Bella threw herself into Mary Alice' arms the instant she spotted her sister beyond the customs gate. The sisters clung to one another but not a tear was shed. This wasn't a sad reunion for either of them, it was a happy time because one sister was going to help the other realise her dreams.
The two men were left to introduce themselves but neither minded. Edward wasn't shocked to realise he knew Jasper's face and Jasper wasn't shocked to see the love and concern on Edward's face as he looked at Isabella embracing his wife.
"It's good to finally meet you," Jasper said as he shook Edward's hand firmly.
"You too," Edward replied. "Thanks for coming and meeting us, you didn't need to, we'd have hopped a taxi."
Jasper chuckled heartily. "You don't know my Mary Alice yet," he told a bewildered Edward who couldn't work out what he'd said that was funny. "She'd have scalped me if I hadn't agreed to come collect you both."
Edward didn't have time to ask what that meant because right then he was enveloped into the arms of a small, dark haired woman who smelled of freesias and gripped him so hard around the chest he was left without breath for a few seconds.
"Oh it's so nice to finally meet you," she wailed. "I'm Mary Alice, or just Alice, or even Ally," she giggled as she pulled away and then immediately pulled him into another fierce hug. "I'm so glad you're both here," she squealed again.
"Um, Ally, he can't breathe," Bella giggled as Edward sucked in a good gulp of air once Alice had let him go.
"Sorry," Alice mumbled, but she was grinning from ear to ear.
"That's okay, it's nice to meet you too, Mary Alice, or just Alice, or Ally," Edward chuckled.
Mary Alice blushed sweetly and Bella's belly began to flutter as she watched her Edward interact with her sister. Once the introductions were over Bella pulled on the handle from her luggage and Jasper got the message she was trying to convey.
"Come on, Sweetpea," he said to his wife as he took her hand. "These two will be exhausted, let's get them home for a rest."
"Oh yes," Alice exclaimed as she slid her arm through her sisters, waited for Bella to take Edward's hand and the group to move as one. "Let's get you two home."
Bella didn't bother turning to Edward to see if he was okay with being taken to her sister's home. If she was honest she was pleased that someone had taken over control of the situation. She was exhausted from worrying about where they were going to stay and even though she knew that they'd be relocating to a hotel the following day – a deal they'd struck midflight, and one that Mary Alice had no idea about – Bella was grateful to have a nice bed and her sister around for at least the first day home.
Edward wasn't too bothered about being dragged through the airport and taken to Bella's sisters home either. The lack of sleep and jetlag was already tugging at his mind and body and he too was just looking forward to a good amount of sleep.
Alice didn't look like she'd take no for an answer anyway he thought as they wound their way out of the terminal.
The drive from the airport wasn't long and the two women filled in the time with light hearted banter about the camp. Jasper asked after Rose and Tyler and was pleased to hear that they were both doing well. The rest of the trip was filled in with Bella's descriptions of Australia, or the little bit she'd seen, and how much she'd enjoyed her stay.
Edward wasn't shocked at the size and opulence of the Whitlock home as he was shown through the ground floor and then to the guest room upstairs. His parents had a similar sized home after all. What did amaze him though was the difference between the two dwellings.
His family lived in a house. Walls, floors and a roof. Everything else was either art or something meant to look good but not used or touched. But the Whitlock's lived in a home.
The place was warm, but it had nothing to do with the temperature. The rooms were large but they weren't sparsely furnished like the rooms at his family home were. Instead they held oversized furniture, the sofas held rows of cushions in bright colours and the surfaces that he had seen on his way past held sentimental treasures. The walls held pictures but they weren't the posed, contrived portraits he'd sat for in his youth. These were candid shots mixed with the faded memories of childhood from both Mary Alice' and Jasper's lives.
There were blown up photos of them from around the world as they travelled together. Some were even grainy and Edward knew that his mother would never have allowed anything candid or less than perfect to adorn her walls. Somehow these pictures made Edward smile. He liked candid. The faces in casual shots told stories.
There were also small items on surfaces, something else his mother never allowed. He spotted a pair of ceramic owls with nametags hanging around their necks on a low table in the hall. There were fresh flowers on the dining table but at the base of the vase was a ring of haphazardly strewn paper napkins. His mother would've been aghast. He could hear her voice in his head espousing the correctness of only ever using linen napkins.
There was a stack of gossip magazines on a console table at the top of the stairs and a ragged afghan rug hanging over the arm of a chair in a little alcove lined with tattered paperback books at the end of the hall.
Would Bella make a home for them like this he wondered as they walked the length of that hall? Would snippets of their life together adorn the walls? In his head he could already picture it.
When Alice showed them into the guest room all he could do was smile. There was a huge plasma television on the wall opposite the foot of the bed and the bedside tables held books and magazines. There was only one picture hanging on the wall above the bed and it made him bark with laughter.
It was Jasper in a civil war costume, Alice at his side in a period dress, and they'd struck a Bonny and Clyde pose for the photographer. Plastic toy guns and all.
"We had it done for a laugh on our honeymoon," Alice giggled as she pointed out which of the two doors on the adjacent wall was the bathroom and which was the closet. "Make yourselves at home and if you need anything...aw shit," she giggled, "Izzy knows where everything is so get it yourselves," she laughed.
"Izzy?" Edward asked, eyebrow askew.
"Childhood nickname," Bella laughed in response. "Thanks Ally," she told her already retreating sister. "For everything."
Mary Alice waved the thanks away good naturedly with her hand and wished them a good sleep as she left the room.
She stood outside the door for just a few seconds and allowed herself to smile for her sister. She seemed different, in a good way. She wasn't nervous or embarrassed to be shown to a room as part of a couple and she'd shown no hesitation or awkwardness when introducing Edward to them. She could already tell that her sister was deeply in love and that Edward was deeply in love with her sister.
It was written all over his face. He watched her intently, made sure she was warm enough, held her hand at all times and had carried her luggage like a gentleman. He included her in the conversation in the car and seemed to value her input when an opinion was needed.
Yes, her sister was in love and the guy she'd chosen was just as in love with her thought Mary Alice as she made her way back down the hall to her own bedroom.
She lay in bed with her husband and whispered all of her observations to him quietly.
"He calls her Bella," Mary Alice giggled.
"He does. She seems to like it too," Jasper agreed.
"She's so confident now," she remarked.
"It suits her," he replied. "Did either of them balk at being put in the same room?"
"No," she giggled. "They seem very um, how can I put it, used to being together," she mused.
"Did you notice?" Jasper whispered conspiratorially into his wife's ear.
"Notice what exactly?" Mary Alice giggled, hoping they were on the same track.
"There was no ring on her finger," Jasper huffed into her ear just before he traced its curve with his tongue.
"No, there wasn't, was there?" Mary Alice moaned as she turned a little and captured her husband's lips with her own.
That left the tired and worried pair alone in the guest bedroom of her sister's home with a giant four poster bed between them. But there were no nerves. Not anymore. They'd slept in the same bed for weeks and this would be no different. Neither of them felt the slightest hesitation as they opened their luggage and retrieved their toiletries bags.
They brushed their teeth side by side in the ensuite bathroom just as they had at camp. And just as they had for the past weeks one changed into their sleepwear in the bedroom while the other used the bathroom.
Bella was in the bed and snuggled down into the lush blankets by the time Edward emerged from the ensuite. He slid into the huge bed beside her as though he'd been doing it all his adult life.
He took her into his arms, kissed her softly and told her he loved her before she settled herself up against his chest and closed her eyes.
Sleep found them both quickly. They were physically exhausted from the long trip and mentally exhausted from thinking so hard about what they'd come home to do.
But there, finally in a bed big enough for the two of them, they slept content in the knowledge that whatever the next day was going to bring they would face it together.
Bella woke to sunlight streaming in through the balcony doors in the guest room, and to an empty bed. She leapt up and searched the attached bathroom and then ran to the doors to check that Edward wasn't out on the balcony having a cigarette. He wasn't.
More than a little concerned to wake alone but conscious of how she looked and probably smelled after such a long time travelling and then sleeping, Bella took the fastest shower of her life.
She ran down the stairs and into the main part of her sister's house with more than a little panic in her heart. But that panic was for nothing because out on the terrace sat her brother in law, her sister and her Edward. Sighing in relief she went outside to join them and eyed the spread on the table hungrily.
"Here she is," Mary Alice chirped happily, trying her best not to draw attention to the panic on her sister's face.
Edward was already on his feet. The panic on her face was plain for all to see and he was terrified what had put it there. He met her to the side of the table and drew her to his chest. "What is it?" he asked, not caring if they were overheard.
"I thought you'd gone," Bella croaked.
Edward held her tighter and dropped a kiss onto her hair. "I'd never do that," he told her truthfully. "I won't leave you until you tell me to."
What that meant Bella didn't quite understand and right then she didn't really care. He was still there and she was in his arms and that was all that mattered right then.
Jasper and Mary Alice shared a knowing grin and then offered breakfast to a sheepish Bella. She ate almost greedily but nobody commented. It had been many hours since she'd last had a meal and then she'd slept a lot longer than she'd intended so she was ravenous.
The conversation was light, a continuation of the gossip from the car ride the night before, and so Bella remained quiet and ate her breakfast while she listened.
When she was finished she thanked her sister for the meal and smiled in thanks when she was told not to help clean it all up. Mary Alice took the dishes back inside and brought a pot and coffee cups back with her on a tray. When the coffee was poured Edward asked if anyone minded if he smoked. Nobody said they did and so he lit one for himself and offered it to Bella who accepted it gratefully. Edward then lit one for himself as Mary Alice gasped quite loudly.
Bella looked and felt guilty. Both the sisters had been brought up being told that smoking was a very nasty habit and that only the lower classes indulged.
"Sorry," Bella whispered and reached across the table to stub out the illicit cigarette.
"Don't be," Jasper told her firmly. "It's your choice to smoke, Izzy," he said fondly. "Neither of us is going to tell you you can't."
So Bella sat back in her chair and smoked. In front of her sister and brother in law. Edward enjoyed his cigarette more than usual because he now knew just how serious Bella's relatives were about letting her make her own decisions.
It had been habit that he'd offered her the cigarette, and it had probably been through nerves that she'd accepted it from him, but as he watched her blow the smoke out through her nostrils he couldn't help but grin.
Jasper tried not to watch too blatantly but he did sneak the odd peak out the corner of his eye at Isabella. She wasn't choking so he knew this wasn't her first cigarette. And she seemed to be actually enjoying it. Mary Alice was right, she was different. And it suited her. All he could think of was 'good for you'.
The conversation returned to inane things, each of them ignoring the giant pink elephant in the room, and a nice relaxing morning was had on the terrace talking about all things Crossroads.
But the elephant couldn't be ignored forever and they all knew it. Someone was going to have to begin the discussion they'd all been dreading. Edward wanted and needed it to be Bella. This was her family, they were in her sister's home and the problems she had were far more dire than his. Couple that with the urgency that her troubles needed to be attended to and he knew that the plan they had discussed simply had to be instigated by her.
"Bella," he whispered as he pulled her hand into his lap. "If you've changed your mind..." he trailed off.
She didn't reply but she did shake her head firmly. Edward didn't know what that meant and just as he was about to ask Bella sat forward a little and cleared her throat. "I'm going to meet with Jake today and tell him that I won't be marrying him," she said simply and clearly.
That was all it took. The first move had been made and a relieved Mary Alice and Jasper renewed their promise to support whatever decisions she'd made.
Edward kept quiet as the other three went over this part of the plan. He had nothing to contribute because it really wasn't any of his business. Not yet anyway. This part Bella had to do on her own. As much as he wanted to be there with her, holding her hand and encouraging her, he knew it wasn't going to go down that way.
Bella had to tell Jake in person, on her own, that was a given.
Bella had to be the one to break off the engagement and that was nothing to do with Edward.
Edward's involvement in that would come in time but for now all he could do was be there for Bella and support and encourage her to make good on the decisions she'd already made.
He saw her off at the foot of the front steps to her sister's house and watched the cab take her away to her meeting with Jacob Black. His stomach was in knots knowing what she was about to do but he didn't doubt for one second that she'd go through with it.
Before he'd even met her Bella hadn't wanted to marry Jake. Soon after he did meet her she'd removed the ring and confessed that to him herself. No, Edward wasn't worried that she'd go back on that decision at all.
His stomach was in knots because of what he had to do now himself.
Jasper clapped him on the shoulder and wished him well as the second cab drew up in the driveway. Mary Alice called out her good wishes as he slid into the backseat and made his way to his father's offices.
The day has come he thought to himself as he went over in his mind what he was going to say.
My future starts now he told himself as he walked into the building that two short months ago had terrified him.
At the same moment that Edward was facing his most significant demon Bella was sitting opposite hers.
And as she placed the engagement ring on the blotter on Jake's desk her sister was sitting opposite their mother across the coffee table of her family home.
As Mary Alice told her shocked mother that Isabella had returned early from Australia Jasper was sitting opposite Judge Charlie Swan in his chambers in the heart of the city.
The wheels were in motion and in separate place across the city the four major players were meeting with the four major obstacles to the whole groups future happiness.
"What is this?" Jake asks with a sneer as he takes the ring off his desk and rolls it around in his palm.
"You know what that is," Bella sighs. "I can't marry you Jake. I don't love you and you don't love me. Hell, we don't even really know each other."
Jake slaps the ring back down onto the gleaming surface and leans back in his chair as he looks her over. She looks different. Older perhaps. Certainly more sure of herself he thinks as he begins to grin.
"I don't need to know anything more about you than I already do," he begins evenly as he sees his political future slipping away. "You're from a good family, you were a good student in all your lessons and up until you took off on your little sojourn you'd never given your parents any cause for concern. Why wouldn't I want to marry you?"
Bella stiffens at the use of the word sojourn and wonders what the hell he's been told about the reasons behind that. "My trip to Australia wasn't a holiday," she begins carefully. "And I don't know what my parents have told you about the circumstances leading up to it, but it wasn't a holiday."
"I don't think I really care why you went," he sniggers. "All that matters is that you're back, early too I note, and that the invitations have already been sent out. I fully intend to be at the altar on the twelfth, Isabella. Don't think for one minute that I won't marry you, no matter what the reasons were behind your trip."
Frightened at the statement Bella did her best to keep her game face on. She did as Jasper had suggested and sat back in her seat. She folded her hands into her lap carefully and kept eye contact the whole time. She grinned as smugly as she could muster – also Jasper's idea – and then spoke very carefully and quietly.
"I went to Australia because I tried to overdose on depression medication," she told him truthfully. "I was willing to die rather than marry you, Jake. And I just can't understand why you'd want to marry someone who was willing to go that far to stop it from happening."
"I knew it," Jake hissed. "Beauty retreat my ass," he spat. "You back out of this engagement, Isabella," he spat again, nastily, "and I'll go right to the press and tell them just what you've said."
"I thought you'd say something like that," she whispered more to herself than to him. Sad that she was going to have to do exactly what Jasper had warned her she would, Bella took a deep breath and laid her cards out on the table. "It was brought to my attention, while I was away, that my father needs something from you if you manage to gain office." When his expression didn't change, which she'd been coached to watch for, she continued on without waiting for a response. "It looks a lot like you need to marry me so that you can legitimately present yourself as a settled, stable family man, Jake. And we both know that you aren't, not now and probably not after we marry either. You need me Jake; you need me to be the compliant, meek and well mannered little woman who stands beside her man while he runs for office. But I'm telling you that's not who I am and I'm not going to be compliant, meek or well mannered if you make me go through with this. My father needs you to gain that office so that you can guarantee the building permits for the development deal he's invested in with Cullen Enterprises, and you need me to help you win office so that can happen. But I'm here to tell you, Jake, that isn't going to happen."
This time his expression did change, quite rapidly. His eyes got wide and his nostrils flared as he stared at her across the expanse of a desk that suddenly didn't feel nearly wide enough to her. He looked angry. Enraged. And it was all directed at her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he all but hissed before checking himself and settling a mask of confidence and indifference back over his features. A politician's face she thought. "My father is currently sitting on the planning committee for projects such as the sort Cullen intends to build, so those permits are really nothing to do with me. So whoever gave you this information is not only wrong but in serious jeopardy of being sued for libel," he grinned cockily.
Bella really did smile then. And it was a genuine one. "Hmm," she huffed, "See, I said the exact same thing when I was told the details," she chuckled. "Your dad is on that committee, but not for long, is he Jake?" she asked carefully and noted the slight twitch of his lips as he stared her down and refused to answer. "He's not contesting his seat in the election which means his seat will be vacant on that committee. Now, you're running in the same district, aren't you? Yes, you are," she went on, again not waiting for confirmation because she knew it was true. "And, hypothetically of course, after you marry me and you win the election, you'll automatically gain a seat on that committee. That's how it works, right? Yes, I'm sure it is. And if you've got a seat on that committee that means you'll be able to push through all those pesky permits needed for the development. And of course there'll be an awful lot of public opposition to this new development, because there always is with these things, and Cullen Enterprises needs someone to smooth that over. Someone who lives in that very district who holds a public office would be ideal, wouldn't it? My theory is that your name doesn't appear on any of the documents because your slice of the deal will come later. After you win office. After all the public opinions have been soothed. And that's so, so convenient, isn't it?"
Jake was rattled now. Seriously rattled. Whoever had filled her in had done a fucking good job he thought nastily to himself as he shifted in his seat. Luckily for him he still had that secret contra deal with Carlisle himself that nobody else knew about, no matter how close to the mark her theory was. And that deal would make him very, very rich a little further down the track. He hoped, if the engagement truly was called off, which it was looking likely to be, that he could still pull off a win for the seat he was contesting. Without that he was screwed. He figured he'd better do his best to make her understand that he'd marry her anyway. "All this to get out of an engagement?" he asked cautiously.
"Exactly," Bella smiled. "All this to get out of an engagement."
"I don't get it," he said and meant it. "If you go public with this, even if its bullshit, which it is, your own father will be ruined. You've got to marry someone sometime. It may as well be me. I'm not saying anything you've said is true, but let's for the sake of your hypotheses say that it is, isn't it a good thing that the investment your father might or might not have made in a Cullen development is helped through permission and planning? After all, at some point that money will become your legacy."
Bella cringed at the thought of the blood money she'd receive if this deal went ahead. "My father's business dealings are his business, I'm not here to negotiate anything about any of that. I came here to tell you that I won't be marrying you. Not now, not ever. What happens with the development is up to you, my father and Mr Cullen."
"I see," Jake responded cautiously. He'd totally underestimated her. He'd been sure that the idea of ruining her father publicly would be enough to make her change her mind. And once again he could see his bid to take office slipping away without her impeccable family connection at his side. It was time to play hardball.
"What will you do with the information you think you've got if I don't back out of this engagement?" he asked.
"That's easy," Bella grinned. "I'll disclose everything I know, and provide all the proof I've got to the press and not only your family fortunes but mine, and Edward's too, will all be destroyed. Very publicly destroyed."
Bella didn't want to do that of course, but as had been pointed out to her over and over in the past few days she didn't really have much choice if Jake refused to let her out of the marriage.
"Edward eh?" Jake laughed nastily. "Interesting guy," he sneered. "I met him a couple times. Stands to lose his own legacy if this gets out, doesn't he? You sure you want to ruin him, Isabella? I understand why you're so pissed at your father, I do. I suppose I'd see Carlisle Cullen as collateral damage, just like you do too, but Edward? You sure you want his name brought in on this? He was in on the meetings and the deals from the off, or did your source fail to mention that bit?" he sniggered.
And now it was Bella's turn to snigger. She smiled, really smiled, teeth and all and leaned forward towards the desk just a little. "Who do you think it was that told me all this, Jake?"
"Motherfucker," Jake hissed. He recovered from his shock quickly though. He'd had no idea who'd told her what she already knew and it was a shock to learn that the guy who'd helped draft the development plans was the one who'd spilled his guts. And then another question began to burn itself through Jake as he stared at Bella. "Why the hell would Edward Cullen undermine his own father?"
"I don't know, maybe you should ask him yourself," she countered, finding her stride and shaking off the last of her nerves now that she was sure he was losing his grip on his mask. "Look Jake, that doesn't matter now. I just want to break off the engagement and get on with my life. I've told you what I'm willing to do to make that happen so I'll leave now and let you think on it."
"Wait," he shouted just a little too loudly. Again he quickly recovered his composure, but it was too late because Bella had seen and heard the desperation in his voice. "Just wait," he said again as she reached for her purse that she'd placed by her feet. "I can see that you're serious," he conceded reluctantly. "But what's in this for me, if I let you out of this? I'm not tied up with the deal and it doesn't matter to me whether the permits go through or not," he lied with a straight face. "I can win the seat without you, don't think that I can't. It would've made it easier if I had a wife, but if you do this I'll come off looking like the jilted, loyal fiancé and I'll still win it. The only losers will be your family and the Cullen's. Tell me why I shouldn't be at the church."
"Because I don't want to be married to you," Bella said simply. "It was never my choice. I don't love you and you don't love me. And I've met someone who does." With that she did stand and she did take up her purse.
"So this about a guy," he laughed. "I'm guessing this guy doesn't know why you went to Australia and I'm guessing you wouldn't want him to know. And you've just given me all the information I need to destroy whatever fantasy future you've got planned with whoever he is. I've got nothing to lose from marrying you, so tell me why I shouldn't."
"You can guess whatever you want to guess," Bella replied truthfully. "You shouldn't be at the altar on the twelfth, Jake, because I won't be there to meet you. You'll look a fool and your political aspirations will be in tatters. I do understand that without a wife your chances of winning this election are shortened, but not ended. And I'm not a vindictive person by nature Jake, so I'll throw you a bone here," she said, using the turn of phrase Jasper had suggested. "I'm willing to give you the out you're looking for. I'll call the wedding off and deal with all of that. I'll make a public statement and I'll take the fall for all of it. I'll make sure there isn't a political backlash that will rebound on to you. I'll make it look like the trip I've just taken was because I'm as mentally unstable as my mother believes I am," she snorted. "I'm willing to do that for you Jake. I'm willing to throw myself under that bus for you so that you'll have a shot at your election. All I want in return is for this engagement to go away, forever. If you refuse I'll go to the press and make sure that the backhanded deals are exposed and you'll be caught up in it, whether you're involved or not, because you're the guy who was engaged to the daughter of Judge Charlie Swan and he is complicit. You choose, Jake. I'll let you think on it. I'll give you twenty-four hours but if I haven't heard from you by then I'll make one or both of those statements. I'm staying at my sisters; call me when you've decided."
She was through the door and had her eye on the cab that stood at the curb waiting for her when he called her back. She turned but didn't go back into the office.
"You're really willing to ruin your fathers career for a guy?" Jake asks, the shock on his face genuine.
Bella smiled sweetly and nodded. "He was willing to ruin my life for a real estate deal. And he's not just some guy. You're some guy, he's not."
"I never truly wanted you, you know," Jake called out in frustration as she went through the buildings front doors and out into the sunshine. "I never wanted you, you were a means to an end," he shouted.
But Bella found she didn't much care for his hurtful words because Jacob Black wasn't someone who could hurt her. She felt nothing for him. He wasn't important to her and therefore what he'd just said didn't actually hurt.
She threw herself into the back of the cab and gave her sisters address. Edward was at his father's office and when he came back they were moving to the hotel. She knew she had a few hours up her sleeve and that by the time Jake was ready to let her out of the engagement – which she knew he would – both she and Edward would be ensconced in their already booked suite.
A/N: I really wanted to call this Act 1 because it's the first of four meetings designed to untangle Bella and Edward from their previous lives.
But then I thought no, because Acts 2,3 & 4 are all in the next chapter! (Which I'm hoping to upload tomorrow so that the momentum isn't broken)
I really rather enjoyed writing this part. I love that Bella stood up to him, and threatened him right back.
Hope you liked it too. Thanks for reading.
Please review.