Hello everyone!

I was planning on posting this chapter on Wednesday but WORD was being an ass and it deleted 3 of the pages...yeah I had to write it down again. UGH! Anyway a bigggg thank you to all my readers especially babybaby15, rpattz granny, mrzcullenxo5 and SabLuvsLogan for reviewing every time. I was absolutely sure no one was going to read my shit after such a long gap...so thanks a lot :)

I wish that more of you would review since there are a lot of people out there who is putting this story on their alert list. So I have come up with an idea. If you hate reviewing then rate the chapters on the scale of 10. Just press the review button on the bottom of the page, write the number and press submit. I ask for nothing else.

Chapter 9

Edward dropped another stack of files onto the desk and sank into the big leather chair with a sigh. This wasn't going to work. He had hoped that spending the entire week through the reports, or sorting the medical cases in alphabetical order would help to occupy his mind. But it was a futile effort. He just could not stop thinking of her whether he was working or at home in bed, which is where he had been until he gave up on sleeping. He tossed a manila folder back on his desk and pressed the heels of his hand against his closed eyes.

14 voice mails, 20 phone calls and 10 messages unanswered.

This was a very big mistake. He refused to believe that her presence in his life has altered everything. But it was nerve wrecking when all he could think about was her. Many a times he questioned himself as to why he was running after her when she wanted nothing from him. He decided to forget her completely but then the next second he was pressing his thumb on the keypad and dialing her cell phone. Though, she never answered.

The only time she did, she made it clear that it was all over. But how could it be over when it didn't even start? There was so much to be said and done...nothing was over. He could not give her up this easily knowing all of it has been a misunderstanding. If he would have told her about the bet, about Jasper then none of this would have ever happened.

God, he wanted her!

Not just naked in his bed-though every time he thought of making love to her, his body's reaction was potent enough to drive him crazy. He wanted more than their bodies to be naked, sweaty and satiated. With Bella he wanted bodies, souls, hearts, naked and everything. That was what had his head spinning and his stomach in knots. It terrified him but at the same time he wanted it so ridiculously.

This was the closest he had ever felt to being alive.

He paced in his room frantically, thinking of ways to get to her, to finally make her listen to him. But the question was what he could do that he already hasn't? His fingers became a permanent resident in his hair as tried to come up with an idea. What could it be…what would make her listen…suddenly his eyes fell on the busy street out of the large window. He walked towards the glass and searched for the one shop he knew was close by.

When he found it, a wide grin spread across his face.

Maybe this could work?

His lips came down on her with need and fervor. His tongue sought entrance inside her hot mouth and danced across every surface, rubbing, sucking and curling against her.

She sighed.

Alice was backed up against the door of the ladies washroom making out with Jasper Whitlock. Her legs were wrapped around his waist as he assaulted her with his hands and lips. She has never been this happy. If few days back someone told her that she would be grinding against Jasper Whitlock in the ladies washroom she would have laughed her ass off. But now she knew this wasn't a dream anymore...this was real and she has finally got what she wanted.

Alice was so content that most of the time she failed to observe Jasper's ignorance. After the quarrel between the best friends, Jasper had offered Alice to move in his house fully believing that she would reject the offer. But the next day when he was awaken bright and early from sleep by a tiny girl and 4 suitcases, he knew he was doomed.

Alice cooked for him, kept his house clean, did laundry and got him laid. Even though he found her blabbers irritating but he was a man and anything with tits and pussy would do for him. Hence he took her for granted. But there was always Becky, Amy and Elena in his mind. Alice presence in his life didn't stop him from visiting his others girls. Many nights he would return home late to find a waiting Alice. She would whine on his disappearance and he would spoon her and then have sex and everything was forgotten and forgiven.

That was exactly what Jasper was doing in the ladies washroom currently. He slept at Jenny's last night and faced Alice's wrath the next morning.

"Were you cheating on me?" Alice had asked timidly. He was almost in the verge of shouting "I am not your freaking husband" but then thought better.

Instead he made puppy dog eyes at her and replied in a hurtful tone "You don't trust me?"

That was enough to guilt Alice.

In his mind he knew he had the upper hand in everything, but he still didn't want to take any chance. Jasper was perfectly sure that he would be thrown out like a dog from his own place if he yelled at her. Moreover he didn't want to lose the opportunity of watching Isabella Swan Cullen crumble in front of him every single time he was with Alice.

Dr Jasper Whitlock was having the time of his life.

He pressed his erection to her warm center urgently as a moan escaped her lips. One hand clutched her wrist and pinned it above her head while the other went up her shirt.

"Hellooooo?" A woman knocked on the door and Alice immediately untangled herself from Jasper. He took the chance to take her earlobe in between his teeth and sucked on it.

"Yeaa...I...I'm...I will...I will be out...in a second" Alice panted. He bit down on her lobe and a whimper escaped her lips.

"Are you okay there honey?" the concerned women asked.

His hand palmed her tits, rubbing and pinching her nipples with firm pressure while he placed open mouth kisses on her exposed shoulder.

"Yes" she shrieked. The women on the other side looked at the door strangely and then shrugged off thinking about some weird chick going through loose motion. She washed her hands and walked out of the washroom.

Alice grabbed on Jasper's hand and removed it from her body.

"What are you doing?" Jasper demanded. Alice clamped her hands on his mouth and hushed.

"We were just seconds away from being caught" Alice retorted.

"As if I care" He answered back in annoyance.

"But I do care Jasper" Alice argued. "I don't want to be thrown out of the hospital"

Jasper rolled his eyes, then pushed past her to open the door and walked away from the ladies washroom as if he had no care in the world. Alice looked at his retreating form and sighed. She has made him upset once again.

"I have prescribed him a diuretic, ACE inhibitor and beta-blocker" James noted.

"I don't think he can take an ACE inhibitor" Jessica quipped.

"In that case we should give him ARB" Bella added.

James nodded to both Jessica and Bella and neatly scribbled it on the white crisp paper. They sat on the big round table and moved on to the next chart, just when a voice interrupted.

"Dr Isabella Swan?" A staff member called as he eyed the two women in the room. Bella nodded in his way and watched as he produced a beautiful bouquet of lavender from behind.

"This was delivered for you."

Bella looked at the bouquet in surprise as a wide smile brightened her face. He placed the bouquet on her outstretched hands and she leant down to breathe in its fragrance. She flew back to the time when she was sixteen basking in the afternoon sunlight of Phoenix in Esme's garden reading Jane Austen's novels surrounded by lavender bushes, tulips and daisies.

Lavender has long been her favorite flower and none was aware of it other than Rosalie and Alice.

Jessica looked at James and he looked back at her as they saw the smile on Bella's face. They thought she had almost forgotten how to smile. Even though Jessica wasn't too close to Bella, but she would be foolish enough to not notice her downfall. Bella had been extremely quiet lately, talking unless entirely necessary, offering to take up others tasks, working her ass off and her eyes…there were always dim and rigid towards the entrance as if she was waiting for somebody to show up and rescue her. It had been the first time in the week that she had seen her smile.

Bella beamed at the bouquet and picked on the envelope sitting inside it. She opened the envelope carefully to find a petal-printed ivory card with fancy handwriting.

I'm sorry. I hope you know it's true.
Please let me have just one more chance to make it up to you!

-Edward

P.S. Please talk to me.

Bella clutched on the bouquet tightly as anger coursed through her veins. She got up from the table, excusing herself and then she was in the elevator pressing on the 7th floor. When she reached Room 312, she didn't even bother to knock. She flew open the door and threw the bouquet on his desk.

"What the hell is this?" Bella demanded.

Edward took off his lab coat and draped it across his chair as he silently threaded his way towards her.

"Flowers." She rolled her eyes.

"Stop fucking with me" She warned. She was ready to throw another tantrum but then she made the mistake of looking into his eyes. There was so much compassion in them that it made her inside thaw. Oh why did he have such an effect on her? All the nights she had cried herself to sleep, she was determined to forget him.

It was easy to say but difficult to pursue. After all she had been attracted to him from the very beginning. No matter how much she tried she could not. Just one look at him was enough to crumble her facade.

She was still attracted to him...and probably always will.

Nothing with Edward was ever easy...

She was already turning around, grabbing the doorknob hurrying to get away from him.

"Bella…please...please don't go" Edward pleaded. "Just listen to me once...I swear I won't keep you long."

She sighed. He will not let her go this easily. She looked between the chair and the door calculating her way out.

"Please" Edward pleaded again. Fuck it! She walked towards the chair and sat on it exhaling "This better be good"

Edward sighed and then pinched the bridge of his nose starting the conversation that he had rehearsed more than once. "I handled things badly the other night." Edward said. "I didn't intend on things to go like this…" he waved his hands between them.

"There was no bet Bella" He stated.

"Oh yeah...my mind made that shit up? Seriously Edward...if I knew your intentions then I would have never asked for help…hell I didn't even know Jasper was your cousin for crying out loud."

"Will you please listen to me?" Edward insisted. He walked towards her and turned the chair adjacent to hers so he could sit facing her. She glared at him.

"I thought you were using me." He said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. Bella looked at him in shock as if someone has punched her right in the face.

"W-Whatt?"

"I didn't mean to offend you." He groaned. He reached for her hands, not allowing his frustrations to show when she pulled back. "I thought you were like the other female doctors who came to me only because I could promote them or something… I knew Bella...I knew Jasper was out there to get you out of the operation so-"

"So you offered to help me in exchange of sex knowing full well that I will be forced to consider it" She seethed.

"I did not force you Bella" he exclaimed emphasizing on did not. "I gave you the choice...YOU chose it yourself."

"Now you are accusing me?" she slammed her hand on his desk. Edward groaned in frustration.

"I am trying to apologize, dammit, and you are not making it easier."

"If this is your way of apologizing then I am not going to sit and listen to it" She glared at him and got up from the chair. He reached up to shove his fingers through his hair.

"I am sorry..." he replied when she turned the doorknob.

"I care about you Bella...I want…"

Her breathe hitched as she stood awkwardly by the door facing away from him. What did he want to say? She turned her head slightly to look at him, and her face softened on seeing his tortured face.

"What do you want?" she whispered. He took slow steps towards her and then reached for her hand. This time she didn't pull away. She let him hold her feeling the familiar electricity pass between them. One hand trailed up from her thin waist to her neck urging her to come closer to him while the other entwined with her hand. Bella watched as his thumb caressed her fingers, rubbing slow circles on her knuckles.

His silence drew her eyes upward to meet the fire in his.

"I want you" he whispered. He cupped her cheeks tenderly and pressed his forehead against her breathing her in.

"I know you want me too"

She shook her head "How can you be so sure about how I feel?"

Edward smiled. "Because you are like an open book...your face tells everything"

"So it is easier for you to manipulate me" Bella responded. His brows snapped together and the fire in his eyes disappeared.

"I didn't -" He tried to reason but she held up her finger. "No Edward...I know that is what it is. You use whatever means are necessary to persuade everyone to do things your way."

She removed his hold from her body and just like that she was gone.

It was completely dark outside as Bella drove her way home. She has never noticed how quiet it got during the night since Alice always accompanied her and so did her babbles. It did not scare her rather it provided her the peace her mind needed so she could think, mope and grieve about all the wrongs in her life.

He was right.

She had chosen this herself. She was the one desperate to do the operation and she would have done anything for it. She just wanted to prove herself. She wanted to show that she was capable of saving others life, of being someone unlike her birth mother. She knew Sue was watching her, waiting impatiently for her to make the mistakes that Renee has done.

Her words were clear as a day in her mind.

"You look like your mother and it absolutely revolts me..." she grimaced. "You will do the same misdeeds and that day come and tell me you are a Dwyer not a Cullen"

Bella flinched as those words echoed in her mind. Sue would have never let it down if she knew that she had failed. Her words were like a knife stabbing her in the back all the time. It hurt her but she did not let it weaken her rather remembered it to strengthen her purpose.

He slammed the dashboard in frustration. The whole situation with Bella had him on edge. She was cold for half of the conversation and just when he thought she was warming up—wham—she again built her walls up. He couldn't understand why she was making this impossible. He had apologized for what he had done. He was ready to do anything for her...if only she would understand him.

"She isn't right for you" A voice hissed in his ear. His eyes rose to his eyebrow and all air left his lungs. He looked left and then right, there was no one in the car. He was hallucinating.

"She won't love you" She whispered in his ear again. His heart thudded furiously. This is not happening. He shoved his fingers in his hair and groaned. Her voice was crystal clear in his mind as if it had been just yesterday.

"No one will ever love you like I do"

"I Love You"

He slumped forward, elbows on knees, and buried his face in his hands.

"You are mine"

"Always you"

"This is not happening…no...please...please" Edward protested. His eyes focused on the huge tree in front of him. He slammed on his brakes rashly but it was too late. A look of horror passed his face as it happened in slow motion. Metal screamed, Rubber tyres burned, glasses shattered as the car collided with the tree and the sound ricocheted in the dark woods.

Within seconds everything went unnaturally still. He could smell the rusty stench of blood. His head throbbed in pain. He lay on his side, dangling in his seat belt and listening to his own heartbeat.

Thud...Thud…Thud...

His last conscious memory was the grim concern on Bella's face as she cradled his head to her chest.

Maybe this was all just a dream…

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-selfishkiss