Summary: Isabella lived a perfect life with her husband until the abuse started. With the death of her mother, she may have just been given life changing gift: a way out. But with it comes a whole new world that she may not be ready to face. Maybe with the help of her green-eyed savior. Mafia, Crime, Abuse, Hurt/Comfort.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Stephanie Meyers owns characters but the plot is of my original work.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7: Alice

I was in Brazil when Charlie called to let me know that my funeral had a date. That was probably the most bizarre thing I have ever heard. Of course, since my disappearance created such a buzz, it was only expected that my funeral would cause such attention. There were pictures from blogs and newspaper articles. I couldn't help but Google 'Marie Witherdale' after talking to Charlie.

I was 'buried' in Graceland Cemetery.

They didn't have a body so they buried an empty casket.

James looked like such the perfect grieving widower. He stood there crying in front of the cameras. He wore a black designer suit, but he looked unkempt. The beard he wore was telling the world how sad and broken he was over the death of his wife; that he couldn't even find it in him to shave…that shaving was the last thing on his mind.

Mr. and Mrs. Witherdale were also there. I actually felt a little sorry about Mrs. Witherdale because I liked her. She just happened to be a kind lady stuck in this whole mess. Mr. Witherdale, on the other hand, didn't like me when James and I first started dating, and I'm sure he hated me now. He wasn't too keen on the idea that I came from a barely, middle-class family. My last name, Hayes, wasn't well known—just a family that tied back to Ireland before my great-grandfather immigrated to the United States. It had more to do with the fact that I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, and my mother had been a single woman who had never been married. To their knowledge, and mine at the time, my biological father had never been in the picture.

The funeral had quite the turnout. The seats were filled, and surprisingly, some of my college friends came up and said a few words. My friends Angela, Ben, and Eric, were some of the closest people I had, but when I married James, my relationship with them became estranged. Some shots of Angela in the background broke my heart the most because she was my best friend. Last I heard, Ben and Angela had been engaged and at the funeral, she was visibly pregnant.

I would have been the godmother if I hadn't gotten involved with James. I would have been her maid of honor, and she wouldn't be crying at my funeral. I thought about reaching out to them, but I had to remember that this was one of the sacrifices I had to make in order to survive. If I had stayed any longer with James, I wouldn't have lived for long. So instead, I cried myself to sleep that night.

I missed my friends so much.

As much fun as I was having meeting some of the locals in different countries, it was nothing compared to how my relationships with my friends had been. I missed how we had movie nights on Fridays—we were never much of the party scene. We played board games and went to comic conventions or expos. That all stopped, for me at least, when James came into my life.

I became focused on trying to fit in with the standards that James had. Therefore, I excluded myself from game nights, and I stopped attending sci-fi movie premiers. I attended parties with James, and we went out to restaurants that cost the price of my entire wardrobe. Although I didn't slack in my schoolwork, I started getting obsessed with my personal appearance and status. In the beginning, Angela thought it was just because I was in love, but after the engagement, Angela voiced her concerns.

"Marie," she said carefully. "I want to make sure you're making the right choice with James. You shouldn't have to change yourself to be with him. He should accept you the way we do. You're not this fancy girl. You're geeky, nerdy, a bookworm, and most of all simple. You've changed."

"But Angela, I really love him."

"Then you shouldn't have to hide part of yourself to be part of his world."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Marie, you don't see it. But we all do. Something isn't right with James."

"Don't you dare say that about him!"

"Do you see what he's turned you into? This isn't you!"

"Well, then I guess you never knew me at all."

"Marie, listen—"

"You've said enough, Angela. I want to be with James. I love him. You just don't want me to be happy."

"I don't think he's right for you!"

"Well, what do you know? You're just my classmate, that's all."

The hurt etched on Angela's face burned into the back of my eyes. I wish I could turn back the time to say sorry to her. I wonder how much my life would have been different if I wasn't so blinded by what I thought was love.

X

I decided that I should at least look somewhat presentable when I finally met Alice. Instead of calling her, I texted her saying that maybe we could meet up for lunch, and her reply was instant. She told me that she'd pick me up, so I texted her my hotel address and asked if noon was okay.

I spent most of my morning deciding what to wear. I bought new shirts last night, so as 'dressed-up' as I could get was a printed tee and a pair of black skinny jeans. I tried to tame my hair, but in the end, I bunched it up into its usual ponytail. I shouldn't feel so nervous, but something about meeting a new person was different this time. Alice wasn't just some stranger—Charlie saw her as his daughter. I felt the need to impress her, and at the same time, maybe intimidate her a little.

I was the real daughter.

Then I sighed out loud because I realized how incredibly stupid that sounded. I had no right to claim any type of territory because I had no place. Charlie and Esme always reassured me that I was a part of this family, but the rest of them don't even know I exist. They can convince me all they want but no one can force me to feel welcome in a family I knew nothing about.

Before I even realized it, I was already on the elevator heading down to meet Alice. She told me she'd be waiting right by the entrance, and upon exiting the elevator I had a clear view of the revolving glass door. Outside stood a woman that was barely five foot tall in a bright yellow sundress. I somehow knew that that was Alice.

The way Esme talked about her to me on the phone, I already had the impression that she was an extremely energetic person. The girl standing outside the hotel was bouncing on the balls of her feet. The anticipation was clear on her face, and as she finally made eye contact with me, I didn't think she could vibrate any more than she already was.

"Bella?" she asked as soon as I was out the door.

"Hi, Alice," I smiled at her and held my hand out for a handshake. Instead, she pulled me into a warm hug, and I found myself smiling at her enthusiasm.

"Sorry," she apologized as she pulled away. "I get carried away sometimes."

"It's okay," I laughed. "I haven't had a real hug in a while."

"Oh," she said. Then, as she looked at my face, she tilted her head to the side as if she was trying to figure something out. "You look familiar."

I didn't breathe.

"You look a lot like someone I know," she said.

"Oh," I breathed a sigh of relief. I thought she recognized my face from the news or the magazine articles. I'm sure she meant Charlie.

"So," she quickly changed the subject. "I'm guessing you haven't been inside the Gyeongbokgung Palace. Personally, it's my most favorite places to visit in the city. I always go there if I need inspiration for some designs."

"Oh, right," I nodded. "Esme told me you were a fashion designer."

"Fashion week just ended. I was one of the designers that they invited to put up a collection. I was just about ready to go home, but my mom told me about you."

"I didn't mean to keep you from leaving."

"Don't be silly," she laughed. "I didn't get to shop while I was here, and, to be honest, I haven't gone sight-seeing in a while. Most of my trips here were purely business. It'll be nice to get to relax for once. Hungry?"

We were getting breakfast at a restaurant called Bim Bom. Alice actually had a car because she owned a condo outside the city. On the drive there, she pointed out a lot of 'hole-in-the-wall' types of places around town. I eagerly looked out the window because the city was just beautiful. Because of that, I didn't really get to prepare much for my day with Alice. By that, I mean how I would answer questions. Sure enough, when we sat down at the restaurant and finished ordering, she started asking.

"How do you know my mom?"

"Oh," I felt my face start turning red.

"Let me guess," she rolled her eyes as she laughed. "You've probably worked with her at one of her organizations. You look the type to do that stuff."

I laughed because Alice gave me the perfect alibi, so I decided to go along with that story. I'm not a very good liar, and technically, I wasn't lying. I've volunteered for at least two of the organizations that Esme owned.

"That's actually why I'm here in Korea. Esme told me about her Korea-based foundation," I told Alice. "I haven't told her yet that I'm going to volunteer, but I've been around the world doing just that."

"Oh, that's wonderful, Bella!" She beamed at me. "I haven't had much time to get involved with Mom's work recently. I've been busy working on designs for clients. But I used to help her out a lot."

Esme's organizations helped to provide low-income families with education for their children. Her association started, of course, in New York, but over the years, she was able to go international. She set up one here in Korea because of Alice's frequent visit to the country.

"I'm sure you'll have plenty to do when you get back to it," I told her.

"So, is this what you do? You volunteer for non-profit organizations?"

"Sort of," I laughed nervously. "I have a teaching degree back in the states. But a lot of things happened between now and then. So, I got on a plane and started traveling. I've worked with a lot of organizations like your mom's. I enjoy teaching children in general, and I got to see the world at the same time."

"You know what they say," she smiled at me. "You won't work a day in your life as long as you're doing something you enjoy."

"Exactly!"

"While growing up, I had always loved fashion and designing. When I was old enough, Esme bought me a sewing machine so I could try to make my own clothes. My brothers were usually my dress-up dolls. Do you have any siblings?"

I frowned a little. "No," I told her. "I've always wanted an older brother."

"Trust me, you're not missing much," she laughed. "What about your parents?"

"It was just my mom and me," I shrugged. "I didn't have a big family growing up. I had a lot of friends, though. They were like family."

She nodded her head as she took a sip of her water.

After lunch, we headed for the palace and just as Alice described it, it was beautiful. There was nothing like this back in Chicago. There's that tickle in your stomach when you stand in the front of places like this. This happened in Machu Picchu, Christ the Redeemer, Stonehenge, Berlin Wall, and Eifel Tower. It was life changing and breathtaking—no words can describe the thoughts going through your head.

Alice giggled next to me.

"What?" I asked her.

"I remember when I first showed this to my brother, he had that same look on his face," she mused. "Isn't it wonderful?"

I nodded my head as I gazed back up at the temple.

I was so used to exploring places all by myself that my day with Alice was a nice change for once. Charlie was right; having company every once in a while was great. If I'm completely honest, I missed Charlie and Esme. Carlisle too, but we didn't get to bond much. He and Charlie took care of some business when they came to Iowa, but their main purpose was to meet me.

Alice asked me about the places I visited, and she envied how well traveled I had become in such a short period of time. She didn't press on the reason why I got on a plane and ran away from home. I was glad because I wouldn't have known what to say if it came to that. She asked me where I was going next, and she even joked about coming with me. I told her maybe Japan, and I found myself agreeing.

"I wouldn't mind company," I replied and for the first time since we met, she was speechless. She blinked a couple of times and then she gave me the brightest smile I've ever seen.

Truth was, I felt comfortable talking to Alice. She wasn't what I expected. For someone like her who came from an extremely wealthy family, she certainly didn't stick her nose up in the air as the others. I felt as though I found a friend in Alice. She was a genuine person and nothing about her was malicious.

You don't have the best judgment in people, the little voice in my head said.

As James' wife, I attended a lot of formal events. I was so used to seeing pretentious women parading their expensive jewelry and designer dresses. Yet, here Alice sat. She wore a yellow dress she designed herself. She wore very little make-up and a pair of simple white wedges. Don't get me wrong, I totally see Alice being the type of girl to also get glammed up. She, on the hand, was comfortable enough to parade around the city looking like everyone else. She was humble, considering she was born with a silver spoon.

Maybe the rest of the family wouldn't be too bad, I thought.

This must be Esme's work. Growing up with someone like her to look up to, I can see why Alice didn't turn out to be a snooty brat. Esme had a natural aura around her that made people feel welcomed and loved—that was something I see in Alice.

I almost felt sorry for lying to her. I don't know where my friendship with Alice would lead, and as much I liked her, I wasn't comfortable talking about that. And technically, I still really hadn't lied to her. I just didn't tell her the whole truth. When it came down to it, I wasn't sure what I would tell people back in the states when I finally met them. I can't run away forever.

Sooner than later, I would meet Charlie's family.

This chapter was edited by SunflowerFran. Thank You!

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