Author's Note:

Hello! Thank you for sticking with me and reviewing!

We are back here with Edward after the showdown with Alice at the funeral. I know most of you are annoyed with Bella for running, but give our girl a little grace. She panicked and in that panic, the only way she could see to protect Maggie is getting out of the way. Of course she knows it's not likely that any judge would take her from Edward, but she's upset and reacted without thinking everything through. Anyway, I'll stop rambling and let you get back to it!

I don't own it…

Chapter 24

EPOV

I walked out of my father's study and closed the door behind me. I took a minute to compose myself since I was still shaken up and in disbelief at what had just taken place on the other side of that door. I should have known it was stupid to follow Bella in there, but I had barely been able to exchange two words with her all day. All I had wanted was one quiet minute to just be near her and escape the emotional day and I was utterly exhausted from everything that had happened the last few days. I may not have been in love with Tanya, but I wasn't a heartless bastard. I had cared about her and though I wasn't the grieving widower people may think I was, her death had still taken a toll on me. So, I'd been blinded by the desire for just one moment of the peace I always felt in Bella's presence. Unfortunately, my sister had shitty timing and had walked in at the exact wrong moment. Although, I have no doubt seeing Bella and I alone in the room together would have set her off regardless, even if we'd been nowhere near each other. Shaking my head, I set off for the living room. I'd have to deal with Alice later.

I stopped just before I entered the living room. Maggie was there with her grandparents and Emmett, and I felt a tendril of fear slither down my spine at the thought of losing her. I knew it wasn't likely, but it was hard to be rational about any threat against my child. Carmen looked up at me with a furrowed brow, clearly sensing my distress.

"Edward? Are you alright?" she asked. I nodded, but the look on her face told me she wasn't buying it.

"Of course, just a rough day. I can't believe she's gone," I said, playing it off like I was just missing Tanya. I saw Eleazar cock an eyebrow in disbelief from the corner of my eye, but I focused on Maggie for the moment.

"Mags, why don't you tell Grandma and Grandpa goodbye, then go play with your cousins," I said, and she did as I asked. As soon as she was out of the room, Eleazar turned to me.

"What's really going on, Edward?

I sighed, wishing they'd just let it go, but tried another vague answer. "Nothing to worry about. Just some family drama."

"Why don't you tell them the truth, Edward?" my sister's voice sounded behind me.

I whirled to face her, clenching my jaw in fury. "Alice, stay out of it," I ground out through clenched teeth.

Just then Jasper walked up behind Alice and began to steer her away, but she fought him. "Alice, I told you to drop this. It is not the time or the place, and you have gone too far already," Jasper said in an angry tone, something I didn't hear often from my laid-back brother-in-law.

My parents walked up behind them just as Jasper hooked Alice around the waist and started to bodily remove her from the room. It was no use, though. "No!" she screamed. "Tell them truth, Edward! Tell them you've been fucking Bella behind their daughter's back!"

Fuck. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I'd never felt the need to harm anyone, especially a woman, but my sister was about two seconds away from snapping my control. After one more deep breath to calm myself a little, I opened my eyes and looked at my sister. I immediately wanted to smack the smug look off her face, but I clenched my fists and held myself back. Before I could figure out what to say, Alice spoke again.

"Well? Let's hear it, Edward. Tell them the truth. Tell them how you've been fucking Bella and how you claim to love her. Tell them how you never loved Tanya and the terrible way you treated her. Tell them how many affairs there have been, because we all know there were others. Tell them!" She was shouting at the end of her little speech. "Tell them all the ways you betrayed their daughter while she laid on her death bed!"

Alice turned to Jasper and sobbed into his chest while he shot me a pained look over her head. If I weren't so angry at the moment, I'd feel sorry for him. I knew he didn't agree with Alice, but she was his wife, so he was between a rock and a hard place. The room had been completely silent throughout Alice's tirade, but I heard a throat clear behind me.

"Well," Eleazar said calmly. "Sounds like we need to sit down and have a talk."

"You'd do better to talk to a lawyer and file for custody of Maggie. Edward doesn't deserve to raise her," Alice sneered.

"Alice! I thought I made myself clear," my dad said in a low voice. "You will not threaten your family. You don't have to agree with Edward's choices, but that has no bearing on his ability to raise his daughter."

I'd never seen or heard my dad so close to rage as he'd been in his study a few minutes ago, or now.

"I'm not sure I care to be a part of a family that condones his behavior," Alice sniffed. At her declaration, I heard my mother begin to quietly sob.

I turned to Carmen and Eleazar. "Carmen, Eleazar, I'm not going to lie about my involvement with Bella, but I promise you, I was never unfaithful to Tanya prior to her accident, nor in the time since until a few months ago."

"We know, Edward," Eleazar said, sharing a glance with his wife. "Alice, please sit down. You need to hear this."

"No, I won't listen to anything any of you have to say since you all apparently think Edward can do no wrong," she said, then turned to leave.

"Mary Alice, sit down this instant! You will listen whether you like it or not!" Mom demanded in a tone I'd rarely heard from her, pointing at a chair. When Alice didn't immediately comply, Mom snapped. "I said sit! NOW!"

I almost laughed at the incredulous expression on Alice's face. She must have realized Mom meant business, though, because she sat.

"Thank you. Now, first of all, Alice. We appreciate your loyalty to our daughter, but she was not the perfect angel you seem to think she was. And I have to say, your overzealous protection of her is quite misguided," Eleazar began, then turned to address the room. "Now then, I have a confession to make. Carmen and I know all about the infidelity that occurred during Edward and Tanya's marriage. And we know that it was not Edward who was unfaithful."

I heard my mother gasp, while I was shocked into silence, and when nobody spoke, Carmen continued where Eleazar had left off.

"Yes, Edward, I'm sorry, but we did know of Tanya's infidelity. In fact, the man she was with in the accident was not the first." I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I'd suspected as much when I thought about it years ago, but I hadn't known for sure. "I was in town one weekend, and I caught Tanya in a restaurant with another man about six months after you got married. She tried to pass him off as a client, but I didn't believe her. They were a little too cozy for a realtor and her client. I confronted her the next day and told her she needed to end it, that she was going to ruin your marriage. I didn't understand how she could do that when you were all she wanted for so long. She tried to make excuses, but ultimately, she admitted she was wrong and promised to end it. I realized later that she was only telling me what I wanted to hear. I don't know if she ended things with that man right away or not, but clearly at some point she moved on to someone new."

Eleazar squeezed his wife's hand and spoke again. "Tanya was planning to leave Edward at the time of her accident," he said, and I was shocked again. I'd never dreamed that they knew the truth. "We are not proud of the choices our daughter made, but we loved her. We are sorry, Edward, for not telling you at the time, but we had hoped she would come to her senses. And as for Maggie, there was a time before she was born that we feared she was not your daughter. We are so thankful that she is clearly yours, and we could not ask for a better father for our grandchild." I nodded in acceptance of his apology.

"She was leaving you that day, wasn't she?" Emmett asked softly. I'd nearly forgotten he was in the room. I just nodded in affirmation. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't think there was any point in dragging her through the mud at that point, and Maggie was my priority," I explained.

"You are a good man, Edward," Eleazar said. "Not many people would have kept Tanya's secrets and arranged her care for all this time like you have and we are truly sorry that we let these secrets go on so long. We only hope that you can forgive our apathy toward our daughter's mistakes. We love you and we love Maggie and hope this won't affect our relationship with her."

"Of course not. I'd never keep Maggie from you. And as far as Tanya goes, there's nothing to forgive. She was an adult, and you were not responsible for her actions," I assured them.

"And Edward," Carmen spoke up. "We want you to be happy. Bella is a wonderful woman and I know she adores Maggie and you. So, not that you need it, but whatever happens, you have our blessing."

"Thank you," I said, my voice thick with emotion.

"Well, we've said what we needed to say, so we need to be going," Eleazar said, standing. "Esme, Carlisle, Edward, we'll be in touch. We wish you all well."

My parents saw them out as my siblings, Jasper, and I sat in tense silence in the living room. When Mom and Dad returned my mother walked over and stopped in front of Alice.

"Well, Alice, now that you know the truth, I believe you owe your brother an apology. In fact, you owe all of us and Bella one as well."

"I will not apologize. They still cheated, no matter the circumstances. And I'm disgusted that you all support them," Alice said with a haughty look on her face.

"You know, Alice, normally we would be proud of you standing up for your friend, but you have gone way too far. You have forsaken this entire family and shown no loyalty at all to Bella, who has been your friend for much longer than Tanya was. And a better friend as well. I am so ashamed of the way you have treated Edward, Bella, and the rest of us for the last several months," Dad said sadly. Alice just sat and stared stonily at the wall, not acknowledging our father's words.

"Well, Alice, since you refuse to apologize or even admit you have behaved horribly, I think it's best if you leave. We will be willing to talk when you can act your age and act like a rational human being. We love you and hope you come to your senses soon," Mom said, then looked at Jasper. "Jasper, you know of course that you are always welcome, and we are always here for you if you need us."

I sat in shock as Alice stormed out of the room. I couldn't believe that my mother had just kicked one of her children out. It was obviously hard for her though, since she turned to my father and cried as he wrapped his arms around her. It wasn't easy for him to see Alice go, either, but as always, they were a united front. Jasper started to follow Alice out but stopped and turned back just before leaving the room.

"I'm sorry. I've tried to get her to see reason for months, but she's only gotten worse. I'll be in touch," he said, shaking his head sadly as he walked out of the room.

"Well, shit, that is not how I pictured today going," Emmett said.

"Emmett, language," Mom said tiredly, and I nearly laughed out loud. Hearing her admonish him for his language was just so normal after such an overly emotional and drama-filled day.

"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry for all of this. Bella and I never meant to hurt anyone, and we certainly didn't think it would ever come out like this. But I meant it when I said that I love her. This isn't just some fling."

"We know, son. It's obvious you love her, which might have been part of the problem with your sister. You never looked at Tanya the way you look at Bella when you think nobody will see," he smiled ruefully. "And while we generally wouldn't condone adultery, Tanya's been gone a long time. These weren't exactly normal circumstances." I could only nod as the lump in my throat was too large to speak.

"Now, it's early, but we're all exhausted, so I'm going to make sure the caterers are cleared out then I'm going upstairs. You're all welcome to stay here for the night if you'd like, except you, Edward. You need to go to Bella. She left very upset after you left the study. We'll keep Maggie tonight."

I nodded and stood to do as she'd suggested just as Rosalie rushed into the room.

"She's gone, Edward. I'm sorry, I followed her to her house and tried to stop her, but she packed a bag and left," Rose said.

"What? Why? Where did she go?" I asked.

"She wouldn't confirm, but I'm pretty sure she's going to Forks. And as for why, she thinks she's responsible for the demise of the entire Cullen clan," Rose explained.

"Oh, no. Poor girl," Mom said. "She's always taken too much on herself. This family is fine, apart from Alice, but she'll get over it one of these days. Edward, you don't need to drive that far tonight. You're exhausted. Go upstairs and get some rest, then you can leave in the morning."

I knew she was right, so I bid everyone goodnight and made my way to one of the guest rooms upstairs. I pulled out an old pair of sweats and a T-shirt I found in a drawer and changed before finding Maggie in the playroom. It was early for bed, but I was exhausted, so I decided to have Maggie come lay down with me. I could put on a movie for her and rest while she watched it. Rose walked up to the playroom just before I entered.

"Hey, we're going to stay tonight, too. You tell your girl goodnight, then go on to bed. I'll make sure the kids go down in a little while," Rose said.

"Thanks, Rose. For everything," I said and gave her a quick hug.

I told Maggie I was going to bed and that she could come in and sleep with me if she wanted to, then went into my room for the night and tried to call Bella. She would still be on the road if she were going to Forks. I wasn't surprised that she didn't answer, but I left a voicemail telling her everything was okay, and that I'd see her tomorrow. I sent a text as well, then tried calling a few more times, but she never answered. Resigned to not reaching her, I gave up and closed my eyes. I'd go get my girl first thing in the morning.

Author's Note:

Well, there you have it! It's all out in the open now and Mama Esme kicked Malice out!

Next chapter up soon!

Let me know what you think!