Chapter 32: Epilogue

Five years later

Edward's POV

"Dad, can we go outside?"

David looks up at me with big green eyes, a shiny new ball in his arms, and I hesitantly look out the window. It had been raining for most of the day, but the grey sky seems dry at the moment.

I look to Sarah, my ex-wife, but she's busy talking to Bella and missed his question.

"You'll get your new clothes dirty," I try, in a feeble attempt to change his mind. It's hard for me to refuse him anything, so we both know that in the end, I'll let him go. Jacob gave him a brand new soccer ball for his birthday and he's basically jumping up and down to take his friends outside to play.

"I won't, I promise," he lies, and I nod, "okay, but not too long. We'll serve the birthday cake soon."

The group friends sprint outside in a loud cheer, and Sarah looks up with a frown. I know what she's thinking, the house will be covered in mud soon, but I just shrug and point at Jacob, "it's his fault for giving him that ball."

Jacob grins and places his hand on Sarah's arm, "don't worry about it, I'll keep an eye on them and tell them to take their shoes off on the way back in."

He leans in to kiss Bella on the lips and then joins the boys for a game. For a few moments, all three of us watch the kids, who practically fight to get Jacob on their team. They get to meet their idol on a weekly basis, since he's the soccer coach for most of them, including David, but they rarely get to actually team up with him, so the excitement grows even more.

"He's really great with kids," Sarah says, and I turn my attention back to her and Bella.

"Yeah he is," Bella replies with a fond smile.

When I see her standing here, shining brightly with happiness, I can't help feeling nothing but gratefulness towards Jacob. I know he's not just a soccer star who happens to be great with kids. He's the most amazing person I know, for saving my sister the way he did.

"So how about you guys?" Sarah asks, and Bella's smile drops. We both know where this is going, and I immediately regret not warning Sarah to leave this subject alone.

"You've been married for four years now, and you seem quite settled. So how about a little baby Jacob or Bella?"

"Sarah…" I mutter, and her eyes suddenly widen. I have been making improvements in a new kind of therapy, so much that she sometimes forgets that me and Bella still share this horrible past.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" she mumbles, but Bella interrupts her.

"No it's fine. I don't mind talking about it, I just thought you knew. We can't have kids, but that's okay."

She knows what the next question will be, she probably had to answer these quite a few times.

So she continues, "we thought about adoption, for one or maybe two years after we got married, but in the end, we both don't really feel the need. We are happy the way things are. I am a proud aunt and godmother to David, and Jacobs gets to be a youth coach six days a week, and that's enough."

Coming from anyone else, I might have thought this was a lie, a happy mask to avoid making people with kids uncomfortable, but I believe her.

Sarah nods as well, but clearly doesn't really know what to say.

So Bella adds, "I know you can't imagine a life without your son, but for us, we just can't imagine a life with kids now. We never really have. There's so many things that we can do now, things we couldn't do as parents. Like all the spots camps Jacob organizes, or the new youth shelter I founded and all the volunteering I am able to do there."

"You're right," Sarah adds, more convinced now, "you get the chance to give to so many kids."

"Exactly," Bella smiles.

The shelter was Bella's idea, about three years ago. I still remember the day she came to talk to me about it.

She had given up on the physiotherapy one year previously, saying that it reminded her too much of past jobs. I didn't know about those jobs and I didn't ask.

She had a dream of making a difference, of making something meaningful of her life. But for the longest time, she had no idea where to start. That year wasn't an easy one for her. She was slowly understanding that adopting wasn't right for them, and Jacob's soccer career was coming to an end with one injury after the other. Without a purpose to feel passionate about, without Tom, she felt more than a little lost.

But again, Jacob pulled her out, this time with help from me.

All of the sudden, she had a plan, inspired by my stories about the shelter where I used to work, where I met Sarah. There was no such shelter in this area, and the only youth counseling available was very expensive with long waiting lists.

So she started a new foundation, using a lot of their savings.

Jacob agreed immediately. He had been paid millions in his years as a soccer player, and he felt uncomfortable in being so rich when there are so many people in need. They didn't want a big house and already decided to have no kids, so the foundation seemed like a good plan to invest in.

We both saw Bella blossom after that. She hired me to start things up and got her own counseling degree. We bought an old school building and cleaned the whole place up. Sarah got involved on the sidelines as well, and handled the PR. We handed out flyers in schools and sports teams, created an internet page where everyone can ask questions or talk freely anonymously.

For more than two years now, we helped the kids with little and small problems for free, me in logistics and Bella as a counselor. Some were easy, and some were complex, but the distressed always found a shoulder to lean on. And we saw Bella come back to life.

Now, the shelter isn't the busiest place, and we're still not as famous as we like to be, because we don't want to involve any press or use Jacob's name, but we're growing, and we do create some miracles for the kids in need.

Proof is the thank-you-wall, filled with stories of kids who were once in trouble and who came to us to find themselves. We can't save them all, but for most of them, we have mattered in their life. Even if it's just by lending an ear to listen to their story, giving them a bit of our time. And the kindness is spreading, as a few of those young ones are now volunteering as well.

The people who were helped most though, were Bella and me. She found a new purpose in her life. And me… I won't say I found redemption, but I still learned to like the me I've become today. I am not a monster, not anymore.

It's so ironic that the one I damaged the most, is the one to save me in the end. And I know that she called the shelter "Arms of and Angel", having Jacob's arms in mind, but to all the kids there, and most of all to me, Bella is the angel.

AN: I hope you are satisfied with this ending. Please let me know... Thank you all for reading!