Thanks to SusanQ, Nicffwhisperer, Kikki7, Julie, KittyVuitton, Kim, Stephanie, Perry, Jaime, Nolebucgrl, and Sydney Alice for all of their help pre-reading/betaing/supporting me. I'm always tinkering until right before posting and any mistakes are mine.

Complications

July and August seemed to fly by. Once Edward and I had shared our feelings with each other, we both relaxed and enjoyed every moment we were able to spend together. We spent many romantic weekends at his house in the Hamptons, one week in London, one week in Paris, and had just gotten back home from two weeks in California.

It was exciting and thrilling to experience each new place, to be a real part of Edward's world.

I almost didn't want the traveling to ever end.

But as soon as I walked in the front door and hugged Hannah, it felt just as right being home. And that was where I was.

Home.

Being in New York with Edward and Hannah felt more like home to me than Forks had for many years.

We also had to deal with the adjustment of my starting college classes for the first time. Edward and I had compromised. I was taking a full course load: four introductory courses—getting some of my prerequisites out of the way—taking up most of my Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. And I had agreed that Felix would drive me to and from campus each day.

"Do you want to stop for coffee again this morning?" Felix asked as I got in the car.

I nodded and gave him as much of a smile as I could conjure that early. Edward laughed every morning at my grumbling from waking up at the crack of dawn.

As if he could talk.

He was just as much of a grouch as I was.

Hannah had given up trying to get me to eat before classes, but she'd started putting snacks in my backpack for later in the day.

We pulled up in front of the Starbucks next to campus not too much later, and I jumped out to get my morning fix of liquid sugar and caffeine. I glanced down at my jeans, t-shirt, and tennis shoes, smiling because going to classes allowed me the excuse to wear comfy clothes instead of the stilettos and dresses Rose and I had shopped for all summer.

I should have been paying better attention because I suddenly hit a wall and almost fell back on my ass. Someone caught me on my way down, their hands holding onto my waist until I had my balance again.

"I'm so sorry," I blurted out, glancing up to see who or what I'd run into.

"No big deal," he said. "Are you okay?"

I nodded at the man in front of me, who was smiling widely at my fumbling.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." I extricated myself from his grasp, not comfortable with some stranger's hands on me.

He backed off immediately at my unease, and I relaxed with a deep breath. He appeared nice enough, and probably would have been attractive with his dark hair and tanned skin…if I wasn't already married to the most gorgeous man on earth. His suit and tie were obviously expensive, tailored to fit his tall frame well.

"I apologize for being in your way." He waved for me to get in front of him in line. "Let me make it up by treating you this morning."

I shook my head. "No, that's okay." I couldn't shake this vibe of uneasiness I got from him. I glanced outside and saw Felix still sitting in the double-parked car.

"Hey, no worries." The man chuckled and I turned back to face him. "You look like you're afraid I'm going to rob you or something."

I blew out a breath and smiled. He was right. I was being stupid.

I was the one who ran into him anyway.

What was my problem?

"Sorry," I said. "I'm just jumpy this morning, I guess."

He laughed again. "Then caffeine is just what you need."

I mustered another smile, thankful the line ahead of us had dwindled. He insisted I order ahead of him, and I complied, not wanting to argue further. As soon as the barista handed me my drink, I turned to leave.

"It was nice running into you." He stuck his hand out and I shook it. "I'm Jay. Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

A shiver ran through me. "Yeah, maybe."

He let go and I quickly made my way out the door and back into the car.

"Everything okay in there?" Felix asked me as I got in.

I nodded. "Yes. Sorry it took so long."

I opened the lid of my coffee as Felix drove off. The smell of the freshly brewed goodness usually energized me as much as the caffeine itself.

But something was off this morning. It didn't smell right at all.

In fact, after taking a sip, I felt somewhat sick to my stomach.

I put the lid back on, waved bye to Felix when he stopped at my building, and threw the coffee away in a trashcan. I ran inside to make it just in time for chemistry lecture.

I sat down next to Leah, Heidi, and Paul. They were in a couple of my classes and we had taken to walking and sitting together whenever possible. Although lectures were made up of a large group of students, my smaller recitations required more interactions with others.

The first week I felt like people gave me odd looks when I introduced myself as Bella Cullen. Like they already knew who I was.

And it was possible they did.

My name was still splashed about in conjunction with Edward's in the gossip columns, but I didn't let it bother me as much anymore. I tried to blend in and garner the least amount of attention as I could.

But it was nice to have Leah, Heidi, and Paul.

Leah especially had been very nice, and it comforted me to have a few others to chat with, complete assignments with, and simply be normal with around campus.

Although my class schedule was difficult, I tried to enjoy the experience. My introductory psychology course was especially interesting to me, and I thought perhaps that was an area I could pursue further.

My phone beeped and I pulled it out with a grin.

I love you.

Edward still made my stomach flip several times a day. I hoped that feeling never went away.

I answered him back quickly as I ate another handful of crackers. They were the only things that tasted good at the moment. Even the sight of the sandwich Hannah had stashed in my backpack made me want to hurl.

"Is that your Edward again?" Leah asked.

I smiled across the table at her and nodded. She and Heidi giggled at me.

"What?"

"You should see the look on your face anytime he texts or you talk about him. I wish I could find someone who made me that happy." Leah grinned and patted her hand over her heart.

"I still can't believe you're married to Edward Cullen," Heidi added.

Even though I was friendly with them both, whenever they would try to steer the conversation to Edward, I tended to proceed cautiously, if not change the subject altogether. I didn't believe their intentions were bad, but I wanted my private life to remain private.

"Yeah, what's he like?" Leah asked.

I sighed and looked down to fiddle in my open notebook. "He's great." I tapped my pen a few times and glanced back up at them. "What did you get for problem three?"

They took the hint and my tension eased as we discussed our calculus assignment.

~~~*~~~NOP~~~*~~~

On the drive home from campus, I received a phone call from someone I'd been missing.

"Rose!"

"Hey there, stranger." She chuckled a little at my excitement.

"I know. It's been so long. I miss our shopping trips." We hadn't been out spending loads of money on clothes since before Edward and I had left for Europe. "How's the new job?"

"That's what I was calling about. I love it, Bella. I can't even thank you enough for talking to Edward about hiring me."

He had kept his promise to me, hiring Rose as an in-house marketing liaison between his company and an outside firm.

"I'm so happy it's working out. What did Jane have to say? Does Emmett like having you around the building?" My questions were just pouring out of me.

She laughed. "Jane was so happy. She may have given Edward a big kiss."

I smiled. I'd only really met Jane once at the reception, most of our correspondence to this point had been over the phone. But Edward adored her—in a favorite older sister kind of way—and I was sure his helping Rose had as much to do with pleasing Jane as it did me.

"I don't get to see Emmett much during the day," Rose continued. "My office is in the opposite tower, but he insists on taking me to lunch as much as possible."

"We all need to get together soon and have dinner. I want to see you." And Emmett too…the big lug.

"Yes, we do. But I also wanted to know if you were free on Saturday."

I didn't think Edward had any plans, or at least he hadn't mentioned anything yet. "I think so. What do you have in mind?"

"I wanted to thank you properly and give you an early birthday present. There are three openings at Cornelia Day Resort on Saturday, and I thought I would treat you and Alice to a full spa day. "

I bounced in my seat. "You don't have to do all that, but I'm not going to argue. I'd love to go. And maybe we can all come back to my place afterwards and have dinner here?"

"That sounds perfect. I'll ask Emmett if he can meet us there at say seven for dinner."

"Maybe we should just tell the guys to go have a day of their own since we're going to a spa?"

Rose chuckled. "As long as no strippers are involved."

I scrunched my nose. Edward better not even suggest something like that unless he wanted his eyes scratched out. "I was thinking something along the lines of golf...or car shopping maybe." I paused when she snorted in response. "Do you want me to call Alice and make sure she can go?"

"That'd be great. Just give me a call later or tomorrow so we can finalize the plans."

"Okay. Thanks, Rose. I can't wait."

I called Alice as soon as we said goodbye.

"Bella, hey." She sounded out of breath.

"What are you doing? Are you in the middle of a workout?"

She gasped and giggled loudly. "No."

She sounded really strange. Well, stranger than usual.

"Where are you?"

There were muffled noises, but I distinctly heard a man talking to her in the background.

"Um, I'm on my way to dinner."

It was like four in the afternoon. Dinner? There was definitely something up.

"Alice, what's going on? Why are you hiding something from me?"

"Nothing. I'm not hiding anything." She didn't sound at all convincing. "What's going on with you? How are classes?"

I narrowed my eyes at her trying to change the subject. "The same as they were a few days ago when we talked. Who's with you?"

"Nobody."

She was a lying liar who lies.

I huffed and stuck my tongue out at the phone. "Fine. Don't tell me. I'll get it out of you sooner or later." Maybe she had a secret boyfriend she didn't want to bring out of the closet yet. "I actually called to see if you could do a spa day with me and Rose on Saturday and then come back here for dinner."

"Here as in your house?"

"Yes. You can crash here after dinner if you want. Rose and Emmett will be here for dinner. Maybe I can see if Edward will invite Jasper over too. You two seemed to get along at my reception."

She made a choking sound.

"Are you okay?"

She coughed a couple more times before answering. "Yeah, sorry. Spastic moment there." Very odd. "Saturday sounds great."

"Rose is treating us, so make sure to give her a call."

"I will." There were more muffled sounds and giggles. "I have to go, Bella. I'll call you tomorrow to finalize details. Love you!"

I shook my head when she abruptly ended the call. She was up to something, but I'd let her keep her secrets for now.

We pulled in front of the house and I trudged up the stairs. I didn't know why I felt so tired. Maybe it was the hot weather.

I couldn't wait for the crisp coolness of fall to arrive.

I made a stop in the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of juice from the fridge, and I noticed a note placed out on the countertop next to an envelope.

Bella,

I went out for the weekly shopping. This letter was delivered by courier for you this morning. I should be home around six.

Hannah

I picked up the envelope, which had my full maiden name handwritten on the front. I frowned as I opened it up, wondering what it could possibly be.

It was a single white page of paper, with only two short sentences written in the center.

I know about your arrangement. Everyone else will know soon enough.

The blood drained from my face.

Who could have sent this?

Why?

Edward and I had pretty much forgotten all about the contract that pulled us together. It was basically moot considering how much we cared for one another. In fact, the only time it was even mentioned in the last few weeks was when he brought up the idea of tossing it altogether.

I'd told him it was fine with me and then jumped his bones.

I had no idea if he'd ever gotten around to it or not.

I grabbed my bag and pulled out my phone, calling Edward as fast as my shaky fingers could push the buttons.

My thoughts grew darker as each ring passed unanswered.

Even if Edward and I knew we were truly in love and happy, it could still ruin us both if the terms of his proposal were made public.

I covered my mouth and ran for the bathroom as his voicemail message came on. This anonymous letter had just pushed my not-quite-right feeling I'd had all day into true nausea.

After purging the scant contents of my stomach, I wiped my sweaty face down with a cool, wet cloth and returned to the kitchen to try him again.

Still no answer.

Damn!

Maybe his battery had died or something.

I grit my teeth and tried his office line, cringing from the sound of Tanya's voice.

"CWI," she greeted.

"I need to speak with Edward. This is his wife."

"Oh. I'm sorry. He's in a meeting with Ms. Forrester and asked not to be interrupted. I can take a message." Her fake saccharin tone made her words even harder to swallow.

"No. Nevermind." I hung up before running back to the bathroom.

Ms. Forrester?

He was meeting Kate?

Now I was crying on top of feeling like shit.

Edward was ignoring my calls, having meetings with Kate which were much too important to be interrupted by his stupid wife, and someone was sending me threatening mail.

I was a mess.

I washed my face again, brushed my teeth, and slowly made my way upstairs. I turned the air conditioning down to frigid, stripped out of my jeans, closed the drapes, and fell into bed.

I wanted to forget all about this day.

Fortunately, I was tired enough to fall asleep quite quickly. Unfortunately, I was a groggy, angry basket case when Edward woke me up a couple hours later.

"Bella?"

I pulled the covers over my head and turned away from him.

Asshole.

The bed dipped and he was suddenly lying next to me. "Bella, what's wrong?"

"Go away."

"Not until you talk to me. Why was your phone off? I've been calling you for hours."

I may have growled as I threw the covers back and turned to glare at him.

"My phone? My phone? I tried calling you over and over and you didn't answer. I even tried calling your office line and that bitch told me your meeting with Kate couldn't be interrupted." I threw a pillow at him.

I only missed by a couple feet.

His mouth gaped at my outburst. "My phone was off for an executive meeting and I forgot to turn it back on. I called you as soon as I turned it back on and saw you'd tried to reach me."

I huffed and flopped back down, turning away from him again.

"Hey." He slid next to me, curving his body around mine from behind. "As for Kate, that wasn't a meeting. She walked in, spouting some nonsense, and I told her to go fuck herself and get the hell out of my office. And I definitely did not tell Tanya not to interrupt a meeting with her." He kissed my temple and hugged me tighter. "Believe me, I will be having a discussion with Tanya tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes.

Discussion.

Bah!

I wanted to have a discussion between her and my fist.

He sighed when I remained silent. "Was everything okay? Why did you call so many times? I was worried."

I snatched the letter off my nightstand and threw it back at him.

His arm disappeared from around me and he sat up. "What the hell is this?"

The genuine worry in his voice made me flip back over and face him. "Hannah said it was delivered here this morning. I don't know anything more than that."

He gripped his hair. "Fuck." He didn't move for a minute, before meeting my eyes again.

I was wrapped up in his arms before I knew it.

"Baby, I'm so sorry. This probably scared the shit out of you and I wasn't even there. Fuck, I'm sorry." He kissed all over my face, finally landing on my lips.

It was hard to stay mad at him when he was being so sweet. And it was likely I may have overreacted.

I put my arms around his neck, enjoying the cuddling.

"I'll fix it," he whispered. "Don't worry about anything."

My stomach roiled again. And not in a good way.

"Do you know who it could be? What they want?"

"No, but I'll find out."

For some reason, I believed him.

~~~*~~~NOP~~~*~~~

By the time Saturday rolled around, we didn't have any answers about the mysterious letter. At least Edward hadn't told me anything yet if he did know something.

I'd shooed him off to go do boy things with Jasper and Emmett, while Rose, Alice, and I enjoyed our day at the spa.

I took full advantage of the experience. Massages, facial, manicure, pedicure…the works.

Anything to try and get myself out of this funk I was in.

"What's up with you?" Rose asked, taking the chair beside mine as her green face mask set.

No wonder men were scared of female beauty rituals. We did sort of resemble aliens at times.

"I don't know. I've been feeling off lately. I thought maybe I was getting sick, but I don't think that's it."

A small whisper echoed in the back of my mind, but I was too chickenshit to fully acknowledge it.

Alice wasn't though.

She sat down on the other side of me with a sly smile. "I bet you're pregnant."

There it was. Out in the open.

Rose's eyes lit up as she grinned. "Oh my God. Edward would flip."

She didn't know the half of it.

"Guys, let's not talk about it. I doubt it's that. I think it's just my body adjusting to all the change over the last couple months."

That sounded reasonable. Right?

It wasn't that I didn't want to be pregnant. I did. I just didn't want to be disappointed again when I found out I wasn't. And I really, really didn't want to get Edward's hopes up just to crush them again.

"Don't dismiss it so easily," Alice said. "You've been tired, moody, nauseous. It all adds up."

"When was your last period?" Rose asked.

I glanced around, making sure nobody was eavesdropping on our not-so-private conversation. "Would you two keep your voices down? Geez." I swallowed a couple times, actually letting myself think hard about the possibility. "I'm late. Okay? A few weeks late."

They both squealed and I shook my head.

"But that doesn't mean anything. I've never been completely regular and there was all the stress from traveling and starting school and stuff."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I wish I could have the stress of a trip to Paris. Torture that must have been."

I bit my lip and my eyes watered against my will. "I don't want to hope yet."

Alice put her arms around me and I slumped against her. I really was mood swing central.

"Let us be there for you. We'll go back to your house. You can take a test and we are there to have your back no matter which way it goes."

I finally agreed and we made a pit stop at a drug store on the way home.

"You two wait here, I'll go grab it," Alice said, getting out of the car.

I fidgeted nervously as we waited, hoping Edward wouldn't be home yet when we arrived.

Thank goodness he wasn't.

The three of us flew up the stairs and Alice put out three different tests on the bathroom counter.

Rose tore them open, handing me a cup. "Pee in here."

I scowled at her and grabbed the cup. They stood there watching me like statues.

"Could you two go somewhere else, or at least turn around? I have freaking performance anxiety over here."

My hand was already shaking so much I feared getting more pee on my skin than in the cup.

I took a deep, calming breath and closed my eyes to zone out for a minute.

I could do this.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Finally my body obeyed, and Rose took over from there, preparing the three tests with my sample.

I pushed them out of the bathroom, too nervous to be in there and watch them count down the seconds. They sat next to each other on the bed while I paced around the room.

What if I was pregnant?

My heart raced at the possibility. A child. A child with my Edward.

Edward.

He would be over the moon. It wouldn't surprise me if he broke out into a dance and started plans for a nursery immediately.

But what if I wasn't?

The tears were already welling up at the thought of the other outcome. I would have to hide my disappointment from Edward so he wasn't upset too.

The timer on Alice's phone beeped and I stopped my pacing.

I slowly walked back into the bathroom, Rose and Alice right behind me.

"Remember Bella, no matter what, everything will be fine," Alice said.

I only nodded and blew out a large gust of air before picking up the three sticks.

Each stick gave the same result as the others, and I burst into tears.

AN: Pregnant? Yes or no? Who was that man in the coffee shop? Who sent the letter to Bella? What is Alice hiding?

Lots happening right around the corner.

Thanks so much for all the responses to the EPOV outtakes. You all made me smile so much with your love for his crazy head.

Find me on facebook at Twilover Seven-six

Find me on twitter at twilover76

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