I am SOOOOOO sorry! I know I haven't updated in a long time.

But, I don't have an excuse.

I'm not making one up either.

But, you know, it's summer.

Time flies.

ANYWAYS!!!!

I have almost ALL of the chapters done, missing maybe 5 or 6, it's just a matter of how motivated I am to type them all up (they're in a notebook).

It also depends on how many reviews I get.

I know a lot of people read this story, I haven't updated in over a MONTH and had 16 people read chapter 3 today.

Jeez, that was LONG.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!

BPOV

When my mom died, my dad didn't bury her in the family cemetery. Instead he chose a spot near the house visible from his office window. I walked toward the formal gardens through the honeysuckle-covered pergola near the house. I took a pathway that wound among the clematis-cover fences, the extensive borders, and flowing trees and shrubs.

Wooden carvings, garden seats, fountains, and statues gave this part of the vast lawn a touch of elegance. Blue birds flitted back and forth, preparing their nests in strategically placed boxes, and robins, with twigs and grass in their beak, streaked in dense shrubbery. I'm glad I came; I get to see springtime in Virginia one last time.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

I know it's short *giggle*

But hey, I want the next one to be a surprise! *giggle giggle*

I just know you'll LOVE the next chapter!!!

(0)_(0)

(^.^) ------mouse!

~(")O(")

Hope *giggle* you *giggle* still read this *LAUGH*

JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No seriously , there's more.

Just wanted to see who gets tricked and what not. :D

BACK TO STORY:

Dozens of rosebushes circled the neatly mown plot around Renee's grave. Only a few roses were blooming, but I bent to sniff one of the fragrant flowers. I sat on one of the marble benches and listened to the birds sing.

Before we moved, I would always come out here on beautiful days and talk to my mom for hours on end. Well, a one-sided conversation but it was nice.

"Hey mom," I said quietly, tears streaking one by one down my face. "I know I haven't been here in awhile, but I can't exactly come whenever I please. I have one favor to ask you to help me with. Edward Cullen has had a rough time the past couple of years, what with his face becoming scarred and all. But please give me the courage to repay his kindness with loyalty and compassion. Inn spite of his wealth he seems lonely. Help me look beyond the scars and see the real man."

EPOV

I stood at the window, watching Bella's slow progress to her mother's grave. I wondered how difficult it must have been for her to return to Redwood, knowing that the ancestral home was no longer hers. I'd heard of Isabella Swan long before I'd come into possession of her family's estate.

She had the reputation of being a gracious, compassionate young woman whose beauty was more than skin deep. I'd bought the Redwood Estate, "lock, stock, and barrel," with the family removing only clothing and personal items.

Swan ancestry means next to nothing to me, so I sometimes wonder why I've kept personal mementoes of Bella's family. I'd hardly changed anything in the household. Often, I paused in the drawing room and studied, well, more likely stared at the portrait of Bella that was hanging above the mantel.

The likeness must have been painted only a year or two before I bought the house. I always thought that those chocolate eyes couldn't see the scars on my face, and I sometimes wondered what effects my disfigurements would have on the real Bella Swan, should I meet her in the flesh.

After a year of looking at her picture, I felt as if I knew her, often wishing she would just step out of the picture and talk to me. Why had I suggested that Charlie send one of his kids to take his place in taking inventory of his nautical collection when I could have gotten dozens of experts on the subject at hand? Had I been hoping that Bella would be taking over for her father?

Eager to know if she came by her own free will, I'd watched her expression carefully. She had noticed my scars and acted the same as everyone else.

The thing is, I didn't feel angered when she looked at me with horror, like I would normally do with everyone else.

These past three years, I've gotten used to the two main reactions people saw me. Either they registered horror and disgust, or their eyes filled with pity and shame.

All looked away immediately.

I picked up the binoculars lying on the window ledge and focused on Bella where she sat on a marble bench. Her face wasn't serene now, it was pained. I felt her pain as she mourned her late mother and the breakup of her family. Had I contributed to her sorrow by treating her as a servant?

"And what do you find so interesting about the view from that window?" Said a booming voice behind me.

The words jolted me out of my reverie, and I whirled to face one of my best friends—and brother-in-law—Emmet McCarthy.(Not sure if that's how you spell his name) He was leaning again the door frame, a lazy smile on his face, and his dark curly hair drooping over his forehead.

Retuning to my desk, I said, "There's no law against looking out a window."

Emmett sauntered over to the window, picked up the binoculars and looked out the window.

"Well, well!" he said after a few minutes, he said "Well!" again. Then he sat down on a leather lounge chair next to the desk. "So! That's the famed Bella Swan!? When did she arrive here?"

"A few hours ago," I said shortly, toying with some papers on my desk, reluctant to look at Emmett." What have you been doing today?"

"Same old thing. This morning I worked out, and this afternoon I spent time with Rose, doing you know, the usual."

I mentally shuddered at the thought of him and my adopted sister doing 'the usual'. I've walked in on them before while on a camping trip. I can't look them the same anymore. Or trailers.

Yeah, not a pretty picture.

Emmett too, inherited a fortune, unlike me, he admitted he was too lazy to work. He'd invested some of his money and let it do its job. He's made millions. Rosalie models for the fun of it.

I don't approve of laziness in anyone, so I wonder how I can even stand being around him. But, Emmett is my only confident, besides Jasper, who's hardly around.

He was a strategist for the army. Hardly ever fight though, he was the best around, if he died….

"What do you think of her?" Emmett asked.

"It's too soon to tell. Plus, I doubt I'll see much of her, she came here to do a job. When that's finished, she'll go back home to Kansas."

"She might be willing to stay, if you give her the right encouragement."

This wasn't the first time Emmett tried to play matchmaker for me.

"I don't see the point. I'm happy as I am. Alone."

"Ah! You lie!" Emmett said, jumping up and down while pointing a finger at me.

Such a big head. Such a small, small brain.

"Emmett, you're going to bust a hole in the floor, now sit back down or stand still." I sad, trying to take his mind off of being a matchmaker.

He chose to sit.

"You're lonely, you need a wife. Why do you keep punishing your self? Is it because Tanya broke your engagement after your accident? Not all women are like her!"

"Show me a woman who loves me, not my money, and I might consider Matrimony. I don't doubt there are women who would marry me—scars and all—then divorce me in a couple months, expecting a generous stipend."

"I don't know why I keep arguing with you, but I've told you before—you don't have to have those scars—you could have had surgery on your face when the accident happened, and now, with the rapid medical advancements, Carlisle said that you could have those removed and have a scar-free face in to time. Why don't you do it?"

I walked to the window again and picked up the binoculars. Bella was slowly returning to the house, with her head down so I couldn't see her expression. I wanted to comfort her and restore her to her former position, as daughter of this house. When she passed from view, I put down the binoculars again.

"NO! I was the same person before AND after the accident! Tanya threw me away because my face was scarred, which proved that she didn't want me but what marriage to me would give her. Money, power, lavish items and a supposed 'beautiful' child. Having to live with my disfigurements is haunting enough, but I have a lot of scars on the inside too. I don't know if I can handle that kind of judgment again. Besides, I haven't met a woman I want to marry."

"Until know." Emmett said softly.

"Don't be foolish! Bella Swan is but a stranger to me! It could never happen!" I tried to convince him, but I knew he was right.

I wanted to marry Bella.

To see a round, pregnant, belly on her.

To watch her hold our child or children.

To grow old with her.

And I've only talked to her once.

I am SO screwed.

XD HA! Finished.

And almost 2,000 words :D :D :D

I wrote a lot more then I planned, but since I hadn't updated in FOREVER, I decided that I should.

You know, to be fair.

I don't know why, but I really LOVED typing up this chapter. Well, the chapter in itself is awesome to me.

I liked the whole 'I love her!' deal.

Bit creepy to some.

But all well. :D

Hope you like it as much as I did!

Please review I want 3 reviews before I put up the next chapter.

Is that too much to ask for?

Thankies!

~.:Fang:.

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