A/N: Remember the detail of Bella being raped? Yeah, all the details for that are in this chapter, so if you are concerned at all about it, shoot me a message and I'll try and tell you what you can expect. There are no details of the rape itself, just of what came before and after, but if you're worried, I'd much rather you send me a PM than take a chance or skip it without asking for more details. Thank you. :)

~*~FC~*~

Bella's POV

I shook my head as I said the first thing to Edward in eighteen months.

"Bella," he breathed, looking up at me. The worried, haggard expression he wore pulled on my non-beating heart. "I'm so, so sorry. Oh, God, I'm sorry. I thought I was doing what was best. I thought I was protecting you. I was wrong."

As if it were possible, he looked so much older, so much more world-worn and weary than he had when I saw him last. His clothes were dirty and torn—I presumed from his travel to get here—and his hair was mussed, yet he was still the most handsome man I had ever seen.

As he continued to apologize, Jake touched me on the shoulder and smiled, motioning with his head that he would be outside. I nodded and then focused my attention back on Edward, even as I watched Alice and Jasper follow Jake out.

I was still across the room from Edward, but everything in me was pushing me to go to him. It had been like that before—when I was human and he was still in Forks. I'd been drawn to him like a moth to a flame. When I couldn't fight the pull anymore, I crossed the room and wrapped him in my arms, squeezing tightly.

"Gentle, Isabella," he reminded with a groan.

I gasped, loosened my hold slightly, and then sighed as his arms tightened around me, holding me to him for a moment.

Before I could get too comfortable, he stepped away and looked down. Everything about him—his stance, his expression, even his breathing patterns—spoke of nerves and regret. "I'm sorry. That was inappropriate of me. I know you, uh... I know you have someone in your life now, and I left, so I don't get to hug you anymore. I was just so glad you were okay. Well, not that you were okay, but you aren't dead. Fuck, Bella! I didn't know! I swear, I didn't—"

I couldn't stand it any longer, watching him beat and berate himself. I sank down onto the sofa and pulled him down with me. "Shh, Edward. Stop, please."

Edward bent at the waist, dropping his head to his hands. "Bella, it's my fault. If I hadn't left you... I swear, I thought I was doing the right thing. I wanted to protect you, even at the cost of hurting myself. I thought you would forget me and move on—which you did—but by leaving, I put you in danger anyway."

I said the only four words I could at that moment.

"Edward, I forgive you."

And I did. I understood now why he'd left. For a long time, I'd hurt inside, thinking he didn't love me, that what he'd said was true. Then, last spring, everything had changed.

When I looked over at him, he'd tilted his head, and he was gaping at me.

"Forgive me?" he echoed loudly, sitting up straight. "Bella, it's my fault!"

I gave a soft sigh, trying to wrap my words around my thinking so I could explain what I had come to realize. "As hard as it may be for you to get, I understand now. I do. I don't like that you left me—and it still really hurts that you did it the way you did—but I understand why you felt like you had to."

"Bella," he groaned, digging his fingers into the cushion beside his leg.

"When I became a mother—" his eyes darted up to meet mine, and I half-grimaced, half-smiled "—I finally completely understood. I would do anything to protect my daughter and Charlie right now. If you loved me half as much as I love them, I know you'd have done the same for me."

"Love!" he all but bellowed. "Not loved. Love." Then he shook his head. "But it doesn't matter anymore, I know. You've moved on, and regardless of whether or not you have to leave..."

I knew then that I had to explain about Lizzie. He had to know I'd truly forgiven him and that as much as he'd hurt me, I did understand and I'd never moved on. To understand that, he had to hear the whole story.

"Edward, please. I need you to listen, okay? I need to tell you the story of my daughter."

At his nod, I clenched my fingers together in my lap, took a deep breath, and began to explain what I'd only admitted once—to Alice and Jasper—since right after it happened.

"Spring break of my senior year, Jessica, Angela, and I went to Jacksonville to visit my mom."

~*~FC~*~

"Woohoo!" Jessica cheered as we exited the airport. "I can't wait to change into my new bikini and get to the beach!"

I laughed. Jess had been talking non-stop about the new clothes she'd bought for our trip—especially the black and silver bikini.

"Mom lives right on the beach, don't you?" I asked my mother, looping my arm through hers.

Renee grinned and nodded at Jessica. "You'll love it. Plenty of sand, water, and—" she waggled her eyebrows "—plenty of cute boys."

Rolling my eyes, I tugged her along to her car. "Come on, let's hit the road."

Guys were the last thing on my mind. My heart still—always—belonged to Edward.

~*~FC~*~

"So the first thing we did after we unpacked was hit the beach. My mom was right. There were plenty of cute boys," I told Edward with a sigh. "Cute enough, anyway."

The look I gave him must have given him a clue as to what I really meant—that none of them had even begun to compare to him. He chuckled wryly, shaking his head.

~*~FC~*~

"Look at that one," Angela whispered, pointing down the beach to a guy getting ready to head into the water with a surf board.

"Ang!" I laughed. "You're as bad as Jess." I looked over at our friend, who was currently chatting up a tall, blond guy.

"What? Just because I'm dating Ben, it doesn't mean I can't look," she retorted with a grin.

I'd just turned my attention back to my book, when Jess walked up and nudged me with her foot.

"This is Kyle," she said, introducing me to the guy she was currently latched onto. When two more guys walked up, carrying a frisbee, she smiled. "These are his friends, Ashton and Hunter. Guys, Bella and Angela."

~*~FC~*~

"They seemed fun," I said with a shrug. "They were in their first year of college, down from the University of Alabama. We hung out all afternoon at the beach and then again the next day for most of the afternoon. That evening, they asked us to go to a club with them. My mom and Phil were going out that night to the movies, so we decided to go dancing. We had fun, but I was ready to be home before eleven, so we didn't stay too late.

"The next day, we went with my mom and Phil to Disney World, so we didn't spend time with them. Jess called Kyle the next morning, though, and we met them at the beach after lunch. I wasn't really happy about it, but they were having a good time, so I just kind of went along with everything. Hunter seemed like a decent enough guy; I just hadn't really been interested in any guys since, well..."

"Me," Edward said with a frown.

I nodded. "Anyway, we spent the next few days with them, going out to the clubs and bars at night, using our fake IDs to drink." At Edward's look, I snorted. "I never got drunk or anything. Mostly, I did a shot when we got there and then nursed a couple of beers each night.

"Then, our last night there, we went out again. Jess was really into Kyle—she and Mike had broken up, so she was single and loving it—and Angela was having fun just being relaxed. She didn't relax very often at home, between helping to take care of her brothers and trying to keep her grades up so she could get a good scholarship. I wanted her to have every chance she could get to just have fun, so when they convinced me to let loose a little more, I couldn't say no."

~*~FC~*~

"Come on, Bella!" Jess shouted over the music. "Have another drink!"

"I'm gonna dance, Bella," Angela said from beside me. "Jess is right! Have another drink. Relax!"

I finally shrugged and looked up at Hunter. "Okay, a Long Island Iced Tea," I said, laughing when Angela cheered as she walked out to the dance floor with Ashton.

Twenty minutes later, I was more than pleasantly buzzed. Hunter had tried to drag me out to the dance floor, but I'd refused, so we'd hung out at the bar, watching our friends. He'd then bought us each a shot, saying it would be rude of me to refuse after he'd spent the money. I didn't want to be rude, so I'd drunk the Orgasm he'd given me. Now, I was kind of dancing on my seat—swaying was more like it—as I watched Ang and Jess having fun.

"Hey, Bella," Hunter said in my ear. "My friend's having a party. How about we go check it out? Less people, so it won't be nearly as crowded. Maybe you'll feel like dancing there."

That sounded fun, and I told him so. "S-Sure! Lemme tell m'friends, 'kay?" I looked back out to the dance floor.

"Don't worry. Kyle and Ash'll tell 'em." He caught their eyes, and I saw them nod at him.

"'Kay," I said, nodding.

~*~FC~*~

Much like I had when I'd told Alice the story, I wrapped my arms around my waist, trying to stay strong, knowing I was getting to the hardest part of the story. "I learned later that he'd slipped half a dose of Rohypnol in the Orgasm he'd bought me, so when he said he needed to stop at his hotel room before going to the party, I didn't think anything about it."

Edward's hands were fisted so tightly, I was afraid he would break every one of his fingers. He knew what was coming, and I could tell he wasn't sure he wanted to hear it.

"He offered me another drink, saying he just needed to grab a few things, so I might as well be comfortable. I took at seat on the bed and drank the small bottle of tequila from the minibar. I tried sipping it at first, but I remember thinking it was simply awful, so I just chugged the rest."

I stopped talking when Edward stood and began to pace. His hands went to his hair began tugging. Taking a deep breath, I continued.

"The next thing I remember is waking up the next morning, naked, and alone in the hotel room. His things were gone, and there was a note on the dresser with my clothes. Thanks for the good time. Like we'd just had sex, instead of him raping me."

Edward let out a roar of pain and anger and then bent down and grabbed the edge of the coffee table, flipping it and sending it crashing into the wall. As he stood there, panting heavily, I finished the sordid story.

"I called Charlie. He told me to call the police, to cover myself, but not to wash or do anything that could compromise the evidence. He called Renee, who'd begun to get worried. My friends had been told I'd said I'd be home early the next morning, and Renee didn't know until she got up that I hadn't come back with Angela and Jessica.

"Long story short... Hunter Ellison had used his own name and credit card to rent the room. He also hadn't used a condom. I refused the morning after pill—I was on the pill to regulate my cycle, so I figured I didn't need it—and had a rape kit done at the hospital. They did a blood test and confirmed that I'd been drugged. All of that, combined with the note he'd left, secured a guilty verdict when charges were brought against him. He's serving nine years in prison down in Lake City, Florida."

Edward had frozen when I'd mentioned the guy's name, but now, he grabbed the armchair in front of the fireplace and threw it as hard as he could. The front window shattered as the chair flew through it and out into the trees, sending glass flying everywhere. He whipped around and hit the wall with his fist, leaving a dent in the plaster. His frame was rigid, his breathing ragged, as he dropped his forehead to the wall beside his hand.

I walked up to him slowly, afraid of startling him, and pressed my body against his back. While sliding one arm around his waist, I put my other hand on his closed fist on the wall and willed him to relax.

"I did that," he raged quietly. "By thinking I was giving you the life you deserved—away from vampires who wanted to kill you, a boyfriend who wanted to drink away your life's blood and could crush your skull with a flick of his fingers—I abandoned you and left you to be hurt and taken advantage of, and you've still been cursed with this undead life of immorta

I started to speak, but then, in a flash, he was turned around in front of me, on his knees. "How can you ever forgive me, Bella? I swear to you, whatever you ask, I'll do. If you want me to leave, I will," he said matter-of-factly.

Shaking my head, I pulled him up to me. "Edward, when I was six months pregnant, I found the things you left for me under the floorboard. I figured out then that you'd lied when you said—"

He nodded sadly, interrupting me. "I did lie, Bella. I'm not proud of it. I thought I was do—"

"I know," I promised. "Like I said, I realized then that you'd lied because you honestly wanted me to forget you." As if that had been a remote possibility. "But until I woke up the other day after Laurent's attack and I realized that to keep Lizzie safe, I would have to leave her, I didn't truly get it. I mean, I understood, but now... Now, there's nothing to forgive. I see how hard it must have been for you to be around m..."

My words died off when I saw his face. "What?" I asked, wondering why he looked like he'd been stunned speechless.

"Lizzie?" he breathed.

Nodding, I said, "Elizabeth Anne-Marie Swan."

"After my—"

"Mother," I said, completing his sentence. "And her initials are E-A-M, for Edward Anthony Masen." I smiled at his shock, feeling the sting of venom in my eyes. "See, Edward? I never forgot you, and I haven't been mad at you for a long time. Naming my daughter that gave a good memory to a bad and helped me remember that she was my angel, much like you. I never stopped loving you, even when I was at my lowest—"

Before I could finish my sentence, Edward pulled me into his arms, and before I could protest—not that I'd planned on protesting—his lips were on mine.