Disclaimer: Twilight character names belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. All characterizations, plot lines, backgrounds and details belong to the respective author.
Disclaimer 2: I am not responsible for anyone trying these crazy ideas in real life. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, do not try this stuff at home. It's fun to read about Bella's book and the fantasies she has for revenge, but it's not funny in real life. It just leads to a criminal record and it makes you look sad. Don't be THAT girl. Take a note from Bella and write down all of your revenge ideas.
A/N: OK. I feel like I should warn you now that this chapter has a decent amount of angst. After this chapter, this story will get significantly lighter. Please stick with me and try to ride out the heartache.
Previously: The dark circles under his eyes highlighted how pale and gaunt his face was looking. I wondered if he was getting any rest. When his lawyer addressed Jasper and I, Edward looked up at me. I was startled at the raw, pleading, and tortured look in his bright green eyes...
2005 (3 Years Before Prologue)
I was lost. All I could see was the myriad of emotions flashing in Edward's eyes. The amount of love, longing, regret, and pleading present in his expression was spellbinding. The rest of world fell away as we stared into each other's eyes. Edward frantically searched my face looking for an answer to an unknown question.
"Bella," he pleaded. "Please don't do this. There is still time. I am willing to do whatever it takes to fix this." He held out his hand out to me and continued his plea, "Please come home, love. Don't tell me it's really over. It can't be over. I'm begging you."
I just stared at his outstretched hand as tears filled my eyes. With my inaction, he realized my answer. His eyes snapped and instantly took on an aggressive, tortured look. I could see the storm raging within him. He was a caged animal trying to find a way out. His head thrashed back and forth and his body shook in denial. "No. No. No," he murmured.
As much as I wanted to hate Edward, my heart broke in that moment. I wanted nothing more than to be able to grab his hand and tell him that we could work through anything. However, I knew I wasn't able to honestly say that I could stay in our relationship. I was too hurt and I did not think that I had the capacity to forgive him. To walk out with him now would just be a cruel and prolonged goodbye.
Edward forcefully pushed away from the table and stood up. He looked anywhere but at me and hurriedly stated, "I'm sorry. Please give me a moment. I will be right back." In three quick steps, he was outside of the conference room.
Jasper squeezed my hand in support as the tears rolled down my face and softly asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
All I could do was nod my head. I was afraid that if I tried to speak I would lose control over my emotions. My heart was aching as I thought back to one of the first times Edward had pleaded with me for a reconciliation.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
(Flashback to 2 weeks after Bella left Edward)
Edward had been calling me three times a day, every day since I had left him. Even though I never answered, he continued to call. It was getting to the point that I could tell what time it was based on the ringtone of my phone.
Therefore, I was surprised one morning that it was Charlie calling me and not Edward. Charlie told me that he and the Masens wished to speak with Edward and I. When I tried to resist, Charlie insisted that it was important that I come to the Masen's home for drinks and that my attendance was mandatory. All I knew was that I was not looking forward to seeing the Masens.
Edward's father, Edward Masen, Sr., is a prominent cardiologist in Chicago and his mother, Elizabeth Gold-Masen comes from a line of old money. The two of them together form a power-couple in Chicago elite society.
The first time Edward brought me home to meet his parents, Elizabeth made it clear that she didn't approve of me. The only reason she tolerated me was because of Charlie's status as a prominent lawyer. Our relationship was at best a love-hate relationship. She hated my lower social standing and 'new money', yet loved that I was involved with numerous charities.
Furthermore, she openly disapproved of Edward's and my friendship with Tanya and the Hales because they were not of the same social caliber as Edward. Although, she was quick to point out that it was fine if I was acquainted with them. As a joke, the five of us called her Momma Liz. She was aggressive and protective of Edward to a fault. No one, not even Edward, wanted to argue with Momma Liz when it came to matters that involved her only child.
If Edward would let her, Momma Liz would run his life. It seemed like Edward was constantly having to defend his life and choices to his mother. He would fight for what he wanted and would constantly remind Momma Liz that his life was off limits to her. However, a knock-down, drag-out fight would occur each time she didn't agree with his life choices. As punishment, she would threaten to add stipulations to her will and would refuse to speak to Edward for weeks on end. I personally looked forward to the weeks of silence, but I knew they were tough on Edward. My instinct told me that we were headed into the mother-of-all-Momma-Liz-fights this evening.
I drove my Lexus up to the front of the Masen mansion and noticed Edward driving up behind me in his Volvo. I took a deep breath before getting out of the car and heading over to meet him. I wasn't happy to see Edward, but I had a feeling that he was going to be my only ally tonight.
"Do you know why we've been summoned?" I questioned him.
He swallowed hard and said, "I would guess the news article about of the divorce, but Mom didn't state a specific reason."
Earlier in the month, Rosalie had tipped off the Chicago Tribune about our impending divorce and the affair. The paper had contacted Liz for confirmation and a comment. Liz refused to comment and immediately called Edward to yell at him about negative publicity. When Edward called and confronted Rosalie about the article, she tricked him into giving a risqué quote to the paper. The Tribune ran the article and included Edward's quote. When I read the article I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants.
I snorted out, "Yeah, I'd be a little scared of Momma Liz too if I told the Tribune that an 'affair or any kinky sex is my business'."
Edward glared at me and I could see that he was trying to come up with a retort.
"Although my favorite is that Jacob Black's gossip blog, 'Black-Tie Affair?!?', quoted you as saying 'I like kinky sex' and then came up with the many ways you could be kinky. Strap-ons, asphyxiation, extreme role play, and the list goes on..," my voice trailed off into a fit of giggles.
"Did you see that picture he posted of you with a mickey-mouse hat made out of sex toys? He called you a Kinky Sex-keteer! God, that was brilliant," I laughed out.
I was shaking in not-so-silent laughter. Edward, on the other hand, was getting pissed. There was a blush at the tips of his ears that gave away his embarrassment over the situation.
Yet, I continued on, "I especially liked that he thinks you would be the perfect little Sub! If only they knew..," I forced out between laughs.
Edward's face turned bright red as I continued to laugh at him. I clutched my sides and bent over, trying to catch my breath.
Edward practically yelled at me, "We have only done three scenes in our entire marriage! That does not mean I am a Sub or that I only like kinky sex!" He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed out, "Besides, who cares if I like to have kinky sex with my wife?"
The w-word extinguished all humor I found in the situation. I walked up to Edward, patted his face, and condescendingly said, "I don't think it's the wife part that's the problem, darling."
His face fell as he realized my playful mood was over. We walked the rest of the way up to the house in silence. He opened the front door and followed me into the Masen home. "Welcome to Hell...," I whispered.
-o-o-o-
There were no greetings when Edward and I walked into the foyer. Liz looked up at us, gestured towards the parlor, and commanded, "Sit."
What are we? Dogs?
Edward and I sat across from Charlie, Liz, and Edward, Sr. I was waiting for the shit-storm, because from the look on Momma Liz's face, it was coming. Edward must have sensed it too because his back was strait and his shoulders were tensed, as if in anticipation for a fight.
I glanced at Charlie and saw that he looked nervous. As I was about to ask him what was going on, Liz spoke, "So the Tribune informed me that you are getting a divorce. Edward already told me that he was having an affair and that you left him, Bella."
I nodded.
She took a breath and continued, "The three of us have spoken about it and want the two of you to reconsider the divorce. The negative press this has already caused is unacceptable. I have spoken to a Ms. Mallory at the Tribune and have worked out a deal with her to guarantee there will be no more articles on your marriage."
I asked about the deal and Momma Liz lazily replied, "I have guaranteed that the Tribune will have exclusive access to all Gold-Masen events for the next two years. Seeing as we normally do not invite the media to events, she jumped on the offer."
Rose will love that.
Liz then steeled her voice and addressed her son, "Edward, unless you want to be cut-out of our will entirely, you will stop seeing your mistress and make a concentrated effort to save your marriage."
Edward took a breath and started to respond, but Momma Liz held up her hand and interrupted him. She turned towards me and plastered a fake smile on her face.
"Now, Bella, I realize this is a tough situation for you, but this type of thing happens all the time. There is no need to end a marriage because of an unfortunate event," Momma Liz chided.
You fake bitch...
I took an angry breath and responded, "Liz, a six-month affair is not an unfortunate event. Besides, Edward said he might love Tanya. Maybe he wants to be with her now."
Liz's eyes flashed as she looked over to Edward. Her tone was venomous as she said, "I have taken care of Tanya. There is no need for her to be around the two of you, unless Edward loves her. Is what Bella said true, Edward?"
I quickly interjected, "What do you mean you took care of Tanya?"
Liz waved her hand dissuasively and answered, "I threatened to report her the Bar Association."
Harsh. I kinda like it...
Momma Liz then turned her head back towards Edward and repeated, "Edward?"
"Yes, it was a six-month affair. No, I do not love Tanya. I have not seen her since the night Bella left me. I have no intention of ever seeing her again. I want our marriage to work," he calmly stated.
Liz clapped her hands and replied, "It is all settled then. The two of you will reconcile. We expect you to attend the Ronald McDonald House charity next week to assure the press that you are not divorcing."
Excuse me?
"No. It is not settled. We are still getting a divorce," I almost yelled. "Dad, aren't you going to say something? I'm your daughter. Don't you want what is best for me?"
Charlie sighed and replied, "Bells, I do want what is best for you. In this situation, it is best for everyone if you tried to make your marriage work. You are no longer a child. You made your bed, it's time to lie in it."
That traitorous bastard.
Liz quickly interjected, "I had a feeling you might be immature about this, Bella." She handed me a copy of our prenup. "You will notice the non-disclosure agreement on the last page. You will comply with this or face serious penalties. Just so there are no hard feelings, we will add an additional $2 million to your divorce settlement if you and your little friends will keep quiet until the divorce is finalized. That means no more news or blog articles, Bella."
I quickly stood up and gathered my things. "This conversation is over," I stated. "I'm sorry that you are disappointed about the divorce, but it is happening. I am not the one who had an affair, do not make me out to be the bad guy here."
-o-o-o-
I stormed out of the house and towards my car. I could not believe those fuckers, let alone my father!
I reached my Lexus and was pulling my keys out of my purse when I felt Edward's hands on my shoulders. He roughly turned me around so that my back was on the door of my car. He looked at me with dark eyes and roughly spoke, "Damn-it, Bella. I cannot watch you walk away from me again."
"Well, I would never have walked away from you if you wouldn't have fucked Tanya!" I spat at him.
His shoulders slumped under the weight of his guilt. He ran his fingers through his hair and calmly said, "I need to be with you, Bella. I have done everything wrong that I could possibly do, but I love you. I still want to spend forever with you. If I could, I would turn back time and I would have never fucked Tanya."
I wish you could too...
I pushed him and yelled, "But you can't, can you?" Edward's face registered shock as he stumbled backwards.
Undeterred by his stumbling, I threw my arms in the air and continued to yell, "Why the hell did you do it? Why her? Why weren't we enough?"
Edward took a ragged breath and answered me, "There's not a reason that could even come close to excusing my actions. All I can say is that I was lonely and overwhelmed. I was working long hours at the hospital and you were working as well. It felt like we never saw each other. When we finally did see each other, all we did was plan the future or talk about expectations."
He loudly swallowed and continued, "That day, I was working on a case with a kid who was dying and needed to see the pediatric cardiologist. You know that I had always wanted to do my fellowship in pediatric cardiology. That case made me recognize that I wanted to work with kids, but I didn't want to work specialize in cardiology anymore. I realized that I was pursuing cardiology to make my father happy. I started to wonder if I even wanted to be a doctor. That realization caused me to panic."
How did I not know this?
"Everything that I had been working towards for the last 10 years was suddenly not what I wanted anymore. The future was so uncertain and I needed you. You always have a way of talking sense into me. I was at the bar because you weren't home. Tanya was there and she persuaded me that the future would work itself out. She told me to live in the moment."
Of course she would tell you that.
"I'm ashamed to say the affair continued after that night. I couldn't handle talking about the future and she didn't ask me to. It wasn't until a few weeks ago, when I determined that pediatric oncology was where I was meant to be, that I calmed down."
"Remember how I came home and told you about the case with Madeline, the cancer patient? I felt such passion about working with that little girl. It was that case that showed me what my fellowship should truly be in, pediatric oncology. I could finally plan for the future again without feeling like a failure."
"At that point, I was sick with myself. I was using Tanya to block out reality and dull my fears. I never loved her, I just loved the way she made me feel. I wanted to end it; however, the affair had gotten so out of hand that I wasn't sure how to end it without anyone getting hurt," he explained.
I harshly laughed and crossed my arms over my chest as my fury rose.
Edward must have noticed my change in demeanor because he quickly continued, "I was scared about what she would do if I just called it off. I never wanted you to find out. I knew it would destroy us and I couldn't handle that."
You should have thought about that six months ago.
He tugged on his hair and said, "I should have talked to you about my fears. I should have put more effort into us. It wasn't fair to expect you to be there for me if I didn't tell you. It was hypocritical of me to be angry about your work hours when you have put up with my long work hours for years."
No shit...
"When you walked away from me the other night, I realized that I that I had thrown away our future. My insecurities led me to make a decision that destroyed our lives," he said as he desperately flailed his arms about.
"I know I don't deserve it, but I will do anything in my power if you will just try to forgive me. Hell, you don't even have to forgive me, just please try to work this out with me. Please don't let my stupid actions end a nine-year relationship. You're my best friend, Bella. You're my lover, my soul mate, and the woman I want to be the mother of my children," he forcefully blurted out.
He ran his hands over his face and tugged on his bronze hair. He looked at me and pleaded, "I will do anything. Hit me. Punch me. Yell at me. Hurt me in anyway you want. Just please, please come home."
Tempting...
I tried to see things from Edward's point of view and answered, "You should have let me in. I can't imagine how scary it must have been to think you were doing the wrong thing with your life."
I looked up into Edward's earnest face and continued, "I would like to say this changes things, Edward. We both made some mistakes, but I didn't look outside of our marriage for answers."
"I know, love. I am so sorry. Never again will I cheat on you. I love you and I really want to get past this," Edward said passionately.
"You say you love me, but love isn't something you just say, Edward. It is shown by acting in the best interests of those you profess to love. You don't have a six-month affair when you love your wife," I softly stated.
I took a deep breath and said, "Edward, it's scary as fuck walking away from you, but I'm not sure I can forgive you. Even if I could forgive you, I doubt I could ever trust you again. That lack of trust would tear us apart and destroy us in the end."
I tried to keep my voice steady as I continued, "I'm sorry, Edward. You are all I've ever wanted, but I can't come home. I love you, but it's over. Have your lawyer contact Jasper."
(End of Flashback)
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Edward reentered the conference room with red-rimmed eyes. After he sat down, Jasper passed a copy of our papers to Edward and his lawyer, James Laurent.
Jasper looked at James and began, "I assume you have had time to look over the papers I delivered to you earlier in the week?"
When James nodded, Jasper continued, "The prenup between Mr. and Mrs. Masen determines that each party will retain their trust funds and all previously owned property. Per previous arrangements, Mr. Masen will pay Mrs. Masen: $10 million for being fully vested in their marriage; a $5 million penalty for infidelity; and an additional $2 million dollars for keeping the divorce quiet.
Jasper took a breath and continued, "Per the papers I had delivered to you last week, we want 50 percent of the market value of all joint assets, not including the Lexus SUV and Volvo. Should Mr. Masen choose to retain any possessions, we ask that he pay Mrs. Masen 50 percent of the appraised value. Do you accept this offer?"
Edward looked up at me and asked, "Why don't you want anything besides the Lexus and money?"
Jasper answered Edward's question for me, "My client may not intend to stay in the Chicago area. It would be simpler for her to liquidate all assets immediately."
Edward's eyes widened and he looked at me in shock. When he composed himself, he looked at James and nodded.
James spoke, "We looked at the paperwork you had delivered and agree that it is a fair settlement. We will settle the transfer of funds as described in the document."
Edward took the papers from Jame's hands, looked at me and said, "I'll give you whatever you want. It's the least I can do at this point."
He initialed on the appropriate lines and flipped to the last page of our divorce papers. He looked up and smiled at me with what he must have thought was his crooked grin. It just came across as a watery grimace. With a fluid and hurried motion Edward signed his elegant signature across the final line.
Edward gently passed the papers across the table to me. I took the pen from him and initialed IMM next to his EAM on each page. He held up the first pages for me as I reached the bottom of the pile. My heart was in my throat and my hands were shaking as I signed for the last time, Isabella M. Masen.
I looked up and locked my gaze on Edward's red-rimmed eyes. I slid the papers towards Jasper without breaking eye-contact with Edward. I was briefly aware that Jasper and James were standing and shaking hands. Edward mirrored my actions as I pushed away from the conference table.
Not taking my eyes off of his, I slowly glided around the side of the table towards Edward. I held out my hand to shake his, but he had other ideas. Edward forcefully grabbed my hand and pulled my body towards his. Next thing I knew, I was in a tight embrace and surrounded by the scent that was uniquely Edward.
His hands traced up my arms and he twisted his right hand into my hair at the base of my neck. He roughly pulled my head towards his and kissed me. I felt his tongue trace my bottom lip and I opened my mouth to him. Our tongues quickly met and wrestled for dominance. It was a kiss of desperation, heartbreak, and goodbye. For a moment, I felt as if I were home and I relished the feeling. I committed to memory the taste of him and the feel of his arms around me. I wound my fingers in his messy bronze hair and threw all of me into that last, perfect kiss.
We broke apart when we needed to breathe. He continued to hold me in his arms and rested his forehead against mine. "Where will you go?" he whispered.
In that moment, I realized that I didn't know where I would go from here. Literally or Figuratively.
"I don't know... San Francisco?" I whispered back. The tears began to run down my face as I realized that when we broke apart, it would be for forever.
He ran his hands up my neck and gently cupped my face. His thumbs brushed the tears away from my cheekbones and he reverently whispered, "I'm so sorry. I don't know if I will ever forgive myself for doing this to you, for doing this to us." His voice broke as he continued, "It was always you. It will always only be you for me." He lightly pecked my lips and released me from his embrace. His hand traced down my arm until he reached my hand and he gave my fingers a quick squeeze as he pulled away. When my fingertips lost contact with his fingertips, he whispered "I love you." With a watery smile, he walked out the door and out of my life.
-o-o-o-
As the door closed behind Edward, I caught my reflection in the glass. I didn't recognize the woman staring back at me. She was too thin and her eyes were flat. She looked like a broken woman. In that moment, I was angry that I let a man affect me to this extent.
I promised myself that the dissolution of my marriage with Edward would not break me. When I left this room I would no longer be a weak, devastated woman. I would be the strong woman I knew was inside of me somewhere...
A/N2: Ok. I have put on my big-girl panties and I am ready for the reviews. This chapter's bribe is a Tanya POV. If you haven't been getting the bribes let me know. (Please make sure you allow Private Messages. If not, I can't send you anything.) The next chapter will be up this weekend. All past bribes are located in the separate story, "A Woman Scorned Outtakes" =)
Recommendations:
-VvDeadRosesvV's "Breaking Trinity"- It's primitive and fun! www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5379823/13/Breaking_Trinity
-ZepherSky's "Across the Hall"- It's now a completed story so you don't have to wait for updates! www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5080237/1/