I regretted ripping up the contract. Passion, in its purest form, was poison. So sweetly she poisoned me. I could only be sure of one thing at this point, in matters that pertain to Bella, there were no guarantees. The contract could have been a guarantee. Now, I thought often of the way her signature slipped off the page like velvet, slinking into nothingness with the all of the seduction of the blessed void. My only hope now was to fool her into thinking the contract stood. Of course, that had been the original intention for selfish reasons. Now, I had to do it to protect her.

"I can not believe this is you. It's just so exquisite!" Bella immediately knew that telling this woman about the angel portrait was a mistake. Her face provided ample entertainment, elite contortionism hiding her jealousy. She was Rosalie's asisstant-receptionist, clearly a model who wanted to pose for a photographer who did not give her any attention in that regard.

"Oh, I'm sure the photoshop did wonders," Bella said, quite sheepishly. Anything to get out of this. Where was Rosalie?

"Did I hear photoshop? You better not be slandering my model, Patricia," Rosalie's voice came from somewhere deep within the chic office space. It was clearly a shared office which had elements of many endeavors. The portraits and photohraphs clearly overpowered any other personality in the space.

"Oh, no. She said so herself," Patricia shot a glare to Bella, whose face enflamed in embarrassment. God, she wanted out so badly.

"Bells," Rosalie said brightly. "Can I call you that? I just wanted to talk financials. Your photograph is doing just too good for this to be a one time thing. Nor, can I watch you leave from this uncompensated. That would just be- completely un-femenist of me."

Bella laughed. She was already being more than fairly compensated by Alice, and felt that this had been an extension of doing favors for her but Rosalie would have none of it.

"I'm being serious. Whatever it takes, you can stay anonymous, but you are my muse. Bella. You can help me tell the greatest story ever told."

Bella put a hand on her hip skeptically. The greatest story ever told sounded like a big responsibility. "What story is that?" Rosalie threw an arm her neck, and pulled her close. She gestured grandly to the sky.

"Creation," she whispered, with the reverence of a reformed believer. "In you, I see the potential to capture the essence of something basic. Something universal, transcending any science."

"Uhm, wow, I am so flattered." She truly was.

"Look, think about it. But know that I'm gonna be on your ass about this. No pressure, but pressure. And there's huge money in this. Rich- money laundering, kind of money."

Wow. Rosalie gave absolutely not one damn.

"I don't need that. Really, this was just a favor for Alice, and I'm happy to continue on that basis." That was not the truth. She wanted to flee, and hide, and never be photographed again. But, on the other hand, she wanted to see where this would go. Fame, money, power. The deliciousness of slipping into someone else's life, to be loved like this. She was an artist at heart, even if she did not think it would be this kind of art.

"No, I will not allow you to be some sort of inter-personal relationship martyr. Do that on your own time. I will give you a fair compensation for your current photos, and we will split the rest of them exactly half and half. Bells, you're my ticket. To my dreams. Let me make some of yours come true as well, huh, what do you say?"

The door swung open behind them and Alice barged in with all her deranged pixie-might.

"Time to celebrate," she yelled and popped a large champagne.

"Dummy, she hasn't said yes yet," Rosalie hissed, and Patricia looked like she was about to pass out.

"I will have terms," Bella shrugged. "But when you say it like that, I don't see why not." Rosalie and Alice hugged, jumping up and down.

…

He's forgotten about me, Bella thought while tending the shop on a quiet night. He's moved on. It's time for me to move on too. In moments of silence, a wistfulness consumed her. A missed opportunity, a call that was never returned. If he's moved on, which he totally has, then would that mean she won? She stayed true to herself and didn't give her soul away to the Devil? Of course, the first man to make her count petals was an ethereal eternal being. That sort of attention must get pretty bored of human girls. She won. But it didn't feel like winning.

The bell above the door swung daintily. Emmett, the lover-boy.

"Hi, how can I help you?" Knee-jerk reaction at this point.

"Hey, uh, just checking in. I have this," Emmett held out an absurdly cute little box. They were branded with a local chocolate maker, and a tiny "Alice" was inscribed on the top.

"I'll give these to her," I smiled, thanking him.

"The boss- I mean, I think someone wants to talk to you," he brushed a hand nervously through his perfectly shaved buzzcut.

"Are you trying to set me up with your friend?" Bella laughed. It would be good, if this was the actual case.

"No, I wouldn't call him a friend. He just wanted to lay low for a while, but now he's back." Emmett did pitiful jazz hands befitting of their own spot in hell. Jasper.

"Well, ok," Bella took out the keys to lock up. Alice wouldn't mind closing a couple minutes early anyways. "Is he going to kidnap me? Or what?"

"Huh? No, no, not at all. There's a bar down the street, Vetiver or something? It's all red and shit."

I turned off the lights and La Vampirica went to sleep obediently.

"Thank you, Emmett. I'll be sure that Alice texts you soon."

"Oh, no need," he replied. "We're good."

Bella knew exactly what that meant. She wished she could be good in that way with Jasper, for a brief moment. She would have to suffer to win, and that was the tragedy.

"You're going back on the contract," Emmett whined, sprawling his frame out on the shitty apartment bed. It groaned under his weight, I grimaced. It was a miracle a demon of gluttony could survive on so little.

"Contracts can be edited, and I still need you here. Alice is your angle now."

"Can't stay away from her, can you," Emmett smiled. I seethed. Demons had so little morals. Alice was a shiny thing, and now that he understood that Bella was strictly off limits, he pursued Alice with the ferocity of a Horseman bringing chaos upon the Earth.

"Says yourself," I finally managed through the anger. "But it seems that since Alice is intent on these businesses and modeling deals with Bella, your mission is to now understand everything about what's happening there. If anything threatens Bella, you know what to do."

"I'll come to you," he waved a hand in the air, dismissing me. I jumped onto him, and twisted that damned arm under him.

"OW! I said, yes, boss."

"Don't lose your head over love," I warned. "Or I'll fucking eat it for dinner."

Author's Note:

Dear Reader,

Please forgive me for shifts in just about everything, in tone, in characters and maybe even in plot. I'll get to the end eventually, and I do have a bigger idea in mind, but there are many details I will not be able to remember due to the style in which I publish this story.

Thank you for reading,
M