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Previous Chapter

As we passed through the lobby, back to our suite I was lost in my own world looking at my man when I smacked right into a woman and sending us both down to the ground. We both laid there in absolute shock and silence until we both busted up laughing. I looked down at her not seeing her face, as it was covered by her blonde hair, and saw that she was a well built, good looking woman. She had long legs and a curvy body all the way up to her voluptuous breasts. Before I brought my head up, to see her face, she spoke.

"Bella?"

Crap!

Chapter 15 Exposed

∞Bella/Izzy∞

I was frozen. What else was I going to do? I recognized her voice, but I refused with every inch of my body and mind that I would not blow this, not here and not now. I quickly looked up from where I sat on the floor and scanned the lobby. Um, where's Ed…Anthony? Then it dawned on me that of course he would have quickly disappeared because this woman would definitely recognize him, even though his appearance was totally different now. I was still a little disheartened that he had left me here to handle this all on my own, but knew it was probably for the best.

"Excuse me," I asked while pulling myself up and off the floor, trying not to make eye contact.

"Bella, it can't be, can it?" She asked again sounding a little taken aback.

I finally decided to make eye contact and stick to my guns. I wasn't going to let this happen especially out in the open lobby. I chanted to myself over and over again, your name is Izzy, your name is Izzy, your name is Izzy. I must have been chanting to myself for a while because I heard her clear her throat. Time to speak up.

I furrowed my eyebrows at her and tightened my eyes in confusion. "I'm sorry. You must be mistaken me for someone else," I stated confidently and stuck my hand out. "I am Izzy, Izzy Dwyer. And I am sorry for running into you like that…" I paused realizing I was about to pull the whole klutz card out and knew that would be a dead giveaway for being the old me. "I was admiring the beautiful sunroof and all the flowers."

Rosalie looked at me in shock and took a step closer to me as if she was analyzing my face. I looked back at her feeling quite unnerved and uncomfortable with her stares. She must have felt it because she quickly shook her head and looked at the ground.

"I am so sorry, you just remind me of someone I used to know. But she had long, dark brown hair and brown eyes and clearly you do not," she quietly stated with a solemn look on her face.

"It's all right. Um… what do you mean by used to?" I asked trying to sound clueless and interested all at the same time.

"Oh, um…she was a friend of mine. She was my husband's brother's girlfriend; she died about a little over a month ago in an accident," she trailed off. "That's actually why we are here. Her death has shocked us all and it has been really hard for her family, friends and even the whole community to deal with. My husband and a couple of friends and I thought it would be a good idea to get out of our home town and get our minds off of it for a while. Anyway, oh I am so sorry to just blurt everything out like that," she spouted looking embarrassed. "Well, I should go. I think I see my husband, Alice and Jasper over there at the counter. It was nice to meet you."

What? Alice. Alice was here. I had to get out of here before I ran into her too because I think if she took one look at me she would know. I stood there dumb founded as Rosalie politely said her goodbyes and turned on her heels and made her way back to Emmett and my…her friends.

After I watched Rosalie walk away, I snapped myself out of my shock and scanned the lobby to see if I could find Anthony hiding. When I couldn't see him I rushed over to the elevator and pushed the button. I stood there tapping my foot impatiently when I felt strong hands squeeze my shoulders. I already knew that it was him by his smell. I cranked my head around and saw eyes lock onto mine. I was about to say something, but he simply put his index and middle finger to my lips and then nodded his head to the elevator.

When the doors to elevator closed all my pent up emotions came crashing down. Tears were spilling down my face like a waterfall and I put my face in my hands, letting the sobbing take over. The stress and anxiety that I didn't know I was holding in came crashing into me like a fifty ton boulder. My family, my friends and even the dang community were suffering and feeling pain because of me. My knees felt weak and then I felt Anthony wrap his arms around me in a comforting, safe embrace.

"Shhhh, Love, everything's going to be all right. I am so sorry I left you there all on your own, but I just knew that she would see past my different appearance and figure everything out. Just calm down and you can talk to me later about what exactly happened. But I need you to nod or answer one question. Does she think you are Bella?" he asked, whispering in my ear with a tone that was barely audible. I was thankful at that point that we had made it up to our floor without having anyone else on the elevator.

Knowing that we would not be able to talk about what just happened in our room I tried my best to relay what had happened.

Anthony was totally shocked that his brother and our friends were here, but elated to find out that Rosalie did not blow my cover. He tried to comfort me, knowing all too well that I was beating myself up over all this.

As we reached our suite I was about to put my key card in the door when Anthony spun me around and shoved me against the wall. His hands were on the wall, one on each side of me, trapping me from going anywhere. He leaned in and brushed his nose along my jaw line and stopped right by my ear. I closed my eyes and braced for him to kiss me on my neck, but he didn't.

"Bella, everything is going to be fine, we're going to be fine. You need to relax, I am here and don't plan to ever leave your side. We need to play our parts as best as we can so we can be done with this and get on with our lives…together," he whispered, my real name, in my ear sending a pleasant surge of heat through my veins.

I pressed my cheek to his cheek and felt his soft beard against my skin, and then whispered in his ear, "I love the sound of that. And why is it that you know just what to say to me to calm me down, Edward?" It felt so great to say his real name and knew that there wouldn't be many chances like this to do so.

"Because Love, I know you and I know what's going on in that brain of yours," he kissed my temple. "Well, back to business. We need to keep our eyes out for Emmett and the gang and avoid them as best as we can. So, let's put on our happy faces and go get ready. We have a dinner date to attend to." He took the key card out of my hand, put it in the door and opened it.

The rest of the day Anthony spent flipping channels on the large flat screen television while sprawled out on the couch. Me, I was extremely jealous because I wanted to sprawl out with him. Instead I spent most of the day prepping myself for the stupid dinner we were going to have with Aro. While I settled in the bathroom I went through all the things I needed to do. First I showered, taking longer than I usually would have, and shaved my legs and my underarms. Knowing full well of what cocktail dress I was going to wear and didn't want to look like an Amazon woman, not that there's anything wrong with that, but it definitely wasn't for me.

After I had showered and dried off I smoothed on my favorite lotion that I had requested the FBI to get for me. They had told me they didn't want us to change the things we like and wanted us to get them a list of what we wouldn't want to live without. My lotion was not expensive by all means, plus it served as a perfume as well, it was from Bath and Body Works, Night Blooming Jasmine. This was going to be the first time I put it on since I was teaching. I applied it all over my body and the scent wafted through the steamy air and it instantly calmed my anxiety, making my body relax.

As soon as I slipped on my strapless black lace bra and matching lace panties, I took a towel and wiped the condensation from the mirror. I didn't want to put my dress on yet, in fear of getting make up on it, so I opted to stand there in only my bra and panties. I was still not used to wearing this much makeup even though I felt as though I was a pro at it applying it, I couldn't risk giving away my true identity. I decided to go with the smoky eye look and adorned my lips with a light glossy pink lipstick.

My hair was another challenge, I couldn't decide if I wanted it up or down, but upon looking at my dress I decided that since it was strapless I would pull it up into a French twist leaving straight tendrils falling to the side of my face. Once I was done I pulled my dress on and gazed at myself in the mirror. My dress was black, the top was fitted down to my waist and from there it had three ruffled poufs cascading down that stopped a few inches above my knees. After placing my simple black two inch heels on my feet, I checked out the final product in the mirror. One thing's for sure, I did not look like Bella, but thought the whole look would have been more appealing with my natural hair color. I really liked the dress and thought that it would have been something Alice would have picked out for me back home. I sighed at that thought, I really missed her.

Snapping and jumping back into reality I heard Anthony whistle from the door way. I suddenly realized that I could see his reflection in the mirror.

"You've really got to stop that. You're going to give me a heart attack," I pointed out.

"Love, I can't help it if you are space cadet," he teased. "Besides, look at you, you are breathtaking."

I stood there and stared at his reflection and my breathing hitched. "Oh, I see that you too are breathtaking, in that suit. You look mighty fine there," I winked. He was wearing a dark navy, almost black, pinstriped suit with a silver tie.

We closed the distance between us as we locked both of our hands together. He leaned in a placed a soft kiss on my right cheek, not wanting to mess up my lipstick and put his forehead against mine. "Are you ready?" he asked as we both took a deep breath, never breaking our eye contact.

"As ready as I will ever be. Plus you are the one of interest. I should be asking you, are you ready?"

"As ready as I will ever be. I am just happy to have you by my side, Love." With that he placed a kiss on my forehead and pulled me to the door. We held each other's hands to comfort one another as we got on the elevator.

∞Edward/Anthony∞

On our way down to Le Cirque I held my Love's hand tight as we stood in silence in the elevator. I kept taking glances at her face to see if I would be able to read any sign of anxiety or stress. I knew that she was one of the strongest people I have ever known, but she had already been through so much and I didn't know if there would be a point where she was going to just break down. Especially after seeing and talking to Rosalie and how she broke down in the elevator earlier today. I was able to calm her down though, but I still had a fear that the next time, if there is one, she broke down, I wouldn't be able to mentally reach her and bring her back.

I have seen many patients that have had fewer traumas than her and they suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. With Izzy there were definite signs that she was starting to suffer from PTSD. One of the first signs I noticed, which she saw me noticing and tried to stop, was that her hands were constantly shaking. The next sign was when we first were approached by James at the airport where she appeared to be on the brink of a panic attack. Then the entire incident in the lobby this morning and her reaction afterward confirmed my suspicions.

One of the things that hit me hard was that every time I approached her and made myself known, she seemed to be inside her own mind, never hearing me approaching her, which she ended up jumping with shock. I was really worried as well because anytime I went to touch her, she'd flinch. I never wanted her to be like that with me of all people she should want to touch and trust me. She never seemed to acknowledge her reactions and mood changes. I needed to find a place and a time where I could discuss this with her before it gets worse.

So now here we are about to walk into Le Cirque to meet Aro and any sign of distress from Izzy I will be ushering her out as quickly as possible.

"Are you all right, Love?" I asked for assurance as I kissed the back of her hand. She just simply nodded and smiled.

We entered Le Cirque a told the greeter my name. Upon entering the restaurant it was as if I was inside a circus tent. The ceiling was covered with different shades of red, orange and yellow cloth scooping up into the center of the room making it to appear as a big top tent. There were painted murals of circus scenes all around the room. The tables were square and surrounded by yellow and red striped arm chairs. It had a childish, yet elegant ambiance.

We followed the hostess to a secluded room. Still holding tight to Izzy's hand we approached a man that stood up from his chair, he was a thin tall man with long black hair that had been pulled back into a low pony tail. His widow's peak stood out amongst his translucent pale white skin. His eyes were dark and bore into to mine as if he could hear every thought I have ever had. I assumed that this was Aro because he radiated with hate.

"Well, this must be Anthony Masen, the very talented sadistic doctor and piano player," he started seeming to be quite amused, but his reference made me cringe. I felt Izzy's hand grip tighter upon hearing him speak. I knew full well that she recognized his voice. In return I tightened my grip, trying to give her an ounce of comfort.

"Yes, sir, it's finally nice to meet you," I tried to control my nerves. "And this is my fiancé Izzy Dwyer," I introduced and kissed the back of her hand again.

Aro rounded the table and approached us, never taking his eyes off of Izzy. No, I didn't want her to be the center of attention. He stopped a couple of feet in front of her and spoke, "Well, you are quite a fascinating looking woman. Now, tell me Izzy. Is your name short for something? Like maybe Is..a..bella."

No way! Does he know who we are? I snapped my attention at Izzy to gage your reaction. She was the face of calm and she made me believe that I was the one that was going to break down.

"No, sir, it's just Izzy, Izzy Dwyer. Not too exciting, but that's my name. I actually was named after my great-grandma," she lied and she actually pulled it off. Like I said this woman is strong.

Aro's face hardened and then gestured for us to take a seat at the table.

"Please, have a seat. I am just waiting on my number one and number two people. They were delayed with some last minute business, but should be joining us shortly," he gestured to the waiter. "What would you like to drink?"

Just as we finished ordering our drinks in came James and Victoria, arm in arm. We stood up and stiffly greeted them.

All of a sudden I heard Izzy's breathing speed up. I turned and faced her, her face was flushed and her chest was rising and falling rapidly, and her eyes widened as she looked at me. I tightened my grip on her hand, but it wasn't helping her. I could feel three pairs of eyes glaring at us.

I removed my hand from hers and cupped her face with both my hands. "Izzy, Izzy calm down, everything is fine. You are fine," I tried to engage her, but her eyes were everywhere, but on my face. "Look at me, Love." Her eyes snapped and locked onto mine. Her breathing seemed to slow down. "Maybe you should go to the powder room and calm yourself down." She nodded and left the table, heading in the direction of the powder room as I watched her. She needed to be able to collect herself away from the people that had truly harmed her.

"What is her problem?" James snarled and turned to Aro. "She did the same thing at the airport. She can't keep her crap together. You really need to get your woman into check there Anthony," he nodded to me.

"James…," Aro started.

"No, no… Aro…it's okay," I interrupted. "She tends to have panic attacks every once in a while. I still haven't figured out what sets them off," I lied. "It could be a side affect though."

"What do you mean side affect, from what?" Aro asked sounding amused.

"Well, sir, I am not sure she would like me to tell you this. But since I assume we may have more dinners and get togethers like this, that maybe you should be prepared for more," I said, setting the stage on how we met.

"Izzy, is a recovering drug addict," I choked having a hard time saying that about her because I could never view her as a druggy. "That's how we met actually. She came into the hospital with a drug overdose and I saved her. Fell in love with her while helping her off the drugs," I laid it out quickly.

"Hmm…fate," Aro stared at me, as he brought his hands to his lips in a silent prayer.

"Um, sorry about that everyone I don't know what got into me," Izzy interrupted upon approaching the table. She gave me a nod and took my hands in hers.

I kissed her forehead, which seemed to me cool and slightly clammy, "Are you all right, Love? You had me worried there for a minute."

"I am fine, don't worry about me," she said briefly as we sat back down.

The rest of the evening seemed to go without incident from Izzy. Aro dug deep into my medical background asking questions that made me inwardly cringe. I answered as best as I was trained to. As best as I could I tried to keep all the attention on me, not wanting Izzy to have another episode. We held hands under the table and she seemed quite content half way through the meal. I couldn't even focus on what I was eating because I kept watching James ogle Izzy while Victoria was ogling me. I didn't let it bother me and Izzy seemed to be distracted by engaging her attention to the painted murals on the walls around us. She seemed to be unaware that she was shutting herself out.

Our dinner was cut short by Aro's phone ringing. "What do you need, Mike?" he firmly asked in his phone and I froze. "You know I am at an important dinner…yes…all right…I am coming…that's right keep them contained," he snapped and flipped his phone shut. "Sorry, but something's come up. We need to go, now." He looked sharply at James and Victoria.

I felt Izzy stiffened at my side as she tightened her grip on mine that it was almost unbearable.

When we got up to leave the restaurant Aro pointed out that he was really looking forward to my performance coming up this next weekend and ensured me if I did well he would want me to be a permanent part on his staff. In a way I got the feeling that he wasn't too interested in my musical talent, but more so in my sadistic medical career.

They rushed ahead of us, which made us quickly pull each other into our comforting embrace. We needed to get into Aro's personal life fast and find the Newton's.

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