A/N: Hi everyone! I just wanted to thank y'all for your support and love. I won WIP of the Year in the Golden Onion Contest. Before this, I've never won anything in my life and I can't tell you what it means to me. I started writing again as a new mom in the middle of the night . Pretend for Me is one the stories that was created during those sleepless nights. Thank you for going on this journey with me. Love you all!

Special thank you to Mel Cee, I'm so grateful to have her as my beta:) All mistakes are mine!

I don't own Twilight, just my plot.

Now we learn a little more about Alice...


Woof. Meow. Tweet Tweet. So many animals complained about being at the vet.

The Midtown veterinarian's office was booming on Friday morning as Alice sat waiting for her appointment with Caius, who was secured in a pet carrier. He went wild from the moment Alice started to put him in there, scratching her arms and neck.

The bell over the door chimed, and while Alice hadn't noticed, none other than Edward entered the small vet office's, pulling along Embry, who was protesting getting groomed.

Edward approached the desk, alerting the receptionist of his name. "Edward Masen," he announced cheerily. "And Embry. Sorry we're late. Somebody pretended to need to use the bathroom." Edward chuckled, looking down at the petrified dog waiting for his impending fate.

Alice's head popped up from the magazine she was skimming when she heard the name Edward. And there before her eyes was Bella's Edward.

She blinked, unsure if she should hide or say hello. As Alice pondered her next move, Embry must have smelled Caius because he tugged his leash toward the carrier beside Alice. Edward spun to see Alice gaping at him with wide eyes. Busted.

"Good morning, Edward," Alice said sheepishly, biting her lip. She had to hand it to him—he was very handsome.

"Alice, hey! What brings you here?" Edward peeked into the carrier and saw Caius hissing. "Friendly," he remarked, smirking.

"Usually Caius is. He just hates the vet," Alice said, biased about her fur baby.

He did a quick glance around the office, checking to see if Alice had company.

Alice noticed his questioning eyes and figured she'd save him the trouble. "She's not here. Bella," Alice offered, patting the seat next to her and motioning for Edward to sit.

Embry started for Caius again, and Edward tugged on the leash. "Sit," he commanded, putting some distance between him and the cat. Embry still seemed unsettled.

"Allow me." Alice crouched down next to Embry and began petting him. "Hey, boy," she cooed, scratching behind his ears.

Edward was amazed at Alice's ability to calm him so quickly, usually nothing worked. "You're good with him. Is he your only pet?" Edward inquired as he gestured to Caius.

"No, I have two other cats. They are all strays that I rescued. I love dogs too, but cats are usually the ones thrown out on the street. They could use a good home," she commented, justifying her choices. "Plus animals are easier than people."

Edward nodded. He was surprised Alice was being so nice to him. Edward could only imagine the horrible light he had been painted in. But yet she was nothing but kind.

Edward wanted to ask about Bella, but he knew it was inappropriate, considering their last conversation. Bella made it abundantly clear where they stood.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Edward blurted. Apparently a few days of not working had an effect on his filter and ability to have basic human interactions. Alice let out a snort, brushed the dog fur from her hands,and went back to the bench to check on Caius, who was now purring. He usually hated new people, but apparently Edward was an exception.

"Caius Brandon?" the nurse called, leading Alice and her beloved cat into the room. The doctor alerted Alice that due to Caius's wild behavior last visit, they were planning to give him a mild sedative so he was calmer during the deworming. She was less than thrilled about not being able to be in the room, but she refrained from causing a scene.

Alice made her way to the waiting area and when she arrived, she found Edward sitting there alone.

"Embry's getting groomed and his nails cut," Edward alerted her.

"To answer your question from before, I'm in no position to judge you, Edward. First of all, whatever happened between you and Bella is none of my business. As far as I can tell, you both made mistakes. I'm not going to pussyfoot around and say that Bella is a saint because she's my friend. But I'm also going to respect and support her." She gave him a pointed look before continuing. "Most importantly, I, of all people, understand how one mistake can alter the entire trajectory of your life."

Edward wasn't expecting that answer, or for Alice to be so very candid. He didn't want to speak and interrupt her, so he motioned for her to continue. Alice took a deep breath, preparing herself for the things she was going to share with Edward. Things that she never did with anyone anymore. Sometimes not even herself.

"You do one wrong thing. One. And then there's this domino effect. The pieces keep falling and falling, and you don't know what to do." Her voice had grown soft as she thought back to the one wrong thing that had completely changed how her life had turned out.

Edward nodded, resonating with everything she was telling him.

"You seem like a good guy, Edward. I've been around the block, so I know bad people. You're hardly that. Have you messed up? Sure. But we all have in one way or another. Some of us are better at dealing with the pain than others. Some of us are still paying for the mistakes and bad choices we've made years ago." Alice smiled, wistfully. "I made a horrible mistake—well actually, a few mistakes—when I was sixteen." She paused, not wanting to put the burden of her past on anyone, especially someone she didn't know very well. After all, she hadn't even told Bella this.

Edward's interest in the matter piqued. "What happened?" he inquired, crossing his legs.

Alice looked down at her hands and bit her lip. Now was as good a time as any to just get it all out in the open. "I was a wild child. My parents worked a lot and were never home. I was lonely, so I partied. I drank and did drugs. All of those decisions led me to getting pregnant at seventeen. I didn't know the father. He was some random guy at a party who I never saw again. My parents wanted me to get rid of the baby, but I couldn't. I was young but I wanted the baby. My pregnancy went well. I was in great spirits. Unfortunately all that came to an end after my daughter, Maria, was born. I didn't have help, and my parents made me move out even though I didn't have a good job or a high school diploma." Alice's eyes filled with tears, but she fought them back. She didn't want pity. She'd made the mess, and now she had to suffer the consequences. "I developed postpartum depression, but I didn't know it at the time. I barely had time to shower, let alone go to the doctor. One day, Maria wouldn't stop crying. I tried everything, I really did. I had a few drinks to take the edge off. Time passed and I just needed to get out of the house, so we went for a drive. I didn't feel intoxicated, maybe a little tipsy, but…" Alice trailed off, looking at Edward, expecting to find judgment written all over his face. Instead, she was met with sympathetic eyes and him patiently waiting for her to continue. "The car always helped, and Maria stopped crying for a few minutes, but then she started back full force. I pulled over but she would cry every time I tried to put her back in the seat, so I said fuck it. We were two blocks from home, and I sat her on my lap and began driving. I barely made it down to the traffic light before a cop pulled me over and did a breathalyzer. I tested three times the limit and was driving with my kid on my lap. I ended up in jail. When I got out, my parents had obtained custody of my daughter until 'I got my act together.'" The tears streamed down Alice's face.

Edward handed her a tissue from the box on the end table beside him. He smiled gently, urging her to finish her story.

"Instead of playing by my parents and CPS's rules, I lashed out and became the person they convinced me I was. Still in my postpartum depression, I wasn't thinking clearly. I was just going through the motions. I was so fucking resentful that they took Maria and had something to hang over me. I did drugs to forget the pain. I never was addicted, but I was just proving a point. By the time I snapped out of my depression and finally went to the doctor, my parents already had enough ammunition against me to get full custody. Not having a higher education or any savings, I couldn't fight them in court. The public defender said my best option was to get my act together and then save money to fight them. That was when I moved to the city. I did nothing but work and save money. But now my daughter is old enough where when the court asks if she wants to see me, she says no. No doubt my parents' influence." Alice laughed bitterly.

"Alice, I'm so sorry," Edward whispered. He put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

She nodded. "You see, I know all about mistakes. But you both still have a chance to make things right." Alice paused but decided to speak the truth anyways. Everything else was out there, so why not this? "Bella still loves you. She's been through so much. You both have. But she's terrified of getting hurt again. Her walls are sky high. It took me years to get her to break them down as far as she has. I would hate for you both to ruin your life, like I did. With so many regrets fifteen years later," Alice admitted, earnestly. She stood and walked to get more tissues from the box.

Edward blinked and inhaled sharply. He wasn't about to rebut Alice, not when she was pouring her heart out to him, but he found it difficult to believe Bella still loved him. The only thing that had given him solace about that exchange was that he didn't see her face telling him those treacherous words. Nevertheless, he appreciated the sentiment Alice was trying to convey.

Edward stood and moved beside her. "It's not too late, Alice. You still have rights to your daughter. You'll always be her mother." She tried. Edward didn't get that luxury of knowing his birth parents.

"She's fifteen and hates me. Every time I call, my parents answer and tell me how angry she is with me. I've gone Upstate where they live for my supervised visits, and for a few years, it was okay. Then Maria stopped wanting to see me. She told the judge and everything." Alice looked away, hoping Caius would be finished soon.

"Children always love their parents, Alice. No matter how much they fuck up. You did the best with what you were given," Edward reassured her, smiling softly.

Alice wiped her eyes, pulling herself back together. "Thank you, Edward. And thank you for listening to my story. I really do hope you both can work through your differences."

She walked to the desk to check how much longer Caius would be. The receptionist gestured that she could go pick him up from the back room. Alice scurried to pick up her baby, carrier in hand.

A few moments later, Caius was going berserk in the carrier as Alice paid and gave Edward a half hug goodbye. "Think about what I said." She winked. "Give Embry my best!"


Maneuvering through hoards of people in the subway terminal, Bella carried two huge canvases and had her crossbody bag slung over her shoulder. It felt like it weighed more than she did. Wearing the black pumps didn't help her movements be graceful either. She wanted to look dignified, but she hated heels. They only served as a reminder of when she was forced to pretend in front of society people.

"Ouch." Bella cringed as she stumbled and tried to bob out of the old lady's way. Instead of steering clear of her, she whacked her with one of the canvases as she turned. She was already running behind for her interview at Marcus' gallery, so she had no time to delay for the sake of being polite.

The old lady had given Bella the stink eye before huffing away, mumbling about how young people had no respect.

Bella's phone began to ring as she walked down the street. She groaned. It must be Alice calling to bitch about the vet overcharging her, she thought mentally, answering it without looking at the caller ID.

"What!" Bella spat into the phone, mad at herself for being late.

"Well hello to you too." Peter chuckled on the other end of the phone.

Fuck!

Bella had been dodging Peter's calls in an effort to not have to have a very uncomfortable conversation over the phone.

"Sorry, I thought you were Alice!" Bella rolled her eyes, hoping she could end this conversation quickly. The block was approaching, and she needed to mentally prepare herself for her interview.

"I haven't heard from you in a while. I've missed you if I'm being honest. Are you free anytime soon for lunch or dinner?" Peter offered, desperate to get her back into his life.

Bella squeezed her eyes shut, cursing herself for answering the phone. "Ah, Peter, I just can't right now. I'm not in a good place to be dating. It wouldn't be fair of me to involve you in my shit. My life right now is complicated," Bella admitted, figuring she might as well confess this shit to someone. "My ex came back into my life recently." She gulped. "And if I'm being honest, I gave away my heart when I was four years old and I never got it back." Silent tears streamed down her face. She really shouldn't have done this over the phone.

Peter's loud breathing was all that could be heard for a few moments.

"Oh. Well this is awkward, so I'm going to go. I really do wish you the best, Bella," Peter said, hurriedly. The line went dead before she could respond.

"Great. Just fucking great," Bella muttered, getting some judgmental looks from an older man exiting a store.

Judgmental old people.


"Embry, come boy." Edward tugged his leash for the second time. The dog who was afraid of the vet, now didn't want to leave. Edward was convinced Embry had a crush on one of the technicians.

Leaving the vet's office, Edward started to reflect on his eye-opening conversation with Alice. He surely didn't anticipate Alice to have such a sad past.

Edward was even more surprised to hear Alice reveal that she believed Bella still loved him. But Edward wasn't clinging to that. He needed to listen to Bella and respect her boundaries, the ones she so clearly set. If they were meant to be together, it would happen naturally. The more he forced the matter, the more Edward reminded himself of Ted, and that wasn't an attribute he was proud of as of late.

Instead, he decided it was better for him to focus on something else, something that maybe he had a chance of making a difference in. Determined to help Alice reunite with her daughter, he planned to send a text to his lawyer. He knew better than anybody the importance of keeping family together. He never had a real family before Ted and Liz. And he certainly didn't have a mother who was as passionate as Alice. Sure, she made mistakes, but all he could see was someone who tried and tried, despite the adversity. He would have killed for someone to try. That was why he clung so tightly to his adopted parents—he knew the stakes and he knew what it was like to be unwanted. The difference here was that Alice wanted her daughter. Edward vowed to help in any way he could.

Edward pulled his phone out of his pants pocket and looked at the time. Twelve-thirty. Wow, the vet took forever today. He was supposed to be meeting Charlie in a half hour. School was out for the day because there was some sort of teacher convention going on, and she wanted to spend the day with him. They had arranged for her to meet him at the office, but he'd been so absentminded lately that he'd forgotten to tell her about his sabbatical.

Dialing her number, he decided to stop for bagels. The teenage girl was a bottomless pit after all. Charlie ate more than Emmett, and that was saying something.

Charlotte's phone went straight to voicemail. Edward furrowed his eyebrows. Charlie was glued to that phone so it was unlikely she didn't see him call.

Maybe she was waiting in front of the office. He was in the neighborhood, so he might as well walk by and double check.

Rounding the corner, he saw the marble building across the street that once soaked up all of his energy. His phone started ringing and he pulled it from his pocket, answering it without a second thought. "Hello," he said, reaching down to pet Embry, who was getting antsy.

"Edward. Hi. Um. I can't meet you today." Charlie choked out, the sound of her voice muffled. Wherever she was, it was extremely loud in the background. Boom. Crash.

"Charlotte, is everything okay?" Edward grew concerned. He'd been so wrapped up in his own turmoil lately that he'd let Charlie slip through the cracks.

"Yeah, sure. I'm fine. Fine," she said, whispering something softly to someone on the other end of the phone.

"Charlotte! What's all that noise, and who are you talking to? Do you want me to come to you?" Edward demanded, pacing in front of a jewelry store. The owner eyed him, wearily thinking he was casing the joint.

"No!" Charlie shouted into the phone. "I mean no, Irina came back because she forgot her lunch. She was bitching because I didn't vacuum the living room. As for the noise, I'm watching the Real Housewives. You know those old hags yell about anything." She huffed, sounding winded. "Love you, Edward, but I gotta go!"

Edward stood in the middle of the sidewalk, stunned. Charlie had always been quirky and wild, but this took the cake.

It wasn't lost on Edward that Charlie didn't correct him when he called her Charlotte or the fact that Irina's house only had hardwood floors…


"These are really something, Bella. Your depiction of childhood and the loss of innocence teetering on such a fine line. It's hard to capture that sort of range while still keeping realistic features. Impressive," Marcus remarked, his smile not quite meeting his eyes. Marcus Lenore was an eccentric force to be reckoned with right down to his baggy pants and spiked hairdo. He had the perfect balance of sophistication and avant-garde madness. What a juxtaposition.

He was also a rather serious gentleman, so the small smile was rather telling of his feelings toward Bella's art.

Bella exhaled the breath she was unaware she had been holding since entering the gallery. "Wow," she muttered softly before gathering her bearings to say, "Thank you so much! I'm so pleased you wanted to see my work." Bella outstretched her hand to shake his, figuring it was the professional move to make. She beamed, proud that she had secured a spot in an art show. And one that was run by such a prestigious man.

"Now the opening is in a week. And while these pieces are swell, we are sticking with a theme of 'magic.' It's open to interpretation of course. Before you leave, check out some of the pieces we've curated thus far. Ta ta." Marcus quickly kissed the air and walked away, heading off to tend to his other pieces.

Bella shook her head, holding in a laugh at his outlandish behavior. She twirled and her heels got caught, making her knees wobble. Thankfully she balanced herself before falling flat on her face. What an impression that would give.

There were quite a few paintings, pencil sketches, and some even just done with a simple Sharpie. There was beauty and meaning in each unique piece. Art was subjective—there could be a million different meanings in the one piece. The differing explanations was one of the many aspects of art which drew Bella in.

Looking at these special contributions artists had created for the show, Bella knew which one of her works of art fit the theme best. It was hanging in Rosalie's restaurant and symbolized the epitome of magic. Now she just had to go and get it back.

A/N: We are approaching some really sweet moments (moments we've all been waiting for)...let me know your thoughts and predictions:)