Disclaimer: All the Twilight stuff belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing in her sandbox.

Chapter 3 Confessions

BPOV

I awoke in my beautiful canopied bed. I was ecstatic. I had gotten everything I had ever wanted.

Edward loved me and we were married.

Jacob had encouraged our relationship and he was still my friend.

I had a beautiful new home and a family I loved.

Edward agreed to change me himself when ever I wanted.

I just needed Charlie to come around, to see how amazing Edward really was. Of course my dad still viewed Edward as an 18 year old kid. Rich, maybe, but still a kid! He hadn't taken it well when I left the hospital with Edward.

"Edward!"

"Yes, love", he answered from the bathroom, toothpaste still in his mouth.

"Did I hear correctly that Carlisle was making arrangements for my father to come and visit?"

"Yes, love."

"Why is that? I have talked to dad at least a couple of times each week and he never mentioned anything. If you wanted him to come for a visit, why didn't you ask him?"

"Because he won't talk to me, love."

I peered around the door of the closet where I was dressing to look at Edward's reflection in the bathroom mirror, "He won't talk to you?", I asked.

"No. I thought Carlisle could persuade him to come for a visit, you know, father to father. It seems to be working, though there is no date set. I just thought you would like to see him and I wanted to surprise you for your birthday."

I put my arms around my husband as he finished brushing his teeth, a human habit he had adapted, no doubt for me, to insure his breath was tasty fresh. "Thank you!"

"For what, sweetheart!"

"For trying even when he is difficult. I know you hear many more terrible things from his mind than he is willing to say. Just, thank you for trying . . . I know you do it for me."

"He is important to you, so he is important to me," Edward said, sitting on the sink, his arms around me. He kissed the top of my head. "I thought I would try again, just to see if he had eased up a bit."

"Edward, why don't you let me call and talk to him, he is always in a better mood when he hears from me, right? I'll tell him you have something you want to talk with him about and he won't want to say no in front of me! Let's try!"

"I'll try, Bella, just don't get upset if he doesn't want to talk to me! He still has images of guns and fantasies about shooting me!"

We went down to the kitchen and I phoned my dad while Edward made me breakfast. I had slept in and it was already 10 AM here, so I should be able to still catch him at home before he left for work.

"Dad, Hi! I'm good, how are you this morning? No, nothing new going on here, well, except that I got a new house! Yes, house! Edward had it built for me as a surprise so that we didn't have to live with his parents! No, no, dad, it isn't far from them. Just down the hill a bit, really. Yes, I'm doing much better, I have a smaller cast on my leg now. Yes. Dad, Edward has just finished making breakfast for me, and I'm going to eat it while it is hot, but Dad . . . Edward wants to talk to you!"

"All yours, baby!", I said as I handed him the phone, "He seems to be in a great mood!"

"Chief Swan, Good morning!", he said as he walked out onto the porch and away from my ears.

"Yes, Sir, that's what I was calling about. Dad spoke to you about it then. Good. I just thought, after all she has been through, it would be nice to have you here for her birthday. No, no party really, she hates that. Yes Sir, there is a ticket waiting for you at the on call. Friday, yes sir. We will pick you up in Atlanta. No sir, I haven't given any thought to the car. I guess we'll have to figure that out. Yes, and thank you, Chief. Bella will be really happy to see you! Goodbye."

Edward looked like a kid with candy as he walked back to the kitchen to tell me he was coming!. I was bounding off the walls I was so happy. "Is Sue coming? Is mom coming? Edward, tell me!"

"Charlie is coming on Friday, love, I don't know about Sue. We can call him back and invite her if you want, and I haven't invited Phil or Renee - but that's a great idea if you want to call and invite them up!"

"Edward, this only gives me a few days! The house is perfect, so at least I don't need to clean anything, but what do we do if Sue or Mom comes along, can we put beds in the other rooms for them?"

"Anything you want, love. I can have beds in the rooms tomorrow if you decide you want them, but you have to pick them out, along with the rest of the furniture for the house, I have chosen too much of it without you already! Why don't you call and see if Sue will come, and your mom so that we can arrange flights, then we will worry about where they sleep."

"You're right. I'll call. Then I need to make a grocery list and decide what to cook!"

"Speaking of cooking, love. I know you slept in and just had breakfast, but Esme is fixing lunch for you at the other house. We should go up there after you make your calls, alright? I need to sit with the computer in the office for a little while. Make your calls then come get me!"

EPOV

I was surprised the conversation had gone off at all with Charlie. She was right, he felt forced to talk to me once she handed me the phone and as much as he hated me, he couldn't turn down the opportunity to see her on her birthday. After all, he would be checking to see if I was taking care of her properly and he probably was still in shock at the idea of us having our own house, I hadn't counted on her telling him that! He had taken comfort in the fact that Carlisle would be in the house with her, he must be worried now that she isn't being looked after.

I clicked on the computer to tend to finances. Jasper had taken over looking after the financial accounts and investments along with Alice while I had been gone. It was a job that Alice and I normally handled.

Years ago, before the stock market fell before the war, I had occupied my time by hanging out on Wall street and picking the brain of the top financial advisers of the time. Mind reading came in handy when it came to purchasing and investing. I had managed quite well, using the funds left to me by my parents and the substantial income Carlisle made as a doctor. It was a hobby, really, as together, Carlisle and I had all the funds we would ever need coming into us already. Alice joining our family meant the addition of her being able to predict trends and see the future of potential investments.

Our financial worth catapulted into eight, nine, even ten figures. I kept the monies in various accounts around the world, invested under the names of all the members of the family. Individual accounts were set up, of course, for any spending needs we might have and we all had our own checking accounts and credit cards, in addition to the household accounts.

I had set up an account for Bella as son as we had arrived back here from the hospital, but there had been no need to discuss money. I had told her that everything that was mine was hers, and she knew I was somewhat well off, but as she was injured, she had not expressed any interest in buying anything or even wanting to shop on the Internet. I had a folder waiting for her, here on the desk in our office with her new drivers license, credit card, check book and bank statements. I had included a copy of my bank statement for my individual account as well as one for a joint account I had opened for us to run the house out of, and a list of our personal assets, in case she wanted to know or be a part of the decision making in that regard. I wanted us to be partners in every way. I knew Bellas' family had always had to watch their pennies and that she was not accustomed to being able to buy anything she wanted, when she wanted. I was concerned that it would upset her. Even with Alices' spending, my family could not begin to spend even the interest off our investments. Bella never had to worry about money. Ever.

"I called Dad back", she said as she entered our study and came to sit on my lap, "He is coming alone, he wants to wait and maybe bring Sue for Christmas, but Mom and Phil would like to come up! I just wondered if I should tell her to drive, or . . . what to do, I didn't know if we could send her plane tickets or even if you might want to!"

"Sweetheart, why don't you see what she wants to do. If she would rather fly, you can go on line and have tickets waiting for her at the airport. We're picking you Dad up in Atlanta, anyway so whatever you and she want to do is great with me! I think it is about an 8 or 9 hour drive from Jacksonville to here, and if they would rather drive you could send them a card for gas!"

"Edward, can we afford that? I mean, you just built us this house! You did this, right, not Carlisle?"

"Love, I may look 17, but I promise you my bank account doesn't reflect it!"

I looked into her eyes and kissed her forehead. I guess now was as good a time as any to discuss money.

"Bella, I paid for the house and everything in it from our joint account, yours and mine. We can go and buy whatever you want for the house and purchase anything you desire and it probably won't even make a dent in the account. If you want your parents here, by all means, have first class tickets waiting for them at the airport and don't even give it a second thought."

"Edward!", she exclaimed, starring at me with her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Bella, the envelope there on your desk has a copy of all our current bank statements along with checks for your personal account as well as our joint account. There is a new drivers license and passport there as well, in the name of Isabella Marie Cullen, and a credit card that has no limit."

She just starred at me in disbelief. "Edward . . . I . . . but . . . it's your"

"Stop! Stop right there!", I told her putting two fingers against her lips to quiet her. "What is mine is now yours, we're married. That's how it is supposed to work and you'll need to get used to having money, Bella."

"Edward! Money is not just unlimited, you have to be careful with it and . . . "

I reached over to my computer and pulled up our joint account. It was a little low from the expenses incurred in building the house, but there was still well over half a million dollars in it. She starred at the screen in disbelief. I clicked over to her account and showed her the half million I had put there, in case she wanted cash for something. She almost passed out.

"I told you, love, you can buy anything you want. These are just our regular checking accounts, not our investment accounts or holdings or stocks. We also have several dozen homes all over the world. I have had 80 years or so to do this, love. You really do never have to worry about money again. Ever. If you want to be involved, we can invest together, if it interests you, other wise, Alice and I do all the finances for everyone in the family."

"I had no idea, I mean . . . I knew you didn't worry about money, but I had no idea you were the financial wizard behind the funds! I must say that I am impressed beyond belief, my husband! I didn't know I married a multi millionaire! You never fail to surprise me! Who would have thought it, and at only seventeen!", I snickered.

"Billionaire, thank you very much if you are going to bring my youthful appearance into it!", I chided, laughing at her.

She walked around to the front of her desk and opened the envelope like an excited child at Christmas, complimenting my choice of check designs and soft leather checkbooks for her - one in brown and the other in tan, her favorite desert colors. She put the checkbooks, statements and passport into the drawer and left the credit card and drivers license on the desk. Her mood changed on a dime, and I saw tears in her eyes! I jumped up and had my arms around her in a flash,

"Bella, what's wrong, love?"

"Nothing, sweetheart, absolutely nothing is wrong! I'm just so happy! I can't help it, I just can't believe everything that has happened! I love you so very much, Edward, with all my heart. You are all I ever wanted, and I can have you forever! I have married a man that I love, who loves me, will always have the body and sex drive of a seventeen year old, never tires, has limitless funds and can offer me eternity as well. That about sums it up," I mused, "oh and a family I love as well . . . forever!"

I smiled her favorite crooked smile, hugged her to me and lifted her from the ground so that I didn't have to bend to kiss her lips.

"Edward, if you own properties around the world, why did all of you choose to move here and design a new house in Highlands? Why not go to an existing house?", she asked looking confused.

"When we left Forks, Carlisle and Esme thought it would be easier for me if we went somewhere new, a fresh start with new surroundings."

"But it didn't work," she stated.

"No, it didn't. I couldn't be here with them." I knew she was going to ask and I would have to explain, and I had been dreading this for weeks.

"Where did you go?".

It was a simple question, I could give her a simple answer, but there was so much more to tell her.

"Come, lets go sit on the sofa so that you can be more comfortable. You aren't really supposed to stand on that leg much yet, you know, even if the cast is smaller."

We moved to the sofa and I put my arm on the backrest and turned to face her, her hands in my lap.

"Bella, I spent most of the time that I was gone from you . . . ", I stopped. I had to start over.

"Sweetheart I don't even want to tell you because I don't want you to know just how badly I handled everything."

She cupped my chin in the palm of one of her hands and gently ran the fingers of her other hand through my hair. I looked up to meet her gaze. She deserved to know, I wanted no secrets between us, I just didn't want her to think less of me for acting so badly and being so wrong about everything . . . inflicting so much pain on both of us because of my foolish notion that I was right.

"I spent most of the time apart from you curled up in an attic in an abandoned building in Rio."

There, I had said it. I hoped she wouldn't walk out the door and leave, realizing just how crazy I had been.

"Please don't leave me"

I said it quietly, not knowing if she would hear me or even if I wanted her to hear me. If I could have cried, tears would have been streaming down my face. I sobbed regardless. My wife was the most amazing woman on the planet. She pulled my face to her breast and wrapped her arms around me, still stroking my hair and gently rocking our bodies back and forth.

"Sweetheart, I won't ever leave you. I can't live without you, either, remember!"

She continued to rock us gently back and forth, holding me to her.

"I'm just so very sorry that I put us through all that pain, you and my family! I never meant to hurt you, I just wanted you safe, Bella, I only feared for your safety. I'm so sorry I was unreasonable about what you wanted, about changing you. I need you love, please don't ever leave me!"

She nuzzled her face in my hair and kissed my head and forehead as she continued to stroke me and rock us back and forth. "Edward, why Rio?", she asked softly. Was there no end to the horrible things I had to tell her, of my incompetence.

"I had been tracking Victoria, intending to end her, and I lost her trail there."

"Victoria! Edward! Why would you do that!" She pulled back slightly to look into my eyes.

"I didn't want her to continue existing after she had tried to hurt you."

She was quiet for a long time, then she spoke oh so softly,

"Edward, what made you decide to come back?"

I pulled away from her and looked into her beautiful chocolate eyes.

"I just could not go another hour or even minute without you. Nothing else mattered but you. I hallucinated about you and woke up kissing the cobwebs on my knee. I told myself I was just going to check on you, to make sure you were alright. I hadn't fed in months and after I did and my head cleared somewhat, I realized I was going to find you and beg you to take me back."

She was crying, but I continued.

"I fed again in Houston, at Alice's insistence. I had called her from the airport in Rio and told her I was going to find you. My family hadn't heard from me in weeks, and Alice hadn't been able to see me, so they were all worried as well. When I got to Seattle, I went to your house and Charlie told me you were gone, that you had left with Jacob. I left him the car keys and walked away. Alice says she and Jasper found me in our meadow and after a few weeks were able to convince me that they would help me find you if I would only try. And that's what happened. I had a private investigator and a staff of four looking for you in addition to my family. We had been to the telephone booth that you used to call Charlie in Alabama, and then Emmett was going to the races because he and Rose were obsessing over some small little girl that had been winning races on Harleys!" I smirked as I said the last part about the races.

"Oh, Edward. I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, love. It was entirely my fault, and I am just so thankful that you forgave me and that you are with me . . . wife!"

"You left keys with Charlie? Keys to what?"

I smiled sheepishly at her, I had all but forgotten the car, "I bought you a car."

"You bought me a CAR?", she exclaimed, looking at me with her head cocked to one side, "Why on earth would you leave keys to a car that you bought me . . . Edward . . . this makes no sense!"

"Well, some guys bring candy and flowers, I brought you a car! You weren't there, so I just left it. I hadn't thought about it till just now when I was telling you about being at Charlie', but yes . . . I bought you a car. I thought maybe your truck would have died and you might need one."

"Edward! A Car!"

"Bella, in my defense, it's a really fast car!"

Just then I heard a truck turning into what would be our driveway once the concrete was poured. Bella heard it as well.

"What's that truck doing here?", she asked as she peered out the window.

"Just delivering the materials to finish the garage, love. I hadn't planned to show you the house till after this weekend, when everything was completed. The garage still isn't finished."

"You're making no sense, baby", I said as I pulled him by the hand thru the kitchen to the door that led to the attached garage. We walked into the garage and I flipped on the light. Edward's Austin Martin sat there beside the Volvo. I turned to look at him, my head cocked as I gestured to the cars and the garage they were parked in.

"See. Full. Where is your car supposed to go? We have no space for motorcycles! Obviously, we need more room!"

My wife nearly fell to the floor she laughed so hard at me. She couldn't even get her breath!

I kicked at the floor with my hands in the front pockets of my jeans as I waited for her to calm down. I was being serious and practical and she was laughing.

"I understand why the Vanquish has to have a garage, but why can't my car . . . geez I can't believe I'm even saying this cause I don't even need a car, we have the Volvo, but whatever Edward . . .why can't my car sit outside?"

I'm sure my mouth dropped open when I looked at her, I just didn't understand or maybe she didn't understand. "Bella, I bought you an R8! It can't just sit outside!"

My wife sauntered over to me and put her arms around my waist. "Why can't the Volvo sit outside then?

I just looked at her dumbfounded. Leave my car outside! OUTSIDE? Never.

"Edward, I don't speak Car and Driver! What kind of car did you get for me?"

"I bought you a midnight blue Audi R8. It's a two seated sports car, sweetheart."

"I take it by the way you reverently say the name, that it is also an expensive car, am I right? I want to know. How much did you spend on the car, Edward?"

"Not as much as on my Vanquish!", I threw that out there to dissuade her. It didn't work!

"How much?"

"Alright, a hundred and twenty thousand . . . or so . . . ", I mumbled hoping it would help.

"Edward!" I almost ducked to avoid the wrath that I was sure was headed my way. She moved her arms from my waist up to encircle my neck, playing with the hair at the back of my neck, and kissed me. Really kissed me. Hard. "Thank you, sweetheart!"

I looked at her astounded. Her response shocked me so completely that my knees nearly buckled, almost knocking a vampire on his ass. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "If I am going to be with you forever, I suppose I had better get used to accepting gifts nicely, and I love blue! Come on, show me where the other garage is going!"

Did I mention that I really really loved this woman!