All recognisable characters belong to SM. I just own the plot.

Thank you for all the faves, reviews, alerts for this story.

The holidays caused me some delay in writing, which resulted in my posting just now. I apologise for making you wait. This new year, I'll be back to my usual Thursday posting schedule.

So without further ado, here you go. Enjoy!

A small pile of white cards that came with the flowers was in front of me. I thumbed through them like they could give me the answers I needed, making this small flapping sound as I repeated the motion several times. There was a big problem and I wasn't sure what to do. As expected, photos from yesterday had hit on the news and the internet. They were everywhere.

This was what I had been afraid of. Alice was wrong when she thought my attending the luncheon given by the Cullens wouldn't stir up some shit. There were already a few reporters who hounded me when I attended a class earlier. Even Tanya pestered me with questions about Edward, and it had taken all of my will power not to vent at her. I valued my privacy and this situation ensured I wouldn't have one.

A knock on my door pulled me out of my reverie, and I scrambled to get it. I knew who it was. She had called a few minutes ago to inform me she was on her way up.

I yanked the door to find my sister looking nervous. "Oh God, Alice, I'm going to kill you!"

"No, you won't," she replied, ignoring my indignation and moved past me toward my living room.

"I told you this was going to happen!"

She ran her hand across her short, black hair and sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry."

"Sorry won't solve this problem," I said grittily. "What the hell am I going to do now?"

"Just relax. I talked this over with our PR team in S, and they're devising some sort of game plan so this won't look like you and Edward still have a thing."

"Those pictures are all over-"

"I saw them, Bella," she reminded, her voice flat. She was staring at me, a meaningful expression on her face.

"What?" I snapped, not liking the look she was giving me.

"Are you really sure there's nothing going on between you and the prince?" she asked.

What the. "NO! What made you say that?" My heart had started to summersault inside my chest, making me want to drink myself into oblivion so I could wake up and find all of this was just a nightmare.

Alice gave me this funny look, which reinforced my annoyance at her. This was her fault, but somehow the way she stared made me feel like I had something to do with all of this mess. I scowled at her.

She waved for me to come closer. The weird expression on her face made me curious as to what she was up to, and I begrudgingly followed, only to be shown the front page of the newspaper where my face was plastered. She quickly rummaged through the pages until she stopped to show me another picture of Edward and me. It was of us dancing, his hand clasped on my back and he was staring at me with such intensity.

Oh, shit!

I had seen that newspaper page earlier, and I could honestly say my heart skipped when I first saw the picture. The memory of Edward's gaze was like a burn on my skin … my whole body … it felt like he was there with me as I stared at both our faces. The sexual tension between us was palpable, even I could admit it, but I had been forcing myself to believe no one had noticed it. I guess I was wrong.

"You explain that picture to me, Bella."

I ignored her. "Why the hell am I even in the news? That picture has nothing to do with this fucking country … and … and …" I was at a loss for words.

"Yeah, it does. When it pertains to any member of the royal family, it's news."

"Now you talk! Yesterday, you were all – it's all right … the press will not have anything to say about you with regards to Edward. Look where your assurance brought me?" I yelled at her, almost panicked. I had reined in my anxiety earlier so as not to alert anyone of what I felt, but not anymore. I needed to lash out at someone, and she was the best target. It was her idea that landed me in this situation in the first place. "You need to fix this!"

I was seething by the time I finished my rant. She just closed her eyes, like she was trying to stay calm.

"When I said there won't be any negative press about you, I thought you had no more feelings for him … nor he you, but –"

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me, Bella. Just look at that picture … even the blurriness of the print couldn't deny you two still have the hots for each other."

"Arggh, you're insufferable!" I stomped my foot in frustration. Yeah, I was being immature about it … sue me!

"All I'm saying is, even if we set things straight … nobody will believe it," she explained. "Honestly, I'm even having a hard time believing there's nothing going on."

"I swear to God, if you were someone else, I would have thrown you out on your ass," I muttered and slumped back on the couch. I covered my face with a pillow, and let loose a loud scream.

I didn't need this. I had gone through it a few years ago, and I didn't want a repeat. Dammit!

"What's this?" I heard Alice ask, and I yanked the pillow from my face and looked at her. She was holding one of the cards, her brows furrowed together in a frown. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out, so I closed it again.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Nothing, huh? How do you explain these cards? I assumed they are recent."

"Alice …"

"He's been sending you flowers. Since when?"

There was no use denying it. "Last week."

"So that's why you didn't want to attend the party yesterday," she said, sounding like she just had an epiphany. "Why didn't you tell me?"

What the hell was wrong with people? It seemed everyone wanted to know every aspect of my life. "Because there's nothing to tell!"

"Again with that 'nothing'. Tell that to someone who'll believe you, sister." I could feel the bitterness in her words, and suddenly, I was confused.

"What makes you think you have the right to every freaking detail of my life? He just sent me flowers, but that's all!"

"That's all?" she asked incredulously. "You're so naïve, Bella. Your ex sends you flowers and you think it's only because he wants to be friends?" She snorted, shaking her head in disbelief.

I didn't respond, just sat fuming at her and her ridiculous assumptions.

"He's making an effort and you just brush it off like its something inconsequential. Why is that?"

"I just can't, okay?" She was really starting to piss me off. I glared at her, hoping she would drop this topic about Edward and the fucking flowers. "Why are you so adamant about all this, anyway? It's none of your business."

She just shrugged, ignoring my question. "So, you're telling me you're not even a tiny bit affected by this sweet gesture?"

I just stared at her, my frown deepening as I tried to understand her desire to discuss and dissect this part of my life. Maybe there was something missing, something I wasn't seeing clearly.

"Don't you get it? You and Edward … you're like this fairy tale nobody believes in anymore."

"Are you kidding me with this, Alice?"

"No, I'm not."

I had had enough of this bullshit. "I don't want to talk about this anymore." I pushed up from the couch, ready to show her to the door. She had just given me a headache with all these stupid ideas she had.

I heard her move behind me, her heels clicking as she did.

"Did you know I have always been jealous of you?"

"What? Why?" I spun around to face her, totally in shock at what she had just said.

She shrugged, suddenly all timid and shy, looking down at her shoes like she was contemplating on how to explain.

"You're beautiful, Alice. Feisty and independent, and a whole lot more successful than I am. I don't understand why you have any reason to be envious of me."

"I do … I really do," she answered reluctantly. "You know I've always been a hopeless romantic … it's who I am. Countless times, I envisioned myself being swept off my feet by my very own knight in shining armor."

I rolled my eyes, because now she was just being plain ridiculous.

"The way he looks at you, Bella. It's like nothing I have ever seen before." She looked at me, like she was pleading me to believe what she just said. "I promised myself if someone looked at me like he did you, I would snag that man and never let him go." Her voice was low, but there was no denying the conviction in her tone. "But no one did."

"Jasper …" I whispered.

"Jasper loves me, I know that … but he never looks at me that way." The sadness in her eyes made me want to comfort her for whatever it was she thought she missed or was missing.

All this was messed up … one freaking mess.

I sighed, suddenly so tired.

"The love you had with Edward was one in a million. Not everyone has that, you know. And you let it all slip away."

"Are you for real?" I snapped. "You don't get to judge me."

She didn't have the right to talk about my past like she really knew what happened. She was just an audience.

"You know what I mean. He proposed and you said no!"

"You don't know anything," I hissed.

"I know a lot more than you think! You were scared, and you broke his heart."

"Yes, I was scared … I was so goddamn scared I would ruin his life!" I shouted, and her eyes widened in shock, like she was slapped. I was so furious; I could feel the blood rushing to my brain. "Is that what you want to hear, huh, Alice?"

"I-"

"Do you want to hear how fucked up it was?! How it broke my heart into a million pieces just because I needed for him not to choose me, huh?"

She opened her mouth again, but I cut her short.

"Save it."

"Alice, I think it's time for you to go." It was Jessica. She was here. It was evident she had heard the conversation between Alice and me, and she didn't like it.

"I guess that's for the best," Alice agreed, all timid and shy. I glared at her back as she grumpily trudged toward the door to leave.

I felt Jessica wrap her arms around my shoulders, and it was then I realized I was shaking.

"Let's get you something to drink."

OOOOOOOOOO

I had my head on Jessica's lap, her fingers running through my hair in a comforting manner. It had been good timing on her part to have interrupted us – Alice and me – earlier. I knew there was a good reason I gave her the spare key to my apartment.

My sister had been gone for over an hour now, but I was still reluctant to talk about what had transpired earlier. Jess didn't bring up the topic after Alice had left, but I was certain she was dying to pry all the details out of me. I, on the other hand, was too content to avoid it entirely. Jess could read all of my moods and would let me be … most of the time.

Too bad she was ready to talk. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head, and she gave me a sad smile. I still told her what happened though.

"Alice was just being her bitchy self. You know how she is."

There was a popular sitcom on, but it couldn't hold my attention. I was too busy contemplating on what my sister had said. Although it was hard to hear, what she said was only the truth. Edward had proposed and I said no. It was the reason why the promise he had broken was a little easier to accept; that somehow my refusal to his marriage proposal might have something to do with him not coming back like he promised. Alice was right. I had broken his heart and in turn, shattered mine into a million pieces.

"Do you think I'm a bad person?"

"No, you're not. You did what you had to do. You explained your reasons to Edward. He accepted them, and for a minute, even I believed he understood. It's not your fault he didn't come back."

"But Jess-"

"No buts. It's not you're fucking fault, okay?" she reassured, her eyes searching my face for any doubts. Although I wasn't totally convinced I didn't have a hand on the outcome of my relationship like she wanted me to believe, her lending an ear to listen made it all better. "If he had broken his promise, then he's an asshole in my book."

I sighed, knowing not to argue with her about this. She was never on Edward's side and would likely never be. She was always team Bella … no matter what.

"You loved him, Bella. I know that for a fact. If your own damn sister doesn't know that … then to hell with her." She took a deep breath and blew air through her mouth. "Edward would have realized how you would've given it all for him, you know. If only he came back."

"But he didn't, so … " I shrugged.

"Remember Garrett? He was proof of what I'm saying."

Garrett was my rebound after Edward. After months of waiting in vain for Edward to show up, I had had enough. Garrett was a family friend and he was always such a gentleman, I had decided to give him a chance. We dated for over three months when he started to hint he wanted more than making out on the couch. I was scared, but eventually agreed to have sex with him. That didn't happen though. I had frozen beneath him, just laid there unresponsive to his ministrations, barely responding to his kisses. It was when I started shaking he had stopped. It was very embarrassing for both of us. His embarrassment made him angry, which could be attributed to him calling me frigid. He had apologized after for his tirade, but the damage had been done. Maybe if he had been patient and waited for the right moment until I was ready to finally have sex with him, we might have worked out. Our friendship ended the same night I ended our relationship, which was the day after that whole debacle. I forgot about him and whatever role he had in my life easily because he wasn't the one I really wanted, but the words that stung had stayed with me ... his words. Up to this day, what he had called me … labeled me, still haunted me.

"Yeah, he was a mistake." Maybe Garrett coming into and leaving my life had a purpose. Just as Edward did.

"You got that right. That guy was a douche."

"Garrett wasn't so bad, you know. I was the one who used him."

Jessica only hummed in response, letting me know she wasn't really agreeing with what I just said.

"What am I going to do about Edward, Jess? He seems determined to come back into my life."

I heard her sigh, raising her legs beneath me so I was forced to sit up and face her.

"Do you want him back?"

Although she had been vocal of her dislike of Edward, she never discouraged me from following my heart. That at least gave me the courage to tell her what I felt.

"Honestly, I dunno. I'm scared of what this will all mean. I'm already in the news again as it is. If he insists on doing whatever this is he's doing, then I'll be in the hot seat again. And I'm not sure I'm ready for all that again."

"Well, hell I can say I don't like the guy, but if we just talk about looks and money, then he's the best candidate there is out there."

"Jessica!"

"Chill, Bella. I was just making observations," she said, her eyes rolling like she couldn't believe my reaction. "But you've got to admit, what I said was the truth."

I groaned, because even if I tried to deny it, deep down inside me I knew she was right. Totally right.

OOOOOOOOOO

"I know you like this," I said, leaning down to kiss my father's cheek. He grunted in response and I smiled.

The first baseline of the song Never My Love started to softly and slowly serenade us. This was his favorite song, and as the melody wafted through the whole room, there was no denying his love for this classical hit. The twinkle in his eyes made my heart soar. It almost felt like he was his old, usual self – boisterous and funny.

He and I had a special bond even my mother couldn't explain. He was my best confidant, and now that he could no longer talk, it felt like something was missing. Although I wished for the old times with him, his extended life was already a gift in itself and I was grateful for that.

My head leaned on his shoulder, my hand resting beside his on the arm of the wheelchair. If sitting here beside my father could afford me the comfort I needed, then I would do just that. My conversation with Jessica last night helped, but I still needed to see my father. Just because.

I felt a light touch on my hand. It was his pinky finger gracing the outer skin of my palm. I raised my head in question, turning to face him so I could see what he was trying to say.

"Daddy?"

He had his mouth open, like he was trying to find the words. His eyes closed and opened, clearly in distress, and I understood. He was comforting me the only way he knew how.

"Oh, Daddy! Don't fret. I'm okay," I reassured him. He stopped blinking and just stared at my face, searching and analyzing. Somewhere from deep within me knew he could feel something was bothering me, and he wanted me to confide in him like I used to. He had no wise words for me, but somehow he could still calm me in a way my sister and mother couldn't.

"I'm sorry if I didn't tell you right away," I started tentatively. "It's just that I don't want to stress you out."

He grunted and I stared at his face. He had this tight concentration on his face that told me he wanted me to tell him.

"Edward's back, Daddy."

There was no grunt this time, only silence.

"I dunno what to do," I continued, sighing as I laid my head back on his shoulder.

I felt his pinky finger brush against my skin, and I smiled.

A shrilling sound cut through the music. I fished out my phone out of my purse and checked the screen. It was an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Bella," he rasped, sending my heartbeat to overdrive. "I need to talk to you."

So ... what do you think? He proposed and she said no. A little more light shed on their situation. PM me if you have more questions.

Happy 2013! c",)