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Disclaimer: All Twilight Saga related thing belong to Stephenie Meyer.
Duplicity
Bella's Point of View
2013 Age (27)
"Mom, why do we have to go to Esme's and Grandpa's house? She's mean," Charlie whined as I brushed her wavy locks.
"Honey, she wants to have a nice family dinner," I said, knowing she wouldn't like that answer. Esme wasn't really keen on Charlie. She tolerated her, because of Edward, but she was not a fan of being a grandmother. She was extremely upset since I was the mother of Edward's child, and her name, hence why she wouldn't let Charlie call her Grandma or Nana.
"Is Uncle Masen going to be there?" She asked in a hopeful tone.
Placing the brush on the vanity, I sighed and shook my head. "No sweetheart, he has somewhere else to be tonight."
"Do we really have to go?" Her brown eyes bore into mine and her hands were clenched together.
"Yes, we do." I laughed at her. "Now, go get your shoes on so we can go."
"Fine," she huffed. She started to walk out of my bathroom, but stopped before she got to the door. "I won't be happy, though."
I chuckled at her reaction to going to her grandparents' house. Sometimes I forgot that she was only a five year-old. Our mutual dislike for her grandmother was something we would both have to suck up to tonight.
I walked into our master closet and went into the far right side, grabbing a light weight white sweater before heading out to Edward and Charlie.
Walking down the stairs, a pouting Charlie stood next to Edward. He was trying his best to cheer her up, but she was not having it.
"Daddy you and Mom are ruining my happiness!" She cried.
"Charlie Rae, that's not nice to say. You're grandparents are excited to have you over tonight." Edward was clearly not pleased with her.
"Why do I have to go and Uncle Masen doesn't?" She whined as Edward picked her up and led us out to the garage.
"He's an adult and has other obligations. You don't." Edward put it simply.
"That's so unfair. I can't wait until I'm an adult." She grumbled with her arms placed in front of her chest.
"Life's unfair, sweety," I said truthfully getting into the car, hoping the five minute car ride would be nice and quiet.
~Duplicity~
When we arrived there was an unfamiliar car parked in the driveway. I was curious to know who the special guest of honor was tonight. I had pestered Masen and Edward, but they both had no idea.
Edward parked the car and opened my door first before helping Charlie out. She patted her slightly wrinkled dress before grabbing her father's hand as he led the way. While I always thought our house was a bit extravagant, nothing compared to the Cullen's. Their house was a mini mansion for only two people. I gathered that Esme spent more time in the empty house than Carlisle did.
Immediately upon arrival, Esme rushed to the door and pulled Edward away from us. He looked back at me apologetically before following his evil mother. For once, I wished that he would stand up to her and put us before her.
I looked down at Charlie, seeing her annoyed face. Grabbing her hand, I led her with me with to where Edward and Esme disappeared a few seconds ago. However, I stumbled into the room after hearing the familiar voice of the man who had ruined my father's reputation.
"Edward, it's so good to see you, again. How's the business going?" Allistar asked, reaching out to shake Edward's hand.
Allistar may have still looked like a young, handsome bachelor, with a hint of mystery to him, but I knew the real man behind those dark brown eyes. He didn't care about protecting those who needed protection; he only cared about money and power.
Allistar was quickly distracted from Edward's reply as soon as I appeared. "And who is this lovely woman?"
Edward turned around spotting me. His smile widened and he took my hand in his, pulling me toward him. "Allistar this is my lovely wife of five years, Marie, and our daughter Charlie. Marie, Charlie, this is Allistar."
Allistar gazed into my eyes, trying to find the familiarity in them. "Marie, have we met before?" he asked, clearly suspicious. I could see Esme smirking from the corner of my eye.
"No, I surely would've remembered a man like you, but I moved here five years ago." I replied with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, then I must be mistaken." I matched his challenging gaze.
Esme quickly tried to change the subject with Allistar's date of the night. The young intern had no idea about the raging storm that was going to hit in a few minutes. If Allistar thought this was going to be a nice dinner, talking about his senatorial campaign, he was clearly going to be blindsided.
~Duplicity~
The table was decorated in red, white, and blue, in support of Allistar's campaign. Esme's menu consisted of shrimp and clam risotto and a glass of her finest red wine.
While Edward, Allistar, and Carlisle were talking about politics during dinner, Esme and the young intern were talking about charities to help Allistar. Charlie and I sat eating our dinner quietly, while we were left out of both conversations.
As I took another bite of risotto, my evil smile broadened as I noticed the two people who had entered the room unexpectedly.
"Allistar?" He immediately choked on a piece of his steak.
"Olivia?" His eyes darted toward the young intern and his wife, with confusion and nervousness.
"Honey, why didn't you tell me we were joining the Cullen's for dinner tonight?" She turned to Esme quickly, "Esme, I'm so sorry for my tardiness. Allistar never mentioned to me about the lovely dinner you had planned for us. Thank goodness I ran into Masen at the supermarket."
Masen stood behind Olivia with a smirk.
"Oh, honey it must've slipped my assistant's mind." He directed toward the confused girl sitting next to Esme.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" she asked Olivia, clearly uncomfortable.
"I'm his wife," she answered.
"What? You can't be. He said you passed away."
"Really, Allistar?" Olivia was clearly not pleased.
Allistar stood; sweat dripping from his forehead as he tried to explain himself to both women. They shouted back and forth with one another until finally the young woman stormed out of the dining room and headed toward the front door, followed by a cheating Allistar and his upset wife.
"Did you know, Carlisle?" Esme hissed, taking a sip of her red wine.
"No," he grunted.
"Well this lovely evening was clearly ruined," she huffed and motioned the maid to come take away the dishes.
I looked across to Masen and gave a small smile, before tipping my wine glass back and letting the sweet red wine hit the back of my throat.
This was just the beginning, tomorrow night around eight o'clock, Allistar's life would be destroyed as he made his first senatorial speech.
~Duplicity~
Edward carried a sleeping Charlie up the stairs and into her room. Edward left as I changed her into her pajamas, before tucking her into bed.
Walking into our bedroom, Edward was already in bed waiting for me to join him. However, I had already planned on going on my nightly run and went into the closet to change.
"Are you really going running, now?" he asked from our bedroom.
"Yeah," I replied, lacing up my shoes.
"Bella, you do realize how dangerous it is to run alone at night?" he argued.
"Edward, I promise you, I know how to defend myself. It makes me more relaxed when I go to bed."
"Okay," he said, clearly not pleased with my decision.
I knew that over the years, he had doubted me with reason. While it wasn't a complete lie, I always ended up meeting Masen to talk about our plans.
Walking over to Edward's side of the bed, I pressed my lips to his. "I'll be back soon."
I walked down the stairs and quietly entered my office. There was a hidden space under a floorboard that held my revenge plots and pistol. I quickly typed in the code and pulled out my gun, making sure to lock it back up before I left.
I jogged down the driveway, feeling Edward's gaze on me before I was hidden from his view. The moon was barely shining through the thick clouds, and silence filled the air. I made a sudden left, down to the pier where the waves crashed roughly against the wooden poles and sand.
"You made it," Masen whispered.
"Of course—" I paused staring with confusion at Masen when I noticed Olivia standing right next to him.
"Bella Swan," she whispered.
"I'm sorry, you must have me confused with someone else." My reply was immediate, and I turned to glare at Masen.
"Bella, it's okay, she's safe."
Cautiously drawing my attention back to Olivia, I acknowledged her with a nod. "I know you really didn't know who I was when you were younger, but I promise you I was a true friend to your father." She gave Masen a quick glance before continuing.
"Your father came to me one day, frantic about what was going on within the Cullen household and Allistar not responding back to him. Your father knew all along that something was going to happen to him, but he never imagined it would be his own death. With my history practicing law, he trusted me to make sure your siblings were protected, but you were different. He wanted to make sure that you were set for life, and didn't spend the rest of your life hating the people who caused the pain to your family."
The sting in the corner of my eyes was threatening to show my true feelings as she continued to explain herself.
"I didn't know the full extent of what my husband and the other parties involved had planned for your father, but I did try to help as much as I could. Masen told me your plans to destroy Allistar's career tomorrow night, and while I agree he should be punished for his crimes, your plans won't work. The people love Allistar's charm, he is great at making people believe anything, but there is one thing he can't deny." She pulled out her cell phone and handed it to me.
"Allistar is heavily involved in the Women against Violence organization. If this video was exposed, it would show how cruel he really is."
I pressed play on the video, feeling the dread as I saw Allistar yell at Olivia and smack her across the face. It was obviously a heated debate between the two, but he took it too far by continuing to put his hands on her.
"I'm…So sorry," I apologized to her.
"That was the first night he ever hit me. He accused me of having an affair with your father, after he found a text message conversation between me and your father. After tonight's debacle with his mistress, he took me in the bedroom and kicked me in the stomach and squeezed my arms." She lifted the fabric of her shirt, exposing her bruised stomach and arms.
"Tomorrow night, the world will see the real Allistar, and his career will be ruined."
"And what will happen to you?" I asked once she was finished.
"Thanks to Masen, I'll be off in Paris with family that will protect me from Allistar." She smiled.
"Well, that's settles it. I'll see you both tomorrow," I said, before heading back home to my family.
~Duplicity~
Edward placed his hand in mine as he helped me out of the limo. Jessica was kind enough to watch Charlie for the night, so we could be present for Allistar's speech. Edward had talked my ear off in the car, about what an upstanding guy Allistar was, not realizing how cruel this man really was.
"We should probably go find my parents," Edward said, leading me toward our designated table.
My phone vibrated softly in my clutch. "I'll meet you there. I have to use the restroom." I told him, clearly sensing the annoyance from him.
I knew Edward was starting to feel like there was something going on, but he didn't know how to question it.
Giving him a quick peck on the cheek, I walked off to the right where the restroom sign was. When he wasn't looking I made a quick dodge to the back door where Olivia and Masen stood.
"You got the tape?" I asked.
"We're all set. I already uploaded it into his organization PowerPoint. He will know it's me, but he'll be arrested before he can reach me," she explained.
"Perfect, I better get back before Edward becomes even more suspicious."
They both nodded before I headed off to sit with Edward and the other Cullen's at the table.
I could sense Edward's frustration with me as soon as I sat down. I went to take his hand and he pulled it away from mine.
"Trouble in paradise?" Of course Esme had to notice.
"No," Edward answered and downed the rest of his scotch.
"Well, wishful thinking." She sighed, her attention quickly moving on to the guest of honor as he was welcomed to the stage.
"Good evening," he greeted, his words were quickly drowned out as Edward started whispering to me.
"You want to tell me what's really going on with you and my brother?" He hissed quietly in my ear.
My eyes quickly snapped to his. "If you are insinuating that I am having any sort of relationship with him, besides a friendship I suggest you drop the conversation right now."
"I would hope that neither one of you would betray me, but I followed you last night. I saw you meet my brother on the beach."
I closed my eyes and sighed. "Edward, believe me when I say there is nothing going on between me and Masen. He needed to ask me something in person and didn't want anyone around. It's a special surprise for Jessica." I lied through my teeth, making my chest constrict.
"So, what did he need to talk to you that he couldn't tell his own twin brother about?"
"Now is not the time to talk about this. I promise it isn't anything bad, it was just something to do with him and Jessica."
Edward was about to say something when he was interrupted by the video of Allistar beating Olivia. She quickly walked onto the stage as he began screaming at her and the man behind the curtain to turn it off.
"My husband of twenty-five years who encourages women all around the world to escape domestic violence has fooled you all, just like he did many years ago during the Charlie Swan scandal. While he has helped many women, I have continued to live with this monstrous man who places his hands on me every night." She quickly pulled her blouse over her head exposing the purple bruises on her skin. Tears cascaded down her face.
"I hope you are not fooled again into letting this man win your senatorial vote."
As Allistar charged at her, she was quickly pulled behind a big body guard. He led her out the emergency exit. The police came charging at him as he was shoved to the ground and held accountable for his actions.
"Did you know about this?" Esme whispered harshly at Carlisle.
"No, I thought they were divorced after he showed up with another woman last night."
"Esme, let's go, we have a mess we need to clean up." Carlisle stood up, clearly not pleased with the situation. They both headed over to the press, trying to clear their names.
"Well, that was a surprise," Masen said, from behind.
Edward quickly stood and rolled his eyes. "Want to tell me why you met up with my wife privately in the middle of the night?"
"Edward, stop!" I put my hand on his chest to stop him from moving forward.
Masen rolled his eyes and laughed. "Edward, man, I can assure you nothing is going on between us. I just needed some lady advice."
"So why couldn't you ask me? Why did you have to meet her on the beach?" Edward questioned.
"You're reading way too much into this." Masen was getting annoyed with his brother.
"Then explain it to me," Edward stood neck and neck with his brother.
"Fine, I found Jessica's journal and decided to read it. I was shocked to find some information about her sexual fantasies. I knew from the journal entry that she had talked to Marie about one of her fantasies. I wondered if it would be okay to act one of those fantasies or if it would make Jessica suspicious of me, so I asked Marie to meet me to talk about it. I'm sorry I didn't come to you or your house, but this was something I wanted to speak privately about to a woman I trusted." Masen snapped before walking away from the chaos.
"I'm sorry for doubting you." Edward sighed, facing me.
My heart ached for the lie that he was just told, to cover up what we had both just done. Wrapping my arms around the back of his neck, I pulled his face down to mine. "I love you, Edward. I promise you, there will never be any other guy, including your brother." I laughed, feeling a sense of ease as I told him the truth.
"There better not be. You're mine forever, Marie Cullen," he said before his lips pressed against mine in a searing kiss.
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Next update, Sunday August 31st!
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