Bella POV

"Bella," Edward murmured.

His voice dripped with honey and sweetness, and a hint of sadness. It was strange seeing him behind metal bars, and in front of him. I never imagined that we would be in this situation where I was the one that wasn't stuck in a gilded cage. How far we have come to be in this moment, where I was standing right next to a King of the Vampire World, looking down at Edward.

"What are you doing here? Why aren't you in Forks?" Edward asked, his almost-black eyes narrowing as soon as he caught sight of Caius, "What are you doing with him?"

"Edward-" I started, taking a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts.

For months, I've dreamed of this moment. I thought Edward would come back for him, after realizing that what he did was wrong and he would go back to being what we were- obsessively in love. Acting as if nothing ever happened between us when we'd spend hours in the meadow, with the tall grass and flowers next to us, just staring at each other's eyes. Now, I realize that it may have been a ridiculous dream because I couldn't see Edward in it at all.

What he did to me caused a ripping effect, creating a massive-hole in my heart.

Things weren't ever going to be the same between us, ever again.

And I'm okay with that.

He introduced me to this world, the supernatural world where I found out that vampires existed. He showed a world where I felt like I belonged and thought he would be able to shut the door in my face. He didn't see when Victoria came back for me.

He didn't care about me at all.

"Bella, what are you doing with him? You know who he is, Bella, right?" Edward inquired, pressing his face against the bars and reaching towards to grab me.

I instinctively took a step back, as Edward's fingers were met with only the air around us. Edward's face morphed into a pained expression as he realized that I didn't want him touching me.

"I know who he is. I wouldn't be here, if it wasn't for him," I told him.

"He's a killer, Bella. He kills humans like you…" Edward started, "What happens if he gets bored? He's just toying with you because he's a monster."

Caius stepped between me and him, his red eyes narrowing, "Funny, how you accuse me of being a killer, when you are one, too. My diet may consist of human blood, while yours is strictly animal… Aren't we both vampires that kill things just to sustain ourselves? Or are you too righteous that you don't know what you are?"

Edward shut up and kept quiet.

Finally, I found the courage to speak, and found the right words to say. I didn't know whether I needed to hear him or me, but it felt good getting it off my chest.

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. I would probably have ended up dead, killed by someone else's hands. If Caius hadn't ended up rescuing me, Victoria would have gotten her revenge on me. The day you broke up with me, claiming that you wanted to protect me from vampires and vampire life meant that I could have been Victoria's toy to play with… You only wanted to protect me from your family, but failed to see the bigger picture: Victoria."

"I didn't know," Edward spoke quietly, looking rather ashamed of himself. "You have no idea how much it killed me, leaving you."

"How much it killed you? What about how much it killed me? Edward, you left me broken in a forest where I could have died from hypothermia or from an animal attack. For months, I have been catatonic- wishing I could end my life, knowing that you and the rest of the Cullens wanted nothing to do with me. I was doing the bare minimum, wishing I was dead because of the pain that you left me in. Do you know how much I wanted to die?"

"Bella-"

"If you were hurting that bad, why didn't you return? Why did you go to Volterra and not back to Forks? We could have made up, said our apologies and resumed our relationship together… But you didn't. You thought Volterra, and going to Volturi was a better solution."

"I couldn't face you again," Edward murmured. It was low enough to the point where I barely caught it. "I thought death would be a better option."

"You didn't think that through, did you?" I pointed out, "Poor little Bella, the poor puny human. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. And not realize that this puny human had feelings and cared about you very much."

"It wasn't like that, Bella. You have to believe me. I'm sorry, I didn't realize that I would hurt you that bad, or thought you would be safe from Victoria's harm… I still love you."

Love me? If he claimed he left me then he would never have left like would have protected me, but maybe Chelsea was right. Maybe I did fall in love with the idea of love, because I didn't know what love was. Edward and I's relationship wasn't love, it was toxic and very controlling, but now- I couldn't see us together anymore.

I love that Caius made me feel special, and wouldn't let anyone touch a single strand of hair on my head. He cared for me, loved me. He wouldn't control me, not like Edward did.

I sighed, "Please don't… You have no idea what love is. The truth is, I don't think both of us knew what love was, because looking back- it wasn't healthy. You were always there, even watching me sleep at night, showing up in situations. I depended on you like you were air, when I shouldn't have."

"I thought you loved that. You could have just left your window locked, and told me to get out."

"I thought it was cute, because you were the only one that made me feel special. What we had wasn't love, it was obsession with one another, falling in love with the idea of love, but we didn't want to admit, until we got into this situation… I'm sorry, Edward- but I don't love you anymore."

"Let's go… I don't have anything more to say to him, Caius… I think I feel better now… Perhaps, I'll start living a little more."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Caius smirk towards the spluttered expression of Edward. I did it. I told him I didn't love him anymore, and it felt like a giant weight off my chest finally dissipated. For once, it felt like I was breathing, no longer feeling like my chest constantly hurt.

I was finally feeling like I was okay.

"I'm proud of you," Caius whispered to me, as we headed up the stairs back to the regular part of the caste. "It takes a lot of courage to stand up to someone like that, after they treated you like garbage- not realizing how special you truly are."

A blush rose to my cheeks as I murmured a thank you to him.

"I think I see some light coming from those lifeless eyes. Hopefully, after today- you'll start healing more," Caius told me.

Updated (August 3rd, 2023): Seriously love this direction and just this scene. It shows that Bella is finally over Edward, after realizing that what he did wasn't love, and could finally start healing.

Story is on Ao3 under Fire is Everywhere!