Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thank you for the awesome reviews as always. Hugs, Nikki :)

Part Ten

Bella stared back at Melissa in disbelief. She was a pretty girl, apart from the horrible sneer she was currently wearing. It spoiled her good looks and made her appear spiteful, which in fact was a big part of her personality. Bella's eyes lowered to Melissa's left hand, in particular her ring finger; it was bare.

"You are not wearing a ring." Bella pointed out, her voice calm, even though inside she felt anything but.

Melissa covered her left hand quickly with her right. "Jake is going to take me out at the weekend to choose one. A big diamond I think. He loves them and wants to make a statement." She replied, her dark eyes flashing with triumph.

"Diamonds huh?" Bella glanced over Melissa's shoulder at Renee, who was gazing at them both, looking completely mystified. "That's odd, Jake always told me he detested diamonds. I rather thought he would have given you his mom's ring. It's lovely, you must have seen it. It's set with a single emerald and..."

"Jake's sister will be given that ring." Melissa's hands clenched at her sides as she saw that she wasn't getting under Bella's skin like she thought.

"Really?" Bella shrugged nonchalantly. "Billy always said that he couldn't give the ring to his daughters because it would cause untold arguments between the twins. It would look like he was favoring one over the other. That's why he passed it on to Jake instead."

"You think you are so clever, don't you?" Melissa snapped. "But Jake didn't want me to have a crummy old ring that his dead mother used to wear. He wasn't that close to her anyway. In fact we'll probably sell it."

It was those words that really provoked Bella. How dare this ho turn up at her house and insult Sarah like that? Jacob loved his mother more than anything. It would cut him up to hear her being spoken of in those terms. Bella stepped forward and got right into Melissa's face. "A word of warning, sweetheart." She stated coldly. "Never, ever insult Sarah Black again otherwise you'll regret it."

Renee's head turned back and forth as she watched the confrontation between the strange girl and her daughter. She had never seen Bella like this. Even though Melissa was taller than Bella, she seemed to shrink as Bella glared at her intimidatingly; fire flashing from her eyes. Melissa seemed stunned for a second before she recovered her poise. She sidestepped Bella and threw her shoulders back.

"You think you know, Jake. Well not intimately like I do. It's my bed he sleeps in every night. It's my name he cries out when we are having sex. You are not his type at all. You are just a pathetic, needy tramp who doesn't know when to back off. Why would he want a pale, insignificant witch like you when he has me?" Melissa spat.

Renee had heard enough. She rose from her chair and marched up to Melissa, slapping her hard across the face. "How dare you?" She shouted angrily.

Melissa's hand flew to her face, a vivid red mark already appearing across one cheek. "I will sue you for assault." She whined.

"You just try it and see." Renee said grimly.

"Mom, please." Bella pulled Renee to one side and whispered something to her. Renee's lips thinned, but she suddenly left the kitchen, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Bella turned back to face Melissa. "I suppose I better congratulate you on your engagement, Melissa."

The wind was taken out of Melissa's sails at this statement. She gazed at Bella suspiciously. "Why the turn around?"

"Well you obviously know Jake better than I do. If you are his choice than I have to accept it. I have no claim on him. I am not his imprint after all." Bella watched Melissa's face as she frowned in confusion. So the little ho didn't know about imprinting or the wolves. Bella smiled grimly.

"Imprint? You are one mad cow." Melissa said in disgust.

"Maybe so." Bella agreed amiably. "If you've finished spreading your poison you can fuck off now."

Melissa's cheeks flared red. She glared at Bella one last time and departed, slamming the front door after her.

Bella borrowed Renee's hire car and drove out to La Push. She had managed to placate her mother and told her that Melissa was obviously deranged and she was certain that Jake had better taste. However this did nothing to calm her own anger at him. How dare he not warn her about this deluded girl? Bella knew that he must have had some sort of relationship with Melissa, probably a casual sexual fling, that wasn't what bothered her. It was the fact that he had never mentioned his vicious ex, not once. Bella had been completely honest about Edward, had even allowed Jacob to come with her when she ended things, just to put his mind at rest. But had he had the decency to return the favor? No.

She pulled up outside the little redwood house and turned off the engine. Jacob appeared at the front door when he heard the car pull up. A sunny smile lit up his face when he saw it was Bella. He jogged over to the car to greet her. "Hey, missing me already?"

Bella climbed out of the car and slammed the door shut. She shot him a dark look as he tried to hug her. "Keep your hands to yourself." She snapped.

Jacob's sunny smile faded. He held up his hands in a placatory gesture. "What's wrong? We were fine when I dropped you at Charlie's."

"Yeah, that was until I walked inside to be greeted by your fiancée." Bella sneered.

"Fiancée?" Jacob was offended by her tone. He folded his arms defensively across his chest. "What the fuck are you talking about, Bella?"

"Does the name Melissa the ho Hoult mean anything to you?" Bella yelled at him, her anger spilling over.

Jacob's arms dropped to his sides as he swallowed thickly. "Shit." He cursed.

"Shit is about right." Bella retorted. "And you are about as deep as you can get in it, Black." She stared him down for a long moment, before getting back in her car and switching on the engine.

"Bella, where do you think you're going? We need to talk." Jacob reached for the driver's door but Bella locked it.

She wound down the window and glared at him. "I am in no mood to hear your pathetic excuses right now. You promised to be truthful with me if we were going to make this work. But you lied. I told you about Edward, but you kept Melissa a secret."

"She is not my fiancée." Jacob roared, as he tried to prise the door open. Bella began to reverse, effectively making Jacob run alongside the car. He banged on the door in frustration. "Open the fucking door and stop acting like a spoilt brat, Bella."

"Me?" Bella suddenly jerked the car forward, making Jacob stumble. "I am not the one in the wrong here. You are."

"Melissa is someone I had a brief fling with, that's all. It finished months ago."

"Not according to her." Bella reversed again, nearly rolling over Jacob's feet. He jumped back, his face a mask of anger. The curtains were pulled aside in the house and Paul and Rachel's faces appeared at the windows as they peered out at all the commotion. "Perhaps you didn't make yourself clear enough when you were having rabid sex with her?"

"Get a grip!" Jacob lunged for the driver's door again as Bella tried to get the car in gear. "Stop being irrational. I never claimed to be a monk."

"And I never claimed to be a nun." Bella cursed as the she struggled with the gears. This allowed Jacob to yank on the door hard. It literally came off in his hands.

Bella's mouth dropped open as she saw Jacob standing there with the car door held in his hands. He was staring right back at her in shock. The sound of laughter drifted out of the house as Rachel and Paul collapsed in hysterics.

"Now look what you've done?" Bella turned off the engine and climbed back out of the car. "You are not only a liar but a vandal as well."

Jacob didn't seem to hear her. His mind was focused on another matter entirely. "What the hell do you mean that you never claimed to be a nun?"

"Is that what you're worried about?" Bella said in exasperation. "You've broken my mom's car. Anyway I never claimed to be a virgin."

"But I thought..."

"Well that's a first. Jacob Black admitting to having a thought in his empty head." Bella put her hands on her hips as more laughter erupted from the house. "Put that damn door down."

Jacob flung the car door on the ground and glared at Bella. "Is it true or not?" He demanded.

"It seems that you will never find out now, will you?" Bella retorted. She mustered up as much dignity as she could and got back into the damaged car. She switched on the engine and ignored the huge draft pouring in as she drove away from a startled Jacob; not once looking back.

A/N-thanks for reading! Didn't they both handle that well? Not! LMAO...