Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot of the Twilight Saga are the property of Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The storyline of Tangled Hearts is all mine.

WARNING: This story is M+ rated so if you are not over the age of 18+ please do not read any further.

I would like to thank both Kasi (TeamAllTwilight) and Liz (momma2fan) my pre-readers and betas that have graciously offered to help me with my story.

Michele (PeopleLikeUs or JustGinger), I would like to think you for all your encouragement on getting this story off the ground and posted.

Go check out their stories!

Tangled Hearts – Chapter 2

Who really is Edward Cullen?

April 2010

EPOV

I never wanted for anything in my whole life! I did have wonderful parents Edward, Sr. and Elizabeth, and losing them was hard on my brother and me. That was coming up to eight-years-ago. We were a close family but over the years after the boating accident that killed my parents; my brother and I seemed to have drifted apart. Don't get me wrong we still see each other, but not as much as I would like to. Both of our jobs keep us busy and we never seem to be able to fit in to each other's schedule unless it's Holidays, Birthdays or the occasional weekend, when I am not in the operating room.

I am thirty-four-years-old and a heart surgeon. I took after my father and uncle Carlisle by going into the medical field. My father was a Neurologist and uncle Carlisle is a Gynecologist and now a world-renowned In Vitro Fertilization specialist. Neither field appealed to me so I decided to go into Cardiovascular Surgery. There is something about holding a person's heart in your hands that makes you feel powerful.

My mother was the typical housewife with an added New York flare. Her weekly routine consisted of attending morning teas, benefit lunches, benefits in general, charity dinners, hospital galas, art exhibits, and whatever other function she saw fit to attend. Mom loved community service of any kind as long as it was productive and helping the community in the right way. Elizabeth was always a mother first; if we had a school function or sporting event she would schedule everything else around it. After school activities were always encouraged. I remember the time Alec wanted to try Ballet, I told him it was for girls and when he got to the class, he was the only male. I think he lasted three lessons, before he came home and told mom it wasn't for him.

The memories I remember and cherish the most are of football and baseball season. Mom was always in the bleachers in full team colors cheering us on. She was our biggest fan whether we won or lost. Elizabeth always told us that as long as you did your best on the day and gave it you're all, you could never be disappointed in the outcome. Learn from where you think you went wrong and improve on it.

Not once did my mother and father every say a discouraging word to us. Edward, Sr. was a stern and strong man. Whenever we were pulled into his office for doing something wrong, he never told us we were failures or disgracing the family name. Don't get me wrong, I felt his hand on my ass a few times for doing things I shouldn't have, and it shaped me in to the man I am today. I will never forget the first and last time I ever mooned someone in public. Let me tell you, five swift smacks on my backside from my father's hand, never had me doing shit like that again. But neither of my parents ever had a bad word to say to us or about us. I can see my brother is the same with his kids.

Even though Edward Sr. was a busy doctor on weekends he would sit in the library with me while I practiced the piano. He would read whatever journal needed to be read, while I plunked away on the keys. Elizabeth wanted us to be well-rounded young men. To achieve this we had to play and instrument and take ballroom dance lessons. The dance lessons only lasted till we went to high school.

Have I told you how much I miss my parents?

Esme and Elizabeth were twin sisters, even though Esme took Alec and I under her wing after our mothers death, it was never the same! I know I can talk to Esme and Carlisle about anything, but sometimes I just wish I could talk to my parents again – just one more time, to be able to say a final goodbye, or tell them that I loved them. I know it is selfish of me to still want my parents around. Even though Carlisle and Esme are great substitutes, my dad just had this presence that calmed me when I couldn't think straight. He would always know what to say and how to help me. Mom on the other hand, had a way that one hug from her would make my whole world just right itself. I miss that the most.

Alec and I were away at college, when my parents' accident happened. Even though Alec is older than I by two years - when he got into Harvard Law, my father thought it was paramount that I attend Harvard as well. Once I had chosen to become a doctor, it was a no brainer. I wanted to be where my family was, and I will always be grateful that I was on that horrid day.

I remember the day as if it was yesterday when Alec came into one of my lectures. He was pale as a ghost, excusing himself to my professor and telling him he needed to see me. After that, all I remember was arriving at the airport in Boston, exiting in New York and going straight to Carlisle and Esme's house! Uncle Carlisle was already on a plane to Milwaukee to organize everything. I was appreciative that neither my brother nor I had to go through that. The days following are still a bit of a blur. I remember going but don't actually remember much of anything about the service. I was thankful for one thing that was constant in my life - Alec. I have never needed anyone as much as I needed him during that time. We would sit and reminisce about when we were youngsters and it felt good to laugh. Just before we headed back to college, Alec and I cleaned out mom and dad's room of all their clothes, but left everything else the same.

Alec and Jane live in the Brownstone now. I didn't want it – too many memories. I had my penthouse and I was happy. I remember their wedding day when I handed over my present to them. I had signed my half of the house over to Alec; I had no need for it, and the Brownstone fundamentally was a family home and all it needed was a family. Alec and Jane were that family. Mom and dad would love the fact that Alec and his family lived there now. I still had my room on the top floor, but I cleaned it out of all my personal belongings. It just wasn't the same once my parents had passed. One thing we did find while cleaning out the house and attic, were mom and dad's university memorabilia. Alec and I picked out the pieces we wanted and split the rest between us. There are photos of them at college games and events, awards they both won, their degrees. I had some of the photos replicated – that Alec had - and they hang on the walls in my penthouse.

My father and Carlisle both went to John Hopkins University and Carlisle thought it would be wonderful for me to go to the school they went to, but as I said my father had other plans and seeing as Alec and Emmett were already at Harvard. I was happy to go where my brother and cousin were; at least then I would know someone. I was also fortunate that Jasper would be coming along with me, so it was a family affair. Our parents rented us a house just near campus where we all lived. The house was a little bare after Alec and Emmett finished their degrees. Jasper and I talked to our parents and it was decided that our friends James and Mike could move in. I was glad that Jasper and I had sat down and set house rules for these two. At every turn they were trying to turn our house into party central, but since Jasper and I were nearing the end of medical school and heading into our first year of residency; that was our main focus, not partying. Jasper and I were not as lucky to have photographic memory like James did!

Jasper and I were lucky to get our first choice for our residency at New York Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell.

I still worked for Presbyterian, and I love my job. Okay maybe not the long hours or late nights, but I enjoy what I do. I work with my family and the friends that I met in college, it might have taken us a while to all work together at Presbyterian, but we have managed it.

Alec, my brother graduated as a corporate lawyer working for one of the top firms here in New York. Two years after my parents died my brother married his college sweetheart Jane and three years ago they had twins. A boy they named Benjamin and a girl that they named Tia. I love those munchkins to bits, but I also love handing them back after their visits. Tia is a little princess and takes after her mother in that respect. Benjamin, well he is a man's man. He hates anything and everything to do with girls. All he wants in life is football, baseball, and his Meccano set. Give him Meccano or Lego's and I can guarantee that you will not see him for hours.

My view of Ben is he is similar to his mother, she is an interior designer, I have a feeling he will follow in her footsteps, and will turn out to be an engineer of some sort or an architect. I don't often get the chance to sit with Ben and help him build, so when I do, I am like him, you won't see me for hours. My brother joins us most of the time and it becomes a male bonding session, where we talk sports, sports and more sports. Ben also fills us in on what he has been doing. I haven't seen them since Christmas. I had to work over the Easter holidays and with the schedule I am keeping at the hospital, my life has been crazy. The only times I see any of my family is at the hospital, and then it is only a brief hello.

Thinking about the hospital, always reminds me, of my uncle Carlisle and aunt Esme. They have been my rock since my parents passed, I'm sure Alec would agree with me on that. As I have mentioned Carlisle is also a doctor and it seems to run in the family, Esme was a pediatrician and decided to retire last year. Nowadays Esme is happy to sit on the board of a few different charities and help with the organizing of fundraisers for these charities. This allows her to spend more time with her grandkids. She was exhausted with working the long hours at the hospital, she felt they were taking her away from her family. Now that she's sixty-one-years-old, Esme said it was time for her and her family. I've noticed that Carlisle has been scaling back his hours too, and I'm sure he is looking at retiring in the next couple of years.

Jasper and Emmett are my cousins, who also happen to be my best friends and co-workers at Presbyterian. Jasper, married to his high school sweetheart Alice and they have two beautiful children, Jayden and Sophia who are five and three. Jayden is a spitting image of his father in every way, but occasionally you will see a little of Alice, he definitely gets his energy from her. To watch them when they play together makes you laugh, Sophia can get Jay to do almost anything, but at the end of the day, they truly are best friends. If Sophia hurts herself, Jay is right there holding her hand and wiping her tears away.

Jasper has a calming presence and is a thinker. The way he analyzes everything, he looks at every single angle and then goes over it again, it's no wonder he became a Neurologist. Whereas Jayden has the same calming presence, he also likes to keep moving, not as fast as Alice, but he likes to be active. He isn't in to playing video games or sitting in front of the T.V. Jayden likes to be outdoors, whether it be climbing trees, playing games of tag with his sister, going on exploration expeditions in the back yard, in the pool playing Marco Polo or just sitting under a tree with his favorite book, but even then one of his legs is still bouncing.

Sophia she is a mixture of both her mother and father, they are going to be in for a world of pain when she gets older. She has slim features like her mother, very beautiful, with these big blue eyes like her dad and black straight hair like her mother. She has Alice's pouty lips and knows how to use them to her advantage to get us men to play dress up. When she gets the quiver going on her chin, it's all over. You should have come dressed already in skirt, heels and a big ridiculous hat. Makeup days were the best, when it wasn't happening to you, the amount of times Jasper has answered the door with make-up caked on his face and a feather boa wrapped around his neck, I've lost count of. I always tried to put my foot down on wearing that pink feathery crap, but Sophia's little lips would pout and her little chin would wobble and I would drape it around my neck faster than Superman flies. I am sure Alice has bribery photos of all of us men sitting around Sophia's table on those tiny pink chairs, done up to the nines for a tea party.

Emmett is the one I feel for, he wanted a boy so badly, from the moment he found out Rosalie was pregnant, but alas the man got a girl, and now a second one. Emmett wants to try for a third but at the moment Rose is standing on a firm no. I don't blame her; she only gave birth five months ago. They named her Natalya, because she was born six days before Christmas. She is the apple of her father's eye. She has just started to figure out what her name is and she laughs at nearly everything. Emmett is her main source of entertainment, he can be a big goofy kid when he wants and will always get a laugh.

Emmett has help from big sister, Luciana to keep Natalya laughing and happy. Rose and Emmett are going to need an electric fence to keep the boys away when she gets older. She is a spitting image of her mother. Bright blue crystal eyes, blond curly hair and the attitude to match, but her personality is that of her father, she loves to play jokes on everyone and she tells the worst jokes possible. You can't help but laugh. Luciana is a wonderful big sister and at the age of three; soon turning four, Luciana loves to remind you; she loves her little sister. I can remember asking her one-day what she was hoping mommy would have. She was adamant with her answer, she was standing in the middle of the room, one hand on her hip the other pointing around the room at all of us as she said "I wanna sister, cause boys has germs!" she stated. Alec and I broke up laughing, we were in tears and I could see Emmett sulking in the corner.

They are all adorable and I love them just like I love Alec and Jane's kids. They are my world, and they all ground me.

You are all probably wondering why I haven't settled down?

Well the truth of the matter is why should I? I have everything I need around me, and as I have already pointed out, I'm a heart surgeon. My job is my wife, and I don't have enough time to add a family to it. The honest and real truth is I have not met the one. The excuse I use with my family is I love my lifestyle too much. I love going out to bar's or clubs on my nights off with my buddy James, but I also enjoy my time at home, alone. I like not having to answer to anyone. I come from a privileged family, where your trust fund is in the millions, and my brother and I inherited the family fortune when my parents passed away. I believe that trust is the biggest issue I have when I can fit dating into my schedule.

My father came from old money; his father's father was in the Tobacco business and made a good living from it. Edward, Sr. went to college and used his money for investments and to buy property in New York. Over time he turned it into millions. To this day some of those investments are still working for my brother and me. Over the years each generation has added to the property portfolio that my Grandfather started.

So the Masen name is well known in high society New York. I went to functions with the likes of the Roosevelt's, Vanderbilt's and Rockefeller's, plus many more. I loved the social scene from a young age and I haven't stopped since. I was the usual Upper Eastside child, I had wealth at my disposal and when I went to college, I found it hard to find out whom my true friends were. It was even harder to figure out which girls wanted to date me or the Masen money. It was easier to stay close to my cousins.

Over time we extended our circle to add James, Royce, Mike, Marcus and Tyler. The eight of us would go everywhere together on holidays. Once we all finished our degrees, before most of us started our residencies or jobs. We went to Europe for a month, drinking and just letting off steam. Most of the guys had girlfriends apart from Mike, James and I.

Mike and James were and still are the biggest players in our group, they would screw anything with a pulse. I'm pretty sure they had been through the female population of New York. They would even go to the point of having nights when they would go too seedy bars and 'slum it', their words not mine. Even I was not that cruel to go around degrading women like that or different societies and classes. We would all inform them of this, but the arguments that ensued, where just not worth the hassle anymore!

Mike's was an exhibitionist, he really was uninhibited; he loved to do everything public. I am amazed he hasn't been arrested more often, with some of the shit he has done. The worst one in my eyes was when he took this young lady on a date to Ellis Island and proceeded defile said girl against a wall under the Statue of Liberty for shits and giggles. I found this to be erroneous and immoral. I tend to stay away from his crazy ass unless I really have to see him these days. His stunts are getting out of hand and the ladies that he hangs out with - well the word 'skank' comes to mind, and even that is too good of a word for them.

James had become my wingman since my brother and cousins have gotten married. He sometimes is no better than Mike, but at least he likes to keep it private, so to speak. James likes the dangerous women. I am not talking about slap and tickle; I am talking about the unattainable. The engaged, the married ladies and the freakier they are, the better. I am all up for a bit of spanking; don't get me wrong the hand-cuffs can come out too. However, I don't like playing with my life. Suffocation while orgasaming is not my cup of tea, and I don't care how much it heightens your senses or how good it feels, consensual or not, that shit is just scary!

The sad thing in all of this is that James is a Gynecologist. The sick fucker couldn't get enough pussy, so he wanted to look at it all day long. I feel sorry for some of his clients, dirty, dirty man. Okay, I know I am being harsh on him, but I know what he is like, I lived with him.

I know at thirty-four I should be looking to settle down, but as I said, finding someone not after the name and money is not easy. Yeah, I can marry someone from the same social standings, but the ones I had met or were really interested in me, are all toffee nosed bitches. They are all about social status, who is dogging who, whom is sleeping with whose husband or wife, what designer is in or out, who has the biggest house, boat, holiday house in the Hamptons or bank account. I am an exceedingly personal person, when it comes to the family fortune and assets. I personally don't think it should be talked about. Yes I have it, and I like a comfortable life - you just have to look at my penthouse – but I don't like to flaunt it either. I don't want to marry someone that will make sure I am reminded of it every day, tell me what I have or should have, if that makes sense.

I want what my parents had, what my brother has. Shit, I even want what my uncle, aunt and cousins have. I want someone that will look beyond the money, someone that will see the real me. I will confess that there is a lot about me people don't know, that only my family are familiar with and I allow see. Hell, I have even kept certain parts of me from friends. Things like my love for my piano; the classical music I play on her that seems to sooth my soul. After an eight-hour operation and a twenty-four-hour shift, nothing relaxes me more. I have a weakness for mystery novels. I love to read John Grisham, but and my weakness is a good Agatha Christie; there is just something about the ambiguity in their writing that sucks me in. I hate to admit that I am a sucker for Batman comics. I have an immense collection and always keen on adding to it, it was the one passion my father and I shared.

Another vice of mine is my love for my penthouse. I bought it with some of my trust fund that I received on my twenty-first birthday. I had Jane organize everything for me. From finding the right architect, that could see the vision I had, and was able to recreate my dodgy sketches and create a masterpiece. Jane helped with the interior of my home, she helped me choose different color schemes, fixings, tiles, flooring, appliances, furnishings, everything. My 'mother' wanted in on the action, so when Jane had to go back to college Esme stepped in. She took control of ordering and the actual decorating process of my penthouse.

No matter how much money you have, it cannot buy taste. Some of these high society families that have antiques dating back to the Roman Empire are not for me. Don't get me wrong I love a timber four-post bed, but with carvings of cupids, love hearts, grapes, ivy vines and apples, not so much. When I was looking for somewhere to live, I looked at an assortment of places. That one I chose had these beautiful double rooms, with high ceilings. Everything matched, from the curtains to the bedspread, to the wallpaper. Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine. I have to confess, my place didn't look like much when I bought it, but I saw the raw potential. I wanted more modern architecture, with good, clean lines and this is why my mother and Jane were the right people for the job. They know me, and what I like!

My Penthouse is on West 58th Street. When I bought it, it had four bedrooms, and as I said it was completely gaudy – completely over the top. I had all the walls stripped of all the wallpaper and painted everything white. I made sure that when you stepped inside, you knew it was a man's house. The penthouse might be all on one level, but the openness made it look spacious. I had Italian white marble floor tiles installed all the way throughout. I know very sterile, but carpet just gets grubby after a while and this way I can change looks in ten years with ease and that is what I wanted to achieve. I don't like mess, and I hate clutter and I definitely don't like to pick up after anyone.

The living room, dining room and kitchen were one big open space. It has twenty-five foot high ceilings with large skylights. The room also features very large open windows, with glass arches. In the living room, I put two big three seat chocolate brown couches facing away from the kitchen. They're positioned so you can look out over the patio. From the patio, there is a gorgeous view of Central Park. The skylights that were already installed didn't fit with my plans, so we changed them out. The new sleek style turned the six square panels, into three large round ones. The new style not only made the décor snap, but also give an extra touch of natural light reflection to the room below.

Above the living room I decided there was a lot of wasted space and I needed somewhere for my beloved grand piano. My parents bought it for my fifteenth birthday and when they passed my bother thought I should have it. So I spoke with Jane and Esme and they organized the architect to draw up plans and submit them for city and building approvals. There was a lot of paper work that was necessary as Jane came up with a glass floor structural design. We didn't want to lose the light or the openness of the room. Once the architect said we had the approvals for the glass floor, a black spiral staircase was added to take you up to the landing, to enclose the area, Esme organized glass with a steel handrail.

In the middle of the room I had a rectangular twelve person, dark brown oak table; it was the only antique piece of furniture in house. When I saw this table I knew I had to have it. It was solid and once I had it sanded down and varnished it looked magnificent. We added a gas fireplace in to the wall; once again this feature was designed to break the room up.

The kitchen was simple, along the right hand wall were glass windows and along the left was pantry, in all the same color – black! I had an off white island bench which consisted of drawers for my plates and cutlery, sink, dishwasher and a wine chiller. Against the back wall behind the island, were the kitchen sink, oven, stove and more storage drawers. Above the appliances were black cupboards that I put all my glasses, cups, mugs and small cook-ware. The feature I find irresistible and needed to have in my penthouse is the large round single tear chandler hanging from the ceiling over the table. It reminded me of the medieval hanging lights, the one's you see in the old Victorian movies.

Next to the kitchen was my bedroom, I know it is an odd place to put a bedroom but I was able to get a larger bathroom and walk-in wardrobe if I did it this way.

My room was big enough to fit my large king size bed. On the wall with the windows, I in-layed in to the wall the TV, and underneath I had hung black drawers. All the doors that were though out my home were done in black. My bathroom was larger than most I was able to put in a nice long wall hung double vanity with oval above counter basins. I also had a large glass enclosed shower and a separate Jacuzzi bath. The toilet was at the far end in its own room. My mother had put two toilets in here, I am not sure why and I found it a bit odd. Can you imagine sitting on the toilet facing someone else while they were on the toilet... Yep see what I mean? Gross. When I told her this, she started laughing at me and told me that one of them was a bidet. I asked her why I had a bidet in my bathroom and she explained the function, which I was already familiar with mind you. In the end she told me it was for resale value. To this day I still laugh when I look at it.

As you walked down the right of the penthouse, you will see a corridor that leads to the two spare rooms and the media room. My personal heaven! As you walk along the corridor you will see pictures of my family throughout the years. From my both set of my grandparents all the way down to my nephew and nieces. I also have more family pictures in my bedroom, but these are more sentimental.

I had two guest rooms. They are not as large as the master bedroom but they were a good size that you could fit a queen bedroom set with no problems and still have room left over for some wall hung drawers. I also made sure that both of these rooms had their own bathroom. There is nothing worse than having to share a bathroom with a girl. Have you ever tried? They take up all their room and yours with all of their entirely unnecessary products collection. They have products for their face, hair, legs, arms, nails and any other area imaginable on their body. Don't forget bags full of make-up, drawers full of hair product, plucking utensils, cupboards filled with a hair dryer, teeth products, sterilizing and something for this and that. The list goes on and on and the reason it is all over the top of the vanity, is because their drawers are full with more of the crap that is already sitting on top. Really how much does one person need! How many different products of hair spray or wax does one person need? Moisturizer's; are they not all the same? Oh no, I learnt that the hard way! Here is a bit of useless information for you, the reason they need so many different moisturizers is because they are all different, there are some to help with tanning, then you have extra softening, or one that make your skin look younger and my personal favorite cellulite reduction. Here is an idea ladies stop buying crap that doesn't work, the woman in the picture never had cellulite to begin with… or have you ever heard of computer touch up, crap there I go again, getting off track.

My media room... once again the man's room. I had it tiled all the way through and at the far end I have an L shaped desk where I have my office set up. I also have a beautiful book collection here. I had the TV built in to the wall and under that I have a grey marble fireplace, just to give the room a bit of warmth. In front of the TV, I have huge L shaped eight-seater black leather couch. What I love about this couch is nearly every seat reclines apart from the three in the corner. Esme and Jane added red and grey cushions on to add some color in to the room. On the walls I also have some landscape paintings from my travels in Europe.

I know, I know, I live a very sterile life, both at home and work. You could say that I have a type 'A' type personality. Everything has a place, and I don't like mess, just like my operating room when I am at work. I don't need useless objects lying around collecting dust. I have pictures of my family and a few things placed here and there. That is what makes it my home.

I am looking forward to this afternoon; I have all my family coming over. Alec, Jane, Ben and Tia are staying the night, even though they don't live far, from me on the Upper East Side. This is the first weekend off I have had in a while and we are all coming together to celebrate Alec's thirty-seventh birthday. I have everyone turning up here, Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, Rose, Natalya and Luciana, Alice, Jasper, Jayden and Sophia. A house full of laughter and noise is what I am really looking forward to.

I have everything already set up the in the lounge room and rearranged furniture, this way nothing gets damaged or broken and everyone can play on either the Wii or Xbox 360. I even went out and bought a new game, actually I bought about five for each console. I even went to the point of taking some of the pictures off the wall. Emmett had a problem with over excitement and usually ends up breaking something when he played. It was fun to watch him with them all the kids. He would sulk if anyone beat him at any of the games and when he would win the kids would gang up on Uncle Emmett.

I heard the buzzer as I was checking on the pork and vegetables in the oven. Here we go let the craziness begin.

Authors Note:

I hope you all enjoyed learning a bit about Edward. Now you know a little bit more about them. It will be smooth sailing for the next couple of chapters for our young Edward and there will be tissue alert for one of the chapters. In the end Edward will do what is right for him.

I hope you all have a happy Sunday/Saturday wherever you are.

Feel free to leave any comments, good or bad, it is the only way that I become a better writer.

Fiorella