavior. It was not the time to delve, but until I knew for sure who could be trustworthy, I was going to pay special attention to the information I shared with everyone, and I had special reservations about Greta, who was new to under my radar of suspicion, and Edward, even though he was surprising me in a positive manner.

"I don't think I have anything that might fit you," I told him over my shoulder lightly.

"I have a change of clothes in my car for tomorrow, I didn't think to bring nightwear though."

"You're sleeping on the couch, your Grace."

He looked at me evidently startled by that tirade, but when I returned from the bathroom, he was already reclining in the couch by the bed rearranging the pillows trying to find some comfort. It was somewhat comical to see such a tall man attempting to fit into a tiny space next to a huge bed. Comedy aside, however, it surprised me that he didn't even flinch at my request. We have had sex before and shared the same bed, and was this man who showed absolutely no remorse whatsoever concerning the way he subdued everyone around him to his will, willingly complying with my decision that we should not sleep together. That startled me and didn't make me feel better. It was not because of some irrational sense of smashed female pride (as he didn't insist on what would be the obvious demand that we should indeed be intimate, especially considering his previous statement), but because for some reason he thought that he should submit to my will. I was no different from the other people surrounding him, some he might even love…

But, does he love me? There, I said it. He is smart.He was playing a game to win. His true intentions were hidden from me. The cynic in me, who was starting to develop a permanent spot in my mind and make frequent appearances, doubted his love for me.

I needed to get a hold of the manipulation, and not just his. It was my wish to become the master puppeteer of the show, because let's face it, at that point, I was outnumbered, outsmarted and was facing losing another battle.

I smiled evenly at the very handsome man before me. "This is ridiculous. The bed is big enough for the two of us."

"Are you certain?" he questioned me, seemingly shocked by my request.

"Yes. We're both tired and we need some sleep, and I specially emphasize the sleep part," I said truthfully.

"I wouldn't consider anything else," he answered looking me straight in the eye. "At least not today, and I'm emphasizing the today."

I arched my brow, and he arrogantly stood up taking his place on my side of the bed. He was just wearing his boxers, and placed his hands behind his back indulgently, exuding self-confidence, waiting for me. But not even his nearly unnatural good-looks lured me from my objective.

I succumbed to his embrace, deciding to take whatever comfort it could provide, but even when he kissed me goodnight I was focused.

And I would not cry.

That's how it began.

AN: For everyone who reviewed, sent a private message or emailed me, thank you for your care and consideration. I've made wonderful friends and that's, without a doubt, the best thing fanfic brought to my life. How do you feel about this "new Bella"?

Nofrure.