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

Author's Note at the end.

Bella shuts her laptop in frustration. Jacob's work with the FBI here due to his involvement in the case means that they will have to stay here for at least another year before leaving the states. She can't stay idle doing anything. She needs to find a job. The problem is that all job listings so far are long term jobs with yearly contract.

"Who is bothering you? Just point your finger and I will wipe them off this earth," Jacob tells her from the doorway.

"Nobody is bothering me," she replies rubbing her hands over her face.

Not buying her words, He walks into the room and sits at the edge of her disk before asking her, "Why do I not believe you?"

"Nobody is bothering me," she tells him as he takes her hand in his and squeezes it.

He raises an eyebrow in silence which prompts her to say, "No one is bothering me. I just can't seem to find any jobs to apply to," she tells him.

"Are you telling me that nobody in the great Chicago wants to hire an amazing architect with your prestigious experience?" He asks her then raises her hand to his lips and kisses it.

She rolls her eyes at his flattery and mutters, "It's not like that."

"Then what is it?" He asks her as he kisses her hand again and continues, "Tell me so that I can help you."

She opens the laptop and shows her some of the listings. "I don't understand. What is the problem with these listings? They seem like perfectly reputable and acceptable jobs to me."

"All of them are long-term jobs," she answers.

Not understanding why that is a problem, he tells her, "That is good?"

"Of course not baby. Your involvement in the case won't last more than a year. I can't commit to more than that because we will leave after," she impatiently explains. Jacob is quiet for a minute and stares at her hand in his and tries to find a way to tell her what he wants to without hurting her.

Not meeting her eyes, he tells her, "About that, there is something you need to know."

"Don't tell me you will have to work on this case longer," She mutters in irritation as she pushes her chair backward and puts space between them.

"No, nothing like that," Jacob mutters shaking his head.

"Then what is it?" Bella demands impatiently.

"I don't want to move away," Jacob says raising his eyes to meet hers.

"What?" Bella exclaims angrily as she stands up quickly causing her chair to fall back.

"Keep your voice down. Cece is sleeping."

Glaring at him, Bella states, "Well excuse me if I raise my voice a little. I was taken back by your insanity."

"Can you just let me explain before you get angry," Jacob pleads to her.

He tries to hold her hand but she snatches it from him and keeps her hands behind her back and tells him, "We had a deal. You can't just change your mind now."

Jacob rubs his face before he tells Bella, "I know that and it's my bad for wanting to change things, but can you at least hear me out before you shoot me?"

Bella stares at him. Truly looks at him and feels like she is looking at a stranger. His shoulders look like they just carried the weight of mountains and then collapsed from exhaustion. The look in his eyes makes her want to hold his hands and the crease between his eyes makes her want to hold his face in her hands till it's gone.

Before she can second guess herself, she tells him, "I don't have a gun on me, and even if I did, I wouldn't shoot you. You are my person." Her hands drop to her side.

Jacob gives her a small smile and tells her, "you are my person too and I would forgive you if you did because I did promise to leave and now I am going back on my word."

"But why?" Bella asks taking a step towards him and looking him in the eye.

Jacob reaches for her left hand and holds it in both of his then tells her, "Because I want to feel at home. You chose to leave and maybe to some extent it wasn't by choice, but you somehow made it work and had a life. I didn't Bella. I went into hiding in a country that I don't even know it's language. I spent my time plotting my revenge against Eleazar. I spent my years living on the edge watching as life passed me by and meeting you helped. God, it helped, but the time I spent with you and Cece was the only time I lived. I though to myself that I will be able to return and make a life there with you and Cece but all I can remember is the pain I was consumed by. You carved a space for yourself there, but I never did and I would pay anything but you and Cece to feel like I belong. I belong here. For the first time since my teens I feel like I belong to the place I live in, and I don't want to lose that too, but I don't want to lose you. I don't you to be sad here but I don't want to be depressed there."

Bella throws her arms around him and hugs him tightly as she whispers, "Why did you not tell me? Did I do something wrong?"

Jacob pulls away from the hug and tells her, "You didn't do anything wrong Bella. That was a problem you couldn't fix."

Bella shakes her as her vision gets blurred by her tears and tells him, "But I should have seen that. I should have known. I am such a terrible person. How can you love me?"

"I love you because you are my happiness. You and Cece were the only happy moments in my day. You were the sunshine to my rain. You were the saving grace of my days, and you still are, so how could I be anything but happy around you? How could you see me feeling anything but joy around you?" Jacob tells her as he sweeps her tears away.

Bella looks at her hands as she tries to regulate her emotions but she fails miserably as she lets out a cry.

"Please, please don't cry. I never want to see you sad," he begs her as he holds her face in his hands and makes her look him in the eye.

Bella opens her mouth a couple of times but nothing comes out until the fifth try in which she tells him in a horse voice, "But how when I know that I should have been there for you and I wasn't."

"You couldn't have helped Bella," he tells her sadly.

"I could at least been sad with you."

Jacob opens his mouth to speak, but he is cut off by the doorbell. "I will see who's by the door," he tells her.

She nods her head and starts looking for pain killer in her drawer once he leaves. When she finds them she leaves the office and goes to the kitchen to get some water to drink. Crying when she isn't in physical pain always gives her a headache.

"Who is it?" She asks as she hears Jacob call her name from the doorway.

She throws the pills back and drinks the water as she watches Jacob walk toward her with an unreadable expression on his face.

"There is someone who wants you on the door," he tells her and leads her to the door silently.

"Isabella Swan?" the man on the door asks.

She nods her head which prompts her to say, You have been served. Can I have your signature please."

Operating on autopilot, she silently takes the file from him and reads what it says.

Custody case of the child Cecelia Lea Swan Fernando.

Hello lovely people,

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know one of you guys commented asking on whether Marco/Jacob and Bella are married or not, but you will have to wait to find out as it will be answered in one of the future chapters.

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,

Stay Safe