Bella POV:

"You should not cry, Bella, dear." Aro spoke softly to me, and I could tell he didn't care for the fact that I was crying over Edward. Well, he'll just have to live with it, I thought.

"Yes, I do, Aro." I replied, very icy. I didn't want nor need this 'complication' in my life; if I was to live a life without Edward, I'd, at the very least, be a little happy by myself.

Aro looked at me with a dangerous glint in his eyes, and opened his mouth to speak when the vampire announced "We're here."

She looked at me. "You may let go now, your highness."

Was she speaking to me? I wondered, but before I had a chance to blink, the vampire was gone. Leaving me alone with Aro. I inwardly cringed. Well, Bella, I told myself. You got yourself into this mess. It's time to face the music.

But my train of thought was cut off when Aro took me by the arm and dragged me over to the bed. My heart began beating very fast.

"I told you I wouldn't sleep with you, Aro." I reminded him, rather coldly. Aro turned to look at me, and simply raised an eyebrow. "Did you, Bella? Why, I don't remember you doing so." He smiled quite a disgustingly evil smile.

"You, Aro," I began to inform him. "Are a vampiric son of a bitch, who thinks he can get what he wants when he wants it. Well, you're sorely mistaken this time, Aro. Because I do not want and nor do I desire you. In bed or out of bed. I'd rather let Jacob Black have me a thousand times."

Aro's teeth curled for an instant, and then, all of a sudden, he began to laugh. A very hard, harsh sound that made me want to wince, for the sound of it hurt my ears.

"You flatter me, Isabella," he put a finger to my cheek and let it trail down my neck. I slapped his hand away before it could reach my breasts.

"My mistake. I meant to insult you." he glared at me, and that's when he lifted his palm and slapped me across the face. "You," he hissed at me. "Will learn your place, Isabella. From now on, every time you disobey me, every time you make a response that I do not like, every time you do something I do not like, I will punish you."

"You won't be able to when I'm a vampire." I shot back, knowing I was pushing him towards the edge, and that he might lose his control on his anger and end my life.

Let him, the words shot across my mind as his hand once again connected with my face, this time bringing me down to the floor. Bending down, he moved my hair from my face.

"I won't make you a vampire until you learn," he whispered very close to my ear, and I could hear the pent up anger in his voice.

"Until I learn what, exactly?"

"Until you learn to obey me." and with that, he turned around and walked; or rather, I assumed he did, because I couldn't see him, he was so fast.

I didn't have the heart to escape, I just stood up and, seeing a mirror, walked over to it slowly - my head was throbbing. When I reached the mirror and looked in, tears filled my eyes.

One side of my face was horribly ugly; it had a huge black, purple and blue bruise on my cheek, along with another by my eyebrow.

But I could do nothing, so I crossed over to the bed, and laid my abused face down on the pillow,

as I remembered memories, and began to cry silently.

Edward POV:

"What the hell just happened?" I growled at Esme. She just looked at me and sighed.

"You are a fool, son," she told me, and I could hear the strain in her voice.
"How am I a fool?" I raised an eyebrow, compressing my anger and confusion, knowing it would do me little good to let my rage out on Esme. She looked at me, and I saw the fire of anger in her eyes. "You let it blind you," She shook her head. "Let what blind me?" Now I was very confused, and for the moment, forgot my anger.

"You're jealously." She turned around. "Aro told Bella that you did not love her. Which really, can you blame her for thinking this with the way you've been acting? That Susan stunt was amazingly stupid, son, and you knew it."

"He told her what?" I wrinkled my brow. "And what, really, would he have to gain by telling her this?" I asked, patiently.

Esme's lip twitched, a sign she was close to anger. "You are a very dim-witted man." She sighed and turned around. "What would he have to gain? Really, my son, you are so blind at times. What he had to gain was Bella. He's been using Mary's powers, Edward."

I became alarmed. Mary Hughes was a vampire who's special ability, or power, was to allow herself, or even another, into dreams, and there she could do anything.. Even kill.

"She brought Bella a dream, showing you and Susan."

"So?"

Esme rolled her eyes. "You were married, Edward."

An icy dart of fear passed through my heart. "What?"

"Bella explained the dream to me. She went up to the house, and you and Susan were there.. You were not nice to her, at all. You said some pretty mean things." She hedged.

"Like what, Mother?" I asked, very slowly, my anger returning in full force.

"Like.." She trailed off, and took a deep breath. "You told her Susan was gorgeous, that Susan was the one you really loved, that Bella had just been.." again she trailed off.

"That Bella had been?" my voice was flat. A sure sign of my anger.

".. a distraction." Esme whispered.

".. So Aro and Bella were not in love?" I asked, very, very quietly.

"No."

"There's something you're not telling me, what is it?"

"Aro told Bella that if she didn't agree to marry him.. He'd.." she avoided my eyes.

"he'd?" my voice was dangerously calm.

"He'd kill everyone in town, including us."

My anger shot to full on pissed off, while my fear grew to downright scared.

"I'll kill that son of a bit-" I cut myself off; I heard crying.

"Edward," a voice sobbed, "I love you so much.. I'm so sorry," the voice sobbed more..

Suddenly, as if a vision had been given to me, I could see it.

A girl was on a bed, her shoulders heaving with the force of her sobbing.

That girl is Bella, I realized, alarmed.

"Edward, I'm so sorry, I love you, so, so much, Edward.. I know you can't hear me, but, I wish you happiness with Susan.. I wish you luck.. and.. I hope.. you love her forever." she whispered, between her tears and gasps for breath. Bella then wiped a hand across her eyes, and winced. She then sat up, and I saw the horrible, ugly bruises across her face. I felt the rage boil up inside me. How DARE he lay a hand on Isabella.

All of a sudden, the picture cut to Alice, chains around her ankles, her wrists, her wast and around her neck. Her head was down, and then suddenly, her head came up.
Her face was also bruised and cut, and there was dried blood on it. She was pale and looked sickly weak, and her voice confirmed it.

"Edward," she whispered hoarsely, swallowing. "I had to.. show you.. Bella.." she swallowed again.

"shes in pain, Edward, help her. come and get us, before its to late." she pleaded, and all of a sudden, she gasped and the vision cut out.

I fell to the floor, my head ached so badly. "Edward?" Esme became alarmed and dropped to her knees. "Are you alright, Edward?"
I looked at her, as tears fell from my eyes. "I saw Bella, and Alice, and.. They must have wanted me to have seen it. But it hurt so badly, Mom.." a lump rose in my throat, and I tried to swallow it.

"What did you see, Edward?" she asked me, quietly, seeing I was in pain. I closed my eyes, and saw Bella, her face bruised and Alice, her face bruised, cut and bleeding.

"He'd hit Bella, her face was so badly bruised.." Esme's eyes filled with tears. "and Alice," I continued. "her face was bruised and cut and.. it was bleeding, or had been bleeding.."

Esmes eyes flashed. Oh yeah, she was pissed, royally.

"Hes going to kill Alice, and Bella.. I just know it."

"Then we're just going to have to make sure that doesn't happen now, don't we?" She smiled.