Chapter 3

Obviously I'm not Stephenie Meyer. All things in the Twilight Universe still belong to her and I'm stuck here, smacking my head, wondering, "Why didn't I think of that?" Ha, ha, but in all seriousness no infringement is intended on my part.

Sorry for the confusion. I'm still getting use to this site. I did fix my little mix up. I'm giving you a bonus chapter to make up for my goof up. Apparently I need the practice posting anyway. Lol.

After September 14, 2010, 10:32pm

"Bella, I hate that I've scared you like this." He placed a kiss on top my head. "I'm sorry, Bella. I really don't know what I'm doing. I just thought that if I could bring you some kind of pleasure before I…" his breathing has stopped, his nostrils flaring. "I'm just appalled with this whole situation. This isn't the kind of man I am. I don't force myself on women, not that I've ever done anything with a woman to begin with."

"You... you're a virgin?"

"Yes, Bella. That's why I'm so nervous."

He's cupping my cheek pulling back from me to make eye contact.

"After the last three months of our courtship I've had such high hopes that we could get through this hurdle, that I could get you through this fairly unscathed. But now that I see what this is doing to you."

There's nothing but truth in his words. The evidence is there with the sadness in his eyes, the sincerity of his voice and the change in his body. His erection's gone.

Now I'm panicking. "But what about the children?"

"I'm sorry, Bella. I'm afraid for the children too, but I can't do this without you. Everything in me is just too afraid of hurting you. You're too important to me now. My body just won't cooperate."

I'm stunned at his declaration. He's actually developing feelings for me. "This is real for you." It's not a question. There's no question about it.

"During our courtship I looked for every possible sign, hoping that we could make this work. At first you hated me. I didn't blame you. I told myself to be patient. A couple of weeks went by with you barely speaking to any of us. Some of my family was starting to treat you disrespectfully, which wasn't helping the situation. My family didn't agree with me, leaving the way we did, but that's the main reason I decided to get you away from them."

I'm remembering the relief I felt getting away from them. I felt alone in their household and I was often rude to all of them, but no matter how rude I was to Edward he defended me at every turn. Finally he had enough, packing our bags, we were on the first flight to Chicago.

Before June 12, 2010

"How long will we be staying at your home in Chicago?" I asked him. We were in our rental, Edwards driving us from the airport in a shiny black Volvo.

His eyes widened in surprise. It had been days sense I'd spoken a single word to him. "The house belongs to both of us now, Bella. However, in answer to your question, under the circumstances I think it's best we stay there until we have to go back for the wedding."

"Oh." We were to be entirely alone together for over two months. I didn't know how to feel about that.

"I think this time alone together will be good for us. It will help us get to know each other better."

"We're natural born enemies, Edward. Do you really think it will make a difference?"

"I refuse to believe that. You may hate what I am, but me, the man, Edward, you don't hate me. I'm not a cold blooded killer the way your tribe believes."

"You mean, you've never killed a human before?"

"Well, I'd like to be honest with you. I want you to judge me for the man I am now, not who I was back when I first came into this existence."

"Okay, I'll try."

"Thank you, Bella. I'll have to tell you a bit about me first, so you'll understand my story. But first I want you to know that I've never killed an innocent human."

"Oh, that's good…I guess."

He proceeded to tell me about his human life and what brought about his transformation. He was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1901 to Edward and Elisabeth Mason. The house in Chicago is the Mason family home where he grew up. His father was a successful lawyer while his mother stayed home to raise him. He didn't remember much about his childhood. He told me it's common for vampires to loose most of their memories after their transformation. Then he went on to explain to me about his time away from the Cullen's, his rebellious years.

"I'm telling you, Bella, had I known the guilt I would feel, the guilt I still feel, I would have never done it. You've witnessed how I read minds. I heard everything, their fear, the horrific shock as I tore their limbs from their bodies. When I caught a rapist, I did worse."

"You castrated them," I guessed. He only nodded.

"They were evil men, Edward. They didn't deserve to live. You saved lives. Who knows how many woman lived on to have normal

happy lives because you killed the predator that was stalking them, seeking to do them harm."

"I know, Bella, but you have no idea what that kind of execution does to a man. It changes you. There's a reason why there's a judge, jury and executioner. A man that has the power of all three would eventually go mad." He looked away wearily, staring at his shoes.

We were, now, sitting in his living room, continuing the conversation we started on the car ride from the airport.

I wanted to reach out my hand to cup his cheek with my hand, to force him to look at me. I just couldn't bring myself to touch him. Other than the occasional brush of our arms as we walked side by side we never touched each other. Edward was very respectful of my personal space and I was in no hurry to change anything "Edward, look at me." I waited till his eyes gazed down into mine. I smiled reassuringly at him, hoping he would see my sincerity. "I don't know if I have the power," probably not, "and I don't know if it will mean anything to you regardless, but I forgive you. I can see that you've fought hard to become the man you are today. If our rolls in life were reversed I'm not sure I could have overcome the obstacles that you've had to face. I'm not sure I would have faired as well."

"I believe you would have, Bella. And thank you, that means a lot to me."

"That's very sweet of you to say, but I guess we'll never know."

"This was never your cross to bare."

"You're a good man, Edward. I see that now. I'm sorry for my rude behavior when I first came to live with you and your family. I wasn't allowing myself to see you for who you really are. You're a vampire and I let my prejudices cloud everything."

For the first time Edward was smiling at me. He reached out his hand towards me, palm up. "If it pleases you, I'd like to take my beautiful fiancée for a walk. If your good I may even buy you an ice-cream," he teased.

His smile was breathtaking. I'd never seen another man more handsome than him, human or vampire. "That sounds nice." I stared down at his hand, reluctant to touch him.

"May I hold your hand along the way?" For some reason I couldn't refuse him. I didn't want to refuse him. That was our first real touch, the first time I felt that spark between us.

This chapter was a little on the short side. I'm sorry about that and I promise chapter 4 will be longer. I just want to thank everyone that's been reading my story. I hope you're enjoying it.