A/N: Thanks to my ladies, Paige, Cristina, Sherry & Tiffany x x

Chapter 27

Edward was taking Princess, and I to stay with his mother and father for a few days. He said we would be safer on their estate; it was better guarded and harder to get into. I wasn't looking forward to staying there, not when I knew that Edward wouldn't be around as much as I liked, but I understood that our house was no longer safe. Not when we didn't know where Kate and Garrett were.

I was still having a hard time trying to wrap my head around the fact that my sister wanted me dead or at the very least wanted to hurt me, all for a slice of power. I didn't get it. If I could I would happily give her New York, but I couldn't. It wasn't mine to give.

"Hey," Edward said, reaching over and cupping my chin as we came to stop in his parents' drive, "everything is going to be okay."

I nodded, glancing up at their oversized house. "How long do you think we will have to stay here?"

Edward shrugged, "Until the issue is resolved."

"Until the issue is resolved!?" I snapped at his choice of words. "What is that supposed to mean? Do you plan to hurt Kate?"

Edward sighed. "Isabella, she tried to kill you."

"You don't know that!" I shouted, getting out of the car. I made a point of slamming the door so that he knew I was displeased. Edward quickly got out of the car after me, hurrying around to my side. "She's my sister," I cried. "You can't kill her." He moved to comfort me, but I slapped his hands away. "Don't touch me," I hissed.

"Isabella, please, I don't want to fight with you."

"You don't know if she had anything to do with those men," I stated. "For all we know Garrett could have set her up or is forcing her in some way." Even as I said the words, I knew I was lying not only to him, but to myself. I knew it was unlikely that Kate hadn't sent those men. After all, she had been the one who had called to check where I was. She had ensured I was in the house before she sent them there, but then, what if she hadn't? Was I being childish clinging on to the hope that my sister was innocent?

"Isabella," Edward said, cupping my face and turning me to face him. "I'm sorry, but you know that it's true. I, myself have had a feeling about them for a while. I wanted to be wrong, for your sake. I should have acted on it. I just didn't want to push you further away. If anything had happened to you, I would have blamed myself."

I looked up at Edward's face and felt like crying. He looked riddled with guilt, which was just wrong. This wasn't his fault. He shouldn't blame himself. I moved forward, closing the space between us and placed my head on his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist. He enclosed his arms around me, holding me tight. "None of this is your fault," I whispered. "You didn't know that my father was going to leave you New York or that those men would have shown up when you were gone."

"I should have been prepared."

"I'm alive, I'm okay. Please… I don't want to talk about it any longer," I said, on the verge of tears. "Let's just get Princess settled in her temporary accommodation."

~TTTB~

I woke in the middle of the night to the sound of Princess whining and scratching at the bedroom door. Edward had allowed her to stay in our room, as long as I promised not to have her up on the bed. He didn't want me spoiling her, something about her being a guard dog and not a pet. I personally think he was already softening on that idea. He was pretty smitten with her himself.

"Princess, lie down," I groaned. It had taken me hours to fall asleep and I didn't appreciate her waking me up, but she refused to settle down. "What is it?" I asked, sitting up on the bed, like she was actually going to answer me. "Do you need to pee?"

Princess merely whined in response. The last thing I wanted was for her to have an accident in our bedroom. I didn't think either, Edward or his parents would be pleased. I climbed out of bed and picked her up, heading down the stairs.

When I reached the bottom step I heard the sound of raised voices coming from the living room. I knew better than to snoop, but when someone is shouting so loud, it is kinda hard not to overhear. I tiptoed towards the living room, getting close enough to see what was going on and no more. It seemed like most of the family men were in that room. Carlisle was shouting at Edward, he didn't seem pleased. I had no idea what he was going on about until I heard the words consummated. Then, I remembered the conversation I had with Esme early that evening. She was upset when I wouldn't eat any dinner. I told her I felt too sick to eat and then she had joked that perhaps I was pregnant. I had assured her that I wasn't. I was just too worked up from the day's events, and that I was still a virgin. At the time, I hadn't thought anything of it, but now that I heard how mad Carlisle was I realized my mistake.

"-I should have demanded to see the bloody sheets," Carlisle continued. "I would have, had I known you were so incapable of bedding your wife."

Princess decided to whine at that very moment, making everyone aware of our presence. "Edward," I said, in complete shock, as they all turned around to face me. I knew it wasn't a good thing that I had been caught snooping, but I was also too angry to care. Though, I knew better than to voice my opinions in front of all of the men.

"Isabella, go upstairs, go back to bed," Edward said, firmly. He then motioned for Marcus to deal with me before turning his attention back to his father. I was too embarrassed to even look at Carlisle's face.

Marcus came over and started guiding me towards the stairs without a word. "I think Princess needs to pee," I said, pushing against his hands.

"Fine, give her to me and go upstairs to bed," he muttered. He seemed annoyed, but I had no idea if it was with me.

He took Princess from me and watched as I headed up the stairs. He must have been satisfied after I climbed a few because he stopped watching me and headed through to the kitchen. I quickly and quietly turned and headed back down the stairs, hurrying towards the front door. I knew I wouldn't be able to get off the grounds, but at the very least I wanted some fresh air. I was furious that they were discussing me so openly in front of all the men. It was none of their business whether my husband and I had sex or not.

I had barely made it down the front steps when one of the guards approached me. "Mrs. Cullen, where are you going?" I ignored him, knowing that he wouldn't be able to touch me. I kept on marching, heading over the lawn towards the trees, at the side of the estate. I heard him calling after me several times, but I didn't acknowledge him.

Edward arrived a few minutes later. I knew he would. The guards had probably alerted him to my presence the second I had stepped outside. "I thought I told you to go upstairs, to bed, not outside!" he yelled, grabbing my arm.

"I don't care what you told me," I spat, pulling my arm away from him. "I don't take orders from you." My eyes were filled with tears, not of sadness, but anger, but I refused to cry in front of him. I refused to let him see how upset I was.

Edward sighed, his face softening. "It's too dangerous to be outside, Isabella, especially on your own."

"I don't care. I won't stay in that house another second. How dare you discuss me like I am a bloody mare!" I yelled, pushing against his chest as hard as I could.

"It's not like that," Edward said, grabbing my wrists, but the more he tried to control me the harder I fought him. I wanted to hit him, hurt him. I was so embarrassed and disgusted that he and his father thought it was acceptable to discuss me like that, in front of all the other men. "Will you just stop, and listen to me for a second?" he shouted, squeezing my wrists until I stilled.

"On the night of our wedding, the meeting I went to at the reception, I swore an oath to bed you and no other women. The Cullen men, we value our wives, above all else. We don't take goomahs. Our eyes do not wander. That oath should have been sealed on our wedding night, in our marital bed, but you were drunk and I wouldn't take advantage of you. Plus, I knew that you weren't ready. I've been waiting for you to be ready ever since that night," he said, touching my face, "but I knew you were dealing with too much and I wasn't going to pressure you. Somehow, my father found out-"

"That may be my fault," I mumbled. "Your mother was talking about me being pregnant today and assured her I wasn't, that I was still untouched. I didn't think anything of it at the time, my mind was on other things. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Edward said, leaning down and kissing my forehead, "but he does expect us to correct the issue and soon."