[Disclaimer] All things Twilight belong to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back to my little soap opera…aka Twilight fan fiction. Hugs to all my supportive readers out there, I'm so glad that you like my story. It means a lot to me.

This chapter is dedicated to Hayley (danke, für die ganzen reviews auf deutsch) and to Villemo79 for giving me love for my story when I need it the most.

*Warning: parts of this chapter are pretty corny…consider yourself warned and don't go complaining afterwards.*

**Chapter 42**

The sunlight reflected on the dark curls of her hair, adding a bluish shimmer to it. Slowly I reached out my hand and caressed the soft skin on her exposed neck with my fingertips.

Then I leaned over and planted a soft kiss right under her earlobe. A low moan left her throat before she turned to the side and opened her caramel eyes.

"Morning, sweetheart," I whispered softly while my hands stroked down her beautiful face until I reached her collarbone.

She cupped my face between her dainty hands and kissed my mouth so lightly that her lips were barely touching mine. Still her gentle touch sent a pleasant shiver down my spine. The warm, tingly feeling in my stomach increased as she twisted a wisp of my long hair around her fingers and pulled me closer.

"How long have you been awake?" she asked me as she noticed that I had already dressed.

"Long enough," I mumbled as she sat up in the bed that squeaked underneath us.

"By the way…you look pretty when you're sleeping."

"Thanks." she whispered against my mouth, her sweet breathe tickling the skin of my lower lip before she kissed me again. The tip of her tongue slipped into my mouth and when it touched my tongue something comparable to an electric shock went through my entire body. How much I loved the way my body reacted to her touch in ways I had never thought to be possible.

"I love you, Ali."

"Love you more."

"I don't think that's possible, Ali."

She took my hand in hers and planted kisses all over my knuckles, her eyes never leaving mine.

The door opened and Lilly's copper-head appeared in the doorframe.

"Mommy, when is Daddy coming home?"

I inhaled sharply between my teeth and forced my face to remain a calm mask.

"Come here, sweetie." I told her. She sat down on the edge of the bed and I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her on my lap.

"Look, Lilly. Your Daddy won't live here with us anymore."

"Is he still angry at me because I didn't want to stay at Grandma's house with him?" her voice sounded worried.

"No, honey." My voice almost cracked and I swallowed hard to keep the tears from falling.

"Lilly, your father isn't angry at you, just at me and your mother."

"Can't you just tell him that you're sorry?"

To my immense relief my cell started ringing and I cleared my throat nervously when I recognized the number.

"Morning, Bella. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"Hi, Zafrina, no we're already awake, don't worry."

"Fine, that's good. Listen, Bella. I have good and bad news for you. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"The good one, first please."

"You won't have to sell the house."

"Really? That's incredible. How did you manage to do that?"

"Your surprised reaction is an insult to my skills as a lawyer."

"I'm sorry, Zafrina. I didn't mean it like that."

She chuckled slightly.

"Don't worry. It really wasn't that difficult for me, just a few phone calls to tell the truth."

"And what's the bad news?"

"Your moron of a husband refuses to sign the divorce papers my office sent to him."

"Why?"

"Because he's an asshole how gets a sick pleasure out of complicating other people's life,"

"I already know that, Zafrina. The question is can I do anything against that? Can't we just force him to sign the papers or something like that?"

"I'm afraid that would be illegal. Look, you'll get the divorce, don't worry. You just have to wait a little longer."

"How long is longer?" I asked her impatiently.

"Probably two months, I guess. Try to relax, Bella. He is stupid if he thinks going to court will make things easier for him but the truth is that I will kick his ass so hard he won't be able to sit for a month."

"I'm not too keen to going to court, Zafrina. It's kind of scary somehow."

"Scary for you, but it is fun for me. Bella please try to stop worrying so much about it. There is nothing to be afraid of."

"Kay," I croaked out halfheartedly.

"I mean it, Bella."

"Yeah, I know. I'll try to work on that part."

XXXX

Ali sighed deeply as she parked the car in front of the small house. Her hands were trembling slightly when she turned off the engine. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to me.

"Look, we don't have to do that now. We can wait for a better…"

"Waiting for a better opportunity? What kind of opportunity are you talking about?"

I took her hand in mine and squeezed it gently.

"I'm just trying to protect you, Ali. I don't want you to get hurt."

She leaned over and planted a kiss upon my lips.

"Mommy, what are we doing here?" Lilly asked from the backseat, carelessly throwing one of her Barbie dolls on the floor of the car.

What a smart question, I thought bitterly. What exactly are we doing here?

"We're just visiting the young man that works with Mommy. He's really nice, I'm sure you'll like him, Lilly."

I took a deep breathe before I knocked on the door of the house. A few moments later it was opened by a middle-aged man with short cropped grey hair. His eyes looked incredibly tired, like he hadn't slept properly for a very long time.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to buy anything, Miss."

"We're not here to sell anything, sir. I work with your son. I wanted to ask him something about changing our shifts. Is he home?"

A frown appeared on his face.

"You can wait for him inside. I'll try to wake him up for you. He acts as if he's dying from the hangover."

He guided us into a small living room where he quickly shoved a few empty fast food bags from the couch.

"I'm sorry that it's so messy here but my wife is visiting her family and I'm not really good at the whole housework stuff."

"Oh, I see. It doesn't matter. Don't worry." I sat down on the couch with Lilly on my lap while Ali remained standing next to us.

"Would you like to drink something?" he asked us, walking over to the open kitchen at the other side of the room.

"No, thank you. Look, you don't need to wake Benjamin up if he isn't feeling well."

He chuckled slightly and grabbed a pair of glasses from the table.

"Blind like a…how's that little black animal called?"

"A mole!" Lilly called out.

"You're a smart little girl." He told her cheerfully handing her a piece of candy.

Then he raised his head and when his eyes met Ali's he dropped the plastic bags he was still holding in his left hand.

For a moment I wondered if he was probably going to get a heart attack or something like that.

"You…you…are…you are…Alicija, aren't you?"

Ali grabbed my hand and tried to pull me up again but somehow I didn't manage to move one single inch.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here. It was a stupid idea."

He sighed deeply and cleared his voice before he spoke up again.

"No, it wasn't. I understand that you probably want some answers but I'm afraid that I won't be useful."

"You know who I am, don't you?" Ali's voice was barely a whisper.

"Yes, I do. You look too much like Sasha to not know who you are."

"Do you have a picture of her?" she croaked out, while she squeezed my hand in hers so tightly that it was almost painful.

He nodded his head and pulled a wrinkled photo album out of a cupboard at the other side of the room.

I recognized that he had tears glittering in the corners of his eyes.

Ali opened the album with trembling hands to look at the mother she would never get to know.

XXXX

"Are you okay?" I asked her, hugging her tightly from behind.

She nodded her head silently.

"Are you sure, Ali? Because, if you're not, I need to know…"

Slowly she turned around and cupped my face between her hands.

"I'm okay, when I'm with you, Bella. You make me feel like…I don't know...like I'm home at last."

I wrapped my arms around her delicate waist and pulled her closer against my body.

"You are home." I whispered against the warm skin of her neck, deeply inhaling the sweet vanilla scent that seemed to be streaming out of each of her pores.

"And I want to make you happy for now…for tomorrow and for the rest of our lives."

"Bella…"

I put one finger on her lips to silence her.

"Before I met you, Ali, I didn't know what love is. Yes, I thought that I did but now I know that I didn't. The way I feel about you, I never felt that way about another person before. I love you. Not only for who you are, Ali but for who I am when I'm with you."

I lowered my head and planted a soft kiss on her ruby tinted lips that felt like velvet against mine. She was so warm and soft and she was mine just as much as I was hers. The thought turned my knees into yell-o and I took several steps backwards until I reached the metal frame of the bed and sat down on its edge.

Ali kneeled down in front of me, twisting the fingers of her right hand with mine. The candlelight made her caramel eyes look two shades darker. Or maybe it was just my brown ones that reflected in them?

"I love you, Bella. And I want everyone to know that you belong to me now and to no one else."

I put a wisp of her short hair behind her ear, feeling her shiver slightly when my fingertips brushed the sensitive skin right above her hairline.

"I belong to you, Ali. And it doesn't matter what other people think about it."

"Oh yes, it does, Bella. Well, you're right that it doesn't matter what they think. But I want them to know that you belong to me. That what we feel for each other isn't some kind of one night stand or a summer affair."

"We know it's more. Isn't that all that matters?"

"Almost…can I ask you something?"

I nodded my head.

"Do you remember the first time we went into Maria's club?"

"I remember dancing with you…and then there was this kinky couple…the blond man and the ginger-head."

"That's not what I meant…I really liked to forget that part of it."

She took my other hand in hers and started drawing invisible circles all over my palm and my wrist.

"When I introduced you to Maria and you told her that your name was Bella Cullen she thought that you were my wife."

"Your wife?" My voice raised two octaves.

"Yes, because you had the same name. And back then I wished so much that she had been right about that."

I leaned down and covered her lips with mine. At first the kiss was gentle, almost hesitant as if we both were searching for something in it. But then the tip of my tongue slipped between her lips, letting me taste the sweetness of her mouth.

"I love you, Ali." I whispered against her trembling lips.

"I love you too, Bella." Then she cleared her throat nervously before she continued her voice so low now that it was barely audible.

"Look, I've never done something like that before. And so I don't know if I'm doing it okay."

"Ali, you don't have to do that. Marriage is nothing but a piece of paper, nothing more."

"No, it's not, Bella. I know that my brother probably gave you that impression but I promise you…"

She took my hand in hers and planted a feather light kiss on the back of my hand.

"I promise you to love you and cherish your love from this day forward until my heart stops beating. Marry me, Bella and I promise to make you as happy as you deserve to be."