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There wasn't an alert but Chapter Four was replaceed last night, so make sure you read that chapter before this one.
This one is Edward's POV.
Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Forever Bound
Chapter Five – Use Somebody
Edward had never wanted to get married this young. He was only nineteen. He didn't want to marry a woman because of her social class and the fact their marriage would uphold both families' reputations. He wanted to marry for a love so deep the couple would die without one another. He wanted to marry at a time of his choice and because it made him happier than anything. And Edward believed he had already found this girl.
Tanya was the love of his life, he was sure of it. They had been friends since they were infants, their parents were acquaintances and they were of the same social class. Edward had been secretly courting Tanya for a year and was close to proposing when it was sprung upon him that he was already engaged to be married.
Edward was not ashamed to say that he had not reacted well to the news. He had entered the kitchen and smashed countless bowls and plates into the wall, yelled at his parents and refused to speak to anyone for a week, even Tanya.
He had thought that informing Tanya that they could no longer be together would be the hardest thing he ever had to do. Surprisingly, Tanya had taken the news well. Of course she had been as upset as every normal woman would have been, but she knew that once an heir had been produced it would be acceptable for Edward to take up a mistress, who she knew without a doubt would be her.
And so, however reluctantly, Edward had agreed to marry Bella. He knew it would not be well received if he were to break off the betrothal, and although he had no wish to be married, he knew that an heir would be needed soon, especially as there was rumour of a war coming in the near future. If a war were to break out, there was no doubt in Edward's mind that he would go and fight for his country and if he were to be killed, an heir would be essential.
Bella was extremely beautiful, there was no situation in which Edward could contradict the fact, and he was sure as she matured further she would grow into a true beauty. However, Edward could not appreciate this fact; he was unconditionally in love with Tanya.
When he laid his eyes on Bella for the first time, walking down the aisle towards him, he promised himself that he would try and make her comfortable in their marriage. He could clearly see how scared she was; worried about marrying a man she had never met. Edward sympathised with her greatly; she was so young.
As they had been greeting their guests, Edward had clearly heard Bella inform Alice that she was not beautiful, that she never would be. Edward wanted to tell her that she was the most beautiful woman in the room, but he did not. That was something you told the woman you were in love with, and Bella was definitely not the woman he loved.
While they danced, Edward had made polite conversation, and was pleased to know the Bella was a girl with interests and opinions; she cared about more than money and social standing.
He had tried to make their wedding night as easy as possible for both of them, as neither of them had been in a situation such as that before. Edward, unlike many young nobles, believed that it was only right to wait until marriage before losing one's virtue; although once it had been lost Edward could carry out affairs with all the women of his choice. It had been unlike anything Edward had ever experienced, and although it was very intimate and pleasurable, Bella was not the woman he had wanted to share this special moment with.
The morning after, as Bella had attempted to get close to him, Edward felt the overwhelming need to tell her the truth, and that he did. He had made it crystal clear that he did not want to be married to her, that he was too young, and the only thing her wanted from this marriage was an heir. He told her about his every intention to take up a mistress once that heir had been born.
As she had run away from him in tears, Edward had felt a pang of regret in his chest, she was a young girl, of course she had wanted to believe that her marriage would end up to be a fairy tale. However, he had pushed this feeling away and gone to his lessons as per usual, and arrived home later than he normally would, purposely trying to avoid the confrontation he was sure would happen. It never arrived; she was already asleep when he entered their chamber.
The next two weeks continued in the same fashion. The newlyweds had little communication, except for the nights Edward continued on his mission of creating an heir.
Two weeks after their wedding, the Cullen's held the traditional ball to celebrate the recent wedding in the family.
Edward was waiting for his wife at the bottom of the stairs. Alice had entered their family's home straight after breakfast and had whisked Bella away. Edward had not seen her since. He had no idea why it took women such an age to get prepared for a social gathering. He had taken no less than half of one hour to be completely ready. He had bathed, washed his haired, tried to brush it into submission; to no avail, and put on the tux laid out for him; no doubt by Alice.
On his face Edward wore a black mask with gold trimmings along the edge and around the eyes, tied with a black ribbon to the back of his head. It covered almost the whole top front of his head; all that could be seen of him was his eyes, mouth and chin. He knew people would recognise him, however, due to the disarray on his head, also known as hair.
He heard a noise behind him. Turning around, all the air in his lungs was knocked out of him. Standing at the top of the stairs was Bella, who had never looked so beautiful. She was wearing floor length, red satin dress. The dress started just above her breasts and was held in place by two thin sleeves on her arms. She had her hair in a complicated twist and small silver tiara at the front of her head. Her mask was white with red lace, filled with flower patterns, covering it and a single red feather placed near the right eye. It only covered her eyes, making it easy to recognise her.
Bella began to descend down the stairs as Edward tried to regain his composure. Once she had reached the bottom, Edward held out his arm for her to take and began to escort her from the house. His mother had informed him that Bella did not know where they were going and that he was not to tell her.
Leading her out of the front door, Edward escorted Bella into the horse drawn carriage that was waiting outside. Bella looked confused but didn't mention anything. She rarely spoke to him, and only when he spoke to her first did she utter one syllable to him.
The couple were driven through the gardens for five minutes before they reached an almost invisible path. As the carriage followed it, from the corner of his eye, Edward noticed Bella glancing around curiously, trying to discover where they were heading. Suddenly, a white house came into view and the carriage drove right up to it.
Edward had helped her exit the carriage and they had entered the entrance hall before Bella finally asked where they were. "This," he told her as he led her up a flight of stairs and down one of the number of corridors, "is our house. Mother and father have had it built for us as a wedding gift." And with that, they entered the ballroom.
"What? What! This is ours? Why?" Bella asked quickly but quietly as they walked down the pathway created by their guests.
"Mother designed it for us so that we are close enough to keep her happy but we have our own privacy." Edward led her to the dance floor to share their first dance.
Edward continued to try and make polite conversation with her, but she only answered with brief statements or a nod of the head.
Giving up, Edward allowed their dance to be completed in silence. As soon as the last note played, he released Bella from his arms, grabbed a flute of Champagne from a passing waiter and walked through to the balcony that was attached to the room.
Taking a sip of his drink as he lent against the marble wall which stopped him from falling into the grounds below, Edward admired the gardens of his new home. He could see for miles, and knew that when his parents lit the rooms in their home, he would be able to spot it from this height.
Edward was broken out of his observations by someone placing their arms around his waist. Spinning around, Edward saw a woman in a gold gown that flared out at the waist, with a glittering gold layer on top of the gown reaching her knees. On her face was a gold mask with a large black feather coming out of the corner, covering her forehead and nose. Without having to lift the mask away from the woman's face, Edward knew exactly who was standing in front of him; he could recognise Tanya's eyes anywhere.
"Good evening," he said quietly, "How are you my darling?"
"Better now I've seen you my love," Tanya answered softly, her strawberry blonde hair blowing softly in the evening air.
Making sure none of the guests from the ball were watching them, Edward lent forwards quickly and kissed her on the lips, trying to show her how much her presence had been missed in his life for the past two weeks. She responded eagerly and wrapped her hands into his hair, causing the kiss to lengthen. It was bliss.
Pulling away for some much needed air, Edward glanced once more into the ballroom to check they were not being watched; although it would be acceptable in society for him to take a mistress once he had an heir, the talk would destroy his family's reputation if he was spotted embracing another woman at a party being thrown to celebrate his marriage.
One person had seen them.
Edward could see Bella in the middle of the ballroom, standing still and staring in his direction. He noticed Jasper Whitlock was standing next to her, he guessed he was her current dance partner, trying to bring her attention back to him. They continued to stare at one another, and an odd sensation rose up inside of Edward.
Bella broke their gaze when Jasper reached out and touched her arm; from the expression on his face, Edward could tell he was worried about her. Bella smiled briefly at him before picking up the bottom of her dress and fleeing from the room.
The feeling rising up in Edward started to burn in his chest. He finally recognised the feeling to be guilt. Pushing Tanya away gently Edward walked quickly back into the ballroom, and followed his wife's lead by leaving the ballroom.
He could not see her anywhere. The house was vast and she did not know her way around; how on earth was he meant to know where she would run to?
In frustration, Edward swiftly walked outside, needing some air.
He leant against a statue that what pooled in darkness, the moonlight refraction off it and spilling onto the grounds.
He stood there for a moment, enjoying the silence away from the madness at the party. The silence was soon broken as Edward hard a quiet sob ring out through the garden. Searching around for the source, Edward noticed, for the first time, a figure slumped under a tree. Luckily, fate was on Edward's side and he could see, without getting any closer, that it was Bella.
Making sure he could not be seen, Edward made his way towards her. For some reason, a reason he could not explain, he felt the need to make sure she was okay.
Getting as close as he dared, Edward could hear her sobs clearly, but he also noticed a few mumbled words in between them. Straining his ear, Edward tried to distinguish what Bella was saying. "...so stupid...of course he would...beautiful...false...using me."
Edward had no idea what she was talking about. Deciding it would be best to leave her alone; Edward turned away and walked back to the house.
As soon as he joined the party once more, he was attacked with questions from his mother and father, both of whom looked slightly panicked. Although Carlisle had spent little time with his daughter in law due to his hectic schedule as town mayor and occasional physician, Edward knew he cared a great deal for her.
"Edward darling, where is Bella?" his mother asked, "We couldn't spot the pair of you anywhere!"
"Oh, err, she's getting some fresh air outside," Edward improvised, "The dancing tired her out a little and it was extremely stuffy in here, so she went into the gardens to clear her head and cool down." He tried to sound believable, "I'm sure she'll be back any moment." He attempted to pacify his mother.
He could see his mother bought his lie, but his father looked at him doubtfully. "Well, you should go and find her Edward. You have to share your dance soon, it's almost midnight!"
Ah yes, the dance, Edward thought. It was tradition for each newly wedded Cullen to take to the dance floor in front of everyone at midnight, so the guests could observe the "happy couple" one more time before the party dissolved for the evening.
"You're right mother, as usual," he was rewarded with a smile and slight blush; "I will go and fetch her immediately."
Turning around, Edward was ready to re-enter the garden in search of his wife, but there was no reason to; entering the room was Bella.
Esme rushed over to her, "Bella sweetheart, I was worried about you." Bella started to apologise before Esme spoke over her, "Oh dear, don't apologise. Now," she became to usher Bella towards Edward, "it's time for you to dance the last dance of the night." Bella looked anywhere apart from Edward.
Edward offered her his hand. Bella took it while still avoiding his eyes. He led the pair of them to the dance floor, while all the other guests formed a circle around the couple. His positioned his hand on her waist while she placed her arm around his neck. The music began once more and they began to dance in synch.
"Do you enjoy the waltz?" Edward attempted to ease the tension between them.
"Yes." Bella replied shortly.
"Have you had an enjoyable time this evening?" He tried again.
"Of course."
"Form any new acquaintances?"
"Edward, there is no need to make conversation. We have nothing to talk about," Bella told him.
Edward snapped his mouth shut and they continued to dance in silence.
If this was what their marriage was going to be like, Edward could not wait for Bella to conceive their child, for when she did, he could return to Tanya's arms once more.
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Thanks for reading. What did you think? Please tell me.
Bella perspective on the ball is next.
Until nex time.
