Twenty-Seven

My stomach convulsed and I heaved once more over the toilet seat, expelling my breakfast from this morning. Puking my brains out seemed like a great way start off the work day. I groaned, flushing the toilet and stood up. I opened the stall, thankful no one was in the bathroom. No one at work knew I was pregnant and I didn't plan on saying anything yet until I made it safely out of my first trimester. The only people who knew were Alice and Jacob. I would tell my parents and family when I made my round of trips to visit them within the next two weeks. I didn't want to tell them the news over the phone, it felt too impersonal. I quickly washed my hands and then rinsed my mouth out with cold water. I left the bathroom and headed back to my office.

I reached into my purse and popped a piece of mint gum into my mouth. Morning sickness was becoming a new normal for me ever since I discovered I was knocked up with twins. I had days where it was just nausea and some like today where I vomited—there was no in between. I sat down, softly caressing my stomach. It was still pretty flat but that didn't stop Alice from touching it every chance that she got.

My office phone began to ring and I sighed, not really in the mood to deal with anyone at the moment. These days I was irritable and I easily tended to get aggravated with menial things. Work was work unfortunately, so I reluctantly pressed the speaker button.

"Bella Swan," I answered.

Carlisle's pleasant voice filtered through the speaker. "Bella, could you please come to my office? I would like to speak to you about something rather pertinent."

"Sure," I replied effortlessly. "I'll be there in a moment." He hung up without a response and I pressed the speaker button to end the call. I got up and ambled down the hall to his office. I rapped on the door a couple of times before the door opened. Carlisle stood to side, gesturing me to come in before closing the door.

"Hello Bella, please take a seat," he courteously advised. I sat in the chair in front of his desk and admired the view of the Manhattan skyline before me. Carlisle sat in his chair across from me, effectively cutting off my view. Why I was here?

"There's something you need to speak to me about?" I asked.

Carlisle nodded, his elbows resting on the arms of his desk chair and fingers steepled. "Yes, there is. I called you in her today to speak to you about Edward."

My mood plummeted and I immediately thought of the worst. "Is he hurt?" I felt panicked and Carlisle immediately noticed my distress.

"No, Bella. Edward is fine." He reassured and I sighed in relief. The relief lasted for a short moment before he spoke again. "I can't say he's fine emotionally though."

"I'm sorry, Carlisle, but what are you actually saying?" This conversation was starting to veer deeply into personal territory and I was starting to get a little annoyed.

Carlisle sighed, indignation combined with sympathy in his eyes. I recognized that look, it was the same look Edward had the day our relationship ended. "What I'm trying to say is that Edward loves you and is hurting. You treated him unfairly and didn't give him a chance—"

I arose from my seat, anger boiling to the surface. "With all do respect, Carlisle, you should mind your own fucking business!" I thundered. Carlisle reared back in his seat, his eyes widened with shock at my statement. I on the other hand, literally felt sick to stomach. I made it just in time to the wastebasket beside his desk, crouched over and vomited.

"Jesus," I heard Carlisle murmur before he was by my side. He rubbed my back until I stopped heaving. Sitting upright, I noticed Carlisle held out a box of tissues. Grabbing a few, I dabbed my mouth and my forehead that was slick with sweat. I discarded the tissues into the wastebasket

Thoroughly embarrassed and still very angry, I scrambled away from Carlisle and stood up, facing away from him. The tension in the room was so thick, I doubted even the sharpest knife could cut through it.

"Bella, are you pregnant?" Carlisle asked cautiously.

"Does it matter?" I answered curtly.

"It does if it's Edward's child."

"Children," I corrected. The implication of my words rested heavy in air and I knew Carlisle wouldn't miss it.

He was quiet for a beat before he finally spoke. "I think you should tell him."

I scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure his fiancée would love to hear he got another woman knocked up."

"Edward was engaged to Tanya but it wasn't a real engagement."

I whipped around to face Carlisle. "What do you mean it wasn't a real engagement?"

"It was a ruse. The Denali's are old family friends of ours from when we lived in Chicago. Tanya and Edward literally grew up together and were extremely close. Edward would've done anything for Tanya, so when she ended up pregnant, Edward claimed the child was his and proposed to her."

"I don't understand. Why would he lie?"

"Tanya was having an affair with a married man. When she told the man about it, he didn't want anything to do with her. The man threatened that if she told anyone it was his, he promised that everyone she loved would be harmed. Apparently, his words had swayed her enough because she never: mentioned the man's name to Edward. Tanya simply told Edward that he was powerful enough to make anything happen, even more powerful than her own father. All in all, her family is traditional and with her being pregnant out of wedlock would not go over well with her family. That's when Edward decided to step up to the plate."

I felt sick again but for a different reason. "Oh god," I sobbed. "I'm such a fucking idiot! I should've let him explain before I. . . oh god."

The tears just kept coming and I couldn't control them. I felt terrible and incredibly foolish, deeply filled with regret. I should've trusted him and I became angry at myself. That anger morphed into rage as I thought about how I received that information. I sat up abruptly, my tears and sobs ceasing. "I have to go Carlisle, I'm sorry," I murmured. I didn't give him a passing glance as I stalked out of his office, focused and on a mission.

I banged on Jacob's door furiously until he finally opened up, dressed up in workout gear and looking sweaty. "Bella," he spoke, clearly surprised that I showed up unannounced. "Why are you banging on my door like a crazy person?"

I didn't answer, just brushed past him to get inside. When I heard the door shut, I whipped around on him. "Why did you lie to me?"

His head leaned to one side, confused. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, Bella. You show up to my house, banging on my door and now you're asking me why I lied you."

"You fucking lied to me about Edward!" I roared.

"I didn't lie about shit! I heard it straight from the horse's mouth the night before you left Forks. I overhead his conversation when he was outside on the phone. I had left my phone in the car and went to get it. He didn't realize he wasn't alone and he mentioned the woman's name and engagement and that was enough for me to hear. When he hung up, I immediately approached him and told him he had a week to tell you or I would."

"You didn't hear the whole story. Edward was engaged but it was a sham. He proposed to Tanya to cover up her affair with a married man which led to illegitimate pregnancy. She couldn't tell her family who the man was so Edward came to her rescue. Carlisle told me just before I came here. They're families are very close and Edward is best friends with Tanya. He would've done anything to help her," I said sadly.

Jacob groaned, rubbing his face in frustration. "Fuck man! I totally fucked up! I really thought he was pulling one over you and it made me angry. I fucked up badly when I hurt you and saw how it affected you. I lived with that guilt for years. I knew your love for him outweighed the love you once had for me and it made me jealous at one point. I'm so sorry, Bella. I ruined something for you because I jumped to conclusions."

"I fucked up, too. I should've let him explain instead of shutting him out. I didn't give him the benefit of doubt and trust in him. All I could think about was the past, the feeling of betrayal. I don't think anyone can truly get over that. It's something that sticks with you forever."

"Edward isn't like me, he actually deserves you. I never really did."

The decision was in full effect. I had to tell Edward about the babies and hope that he would accept my apology for my distrust in him and ruining what we had. I reached for my cell in my coat pocket, tapping on the screen and scrolling the recent phone calls I made before I found the one I was looking for and pressed call. It rang twice before a familiar voice answered.

"Carlisle, I need your help."