The story deals with adult subject matter and occasional description of explicit sexual abuse. Not meant for underage readers. Read at your own peril. And oh, Twilight belongs to SM. This is just a fanfiction.

Beautiful Sorrow

End of Chapter 13:

If he knew then what he knew now, he would have fortified himself against that allure and send her on her way after the five minutes that Carmen had asked of him. But he didn't know any better, and he allowed his tired, jetlagged mind to follow the beckon of the siren's call. And as fate would have it, the carefully constructed ship of his life would crash and sink against the deadly rocks of her shore.

Chapter 14

Carlisle, 2004

"Come in," he said when he heard a hesitant knock on his door.

The scared looking girl walked in with timid steps and came to stand before his vast desk. Her chocolate brown eyes were wide with surprise, like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. He saw little resemblance between her and the little girl he once met three years prior. Though to be honest, he hardly noticed her presence at that time.

He tried to recall the content of the article she had written in 'Fresh in Forks'. He had only given it a cursory scan last week, but he remembered the gist. He assumed the letter from Jenks had been delivered to her family by now, and sending in the culprit to grovel was their attempt to seek leniency from him. Despite being exhausted and completely unwilling to meet her moments ago, he was suddenly quite interested to hear what she might have to say.

This could prove to be entertaining, he thought.

He waited for her to talk, but she had been rendered completely speechless it seemed. After nearly a full minute of her standing like a deer caught in the headlights, he decided to break the silence.

"Miss Swan, I understand you wanted to see me?"

His words shook her out of the spell and she haltingly began her plea.

"Good evening, sir. Thank you so much for seeing me. I know I should have made an appointment first, but I really needed to see you and apologize. I know you are mad at me- at us. But if you just let me explain sir, you will see it was really just a simple mi-"

"Misunderstanding? You did not write the article in that magazine?" He interrupted her with a sharply pointed question.

"Uhh… no, I mean yes, I did write it, but-"

"And you and your family were aware that I specifically asked that you didn't do that?" He continued on with his razor-sharp questioning.

"Uhh, yes sir, we did, but what happened was really not what you think. I didn't mean any disrespect, or to disregard your… your rules, but-"

"But you still wrote a three-page article and published it in a magazine. Now, how is that not disrespecting me, Miss Swan?"

Isabella was completely flustered and close to tears. Whatever courage that was pushing her on up until this point was liquefied under his terse interrogation. She swallowed down her nerves and tried to form a new line of defense but came up short.

Carlisle found himself enjoying this game immensely. Much to his surprise, witnessing the girl flounder for words and tremble like a new born fawn jolted his mind out of the sluggish jetlag he was experiencing after his long journey. He was no longer yearning for a comfortable bed and some quiet shut eye. She was clearly afraid of him. That was not surprising. He knew he had that effect on people. But there was something in her demeanor that belied more than fear.

She considered him a hero, Carmen had said. A laughable concept, but the awe and reverence with which she looked at him confirmed that theory.

He found that oddly intoxicating. He knew it would take very little to push her over the edge and make her cry. And admittedly, he was slightly curious to see if tears would make her look more enticing or not. But in the end he decided it would be more intriguing to hear her stumble through her words.

Keeping his face impassive, he signaled to the girl. "Would you care to take a seat, Miss Swan?"

She scurried closer and sat down opposite him, still as nervous as ever. She'd been up since the crack of dawn today and her trek through Forks leading to Seattle, and all the way to the Cullen headquarters, hadn't been an easy one. She was tired, hungry, and devastatingly awestruck by Carlisle's very presence.

He looked a million times better than what she remembered. She couldn't look at him directly, neither could she look away. He was angry at her, she could tell. But the carefully worded plea she had planned to deliver had become a mushy blur in her mind as soon as she'd entered his room.

He was looking at her expectantly and she knew she needed to start forming coherent sentences soon. He was a busy man who was under no obligation to give her an audience. She needed to make the best use of the opportunity the kind lady had forged for her; to make him see how the whole affair with 'Fresh in Forks' was not her fault. Or, at the very least, how her parents shouldn't suffer for her mistake.

"Mr. Cullen, sir, I didn't mean to have that piece published at all. I wrote it for my college application. You see, our guidance counselor, Mr. Berty, he thought it would encourage the students if there was some kind of a reward for writing a good essay. He is friends with the editor of the journal, and I guess he really liked mine, 'cause he submitted it." She blurted out the words in a single breath, grateful that he didn't interrupt her.

"This is your college essay?" Carlisle asked incredulously.

"Yes, sir. It was."

"Did you get accepted?"

"Yes, I did."

"And you had no prior knowledge that your guidance counselor was going to submit it for publication?"

Bella was instantly beleaguered by a dilemma; the temptation to lie was great, but wouldn't she be compounding her crime if she misrepresented the truth?

"Uhh… I did know, sort of, I mean he told us he would publish the best essay, but when I signed up I didn't know what I was going to write. And I forgot all about it after I sent off my application." Plagued with guilt, she looked down at her lap.

"So, you are admitting that you've disregarded my request through callousness and poor memory?" He cocked his head and asked her, keeping the amusement out of his face.

Feeling cornered and defenseless, Bella grasped for straws.

"But sir, if you take a look at what I wrote you'll see that I didn't mean any disrespect. It doesn't say anything negative about you; it doesn't have any personal information. There's nothing in there that can ever be of any harm to you, sir."

"I have taken a look, Miss Swan. Writing pretty things about me doesn't change the fact that you have categorically defied the one thing that I asked you not to do. I have some very good reasons for asking your family to keep me out of print. The rationale behind it is not for you to question. And it's not up to you to decide whether or not any harm can come out of it. In fact, your article could very well cause me considerable harm. It has done so already!" He lectured her sternly,

enunciating the last sentence for greater effect.

"How?" she asked with puzzlement in her voice, unable to fathom his accusation. Her befuddled innocence nearly made him want to crack a smile to put her at ease, but he resisted the urge.

He took an exaggerated breath to feign impatience and then began explaining, "Do you know how many people work for me, Miss Swan?"

She shook her head uncertainly. She possibly couldn't hazard a guess.

"In this building alone, I have two thousand and thirty-seven people working for me. In my estate in Forks: thirty-two. Do you suppose all of them have it written in their contract that in the unfortunate event any of them experience a life altering accident or illness, I will look after their family for the rest of their lives? In case you are wondering, it doesn't. How do you suppose my employees will feel if they happen to come by this article of yours? What kind of expectation would I be setting them up for? And how do you think it will influence their morale and productivity when they realize they are not one of the fortunate few to benefit the same way that your family has?

"Have you thought about that, Miss Swan? Do you see now how you have 'harmed' me with your offhanded actions?"

Bella's face paled. Of course she hadn't thought about any of that. Not once did it cross her mind that her devotion and praises for this god-like being could actually cause him so much aggravation. That certainly was not her intention but she did it nonetheless. She single handedly wrecked her family's future, and she'd insulted the man she had nothing but gratitude and high regard for.

All hope and resolve left her body. She slumped in her chair and surrendered to tears that she had no chance of fighting off. She choked out her words in a final supplication.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that. I was wrong. It's my fault. Please don't punish my family for what I did; my mom and dad didn't know. They would never have let me do it if they knew. It's not their fault. Please, sir…"

She covered her face with her hands and sobbed as silently as she could. Like Adam being banished from Eden, she had no defense or excuse as to why she couldn't abide by the one rule her benefactor laid out for her. She would be thrown off of Heaven's edge for her transgressions and she'd be taking her innocent parents with her. The promise of a bright future that came with college was nothing but a pipe dream now.

Carlisle sat frozen for a few moments; all amusement gone from his mind. Though he found everything about this girl enticingly curious, he really didn't want to make her cry. He felt ashamed that he'd been stressing her out for no reason other than his own juvenile entertainment. He had decided to reinstate the Swans as soon as Carmen pleaded their case. She'd deemed it important enough to invest a significant part of her last day at work to bring it to his attention; that was good enough for him. Yet, instead of being nice to the girl like Carmen asked him to be, he'd given her the third degree; just because it pleased him to see her blush profusely and flounder.

"Miss Swan, please don't cry. Here." He reached forward and handed her a handkerchief from his desk drawer, sounding less than sure for the first time since she walked in. He wasn't used to being around crying women. He hadn't the slightest clue as to how to console one.

Realizing she was making him uncomfortable with her tears, Bella pulled herself together using all of her will power. She wiped her face with the handkerchief he offered and taking a deep, shaky breath, she stood up to leave the room.

"Thank you for meeting me, sir, and for helping us all these years. I'm sorry that we… disappointed you. I will leave now," she said in a small voice. She had a lot of hope pinned on this mission. She recalled the promise she made to her mother the night before to fix the mess she had created. She didn't know how she was going to face Renee again.

"Miss Swan, wait." He stopped her before she could make it to the door. "I don't want you to leave here upset like this. Please, take a seat," he said in a much softer tone.

Bella understood how dreadful her appearance must be. It certainly would not be appropriate for her to be seen leaving Mr. Cullen's office in such a sorry state. She had caused enough damage already, however unknowingly. Least she could do was not embarrass him any further in front of his staff. Thankfully there were only a few left in the office at this hour.

She slumped back into the chair and tried to regain her composure as quickly as possible, feeling insignificant and miserable.

Carlisle knew that he could easily wipe away all of her distress by simply letting her know of his decision; that he'd changed his mind and would continue to help her parents regardless of the infraction. But then she'd leave and he'd have no other reason to keep her in his office any longer. He'd been awake for close to twenty-four hours and his brain refused to dwell on the question of why he wanted this girl to keep him company. He found her naïve innocence very refreshing, pleasantly so, and he wanted to indulge himself without analyzing things too much.

"How did you know where to find me?" It wasn't really something he was curious about, as his Seattle office was listed in the phonebook, but he wanted to hear her talk.

"Uhh…I went to your house in Forks, but the people at the gate told me they couldn't help me and suggested I contact your office for any questions. So, I decided to come here personally instead," she said hesitantly.

"You know where I live in Forks?" he asked with bemusement.

"No, I mean yes, I mean it's a small town, sir. There aren't that many nice houses like yours. Also, my mom drove my dad to work once, when I was little. I remembered the way."

She didn't want him to think of her as a crazy stalker. Not knowing his daily routine, she was hoping to catch him at his house before he left for work, wherever that might be. But the apathetic faces of the guards at the gate had set her straight on how naïve her plan was. Not only would she not be granted entrance through the gate without invitation, Mr. Cullen didn't receive uninvited visitors in his home. Her best bet was to try his office in Seattle, they had said.

"I see. And where do you live, Miss Swan? Do you have your own place, or are you still living with your parents?" He pegged her to be around eighteen, given her college plans.

"I live with my parents, sir," she said as blood surged her cheeks. She hated how it made her sound like a child.

"Does your mother know you are here now, so far from home?"

She shook her head. She'd left a note for her mother before leaving home that morning, but at the time she didn't know her mission would lead her to Seattle.

"She must be worrying about you," he pointed out thoughtfully.

She nodded. Yes, her mother probably was quite worried about her by now. She'd been gone all day without a word. She ought to be heading home. She needed to confer with her mother about the coming days and how to navigate the bleak landscape without the Cullen money to prop them up. There would be no college in her future now. The thought depressed her.

"I should go." She figured she'd collected herself enough and wasn't looking as blotchy and upset as she did a while back. "Thank you for your time, sir." She rose from her seat again and decided to risk a glance at his face one last time. She was thankful to see that he didn't look angry.

"Are you driving back by yourself?" he asked.

"No, my car broke down this morning. I took the bus, or three buses," she answered. She wasn't even sure if there were buses going back to Forks that late. She ought to have checked the return timetable. She cursed her stupidity and braced to spend the night at the station.

"You can't possibly be thinking of taking the bus back to Forks now! Even if they have services running this late, it would get you there in the middle of the night. It's not a sound plan," he objected.

"Uhh… I'll be ok, sir. Please don't worry about me. I won't leave the station if there aren't any buses until the morning. I'm sure it's safe." She was naively hoping that a public place like the Greyhound station would be safe enough for a girl to spend the night.

"Nonsense. You will do no such thing. I am heading to Forks tonight and I will drop you off at your house." He spoke with irrefutable authority. He had no plans of making the trek to his estate that night. He was hoping to crash at his condo in Seattle where he spent most nights during the week. But knowing she'd be making such an arduous and unsafe journey all on her own, this late in the evening, decided the matter for him.

Bella looked frightfully torn. She didn't want to inconvenience him, yet she didn't have the courage to protest either.

"I… I don't want to cause any more trouble…" she softly voiced her concern.

"It's no trouble. But I need you to call your mother and let her know that you are safe and that you will be home before," he said as he quickly checked the time on his watch, "eleven. Here, use my phone." He moved the device across the desk so she could use it without having to walk around to his side.

She hesitated again. What would she tell her mother? Would Renee be mad that she'd come all the way to Seattle to confront Mr. Cullen?

Sensing her reluctance, he decided to give her some privacy.

"I'll leave you to it. We'll be on our way in five minutes."

He left her in his office and walked over to the receptionist's desk to have him call his driver to have his car ready.

Bella quickly dialed their house number to let her mother know of her whereabouts. As she had guessed, Renee was frantic with worry. She was riddled with guilt for talking to her daughter so harshly the night before and was terribly afraid that she might have driven Bella away. It took a few moments to calm her down and let her know that she was alright and will be coming home within the next three hours or so.

Renee was shocked to hear that Bella was in Seattle, at Carlisle Cullen's office no less. She had a million questions, but Bella cut the call short after promising to give her all the details once she got home.

As she waited for Carlisle to come and collect her for their drive back to Forks, she began to accept the inevitability of her situation. If it wasn't 'Fresh in Forks', something else would have brought down their precarious house of cards eventually. They possibly couldn't have carried on living off of someone else's generosity forever. Granted it was happening sooner than what would have been ideal, but such was life. At least, now she was almost an adult and her father's medical care had dwindled down to routine check-ups, prescription meds, and physical therapy only. Yes, they occasionally needed a home-carer to cover for times neither her mother nor her could be at home, but if they really tried hard they would be able to come up with some kind of a solution.

The only sure casualty right now would be her immediate dream of a college education, but maybe someday she'd be able to make that happen too. She must not allow this to embitter her for life. She would always be grateful to Carlisle Cullen to make the last three years immeasurably easier for them. She wouldn't hold it against him for deciding to withdraw his support. After all, she did, for all intents and purposes, bite the proverbial hand that fed them. She couldn't blame him for his anger. In her eyes, he still was an angel; a wrathful, avenging one perhaps, but an angel nonetheless.

Instead, she decided to revel in the good fortune of having the chance to be in the same car as Carlisle Cullen for the next several hours. It could very well be the last and only time she'd ever be this close to the man.

Soon Carlisle returned and asked her to follow him to the underground parking lot. The sleek looking luxury car that awaited them was undoubtedly the nicest that she'd ever seen in her life. A well dressed man, whom she correctly assumed to be the chauffeur, held the door open for Carlisle, but he motioned for her to get in first. She found the interior of the car to be just as impressive as the outside. The back cab was nearly as big as a small room with soft, leather seats and a clean, tantalizing smell that she associated with Mr. Carlisle.

She tried to mask her astonishment, but knew she failed when she saw a small smirk on Carlisle's face.

The roads were fairly deserted at this hour, and once the car made it to route 101, she could hardly detect any vibration or noise from the machine to indicate they were moving at all.

"How long had you been waiting for me today?" Carlisle broke the silence.

"Since a little after two."

"When was the last time you ate?" he inquired.

She hadn't eaten anything since the granola bar she wolfed down at the bus station in Port Angeles that morning. The anticipation of her wait and the excitement of actually meeting Carlisle had worked miracles to suppress her hunger pangs until now but she was undoubtedly famished.

"I'm ok. I can eat when I get home," she said without answering him directly.

"Well, I happen to be starving, so I hope you won't mind if we stopped for a bite," he announced.

He instructed the driver to fetch them two orders of burgers when the car pulled into the next rest stop. Ray, the driver got out wordlessly to bring them their food while they both stayed in the car. Ray started the car and resumed their journey after delivering their burgers.

Despite her hunger, she hesitated to dig into her meal. Being served by someone was new to her, particularly when the person bringing her the food was not eating too. In addition, seeing Carlisle eat something as mundane as a rest stop burger threw her off the loop a little. Logically, she knew that he had to eat to survive, just like every other human being, but somehow she'd always imagined him to only take nourishment from the best of the best that the culinary world had to offer.

"Unlike you and me, Ray actually had the chance to have all three meals today. Trust me, Miss Swan, I don't starve those who work for me," Carlisle said, almost as if he could read her mind.

"Uhh… I wasn't… I'm sorry, I never thought you did. Thank you for the food, sir."

"You are welcome," he said with a smile that melted her heart.

They ate in silence. The nourishment rejuvenated her. With her hunger sated, she could truly begin to appreciate the rare opportunity this car ride represented. She was sitting next to Carlisle Cullen; her idol and hero. Regardless of the outcome of her mission today, he was and always would be the miracle that saved her family from sure destitution. The fact that he was angry and disappointed in them now was purely her own fault; the blame for that rested fully on her shoulders.

She tried to observe him without being obvious which, admittedly, wasn't very easy. Carlisle seemed to have a sixth sense about it and would catch her every time she tried to steal a glance. After being caught a few times, leading her face to flush with shame, she deemed it best to look out the window and spare them both the embarrassment. But in the close confines of the car, she was painfully aware of his presence. He was too perfect; too beautiful. Someone like him ought to belong to a pantheon of gods, not among the mere mortals like her. She felt unworthy and out of place.

More than once she wanted to ask him to call her by her first name instead of being addressed so formally, but she couldn't bring herself to speak aloud. So she tucked herself as far into one corner of the seat as possible, and pretended to be invisible as she discreetly tried to catch his reflection on the tinted window of the car.

"What school will you be attending?" Carlisle suddenly asked her, breaking the silence inside the car. He'd noticed the curious way she lowered her gaze every time she spoke to him; with reverence and humility, as though she was addressing royalty. It wasn't anything like the trained etiquette he'd come to expect from the people he encountered in his line of work every day. She intrigued him and he wanted to hear her talk.

"Huh?" She was jolted out of her novice attempt at espionage.

"You said you wrote the essay as a part of your college application. Which school did you apply to?" he elaborated.

"Oh, it's University of Washington; that's where I got accepted."

"What will you be studying there, have you decided?"

"Uh… not really. I was going to start with the core courses. And maybe pick a concentration in year-2." She felt she was being dishonest in her answers. All these plans were moot now. She would not be attending college; at least not in the near future.

The despondency in her voice didn't go unnoticed by Carlisle.

"Aren't you happy with your school choice, Miss Swan?"

"No, no. It's nothing like that; UW was my first choice. It's got a decent social sciences program, and the tuition isn't too bad. And it's close to home." She defended her pick of school. "And please, call me Isabella, or Bella," she added, finally coughing up the courage to make a direct request.

He smiled and tested out her name. "Very well, Isabella. Have you made living arrangements yet? School starts soon, right? Are you planning on living on-campus?"

She lowered her head, sadly recalling the plans she'd made with Alice to share a place near campus. Alice would be so disappointed.

"I… my friend and I were thinking of sharing a place close to the university." She thought best not to elaborate beyond that. She had done her share of groveling for the day; she didn't want the last moments of their shared time to be marred by more pathetic attempts to invoke his sympathy.

"You don't seem too pleased with the prospect. I suppose shared living can be quite taxing, if you are a private person. I'm fairly certain UW offers single-unit dorms. Not sure if you'd get one this late, but I may know just the person who could move your name up the waiting list," he said with an indulging smile.

"Oh… thank you, sir. No, that won't be necessary. You see, I am thinking of deferring my admission this year. So, I don't really need to worry about housing and such. But thank you just the same," she protested lamely.

"Why would you make such a decision after putting so much work into getting accepted?" He scrunched his brow in disapproval. As smart a man as he was, there were draw backs of living a life of abundant riches; the simple connection between his decision to stop supporting the Swans and Bella's academic plans falling through was not instantly obvious to him.

"It's just… I think it'd be best… I'll take a year off, and start school next year maybe." She hoped her explanation sounded reasonable enough. After all, nearly everyone in her graduating class was skipping a year at least before contemplating college.

"Have you officially requested a deferral yet?"

"No, not yet." She wasn't sure if she could request one this late, but it was just as much of a moot point now as her housing situation on campus.

"Are you ordinarily this impulsive, Isabella?" he asked her with a slight reproach in his voice.

Hearing her name fall from his perfect lips made her heart jump to her throat. She hated that she was disappointing him again.

"No, it's not an impulse. I just think… I need to work and save up for tuition now, and I can run errands for my mom if I stayed home; she could use the help. So, taking a year off really is the best thing at the moment."

"I see," he said, finally connecting the dots.

He sat in silence for a while, going over Bella's responses to his questions. He found it remarkable how she was trying to refrain from using her plight to rouse pity. And it was clear that she cared deeply for her family. She reminded him of Elizabeth Masen; compassionate yet proud.

He questioned the merit of holding off telling her about his decision. It felt terrible to see her cry, but it was worse to see how quietly she was surrendering to an uncertain fate. He wanted to tell her now that she had no reason to postpone college; that he'd continue to support her family as before, but just as he prepared to speak he noticed that the girl had fallen asleep in her corner of the seat.

He watched her sleeping form and tried to analyze what he was feeling inside. She was a beautiful, young girl; probably no more than eighteen. Her innocence and gullibility made her extremely alluring to him and he couldn't deny that he was attracted to her. It wasn't only her pretty face, or the look of unalloyed wonder in her brown, expansive eyes. What made her irresistible to him was the way she made him feel. In her presence, he felt like God; and he was finding that this feeling could be quite addictive.

It had been a while since he'd been in a relationship with a woman. In fact, other than a brief and ill-fated engagement in his twenties, he'd had very few romantic relationships in his life. That was not to say he lived a life of celibacy. His work took him to far off places, and like a sailor with a 'wife' in every port, he sought the comfort of a woman's warmth that each locale afforded. He was content with the fleeting encounters and rushed rapture before he had to fly out to his next destination.

Over the course of his long life, he met countless women proficient in the art of pleasure. He had no complaints regarding their skill or style on how they satisfied his needs. But no one could ever make him feel so invincible and omnipotent as the girl sleeping next to him could do by just gazing upon him.

He didn't know what this meant for him, or for her. Would she yield to warm his bed if he asked her to? Quite possibly. But would she still see him the same way afterwards? Was that what he really wanted from her?

Another matter of consideration was her age. She was too young. He could easily have fathered a daughter her age should his life had been that of an ordinary man's. He'd routinely enjoyed the company of young women, but they tended to be at least in their early to mid-twenties. Pursuing a girl her age could be a source of great contention for him. Was she worth the trouble? His image and reputation would be called into question if he openly sought her company. But harboring a secret liaison with her promised a dangerous, slippery slope which he didn't relish either.

His musings were brought to an end when he realized that they were already in the outskirts of Forks. Neither he nor Ray knew the exact location of the Swan household, so he had to wake up Bella from her slumber.

"Wake up, Isabella. We are almost home." He touched her shoulder to shake her gently. In the moments before she opened her eyes, he had to admit to himself that he certainly was enamored by the girl.

He wanted her.

She rapidly sat up to gather her bearings, looking embarrassed for falling asleep.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep," she murmured as she averted her eyes shyly.

"No worries. Looked like you could use the rest. Ray here needs to know where your house is. Would you please give him directions?"

They were not too far from her house. As they settled in quietly for the last few minutes of their journey, he prepared to broach the subject of his decision regarding her family.

"Isabella, if I asked you to do something for me, would you do it?" he asked cryptically.

"Uh… me?" She wasn't sure if she had heard him right. What could he possibly want her to do? Of course she would; whatever it was, but she must have misheard him.

"Yes, you. If I asked you to do something for me, would you do it? Without question?" he repeated.

"Anything," she said with complete conviction.

He smiled and apprised her with approval.

"I want you to promise me that you will not defer your admission to college. That you will start school when session starts."

She was completely caught off guard by his request. She had no idea what he was going to ask of her, but she didn't expect this demand either. She felt terribly trapped. She had already promised him her compliance, but she didn't have the means to carry through with his command.

"I…I… uhh…" She struggled with words and then surrendered to complete incoherence. She wanted to cry for repeatedly demonstrating her ineptitude to the man she worshiped.

"And I also need you to deliver a message from me," he continued, pretending not to notice her distress. "I'd like you to tell your mother that everything will be back to as it was. Jenks will call her in a day or two to sort out the mess. Can you promise to do that for me, Isabella?"

It took a moment or two for the implication of his words to sink in. Was he toying with her? He couldn't possibly be so heartless.

"But… but you said that… you said what I did… but you said I damaged your productivity, hurt your business…" She fumbled on without actually being able to articulate her disbelief.

"Yes, you did a terrible thing; disregarding what I had categorically asked you not to do is not something I tolerate normally. But," he paused for effect, "you have done a very good job to convince me that you deserve a second chance. So, if you are willing to make that promise to me, that you will not postpone college, I am willing to overlook your error in judgment, this one time.

"So, what will it be, Isabella?" he asked her with a touch of theatrics, minutely watching her face to see her reaction.

She did not disappoint. Her eyes lit up like a million stars and her face broke into the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen on a woman. She was incandescent with hope and promise, and he felt intoxicated by the sense of power it brought him; the power of knowing that only he could make her blossom like that.

She nodded her head vehemently instead of speaking out loud; coherent speech still seemed to be eluding her. She felt tears pricking her eyes that she wiped away with her hands before they could cause her further embarrassment. Her hero had come through for her again, despite her unworthiness and stupidity. Her heart melted in gratitude. She could barely choke out, "Thank you, sir."

"You are welcome, Isabella. Now I think you should go in before your mother becomes too worried," he said with a satisfied smile, pointing at the house in front of which their car was parked. In all the excitement of the past few minutes Bella hadn't noticed when they had arrived at her home.

She quickly exited the car and stood outside of her house, hoping she could somehow find her voice to properly thank him for his generosity.

"Good luck with college, Isabella. Give my regards to Charlie, would you? I hope we meet again."

With those parting words, his car pulled away from the Swan driveway, leaving behind a bedazzled, young girl rooted to the spot. His rational mind, which normally dictated all his decisions, told him to keep his distance from Isabella Swan; that prettier and better skilled, not to mention age appropriate, substitutes could easily be found elsewhere. But his heart was already addicted to the high only she could provide. As he approached his estate that night, he was already thinking of ways he would orchestrate his next fix.

AN1: Thank you lulabelle98, for making all this readable. I couldn't do it without her. Please read her story The Long Walk Home.

Thank you Detochkina for pre-reading and pointing out holes the size of Chicago! She is awesome. Don't miss out on her story Sinnerman. It's amazingly unique.

Thank you WutheringBites for validating my story at Twilighted. I am most grateful.

Thanks to Dooba, Shattered1025, KrazyK85_, Twinerdforlife, jneag2071, LauraHilary, I2want2knowu, bmango77, musicflare87, jneag2071, anhanninen, opheliasmuse, twilover76, lels2768, yesmrcullen, and lulabelle98 for WCs. You ladies rock! They are all esteemed authors. Please check out their stories.

AN2: I check my traffic stat when I post a new chapter and find it absolutely fascinating that I have readers from such far off places as Bangladesh, Israel, and Norway! There's even someone from the United Arab Emirates. Wow! Drop me a line guys; would love to chat.

Come find me on twitter: ToTheDreaming.

I am thankful to all those who've read, reviewed, alerted and fav-d my story. Kindly review and let me know what you think. It kinda helps... Ok, no shit, it REALLY helps!