Sorry this update took so long. Everybody wanted to talk. Egfuck wanted to talk, Alice wanted to talk. Even Victoria and Aro had something they wanted to say. I only wanted to hear from Esme. But She was so pissed her thoughts were coming out gibberish. So I just told her to take her time, take some time off and get back to me when she got her thoughts together. Well she just got back about midnight.

I'm changing Esme's backstory a bit. Warning, there's a narrative of domestic violence in this chapter. If this is a trigger for you, the section will be marked, and you can skip it without taking away from the story.

Oh, and by the way, thanks for the reviews, follows, and faves. You do love me (giggles)

After we were forced to leave Forks by the whiney mind reading brat, I'd had enough.

Why had I stayed this long, you may ask? Well, I was led to believe there was safety in numbers. But when your coven leader is a pacifist, I now see that doesn't always ring true.

When Carlisle changed me into a vampire, I was grateful to him for saving me.

When I woke up to this life, I remembered him from ten years earlier. The cute young doctor, with the cold hands that fixed my broken leg when I fell from a tree. Yeah, I was a bit of a tomboy back then. This is why my parents married me off to that evil bastard, Charles Evenson.

They thought I'd become a 'proper lady.'

WARNING*

What I became was a punching bag.

I was grateful for the war. You see Charles, too, was a doctor. He was shipped out as a medic.

While he was off fighting the war, I went to school and became a teacher. I enjoyed my independence during those years.

When Charles returned, he was even more cruel.

When I became pregnant, I left him. But he found us. They told me our son died from lung disease. I believe Charles killed him. Not long after, he beat me and dropped me from a cliff.

END WARNING*

So, yes, I was very grateful to Carlisle for essentially saving my life.

Both Edward and Carlisle tried courting me. Edward was laughable as he was just a boy. If he were at all likable, I may have seen myself as a mother figure to him. Because I rebuffed his advances, he stormed off like the brat he is and went on a killing spree.

After he left, Carlisle then tried to court me. It was nice for a while. Until Edward came back. I didn't tell Carlisle about Edward's advances until Edward returned. Carlisle didn't think we should continue our courtship as it may make Edward feel uncomfortable. Do you see where I'm going with this scenario?

Some eighty odd years later, Isabella Swan entered our lives. She was a lovely, sweet girl. She was perfect for Carlisle. She was highly intelligent, loved books, and was always on a quest to learn something new.

Carlisle simply adored her. But because Eddie the brat saw her first, Carlisle, again, took a step back.

During the baseball game. It could have been over and done with. But because of shit-for-brains, know-it-all, Edward and St. Pacifist Carlisle, Bella got hurt. Badly.

I don't see why we didn't take the three nomads out right then and there. We'd all been trained to fight by Jasper. I mean, come on. You don't have a warlord in your coven and not learn to fight.

It's not that Carlisle couldn't fight. He was a decent fighter. He learned when he was with The Volturi. He just preferred not to fight.

Don't get me wrong, I commend him for wanting to be peaceful. But sometimes you have to stand up and defend your coven.

The night of Bella's birthday party was when I thought it was all going to change.

After everyone else took Jasper out to hunt, I stayed behind to clean up the glass and blood. I heard everything that occurred in the study.

Why would Bella think Carlisle and I were together? It only took one guess to figure out who told her that load of manure. I went up to bring Bella down before the others got back to set the record straight. She needed to know that Carlisle was unattached. However, before I could come clean to her, Edward came and whisked her away.

After they left, I called the rest of the family together.

"Did you know Bella thinks Carlisle and I are together?" The astonished look on everyone's faces told me they didn't know.

"Okay, but why would that matter?" Rosalie asked

As I was about to answer her, Jasper spoke up. "Because the dunderhead over there is in love with Bella." While gesturing towards Carlisle.

"What the fuck? Not again, Pops," Emmett boomed. I couldn't even correct him for his language. Those were my sentiments, exactly.

"And tonight, Bella fell in love with Carlisle." I told them all bluntly.

The cacophony of everyone's voices was deafening. The emotions were getting too high for Jasper. Suddenly a blanket of calm surrounded us.

Edward came through the door. The door thunderously crashing into the wall. "We're leaving." He stated as if it were fact.

"Says who?" I asked

"Yeah, bro. Who the fuck died and made you king?" Emmett asked.

"Why, son?" I rolled my eye so hard I'm surprised they didn't roll out of my skull.

"Bella doesn't feel safe with us here anymore. Especially since Jasper tried to eat her, and Carlisle tried to molest her." Everyone turned to look at Carlisle.

I didn't need to be an empath to feel Carlisle's heart sink.

"She said that?" Carlisle whispered in an almost childlike voice.

"I don't believe you. She kissed him. Don't believe it, Carlisle. Go talk to her. Tell her how you feel."

"Yeah, dear old dad. Go over there right now and confess your undying love for her. I wonder how that will go over with Charlie. He already thinks there something untoward going on between the thirty-something-year-old married doctor and his barely legal daughter." Edward sneered at Carlisle.

"Why do they believe we're married? Did you tell her we were married?"

"No," he scoffed. "The whole town believes you're married. The kids at school told her that the doctor and his wife adopted us and fostered us. That's what the town believes. I just chose not to correct her." He said that last part with an evil smirk.

I couldn't stand the smug look on that bastard's face. Before I knew it, and obviously before the bastard could read it in my mind, I'd leapt across the table and had him pinned to the floor with my hand around his scrawny neck. Jasper and Emmett had to pull me off him.

Emmett picked him up by his neck and squeezed. "Dude, you had two jobs here; listen to their thoughts and Let. Us. Know. What. The. Town. Thinks. Of. Us." Emmett punctuated each word by poking his finger hard into the bastard's chest. Cracks had formed around his neck and you could hear his ribs break from each poke.

I turned to look at Carlisle. He just sat there, still as a statue. Defeated.

"Well, aren't you going to say something?" I asked.

I loved Carlisle. Not as a mate or a companion. But I loved him like he was my brother. I was tired of this little brat running roughshod over him.

He finally sighed and nodded his head. "Pack your things everyone we're leaving." He whispered.

I threw my hands up and brought them down hard on the table. It split in two.

"That's it, I'm done. You people do whatever you want. I'm out of here." I flitted upstairs, packed my bags, loaded them into my R8, and left.

I headed to my interior design office in Seattle. I didn't need to rent an apartment. I was already leasing that officespace. I had no need for a bed. There was a kitchenette, and full en-suite bathroom, I only had use for a shower. I purchased a nice armoire for the office to use as a wardrobe to store my things.

After a couple of months went by I decided to go see Bella myself.

I was pretty sure Edward lied to all of us, but to be sure, I decided to stop in and speak with the Chief of Police first. Get a feel of how I should approach Bella.

As I stepped into the police station, my head began to swim from the intoxicating scent the building held.

I didn't understand this feeling that overwhelmed me. It's not like I'm unused to being around human scents. I work with humans on a regular basis, been in their homes.

It wasn't a feeling of hunger, so I had a feeling it had nothing to do with me coming in contact with my singer.

Emmett, Jasper and Edward had expressed the overwhelming feeling of hunger you get when coming across your singer's blood. If I had to describe it, it was more like the feeling of becoming—aroused

I managed to pull myself together as I stepped to the reception desk.

"Is Chief Swan available?" I asked the female officer at the desk.

"Yes he is. And you are…" the woman asked

"Could you tell him Esme Cullen would like to have a word with him if he has the time."

After she announced me over the telephone, with my vampire hearing, I could hear him muttering to himself through the door marked 'Chief Swan.'

He finally opened the door and strolled out.

If I had a beating heart, it would either be pounding or stopped altogether.

The most handsome older man I'd ever laid eyes on, was standing before me.

His dark hair and eyes, almost identical to Bella's. Only was lightly graying at the temples. His mustache and eyebrows, reminiscent of Tom Selleck, during his Magnum P.I. days.

He lightly cleared his throat to bring me out of my ogling of him as my eyes continued to peruse down his magnificent body.

"Mrs. Cullen?" Okay that was the cold water in the face to cool my jets.

"May we speak in your office?" I asked

"Of course. Come this way. Judy, hold my calls unless it's Bella," he stated before escorting me through to his office.

He stepped behind his desk before gesturing me to have a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"I have to admit I'm surprised to see you here Mrs. Cullen. What can I do for you?"

"First, Chief Swan, do call me Esme. Next, it's not Mrs. Cullen. There seems to be some confusion in this town that I was not aware of until we were leaving. Carlisle and I are not married. He's my brother."

Upon hearing that, Chief Swan eyes became wide as saucers and his eyebrows nearly reached his hairline.

Once he pulled himself back together he reached a hand over the desk.

"Well, I am very pleased to finally meet you Esme. And you may call me Charlie." Once our hands finally touched, an electricity flowed through that touch. The warmth of his much larger hand. My mind couldn't help but conjure up images of him touching me everywhere on my body.

I could tell he felt it too. The grip he had on my hand, if I were human, he would have crushed it.

Before I knew what was happening, I was straddling him in his chair and we were making out like naughty teenagers.

"Um…Esme. Not that…I'm unhappy…with this…turn of events…but…why exactly…did you come…to see me?" Charlie managed to get out during our make out session.

"OH!" That seemed to sober me up a bit. "I'm sorry Charlie. I don't know what came over me." I said as I tried to climb off of him. (As if I couldn't if I really wanted to.) He only pulled me tighter to him.

"I wanted to see Bella. And since I'm unsure what Edward told her before we left, I thought I would speak to you first. I have a feeling what he told her, and what he told us, are two different things." I told him

"Well sweetheart, why don't we go to my house and we'll all break this down together." He put a hand on each side of my face, bringing me in for another passionate kiss. He finally let me go so we could both stand up. His lips were red and swollen from us kissing. He had lipstick smudges all over his face and neck. And his thick black hair was standing all over his head from me running my hands through it. I giggled as I pulled out a compact from my purse to fix my makeup. I showed him his reflection.

"Holy shit!" he said as he pulled a wet ones wipe out of his desk and a comb.

"I have these for when I eat at my desk or stay late and nap on my couch," He said as he gestured to the leather couch across the room.

After he was cleaned up, he placed his Chiefs hat on his head and we left the station. I followed him to his house. Bella's familiar red truck was parked in the driveway. But surprisingly, so was Alice's yellow Porsche.

"Alice!" Charlie and I exclaimed in unison. We looked at each other with knowing smirks.

Alice was rubbing her temples. A tell that her visions weren't being reliable.

"Victoria went to the Volturi. The Volturi came for Bella and they're going after Edward. I got here too late. I knew you'd be here but I didn't know why. I surely didn't see this," she said gesturing between Charlie and I, looking at his arm around my waist.

"You Swans make my head hurt. Why can't I see either of you clearly? And where the hell is Carlisle? He never made it to Alaska." Alice was ranting and pacing back and forth in Charlie's living room.

"What is she talking about? Who has Bella? What is going on here? You guys disappeared for months, and now you're telling me someone has my Bella and is going after Egfuck. Who are these Vultures, and who is Victoria?" My dead heart sank into my stomach. He then placed both hands on my face and looked deep into my eyes

"Esme, sweetheart. Tell me what's going on. We've only just met, but I feel I've known you all my life. But I need you to be honest with me and tell me what's going on."

"You have to tell him Esme. You have to tell him everything." Alice opined