Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

Give Me A Little Trust

Chapter Nine: Now Or Never

Edward's POV

Nothing. Nada.

It was as though my secret got out by a complete anomaly. One week and the private detective had not found anything. He did tell me though that Lauren certainly wasn't the one who told. She had been pampering herself at a spa retreat for the week and her story checked out that she didn't tell the papers herself.

Next on his list were Dr Marshall and Bella. I specifically told him to check out Bella last. That may seem foolish but I wanted to give her a chance to tell me if she had. Of course though, this opened a whole new can of worms.

Trust.

I obviously didn't trust her and she certainly didn't trust me. Our once strong friendship had crumbled in to small pieces which I truly regretted. My faith in other human beings clearly was very little and if I had had an open mind when our friendship started I doubt we would be in this mess.

Alas there was nothing I could do now. The damage had been done and now I was living with the consequences.

On the other hand the press had died down on the story. Instead I was being viewed like a poster child for infertile men. My P.R. staff had been getting calls nonstop asking me to tell my story to explain to the world that infertile men can still have 'fun'. Though I really beg to differ.

There was some good news though. Alice called me the other day to tell me that she and Jasper are now going out and that she really cares for him. To be honest I was very surprised how well she took to Jasper. He seemed like a mellow kinda guy and Alice is…well Alice. She travels at one hundred miles per hour twenty four seven. They just seem an unusual match but hey, if it works out then who am I to complain.

So things were going well for Alice and pretty crap for me. I guess that's just how life is sometimes. Even though Bella and I were on speaking terms things were still very weird between us and I knew she didn't fully forgive me. Though who could really blame her?

With everything going on I immersed myself in my work. It was the best way for me to ignore the problems plaguing my mind and just try and get on with life. Working constantly did have its disadvantages; I looked a state for starters. There were dark purple circles under my eyes, a slight stubble forming, my hair was all over the place and gradually I was running out of clothes at the office.

Knowing that in time I'd have days like this I converted a cabinet into a wardrobe and kept everything from boxers to whole suits in there. Unfortunately I was running out of clean clothes so knew I would have to go back to my apartment sometime soon.

It turned out though that I might not even need to stay there that long. Later on I had a meeting with Lauren and we were going to go over the properties and estate that I own to see what we could mutually split. I wasn't particularly bothered about this but knew that I would get the house.

My house. The one I bought to raise my family in, a family I will never be able to have.

Everything came back to that. No matter what I did it always came down to how I was infertile. Why did I work so hard and save so much money? For my children and their future. Why did I buy a big house? For my family and children.

But what children?

Before I could even think to answer that Lauren came in. I guess I must have lost track of time and our meeting was now rather than later. She smiled softly at me then took a seat in front of my desk.

"Hey Edward." Obviously we were going to deal with the pleasantries.

"Hi Lauren, so shall we get this over and done with?" I pulled out the correct papers and looked over the properties we were mutually going to split without our lawyers present. They seemed to antagonise things.

"Okay, well I've decided that all I really want is the deal we settled with our lawyers and one property that we have yet to split." She told me, flicking her hair out of her face.

"And which property would that be?"

"The country house." Now that really surprised me. I thought she would want the penthouses or condos.

"Alright. Done."

"Thank you." I nodded and sighed. I was prepared for an uphill battle, not something as easy as that. "Look Edward, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For how our relationship has ended. We had some ugly moments and I regret them. You really were my best friend and as your wife I shouldn't have hurt you like I did." She genuinely looked sorry and sighed before continuing.

"I cheated on you, I possibly physically hurt you, I treated you like dirt, and I shunned you when it wasn't your fault that you're infertile and worst of all, I stopped loving you as you couldn't give me a baby. To be honest I just wish we could go back to how we were, in that doctor's office when we found out you were infertile. I would have done things completely different."

"And if you did do you think we would still be married?" I asked.

"We are still married, the divorce isn't final. But yes, I think we wouldn't be going through this."

I ran my hands through my hair and got up from my chair, walked round then leant on the front of my desk looking down at Lauren. She stood up so we were on the same eye level and placed her hand onto my shoulder.

"What brought this on?"

"I woke up realising I still loved you."

"You and I both know we can't go back to how we were." I explained. "Things are different now. I can't go back to how things were when we were married."

"Are you willing to give it a try, just put the divorce on hold?" Several seconds past before I was ready to give her an answer.

"Let's have dinner; I'm not sure I can make such rash decisions in this meeting."

"Of course, come round tonight, I'll cook." She smiled, kissed my cheek then bid farewell.

After Lauren shut the door I just sat there confused. I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. It was like I was going into the lion's den for dinner. It was difficult to see what Lauren could get from this. She only wanted two things, the deal and the country house. In the deal she was getting two offshore bank accounts with the money they contained but it wasn't really much compared to everything I had.

There was really nothing Lauren could benefit from this so I couldn't see the danger in going to dinner. No doubt my opinion would change later though.

"Edward please tell me I was mistaken when I saw Lauren leave here?" Alice asked, bouncing into my office.

"No Alice you were not mistaken." I stood up and went to sit back down in my chair behind my desk.

"But what was she doing here?"

"We were going over some divorce issues."She sat on the chair Lauren vacated and looked up at me.

"Oh. Well then that's not bad. I thought for a moment there I was going to have to remind you what a witch she was."

"Come on Alice she wasn't that bad. Remember she is my wife and I did love her."

"I do but she treated you like crap. She never deserved you." Due to her opinion of Lauren I decided not to tell her about the dinner that night.

"Anyway how are you and Jasper?" I decided to change the subject very quickly and knew bringing up Jasper would do that.

"Very well." She beamed. "He's taking me to dinner tonight. I really can't wait." She clapped her hands excitedly.

"So you like him?"

"I love him." I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "Don't laugh at me, I really do. I love him. He may only like me but soon he'll love me. I know."

"Was this one of your premonitions?"She shot me a glare due to my tone.

"Don't mock them Eddie, they are always right. One day you'll need me to tell you something and you can just forget it. I won't be telling you anything." She huffed.

"Oh relax you know I'm only kidding." Alice gave me another glare but there was a small smile playing at her lips. "Heard from Rose recently?"

"Actually I have. Turns out her and Emmett are getting on very well. She really likes him but of course Rose being Rose means she treats him like dirt."

"Obviously." I muttered, I never got her method of foreplay.

"Excuse me Mr Cullen; someone here's to see you." My secretary interrupted. I had office rules so knew this must have been someone important otherwise I wouldn't have be bothered.

"Well I'll let you go. See you later Eddie." Alice chimed, bouncing out the door.

"Send them in." I nodded as my secretary disappeared to let my mystery guest in.

"Mr Cullen." My private investigator greeted, shaking my hand. "I have some news for you."

"Please take a seat." He nodded before sitting down.

"Dr Marshall definitely couldn't have spoken to the press. I have confirmation from the journalist that got a hold of the story that published it and he said it was a female that came to him. She definitely wasn't your ex-wife and apparently had brown hair. I hope that helps you."

"Eh…well yeah. Can you investigate into Bella; see if she was this mysterious brunette who ousted me?"

"Absolutely."

"Then get back to me as soon as you can." He nodded then I let him go.

The next thing on my list to do was quickly call my lawyer and confirm that Lauren would receive the settlement along with the country house as decided earlier. He wanted to file the divorce papers but a nagging feeling told me to hold off for some reason. My request surprised him but I just said I needed to check some things with Lauren first.

That night I went back to my apartment, showered and changed into jeans, a clean shirt and grabbed a jacket to go over it. I looked casual but smart, not like I was trying to impress her or anything. I grabbed my keys and wallet before locking up and heading down to my car. The only one that had a proper tank of gas was the vanquish so I was left little choice as to which one to take.

As I was driving a certain thought struck me and I pulled over, made a quick stop and a phone call then headed off again. The streets became familiar and the nerves began to surface. I didn't know what I would say to her but I had to say something.

Things were different. I was different and what happened in the past needs to stay in the past.

Pulling up I took in the house, running my hands through my hair one more time before getting out. I walked up the drive and rang the door bell, knowing she was in. There was a flick of the curtain in the living room window, shortly followed by the front door opening.

"Edward, what are you doing here?" Bella asked, rather confused.

"I…I needed to talk to you. I think I have something important to say." I stuttered out.

This was the woman I wanted to be with. Not Lauren. She says she still loves me but that's not true and I don't even know for a second why I thought it could be the truth. So instead of going over to dinner, in my own house, with her I decided to blow her off and come to Bella's.

The divorce was going through which meant I was basically a single man again. And the beautiful woman in front of me was the one I wanted to give my heart to.

"Sure, come on in." Bella opened the door wide and let me in. "Have a seat." I nodded and perched on the couch, watching as she walked across the floor to sit opposite me.

"What can I do for you?" She asked, giving me the opening I needed.

It was now or never, I thought before taking a deep breath.