Author's Note: So! The horrible chapter you've all been waiting for. Don't hate me too much. But hey! The story has gotta go on, mustn't it?
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Chapter 30
I was quiet throughout the whole ride. Twice, we stopped on our way to Harvard. We had to, so that I could get out to stretch my legs.
My baby girl was getting so big, that I had to be careful. One slip of my clumsiness, and I could lose her.
"Are we nearly there, John?" I asked impatiently.
"Nearly, ma'am."
"Good."
As I looked out the window, I thought back to the day I'd found out the gender of my baby.
Though I knew that Edward was cheating on me, I'd been extremely happy to find out that I'd gotten what I wanted. A beautiful baby girl. At least something was going right in my life.
I'd thought long and hard for a suitable name. After hours of researching, I realized that nothing was going to work for my baby. I wanted something pretty and unique.
Clashing my two mothers' names together, I'd come up with the name Renesmee. It was such a beautiful name to me. It was music in my ears.
Everyone else had agreed with me. When they talked to my little girl, they called her Renesmee. And the coolest thing was, she responded back by kicking my stomach lightly.
The thought about my Renesmee had me more determined. Everything would end today. I was going to get her back the ideal father for her, and she was going to have the most perfect childhood.
"We're here, ma'am," John said, stopping the car.
I got out slowly, rather ungracefully, due to my swollen belly. As John led me around campus, students gawked at me. They seemed to recognize me, and they looked nervous. They'd heard about Edward's cheating scandal.
People watched me as I passed. I supposed I was a bit conspicuous with my swollen body. But I didn't care. I had only one goal in mind, and I was determined to see it through.
John led me towards the main buildings, where law students studied. There was a huge, white staircase leading into the buildings. It was wide, and there was no way around it.
Resigned to some exercise, I climbed the stairs slowly, with John's help. I was gasping for air by the time we reached the top.
Why were the one-hundred and thirteen stairs necessary? They were practically designed to kill someone. A pregnant woman who'd come to shout at her husband.
"Please stay here, ma'am," John said in a low voice. "I'll go get her." And with that, he disappeared quickly inside, leaving me to look down at the stairs in annoyance.
It was a long way down. I shuddered to think what would happen if I tripped here. Instinctively, my hand jumped to my belly.
I took a deep breath. This was it. I was going to get Edward back. This was the big moment.
I heard footsteps behind me. Wearing my cold mask, I turned around to see the pretty young lady who had captured my husband's heart. She looked annoyed, yet nervous to see me.
I didn't speak as she stopped in front of me. I merely gazed at her coldly.
She seemed uncomfortable. Finally, she broke the silence first.
"You wanted to see me?" Tanya asked.
"You are Tanya Denali?" I inquired coolly. Though, of course, I already knew.
Tanya smirked. "I think I know why you're here, Mrs. Cullen. You're here to warn me. You want me to stay away from your husband, don't you?"
I smiled. "Well, I see that you really are an intelligent young lady. Then you must also know that I'm capable of anything, don't you?"
She blinked. She looked confused. "What?"
"I am the daughter of Swan Corporations," I said. "My father-in-law is the president of Cullen Corporations. I combine the two biggest companies in the whole world. I'm very powerful, Miss Denali. If I want something done, that something gets done, whether people like it or not."
She stared at me.
My eyes flashed, and my voice rose. "Don't think I'm an idiot. I've known for months that my husband was cheating on me. I've known all along."
By this time, people were gathering around us, curious to hear the conversation. They seemed glad that someone was finally telling Tanya off for trying to take away a married man from his wife.
"What's going on?" a familiar voice asked, alarmed.
I didn't move. I merely glared at Tanya, refusing to meet his eyes.
"Bella!" Edward said, shocked. He was right behind Tanya now.
Emmett had told me that he hadn't cared that I knew. But right now, seeing me right in front of him with Tanya by his side, he looked scared. Good.
"What…what are you doing here?" Edward asked nervously. "You shouldn't be out…in your condition…"
My eyes flickered towards him. I smiled bitterly. "It's good to see you too. How long has it been since we've talked, Edward? Four months? Five?"
Edward stared at me. "Bella…"
"Well, wasn't it obvious why?" Tanya butted in. "He didn't care about you. Who would care about you? You're just a naïve, barely legal seventeen-year old who wasn't capable of controlling your own husband. Or else, why would Edward be with me right now?" She crossed her arms, smug and confident now that Edward was right behind her. She was sure that he would take his side.
I raised my eyebrows challengingly at my husband. "Well, Edward? It seems as though your girlfriend here is extremely confident that you'll stand by her side."
Edward moistened his lips, unable to look away from me.
My eyes flashed again dangerously, and I snapped.
"I can't believe you're doing this to me!" I shouted. Everyone around us, including Edward, flinched violently. "Didn't you say that you would love me forever? Didn't you promise to protect me from harm? Or were those just empty words? Didn't seventeen years of knowing each other count for anything?
"I trusted you, Edward! I trusted you, and I was loyal to you. I couldn't believe that you would do this to me! Why do you think it took me this long to confront you? I had to check – I had to see for myself that this was really happening!
"Is this really you, Edward? Is this really the Edward Cullen that I know? How could you of all people do this? Were you trying to destroy me? Was this funny to you? Is marriage a freaking game?"
Edward's eyes were wide. He looked alarmed, and he could tell that I'd lost it. Whatever he tried to say wouldn't make a difference. He knew that he was in for it.
Everyone gaped at me, shocked. Only Tanya glared at me balefully. She seemed pissed. But I wasn't done.
"You knew what you were doing," I hissed dangerously. "You knew what this would do to me. Yet, you kept doing it. Did you take me for granted? Did you think the fact that seventeen years of crushing on you would keep me by your side? Was it fun playing with me? Was it fun watching me be miserable without you while you were out here playing with this girl?"
Edward was shaking his head vigorously. "Bella, you're misunderstanding. No. You're wrong. I'm not denying that you're accusations are wrong, but the fact that I was having fun is-"
I whipped out the pink underwear from my pocket and held it up. His eyes widened in horror.
"Not having fun?" I repeated, sneering. "What is your wedding ring doing here, caught on the thread of this piece of lingerie, Edward?"
Tanya blinked. Edward's eyes were closed, as if he knew that there was no turning back.
"Emmett brought this to me," I said, emphasizing every word. "Your own brother. You even turned your own siblings against you. You showed everyone a side of you that wasn't you. Was Tanya really all that interesting? Did she help you forget how miserable you are being married to me?"
Edward's eyes flashed open. "No, Bella! I've never been miserable being married to you! I've never regretted marrying you! Ever!"
"And yet, you chose to cast me away and have an affair with another woman?" I shrieked, throwing the pink underwear at him. And then, I slapped Tanya's face so hard that she nearly fell down.
I was trembling with rage, and I was crying. I glared at Edward who hadn't looked at Tanya once. Even when I had slapped her.
I could tell that Edward was regretting his actions. He was being humiliated and punished for committing a sin against me. I knew that he wished nothing more than to turn back time to change everything.
I glared at Tanya with wild eyes. "You listen to me, Tanya Denali. I don't know why you decided to toy with my husband, but I'm warning you now. If you continue to see him, I will personally make sure that your whole family is destroyed."
Her eyes widened as she clutched one hand to her reddening cheek. "What?" she choked out.
"I told you," I said. "I'm capable of anything. Finding out your family background was a piece of cake. I don't really care about your parents, as they're not with you anymore, but what were their names again? Ah, yes."
I held up a picture of her sisters. Tanya gasped in horror.
"Kate and Irina, was it?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "I'm told that they're happily married to currently rising businessmen? Well, Tanya, I can assure you that if you continue to see my husband, your brothers-in-law will fail in their business, and I can also guarantee that your sisters will suffer the most." I threw the picture at her. "Need I say more?"
Edward stared at me, wide-eyed. "Bella… Don't…don't do this. Blame me. I was the one who did wrong. Why are you threatening Tanya?"
My eyes flashed to him. "Defend her all you want, you bastard. But that won't make me change my mind."
Tanya seemed to recover from her shock. Slowly, she lowered her hand from her cheek, and she glared at me, this time, with new determination.
"You think you can just threaten me like this?" she asked icily. "There's a reason why I'm the biggest girl in school." She sneered. "We'll see whose talking after this."
And then, she pushed me. Hard.
I shrieked in horror. But it was too late. I was already rolling down the long staircase.
There were cries of alarm above me, and there were even people calling my name.
But I couldn't focus anymore. I kept rolling down, unable to stop myself. I was getting dizzy and my head hit the stone staircases more than once. And then, suddenly, I stopped.
I realized vaguely that I was at the base of the staircase. I was glad the dizziness had stopped, but then, there was a new kind of pain in my abdomen.
Gasping for breath, I looked down. Blood was oozing quickly from between my legs and was surrounding me. The pain in my stomach was getting worse, and I realized, with a jolt, that my baby was dying.
There was an abrupt, sickening pain at the lower part of my stomach. The pain was nothing like I'd ever experience before. It was pure agony.
I screamed. I clutched my stomach as I tried to protect my baby in vain.
"Bella!" Edward was suddenly right next to me, his handsome face horrified.
And then, John was there too, on my other side, yelling at the students to call an ambulance.
I couldn't stop screaming. The pain was bewildering me, and I didn't know what was going on. All I knew was this: the nightmare that I'd had before I'd found out that I was pregnant was actually coming true.
My baby kicked my stomach again, as she tried to tell me that she was in trouble. She kicked me again, this time, so hard that I shrieked out in pain.
"Bella!" Edward tried to soothe me. "It's going to be alright. Bella, stay with me!"
There was another sharp pain in the bottom of my baby bump. This time, it was so painful, that I gave another short, terrible scream before blacking out.
AN: Did you need a box of tissues? Or were you just so horrified that you couldn't speak for a while? You just sat there gaping at the computer screen? Hee.
Also, I have no idea if there is a huge staircase at Harvard. But I needed it to make this chapter work. So just ignore that fictional bit of structure there at the Ivy League University. Okay? ;)
What'd you think? Reviews, please!
And look forward to my new story, Complications! Coming soon! :)
