Wow thank you for the wonderful reviews and sorry if I haven't answered them. You are the most amazing readers ever! Just want to point out, the first 9 chapters of this chapter are unbeta'ed, I know my German isn't great at the beginning, but its for fun, not to be published lol. I'm not sure about a sequel; keep me on alert and maybe someday... Esme did not design the apartment, that was all Bella, she is the only one who knew about the play room...

CHAPTER 39

"Jacob?" I question, like it's not obvious.

I feel Edward's hand tighten around mine, but I give him a reassuring squeeze.

"Hey." He smiles nervously looking between Edward and me.

"What are you doing here?" My tone was a little harsher than I meant.

"Your Aunt called me and told me what happened, I just felt like I should be here." Jacob shakes his head.

"What exactly did she tell you?" I give him a suspicious look.

"Said James came after you again, that Edward got shot." He shrugs.

"She doesn't need you here." Edward growls.

"Jake he's right. I appreciate that you came all this way, but it's not your place to be there for me anymore." I emphasize with my hands.

Not realizing Jake's line of vision is directed on my left hand and the huge diamond I'm rocking.

"So you're marrying him?" Jake gives a sarcastic laugh.

"Don't do this." I plead with him.

"You need to leave, NOW!" Edward begins to lose his cool stepping in between me and Jake.

"Or what? You gonna have your body guards remove me? Money doesn't buy you everything." Jake sneers.

"Just stop!" I interject before we draw any unwanted attention.

"This is childish. Jake, you need to go. I'm with Edward, nothing will change that. My choice is none of your business, so please just let me go." I feel my patience slipping.

I see hurt cross his expression but it's quickly gone. He shakes his head in a way I can only describe as disappointment and walks into the courtroom.

"What is with that guy? Can't he take a hint?" Edward lets out a frustrated sigh.

"What can I say I'm one of a kind." I try to say it in a playful way to ease the mood.

Edward stares at me, grabbing me in his arms, kissing me roughly. I can barely catch my breath and he's staring at me.

"You are one of a kind to me, the only one." He looks so intensely at me.

I smile stroking his cheek and he smiles back, taking my hand and we head into the witness room.

I'm a little overwhelmed at first, definitely not expecting to feel a sudden onslaught of deja vu. The last time I sat in a similar room was for the same reason, James. I didn't want to worry Edward, he had enough to deal with, and so I did my best to keep my feelings to myself.

It was hard feeling confident about how things were turning out, the last time was supposed to be the last time and the jerk got paroled! I'm sure the court system won't let that happen twice; at least I would try to have faith that the system works. But this wasn't James' trial, not quite yet. This was for Carmen, such a sick and twisted woman.

I could understand what it was like to love someone, especially Edward, but to try to kill the person he loves? There is no sense in that. Nobody wins in a situation like that. Her desperation definitely has gotten the better of her.

As I take the seat that the court clerk gestures for me , I look at Edward. We are both witness' in this case along with Liam and George the front desk guy at Edward's old penthouse.

We are sequestered from the rest of the trial because we are not allowed to have our testimony to be "tainted or influenced" by others according to Mr. Masen. So I sit in my chair, legs and arms crossed, shaking my foot nervously waiting for my name to be called.

Of course Benny is the first of us to leave the room. Everyone is silent, contemplating their testimony I assume. I watch Edward from the corner of my eye; he's texting frantically on his cell phone. When I turn my attention to Liam, I see him doing the same.

"What are you doing?" I nudge Edward's arm.

"Sitting here, what do you think?" He gives me a smirk.

I just look at him and he rolls his eyes.

"I'm just going over some things with a client, is that okay?" He tries to reassure me.

"Liam is not your client." I huff.

He begins to chuckle, but gives me no further response.

The bailiff returns calling Edward's name, I feel myself becoming shaky and clammy. I grab his wrist as he rises from his chair. He looks down at me with such an expression of pure determination.

"Believe me Bella; I'll make this go away once and for all." He kisses my forehead.

I drop his wrist and watch the back of his head as he walks out, giving me one last smile before he leaves. I sigh and lean back in my chair. I hear the sound of the seat next to me shuffle slightly and Liam is at my side.

"What were you two texting about because we both know Mr. Privacy won't tell me." I look at him.

He begins to chuckle like Edward had, shaking his head.

"I'm not allowed to tell you, but don't worry, it's got everything to do with you." He taps my nose and leans back into his chair.

Edward's POV

As I exited the witness room headed for the court room I felt a certain calm wash over me. I had no doubt that this would end in my favor, there was too much evidence piled against this crazy bitch for the verdict to be anything but guilty. Why it ever made it to trial I can't image, but I guess I'm going to find out.

I could see it in Bella's eyes, even if she claimed otherwise, she was a wreck. I wanted so much to just cradle her in my arms to reassure her everything would be fine, but I knew that was not what she needed to hear.

What she needed to hear was "Guilty" for her mind to stop racing and for her heart to settle into its normal rhythm. As we walked through the corridor leading into the court room the bailiff explained how everything would go down.

I had been to trials on financial cases but never for attempted murder. Bella and I had spent hours with the Lawyer going over the questions we would likely be asked, and how to avoid getting railroaded with something we couldn't answer.

My main concern here was for my personal business not to be on full display to the world; mostly my sexual activities and Masen promised that wouldn't be a problem because my lifestyle had little to do with the case as a whole.

Our case was more about Carmen poisoning Bella than her being my mentor into the BD/SM world. But if that happens to come out than it does; I'll deal with it.

Bailiff opens the door at the end of the long hall that seemed to be miles long, yet it was only a few feet. I straighten out my tie and smooth out my suit, I nod at the man and he opens the door. My Armani loafers hit the marble tile as I head to the witness stand.

I walk to the witness stand with the bailiff and he picks up a bible.

"Please place your left hand on the bible." he instructs, so I do as I'm told.

"Do you swear the statements you are about to make are the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you GOD?" He asks with no emotion on his face.

"I do." I make my voice loud and clear and confident.

"You may be seated." The judge instructs me.

I nod and take my seat beside him. I take a look out into the court room. My eyes briefly glance in Carmen's direction. She looks nothing of the way I always remembered her.

Her long brown hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail, dark circles under her eyes. She was wearing a bright orange jump suit. Her once pristine look now resembled a drugged out addict. She fiddled nervously with the hem of the jump suit while her hands and feet were secured with shackles.

I didn't really give it much more thought than that; she tried to kill my Bella, she was dead as far as I was concerned. Roger approached me clearing his throat, something we practiced in his voice to let me know he was ready. I sat up straighter, more determined than ever to do all I could to see Carmen put behind bars.

"Please state your name for the record." Masen addressed me.

"Edward Cullen." I spoke into the microphone.

"Now Mr. Cullen, do you know the defendant?" Masen asks.

"Yes sir."

"Can you please state her name for the record and your relationship."

"Carmen Naples. She used to be my professor many years ago when I was at Dartmouth College."

"So you have a history?"

"Student teacher strictly." I glared at her.

"Do you know why she was at your penthouse the night of December 15?"

"She was trying to warn me about someone, but I asked her to leave."

"And what happened after you asked her to leave the property?"

"I left her in the hallway by the door; Bella was sitting on the couch in the next room. I excused myself to call my security team, I hadn't been gone from the room longer than 10 minutes and when I returned I didn't see either of them."

"I began to get very nervous because I could not locate Bella, then I found her sleeping our bed. However she said Carmen had stabbed her with something, so I immediately took her to the emergency room." I ended there.

"They did eventually find Carmen on your premises correct?" He eyed me.

"Yes she was chained to a wall."

Masen had given me direct orders to phrase it like so if I intended to keep my private life, private. Carmen was guilty, why this ever made it to trial was beyond me, but here we are.

"That's all the questions I have for this witness your honor." He addresses the judge.

"Does the defendant's counsel have any questions?" The judge asks.

"We do your honor." Up stands this middle aged man.

"Were you and Mrs. Naples once involved in a sexual relationship?" He dives right in.

"Objection your honor, that's not relevant to this case!" Masen shouts out.

"Sustained, counsel." The judge points.

"She broke into my home, drugged my fiancée and then proceeds to tell me she is in cahoots with my fiancée's crazy stalker. Do I need to go on?" My voice flat.

"How do you know for sure that my client really drugged your fiancée? She could have blamed my client to set her up!"

"Carmen's finger prints were on the syringe." I state smugly.

Suddenly her attorney looks very surprised, and has no idea what to ask next, he looks frazzled.

"No more questions." He nods toward the judge.

"You may step down Mr. Cullen."

I step off the witness stand and the bailiff escorts me to the seating area of the courtroom with the rest of the people. I feel her eyes on me, but not once do I look in Carmen's direction. She will not get that satisfaction out of me.

Finally, Bella is called to the stand. The bailiff swears her in and she takes her seat. I expected her to be jittery up there and even some what emotional, but she is perfectly stoic and calm. Her poker face is on and her confidence high. I could not be more proud of her.

Our eyes lock and I can see the twinkle in them, letting me know she can do this, nothing to worry about. I feel assured by this tiny gesture.

Her examination starts, Masen is asking her about the night and what happened, she explains about the drugging and the side effects, she doesn't go into much detail about James; it's not the time for that. Masen releases her with a brief, "no more questions Your Honor".

Carmen's lawyer stand somewhat awkwardly and walks over to Bella, he starts the questioning. "Ms. Swan, how long have you known the accused?"

Bella states in a cool but assured voice, "I met her last winter when I traveled to Dartmouth with Edward for a conference."

"Were you aware at the time of this conference that Edward had once had an illicit affair with Professor Naples?" The weary balding man asked Bella.

"You're honor this is irrelevant." Masen barks out.

"Over turned counsel. There is relevance here. Ms. Swan you may answer the question." The judge gestured in front of her.

I watched Bella closely; making sure this was okay with her. She again showed no signs of being bothered; she looked more than willing to hash out details. I was so proud of her.

Bella's POV

I tried to put my best brave face on here. I didn't want the fact I was in the room with the woman who almost killed me and that I wanted to jump over the podium and strangle her to surface. So I pulled an Edward, always so confident and composed, I could be that way too.

"Yes I knew about the past relationship he shared with her. I would like to emphasize that it was in the past." I sat up a little straighter.

I noticed Edward and the glint in his eyes; he really was impressed right now. I wonder what that would mean for later. The possibilities rolled through my mind distracting me for a moment.

"Would you say you were jealous knowing you were about to meet the woman that your fiancé once loved and wanted to marry?" The repulsive lawyer asked.

He seemed a fitting counsel for her. They both reeked of indecency.

"We all have a past; I would never hold that against anyone. As for me being jealous… hardly;" I huffed.

Her lawyer then went on a tirade; "I think what really happened here is that when she showed up at your apartment you couldn't help yourself, you wanted revenge for the fact Edward once loved her and it was just a perfect opportunity to lure my client and make it seem as if she did all this to you, when she was just stopping by to see an old friend.

From what is in the police report she was chained to a wall and she couldn't chain herself, so you threatened my client and dragged her to the room, chained her up and drugged yourself!" Mr. Stanley finished with a huge grin on his face.

My jaw dropped, my eyes fell, my composure gone!

"Your honor that is such a concocted story, explain how my client can drug herself end up peacefully in bed and hang this woman up. It's absurd!" Masen accused.

"I agree, Ms. Swan do not answer." Counsel this is going too far. There is video surveillance showing otherwise, so your story does not hold up. I should hold you in contempt; you obviously haven't done your job if you haven't seen those videos!" The judge said.

I wasn't sure what happened because as the next couple of minutes were a complete blur. My attention unwillingly moved to Carmen, I had done my best to avoid looking at her during this entire debacle. But there was this crazed look on her face and she stood up from her seat and began to scream unintelligible and acting erratically.

The bailiff came and took her out of the court room, stunning everyone. The judge called a recess and I was dismissed. I ran to Edward and gripped him tightly. I was actually thankful for the bizarre scene; it showed everyone just how deranged she really was.

"If that didn't convince them how unstable she is, then nothing will." I mumbled into Edward's chest.

"Believe me Bella, that judge bought none of what she was saying." Edward kissed the top of my head holding me close to his beating heart.

I could hear footsteps approaching us; I hoped they didn't belong to Jacob. I hadn't notice him in the audience either, so maybe my little speech struck a cord with him. When the person began to speak it was much deeper and too rugged to belong to him; it was definitely someone much older.

"Maybe we should all go to lunch and wait this out until the judge calls us back in. I gave the court secretary my cell to let us know when we need to return." Mr. Masen suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea." Edward pulled me away slightly looking down at me with kind eyes.

"Are you hungry?" He asked brushing some loose hair from my face.

"Okay." Was all I could manage.

But it was enough and he took my hand in his and we walked out the side entrance of the court house I didn't even know was there. I suspected this was to avoid any media that was lurking around. Thankfully nobody was and we hopped into the back of a black SUV.

Edward mostly spoke to Mr. Masen while we drove and I just stared out the window watching the world fly by me. I thought about all the events that led up to this very moment. In such a short time my life had gone from average to extraordinary in just 8 months. I felt like one of those college commercials.

But it is not everyday someone like me meets a billionaire or gets seduced then engaged to one. But really I didn't put up much of a fight either. I looked over at him chatting away, his full soft lips, and his tight lean body under his suit. I imagined my fingers massaging every each of him, tasting his skin.

He caught me gazing and a devious smirk popped up on his face. I knew I had to be blushing, I was caught red handed undressing him with my eyes, but he knew what I was thinking, he always knew. I looked back out the window for the remainder of the drive.

We eventually pulled up to this small bistro and ordered lunch. We all chatted amicably about nothing to do with the trial. Masen's phone rang and he excused himself from the table.

"My parents want us to come by for dinner tonight, if that's okay." Edward grabbed my hand.

"I was kinda hoping we could just stay home and relax. It's been a rough day." I sighed.

"I knew you would say that, just thought I would throw it out there." He picked up my hand kissing my knuckles and replacing it on the table.

I smiled at him and Masen came walking back over tucking his phone into his suit jacket.

"That was the court house. We are back in session in 30 minutes, so let's finish up and head back." He smiled placing some money on the table and we all got up to leave.

We took our seats in the court room and watched everyone come back in. Carmen looked calmer, more relaxed. Maybe they gave her a sedative. We rose for the judge and then were told to take a seat. She went on and on about something I truly didn't understand.

There was no jury, it was the judge who decided Carmen's fate and the judge felt there was enough evidence to give a guilty verdict. At first I wasn't sure I heard it correctly, I was so stunned. I mean I knew first hand she was, but to know someone else agreed completely was just so overwhelming.

I felt the tears run down my cheeks, I knew they were there but it wasn't until I felt Edward's long fingers wiping them away that it became clear. She was going to jail for a very long time. 25 years to life was what the judge said.

Edward pulled me into him tightly breathing heavy and I could feel his relief, this is what we wanted. But I stared over to where Carmen stood. Sedated or not, she looked utterly blank. It was so weird. She was just told she would be spending the rest of her life in jail. Yet her emotions hadn't caught up to her.

Disliking her or not, she was someone's mother. That meant her son would never see her or be raised by her. Someone else would be left with that responsibility. I understood her son's feeling because I was his same age when my parents died. But I couldn't think about his sorrow, it was not my burden to hold.

"One down, one more to go." Edward sighed into my hair.

I just shook my head. It was amazing how all these events in my life had come together in such a terrible way. I just wanted to go home and sleep. I was completely exhausted. Numbly Edward led us out and into our car. The drive home was quiet. I leaned on his chest and digested everything that had happened to me.

As soon as we made it up the stairs I went and changed out of my clothes into some shorts and a tee. I crawled into our bed and fell asleep.

It was a little past 7 pm when I awoke from my nap. The sky outside was just darkening, leaving it a pinkish blue color. I got off the bed and looked out the window. I took in the view of Seattle, how beautiful the city lights looked.

I remembered my first night here, Rose taking me to the space needle and introducing me to my new home. I wondered what Edward was doing at that moment I was taking my tour of Seattle. Was he dreaming of a girl like me coming into his life or just dominating another submissive? I never thought to ask, but those thought came to me time from time.

I pulled myself from the window and walked downstairs to see where Edward was. It was quiet and somewhat dimly lit. I almost thought he may have left, but I could hear voices coming from his office. I patted my way to the door, but when I heard his tone I froze.

"What the fuck do you mean he escaped? How is that even possible?" Edward screamed into the receiver.

"Please explain how someone that dangerous is so lightly guarded? Believe me you won't have a job when I'm done with you!" He yelled slamming the receiver down.

He rubbed his hands violently over his face, tugging and pulling at his hair. He stood from the chair repeating the same actions, almost ripping his copper hair out. I stood in the doorway, letting my presence be known.

"Who were you talking to?" My voice small.

He looked up with a stunned expression, not expecting me to be there.

"Bella, how long have you been there?" His voice rocky.

"Long enough to know something is wrong." I said.

He rubbed his hand over his mouth a few times before looking up at the ceiling. I almost thought he was going to leave me hanging, he was good for that, but when he spoke I couldn't really react to the words.

"James escaped." Was all he said, but those words alone were enough to make my knees wobble and my stomach churn.

Edward saw what was happening to me and ran to my side and I slid to the floor.

"How? I don't understand!" I began to sob.

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into him.

"They were transporting him from one prison to another and somehow he disarmed the guards and got away. I have my best people on it, he won't get anywhere near you." His voice confident.

"Why can't this just end? Why?" I cried until no more tears could shed...

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