A/N: Hi! Thank you so much for all the kind words and reviews:) Means the world to me!

Special thank you to Mel Cee for betaing! All mistakes are my own.

Let me know your thoughts:) Next chapter we learn Alice's backstory!


"Fuck!" Edward spat as he hung up his office phone, slamming it into the receiver.

Emmett watched Edward repeat the same song and dance over and over again. He'd called a name on the roster of investors and hit another dead end. The whole thing proved to be tremendously frustrating.

Emmett observed quietly from his spot on the couch, knowing if he spoke again, he'd probably get something heavier like the phone thrown at him instead of pens and pencils.

Edward longed to believe that this damning information against Ted wasn't true. He really did. This after all was his family. Ted and Liz took him in when he had no other prospects. They were good people, right?

But Edward knew in his gut something was off. Carlisle wasn't Ted's favorite person. In fact, he couldn't really stand being in the same room as him. He constantly judged him for being lower class, making snide remarks about how inept he found him to be.

Lower class... just like how Bella said all those people at his parents' parties had treated her. He wondered if his parents were among those that made her feel worthless.

Edward winced while scanning the documents for more investors to call. Now that the floodgates were opened, he couldn't lie to himself anymore. Certain things Bella said struck a chord with Edward, and the more he reflected, the more he realized how much he'd missed. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he determined that he might have had blind loyalty to the wrong people if these allegations were true.

He proceeded to call more people on the list, seeing if he could gain any more knowledge on Cullen Industries, but with every dialed number, he came up short.

"What are you going to do at the shareholders' dinner tomorrow night? I mean, how are you going to sit across from Ted knowing this?" Emmett wondered aloud, eager to get this over with since he had an engagement ring to purchase.

Edward groaned, throwing his head back. "Ah, I forgot about that. Honestly, I have no fucking clue. I mean, this shit is pretty damning, don't you think?!" He shook the papers in his hand.

"Yeah, man. But, you need to know the truth, right? After everything, you deserve the truth," Emmett reasoned, stunned at his own sensibility.

Edward got up out of his chair and started pacing again. Emmett threw his head back, getting dizzy watching his friend stride around the room.

"Are you free tomorrow night?" Edward asked his friend, trying to form some kind of plan.

Emmett threw his hands up dramatically. "Do you ever listen to me? Lately, it's been all about you, all the time. And I get it, you found your dream girl again, and you want to win her back. Not to mention, you've also got all this shit to deal with now." He motioned to the stack of incriminating paperwork on the desk. "But sometimes, things need to be about me. Like I'm proposing to Rosie, probably tomorrow night at the restaurant if the jeweler has the ring I want."

"You're going to propose this early? It's only been, what, like three months?" Edward challenged, sitting on the edge of his desk, crossing his arms, waiting to hear Emmett's reasoning.

"Three and a half actually." Emmett stuck his tongue out.

"Three and a half." Edward chuckled, looking at his friend incredulously.

"Look I know what you're thinking—it's too fast. I'm not ready to be tied down. I'm too good looking. And yes, those are all valid points, but the old saying is true: 'when you know, you know.' I could be on this earth for a hundred years and the only woman for me would still be Rosalie." Emmett nodded at Edward who looked too stunned to speak. "Besides, I want to lock it down before we fuck it up like you and Bella and have to wait years for our second chance," Emmett quipped. He had to throw some snark at Edward. After all, he was still sour about the lack of support from his friend.

Edward closed his eyes tightly, his chest clenching with the mention of Bella's name. Opening his eyes, he cast them downwards, unable to face the reality that there'd be no second chance. Not for him. Not for them.

"What's wrong? I'm sorry. Did I go too far? I just want you to be happy for me, Ed!" Emmett explained, standing up and walking closer to Edward.

"No, it's not you." Edward blew out a breath. "There is no 'us.' Won't be one either. Not ever. She doesn't love me anymore. She doesn't want to try and…" Edward shrugged his shoulders, trying to play it off, but he was not doing a good job.

"Aw, Ed. I'm sorry. I didn't know. Are you sure? She looked pretty crazy about you at the restaurant. Both of you, looking at each other with goo-goo eyes. Thank god, Rosie and I aren't like that." Emmett blanched, putting his hand on Edward's shoulder. "Should I get Vlad, the stripper, back here to cheer you up?"

"Har har, very funny. Now about tomorrow night…"


Bella finished her lunch shift before Alice, so she was grateful to have the apartment to herself. Bella entered the apartment and was greeted by meowing, which naturally she ignored.

When she opened the door to her room, Aro almost slipped in, but she quickly closed the door behind her, setting her bag on the dresser. She wasn't trying to hate on the cats, but she just needed time to be alone.

Bella had spent her entire shift reeling from the words she'd said to Edward. How she'd effectively broken his heart and hers with just a few simple words.

After finally coming clean and getting all of the shit off her chest that she thought desperately needed to, Bella assumed she'd find closure. Comfort. But there was no solace in her behavior. It actually hurt more now than it did before her word vomit. The worst part was that she had no one to blame for this but herself. With the lies that so readily fell from her tongue, she'd widened the gap between them, leaving neither of them better off.

Bella threw herself onto her bed, the exhaustion from the day taking hold of her. Bella punched her pillow and grabbed it to scream into it, not wanting to scare the neighbors. They were already complaining about the screeching noise Alice made half the time. No, she just fucked this situation up even more.

Sure, Edward changed when he got adopted, and his parents were pretentious assholes. But nobody told her to pretend to be happy, and nobody told her to sabotage her chances of getting adopted. No, she did that all on her own. In the name of love. Love. A love she denied feeling. Too bad she couldn't force herself to believe that fallacy. It was like now that Bella lied and said she didn't love Edward, her feelings became even more solidified and stronger. She couldn't hide from herself any longer.

Bella dozed off into dreams filled with a green-eyed boy that she wasn't sure she'd ever get the opportunity to talk to again.

"Bella, I love you," Edward whispered into her hair, holding her as she fell asleep.

Her Velveteen Rabbit book was draped across her lap, as per usual.

"Me too." She slurred the words, always falling asleep first. Bella felt a kiss to her forehead and let out a sigh, snuggling into his side. Her Edward. Always hers. Always real.

There were countless nights that always played out the same way. He was in every positive childhood memory she could remember. Their love was undeniable. Edward loved her. He said he still loved her.

She knew that he wasn't lying when he said that. But was love enough?

Sure, they had love back then too, but it hadn't been enough to keep them together. Had anything changed that would make this time any different? Ted and Liz still had a chokehold over Edward, and Edward felt indebted to them and followed their wishes blindly.

So if Bella knew all of this, why did it hurt so fucking much? What would have changed if she didn't lie?

Would she have been able to excuse his family's behavior? No. But should she have given him another chance to prove himself? Maybe.

Bella groaned and got off the bed, stretching her stiff limbs from her nap.

She walked over to her purse and took out her tips and the money from her artwork that was displayed on the front table of the restaurant. Apparently, all of her miniature sketches had sold. Bella was shocked when Heidi handed her the earnings. It was just petty cash, but to Bella, it gave her a confidence boost she so desperately needed.

There was even a guy interested in displaying her art in one of his newer, lesser-known galleries. Marcus Lenore. She was waiting on his table when he asked who was the artist behind the drawings. When Bella revealed that she was responsible, he offered her an opportunity to show him some of her pieces and see if they would fit a showcase he was putting together soon.

Bella was thrilled, but this also meant she was behind schedule. She had no new art prepared, so she sat down at her easel and got to work.

It was just getting dark outside when Alice finished her shift. She entered the apartment silently, walking over to Bella's door and pushing it open slightly so she could peer into the room. "Hi." She waved and held up the bag of food with the opposite hand. "Hungry?"

Bella shook her head. "I have to finish at least one piece tonight." Her eyes didn't move from the canvas.

Alice nodded in understanding, backing away from the door to head to the living room and dig into her dinner. Unfortunately, Alice failed to close the door behind her, leaving it open, allowing Caius to squeeze his way in and roam around, knocking over paint cans. "Alice, come get your cat! I'm ready to lock him in the bathroom," Bella whined, not in the mood for the mischievous cat.

Alice chuckled and ran into the room, grabbing her baby and hugging him to her chest. "Oh don't listen to her. She's just jealous of our love." She spoke with her baby voice, crooning to the evil cat. "You know you need to be nicer to him. He has a v.e.t. appointment this week. Someone needs to be dewormed again." Alice spelled out the word vet because she was convinced Caius would understand.

Bella rolled her eyes and continued working on her project. Alice left content, having witnessed that Bella wasn't crying her eyes out, like she originally had been back at All Hale the Kale.


The following day was the shareholders' dinner. Edward dreaded what was to come. Best case scenario, this whole shell corporation thing was one big misunderstanding. Worse case was Ted being the biggest asshole in the world and Edward having believed in him and his bullshit.

Then there was Carlisle. Edward was going to have to sit across from him, looking him in the eye, pretending all of this wasn't happening. Pretending that his livelihood, his freedom, wasn't on the line because of his jerk of a brother-in-law. No pressure.

Edward researched all of Monday what banks Ted used, when he deposited the money, the frequency of the transfers. He wanted to find some sort of pattern, something that he could pinpoint as being outside of the norm. He wanted to be armed with the most information possible when he confronted Ted with what Emmett had uncovered.

He was just walking out of the office, about to get into the town car, when Carlisle approached him. "Hey, Edward! I came by your office earlier, but the door was locked."

Carlisle usually stopped by Edward's office at least once a day to say hi or bring him a document or two. Edward was one of the few higher-ups who had an open door policy. With most of the other executives, usually their assistants guarded the door and let only a few people in, not wanting to be disturbed or seem too available.

Edward threaded his fingers through his hair. "Yeah sorry, Uncle C. I umm… got caught up…" He had to think quickly on his feet and find a good distraction. "Emmett is thinking of proposing to Rosalie, and I was listening to him drone on and on."

Sure that conversation happened yesterday, but Carlisle would be none the wiser.

"Oh, really? That's interesting since Emmett was with me going over the Japan reports most of the day…" Carlisle trailed off, quirking an eyebrow inquisitively at Edward.

"Oh yeah." Edward pursed his lips, the truth on the tip of his tongue, but instead he quipped, "I'm mixing my days up again. Ted has me working on too many things at once. I guess I really should look into finding an assistant." Edward chuckled uncomfortably.

Carlisle sensed his discomfort and held out his hand to grab Edward's shoulder. "Edward, are you okay? You seem very jumpy and out of sorts," he inquired, genuinely concerned about his nephew.

Edward's eyes widened. He needed to reel himself in before he fucked everything up before he had a chance to find enough evidence to stop Ted. He didn't need to be visiting Carlisle in jail.

"Yeah yeah. It's just I saw Bella recently and it's been fucking with me." Edward told a half-truth.

"Ah that makes more sense. She was a wonderful young lady, Edward. Please remember your happiness is the most important thing. Not the money or notoriety." Carlisle opened his mouth to say something more, but after a minute, he simply shook his head. Instead he said, "I'll see you at the club."

Edward nodded, getting into the town car and making his way to the country club where the doomed dinner was being held.


"Hors d'œuvre, sir?" The server extended a silver platter with assorted small appetizers on it toward Edward. He shook his head, declining politely, and he continued scanning the foyer for Ted.

Shareholders filed in slowly but surely—some with their wives, some solo. While many of them migrated to the dining hall where the sit-down dinner would take place, Edward walked outside, waiting for his adopted father, with the smokers getting their last cigarette in before dinner.

Edward turned to one of his colleagues, bumming a cigarette off of him. He wasn't a smoker by any means, but these last fews days would make even the most straight-laced person want a little relief.

Just as Edward exhaled the smoke, Ted waltzed his way up to Edward, raising an eyebrow. Liz was lagging behind with her caregiver pushing her wheelchair. She looked frail and nothing like the woman Edward once knew.

"Disgusting," Ted muttered, not wanting to cause a scene here of all places.

Edward snuffed out his cigarette before he scurried around Ted to make his way toward Liz, taking over for her caregiver as designated wheelchair pusher.

They entered the dining hall and were greeted by investors and shareholders alike. Edward crouched down next to Liz, wanting a few moments to chat. He felt guilty for not visiting her more often like he intended, and he had to tell her that before they were amongst the crowd. Fuck the placecards and the assigned seating.

"I'm sorry, Ma, for not visiting. I didn't know you stopped using the walker. I thought... I don't know what I thought," Edward admitted sheepishly. He had been wrong about so much lately. Things had gotten so out of hand.

Liz waved him off and then extended her hand to palm his cheek. "Oh dear, it's fine. I'm fine. I've come to terms with things. The doctors say there's not much they can do. My heart is just too weak, and I wouldn't survive another operation. Don't mention it to your father, you know how he gets…" She inhaled a deep breath, looking around the room for presumably Ted. Liz exhaled when she saw he was speaking to Alistair. Looking at Edward with a melancholy expression, she stated, "Edward, I need you to know that all I've wanted is for you to be happy and successful. I'm not sure I understood what that meant until recently. The money—" She let out a humorless laugh. "The money gets you nowhere. I mean look at me, we have endless amounts of money, but when it's my time, I can't stop it."

"Ma…" Edward trailed off, not knowing why she was saying all this.

Tears began forming in her eyes. "When we adopted you, I was scared of losing you after we'd already suffered so much loss—"

"What's all this about?" Ted demanded, glowering over the pair. Edward rose to meet his father eye to eye.

"I was just telling Edward how proud I am of him and to stop smoking!" Liz swatted his rib playfully, smiling slightly. Edward looked down at his mother, puzzled, and she shook her head. The moment was over. Whatever she wanted to say was a moot point now.

"Edward, I need a word with you." Ted motioned for him to follow. They ended up in the lounge area where they first entered from.

Edward had to play his cards right, or he could very well fuck up everything. Less was more, he kept trying to remind himself.

Ted stood there wordlessly for a minute, looking Edward up and down.

"Edward. Oh Edward, what are we going to do with you?"

Edward gulped. Could he have found out already? Was the office bugged? Paranoia started to surround Edward.

"What do you mean?" Edward asked dumbly.

"Don't try to play cute!" Ted scolded, "You're smoking? Are you purposely trying to upset your mother? What the hell was that back there? She's in a fragile state and has not been doing her best, and you go out of your way to upset her."

Edward blinked, bringing himself back to reality. His father had the audacity to scold him about smoking a fucking cigarette when he was out here framing his wife's—who was so fucking fragile—brother-in-law. Yeah he was one to talk.

"I'm sorry. It was a one-off." Edward sucked his teeth, trying not to let his grievances air before he was ready.

"Edward, I don't think I'll ever understand you." Ted turned to leave, but Edward stopped him, desiring to capitalize on this moment alone.

"Wait, can I ask you something?"

Ted nodded. "Make it quick."

"So I didn't want to bring this up in front of Mom because like you said she's fragile. But I was looking at some paperwork on Emmett's desk while he was at lunch. I was checking for the status report from last week and I found a spreadsheet for a company called Cullen Industries." He looked Ted square in the eyes, searching for any clues or acknowledgment of his deception, but Ted wore a mask of indifference. "I found it odd that there's a company in Carlisle's name, especially since you've been saying how Carlisle is going to be 'reassigned' upon my acceptance of the CFO position."

Ted pursed his lips, his nostrils flaring. "Edward, if I were you, I'd watch the next words that come out of your mouth," he warned, venom oozing from his mouth.

"Or what? You'll frame me too?" Edward snapped. Ted's defensive attitude was all the confirmation Edward needed.

"Shut your goddamn mouth." Ted looked around, making sure nobody was in earshot of this alarming conversation. He started for the door again, hoping Edward would get the hint and follow.

But Edward was on a mission. After all the bullshit, the hoops he jumped through, he was starting to see it was all for nothing. All for someone who was unethical and lacked any sort of remorse for the sins they had committed. God knows what else Ted was hiding.

"You know…" Edward started signaling to Ted to come back, not worrying about his volume because he knew it would draw Ted's attention. "There's one thing I don't quite get."

Ted walked over to Edward, pissed the hell off at this point. "What's that?"

"You've known Carlisle most of your life. He's married to your beloved wife's sister. How could you do this to him?" Edward questioned, disgusted by the man standing before him.

Ted laughed, and Edward couldn't believe the motherfucker had the balls to laugh. Nothing about this was humorous. Ted was playing with someone's livelihood, with their freedom, and he didn't seem to care in the slightest about it.

"See, this. This is why you will never make it in the business world. You could do so well under my guidance. I gave you my last name, setting you up to be a power player. I've basically been spoon-feeding you my insights. If it weren't for that, you'd be just like the rest of the bottom feeders out there, doing the doggy paddle in an Olympic-sized swimming pool, trying to make a few bucks. You've always been a little too righteous for your own good. Word of advice, son—cut the pious act. You're no morality police. It will do you some good to see that we live in a dog-eat-dog world, and some of us are just hungrier than others."

Edward was stunned. He seriously wanted to believe that these allegations weren't true. He believed in his adopted family. Thought they were a testament to how he was supposed to behave. A good, wholesome family. What a crock of shit that was. Everything Edward believed in was a lie.

"You're despicable. What would Mom say if she found out? Or better yet the SEC?" Edward implored, playing on Ted's weakness with the mention of his sick wife.

"You think you've got it all figured out? Well, jokes on you, Edward, you don't! I can't imagine how much more we can do for you. We've tried to mold you. Tried to show you the way to live, but you've always found a way to fuck it up. You couldn't even get something as simple as dating right. You somehow managed to find some way to complicate it with 'feelings.' How many times do I have to tell you? There is no love in business." Ted rolled his eyes, continuing to try to bait Edward. "You couldn't just be happy with a girl like Tanya. Someone good for you and this lifestyle." Ted threw his hands up in exasperation. "No, you just had to go and pine over that little orphan girl some more."

"Bella?" Edward questioned, knowing the answer as to who Ted was referencing already but needing to hear it from the horse's mouth.

"Yes, Isabella, your precious girlfriend." Ted spat her name, malice laced around the words. "She was never good enough for you. Wouldn't even accept my attempts at getting rid of her. All she would talk about was this future she was planning with you. I thought I was doing a good thing, offering to make some connections with her in the art world, but she wouldn't even consider it. In the end, everything worked out as it should, but you're still not happy. I don't get it. Don't you see the lengths I'm willing to go through for your happiness?"

Edward's eyes widened as Ted let the truth tumble from his mouth for the first time. His disapproval was evident. Instead of feeling relieved to finally have confirmation, Edward felt like a fool. He'd allowed himself to be duped by his only family. He tried not to be too hard on himself—he was just a kid after all—but seeing how far back this all had gone turned his stomach. Ted not only hated Bella, but he offered her money to leave Edward? What a shame the truth came out too late.

"How could you?" Edward's features distorted with pain from the uncomfortable truths being exposed. This was the second time he was heartbroken in the last few days.

"Oh get over yourself. I did you a favor," Ted dismissed, looking to the doorway of the dining hall where Alistair was now poking his head in. "Now like I've been telling you, we have a lot of important events coming up. You need to be on your A-game. Your mother is still insisting on planning the company's anniversary party, much to my dismay. And I think you need to talk to the doctor about those sleeping pills. And quit fucking smoking! Now if you're done with your little temper tantrum, come on." Ted started for the door again.

Edward stood there, staring blankly. How could he be planning to go in there and pretend everything was business as usual? Was this what had been happening for years? How had Edward never noticed the two-faced nature of his adopted father?

No, Edward couldn't go back there—not now, maybe not ever. Not after having all of this thrown at him at once. Edward was no longer able to pretend anymore. He couldn't sit there with a smile on his face and act like his whole world hadn't just caught fire. The truth changed everything. It took away his ability to be blinded by love any longer. All of the deception, the pretenses, all the meaningless bullshit he wasted his time on—all of it was for nothing. He couldn't look away from the problems that were caused by his ignorance. While Edward lived in bliss, Bella lived in agony all those years ago.

One thing was for certain—now wasn't the time for Edward to bust this whole operation open. No, he wasn't in the right headspace. When the time was right, Edward would rip off the bandage, exposing all that he had learned. Just not tonight.

"Edward?" Ted motioned for him to follow, speaking through gritted teeth. He'd had enough of his son's childish behavior.

Edward shook his head. "I can't. I'm gonna need time." He couldn't be rash. If he cut Ted off, then not only did he lose everything, but Carlisle could as well. "I think I need to take a sabbatical. Like you said, I need to get my head on straight. Talk to the doctor, get myself back on track." And put some distance between you and me, he added mentally.

Edward walked toward the doors leading outside, knowing there wasn't much Ted could do with Alistair standing there. He smirked as he turned his back to Ted. "I'll call you soon! Give my best to Ma!" Edward called over his shoulder, heading to his car, ignoring Ted's hushed protests.

As he exited the fancy country club and was greeted with the crisp fall air, Edward inhaled a deep breath. For the first time in years, he could breathe freely.