BPOV.

The dress hunting was pleasantly tiring. Esme and Rose turned out to be the perfect help. While Rosalie was brutally straightforward and never shied away from pointing me all the flaws in the next dress and me in it, Esme shocked me with her kindness and respectfulness. She was able to delicately point out all of the drawbacks while also leaving compliments. She would've been an excellent mother to a girl if she hadn't had Edward.

So, with these two, there was no chance for me to leave the store without the perfect dress. My final choice fell on a beige midi dress with a slit on the leg and an open back. And now, after almost two weeks of preparation, it was finally time for the ball itself. Edward was due to pick me up any minute, and I was almost ready. I just had to comb my curls so that they turned into light waves and fix my lipstick. Ten minutes later the doorbell rang and I put on my stilettos and went to open the door. Edward looked fantastic, as always. He stood in the dark gray suit, which emphasized his manly figure. When Edward saw me, he instantly beamed his trademark smile. I lost all desire to go anywhere as he gazed at me with his blazing eyes.

Our relationship was perfect; I couldn't have asked for a greater partner. There was only one problem: we hadn't slept together yet. Not that I hadn't wanted to, but I wanted Edward to take the decisive first step. I could tell he wanted me and had felt it multiple times during our heated make out sessions. Why hadn't he ever tried to take our relationship to the next level? What was holding him back?

"How I love it when you wear heels." Before I could say anything, Edward suddenly pulled my waist close to him and our lips were almost on the same level. "Especially because of this." And his lips were immediately on mine. When his hands reached my naked back, I couldn't help but gasp. "Bella, baby. Is your back naked?"

Edward broke our kiss and took a step back, his eyes darkening, hand still on my back.

"Yes." I smiled and bit my lip. "Do you want to take a closer look?" I slowly turned around without waiting for an answer. After a few seconds, I looked at Edward over my shoulder and met his heated gaze.

I felt chills go down my skin as he returned his hand to my back and traced his fingers over my spine. Then suddenly Edward turned me back around and kissed me again, all the while stroking my exposed skin.

"If we don't stop immediately, your mother may become quite unhappy if she doesn't see us."

With a soft groan, Edward released me.

"I'm not so sure anymore that I want to go anywhere. All eyes will be on you. I'll have to fight an army of men there." I laughed at his absurd words.

"I assure you, as soon as they see us together, they will understand that they have no chance." I took Edward's arm and kissed him quickly on the lips. "Let's go, I don't want to be even more late."

When we got down, Edward led me to an unfamiliar black car with a driver inside. When he noticed my puzzled expression, he decided to explain.

"Driving is not the smartest idea since I'll most likely would have a few glasses of wine or champagne. And the driver is actually my mother's. Since she and my father travel there in the same car, she graciously offered us his services." I nodded my head in approval. It's impossible to work at a hospital and not come into contact with victims of drunk driving.

The drive to the needed location took about thirty minutes, and Edward thoroughly enjoyed his hands free from the steering wheel and my naked back. When I forbade him to kiss me on the lips, since I was tired of fixing my lipstick and wiping it off his face, he switched to my neck. By the end of our ride, I was like putty in his hands, and I didn't want to get out of the car.

At the entrance to the hall Edward handed over our tickets and we went inside. The event had already started, and the room was filled with elegantly dressed people. The live music created a classy atmosphere, and there were already several couples dancing.

"Your mother did an excellent job. I totally see why people want to come here."

Edward pulled me close and kissed my hand.

"We can try to find her. I think she'll be pleased to hear it from you." I smiled and nodded my head.

Edward moved to the center of the hall, still holding my hand. Almost immediately, people began to approach us. Mostly they were Carlisle's colleagues, but sometimes they were friends of the family or old acquaintances of Edward.

"Edward, man! Long time no see. I thought you were still in Chicago." A tall man of our age suddenly pulled my boyfriend into a hug.

"Garrett! It's nice to see a familiar face. Chicago is now in the past, I'm definitely not going back there." Edward winked at Garrett and turned his gaze to me.

"Oh, I see." The brunette's blue eyes studied me carefully. "With that kind of motivation, I'd move too. I'm Garrett Walker." The brunet brought my hand to his lips.

The gesture somehow reminded me of past centuries, but it definitely suited this man. And this certainly didn't go unnoticed by Edward. He simultaneously playfully and seriously shoved his friend's hand away.

"Stop flirting with my Isabella. And where's Kate anyway? When did you stop walking around like you were glued to each other?"

Garrett simply laughed at Edward's obvious jealousy and then slyly looked at him.

"Kate didn't feel well today, so she stayed at home and sent me alone since she didn't want both of our tickets to go to waste." Garrett smiled enigmatically, but then quickly turned his attention back to Edward. "I never thought I'd see Edward Cullen in love. You've always been so passionate about your studies and work. Nice changes."

Edward tightened his grip on my waist and coughed nervously. I felt myself holding my breath on the L word. Was Garrett right? Edward and I have never discussed this before. I was almost completely sure of my feelings, but my certain self-doubt due to the past still affected me. At this time, Edward ran a hand through his hair in his usual gesture.

"Aha." Another nervous cough. "I think I spotted my mom in that corner. We haven't had time to say hello to her yet, so yeah... See you later Garrett."

I only had time to smile slightly at my new acquaintance, as Edward pulled me into the epicenter of the crowd. After walking a few meters, Edward suddenly stopped and turned around to face me. His eyes instantly found mine. We stood in silence for a couple of seconds, studying each other's emotions. What I saw in his eyes reminded me of love. But why was he silent? Maybe so far for him it was just a strong sympathy, and not something deeper.

"Bella, I understand that the circumstances are not ideal, but I believe that this does not make what I say any less true. To be honest, I'm like an open book with you, so you probably already guessed everything yourself. Bella,..." Edward started to say something when he was interrupted again.

This time it was a joyful female cry. Behind Edward stood a gorgeous blonde in a short dress and impeccable hair.

"Edward! Oh God, it's really you! I was just thinking I'd meet you here today. You left Chicago and didn't even say goodbye."

Please don't tell me this is who I think she is. Please, not…

"Tanya? What are you doing here?"

That's exactly what I was interested in.

"Edward, aren't you happy to see me at all? Just one stupid mistake on my part and you're ready to forget everything? You stopped responding to my messages and calls. We've been through so much together and we have so many shared memories. Didn't I deserve at least some attention?"

I shifted my gaze from the blonde to Edward. He began to nervously run his hand through his hair again, and strange emotions played on his face. It seemed as if Edward couldn't believe that this was happening in reality. To be honest, I wouldn't mind if this whole thing turned out to be a dream. I didn't even want to think what kind of memories Tanya was talking about.

"Tanya, what exactly are you talking about right now? First and foremost, I didn't get any of your messages; my phone number was changed a long time ago. Second, none of our shared memories can compensate for what you did. How did you even have the nerve to come here?"

Tanya's flawlessly composed expression shattered, and she darted her eyes to the side, checking to see if no one had heard our conversation. Suddenly, Tanya's light blue eyes turned to me.

"I see you were busy after our breakup. I'm Tanya Denali, Edward's ex-girlfriend." She looked at me appraisingly, but I didn't even raise an eyebrow, continuing to look straight into the blonde's eyes. Tanya's attempts to look intimidating were nothing compared to the friendliest look from Rosalie Hale.

"Yeah, so I heard. I'm Isabella Swan, his girlfriend." I tried to put on the sweetest smile. Where was my Oscar? Edward squeezed my waist supportively.

"Nice." Tanya, apparently dissatisfied with our reaction, decided to slightly alter her strategy. Her eyes flickered back to Edward, who stared back at her with displeasure. It was probably the first time I've seen Edward so annoyed. "I'm a little embarrassed to discuss this in front of your current girlfriend, but Edward, you left me no choice. Recently, I walked past the place of our apartment, and I remembered all our nights together..."

"Tanya, what are you talking about? Stop making a scene in front of people. As you can see, I don't want to remember anything. I'm moving on. I'm finally happy, and despite everything, I wish you the same." Edward gave me a guilty look, but then looked at Tanya again. "You already ruined our evening. I think it's best for you to leave."

I noticed Edward become anxious as he looked between the two of us. I knew Edward wasn't the one to blame for anything. He couldn't have anticipated our evening would be interrupted.

"Edward, I just want my chance to explain myself. Please, let's just talk."

Tanya looked adamant. I was even a little surprised by such persistence. Edward though looked just unusually angry.

"Okay, let's go and talk."

Sending me another regretful look Edward walked away with Tanya, leaving me standing alone. I stood motionless for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what had just happened. I watched as my boyfriend's figure faded into the crowd, trailed by a satisfied blonde. First that slip of the tongue from Garrett, then an unfinished line from Edward, and the icing on the cake, the sudden reappearance of an ex. It suddenly seemed to me that the champagne on the trays of the waiters was definitely not my beverage of choice.

After a couple of minutes, Edward didn't appear back, to be honest, he hadn't promise to return at all. I started feeling a little irritated. How could he leave me here alone, leaving with his ex-girlfriend? What could she possibly say that he decided to take her away from me and my ears?

After one final look, I bravely turned around and walked in the opposite direction from them. At first, I wanted to try to find Rosalie in this whole crowd, but there were so many people around me that I felt despair almost immediately. Suddenly, a familiar face came in my frame of vision, and it was heading in my direction. I froze in one place, not knowing what to do. My brain yelled at me, pushing me to move quickly, but my body refused to obey. Billy Black himself was approaching me with a rapid stride and a broad white-toothed smile. I wanted to smack myself on the head because I could have guessed that. Billy couldn't miss such a large social event, I myself thought that it was all in his style.

"Isabella, how lovely and surprising to meet you here. So many years have passed." Billy acted as if he met an old friend, as if it hadn't been his son who had nearly entirely destroyed my trust in humanity.

But this was not his fault, he was not responsible for the actions of his adult son. I had to try, to make an effort to be respectable. I took a deep breath and forced a fake smile on my face.

"Hello, Mr. Black. Indeed, what an unexpected meeting."

"What a formal greeting, but I guess I deserved it. I acknowledge that I failed to keep track of my son's activities." Billy shook his head disappointedly, as if the parent of a naughty child.

"Your son is not five years old, Mr. Black. You are not obliged to monitor his actions. He is solely responsible for all his acts. And I believe it wouldn't be easy for you to control the behavior of a twenty -year -old boy." I attempted to throw all my sarcasm into the last word, emphasizing my disrespect for his son. Billy, in turn, smiled bitterly at my remarks.

"In my experience, sometimes twelve-year-old boys are way easier to to control than young children. At this age, they much more distinctly understand that they can lose in case of disobedience."

The surprise on my face was impossible to hide. Billy seemed to be talking about some nameless little boy and not about his adult son. In a way, I started feeling sorry for Jacob.

"Even if you had been successful in influencing him, his genuine attitude toward me would have remained unknown to me. So, everything was for the best."

"Just because my son was seduced by that whore doesn't mean his feelings for you weren't real." My eyes widened in surprise. "We're all adults, it's very naive to believe in love. It only exists in books and movies. I know that Jacob cared about you. The fact that he was temporarily captivated with this woman didn't affect his feelings for you in any way."

Did Billy truly believe what he was saying? And was it necessary to bring it up once more?

"Mr. Black, Billy, this is insane... " I was going to continue my statement and move on to looking for Rosalie or Edward, when unexpectedly a voice came from behind me.

"Bella? Is that you?" Of course, Billy didn't come alone. This evening was getting worse by the second. And while my heart was racing, I made an effort to control my feelings.

I turned slowly around and saw the person I had hoped to forget. Jacob Black looked to the area where my bare back was not so long ago. Involuntarily, my face twisted into a grimace. If Edward's heated gaze sent pleasant waves through the body, then from Jacob's I wanted to hide somewhere far away.

"Jacob." A slight distaste did slip through my tone. This caught the man's attention, he frowned and finally looked into my eyes. I expected to feel the old pain and anger as soon as our eyes met, but I was pleasantly surprised to feel practically nothing. Seeing no reaction on my part, Jacob looked at his father, trying to assess the situation. I barely suppressed a smirk, thinking how Billy had just mentioned his son as a child, and how the first thing Jacob did in an unpleasant for him scenario was seek support from his father.

"Son, we were just talking about you and your past relationship." No, Billy. We talked about the fact that your son cheated on me, definitely not about the relationship. "And to be more precise, I was about to tell her how sorry you are for what you did." Billy looked pointedly at his son.

Jacob frowned slightly at first, but then quickly wiped all emotion from his face. He looked me straight in the eyes and took a step towards me. I involuntarily took a step back, keeping a distance between us. Jake obviously hadn't anticipated this, but he quickly recovered. He put his two hands out in front of him, showing that he understood my hint.

"Bella, what my father said is absolutely true. I know my actions were an incredible mistake. You know that I never loved Leah, my feelings were only for you. I kept thinking about us and how we broke up." Despite his sad eyes and sorrowful expression, it was hard for me to believe in the sincerity of his words. Maybe he truly regretted contacting Leah at the time, but clearly not because of what he did to me. "And I know my words will sound too arrogant today, but I genuinely hope that after so many years you will find the fortitude to forgive me. I've changed, and we're both different people now. I'd want to meet you for a cup of coffee, and I wish you won't say no."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A guy who decided at some point in his life that he had the right to control my life, only to later cheat on me with my "best friend," and yet not having the guts to admit everything on his own, wanted us to get back together after so many years? And all this happened at the moment when I finally began to feel happy.

"Jacob, I don't understand what you're getting at. In order for me to at least forgive you, you need to ask for this forgiveness. Not to mention that it won't change anything. We have no reason to meet. I don't want to get to know any "new" you, I still remember how the "old" one persuaded his mistress to pretend to be my best friend so that it would be easier for you to sleep together and so that I wouldn't even think about getting to know someone else. Or how the "old" tried to get me to drop out of university, just to find out that he had cheated on that particular friend of mine, and I would've been left with absolutely nothing if I had listened to you. Jacob, I could go on and on with this list, but I don't think any of us need it."

I looked around again, hoping to see at least one familiar face, but there was no one to be found. What had Edward been up to with Tanya for so long, and where had Rose gone? Unpleasant sensations arose in my chest area, and I suddenly realized that being there had become unbearable for me. My sole thought at that moment was to be in the solitude and safety of my apartment. Without my sleazy ex, his money hungry father, my boyfriend who had left me to chat with his ex, and without all those prying eyes.

I made up my mind and took one last look at Billy.

"It was interesting to meet again, but I guess I'll go." I turned in the direction of the exit, but before I even took a step, I felt my arm being grabbed and pulled back. "Jacob, you better let me go or I'll start screaming." My threat went unnoticed.

"Won't you even say goodbye to me?" I silently tried to pull my hand out of his grip, but it only intensified. "Bella, I may have been an idiot back then, but I will not make the same mistakes again. I won't let you go so easily again, and no one will stop me, not your personal Fury, Rosalie, or her jock boyfriend." Jacob paused, and a malicious spark flashed in his eyes. "Especially not your new love interest, Cullen Jr." What? How did Jacob know about Edward? "Surprised? You really shouldn't be. I told you I hadn't stopped thinking about you, I was concerned about what was going on in your life."

It was exactly the same as in the past. How did he manage to follow my life even from a distance? I tried again to pull my hand out, and this time I succeeded.

"Now, see you later, Isabella."

Without turning around, I quickly walked out into the street. Already standing in the open air, I turned around to check that no one had followed me. After making sure I was alone, I closed my eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. It took me a couple of minutes to calm down. Thoughts of Edward resurfaced, along with irrational rage. Not only was he somewhere talking to his desperate ex-girlfriend while I was running away from Jacob, I was also alone on the street, without a car or a phone. The thought of going back made me sick. I hoped that if I stayed a little longer, then at least someone would try to find me.

"Isabella?" I turned around at my name and was surprised to see Garrett, Edward's friend. "Is everything okay? You look a little pale." I tried to smile, but I knew it didn't look very sincere.

"It's okay, it was a little stuffy in there, so I thought I'd better go home."

"Without Edward? Oh, please tell me it's not because of me and my long tongue. I shouldn't have said anything about your feelings, maybe you two just met." It was clear he was deeply concerned about what he had done. Even if his comment about falling in love hadn't gone unnoticed, it had no real effect on our evening.

"Garrett, don't worry. That is not why I'm here."

He looked at me as if he didn't believe a word I said.

"Honestly? I'd really like to know whether I've done anything wrong. By the way, the valet just picked up my car, if you wanted to go home, I can give you a ride. I need to leave early too."

Without thinking twice, I agreed to Garrett's proposal. Being here was unbearable. Within a minute we left the territory of the Hall, and I quickly explained how to get to my place. At first, we rode in quiet, until Garrett broke our silence.

"I still suspect that I ruined your evening with Edward. He couldn't leave you alone on the street. Esme didn't raise him that way." Yeah, maybe, but he could definitely leave me alone in the middle of the crowd to chat up his ex.

"Garrett, I'm not lying. Call Edward tomorrow and see for yourself if you wish. Something really happened, and I didn't feel well after. Edward just wasn't with me at that moment." It was the closest version of events to the truth.

"Oh, then I hope he doesn't accuse me of stealing his girlfriend." Garrett finally relaxed, and even tried to cheer me up.

"If anything, I'll tell him that I got into your car completely voluntarily. So, I think you're safe." I needed to urgently change the subject from my relationship with Edward. "By the way, I never asked why you decided to leave so early? All the guests just started to relax and enjoy the evening."

"Mrs. Cullen outdid herself as always, but if you remember, Edward mentioned Kate, my fiancée? She wasn't feeling well this morning, Kate and I are expecting a baby, and for the last month her legs have started to swell up a lot, so she sent me alone. But I don't want to leave her alone at home for too long, and to be honest, I already miss them." Garrett smiled the proud smile I've seen on so many other fathers-to-be.

"My sincere congratulations. How far along is she?"

"She's twenty-eight weeks pregnant. We've already seen several doctors, and they all said that swelling is the norm for our trimester, but I still worry and try not to leave her alone."

I smiled again. Garrett definitely adored his fiancée very much. I hoped that Kate was the owner of a healthy nervous system, otherwise, not everyone can put up with their excessively attentive partners.

"It's actually rather common. If excessive drinking and dieting do not help, it is best to combine it with massages and special clothing. How much does she swell, and are there any additional symptoms? Edward didn't have time to say it, but I'm an ob/gyn." Garrett's eyes lit up with joy. "If you need, I can give you some advices."

"This is wonderful information! Can we make an appointment then? Kate, of course, will kill me, she's already so fed up with all these doctors. But I can't help but worry! This is my woman and my child. I need to know that they are both safe and healthy."

I laughed at his overprotectiveness. At least once a month, I definitely come across such dads.

"Of course, I'll be waiting for you two. I'd love to meet Kate." Garrett nodded in agreement and began to think about something intently.

"Maybe I can use the fact that you're Edward's girlfriend to my advantage. She would undoubtedly want to meet you because the three of us used to get along well."

In response, I just nodded. A few minutes later we arrived at my apartment complex. Garrett made sure I went inside, and only then drove home. I silently went to the concierge for my spare key. What a night.

I want to thank everyone who reads my stories, and especially thanks to those who leave their comments. The end of the year is coming, and I hope you will enjoy these holidays! I wish you a new year full of peace and love! Enjoy!