Title: Your Kisses Were Punishment.
Chapter Two: A Tragic Tale.
Rating: M (for adult themes and future lemons)
Category: Romance, Family
Pairing: Edward/Bella
Summary: It was a marriage neither wanted but she stuck by her decision. She worked day in and day out to make it work but his family members made it impossible. Two years passes and when a secret surfaces that she hoped would remain hidden, she finally decides to leave but he wouldn't let her. After living in the background of the illustrious Cullen Family, Isabella must fight for the one thing she desires…FREEDOM.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: Read, review and enjoy. Links to my blog and facebook page on profile.
Hugs and kisses to Jazzysbellamarie, Lolita-chi, Kyunter 34, Cullenmeadow and lola 74 for the reviews on and to almondgirl3, Becs 77, AylaCullen, twilightmom 96 and LBD for the reviews posted on TWCS.
To xX Morgan Xx, whoknew 20, TWILIGHTnmECLIPSEbd911, michigangal0223, littlesnowfarie2005, lilyella, gabita10, EN 426, Deonne, chavy c, Calicalypso, Caeruleussum, brokenlove 81, AmeryMarie, alex121, bullnanla, Fairy1990, Speedyraider and xXx 'M' NaMeS RoCk xXx from and to alt, AmyJayne, AylaCullen,babaylan 1, bullnala, canmor, cyrich, CullenMeCrazy, ddiva, distinctly_forbidden, Franzi1991, GigiB, Heavenb, jaspersbellamarie, Jossiev, kmaldon2, kymbalie, luxmmcghee, lynsky, msmiki, Natsar, pruebas, read 522, reyountz, rosie,sinister thing, Tornsie, twifan20, twilightmom 96, victerispissed, winstonwolfe, yellowlilly and YesMyNameIsBella, I thank you and give you hugs for adding my story to your favourite's list and to your story alerts list.
To my mystery reviewers, hugs, kisses and thanks as well.
So a question was asked by a guest reviewer on and Becs 77 at TWCS about possibly seeing what really happened with regards to the miscarriage and Edward's affair. As the story progresses, all these things will be dealt with but it may take some time. In fact, we talk about the miscarriage in this chapter.
Before we get to the chapter, I would like you all to know that I am willing to recommend your stories. Just drop me a message and tell me about it.
So now on to the chapter:
Charlotte Whitlock entered the hideaway with a bag of take-out and a heavy heart. The media backlash from this scandal was immediate. Questions were asked and theories were thrown around but she had chosen not to listen to any of it. Her only concern was to know if Isabella was ok. Her husband, Peter, wanted to come with her but he had been pulled into a meeting at the last minute.
As she made her way through the house, she nodded to the various guards stationed throughout and all she could think was that Jasper had really outdone himself. He certainly never lavished this amount of wealth on Alice.
"Mrs Dalton." Charlotte cried out in surprise and delight. "What are you doing here?" She asked as she hugged the older woman.
"My baby needed me." Mrs Dalton responded as she returned Charlotte's hug.
"How is she?" Charlotte whispered, bending her head and allowing her hair to fall onto her face.
"She is as good as to be expected. She's on the patio." Mrs Dalton smiled sadly, tucking Charlotte's hair behind her ear in a very maternal gesture.
"Well, I'll go talk to her." Charlotte gestured to the bag of take-out.
"Don't talk, sweetheart. Just listen to her." Mrs Dalton advised, pulling gently at her ears.
Without another word, Charlotte made her way to the patio. She felt her breath leave her in a rush when she saw Isabella for the first time.
She looked dreadful. She eyes were red and sunken in slightly. Her skin was pale and blotchy. She was shivering slightly and Charlotte wasted no time in wrapping the young woman in a blanket that was lying nearby.
Isabella jumped slightly when she felt something being placed on her shoulder.
"Hi, Bella." Charlotte whispered softly taking in her fragile form.
"Charlotte." Isabella's eyes widen in surprise. "I was expecting to see Peter." Isabella said, adjusting herself in her seat in an attempt to be more presentable for company.
"He was called into a meeting. He wanted to be here, though. He might still pass by after his meeting if it is not too late." Charlotte murmured softly.
"Oh." Isabella murmured before falling silent once again.
"I brought food. I thought you could use some good take-out. I hope Chinese is good." Charlotte lifted up the bag from where she rested it, hoping to remove the awkward tension that was building.
"Charlotte, I hope I am not being rude but what are you doing here? We never had a good relationship." Isabella said softly, gently taking a sip from her coffee mug in an attempt to clear the growing lump in her throat.
"I know and I am sorry for that but Alice is my sister-in-law. She may have influenced my actions but I can't help but feel guilty." Charlotte sighed as she unpacked the food.
"Charlotte, you have no need to apologize." Isabella said softly. "I do know how Alice works."
"But I must, Isabella. I saw the first reports on the news and my heart broke. You were dealing with so much and you had no one to turn to. I can't help but feel sorry." Charlotte said softly just as Mrs Dalton walked in with a tray that held plates, glasses and a bottle of wine.
"Sorry to interrupt, girls, but I thought you might appreciate having these to eat." Mrs Dalton sighed, taking in Isabella's aged appearance.
"I'm not really hungry." Isabella whispered.
"You will be eating, Isabella. It's not up for debate." Mrs Dalton said sternly causing both women to chuckle.
"Don't worry, Mrs Dalton," Charlotte reassured, "she'll eat something."
"Thank you." Mrs Dalton huffed as she left once again and both women let a natural hush fall over them.
"It's beautiful here." Charlotte said after several minutes of silence.
"What do you want, Charlotte? Do you want to talk? I don't want or need your pity." Isabella stated again, biting her lip.
"No, I'm here to listen. Wantons?" Charlotte offered the container to Isabella.
Isabella looked at Charlotte as if she now saw the woman for the first time. A few tense minutes followed before Isabella pushed away from the table and made her way over to the railing and looked out at the lake.
"I was seven weeks along when I found out that I was pregnant. I was being forced to endure another one of Esme's parties even though I had told Edward that I was not feeling well. Half way through the party, I started to feel really unwell and tried to look for Edward. I found him in a guest room with Tanya. Before that moment I never knew he was cheating on me. He was kissing her roughly and was frantically trying to remove her dress, worshipping her like he did to me. I swallowed the bile that was rising in my throat and managed to stumble out into the corridor. At that point my vision had started to blur. Thankfully, I had made it to Carlisle's office where both he and Jasper were. All I could remember was Jasper calling out my name before I passed out." Isabella said so softly the Charlotte had to strain to hear what she was saying.
"I woke up in the hospital a couple hours later with Jasper seated next to me and Carlisle pacing the room like a caged animal. Jasper was the one who spotted I was awake." She smiled bitterly. "He lunged at me and held onto me. Carlisle followed soon afterwards all but throwing Jasper to the floor in his hurry to hug me. Minutes later a doctor came after being called in only to inform me that the reason I had fainted was because my body was struggling to cope with the pregnancy and that as things stood, I could very well lose my life if I allowed the pregnancy to continue. Know that at that point in time, I did not know I was pregnant. I cannot describe the fear that took a hold of me when I learnt about this. I was twenty years old in a marriage that I had only just learnt was failing and in a pregnancy that could very well cost me my life." A single tear fell from her eyes.
"Things with Edward were never good. I am willing to admit that I married Edward because he showed me a way out of the life of poverty I lived. He gave me the hope that I would get what I searched so long for. As time passed, I fell in love with him and while sex for him was just sex but for me it was more. It was in those moments when he would kiss my neck or moan my name that I pretended that he was in love with me as well." She paused for a few minutes as she made her way back to the table and poured herself a glass of wine.
After she took several large gulps, she had collected herself enough to continue talking.
"When I saw him with Tanya and saw that he couldn't even be bothered to make his way to the hospital when Carlisle called him, I was heartbroken. I told the doctor that I would think about ending the pregnancy but even then I knew I couldn't end the life of my child. Jasper took me home afterwards and promised to call me every day. He did actually and soon he became a constant fixture in my life. He knew I had not aborted the pregnancy though Carlisle was made to believe that I had gone through with the abortion."
"Things at home took a turn for the worst after that. Edward had decided to come clean about his affair with Tanya and expressed his desire to get a divorce. I was all for it. I wanted no part of Edward anymore. Living in an illusion that you were loved by someone was one thing but to live in a house where you know the person you love is in love with someone else is pure torture. Soon afterwards, Tanya became a permanent fixture at the house. She was always there, dressed in the most scandalous outfits ever. He gave her a credit card, a car and even went so far to buy a vacation house for them."
"When I had had enough, I called Jasper and was on the way out the door when Edward came home. He saw my bags and lost it. He slammed me into the wall screaming at me about how I was not going to be the one to humiliate him. He was going to end the marriage on his terms. I was afraid and at that moment I agreed to anything he demanded which included me having breakfast with him every morning. After that my stress level sky rocketed. I passed out two more times before I actually miscarried."
"That day, I had come home to find Tanya going through everything in my room. She was on the phone at that time with Rosalie I think. As usual, they were making a mockery of me. I couldn't blame them because I was still there by his side even though it was more out of fear than anything else. It was at that point in time Tanya found the ultrasounds of my baby. I hadn't told Edward yet and I knew that he would nail me to the cross if he found out this way. I lunged at her and ripped them away from her before hurrying out the room. I knew I had to get rid of them somehow so I did the only thing I could, I threw them into the fireplace."
"Tanya however did not like the fact that I grabbed them and came to confront me. She ended up slapping me and the force of which made me lose my balance and I ended up slamming into the edge of a coffee table. The minute I hit the table I knew something was wrong. When Tanya saw my fear and tears she smirked and walked off. I called for Jasper. He took me to the hospital where I learnt that I had lost the babies. All this time I thought I was pregnant with one child and now I learnt that not only was I pregnant with twins but I had lost both my children. I was numb. Jasper called Carlisle and within minutes Carlisle was there with me. We all knew without saying it that I needed to have the babies removed from my womb. When he suggested that we call Edward and tell him what was going on, I all but fell to the ground, begging him not to. Up to this day, I don't know why I never told him I was carrying his children."
"Carlisle was the one who travelled with me to Washington under the pretence that he had business there and that I wanted to see my father. Jasper flew in later that day and was the one who held my hand as the procedure was conducted. We buried them under a beautiful weeping willow tree." Isabella finished, her eyes glazed over as if she was seeing something far of in the distance; tears now openly streaming down her face.
"Bella." Charlotte whispered as she wiped her own tears.
"I don't need you pity, Charlotte." Isabella smiled grimly.
"It's not pity, Isabella." Charlotte screamed jumping to her feet; fury dripping from every pore on her body. "Tell me you were not planning to do what I think you were."
Isabella's eyes widened and her hands grabbed at the railing.
"What are you talking about?" Isabella stammered out.
"We all know that Edward Cullen loves children. If anything, Edward would treat his children as you would royalty. You said at the beginning that the chance of you surviving this pregnancy was slim to none. Tell me you didn't decide to go through with this pregnancy because you had hoped might have died."
And all Isabella could do was stay silent.