The party was beginning to come to a close, the reapers of Boswell and Galen had become one. They mingled with each other peacefully. There no longer was a hint of hostility or mistrust. Although I wasn't sure if it was genuine, or just because everyone had been drinking heavily. Edward and Emmett returned to the table, but it was clear they didn't want to hear any more from Esme. I could only imagine, the thing that bothered Edward the most about this situation was being deceived his entire life. That was just how he was. Edward valued honesty above all else.

Edward swept me off my feet, wrapping his muscular arms around me. Without a word, he guided me out to the dance floor. Katlyn followed closely behind. She took a spot, leaning against the wall, as she watched us.

We danced slowly, following the soft melody of a single piano playing from across the room. I leaned my head on his shoulder, letting my eyes close as our bodies swayed. To be honest, this was what I was looking forward to most. Getting to dance with Edward. In a dress. At a beautiful venue. My imagination ran wild for a moment. I never had the chance to go to a dance, or to prom. My family never believed in public schools, they home-schooled us. Ana loved it, she was always such a shy girl, the thought of meeting new people terrified her. But for me, I always dreamed of getting to date, go to dances, maybe even play a sport. So right here, in this moment, I imagined being at prom with Edward. In many ways, it was a dream come true.

Edward leaned down, his lips met mine tenderly. His hands rested at my hips. I could feel the intensity of his feelings. The passion and devotion. It wasn't something that I had to wonder about. I knew how Edward felt about me, at all times, because of the eternal marking.

"How's Emmett?" I asked quietly.

Edward moved his lips to my neck, lightly trailing kisses down to my shoulder. "Are you sure that's what you want to talk about?"

I shivered, looking up into his eyes. "Yes, among other things."

Edward chuckled, pulling me a little closer. "Emmett is going to be fine. It's a lot to digest. I don't think he will be taking time to let it fully sink in yet. He has found his distraction for the evening. He'll be just fine." He gestured over to where Emmett stood, wrapped up in the arms of the pretty girl that had been seated at the table. Vex's sister. Her name still eludes me. But they both seemed happy enough.

They were very publicly making out. Which nauseated me a bit. But after the day he had, I wasn't about to say anything against it. I'm not sure why it always bothered me so much, when Emmett started to get intimate with someone. It wasn't jealousy. It was something else. I couldn't describe the feeling. It was something I really wanted to talk with Edward about. I never want to keep anything from him. I want him to understand my thoughts and feelings. But for now, it can wait. I just want to focus on this moment. And enjoy the rest of the evening.

As intense as the party had started, there were no more conversations. This had been an eye-opening experience. Esme and Aro clearly have a very complicated relationship. Their past was full of dishonesty and hurt feelings. They were both so much alike, it tended to cause a lot of disagreements. Ego and power was the downfall of that relationship. But there was something brewing. I could see it in Esme's eyes. The way her eyes followed Aro as he mingled through the crowd of reapers. The way Aro would catch Esme's stare and subconsciously move in her direction. It seems like the both of them might still hold affection for each other.

Not all of my suspicions towards the Galen reapers have dissolved just yet. There were still some questions that have been left unanswered. Why was Aro put into power? What happened to their previous leader? How did Aro know about our replenishing stations getting tainted? And then there was Jacob. What was his problem? It's possible all these things aren't related. But I just had a feeling that Aro wasn't being completely honest. And the only one that would truly know that, is Katlyn. Or that Galen reaper, Uriah.

Edward's hand lightly stroked my cheek, bringing my attention back to him. His Emerald eyes analyzed my face. "What's bothering you?"

"There are just so many more questions that I have. And I wonder, who are these Harlow reapers? And how does Aro know they are responsible?"

Edward sighed, lightly resting his chin at the top of my head. "Harlow is a very large city. Much bigger than Boswell. They have nearly triple the amount of reapers in control of that region. The city of Galen sits at our North, while Harlow sits at our South. It would take nearly a day of driving to reach Harlow."

"Are we on bad terms with Harlow? I mean… have they tried something like this in the past?"

"We don't have a relationship with Harlow, nothing good, or bad. They would stay out of our business and we would do the same."

"So, why would they have anything to do with sabotaging our company? I mean, why make a move against us now?"

Edward frowned, pressing his lips to my forehead. "I don't know. No one knows much about Harlow. They are incredibly secretive. All that I know about them is that they have superior technology and abilities than any other company in this state."

It sounded like the Harlow reapers weren't a company you would want to be on the bad side of. I didn't know what this meant for us. Would we be in danger?

Edward's hold on me tightened. "Don't worry, I won't allow anyone to hurt you."

As comforting as his words were, I was still anxious about all of this. I knew Edward would do anything to keep me safe. But I couldn't shake my paranoia. Something just wasn't adding up here. But I decided to let this go for the time being. Especially as I took note of Jane's dark gaze on us from across the room. Edward noticed as well, I could see the discomfort on his face. He did his best to avoid eye contact. Jane's face was very conflicting. One side, pure beauty, while the other side was brutalized. Twisted. Hideous. It was because of Esme. A curse that was placed on her, because of Edward.

"What's the story with Jane," I muttered quietly. "Why does she... hate you... I mean... is it because of what Esme did to her?"

Edward sighed. "It's hard to say, there are many reasons for her to be angry with me. It's true, we had been considered a couple at one point. But I wasn't the best partner to her. I treated her poorly. Ignored her. Worked late nights. Barely gave her the time of day. I was so invested in my work. We may have dated a month or so. I decided I really didn't have feelings for her. I broke things off. But, I had unintentionally did it on her birthday and the eve of her parent's death. It was a particularly hard time for her. And I made it that much worse."

"You broke things off with her?" I raised a brow. "Then why did Esme get involved?"

"Well, Jane was angry, she went to my office... right in the middle of a meeting. And hit me. Esme was there. It's something I really don't like thinking about. I didn't want Esme to harm her. She didn't deserve it. I was the one that truly deserved to be hit. But I couldn't calm Esme down. She cursed Jane." He said with guilt thrashing around inside of him.

I felt bad for Jane, but I also felt bad for Edward. This sounded like a really messy situation. I understood Jane's anger. But I also understood Edward never meant to hurt her to this degree. Relationships were so complicated. Especially with reapers.

It was nearing midnight when we left the venue. There were still a lot of reapers still partying, including Emmett. He was drunk and having a good time. I was sure, Vex's sister would be keeping him company for the rest of the night as well. We wouldn't have to worry about him. Edward had dismissed Katlyn the moment we arrived back at the apartment.

I had wanted a chance to speak with her about everything that was said between Esme and Aro, but Edward seemed to be at his limit. He was overstimulated and attempted to keep himself together. But I could see the strain on his face. There was a certain amount of stress that Edward was constantly feeling, I could feel it through our shared marking. His ability to stay calm was completely dependent on how quickly he could quiet those stressors. He didn't want to talk. He wanted some peace.

Finally, when the two of us were completely alone, I watched as his shoulders slumped. He could finally just be himself. And not the unshakable, hardened person he let others believe him to be.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, enjoying how his body relaxed completely into mine. He was a little heavy, but I didn't mind. Bliss filled both of us. I hadn't realized how tense my body had been either. I melted into Edward, closing my eyes to breathe in his scent. He smelled of something sweet - or maybe floral was a better word. Like Jasmine. With a note of something earthy, like sage.

"I'm going to take a shower," He said quietly.

"Alright," I couldn't help the suggestive smile that came to my face. "Do you mind if I join you?"

A smirk came to his face as his eyes now met mine. "Nothing would make me happier."

Wow, I was really amazed by how many of you guys' left reviews. I had no idea that anyone was even reading these chapters! Thank you all so much! I'll continue to update as often as I can. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was a small chapter, but that's only because the next one is going to be a reallllllllyyyyyy long one! Thanks again.