Author's Note: Though there's a closure to Edward and Tanya's relationship in this chapter, let me warn you: It is a bit short. But I hope it'll be enough, and I hope it'll be enough to satisfy you. And also… A TIME SKIP! Finally, we fast forward to eight years later. So…enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.


Chapter 37

Bella's Point of View

His face was all I think of. He'd been so close to me – only a few hundred yards away – and yet, I'd chosen not to wait for him. How could I have been so stupid as to let myself run away from my problem? I didn't know when I would face them again. Face him again.

It was too late to regret now. The plane had taken off two hours ago. In less than twenty-four hours, I would be all the way across the country from him. And in a strange, new place, I would have to get used to my new lifestyle. I had to live a new life.

I decided that I was going to focus only on studying. No dating whatsoever.

One bad experience was enough to last me a lifetime. I was done with love.

Edward's Point of View

I was angry. Frustrated. Beyond disbelief. Mistakes after mistakes… Could I possibly sink lower?

I had to find a punching bag. I knew that I had to let out all these emotions, or I would literally explode. And I had to find it fast.

Fortunately for me, there was a message waiting for me at home.

As soon as my siblings dragged me inside the mansion, Carlisle and Esme knew what had happened.

"Oh, Edward…" Esme whispered, reaching for me.

Emmett and Alice let go of my arms to that she could hug me tightly. I breathed in her sweet maternal scent. Though this was different from her, and nothing else would make me feel completely restored, I felt slightly better.

"I'm sorry, son," Carlisle said quietly. He was expressionless, but I knew that he was pitying me. Pitying me for the mistakes I'd made. But on the other hand, he was leaving me be so that he could fulfill his duty as my father. He wanted me to learn and experience heartaches, no matter how cruel they were.

I didn't reply. I'd stopped crying-yelling about half an hour ago, and if I heard another peep out of me, I was going to start again.

"Um, you have a message, honey," Esme said tentatively as she let go of me. "It's from that girl. Well, not specifically her, but…the law office…"

My eyes showed a slight flicker of light.

"Um, Edward?" Alice asked worriedly. My suddenly deadly expression must have alarmed her. "Are you okay?"

Here was my answer. My punching bag. I was going to take my anger out on Tanya Denali. Even though everything was my fault, I was going to give myself a moment of satisfaction by blaming all of this on someone who should actually be sharing it with me.

I walked past everyone and went straight to a pad that was waiting for me on a table. I took out my phone and dialed the number. I was going to give Tanya a piece of my grief and anger in a way that she will never forget.


Thirty minutes later, I was sitting next to Tanya in a law office. Her lawyer's office. My lawyer was also sitting next to me. There were a couple police officers outside as well.

Tanya looked absolutely terrified of me. She flinched every time I moved, and her breathing got faster when I was talking.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Mr. Cullen?" Tanya's lawyer asked warningly. His eyes flashed, and I knew he was practically daring me to say the words.

I cocked my head. "Would I have come here if I wanted to call it off?"

"You're being quite arrogant, I daresay," he said, his eyes narrowing. "You have your own faults in this, if I may remind you-"

"I haven't forgotten," I cut off flatly and coldly. "I can never forget my mistakes from this point onward. Do you know where I've just come from? The airport. I've just seen my now ex-wife leave New York without so much of a backward glance toward me. Do you know how disgusted and angry I am with myself?"

Tanya bit her lip. She looked on the verge of tears.

Her lawyer looked taken aback. "Why…I…I don't…"

"Why don't we get to the lawsuit?" I asked coolly.

"I've told you repeatedly that Miss Denali cannot afford to pay the fines, Mr. Cullen."

"And yet, she seems to have enough money to pay you to do this," I countered.

Tanya gave a dry sob. "Edward…"

I ignored her.

The lawyer looked uncomfortable. He glanced at my lawyer, then seemed to tremble slightly under his stern gaze.

"I'm afraid we are at an impasse," he said.

"Edward, please," Tanya sobbed. "I can't afford to pay anything. My brothers-in-law have all suffered from this, and my sisters… Please, Edward…"

"Fine, then," I said coldly. "Do you want to go live in a cell for a couple years instead?"

She gasped. "Edward! How can you do this to me? After all, didn't those few months of being together count for anything?"

"It didn't," I replied. "Because I lost someone who is more important than my own life because of it."

Her lawyer looked pale. "I don't know…what I can do…"

"Fine!" Tanya shrieked at him. "Fine!" She rose from her seat, agitated and hysterical. "Do anything! Anything you want! I'll do whatever you want me to do! It's better than living every day like this with a guilty conscience weighing on my shoulders! I'd rather pay for my crimes, and although I can never forget, it'd be better. But believe me, Edward," she begged, turning to me. "I really do feel extremely sorry towards Bella. I've been regretting my actions ever since that day, and I'm willing to pay any consequence for it. Please… Edward…"

I rose too. "Then go ahead. Rot in jail for a few years." I faced her and looked at her straight in the eye. "We'll see if you've learned your lesson after your service. It'll teach you to think twice before seducing a married man. I just hope you remind yourself every day that you've cost me the woman that I love, and my unborn child."

And leaving my lawyer behind to talk matters over, I left the office briskly without any hesitation or waver in my steps.

Despite the fact that I'd just closed our relationship firmly and coldly, I couldn't help but feel even more miserable.

The punching bag hadn't helped one bit.

Eight Years Later

Bella's Point of View

"Bella? Bella?" I heard my professor calling frantically, running around the Gynecology and Obstetrics Division. "Have you seen Dr. Swan? Anyone?"

Frowning, I finished washing my hands in the sink and hurried out of the OR. What could be so serious?

"I'm here, professor."

"Oh, thank goodness," she said, grabbing me and starting to run. "I know you just came out of surgery, but honestly, we need all the help we can get!"

"What is it?" I asked, now running voluntarily.

"It's a mother with heart disease," she replied. "We need to get that baby out of her right now so the cardiologists can take over."

I sighed internally. I really hated patients like these. Why couldn't I be a gynecologist who helped only to give birth? But no, I had to deal with mothers who had hundreds of different diseases. It really was quite frustrating and stressful.

We reached the bedside. I checked her stomach, touching it gently. "How long?"

"Seven and half months, Doc," one of the interns answered. "You think it's safe for surgery?"

"That's what incubators are for, Tommy," I said dismissively. "Go get an OR right away."

He dashed off to fulfill his task.

"Get him out," the mother rasped. She gripped my wrist tightly. "You have to get him out!"

"We'll do our best, ma'am," my professor reassured her. "You can trust Dr. Swan; she's one of the best."

My heart swelled at the compliment. I was proud of myself for being her best student. She had helped me so much in medical school.

"We got a room, Dr. Swan!" the intern called from across the room.

I nodded towards the other interns and we started wheeling the bed to the OR. And though I was exhausted, I braced myself for another operation.


Sighing, I plopped down onto the lounge room sofa. I was half dead from exhaustion.

"Long day, huh?" one of my colleagues, Sharon Brown, asked sympathetically. She was sitting on the table, shopping online for clothes on her laptop.

"Ugh, don't even mention it," I groaned, my eyes closed. I opened one eye and peeked at the site she was on. "What site is that? Those clothes are really pretty."

"Have you never gone on Fashionista?" Sharon asked incredulously. "I thought the designer was your sister-in-law."

I rolled my eyes as I sat up. "Listen. I learned a long time ago that it's best to just stay friends with her, not consent to be her Barbie."

"Well, come here," Sharon urged, turning back to the screen. "She's got some wonderful stuff out. And they're on a spring sale. You know, she's really getting herself known. Did you know that she opened her hundredth branch up in Scotland? Isn't that awesome?"

I smiled as I remembered her vow to become the most famous fashion designer in the whole world. I walked up behind Sharon and glanced at all the clothes. They really were pretty.

"Ooh, look!" Sharon said, suddenly excited. "I think she named this purse after you. It's called La Bella! It's beautiful!"

I frowned. "You're kidding! Let me see."

She wasn't joking. There was a huge, pretty, light pink bag with its name embroidered in fancy cursive on one of the pockets.

"Wow," I said, impressed. "She got better. I remember when she used to cry when she messed up on one specific design."

Sharon looked at me crossly. "You know, it's really strange to hear you talk about the Alice Cullen like that. Show her some respect! Every designer wants to be her!"

I glanced at her amusedly. "Look, Sharon. I see what you mean. But to me, no matter how successful she becomes, Alice will be Alice."

She clicked on the tab that said Meet the Designer. Alice's smiling face showed up, and her whole biography was written towards the side.

Sharon sighed enviously. "She's so pretty. You're lucky to have her as your sister-in-law."

My lips pursed. "Yeah, well…"

I hadn't called home ever since I offered my congratulations to Alice and Jasper on their marriage. And that had been four years ago. I had no idea what everyone back home was doing right now. I'd cut off all contact on purpose, with the excuse that I was busy.

She frowned at me. "How come you didn't go back to New York for the wedding? That was exactly four years ago, when you finished your residency. You should have gone on that two week vacation! Now that I think about it, it was perfect timing!"

I made a face and looked away.

"Isabella?" Sharon said suspiciously. "It was your brother's wedding. I know you love your brother very much. Why didn't you go? I would have thought that it would have been nice to get together with your family after four long years. Besides, didn't you want to see your in-laws at all?"

"Sharon, you know my story," I said, picking up her files that were sitting next to her and rifling through it curiously. "I already know the Cullens. They're family friends."

"Uh-huh," Sharon said, her eyes narrowed. She pushed away the laptop and crossed her legs, focusing all her attention on me. "You know what I think?"

"What?"

"You didn't go because you didn't want to see your ex."

I looked up, my eyebrows raised. "What makes you think that?"

"It's obvious," Sharon said, shrugging. "I mean, the whole world knows how devastated you were eight years ago when that event happened. You divorced him and never looked back. And you didn't want to see him again because you still love him and you can't forget about him. I'm right, aren't I?"

I laughed sarcastically. "You're so smart, Sharon. I can never fool you. But you know what? There's one thing I'd like to correct in your statement, and it's this: I don't love him anymore. I'm over him." I turned back to the files and examined a picture of an ultrasound. "I came to UCLA to forget my past, and I did. I wouldn't care if I saw him right this minute."

Sharon rose, chuckling. She patted me on the arm and took away her files from me. "Look, honey. I know how sad you still get when you think about him. You even keep those pictures of him in your penthouse. I don't think that's someone who's so over her ex-husband." She winked at me before walking out of the room.

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head and smiling. I sat down in her seat and pulled her laptop towards me. And I browsed through the catalog, picking out several casual tops and jackets. And then pants. And ended up looking at accessories.

And just for Alice's sake, I clicked on the Check Out button and started filling out my information.


AN: What'd you think? The closure? Satisfying enough? I know it was a bit of an awkward place to put that section in there, but honestly, it was easier this way. I already have a lot of chapters written for this story, so I couldn't really add another chapter. I didn't want to go back to all my other stories and re-label them. So I squeezed it in. Hope you don't mind. Also, don't get too comfortable because Tanya will be coming back out later. Just a head's up. Also, we're finally at eight years later. What'd you think about that part? Like it? Love it? Hate it? I hope not.

And one last thing. I realize that this AN is getting a bit too long, but I have to say that I'm so grateful to all of you. We're over eight hundred reviews! And if this keeps up, I think we'll go over one thousand in no time. I have lots of chapters for you in the future, and honestly, I'm not even halfway done. Thanks, and you know what I want now, right? More reviews! That's right, keep 'em coming!