oOo
Edward Cullen did not possess a Facebook account. He had a Facebook fan page, which was hosted by Marlene, a friend of his from Paris, who was literally the first fan he'd ever had. The life online was not his thing, and the fact that he had forty-thousand followers seemed surreal to him.
His girlfriend, however, had an account. In addition to "liking" Edward Cullen's official page, she also had three-hundred-and-twenty-three friends.
One of them was, in fact, her ex-boyfriend, Stefan Schwarz, from Berlin. Seven hours after her post "Berlin next week!" he wrote her a message.
"Hello, pretty girl," it read. "How exciting! Am I going to see you? xx"
The last time Bella had heard from him had been before Christmas when he'd sent her an E-card, wishing her happy holidays and saying hello from his mum.
Two-and-a-half years ago, they had parted on friendly terms and Stefan had returned to Germany. She hadn't thought about him in weeks, but smiled now, as she read his message. There was a green dot next to his name, telling her he was online, and she typed a reply.
"I surely hope so. How are you doing? We're arriving on the twentieth, staying for six days. Would love to see you! xx"
"I'm good," he wrote after a minute. "Lots of work. Where are you staying, and who are you going with?"
"The Ritz Carlton, and my boyfriend," she wrote, noticing that she was biting her lip. It was an odd thing to tell her ex, and she didn't want him to feel bad. She added: "He's a painter and has an exhibition at the Ephraim Palais. I'm merely his arm candy."
"LOL," Stefan wrote after a moment. "Call me by all means, I'd love to see you, and meet him. Got to go now, see you soon! xx"
The green dot was off again.
Bella leant back her armchair and tried to imagine what it would be like to see Edward and Stefan together. They were completely different in type. Stefan was very much a businessman where Edward was an artist both in his thought process and conversation.
Edward also tended to be a bit jealous, which she found both endearing and ludicrous, since he had absolutely no reason to be. Stefan, however, had been with his new girlfriend for over a year, so that would hopefully not even be an issue.
A moment later, her phone rang and distracted her from her musings.
It was Edward, asking if he should bring anything when he was coming over for dinner. He sounded very serene, telling her that he'd spent all day in the garden.
"Just yourself," she smiled.
She would have suggested a bottle of wine, but Edward hadn't had any alcohol in weeks, and it was doing him a world of good. They hadn't discussed it, but Bella took it that he had made the decision to be better, and the facts proved her right. He even looked better, however unfair that was to the rest of the world: sober, clear-headed, at peace with himself.
It made Bella very happy to see him this way.
oOo
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