For a long time, Edward simply stared at the flash drive. It was like his brain was refusing to reconcile what he found with what had happened. He knew that he had missed his opportunity to get to Mr. Pengatron first, but Jacob's USB was currently in his hand.

Was the drive on his floor for no reason, or did they stuff the wrong one into the penguin?

Edward was going to find out.

Dropping the duffel on the floor, he hurriedly booted his laptop and plugged the device in. It didn't take long for autoplay to load, and as soon as Edward saw some of the files, he knew for sure that the USB was Jacob's.

The smattering of documents and pictures seemed pretty random – mostly vacation pictures and some saved articles about the stock market – but one folder in particular stuck out like a sore thumb. It was labelled 'Rose', and inside it were multiple Excel files.

"What are you trying to pull, Jacob?" Edward muttered to himself as his eyes browsed over worksheet after worksheet. All of them were named innocently enough, but Edward had a feeling that there was something more sinister brewing inside the files, especially when they all looked like financial statements of the firm.

His suspicion grew stronger when he tried to open one, and then another, and a password was asked by the program both times.

Edward was both elated and frustrated by his discovery. He was happy that Jacob and Rose hadn't gotten their hands on what seemed like an important part of their plan, and that he had potential tangible proof of their treachery, but at the same time, the passwords were pissing him off. If he didn't figure out how to get past them, then his proof would have no bearing.

For the next half hour, Edward tried every single password he could think of. Jacob's birthday, Rosalie's birthday, their old address in college…even the name of Jacob's old school crush. None of them worked, and after about thirty tries, Edward had to throw the towel in. For now, anyway.

"Great," Edward grumbled before shutting his laptop off. He pulled at his hair and took a deep breath. Perhaps he couldn't access anything for now, but he certainly wasn't going to give up; he would hack every single document if he had to.

He left his condo not too soon after with his duffel bag over his shoulder and the USB in his pocket. He debated over taking his laptop with him as well, but decided that that might be a bit too obvious.

He wondered about what he was going to use to get into the files, though.

Nevertheless, Edward felt a lot better about his situation when he went to work the next day. Well, he still wasn't any closer to getting a tear, but there was progress with the whole Rose and Jacob situation, at least.

"Hey, Jas!"

Edward placed his tray down as he looked over at Jane. He had just finished cleaning a table when she called his name.

"What's up?"

"Can you do me a favour?" she asked, her best puppy dog look on her face.

"Uh…depends on what that favour would be."

"Oh, relax, it's nothing complicated," Jane rolled her eyes. "I just need you to get this tray up to Bella."

Edward was all ears now. "Sure, I can do that. Where is she?"

"She's staying in the room above the café," Jane pointed a finger to the ceiling. "You can just take the stairs over there. Bossman asked me to bring her some lunch, but my boy Felix is waiting for me out back. Soooo if you could just give it to her for me…"

"Yeah, sure, no problem," Edward responded a little too eagerly. He didn't care though; he hadn't seen Bella all morning, and he wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to do so.

"Awesomesauce! Later, Jazzy. I owe you one!" Jane blew him a kiss before running off. Edward chuckled as he lifted the tray of tomato soup and grilled cheese, and walked up the stairs.

He tentatively knocked on the solitary door he saw once he reached the second floor. When it got no response, he knocked again with much more force. "Bella?" he called softly. "Bella, it's Ed-Jasper."

It didn't take long for Edward to hear some activity from the other side of the door. He heard the sound of a chair scraping, the quiet padding of feet, and after a second's pause, the creaking noise of the door as it slowly opened.

"Jasper?" Bella asked as her face came into view. She looked so sad that Edward wanted to just drop the tray and hug her.

"Hi," he said, a small smile gracing his lips. "I, uh, I brought you some lunch." He gestured to the food with a nod.

"Lunch?" Bella blinked uncomprehendingly. "Oh. Lunch. Right, um, thank you."

"Are you okay?" Edward blurted. "I'm sorry. It's just, you don't look so well."

"I'm fine," she replied unconvincingly. She tried to take the tray from his hands, but he tightened his grip on it.

"Are you, really?"

Bella was about to give an affirmative answer, but upon glancing at Edward's concern-filled eyes, she hung her head and shook it instead.

"Do you want to talk about it? I mean, you don't have to, but…I'm a good listener, and…just…you might feel better afterwards. Probably. I mean –"

"Jasper," Bella's soft voice interrupted his rambling. "I…thank you. Um, would you like to come in?"

Edward nodded quickly, and stepped forward as Bella gave way.

The apartment he entered was a little small for his taste, but Edward found it to be very homey and warm. Most of the furniture looked like they came from garage sales, yet they all worked together. Looking around, everything just seemed so…Bella.

Edward put the tray down on the coffee table as Bella sat down on the small couch. He followed her lead and turned to face her.

"What's wrong?" he asked once he finished debating over what to say.

In lieu of a reply, Bella suddenly folded over herself and started to sob.

Edward didn't even think about what he did next. Without an ounce of hesitation, he pulled her body to him in a hopefully comforting embrace.

"Bella, what is it?" he asked as soothingly as he could.

"I…m-my," Bella paused to hiccup. "My mom…"

I should have known, Edward thought angrily. For as strong and independent as Bella was, Renee was the straw that always broke her back.

"Hey. Hey, it's okay," he rubbed her arm just like he used to whenever Bella would break down over the woman. "You're okay."

"No, I'm not. I'm really not," she sobbed.

"What did she do?"

"She has a daughter," Bella wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "Another one. W-With her new husband. She called – this morning, she called and said that she w-wanted me to meet her. That she was sorry for l-leaving, and she's happy now. Why couldn't she be h-happy with me, Jasper? What's wrong with me?!"

Bella's cries grew louder, and Edward crushed her closer to his body. He felt so much for her hurt and sadness that he almost shed a tear himself.

"Shh, shh. No, Bella. No," he whispered against her hair. "There's nothing wrong with you, sweet girl."

"Then w-why aren't I ever enough? Everyone always leaves or r-replaces me. My dad, my mom, and E-Ed…"

Edward, Edward finished for her in his head. She was going to say Edward.

God, Cullen, what the fuck did you do?

He wished he could answer his own question, but for the life of him, he couldn't recall ever 'replacing' Bella. Hell, he couldn't recall what had happened to them in the first place.

"You're not replaceable, Bella," Edward said with as much conviction he could muster, stopping her blubbering.

"I am," Bella insisted against his shoulder. "I'm no one special. Mom got a new daughter – a better daughter, and Edward…"

"What did he do, Bella?" Edward asked as he braced himself for the truth he so desperately wanted to know. "What did Edward do to you?"

"He chose Rosalie," she whispered. "I was there for him, but he still chose Rosalie. I-I wasn't enough, and I never will be."

He chose Rosalie…

I chose Rosalie.

Over her.

Shock, understanding, and sadness overwhelmed Edward as Bella's confession sunk in. How could he have missed it? The distance, the broken connection between them…it all began when Rosalie became his girlfriend.

God, why did he have to be such a blind idiot? What person in their right mind would turn away from the kind, compassionate, and headstrong Bella for someone as vapid and treacherous as Rosalie? Why didn't he ever see her true self? Edward wished so much then that he could go back in time to correct his mistakes.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," he choked, burying his head on her shoulder. "So, so sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Bella asked. "None of this is your fault, Jasper."

It is, Edward wanted to tell her. I'm so sorry for being the world's biggest asshole. You didn't deserve to go through what you did, especially when your mother and supposed best friend were the reasons why you had to.

Lifted his head, Edward pulled back and looked Bella straight in the eyes. He tucked the hair framing her face behind her ear and reached down to hold her hands.

"Bella," he began. He paused to steady his slightly shaking voice. "You…you are someone special. What happened with your mom, and…Edward…they were idiots. All of them – fools. I – Anyone would be lucky to have you in their life. You're not replaceable, and I'm sure that if, if they were given the chance to take everything they did to you back, they would."

Bella's answering smile was still tinged with sadness, but Edward was happy that he could make up for what he did to her, even just a little bit. She rested her forehead on his shoulder again and took a deep breath.

"Thank you, Jasper," she whispered.

Instead of replying, Edward stroked her hair and absently began to hum the lullaby he'd written for her years ago. It had been a while since he's played or heard it, but he could still remember the melody clearly.

Bella faced him again after the first few notes resonated from his lips. Her expression was that of confusion, like she was trying to remember where she's heard the tune before.

It's me, Bella, Edward hungered to say as she stared at him. It's Edward, and I'm sorry.

The two continued to look at each other for what seemed like a long stretch of time. Edward hadn't realized that he had leaned toward Bella so much that their faces were only inches apart, but he couldn't bring himself to pull back. In fact, he actually craved the closeness – to keep her in his arms, to press his lips against hers…

"Bella?"

Both Edward and Bella leaned back suddenly, and looked at the door.

"Bella, have you seen Jasper?" Knocking ensued. "Jane said she can't find him anywhere."

"Yeah," Bella tried to call out after a second to collect herself. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Yeah, Aunt Charlotte. He's, um, he's in here."

"Oh. Good, that's great. So he's delivered your lunch, honey?"

"I…yeah, he has."

"Okay. Well, can you tell him to head back downstairs, now? Lunch rush is starting, so we need all hands on deck."

Bella nodded though Charlotte couldn't see, and turned to Edward. "They need you down there."

"Yeah," Edward agreed a little dazedly. He still wasn't quite over what had almost happened between them.

"Thanks again, Jasper. For…everything."

"It's really no problem," Edward smiled. "And I'm sorry, again."

"You shouldn't be."

Edward simply shrugged. Reluctantly, he let go of her hands, and ambled out of her apartment.

…

"I don't know what's happening to me," Jasper rubbed his tired eyes. "I just…I don't get it, Alice."

"It could just be stress," Alice suggested as she idly swivelled her chair. "You do have two jobs that you attend to practically every single day. Perhaps the pressure's making you have memory lapses, though that seems pretty unlikely. And kinda bizzare."

"Yeah, it sounds crazy," Jasper said as he fisted his cleaning towel. He was beginning to get concerned with his random moments of amnesia. When he woke up earlier for his shift at the diner, he found himself wearing a new coat, and after looking through his closet, he discovered that he had even more of them. His pantry was uncharacteristically full of snacks as well.

His money didn't seem to be depleted, though, so that could only mean that he probably stole everything. That was really worrying, but it made him wonder how he got to them so easily. Surely anyone who owned Dior and Chanel clothing would keep them safe and secure. Maybe someone gave them to him…but that seemed even more improbable.

"Well, if you need any help, I'm always here," Alice reached over to pat his hand. "Like if you want to pay the hospital a visit. Maybe a hypnotherapy session would do you some good."

"We'll see," Jasper smiled and squeezed her fingers. "Thanks for the offer, though."

Alice beamed at him. "That's what friends are for."

"Friends?" Jasper asked, his tone tinted with hope.

"Of course," she replied. "Why? Don't you consider me as one?"

"No! I mean, of course I do," Jasper quickly recovered. "Yeah. We're friends."

"That's good," Alice chuckled. "I was starting to worry that maybe our relationship was one-sided."

No, but Jasper's crush on her probably was.

Hope this makes up for the previous chapter! :D