A/N: I'm so glad you're sticking with me on this. Thanks for all of the reviews, alerts and favorites. I love all the reviews, and those of you who have reviewed every chapter have a special place in my heart.

A few of you have been concerned about when they will tell Carlisle and Esme. I wanted to point out that it's only been a few days since Bella arrived. Things are happening quickly, but remember that B&E have not yet discussed exactly what is going on between them. Give B some time … she arrived in town on Friday night, and this chapter takes place on Tuesday.

I'm not a lawyer, and by no means an expert on divorce law in Washington. I did some research, but it's fanfic, so you'll have to excuse anything that's not 100% correct.

FFN took out all of my formatting when I uploaded this chapter. Hopefully I put everything back. Grr!

Chapter 6

Bella didn't stay with me last night, and I didn't ask her why. I know she has a lot to work through so I'm trying to leave her to it. But, seeing her late last night with Shakespeare and a smile certainly put a grin on my face.

As much as I want to have a lazy morning today and sleep in on my vacation, I don't get the chance. Bella's appointment is at ten o'clock and the lawyer's office is almost an hour away in Port Angeles.

Dad and Esme have both left for work by the time I enter the kitchen so I don't hesitate to walk right up to Bella and wrap my arms around her waist from behind, nuzzling my nose into the hair on her neck. I feel her hum more than hear it before she turns in my arms and embraces me. No words are exchanged as she hugs me tight. I inhale her scent and let it calm me, hoping she can find some comfort in our connection.

In the car, Bella holds my hand tightly over the center console throughout most of the drive. She's quiet and biting her lip, so I take a chance and break the silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask gently.

She sighs before answering me. "There's not really much to talk about. I just need to know what the procedures are and how quickly everything can be done."

"Bella," I interrupt. "I meant how you're feeling about this. Regardless of what happened between you and …" I struggle to keep the anger out of my tone as I say his name. "Jasper, I know this isn't easy for you."

When I glance over at her, I can tell she's trying to hold back the tears again.

"You're right. It's not easy." A tear escapes and she's quick to wipe it away. "I feel like such a failure. I never pictured myself getting divorced, but here I am. I feel like, somehow, I should have known better … that I should have known he wasn't the right one for me."

I bite my tongue to keep from interrupting her.

"I just … I don't know. I want it to be over so I can start again. I wish I could just snap my fingers and make it go away. I want to find an apartment and a job and just get back to living my life. I know this all just happened, but to me, it feels like it's been dragging on for a while. Once I made my decision, I just wanted it to all be done, you know?"

"I understand," I say, rubbing my fingers over her knuckles. "As far as being a failure, you know no one else sees you like that, right?" She nods unconvincingly. "I've told you before and I'll tell you again. You're a strong person, and you'll get through this and be even stronger."

"I know," she sighs.

"One step at a time," I offer. "How about we start by meeting with that lawyer?" I use my head to indicate the building in front of us, letting her know we've arrived.

After taking a deep breath, she squeezes my hand. "Yeah, let's go. I'm ready."

Just as we get out of the car, I hear another car door slam not too far away. Turning to my right, I see Jasper approaching at a rapid pace. He glances at the building in front of us before looking back to Bella. Before she can even blink, I'm over at her side and ushering her toward the building.

"Bella, wait!" he yells.

I feel her cringe at my side, but she turns around anyway.

"What do you want, Jasper?" she asks with a huff.

"Can we just … go somewhere and talk, please?" He seems almost remorseful, and my anger builds quickly. I can't understand why he feels he's owed anything.

"There's nothing to talk about. I've made my decision, and I don't want to be married to you anymore."

I can see the anger seeping into his expression.

"There is someone else, isn't there?" he says gruffly.

"There was no one else for me, Jasper." I don't miss her emphasis on the word "was" but I wonder if Jasper did. "You've made it clear that I'm not what you want, and frankly, I deserve more than how you treated me even before you started fucking your secretary!" She's yelling by the time she's finished.

"Come on, let's go in," I say quietly, putting my hand on her back and guiding her toward the door.

"You're not even going to listen to what—" His words are cut off by the closing of the heavy front door.

I can feel Bella trembling beneath my hand, so I look around the lobby and pull her over into a corner away from any windows. Drawing her into my arms, I tell her, "You were great out there. Can you take some deep breaths for me?"

She does just as I've asked with her face buried in my jacket. I hold her tight, rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head.

After taking a minute to compose herself, she announces she's ready and takes my hand as she leads me over to the receptionist.

I flip through several law magazines that I have no interest in while I wait for Bella. I'm not really seeing what's in front of me anyway, since my mind is occupied with thoughts of Jasper waiting outside to ambush Bella again.

She comes out of the office with a smile on her face after only a half hour, although it felt like forever to me. I look at her questioningly, but she shakes her head and says, "Let's go. I want to get out of here."

As soon as we step outside, I look around for Jasper or signs of his rental car. I'm relieved when I don't see either. Bella looks relieved, too, so we get in the car and head home with me constantly checking the rearview mirror to make sure he's not following us.

Once we're on the highway, Bella starts talking.

"This just might be easier than I expected," she says in a rush.

"How so?"

"According to Mr. Jenks, since I'm not asking for anything and we don't have any children or joint property, there's nothing that Jasper can contest. Washington is a no-fault state, which means if one person says the marriage is irretrievably broken, the divorce decree will be granted. I may be oversimplifying, but it sounded like once the papers are served, an uncontested divorce should go through in ninety days."

"Wow."

"Yeah. The only catch is that I have to establish residency here. I could claim I'm living with my sister, but that's harder to prove and Jasper could fight it. The lawyer agreed that getting my name on a lease was the best option."

It doesn't take me long to decide how I can help. "Can you grab my Bluetooth out of the glove compartment?"

Bella's brow furrows but she does as I ask.

I turn it on and place it in my ear, pushing the button and stating, "Call Tanya Denali cell."

Tanya answers after only one ring. "Edward! To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Hi, Tanya. I hope you had a good holiday." As much as she creeps me out with all of her flirting, I figure she's more likely to help me if I'm nice to her.

"Not too bad … and you?"

"It was fine. Listen, I was hoping you could help me out with something."

"I'll do my best. What do you need?"

"I'm looking for an apartment in town, but the favor is really for a friend who also needs to find a place. She needs something as soon as possible." I look to Bella for confirmation, and she nods. "Would you have some time this afternoon to show us some places?"

"You're in luck. My afternoon is completely open thanks to the holiday. Why don't you come to the office after lunch and we'll discuss what you and your friend are looking for and then go from there?"

"That's great, Tanya. I owe you one. We'll see you around one thirty."

"See you then, Edward."

I end the call and tell Bella the good news, watching relief spread across her face and her shoulders relax.

Bella and I get home in time for some lunch, which we eat together. After cleaning up, we still have some time so I pull her into the living room and down onto the couch. She falls easily into my arms with her head on my shoulder, and I rub my hands up and down her body.

"Thank you for going with me today," she says in a small voice. "I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there."

"No thanks are needed," I tell her, planting a kiss on the top of her head. "I told you, I'll be there for you however you need me."

"I know. I just … I don't think you know how much this all means to me. I wish there was some way I could make you understand."

"Bella," I say, putting my hand on the side of her face. "I'm just glad you're letting me help you. Trust me, there's nothing more that I want than to put a smile back on your face." My thumb traces across her cheek before dipping down to glide over her bottom lip.

She purses her lips and kisses my finger before her beautiful brown eyes lock onto my blue ones. Moving slowly, she leans in and kisses me softly, her lips lingering over mine long after the kiss is complete.

"We should go."

"Yeah," she agrees.

It takes a few minutes before either of us actually moves, but we eventually make our way back into the car and to Tanya's office.

Tanya greets me with a kiss on my cheek and I cringe. She's made no secret of the fact that she wants to go out with me, but I've always turned her down politely. She's tall with strawberry blond hair and a killer body—what most men would call beautiful. But, as our paths have crossed quite a few times in the six months I've been working at my job, I've found her personality to detract greatly from her beauty.

She is clearly shallow and would never be caught dead without perfect makeup and perfect hair. When we first met, she told me we would make a beautiful couple and couldn't understand why I didn't want to go out with her. I also know her reputation, and although I'm no saint, my morals have certainly changed since my early college days.

I introduce Bella and notice Tanya openly appraising her as if she's competition. I wish I could just tell Tanya that there was never any competition. She would never measure up to my Bella.

Bella takes my hand as we make our way into a conference room, and I'm thrilled that she's subtly staking her claim—not that she needs to. I squeeze her hand and give her a smile anyway.

Sitting with Tanya, we start by going over what Bella's looking for in an apartment as well as what she can afford. Bella explains that she has some savings which will hold her over for a while, but doesn't yet have a job.

"Hmm," Tanya states with a discouraging look. "That could be a problem. Any owner of a decent complex is going to want to run a credit check and ensure you have adequate means to cover the monthly rent. You might need to wait until you find a job."

Bella's face falls as she slumps back in her seat. "I'll be looking for a job as soon as the schools open again, but even though I still have my Washington accreditation, it's not a quick process. I really can't afford to wait. What kind of places won't require a steady income?"

"Not the kind of places suitable for a single woman," Tanya says frankly. I know she's only being honest and doing her job, I can't help feeling that she's getting some sort of sick satisfaction out of this.

My mind starts going over options as I watch Bella bite her lip. I can't come up with any way to get Bella the income stream she needs, but I might have something else that will work.

"Tanya, can you give us a minute?" I ask.

"Sure. Just come find me when you've made a decision." She walks out with her designer heels clicking on the wood floor, closing the door behind her.

Turning to Bella, I take her hand and rub it between mine. "I have an option that might work …" I say hesitantly.

"What is it? I'll do anything to just get this all moving along," she says with a hopeful look on her face.

"We move in together."

A/N: Sorry for the cliffie! Leave me a review and let me know your thoughts. What do you think Bella should do?

And, yes … this Edward has blue eyes. We're already OOC, so I thought I'd make him more Rob-like.

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