Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Stephenie Meyer owns it all. I am merely having fun with her characters.

Author's Note: HUGE shout out & thank you to my beta dolphin62598 for getting these chapters back to me so quickly! And another big thanks to my pre-reader teacher1209 for reading over these and giving me her thoughts! Another BIG shout out and thank you to LunaEclipse17 for creating the kick ass banner for this story! You can check it out on my Facebook page. Song Inspirations for this chapter: Burning Man by Dierks Bentley and Always Something There to Remind Me the version that is by Ninja Sex Party.

Chapter 10

EPOV

Burning Man

After much debating, I finally decided to dial the number that my mother had given me. I had to get Bella to listen to me and maybe just maybe she would give me one more chance.

I tried the number but did not dial completely and hung up. I did this two more times before I finally finished dialing the entire number and actually let it ring. The palms of my hands were sweaty; my heart was beating out of my chest. I was anxious to hear her voice.

"Hello?" said the voice on the other end. The voice that was undeniably…male.

Paul….

My blood was boiling at hearing his voice answer her phone…her home phone.

Were they living together? Of course they were living together, they were a couple and having twins together.

"Hello? Is anyone there? I don't have all day."

"Hi, can I speak to Bella please?" I asked, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"She's in the shower right now. Who is this and I'll tell her you called?"

"This is Dr. Edward Cullen from her old hospital, Forks General. Paul is this you?"

I could hear him sigh over the phone before answering. "Yes…how can I help you Dr. Cullen? What do you want with Bella?"

I did not want to give away too much of my reason for calling Bella…especially to Paul. I just needed him to reassure me that he would get her to call me back.

"I just really need to speak with her…it's important business…could you please just tell her to call me back as soon as possible?"

"I don't think so. Look, I know who you are to her Dr. Cullen. I know you're the man she had an affair with. Go back to your wife and leave us alone. I will always keep your secret…to protect Bella's reputation only. But there is nothing for you with her anymore…what little you two had is over.

"Bella and I are extremely happy…and we are getting married…next month! We are having children together. You need to respect that or I will make you wish you had! I'm going to say this very slowly…she…does…not…want…to…see…you…or…hear…from…you…never…call…again!"

With that, the line went dead.

As did my heart.

Married

He said they were getting married.

None of his threats meant anything to me. I was not scared of Paul by any means…but what he said about us being over… and them getting married…that shattered what little I had left remaining of my heart.

I felt as if I had no other choice but to respect their wishes. Bella was happy…she had moved on. I suppose it was meant to be this way.

A few days passed by and nothing made me feel better. The night after I called Bella and spoke to Paul, I went to the local bar with every intention of bringing a woman home to my apartment. I sat at the bar and drank and cried my sorrows to the sympathetic bartender. All I could hear in my head was Paul telling me it was over with Bella.

I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror behind the bar and wondered who the hell was looking back at me. I was not a man who deserved someone like Bella or deserved to be a father in the first place. If I wanted to be someone worthy of her and her children, bringing another woman home to my bed to mindlessly fuck was not the way to go.

I asked the bartender to call me a cab and I made my way home to my bed…alone.

My dreams were plagued with terrible things….

Paul telling me it was over between us…they were getting married.

Me trying to stop the wedding but being too late.

Me walking in on Bella and Paul on their honeymoon.

Me watching them play with their children in the park.

I could not escape the thoughts of them no matter how hard I tried.

Walking in to the hospital today, I was in a foul mood. I saw Leah and she glared at me as she handed me charts for the patients that I needed to see. Then she immediately turned away and refused to acknowledge me any further.

I was not in the mood for any kind of attitude today.

"Miss Clearwater, is there a problem?"

She turned back to look at me and smiled the most fake, wickedly sweet smile I had ever seen from someone.

"Of course not Dr. Cullen. Why would there be a problem? Everything is perfectly fine. I must get back to my job now. Have a wonderful day."

I shook my head and went about my day seeing my patients. After I had lost my temper on several nurses for ridiculous reasons, I found myself being pulled into my father's office. He was not happy with me in the least.

"What is going on with you Edward? Nurses have been coming to me all day complaining about how unprofessional you have been. You need to pull yourself together son…talk to me," he pleaded.

I sat down in the chair in front of the desk he was leaning against. My shoulders slumped and I buried my face in my hands.

"I called her…"

Dad lifted my head up so I would have to look at him and returned to his position leaning against the desk, arms crossed over his chest.

"And?" he questioned.

"Paul answered the phone. He told me that he and Bella are getting married. Married…Dad! He told me that what Bella and I had is over and I need to leave them alone for good."

He took a deep breath and said, "Son…I told you before…everything is not always as it seems. I expect you to man up and do what is needed to get what you want."

"What?"

Was I hearing him right? Was he really encouraging me to break up a perfectly happy couple?

"You heard me. Did you even get to talk to Bella? Or just to Paul?"

"I only spoke with Paul."

"Then there you go! Bella hasn't had a chance to hear what you have to say or tell you her version of her relationship with Paul. Listen…I'm going to tell you a story…and you cannot ever tell your mother that I told you."

I nodded and he continued. "When I met your mother…she was attached to someone else. We never acted on anything. I knew how I felt for her but was unsure of how she felt for me. She was stuck in a relationship that was not great from my point of view, but I thought she was happy. Your grandfather gave me some advice that brought your mom and I together.

"He told me sometimes you have to fight for what you want…what you believe in. Things are not always as they appear on the outside and if you don't show her she has another choice…how is she supposed to know there are other options?"

Mom was seeing someone else when she and Dad met. I could not believe it. They never told me that part of their love story. It was somewhat refreshing to know it had not been as rosy all the way through as I once thought.

"So, Mom chose you obviously."

"Yes, once she found out there was a choice…she didn't give it a second thought. Come to find out, she had growing feelings for me just as I had for her. I only thought she was happy with her boyfriend at the time. As it turns out, she was actually quite miserable. We always had a connection that was undeniable and once she broke it off with him…we pursued our courtship.

"I'm not saying things will be that simple for you and Bella. Your history is a little more difficult than ours was. But, if you feel that she is someone worth fighting for, then you must."

The only thing that kept perplexing me was the fact that Bella was pregnant. Did I want to end up as a stepdad of two children one day? That was where it would head if we pursued a relationship, right?

"But Dad, Bella is pregnant. She and Paul are starting a family. It would be wrong for me to interfere with that."

"Edward, what did I say? Things are not always, as they seem. All I am going to say is that if you think she is worth it and you really truly love her, you must fight for her. I'm not going to say anymore on this matter right now. I do need you to stop terrorizing the nurses and be more professional. Get it together, Dr. Cullen. Off you go!"

With that, he started motioning with his hands for me to leave his office.

His words echoed in my head.

Things are not always, as they seem….

He said that more than once.

Perhaps he was right. I should at least call her one more time…

However, I did not want to run the risk of Paul answering again. I needed to get her cell number. "Dad, can I borrow your cell phone before I go? I need to make a call and I can't seem to find mine, I think I left it at the nurse's station earlier."

"Of course. It's on the desk. I'm going to run to the bathroom for a minute. Just leave it there when you finish. And remember everything I said."

"Yes, sir," I responded.

As soon as he was gone, I rushed to the desk, grabbed his phone and pulled out mine from my back pocket. I searched through his contacts and found Bella's cell phone number. Once I had it added into my phone, I put his back on the desk and left his office.

I found the on call room empty and decided to sit on one of the bunks in there and make my call.

Right when I was about to end the call because it had been ringing for so long, that sweet delicate voice I would never forget answered.

"Hello?"

Her voice was my salvation. I felt as if I had been a drowning man and finally had been pulled from the water and able to breathe again.

"Bella," I whispered to her.

"Give me just a sec; I'm trying to get out of the elevator so I can hear you," she said.

She was actually trying to get somewhere so she could hear me. I was so relieved. Maybe she was finally ready to talk to me. Maybe Paul was actually full of shit.

Less than a minute or so passed and I heard her voice again. "Edward, why are you calling me?"

Here it goes. I'm laying it on the line right now.

"Bella, I know you told me to want me to leave you alone and not contact you…but I had to. My mom was kind enough to give me your home number and I called you the other day. I spoke to Paul and I heard what he said loud and clear…but Bells, I still had to talk to you.

"I'm sorry I just had to. I snuck into my dad's phone and got your cell number. I was hoping maybe we could talk without Paul around. I don't want to cause trouble for you two…but fuck Bella…I just really need to talk to you…"

She cut me off before I could continue. "Edward, when did you speak to Paul?"

"Three days ago. I called and he answered. He said you were in the shower. He told me that you two were getting married next month. He told me to leave you two alone and never contact you again. Bella, I can't accept that. I know that everything is fucked up right now…but I want to fight for you. I choose you…do you hear me? I will always choose you. Give me a chance to do this right…please, I'm begging you…"

The line went dead.

She hung up…or not. She was in an elevator at first…maybe she was somewhere that would cause her to lose the call.

I would wait for her to call back…it would only be a few minutes…I was sure.

A few more days passed by and I was sure that Bella had officially hung up on me that day I called her. Mom and Dad were both relentless with their speeches of never giving up. I was tired…tired of fighting for something that just seemed like it was never meant to happen.

Given my frustration level, I was bound to explode eventually. Unfortunately, Leah was in the wrong place at the wrong time when the explosion happened.

I lost my temper on her and she promptly ushered me outside of the hospital to call me out on my bullshit.

"What the hell is your problem? You have been treating the nurses like shit for days! I know I don't particularly like you…at all…but I expect us to keep up appearances and be professional for the good of this hospital!"

I was shocked she said that.

"What have I ever done to you for you to not like me?"

I had never done anything to her, except for the last week or so. I was being an asshole to everyone.

"You really think I don't know about you two? Bella is my sister! Of course, she told me! You broke her heart and you are a douche bag in my eyes, but she fucking loves you like a dumbass. However, she was smart enough to get away from you and I am stuck here dealing with your cranky ass self. You need to pull it together. Whatever is going on with you, we both have a job to do here. Patients are here because they are hurt or sick…they depend on us. The last thing they need is to hear you screaming at your nurses like some kind of tyrant. Do we have an understanding?"

All I could do was nod. No one had ever made me speechless before now.

"Good! And another thing…quit moping around. Everyone is talking about you, ya know? If you want her back so badly…do something about it. Don't you think you've wasted enough time? Quit acting like a little bitch. Have a wonderful day, Dr. Cullen!"

She turned and walked back in to the hospital with a smile on her face.

How the hell did everyone know the details of my damn personal life? The gossip at this place was out of control.

Regardless, Leah did have a point. I sulked back to my office and saw that my secretary had placed a large manila envelope on my desk. I opened and pulled out my divorce papers.

I was relieved it was finally over. Everything was official.

Without hesitation, I took a picture of the paper stating everything being finalized and sent it to Bella.

After the picture, I sent her a text.

It's finally over. I'm finally free. Please call me. We need to talk.

I did not know if that was the right thing to say or not. I hoped she would respond. If she did not, I decided immediately that I was not going to quit. Every feeling deep within me told me not to give up on us.

It was as if seeing the divorce papers in writing pulled everything together for me. I was free…and I could fight for what I wanted.

Bella…

If she did not respond to that text…I was going to get a hold of her one way or another. And if she forced my hand, I would just show up on her doorstep in Phoenix. Then she would have to let me talk to her!

Author's Note: Let me know what ya think!

Story Recommendation: Kiss Me, You Idiot by iambeagle. Started that last night & really enjoying it. So go check it out.