Yikes! You're all angry at Jasper. It was pretty underhanded and manipulative of him though. Let's see how his deception is handled once the truth is revealed. I have to thank you for all your fabulous reviews, faves, and alerts. I am so tickled by all of them and I truly enjoy corresponding with each and everyone of you. No Jasper this time because he was a bad, bad boy. How about if I send Peter and Eddie to your homes? For those of you expecting an impromptu visit from the in-laws for the holidays, I can send Amanda over to stand in each room for a minute so your home smells nice and Lysol fresh.
This chapter would not have been possible without the help of IzzyBFFAddict92. I hit a roadblock of epic proportions and she patiently held my hand and talked me through my rage, tears, and happiness-all emotions that I experienced as I was writing this particular part of the story. So, thank you Cliff-you have my utmost respect. Now, bend over and let me spank ya.
This story is extremely AU/OOC. Many of the situations will be completely over the top. If this is not your cup of tea then you may not want to read this story.
All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.
Mature readers 18+ only please.
Carlisle's POV
"Calm down, sweetheart. I'm sure that Jasper and Bella will have a good explanation for their elopement." I soothed.
"How could they, Carlisle? How could they? I was planning on an elaborate wedding for our daughter! How could they just rip a mother's dream from her heart!" Esme sobbed.
"Well, did you tell them what you were planning?" I asked.
"Not yet, but that's not the point! They should have known!"
"I wanted to give my daughter away too, darling." I mused.
"You see! We give them all of our love and they throw it right in our faces! When I get my hands on them..." She seethed.
"I definitely don't want to be there." I finished in my mind. My wife was on a rampage. In fact, all the women were. Esme had called the Denalis with the news and Carmen had come over kicking and screaming about how selfish today's young people were. Apparently, she too was planning on an elaborate wedding for Bella and Jasper.
Charlotte was screaming about not getting to be in her first wedding ever. Rosie was cursing the ground Jasper walked on and Irina and Vicky were both in a rage. Add Tanya and Katie to the mix and you had a cocktail of pure female hormonal rage. Oddly, Amanda was the only calm female in the room.
The men were all dispersed around the living room looking stunned. "Peter, what exactly did you see?" I asked.
"Well, as you know, my visions aren't as detailed as the Psycho Bitch's." Peter pointed out.
"Psycho Bitch." Amanda repeated.
"Good girl." I heard Edward and Emmett both say at the same time.
"Anyway, all I see is the end result. I saw both of them signing a marriage certificate and then a fake Elvis crooning "Burning Love" to them."
"Burning Love?" Rosie asked. "Who the fuck chooses 'Burning Love' as their wedding song?"
"Was she even in a wedding gown?" Irina asked.
"Let me think? No, I don't think so. I couldn't really see because they were in a car."
All hell broke loose then. Esme let out an ear shattering scream. A few of the windows actually cracked under the pressure. "A car? Are you telling me that my son and daughter got hitched in a car? Answer me now Peter Whitlock!"
"Y...y...yes, mama." He answered with fear clearly plastered all over his face.
Oh dear Lord, save my son and daughter from the wrath they're going to incur from their mother. She wasn't going to let this go easily.
"Why don't we all calm down now." I tried desperately to get everyone settled. "Esme, sweetie?"
"What is it, Carlisle?" She snapped. Yikes.
"What's done is done. Why don't you and the girls start planning a real ceremony for them now. Spare no expenses. Anything you want, darling." I encouraged.
"It still doesn't make up for their selfishness, but I suppose it'll have to do." Esme scowled. All the women started planning immediately.
"Let's take Amanda for a hunt." Eleazar suggested. "In Canada." He added as an afterthought.
"Good idea. Edward grab a change of clothes for her. She gets pretty messy when she hunts." I said.
Edward was back quicker than lightening and we were all running away from the house, away from the women.
Jasper's POV
Boy, was I in a pickle. How the hell was I going to tell my wife that we were married? We were swimming naked in the outdoor jacuzzi pool. Bella had just scampered onto my back and I was piggy-backing her as I swam across to the edge of the pool.
"What's the matter, Jasper? You seem distracted." Bella asked with concern as we both climbed out of the pool. I wrapped my mate in a towel and guided her towards the shower for a quick rinse.
Time to own up. "Babe, what do you remember about last night?"
"Not much. I was completely plastered. Don't ever let me drink like that again. There's no telling what I'll do." Bella said.
Okay, we can work with this. "Exactly what I was thinking. See, something happened last night. Something big. Not a bad thing, but still pretty life altering."
"Life altering?" She chuckled. "Jasper, we're vampires, I doubt anything life altering can happen to us."
"Come on, Bella, use some of that vampire memory retention we have and think back on some of what happened last night." I encouraged her as I rinsed her body. She was thinking hard.
"OH MY GOD!" She shouted. "Jasper, I insisted we go see Elvis last night and then I married you like some floozie with your fingers in my pussy!"
I totally wasn't expecting that answer, but we'll run with it. It could work to my advantage.
"Jasper, I'm so sorry!" Bella looked truly remorseful.
"Aw...babe, don't worry about it. I'm actually happy we got married. We were both pretty drunk, ya know. Things happened, we're in Vegas. Let's just go with it." I was grinning like a kid in a candy store. She actually thinks it was her idea. "You're not unhappy are you?"
"No, no. I just need to process this. We would have been married in a few years anyway, right?"
"Right. I would have waited forever for you, babe." I'm such a lying tool.
"Well, maybe this was the best way for it to happen. I hate hoopla and ceremonies anyway. You know that the family would have wanted to do a huge wedding. This way, we don't have to have one."
"Yeah, yeah, that's right." I agreed as I toweled down my mate and carried her to the bed. I hit the switch on the remote to make it rotate. I couldn't help myself. I rolled on top of my wife and kissed her passionately as I ran my fingertips over her body—she responded immediately. I continued stroking her body, stopping at her bundle of nerves—then ran small circles over it with my thumb, causing Bella to moan my name. I kissed her once more before planting kisses all the way down until I reached her glistening pussy and inhaled her mouthwatering scent before running my tongue over her folds. I continued licking her up and down her slit while still circling her clit with my thumb. She was gasping and moaning, then, suddenly she screamed my name as she erupted to an orgasm. "Jasperrrr!"
Just as she screamed, I plunged my cock into her waiting pussy in one swift move. I could feel her orgasm pulsating on my cock as I pounded into her—in and out—relentlessly, at vampire speed, until I was ready to explode. "Bellaaaa!" I yelled, then I sunk my teeth into the fleshy area above her collarbone, marking my wife and mate again.
"Aaaahhh!" Bella screamed both in agony and ecstasy. I sealed her fresh wound with my venom then continued down her body—the sudden urge to scent her overwhelming my vampire instincts. She was mine, my wife, my mate for all eternity. No male would ever lay their hands on her ever again. They would know she was mine by her scent, by my mark.
"Enough already! Jeez Jasper! I know this scenting is instinctual, but come on. You're running over the same spots for the third time. We only have one more day in Las Vegas so let's make the best of it."
"Bella, what the hell? You're not supposed to be stopping me. I told you this shit was all instinctual."
"Uh, Jasper, people can smell you on me a hundred miles away. I think you've doused me in enough man repellent for the next twenty years."
"Bella!" I groaned. I hated being interrupted mid-scent. "Fine. I'll make it really quick."
I finished scenting my mate, fucked her one last time for good measure, then got dressed for a final day and night of adventure in Vegas.
24 Hours Later...
"Jasper, that was the best trip of my life. Promise me we can go back again?"
"I promise, baby. I had a lot of fun there. On top of that, Las Vegas is where you became my wife. Some of our best memories together were made there." I leaned over and gave Bella a kiss. We were on a six hour flight back to Boston. Instead of going straight to New Hampshire, we planned on stopping off at our house in Cambridge, dropping off our luggage, then heading to the Cullens later at night.
"What a trip! I can't believe you won so much, Jasper! Plus, you won a truck for me! I'm pretty excited about the truck you know."
All totaled, I had won about twelve million dollars combined at all the casinos playing blackjack, roulette, and baccarat. Right before we left Las Vegas, we stopped off at the Hard Rock Hotel because Bella wanted to check out the rooms there. Afterwards, we took a detour through their casino where Bella lost about a hundred bucks playing with the slot machine. She was frustrated and angry that she hadn't won a thing so I threw a dollar coin in and pulled down on the lever. Lo and behold, the machine lit up like fireworks and started pinging and buzzing, indicating that I had won. The casino manager showed up immediately and asked where I'd like my new Ford F-150 delivered and what color I'd like it in. I let Bella choose, gave him our address in Cambridge, then he said to expect delivery within ten days.
"Bella, I think you're my lucky charm. I've never won that much in Las Vegas. The truck was a total fluke. I was trying to show you that most people lose on slots. Guess it didn't work, huh?"
"No, but I'm happy you won. Did you know that I lost 161 dollars this weekend on slot machines. I've never been so irresponsible with money. I'm going to have to ask Riley for an advance on my allowance. I only have 189 dollars and 61 cents to my name and that won't cover the textbooks I have to buy tomorrow. He's going to lecture me again on responsibility. I'm so not looking forward to that."
Did she just say that she has to ask Riley for an advance on her allowance? "Bella, has Riley been giving you an allowance the whole time we've been together?"
"Yeah, I've always gotten a hundred bucks a week. That's all he could afford with his salary, but he refused to let me work while I was getting my bachelor's degree. He wanted me to live life a little for once since I've worked a part time job since I was fourteen. Twelve, actually. I used to babysit for my neighbor down the street. I had to, you know. My mom was never responsible with money so it was the only way to pay the light bill and put food on the table."
I was seething inside. The fact that she had to work at such a young age for fucking necessities that her mother should have been responsible for was unacceptable. I could see why Riley wanted her to take a break in college. Bella as a girl had too many adult responsibilities.
"Bella, I want you to tell Riley that you don't need an allowance anymore."
"I was thinking of doing the same thing. It's time I get a part-time job. I feel like such a freeloader."
"Bella, you're not a freeloader—far from it. Now that we're married, you and I need to have a little talk about our finances."
"Um...that's your private business, Jasper. It really doesn't matter to me what you have. I'm just happy to be your mate."
"Bella, it's not my private business. It's our private business. You're not only my mate, but my wife. That means we share whatever assets I have fifty/fifty. Now, I want you to just listen, okay?"
"Okay, Jasper." She nodded.
"Bella, I'm gonna make a long story short. During my time with Maria, I acquired a lot of assets including property, stocks, bonds, and bank accounts throughout the southwestern United States. Through careful investment, I was able to build up the value of those assets. Most of the property, I sold and reinvested—however, I own homes or apartments in London, Edinburgh, Tokyo, Zurich, New York, Houston, and Dallas.
"You forgot Cambridge, Massachusetts."
"Oh, right." I paused. "Bella, I'm not done yet. The stocks and bonds have all been carefully managed and are doing well despite the recent beating the markets have taken. We own shares in Apple and Walmart to name a couple. As for the bank accounts, we have a few. One in each city that we own property in, but our main one is in Switzerland."
"Um...by Switzerland, do you mean one of those Swiss Bank Accounts they always feature in James Bond movies?" She gulped.
"Yes, our account number is 02-12-15-0024-113-007.
"Fuck me!" She gasped.
"Not yet, Bella, I'm not done. We can join the mile high club in a couple of minutes, but you have to hear me out first."
"This isn't the time for jokes Jasper." She tried her best to put on a serious expression, but I could tell she wanted to laugh.
"I'm not joking, I'm meeting you in the bathroom in about ten minutes." I could smell her arousal as soon as I said that. Yeah, my mate is just as freaky as I am. "Bella, I'm telling you all of this because you're my mate and my wife. Carlisle is the only other one in the Cullen family that knows of my assets and even he only knows about half. He has no idea, for example, about the Swiss Bank Account. He also doesn't know where most of my properties are located. Alice doesn't have one inkling about my assets. As far as she's concerned, I'm a penniless pauper living off of Carlisle. Peter knows, though. He managed everything for me while I was married to Alice, away from her visions.
"I can see why you didn't tell Alice anything. She would have taken everything for herself. How did you manage to hide everything from her and from Edward, for that matter?"
"Easy. I never made any financial decisions in the house. I would always make those while Alice was away on one of her shopping sprees. She rarely looks for visions then. I would then go to Peter's and take care of business. He'd handle everything for me that way, in the rare case that Alice was seeking out a vision, it would be his decision—not mine. Edward, of course, was too far from us to hear anything."
"It still doesn't change anything, though, Jasper." Bella said. "It's still your money, not mine. I'm still getting a part time job."
I'm not going to lose my temper. I'm not going to lose my temper. I swear to God, I'm not going to lose my temper. Fuck it! I'm going to lose my temper. "Bella, get it through your thick skull. You are my wife. The money that I have is now ours whether you want it to be or not. Every single asset that I have has your name on it now too, like it or not it's yours as well. Managing our estate and assets takes a good chunk of time and skill, you need to learn how to do it as well, in case, God forbid, I cease to exist. You aren't working now because I don't want you to. That's not to say that you can't have a career later. Right now, you're going to have enough on your plate with graduate school and taking care of Amanda. On top of that, if you work, I'll have to work too because no matter how in control you are, you're still a newborn. I also can't be away from you for too long without my chest feeling like hell so if you decide to flip burgers at McDonald's, I'll be doing it alongside of you."
"I was actually thinking of working as a cocktail waitress at Climax, so maybe you can wear one of those loincloths and wait tables. I heard the tips are great. We might get our asses grabbed a few times a night though, but it'll be worth it for the tips."
"Like hell you are! What the fuck are you thinking? Climax? Those cocktail waitresses might as well be naked!" I yelled to the shock of the rest of the passengers on the plane.
"Sir, Ma'am. Is everything alright?" A concerned flight attendant questioned us.
"Yes, my wife and I were just talking. I'm sorry things got a little out of hand, ma'am." I laid my accent on thick and grinned at the woman. She instantly became aroused.
"Um...I really didn't need to smell that. I was just trying to get a rise out of you. It worked." Bella chuckled. "I won't work if you don't want me to, but only if you talk to Carlisle and get him to stop forcing his black credit card and his start-up funds on me."
"Deal. Now get in that bathroom, take your panties off, and wait for me." I winked. She was gone in a flash. Now for the mile high club.
Emmett's POV
"We're home!" Bella's voice rang like a chime as she and Jasper walked through the front door and into the living room. Amanda went bounding up to her. "Belly Mama!" She jumped up into Bella's arms and snuggled into her chest, then she looked up at Jasper and said, "Little Major, bad boy! Oh my fuck! Jasper and Bella just eloped!"
At hearing that, Jasper and Bella looked quizzically at each other, then at the family. "Hi everyone! Guess what? Bella and I just got married, but it seems you already knew that."
We all glared back at the two of them. The women, in particular, looked like they were going to remove some limbs. My mother was sitting at the coffee table whacking a riding crop on it. Rose and Vicky were both cracking their knuckles.
"So, how was Las Vegas, kids?" Carlisle asked scathingly.
"Um...how did you know where we were?" Bella asked.
"Where else can you get married at a drive thru?" Rose replied venomously. "Who the hell picks 'Burning Love' as a wedding song?"
"Didn't you think we would have wanted to see you get married?" Carmen questioned the couple.
"I'm sorry. It was all my fault. I was really drunk and then I insisted on seeing Elvis and the next thing you know, we were married." Bella sobbed. Jasper put his arm around Bella and pulled her close to him. Funny, he had a guilty expression on his face.
"What do you have to say about all of this, son?" Carlisle asked.
"Um...what she says." Jasper replied then looked down.
"He's lying. Bella's being honest, but Jasper's lying." My new fuckawesome, lie detecting, football playing bro Riley noted.
We all moved into action. Rex pulled Bella out of harms way and the women surrounded a terrified looking Jasper. Esme was wielding her riding crop and standing over Jasper who was on his knees after Katie had shocked him. "Riley Biers! Front and center!" Esme called out.
Riley instantly made his way next to Esme. "Yes, mom?"
"You tell me if the boy lies." She ordered. Riley nodded that he understood..
"Jasper, my boy? How is it that my daughter is suddenly married this weekend, yet she seems to have no inkling about how it came about?"
"She told ya, mom. We were drinking and we just decided to tie the knot." Jasper replied.
"Lie." Riley stated. Esme took her riding crop and tapped it on Jasper's thigh.
"Try again." She suggested.
"We went drinking, we danced, then gambled, drank a little more then went to see Elvis and got hitched."
"Lie." Riley stated again.
Esme lifted her riding crop to whack Jasper, but he got up quicker than lightening. Unfortunately for him, Katie moved in and shocked him twice. This time, he was curled up on the floor writhing in pain. He looked up at Esme. She gave him a sinister smile and snapped her riding crop three times on Jasper's ass. "Don't you dare try and escape again! I want the truth Jasper Whitlock and I want it now!" She roared.
You would think that being shocked twice by Kate and then being impaled by a riding crop would knock some sense into the fool. Of course not. "What more do you want me to say? I'm telling the truth. Bella and I just decided to elope." Jasper yelled.
"Lie." Riley confirmed to Esme. Mom took the riding crop and flicked it hard ten times on Jasper who was yelping in pain. My mother can be a tough bitch. I've been at the other end of that riding crop and let me tell you, it's not pretty. The one she's using was specifically meant to cause pain. She had it specially made with silver tips on it. That shit hurts.
"Should I gag him, Aunt Esme?" Tanya was waving around a silver ball gag hopefully.
"No, dear. We actually want him to speak." Esme replied sweetly. She then turned to Jasper menacingly. "One more time before I start removing fingers, son. Whose idea was it to get married this weekend?" She raised her riding crop threateningly.
"My idea! It was all my idea. I didn't want to wait four years to get married so I got Bella drunk and duped her into marrying me. I planned it all from beginning to end, except for Elvis singing 'Burning Love'—that was all Bella!"
"Truth." Riley validated angrily, then clocked Jasper with a jab to his chin, followed by a right hook to the jaw.
"Why you little scoundrel! How dare you!" Esme went ballistic. She whacked Jasper continuously with her riding crop while the other girls started kicking and punching him mercilessly.
"Stop!" Bella yelled, then threw her shield on Jasper to protect him. "Leave him alone!"
The women stopped as soon as they heard her and looked up at Bella shamefully.
"Are you okay?" Bella asked Jasper.
"Yes." He said. "I'm sorry."
"Good." She lowered her physical shield and slapped him across the face.
Amanda followed Bella's lead and slapped Jasper across the face.
"Good girl." Bella patted her on the head.
"We need to talk now, Jasper." Bella said scathingly. "In private."
"I figured that. Let's go hunting." Jasper suggested and tried to take Bella's hand.
"Don't touch me!" She snapped and headed towards the door. "Let's go."
Bella's POV
That sneaky piece of shit! How dare he? How fucking dare he lie to me. He even made me think it was my idea to get married. Aaargh!
"Babe, I'm..."
"Don't you 'babe' me! You have no right to call me 'babe' or anything else for that matter! How could you, Jasper? You got me drunk and forced me to marry you. Why? Tell me why?"
"I couldn't take it anymore Bella. I had to marry you."
"Obviously! You still haven't told me why though?"
"I...I...Damn it, Bella! It's me, okay. I tried Bella. I really tried to keep up with the times for you. The one thing that I couldn't handle anymore was not making an honest woman out of you. Hell, it's just how I was brought up. I'm 167 years old in human years Bella and in my day men and women married each other fairly quickly. We were taught that it was the right thing to do." He sat on the forest floor and ran his hand through his hair. "When you said that you wanted to wait two to four years to get married, I got scared. Scared that you'll never want to marry me."
"Oh, so instead, you get me drunk, throw two fingers in my pussy and get me to say 'I do.' You say that you wanted to make an honest woman out of me, but that was a really underhanded and dishonest way for you to do it. I'm really hurt Jasper. I truly am." I started crying, I really wished that I could cry some real tears—but I couldn't.
"Bella, I'm sorry. It was wrong of me. I'm an asshole. I don't know what I can do to make it up to you. Tell me, Bella. Tell me what I can do?"
"Jasper, I'm pissed off, okay! I can't give you a straight answer right now. You need to know that I'm more upset that you couldn't tell me how you felt about you and me living together than about the actual fucked up wedding itself. I'm hurt that you couldn't trust me and now I know that I can't trust you."
"I should have told you—I know, but something took hold of me and made me want to marry you right then. I don't know what it was, maybe it was the mating pull, maybe it was the need for me to have that extra security of being married to you, I don't know what it was. You do need to know that to marry you in Las Vegas was a spur of the moment decision, however I had been planning on asking you to marry me for months now. I even had your ring on order for about two months." Jasper sighed. "I wanted to do it right, have a wedding, get married in front of the family, but I think I was feeling insecure with all that's been happening lately. The violent end to your human life and Edward still admitting that he loves you was bothering me to no end. Then, when you ran to Forks, I got scared that I was going to lose you."
Jasper looked so forlorn. I didn't know whether to forgive him or not. I was truly hurt by his actions. What I really needed to do was talk to someone, far away from the house—and I knew exactly who that someone was going to be. "Jasper, I need to be away from you for a little bit. I can't be around you right now."
"Bella, please! Don't leave me! I can't handle that!" He was pleading, on his knees, with venom tears in his eyes. I had to look away.
"Jasper, I'm going back home to think, okay? I really need some time to think right now."
"Okay, if that's what you need, I understand." He slumped against a tree, hugged his knees, and put his head down. That's how I left him.
I quickly reached the house and got to the front door, I was about to go in when I decided that I really didn't want the entire family getting into my business. I needed to get the person that I wanted to talk to alone. I quickly lowered my mental shield for the first time in years and spoke in my mind. "Edward? Edward? Can you hear me? It's Bella, if you can hear me, put you right hand into your pocket. I can see you from where I am."
Edward looked bewildered, but put his hand in his pocket. "Edward, I need to talk to you. Can you meet me in the garage by your Volvo? Maybe you can tell everyone that Amanda needs to go for a hunt."
Edward removed his hand from his pocket and gave me a quick thumbs up. As I loped off to the garage, I heard him telling everyone, "I'm taking Amanda on a hunt. I'll be right back."
"Belly Mama!" Amanda jumped into my arms in the garage. Edward opened the door for us and I quickly climbed into the backseat settling Amanda on my lap. Edward quickly backed out of the garage, but we were blocked by Peter. As soon as Edward stopped the car, Peter jumped into the passenger seat. When we were about five miles out, Peter finally spoke. "If you guys would have gone by yourselves, the Major would have come out and ripped Eddie boy apart. It would have been chaos, he's gonna be panicked enough when he finds that you're gone from the house. Text him and tell him that you're with me, Eddie, and Amanda."
I quickly sent a message to Jasper and I got one in reply immediately.
From: J Whitlock
To: I Whitlock
Whatever you need. I'm sorry, darlin'. I love you.
"What the heck was that all about? How come I suddenly heard you speaking to me in my mind, Bella?" Edward asked curiously.
"I'm a shield, Edward. I lowered my shield so I could talk to you mentally."
"Well, that explains a lot of things. Have you been blocking everyone else from me too?"
"Yes." I replied simply.
"That's a relief. I thought it was because of all those spermal expulsions that my power wasn't working. I feel better now."
"Edward, why would you think an orgasm cause you to lose control of your power?" I asked curiously.
"Well, they're so powerful and I feel it through my whole body whenever I have one that I thought maybe it drained my power."
"Edward, you're supposed to feel an orgasm through your entire body. Haven't you ever masturbated in the shower or anything?" I asked curiously.
"Um...no. I don't really know how and with my vampire power, what if I remove my penis?"
"Um...you take over Papa." I said uncomfortably to Peter.
"Okay, Eddie. You and I are going to have a father-son talk about the birds and the bees later seeing as you're eventually going to be making it with my little pup back there someday." Peter said.
Edward drove to a cottage in rural Maine. He took the back roads so that we wouldn't have to stop at any toll booths and encounter any humans for Amanda's sake. We all went for a quick hunt then went into the cozy house. "This is where Amanda was supposed to go through her transformation. It belongs to Carlisle and Esme." Edward informed me and Peter.
We quickly sat on the sofa and Peter said, "Okay, baby girl, what is it that you need to get off of your chest?"
"I'm angry. I'm so angry at Jasper. He manipulated me into marrying him. Do you realize that I didn't even answer the minister when I said 'I do'. Jasper actually asked me if I wanted to cum. I said 'I do' because he'd been keeping me on edge all night."
"You can do that?" Edward asked stupidly.
"Edward! Are you even listening?"
"I'm sorry, Bella. Yes, I am listening. I have a question for you, though, did he tell you why he tricked you into marrying him?"
"Yes, he said that he couldn't handle just living together and that he wanted to make an honest woman out of me because that's the way he was raised. He also couldn't explain why he did what he did, just that something took hold of him and he was desperate that he would lose me. I also should point out that I told him that I wanted to wait two to four years before we got married."
"Why would you want to wait that long?" Peter asked curiously.
"I don't know. I just thought that after graduate school would be a nice time, that's all. The thing is, I don't mind that we got married in Las Vegas. I fucking hate ceremonies and pomp. I don't like parties or fanfare either. Edward knows, right?" I paused while Edward acknowledged me by nodding. "What I didn't appreciate was the way he did it. He should have worked harder at trying to persuade me, by explaining how he felt, instead of just being a dick about it and marrying me."
"What do you want to do about the marriage, it's legal and binding, isn't it?" Edward asked. "Did you want to file for an annulment or a divorce?"
"That's the thing. I don't. I've actually accepted the fact that he's my husband and that we're married. When he asked me to marry him when we were in Forks, I was ecstatic. I was completely excited about the prospect of being his wife. I just wanted to be engaged for a little while longer before actually getting married. So, no I don't want to get a divorce. I certainly don't want to have to go through another wedding again. I'm just furious about the way he did it. He completely disregarded my opinions." I sobbed. Edward ran his fingers through my hair and Peter rubbed my back in an effort to comfort me. Amanda snuggled into my chest.
"Baby girl, you need to hear what I have to say. You might get angry at me, but try and hold it in until after I'm done talking." I nodded to Peter, acknowledging him. "You have to understand that Jasper is from a completely different era than you. In his time, hell even in Edward's time, men and women courted each other then got married. Well, hell Edward, you explain this part to her—I'm a few decades younger than you are so things were different, and I'll talk about Jasper afterwards."
Edward sighed. "I'm a few decades younger than Jasper, but the rules of courtship were pretty much the same. You courted the girl, then only after you became engaged, were you allowed to go out on dates—usually with a chaperone. If it was just the two of you together, you had to ride in an open carriage in very public places. You were allowed to hold hands, but only if the girl's hands were gloved. If you failed to follow any of these rules, the woman—never the man—would be subjected to a lifetime of spinsterhood. Basically, the woman would be ruined for life."
"That's ridiculous! We're in a completely different time."
"That's the whole point Bella, I think what Peter is trying to say is that Jasper was fighting with his inner conscience the whole time he was with you and unmarried. As vampires, we have to move on with the times, but some things—like values that were ingrained in us from infancy, are harder to move on from. Hell, part of the reason why I could never give you or Amanda a proper kiss while we were dating is because I didn't want to defile either of you—even if I knew that society's rules on courtship had changed."
Edward inhaled a deep breath then continued. "Bella, when we were together, I really wanted to have sex with you—but I couldn't. I wasn't exactly honest with you, fear of hurting you wasn't the only reason why I couldn't make love to you, my values also held me back. I just couldn't ruin you before marriage. Like Jasper, I had every intention of making an honest woman of you after graduation, but then fate intervened. I think Jasper acted the way he did out of sheer desperation. You're stubborn, Bella, and you have a tendency not to listen to everything your partner says. I know this for a fact, so don't try to argue with me. I'm guessing you told Jasper that you wanted to wait two to four years before getting married without even giving him a chance to say how he felt. Relationships are a two way street, Bella, it's not all about you."
Fuck. Why the hell did he have to force me to face the truth? I slapped my hand to my forehead in realization. Oh my God! I'm such a selfish bitch! "Amanda, stop slapping your forehead" I chastised when I realized she was mimicking me. "Ouch! Ouch!"
"My turn, baby girl." Peter chuckled. "Let's talk about the Major. Now, you're probably wondering how he could have had wild sex with you if he had all those ancient values pounded into him. Well, the Major's a different person from Eddie here. First of all, when he was in Maria's army he could take whatever woman he wanted, whenever he wanted. They were sort of a perk for being high ranking in Maria's army. Remember how Vicky said she was changed for the sole purpose of servicing James? Well, Char was changed to service the Major."
"Char!" I gasped and threw my hand over my mouth.
"Super Tatas?" Asked Amanda.
"Yes, Super Tatas, little pup." Peter confirmed. I can't fucking believe that Peter taught our kid to call his mate Super Tatas. Holy fucking shit.
"I didn't know that about Char. How horrible!" I said.
"Listen Bella, it's all in the past. Jasper, Char, and I have discussed this hundreds of times. None of us had control over the situation and it actually brought the three of us closer together. That's why the three of us have no secrets between us. Bella, sex is something that Jasper was able to engage in without giving it a second thought. The first time you two had sex, you both probably were out looking for a good time, right?"
"Yeah, I actually had my fuckbuddy, Tommy, waiting for me at his apartment, but then you guys insisted on taking me to your place so that kind of fell through. So, I did the next best thing and attacked Jasper. It was weird though, somewhere along the line that night we discovered we were mates. It was the pull and the electricity. I never had that with anyone."
"So, Bella, what's this Tommy's last name?" Peter asked casually.
"Yes, Bella, I was just wondering if he lives in Boston?" Edward added.
"Umm...no...my lips are sealed. You can't go and kill him. He was before Jasper and I were mated. Great in the sack, though." I smiled and licked my lips thinking about some of the adventures I had with Tommy.
"Alright, pervy girl, stop musing about your kinky sex with the human boy. I need to keep going with my story." Peter stopped to think for a few seconds. "I think once his mating instincts kicked in, Jasper probably felt a little bad about taking you the way he did. I think one side of him wanted to honor the values he was taught and the other side of him wanted to claim you on the spot. Throughout your relationship, I know for a fact that Jasper was struggling to keep up with his new, modern 21st century girlfriend. You have to admit that he's done a lot of changing for ya, sugar. Since he's met you, he's learned to listen to your opinions, tried like the devil to become a little hipper, aw hell, he even trims his manbush for ya. What changes have you made for him Bella? The hard fact is, if he didn't already know you through Edward, Jasper would have let his inner vampire take control and changed you the first time you mated. After that, you would have just gone along with whatever he said, including marrying him. That's sort of what happened to Char. I was a fucking neanderthal with her until I started receiving counseling from Riley." Peter stated.
I never thought about any of this stuff. Edward and Peter sure gave me a lot to consider. Jasper was fighting his vampire instincts from the get go and he was trying to modernize himself at the same time. He never asked me to change in any way. The only thing he ever really wanted was for me to be happy. His baser instincts must have taken hold of him when he married me the way he did. He was clearly remorseful. I'd never seen my mate so downtrodden and dejected.
"So, Bella, have you decided what to do with Jasper?" Edward asked.
"I don't know. I still need to think a little more. I want to forgive him, but I'm still hurt by what he did. The fact is that I love him—body and soul. I really can't live without him, it's killing me to be this far from him now." I clutched my chest which felt like it was being crushed by a ton of bricks. "I guess I'm afraid to forgive him, what if he pulls this kind of shit again?"
"Bella, you love him. You admitted it yourself and you also said that you were ecstatic about the prospect of being his wife. Like it or not, it happened. You can either stay angry at him and let it fester inside of you or forgive him. I hate how he handled your wedding too, but I have a feeling he acted out of sheer desperation. I have a feeling that he's regretting his actions more than anything right now. Holding onto anger is never a good thing, my anger at myself for having left you in Forks led to my twisted opinions of you during the past five years. I don't want to see that happen to you, sis."
"Baby girl, let me impart some words of wisdom on you. 'Fear is the path to the darkside. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering'." Peter said.
"Wow! That's pretty deep Peter. Was it Aristotle or Sophocles that said that?"
"Yoda, Bella!" Edward and Peter both said simultaneously with exasperated looks on their faces.
"Oh." I whispered.
Peter shook his head and looked at Edward. "Star Wars marathon?"
"I believe so. Who knew she was this uninformed?" Edward replied.
"Hey, I wasn't even alive when the original movies came out and just a kid when they made the prequels." I defended myself.
We ended up watching all six Star Wars movies before heading back. I had done a lot of thinking and decided to take Edward's advice and not let my anger fester. We were in Edward's Volvo driving back to New Hampshire. "Thanks guys." I said to both of them. "I really appreciate you helping me through this."
"Anytime, baby girl." Peter smiled.
"We just want you to be happy Bella." Edward said as he pulled into the garage.
Jasper came outside to meet us. He looked awful. "Um...we'll leave you two alone." Peter said. He, Edward, and Amanda disappeared into the house.
Jasper dropped to his knees and hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry Bella. I'm so sorry. I completely devalued you when I married you the way I did and I can never take it back. I can understand if you want a divorce. Just know that I love you. I did what I did because I just couldn't stand the thought of not being married to you so instead of asking you for permission, I just took what I wanted without giving any consideration to your thoughts and feelings. I'm a selfish asshole."
"Jasper, you were manipulative, deceitful, and you really hurt my feeling when you planned this whole wedding. Just tell me this, when did you come up with the idea."
"As soon as you told me that you wanted to wait a few years before getting married, I became desperate. I just couldn't fathom waiting that long. So, I started making plans and once they were formed, I just couldn't stop myself from going through with them. I was desperate Bella. I hated the fact that you weren't my wife. Everyday, from the time we were mated, I wanted to marry you. I felt horrible. Hell, I even married Alice before having sex with her. It bothered me to no end knowing that I had enough respect to marry her, yet you're my mate who means the world to me, and I didn't have the decency to marry you. Yeah, I know. I'm old fashioned, but I've been trying. Trying really hard to become the type of man you deserve. I guess I fucked it all up with my fuckery."
"Jasper." I took his chin in my hand so he was looking into my eyes. "I'm sorry that I didn't take your feelings into consideration. I know you tried to talk to me and that I didn't let you get a word in edgewise. I always skirted the issue of marriage and I did it purposely. For that, I apologize. I know you've been trying. You've actually made a hell of a lot more concessions for me than I have for you. Maybe this is one that I can make for you. It's not like we can change anything anyway. We're not going to get divorced only to get married again."
"Really, Bella? Are you sure? I'm going to spend the rest of my existence making it up to you. Do you want to have a real wedding? We can, you know. I'll do whatever it takes to earn your trust back again. I love you Bella, more than life itself."
"Um, no. I can tell you for sure that I don't want another wedding. I'm actually happy that I don't have to deal with that fuckery. How about we figure it out as we go along." I suggested.
Jasper stood up and pulled me into his arms. "Thank you." He said simply.
We walked hand in hand back into the house, where Jasper was greeted by a swift punch in the nose from Edward. "You fucking hurt her again and I'll make sure that I turn every bit of you into ash."
"I know, I'm.." Jasper was interrupted by a left hook from Peter.
"Do you know what baby girl went through? Edward and I are a united front on this, we don't give a fuck if you're our brother. You pull that shit again and you're cinder."
"I was about to say that I'm sorry. Truly, deeply sorry for my actions. I know I was an asshole." Jasper said repentantly.
Riley's POV
Bella was back, safe and sound, and I felt relieved. I was worried when she didn't come back from her hunt and Peter, Edward, and Amanda suddenly disappeared. Char received a text message from Peter saying that they were talking to Bella and they'd be back later. Meanwhile, Jasper had come back home looking like he had been put through the wringer. I took him on a quick hunt and talked to him, but only after beating the motherfucker to a pulp.
I was furious at the way he married her. He completely disregarded Bella's feelings and just took what he wanted. He admitted his wrongdoings and was truly remorseful. He married her because he loves her, truly, and was terrified that he was disrespecting her and Charlie by not marrying her. He apparently became desperate when Bella said she wanted to wait four years to get married and just took it upon himself to marry her without thinking of the consequences of his actions.
We all heard them talking in the garage right now. Bella had forgiven him and she seems to have thought everything through too. Jasper was truly remorseful, as well. They wanted their marriage to work. I could feel the honesty between them as they walked into the living room.
"Why the hell are you forgiving him so easily? The fucker tricked you into getting married?" Rose got up into Bella's face with a bitch glare and her hands on her hips.
"I forgive him because I've accepted the fact that we're married. I'm not going to divorce him just to get married again. Besides, it spares me from a lavish wedding ceremony. I hate those fucking things." Bella explained.
Wrong fucking thing to say. The women all narrowed their eyes at Bella. They had been planning a wedding for her all weekend. I got scared for my sister so I moved in front of her, so did Jasper, Laurent, Peter, Emmett, and Edward.
"Move out of the way boys. I need to have a word with my daughter now." Esme demanded. We weren't budging.
"Honey, put the riding crop down before you approach our baby." Carlisle recommended. "Here, why don't you just give it to me. I'll take it." Phew! Mom handed the riding crop over to Dad. We all moved out of Esme's way.
"Upstairs now, young lady! We are going to talk, right now, right this second! Move it!" Esme yelled at a terrified Bella who high-tailed it upstairs in an instant. We all looked up with worried expressions on our faces. We could hear Esme screaming at Bella about the importance of having a wedding ceremony, how the entire family was looking forward to it, how the girls had all been planning a ceremony for her, how Dad wanted to walk her down the aisle, etc. She was laying the guilt on thick, but Bella was holding her own too, all the while remaining calm.
"Mom, I really don't like big to-dos. I had one wedding and that's enough. I don't particularly want another one. It really isn't my thing."
"Think of how the girls would feel if you didn't have a real wedding, Bella, in which you say "I do" in front of your friends and family."
"Mom, Jasper and I already had a wedding ceremony. I distinctly remember saying 'I do' twice to Elvis."
"Elvis is not an appropriate minister! Young lady, you will get married in a church, in a white dress, if it's the last fucking thing I do on this earth. God damnit! Do you fucking hear me?"
"Language, mother." Bella chastised. "Besides, I wore a white dress for my wedding." We all started laughing.
"Isabella Marie Swan-Biers Cullen! You will treat me with the fucking respect I deserve right the fuck now!"
"It's Whitlock—I was never a Cullen!" Bella spat. She was pushing Esme's buttons and she knew it. Only Bella would have enough gumption to push mom.
"Carlisle! Come and talk to your daughter!" Mom called.
"Don't do it Dad, trust me on this, you'll push her away! You'll drive them both away!" Peter warned.
"Carlisle now!" Mom yelled.
Carlisle raised his hands in defeat and made his way upstairs. "Really, Esme, is all that swearing necessary?" We heard Carlisle asked.
"Carlisle Cullen. Isabella has you wrapped around her little finger. You always take her side. Now, I want a wedding and that's final!"
"Dear, I don't always take her side. It's every father's dream to give away their little girl. It would be nice to have our first father-daughter dance together too." Oh, Carlisle was good. Now, Bella was getting a double dose of guilt.
"It's my life and I should be able to choose whether or not I want a wedding. I'm 22 years old for God's sake." Bella tried reasoning with Esme.
"Isabella, you'll have a wedding. It's my dream for you. The girls are all excited. It's the least you can do for them and for me." Esme continued guilting her. "We've already started planning it. You'll break their hearts if you don't have the wedding."
"Alright, I give. You and the girls can have YOUR wedding. Nothing garish and I'm picking the dress so don't bother calling me with dress samples. I also do not need to see the flower samples, the decorations, and whatever the heck else you need for a wedding. This is YOUR wedding so I don't need to be part of the decision making process. While you and the girls are planning YOUR wedding, though, keep in mind that while I appreciate your wanting me to have a lavish ceremony, it is something that in my heart, I truly don't want or need. I plan on just showing up, saying my vows, and getting the fuck out."
"Language, Bella!" Carlisle and Esme both reprimanded.
"Sorry!" We could hear Bella stomping her feet as she made her way downstairs. She gave a pernicious glare to all the women downstairs and slammed the front door as she walked outside. "Fuck my life!" We heard her roar into the forest. Jasper took off behind her.
"Fuck!" Peter yelled, then looked at the girls. "Just fucking great! I hope you're all pleased with yourselves! You just created a rift that ain't gonna be repaired overnight. They ain't ever gonna live with us again."
"She really hates fanfare." I pointed out. "It's her life. You girls didn't have a right to make a decision on how she should get married. She was okay with how she got married and you girls had to push your wants onto her. I don't agree with the way she and Jasper did it, but they did and you can't take that away from them."
"Riley, they got married in a car!" Vicky pointed out.
"Yeah, so they did. That's just how it happened for them."
"He got her drunk and tricked her!" Charlotte pointed out.
"Yeah, and she forgave him. It's not for you to forgive."
"They had 'Burning Love' as a wedding song." Rosalie said scathingly.
"Again, it was their choice."
"You do realize that having this wedding would be like her eighteenth birthday party again." Edward pointed out. "She didn't want that either and Alice forced it upon her. You're all behaving like Alice."
"Alice—Psycho Bitch." Amanda said.
"Good girl." Several of us, including Edward, praised.
The women were all mortified by the comparison to Alice that Edward made. They were all stubborn, though, and refused to give in. I had to agree with Edward, he made a really good point.
Several hours later, we heard Jasper and Bella quietly make their way into their room via the balcony. We heard the shower run then shut off. The two of them quickly got dressed, hopped off of their balcony, then left in Jasper's car—probably for Boston. Garrett received a text message a few minutes later stating that the couple would meet him at Harvard at 10 am for orientation. Clearly, they were avoiding the family. Fuck! I didn't even get to hang out with Bella again.
Three evenings later, Bella's birthday...
"Any word from Jasper or Bella yet?" Carlisle asked anxiously. Everyone looked up at each other, hoping that someone had heard from them.
"I doubt you'll hear from them for a while." Emmett said. "You girls overstepped your boundaries. It was touch and go with them anyway. It was only because Bella was changed that they were staying with us in the first place. I doubt they'll be coming here anytime soon."
"This was exactly the reason why Bella didn't want to move in here in the first place." I supported Emmett's insightful observation. "She didn't want the family infringing on her personal life."
"None of you, especially you Esme, took the time to listen her. You all heard her saying that she didn't want a big wedding yet you kept insisting that it was your dream. It may be your dream, but clearly it's not hers." Eleazar chastised all of the women.
Mom looked away from Eleazar. She was clearly feeling the pain of being deliberately ignored by her daughter and son. She knew she was wrong for forcing the idea of a wedding on Bella, but refused to admit it.
"Every girl wants a big wedding." Rosalie scoffed. "It's their dream."
"Bella isn't you, Rosie. She's laid back and pretty low maintenance." Emmett pointed out.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Are you saying that I'm high maintenance? Emmett McCarty, so help me..." Rosie clenched her fists and gritted her teeth as she glared angrily at him. He wasn't giving in on this though, he was pissed off at her for pushing Bella and Jasper away.
Just then, Garrett walked in the house. "How was school son? Did you learn anything new today?" Carmen asked.
"Yes, it was fine."
"Did you see Jasper and Bella?" Vicky asked.
"Yes."
"Just, yes? Did they say anything? It's Bella's birthday, you know. She would have been twenty-three today." Vicky was hoping for any news of her sister and brother in law.
"Not really. We went to our classes then met up later so they could help me on some of my assignments. They were very cordial and pleasant, as always." He's been giving us roughly the same answer for the last three days.
"Maybe you can ask them to call us." Irina suggested. "When you see them next, I mean."
"No, I'll not become involved in this. You ladies dug your own graves, you can dig yourselves out." Garrett replied.
Katie glared at her husband. "Garrett, the least you could do is assist us. All we want is for them to call us."
"How are we supposed to plan their wedding without them?" Rosie said. Several of the girls nodded in agreement.
"Send them a text message." I suggested.
"We did, we all did, to both of them. They refuse to reply to any of them." Vicky said to me.
"Well, then, you girls are all going to have to wait until they're ready to see you." I stated.
That was the hard truth for the girls and Carlisle. Carlisle was most likely being included with the girls for taking Esme's side regarding the wedding instead of sticking up for Bella. Bella and Jasper refused to reply to any messages—text, voice, or e-mail from them. They would respond to the rest of ours, but nothing to do with the wedding, visiting us, or the women. We men were all on the couple's side regarding the wedding. We felt that if they didn't want one, they shouldn't be subjected to one. Plans, of course, were still in full swing. The women refused to give up on the wedding.
I was kind of glad that Bella and Jasper were away from the house. They had their own healing to do and this wasn't the place to do it. The family would be in their business immediately and their issues would just be glazed over. On their own, however, Jasper and Bella would be forced to confront the trust issues head on. They would repair whatever damage their relationship had incurred much quicker and they would become all the more closer because of it.
The one thing bothering me was Peter's cryptic message that he blurted out to the women three days ago: "They ain't ever gonna live with us again!" Now, more than ever, I had a feeling that Jasper and Bella would live separate lives from the family. Even during the summer, before Bella's change, they were quite content simply being together. Neither of them could handle the lack of privacy that came with living in such a large household. Jasper and Bella needed much more privacy than the rest of us.
Vicky wasn't handling the separation too well, neither was Irina. Hell, Laurent and I weren't doing much better either. Bella was simply a part of our family and her growing up was something that none of us had anticipated. Carlisle and Esme could say all they wanted about being Bella's parents, but it was the four of us that came together to help raise her to be the woman she is today. We just didn't think our baby girl would ever leave the nest. At this point, all I could do was give her the privacy she needed and hope to God that she missed us too.
I know that this chapter was a little more serious than my norm, but there were some important issues that needed to be addressed post haste. I'd love to hear what you're thinking. You know I'll always write back to you! XOXO