I don't own twilight. What I own is my character's behavior, personality, background, and the plot of my story.

Have a fun read.

She stands in front of him in a yellow jumpsuit. Her hair is shorter, barely brushing her shoulders. She has gained some weight, but not in a bad way. Her face looks slimmer than before. All of those changes can be explained in the passing of the time, a time he spent away from her. Though one change couldn't be because of that, her eyes. He doesn't recognize them.

He wonders to himself, is she the same? If she had changed her body, would he be able to recognize her?

Would his soul recognize her?

Does it matter if he can recognize her?

Doesn't the fact that he has to recognize her tell you everything you need to know about them?

The Bella standing in front of him is not the one he fell in love with. She is not the one he held in his arms at night. She is the one that left him behind. The Bella in front of him is the one that didn't think he deserved the decency of an explanation or closure. She is the one that believed a pathetic note with the word sorry was more than he deserved.

All of a sudden, an astronomical amount of rage, that has been brewing under the surface for years without his knowledge rose to the surface. He is angry.

How dare she show up after all of those years?

What does she think she will accomplish by being here?

Does she want me back?

Does she think I will take her back after all of this time?

Would I take her back after all of this time?

His answer would be the incorrect one.

All of those thought fly in his head in the couple of seconds between her opening the door and introducing herself. He stares at her not sure how to act. Now that he has had all of that anger curse through him, he doesn't know how to behave. The parts of him that want to hug her are at odds with the jagged edges of his heart that want her to feel every single emotion he has felt since she left.

He doesn't need to intentionally hurt her. All he has to do is make her feel what he did. That would be enough punishment.

Tanya makes his decision for him when she nudges him and whispers, "Who is she?"

Bella smiles as she hears that and extends her hand to shake Tanya's, "Bella Swan, a college friend of Edward."

A college friend, that is what we are to her.

"Tanya, Edward's girlfriend," Tanya replies sweetly.

"Nice, you two look cute together," Bella says not a hint of envy or pain in her eyes.

What is she talking about?

Is she talking about the weather?

How is she okay with that?

Is she not dying inside?

"Thanks, you're not the first one to say that," Tanya replies as she looks at Edward, her eyes sparkling with happiness. She views every compliment they receive as evidence that they are meant to be.

"Well, it was nice meeting you but I have things to get to, see you around."

Bella turns around and leaves, completely uninterested in knowing anything about them.

If it was him, he would have stuck around and tried to fish for information about her relationship.

But she didn't not.

She just left.

Bella leaves them standing and enters the elevator and watches its doors close. The moment it does, she sighs out loudly and closes her eyes leaning back.

If she could go back in time and change how things played out, she wouldn't.

She is not as in control as he may be assuming. She did what she did because she had to. She had no other choice. She knew she will be running into him, but didn't expect it to be this soon. She thought she had time.

But this is okay too. This meeting was good even. Like ripping a band-aid. What is the point in prolonging it and wondering?

Nothing. It's just unnecessary heartache.

This meeting was fruitful, especially with his girlfriend present. Eleazar's daughter, how original. Tanya is someone Bella needs to keep an eye on. She has no reason to believe she is a threat to her, but she might turn into one unless eliminated. She does not want to, but if it came to it, she will do everything in her power to have the life stolen from her back, consequences be damned.

Hello lovely people,

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks to everyone's thoughtful reviews. The next update will be on Sunday.

Please leave a comment in the review section. It could be your favorite part, thoughts, feeling, or even criticism. Any and every comment you leave is read and taken into consideration. Your comments motivate me to update faster, and help me grow as a writer.

Until my next update,

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