Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters.

November 13, 1941

Bella

I followed Jacob into one of the quiet alleyways, where he picked up a satchel and threw it over his shoulder. I took a moment to truly look at him. He was out of his navy uniform, he'd shaved his hair off and the bag he carried looked heavy.

"Jacob, what's going on?"

"I have to leave the harbor," he whispered, looking over my shoulder. "I have to but they won't let me leave."

"Why?" I asked, my heart skipping a beat.

"My mother, she's terribly ill. I got an emergency call this morning and she's in the hospital. I have to be there for her. I asked for permission to see her but they won't let me. That's why I have to leave tonight. I just wanted to see you before I leave."

I crossed my arms over my chest. This was insane! He couldn't leave.

"Jacob, you can't leave. That's desertion. You could go to jail for that, they could kill you!"

"I have no choice, Izzy! I have to leave. I have to be with her. You would do it as well if it was your family, so how is it any different?"

"Oh, Jake…" he wasn't wrong. If it was a member of my family and I couldn't see them, I'd also risk jail time and possibly death to see them. "I'm sorry about your mother. I truly am. But if you go see her, that will be the last time. You'll be a fugitive if you leave now."

"And that's a risk I'm willing to take," he said, determined. "It hurts to leave, but not more than knowing I won't see you again. Hopefully one day it will be different."

"I don't know about that. Jacob, but I wish you the best wherever you go after this."

Jacob stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in for a hug. I gave him a quick squeeze before pulling away, his touch somehow sent chills down my spine and not the good kind.

"Thank you, Izzy. You've always been a good friend to me, and because you have been a friend, there's something you should know. It's about your sister."

"What about her?"

Jacob looked over my shoulder and I followed his gaze, but there was no one at the entrance of the alleyway. Was he checking to make sure no one could hear him?

He leaned in close and whispered, "I heard Edward talking to a group of pilots yesterday afternoon. He was bragging about how he convinced Jasper to transfer out of the harbor and break up with your sister."

"What?" I almost shouted, outraged. What the hell was he talking about? "W-what did you hear exactly? Where did you hear this?"

"I went with a friend to a bar last night and he was there. Apparently he convinced Jasper that your sister wasn't good enough for him. Something about you two coming from a lower class. He thinks your sister is after Jasper's money," he said and huffed out a breath. "Izz, I'm very sorry."

I couldn't speak at first. Words failed me and I was hit with sudden pain in my stomach. Did he really think that of my sister? Was he truly that self absorbed that he thinks we are too low to even associate with them?

"It's-it's fine," I said, my voice hoarse. How dare he? What right did he have to do such a thing to Alice? And his best friend?

"I know you're angry," Jacob said, taking my hand in his. "I'm sorry, but I had to tell you."

I wiped my tears away and sighed. "No, I thank you for it, Jacob. You've been nothing but a friend to me." I wrapped my arms around him again. "Thank you."

Jacob kissed the side of my head and stepped back, giving my cheek a gentle squeeze. "Goodbye, Izzy."

I remained standing where I was for a long time, even after Jacob had left the alleyway. My mind was swirling with anger and indignation, and I hurt for my sister. I stood there, boiling over my anger until I felt the first droplets of rain. I walked out of the alleyway, my heart pounding against my chest. By the time I made it to the end of the street, it had started to pour and I had nothing to cover myself with. I didn't want to stay and hide in one of the many stores, I wanted to go home, so I ran back in the rain. The sound of the downpour almost muffled the sound of my rapidly beating heart, but I could still feel it.

I was soaked and out of breath when I made it to our porch. I leaned against the wall, pressing my forehead against it as I tried to catch my breath. The sound of one of the porch steps creaking snapped me out of my trance and I swirled only to find Edward Cullen standing at the top step, soaked and out of breath, just like me. Why was he here?

"Bella," he breathed.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, breathless.

He ran a hand through his soaked hair and swallowed back.

"I… I came to see you. I had to see you." He paused and swallowed back again before continuing. "I've tried. I have struggled in vain and I can't take it any longer. These past months have been a torment, trying to get you out of my head and trying to not feel what I do every time I see you. But it will not be due. And I tried. I've fought against my better judgment, my family's expectations, the inferiority of your class, my rank and all these other things that I'm willing to put aside and ask you to end my torment."

"I don't understand-"

"I love you," he interrupted me. A sharp breath escaped me. "I love you, Bella."

His words felt like a punch in the gut. I was frozen, unable to move or say anything, even if I could, I did not trust my own legs to move out of fear of collapsing.

They were right.

That's all I could think of as he stood in front of me, waiting for my response. Rosalie, Alice and Angela, they were all right.

Mr. Cullen took my silence as encouragement and took a step close to me, the sound of the pounding rain surrounding us.

"Bella, I know you and I did not start off on the right foot and I know I have been a fool, but I am here right now." He was too close now. My heart hammered against my cheek and I could feel each beat throughout my entire body. "I am here with the hope that you might grant me the chance to prove myself otherwise and be close to you."

A shaky breath left me. I gripped the skirt of my dress in my hands to try and stop them from shaking and took a step back, pressing my back against the wall. A roar of thunder cut through the pounding rain, sending chills down my spine.

Was he truly that delusional? Did he really think I would accept him?

Gathering all my courage, I stood taller, not allowing him to see me cower.

"Mr. Cullen, I had no idea of the struggle you were going through and I'm very sorry to have caused you pain. Believe me it was unconsciously done," I said, thankful that my voice didn't quiver.

Mr. Cullen fell a step back and a look of confusion flashed through his expression.

"Is that all you have to say?"

"Yes."

"Are you laughing at me?"

"No."

"Then you're rejecting me?"

"I believe the reasons which you told me held you back when it came to your feelings will help you in overcoming them," I said, coldly.

Mr. Cullen shook his head, as if he was trying to wake from some dream and when he looked at me, the softness in his eyes was gone. There was only confusion.

"May I ask why with so little civility am I being rejected?"

And that question alone, sparked my ire.

"And I may as well inquire why with the evident design of insulting me, you chose to tell me you like me against your better judgment!"

"Believe me, that was not my-"

"If I was uncivil, then that's some excuse but I have other reasons to reject you and you know I have them!"

"What reasons?"

I could not believe the level of his own ignorance. Could he not take the blame for his actions? Could he not admit all the horrible things he has done?

"Do you really think that anything might tempt me to accept the man who interfered and ruined my sister's relationship, and as a result her own happiness?" He frowned at my accusation, falling another step back. "Do you deny it, Mr. Cullen? That you convinced Jasper to break up with my sister and leave Pearl Harbor."

"I do not deny it," he said.

There was no regret in his words. Nothing to say he felt ashamed of what he did. Did he really care so little?

"How could you do it?"

"Because I believed your sister to be indifferent to him."

"Indifferent?"

"Jessica told me of Alice's plan. She said that the day she rode with you on the train, she heard Alice say that she was in search of a husband so to escape your father, do you deny that?" He snapped back, accusingly.

I fell silent for a moment, shock running through me. He knew about that?

"That might've been Alice's thoughts before we got here, but she truly cared for Jasper. She loved him and you had no right to interfere the way that you did!"

"Isabella, are you really going to stand there and tell me that if someone told you that Jasper planned on using Alice for his own benefit, that you wouldn't have done whatever possible to make sure that didn't happen?"

"I would've addressed it first with Jasper before filling my sister's head with possible lies!"

"So, are you saying those were never her intentions? Not even before she met Jasper? She had ulterior motives and even Jasper could see it!"

"Because you suggested it!" I protest.

"I did it for his own good!"

"My sister hardly shows her true feelings to me!"

Another roar of thunder cracked through the sky. Mr. Cullen fell back another step, running his hands through his hair.

"And if you truly thought of my sister as an opportunist, do you not find it hypocritical of you to tell your friend to break up with her and yet here you are, professing your love to me? Her sister? What makes you think I am any different?"

"No!" He turned to look at me. "I never said your sister was an opportunist, only that she was not honest about her true intentions with my friend. I also never thought of you as an opportunist. Whether I thought your sister was one or not, you never fell into that same category. You two have always been so different. And trust me, if I could've somehow ridden myself of these feelings for you, I wouldn't be standing here right now, Isabella. I can see the hypocrite in me, I have seen him for months!" He spat, his anger getting the best of him. But I couldn't tell whether that anger was directed at me, or at himself.

I knew deep down I couldn't fault him for believing the worst out of my sister, especially after what Jessica told him. Hadn't I asked her that same question just the day before? Hadn't I believed the same thing he had?

I knew it, but my anger and own indignation were getting the best of me. All that hatred I had for me was fueling me. Alice and Jasper were one thing. One completely different thing that had to be dealt with, but what about the other?

"What about Jacob Black?"

The shock that ran through his face was undeniable, then his jaw clenched and his eyes darkened as more thunder roared in the sky. He stepped toward me, like a predator stalking its prey. I never realized I moved back until my back met the wall and he was standing right in front of me. My heart hammered at his proximity. Our faces inches apart, our soaked clothes pressed together as we stared at each other, willing the other to back down. But neither of us moved. Not even after his intoxicating smell mixed with the rain invaded my senses and my fingers itched with the urge to reach for him.

"Jacob Black?" His voice was low, filled with an undeserving hatred.

"What excuse can you give about your behavior towards him?" I asked, almost out of breath due to his proximity.

"I see you have taken an eager interest when it comes to his business."

"He told me of his misfortunes."

"Oh, yes, I bet his misfortunes have been very great indeed."

He laughed, humorlessly, and that only filled me with more incredulity.

"You ruined him and all the opportunities he could've had, and yet you treat him with sarcasm?" It was unbelievable to what length this man's arrogance came to.

Mr. Cullen scoffed.

"So this is your opinion of me," he said. "Thank you for explaining it so fully. Perhaps if I hadn't wounded your pride that first night we met-"

"My pride?" I shouted.

"Yes! Then perhaps you would have granted me the benefit of the doubt. You say that if the situation had been reversed, you would've gone to Jasper to get his side, but I know you, Isabella, and you would have not. You would have come to your own conclusions, done the same as me without a doubt! The same exact way you have come to your own conclusions about the situation you accused me of! But that is my fault. What else did I expect? You would have never granted me such a favor."

"Why should I ever grant you a favor? How could I ever believe otherwise if from the moment I met you, you have been nothing but arrogant and rude. A man who holds so little regard for the feelings of others, that is the man who I should grant a favor to? Who should I trust?"

"Enough!" He snapped, taking that last step that caged me between the wall and him. I gasped. "That's enough insults."

All I could hear was the pounding rain which matched the pounding of my heart. I could feel his heart pounding against his, as his chest was pressed against mine. I swallowed again, coming back to my senses and looked him straight in the eyes.

I wanted to make the message clear and leave no room for misinterpretations.

"You couldn't have made me the offer of your love in any way that could've tempted me to accept it," I said, through clenched teeth. "For I hardly knew you a month before I realized you are the last man in the world who I could ever fall in love with."

And there it was, the last strike of thunder. I watched as the anger was washed away from his perfect features, as that dark look vanished from his eyes and was replaced with… with… hopelessness? Heartbreak? I wasn't sure. Mr. Cullen stepped back until he was at the edge of the stairs, his shoulders slumped and his eyes casted downwards.

I exhaled, watching as he took in the raining valley beyond the porch. All emotions were gone from his expression when he looked at me again. He was back to being the emotionless, cold, Mr. Cullen I knew. As if he hadn't come here to declare his love for me and been rejected. As if nothing had happened here.

"Please, forgive me, Isabella, for taking so much of your time. I promise not to bother you again."

He stepped out into the rain and walked off without looking back. I stayed where I was, pressed against the wall, feeling as if my heart was about to burst out of my chest.

Just when the front door opened, all of my roommates, along with Alice, stepped outside, slowly, as if not to scare me. I couldn't see them. I was still staring down the street where Mr. Cullen had disappeared, taking short, gasping breaths.

"Izzy?" Alice's voice broke me out of my trance.

I looked at my sister, still gasping. The sad look on her face was what finally did it for me, and I broke into tears.

Author's Note:

I've always loved the first proposal in Pride and Prejudice, so I hope you guys like my version of it. Let me know!

Chapter Nine Preview -

"We all know him to be a quiet and reserved kind of person who thought love as a waste of time, so just imagine how much strength it took him to put all those beliefs aside and come here to tell you how he feels?"