EPOV.
Everything turned out completely different than I had planned. I anxiously dragged Bella along with me as I decided how to tell her everything. How do people confess their love at our age without sounding like teenagers? All thanks to Garrett and his excellent intuition. I came to an abrupt stop and turned to Bella, realizing there was no use in wasting any more time. I tried to channel all of my feelings through my gaze.
"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,..." I was almost done saying my words when the voice from my nightmares appeared behind me.
I spun around, twitching as though shocked by a stun gun. In front of me, as if nothing had happened, stood Tanya. How did she get here?
"Tanya? What are you doing here?"
"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 wanted to laugh at the absurdity of what she said, but I just couldn't. When did cheating become one small mistake? I ran a hand through my hair in an almost unconscious gesture, trying to calm down.
"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?"
God, what was she up to? Tanya wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but she certainly wasn't stupid. She perfectly understood that her act was inexcusable for me. Tanya's expression altered when she realized I didn't respond in any manner to her game. She attempted to mask her irritation, but it was there. Blue eyes darted towards Bella. No, Tanya, that was not the best idea.
"I see you were busy after our breakup. I'm Tanya Denali, Edward's ex-girlfriend." Tanya tried her best to intimidate Bella, which only made me madder.
"Yeah, so I heard. I'm Isabella Swan, his girlfriend." The answer was as calm as possible. I squeezed Bella's waist supportively. Brava, that's my girl!
"Nice." She didn't even try to hide her sarcasm. It was one thing to be rude to me, I didn't expect anything good from her anyway, but it was completely another thing to be rude to my girlfriend. I tried to shut her up with a look, but it didn't work. "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..."
Okay, that was enough. Bella definitely didn't need to hear that. If I heard someone say something like this about her, I would tear that person apart. What was she expecting when she said all of this? Her ruse was obvious even to the naked eye.
"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." She managed to interrupt such an important moment between us. I gave a guilty look to Bella, but then looked at Tanya again. "You already ruined our evening. I think it's best for you to leave."
I prayed that Tanya would get out of here as quickly as possible before she ruined my day with Bella even more. I could only hope that Bella would still want to be with me at the end of this event.
"Edward, I just want my chance to explain myself. Please, let's just talk."
Whatever Tanya had planned, she was adamant. I had to separate her from Bella immediately. I made the decision that the faster I realize what Tanya wants from me, the faster I can get rid of her. Like a Band-Aid.
"Okay, let's go and talk."
I tried to express all my regret with a look, but Bella's face was unreadable. I quickened my pace, heading towards the balconies. That way no one would have heard us for sure, which meant I could speak myself freely. I closed my eyes and placed two fingers on the bridge of my nose. My body was literally boiling with anger. At the count of three, I looked sharply at Tanya. The blonde stood with a sly smile on her face, as if my anger was the best gift for her.
"What was it now, Tanya? Why did you really come here?"
She just smiled and laughed again.
"Why Edward? Don't you believe I missed you so much?" Playfully pouting her lips, she pretended to be annoyed. This motion used to make me think it was charming, but now I could see right through her. "I asked my uncle to take me with him so that I can finally see you."
"We both know there's something you're not talking about. So, let's not waste our time. What do you want, Tanya? I ask you for the last time." My patience was running out.
"Are you in a hurry, dear?" Tanya sneered. "Afraid your girlfriend will run away from you? You're doing the right thing. You left her standing there alone to have a heart-to-heart chat with your extremely attractive ex-girlfriend. I tried to hint to her about our wonderful intimate connection, I thought that I would only have enough time for this, but you gave me a gift, and worsened the situation with your own hands." Tanya looked at me like I was an idiot, and for a moment I really felt like one. "I can only imagine what she's thinking right now. The poor thing is standing all alone ... or not alone, maybe she has already managed to get to know someone. In this case, she should be given credit. "
"What? Tanya, you are talking nonsense. Bella knew exactly why I took you away. No one wanted to spend more than five minutes in your company. Except for me in the past, when I obviously lacked brains."
"How self-critical of you. However, I must say that your IQ has not improved. My plan worked."
"And what was your plan?"
"I came here to mess with you. As soon as I found out from my friends that you were dating someone again, I realized that I needed to intervene. Which I did with your help."
"Well, what exactly did you do? You took me away for a short conversation? Tanya, Bella and I have a wonderful relationship. She is aware of what you did and understands that nothing will happen between us here. And why are you doing this anyway? If anything, it's I who should ruin your life after your betrayal."
"Tell me that you don't understand what your mother did to me and my reputation. She told the whole society that I was a whore. Now no one wants to even look my way. All that's left for me to do is grow old and live alone. Or date some poor loser."
"What? Tanya, I honestly have no idea who or what Mom told. But I'm sure she couldn't tell anything but the truth, so the only person you have to blame is yourself." I gave a disapproving glare. What was going through this woman's mind. "Now we'd better stop this useless conversation, please leave."
To alert the guards about her, I was already reaching for my phone when I was sidetracked by a silhouette at the door.
"Edward Cullen, what am I seeing here?" The voice was full of anger and displeasure, I could not help trembling. "What are you doing in the company of this fallen woman and where is Bella?"
Rosalie stood in the doorway with her hand on her hip. She was so furious with Tanya that she resembled a snow queen. Rosalie was ready to kill. Especially for Bella.
"Another one. Did Edward call assistants? I wonder if your new crush knows what kind of welcome awaits her in your family?"
I smirked. Tanya didn't yet know that Rosalie could compete with me in her protectiveness for Bella. Jacob's act affected not only Bella, but also those around her.
"I don't remember anybody giving you permission to speak. I'll repeat my question, what's going on here?"
"Tanya here decided that if we chatted face to face, then Bella would go crazy and leave me. But it doesn't matter anymore, she was already about to leave, weren't you, Tanya?"
"Edward, what did she mean by leave you? Have you given Bella any explanation as to why the two of you are hanging around here?"
"No, that moron just left her standing alone in the middle of the Hall. All that is left for me is to hint to her that we kissed several times here, and I will consider my task completed."
"Tanya, no one will believe you. I don't even want to know where this mouth has been in the last few years. Moreover, Rosalie heard everything spoken here and can attest to it."
"And I don't give a damn what you think of me. I'll find a way to sow a seed of doubt in your girlfriend's head. And even more so, who will she believe, me, a poor ex-girlfriend or your relative?"
I wanted to laugh again. How lucky I was then that Rosalie had been friends with Bella for such a long period of time. Rose found it amusing too.
"There are huge holes in your plan. Trust me, Bella will believe me. But your biggest mistake is that you failed to take into account the level of this event. There are so many expensive equipment and scenery, Esme just has cameras at every turn. I won't need a half an hour to get the tapes. You had best leave immediately since I've already told the security about you."
"I won't give up so easily! Good luck with your new girlfriend, I hope she doesn't need anything else from you except for money!"
Tanya took a fast step away from the balcony after darting an angry glance at us.
I turned to face the still furious Rosalie.
"I know you want to yell at me right now, but I think we need to find Bella quickly. Before Tanya finds her."
"She won't make it. I actually asked security to escort her." Rosalie stepped closer and suddenly punched me in the solar plexus.
"What the hell, Rose?" I think she hit harder than Emmett.
"Why in the world did you leave Bella out there alone?"
"You just didn't hear what she decided to discuss publicly there. Bella clearly felt uncomfortable hearing that."
"You men have no understanding of women. It would be better if you just discussed everything in front of her than all this secrecy. You know about Jacob, and about her trust issues."
I ran my hand through my hair. I was angry with Tanya, and most importantly with myself.
"I didn't think about it at all. Tanya began to talk nonsense about how she missed our intimate connection, I saw how Bella grimaced at just one mention of this. Which I understand if someone started talking about her in way like that, there wouldn't be a living place left of this person. I just wanted to stop it as soon as possible."
"Why are you two always creating trouble? Let's go find Bella quickly, I'll try to help you beg for forgiveness. I'll ask the guards to get the tapes from the balcony anyway. Just in case."
We returned to the place where I left Bella, but she was not there. I glanced nervously at Rosalie. I was taller than many people in this room, but I couldn't find a familiar head. At some point, I split up with Rosalie to speed up our search. Ten minutes later, it felt like I had visited every corner of this place. I saw people looking after me with surprise, but I didn't care. My brain started to fill with crazy ideas. What if Tanya still managed to do something? What if Bella didn't get over my foolish behavior and took off right away? I immediately abandoned the latest version. Her keys, her phone, wallet and documents were left in a purse in the driver's car. Five minutes later I met Rose again. She looked even more anxious than a few minutes earlier.
"Edward! I just met the Blacks here. God, where is Bella? Knowing her luck, she definitely met them." Rosalie put her hand on her forehead.
"Blacks? Who is this?"
"Jacob and his father! Edward, do you realize how bad the situation is?"
I looked at Rosalie in horror.
"What are they doing here? What are they all doing here? Jacob couldn't have done anything to Bella, could he?"
"I don't know what to expect from him. I already tried to talk to them, but they both claim that they just said hello to her. They don't convince me. But there are so many people here, so I understand that in fact they couldn't do nothing wrong with her. But she could obviously be upset."
The only thing that truly mattered to me at that point was Bella's absence, even though I was burning with desire to punch Jacob Black in the face.
"Rosalie, I'm going crazy. I'll murder Tanya and then myself if anything happens to Bella."
"Stop, I'm sure she's fine. That doesn't mean you don't have to kill Tanya. Feel free."
"Rose, this is not the time for jokes."
"And I'm not joking."
At some point, my phone rang in my hand. I was thrilled at first, but when I saw Garrett's name, I became disappointed. I was initially going to ignore the call entirely, but something made me take it up.
"Gar, I'm sorry I can't talk right now. Bella is nowhere to be found, I've lost sight of her."
"I'm just calling about her."
"What? Are you with her now?"
"Not anymore."
"What do you mean not anymore? When was the last time you saw her?"
"Edward, you sound like you're about to have a heart attack. Calm down, she's at home. She said she wasn't feeling well, and I kindly offered a ride home."
"She is at home?!" At my exclamation, Rosalie breathed a sigh of relief. Then the meaning of his words came back to me. "What do you mean about not feeling well? Was she sick? Is she alright?" What if Jacob did something?
"She said it was stuffy. At first, I thought it was my stupid comment about you, but she said that wasn't the case. I decided to check with you, well, she also let slip that you were not around, and I decided to kill two birds with one stone... "
"Garrett, we'll talk later. I'll drive over to Bella's. Thanks for calling." I hung up without waiting for an answer.
"Rose, I don't know what happened, but I need to find out if she's okay."
"Okay, and please give me a call!"
I nodded to Rosalie and raced to the car. I hoped my mother's drivers wouldn't quit after riding with me, because I didn't miss a single opportunity to rush him. I pressed the elevator call button at least ten times. Then, just as frantically, I began to press the doorbell. I don't know how much time has passed since I went up to the floor, but in my head it lasted forever. When Bella finally opened the door, I hugged her without looking. The relief that she was alive and well relaxed my body. After a while it dawned on me that while I was hugging Bella, she wasn't hugging me back. I stepped back and looked Bella in the face. Her eyes were red and her lips were swollen. She had been clearly crying, and I didn't even know if it was because of me, Jacob or Tanya.
"Bella, I can't describe to you how sorry I am." I didn't even understand what exactly I was apologizing for, but I understood for sure that I was the catalyst for this whole catastrophe.
"God, Edward. What exactly are you apologizing for? Tell me that you and Tanya didn't do anything that you need to apologize for now?"
"No, of course not. I'm disgusted at the thought that there could be something between us. I thought it was obvious. But it turns out I'm an idiot. I'm sorry, I honestly thought that my reaction was clear to everyone. I could tell you it was upsetting to hear what Tanya was trying to say. The idea of taking her away for a couple of seconds and quickly to get rid of her felt like the best option to me."
"Edward, but it wasn't for a couple of seconds. I didn't even know when you'd be back. And the look Tanya gave me when you left? Edward, she looked like she won the lottery."
"I didn't see it. I was in such a hurry to get her away that I was only focused on that. And believe me, she was happy about something else." I pursed my lips, still angry with myself.
"Are you saying that in private she didn't continue her sensual conversation about your nights together?" I cleared my throat. I really didn't want to discuss it.
"No. She was actually saying all of this to break us up." I sighed and rolled my eyes. "It was her attempt to get back at me, turns out I ruined her reputation." I thought about asking Esme what really happened.
"What? Didn't she cheat on you?" Bella frowned and looked at me in bewilderment.
"That's right. I was also shocked, but it turns out that my mother told someone about this or something. I'll ask her about it tomorrow. You know how such information quickly spreads among people. Well, now all normal men avoid her company. And I'm to blame for all this."
"So, she wasn't trying to get you back, she just wanted revenge?" Bella looked surprised and thoughtful.
"Bella, Tanya is not naive enough to believe that I can forgive her. The last time we saw each other, I was quite clear about my stance. I'm sorry, I really didn't think it would look that way. If you're still mad, I can postpone our conversation until later. I'm not a complete idiot, I felt that you didn't return my hugs." I suppressed a grimace. What if Tanya's plan worked?
"I was angry. When you left, I was angry, when I left, I was even more angry. Strange and unwanted thoughts started to run through my head, but eventually I forced myself to calm down. Edward, I didn't trust people for a very long time. I didn't trust so much that I didn't even want to get into any close relationships. So, when you took Tanya away, my first reaction was exactly that. At home, I managed to calm down a little. This doesn't mean that I'm not at all angry with you for your actions, but it is rather looks like mild irritation right now." Bella inhaled deeply before turning to face me. "I trust you. If you promise not to do that again, consider yourself forgiven."
"Of course. I'm capable of learning from my mistakes. Moreover, I hope we won't have such situations again. This wouldn't have happened today if we had simply guessed she had the courage to show up." But who would have thought that Tanya would come up with the idea to take revenge on me for her own actions?
"Yes, it was definitely unexpected. Hmm, Edward? Was it my phone ringing just now?" Bela looked at the bag I was holding.
"Possibly. I grabbed your purse from the backseat of the car. That was such a stupid thing to do, I won't let you go anywhere else without a phone. I don't know what I would have done if Garrett hadn't called me."
"I was just wondering how you knew I was home. I was so lucky that Garrett decided to leave early. I didn't know what to do. I could have stood outside all evening until someone found me."
Guilt has come back in full force. I suddenly remembered what Rosalie had told me.
"Bella! What happened when I was gone? Did Jacob do anything to you? If he so much as laid a finger on you, I'll get back there right away and he'll get everything he deserves."
Bella's eyes immediately widened.
"No, you won't!" Bella grabbed my hand. "The last thing I need right now is to get you out of the police station. As if this evening is not crazy enough." Bella rolled her eyes, but I could still detect some odd emotions there.
"I can clearly tell that something happened. Rose mentioned that Black was trying to pretend that he just said hello, and she didn't believe him. Considering that you felt great for a good portion of the evening, it's unlikely that you suddenly felt too stifled."
Bella sighed and lowered her eyes. Then she came over and hugged me. I was a little taken aback, but immediately hugged her back. We stood like that for a couple of minutes, but it started to scare me.
"Edward, I can feel you tense up, but let's reschedule our conversation for tomorrow. I'm so tired that I just don't want to think about anything." Bella glanced up at me and looked pleadingly.
"Of course. I won't force you. But I need to know whether he did something wrong."
"Nothing terrible. I promise." Bella thought for a few seconds. "Can you stay with me tonight? I don't want to sleep alone after all this."
I was surprised that Bella was so calm after my idiotic act, but I wasn't about to argue with her offer. Besides that, I already stayed once with her overnight, even if it was by accident. Maybe I can apologize by making her breakfast in bed as I did the last time.
"Of course, I even missed your couch a little. We had a great night together." I tried to make a joke, trying to distract Bella from today. "And how many other pleasant memories are connected with it." I smiled slyly, remembering several failed attempts to watch a movie while sitting on it.
Bella hit me playfully but couldn't help but smile.
"I'm glad you have so much in common, but I was hoping you'd stay with me in bed."
"Only if you're comfortable enough." I'll definitely be, I'm already tired of imagining what it's like to fall asleep with her wrapped around me.
"Edward, I'm comfortable doing a lot more than simply falling asleep together, but that's not a conversation for today either."
Was she saying what I thought she was saying? I involuntarily pictured us in much less clothing. Rose warned me not to push Bella too hard, give her time to get used to me and start trusting me. But what if Bella wasn't as cautious as Rosalie suspected? We definitely need to discuss this.
I handed Bella her purse back and walked to the center of the living room. I heard Bella open her bag and take something out of it.
"Edward, why is some unknown number texting me to tell you that your kiss was wonderful and that she is looking forward for a repeat?"
Tanya.
Thanks to all of you for your feedback. Still mad at Edward?