Bred
By MoneyTunes10
Chapter Four
Annotation: Thank you to all who read this story. A special thanks to sunfleur for getting the word out about this story via twitter. Many of you have two main questions: How long has Tanya and Edward been married? Why did he marry her? I will answer those two questions in this chapter. Please let me know if you have any more questions, I will answer them personally or through the story…
Bella gazed at the flowers the next morning as she brushed her hair. They remained on her nightstand in all their perfection, which made her smile. She was flattered by Edward's gesture to make her feel welcomed by the family. The Cullens were good and she was grateful for that.
She had not seen Edward yet, which disappointed her; it was Sunday and she knew that they were all going to work the next day. In that moment, she was happy that at least Tanya would remain home with her.
Still…she wanted to see Edward; she wanted to start her piano lessons and she wanted to know when they could start working on the baby.
She made breakfast while Mrs. Cope kept her company. After her short run and yoga stretches, she prepared to help Esme in the garden. The two women spent the late morning laughing and gardening together. Bella loved the feel of the rich soil in her hands and the way the water droplets glisten in the sun. She was also mesmerized by how lovely Esme's skin looked in the sunlight. It was luminous, like the dew drops on the leaves in the garden. She blushed when Esme caught her starring but Esme only gave her a gentle smile.
Although Edward had not accompanied her that morning, he still looked over her. He couldn't place the feelings that he felt towards this human.
He talked to his father about it when they hunted the previous night. He confessed to Carlisle that he wanted to do something nice for Bella and he remembered how she looked at the flowers after her run, so he picked flowers and arranged them in a vase for her. However he felt embarrassed and so he snuck into her room like a thief in the night and left them on her nightstand.
Carlisle couldn't understand Edward's deep attachment for the human but he didn't voice it; they had more important topics of discussion, namely Tanya. The two men discussed the implications of her actions on the night he saved her.
The energy it took Edward to keep calm as he told his father what he learned from Tanya's thoughts was staggering. After his rant, Carlisle was understandably angry…he had watched Edward suffer in silence with guilt over her immortality. But he held his tongue as they focused on whether or not to tell Bella.
After a long thoughtful debate the men came to a decision. They also needed to find a way to let the entire family know what Edward learned without alerting Tanya.
Now the million dollar question was how to deal with Tanya.
So that Sunday, Edward smiled as he watched Bella charm his mother while they gardened. As lunch neared, he walked towards the two women. His mother looked up first but he only had eyes for the human next to her. Bella's face was lit up with a smile when she saw Edward.
"Hey you must have been happy to cook without a pesky vampire hovering."
"Hi," Bella was thoughtful for a moment, "actually it was kind of lonely."
Her voice was quiet but sincere making Edward's silent heart ached. He knew he was delaying the inevitable, but he owed it to her to tell her the truth.
"Can I make it up to you then? I want to take you out to eat."
Bella's eyes widened with excitement, "you mean out there?" She pointed beyond the Cullen grounds in no particular direction.
Edward cocked his head and nodded. She took a deep breath and smiled back at him. She nearly stumbled as she rose to change her dirty clothing. In her excitement to get another glimpse at the mysterious world, she almost forgot to thank Esme for allowing her to help in the garden. She ran back to thank the woman who was chuckling at Bella's excitement. She was also sad that this human didn't have luxury that some humans took for granted.
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Edward's Mercedes was sleek and luxurious but Bella was more taken with his chivalrous gesture as he opened the passenger door for her. She did not expect such politeness because of her stature as a Substitute and the pleasant surprise left her beaming as they drove away from the mansion.
They were on the highway when Edward noticed that Bella was gripping her seat and pressing her body into the soft leather.
"Are you alright?"
She nodded but never took her eyes off the road, "are cars suppose to move this fast?"
Edward was appalled with himself. He failed to remember that Bella wasn't accustomed to riding in cars and the speed of his vehicle might make her carsick. He slowed the vehicle and she breathed a sigh of relief before she smiled. He silently observed her as she relaxed and took in the scenery.
He chose a small family-owned Greek restaurant. The humans, who ran the establishment, were very welcoming and Edward could tell that they thought he was dating a human...it was all very scandalous.
He observed Bella as she ate and prepared his mind for what he was about to tell her. He kept an easy conversation with her as she animatedly talked about the restaurant. He wanted to take her to a botanical garden nearby in the hopes that the natural scenery would comfort her…maybe it would be easier.
They exited the restaurant and headed to the public garden. Once inside, he led her to a small pond where they sat side-by-side on a bench; Bella's eyes traced every object in sight.
It was beautifully peaceful.
"Bella, I want to tell you about my relationship with Tanya because it affects you."
Bella snapped her head towards Edward. She focused all her attention on him as he began his story. She had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach…
Edward knew Tanya for ten years but they had been married for six months.
He met her when she was human.
During that time, Edward taught a graduate biomedical night class at the local university and a human Tanya was a student in his class. He knew she struggled with the workload and he had office hours for all his students who needed extra support. He encouraged those who struggled, including Tanya. She took that as an invitation to throw herself at him and thought she could sleep her way to a passing grade.
Imagine her surprise when Edward rejected her and was even offended that she thought he was capable of that kind of manipulation.
Edward's rejection only encouraged Tanya and soon he became her obsession. She would always enter the class with inappropriate outfits and constantly try to make appointments with Edward's secretary for 'alone time' with him. Edward was exasperated and anticipated the end of the semester eagerly.
One day after class, Tanya remained behind to make another pass at Edward. He was particularly harsh that day when he explained to her that her humanity and his vampirism made it almost impossible for a relationship to develop even if he wanted one. He instantly felt bad when he saw her rushing out of the room with tears in her eyes.
What Edward didn't know was that his words became skewed in Tanya's mind. She thought he meant that she wasn't good enough for him because she was human. If she was a vampire, he would be with her.
Right after the incident, Tanya was drowning her sorrows with alcohol when she spotted a vampire couple at the bar. They were simply sitting together chatting. She was angry and jealous when she stumbled over to James and Victoria. She wanted to antagonize them, if she was lucky, they would turn her. She sneered in their faces while swearing. Her final act was to throw her disgusting drink on the couple.
It was a very stupid move.
Because as Tanya left the bar and stumbled through the campus, heading to Edward's office, James and Victoria left the bar. James reached her as soon as she was alone. His razor sharp teeth pierced her skin and his venom leaked into her veins as he began to feed.
Edward was on his way to his car when he smelled the blood and heard James and Victoria's angry thoughts. He barely got there in time to restrain James. Tanya's heart was faintly beating as he attempted to restrain both vampires. From their thoughts, he saw the entire incident. He saw the bitterness in Tanya's face and he knew she was reacting to his earlier rejection.
He felt responsible for her actions and he also felt responsible for what was happening to her now…because Tanya was surely turning.
An investigation was later launched and James and Victoria were penalized by the Volturi coven for harming Tanya. Although Tanya was wrong to incite their anger without provocation, they still expected the vampires to show restraint and refrain from stooping to a human's level of immaturity.
Edward took responsibility for the newborn because he blamed himself for what happened to her that night. If he had never been so harsh to her, then she would have never confronted James and Victoria. He took Tanya to Alaska to live with family friends, the Denalis. He remained with her for the decade of her newborn phase.
Tanya was a difficult newborn. Her mind instinctively focused on blood and sex. It was painful for Edward to be around her when those two urges consumed her thoughts but he never relented. He felt so guilty for treating her harshly that he remained with her until she could function in the presence of humans without tearing them apart.
She had bonded so well with the Denalis that he felt secure in his decision when he announced that he was returning to his family.
He was wrong.
Tanya went into a volatile state and almost fell apart when Edward told her that he was leaving. She constantly asked him for verbal reassurances that he would not leave her.
Six months ago, Edward finally married her out of desperation to quell her fragile state. She was on the verge of suicide because she was immensely dependant on him. He felt so responsible for her that he had agreed to marry her without a second thought.
It was three month after the small marriage ceremony that she urged him to get a Substitute. She had pleaded with him for two months explaining how much it would mean for them to have a baby together. Edward could not deny her need to have a child since he felt so responsible for taking that away from her; even though James was the one who turned her. It took them a month to find Bella and it was another two months before all the paperwork went through.
It was during those two months that Tanya's mind had slipped in the presence of Edward. He had always remained out of her mind because her newborn thoughts were too volatile. But on that fateful day, he saw her thoughts…she had planned this from the moment she walked towards James and Victoria in that bar.
She planned to antagonize a vampire so that she could be transformed; then Edward would be with her. She had constructed this entire fiasco and he was beyond angry; the guilt that crushed him every time he looked at Tanya for the last decade was debilitating… he had done everything thus far as an act of repentance for causing this to happen to her.
But it was all a lie.
This was the news he came to deliver to Bella while Carlisle was informing the family back at the mansion.
He hadn't confronted Tanya yet because he was too angry to think clearly. He wanted to wait until he figured what to do about Bella.
So this was where it got tricky.
"Bella, I'm sorry that you were drawn into this, but I was tricked into the situation that I'm in now, and although I'm so happy I met you, we need to make some tough decisions."
"No…no…no…"
Bella paled and she was mumbling as Edward delivered the blow that would end her.
"My marriage is about to end, so we obviously don't need a Substitute anymore…"
Bella's breathing was frantic as her breath became jagged and difficult. She was hyperventilating; she knew that this family was too good to be true, now she was going to be sent back. The shame that would descend on her would surely spiral her into a deep depression.
Her vision blurred as her lungs struggled to get oxygen to her brain. She could hear Edward's voice but it was far away. She felt him cradle her to his body before darkness took over.