Edward POV

Time seemed to pass by slowly when you were locked up in a dungeon, just waiting for the time of your trial. It was odd knowing that even though I wished for death, I wasn't given it. Instead, I was trapped in a dungeon, awaiting trial, proclaiming that I had broken one of the sacred laws because I told a human about the presence of vampires, but also left the human alone, knowing the risk that the human could have told other humans.

It didn't really matter if I knew that the human was Bella and she wasn't going to tell. She knew the secret for over a year now, but the Volturi still saw that the law was broken. It was funny how they only cared about vampires breaking their laws, and didn't care that they didn't care about humans. Humans were underneath them, but were determined to have a fair trial.

I scoffed, knowing that this was pointless. They were probably just doing the trial, not because of the human part, but simply of the gift I possess: the ability to read minds.

The only reason why I left Bella in the forest was because I wanted to protect her, and her humanity. It killed me knowing that I was walking away from the only girl who understood me, but it was for the best. She had to see that vampires were dangerous, and that vampires were monsters that should be in the shadows and in fairytales that you'd read in a fantasy world, not in real life.

Bella's humanity had to be saved. Vampires were monsters, and knowing that Bella would lose her humanity if she became one us, was an unbearable thought. Perhaps that was why I was desperate to save her, when James got his hands on her back in Phoenix. We thought it would be the end of it, and perhaps Victoria and Laurent wouldn't have gotten their hands on her- although, it was more Victoria, who did.

Alice told me that Victoria managed to get her hands on Bella, but she didn't see the outcome whatsoever. I knew then that Bella was dead.

I failed Bella.

I failed to protect her. I thought it would have been better if I saved her humanity, but instead I killed her. It was my fault that she got killed. At least in death, I would have seen her in the afterlife if I wasn't already burning in hell for being the monster that I was, I would have apologized to her a thousand times over just to make up for what I did.

However, fate was simply too cruel for me, and thought it'd be a good idea to bring her back to me.

I don't think I would have believed if she was still alive, if I didn't see her standing right in front of me, with Caius wrapped around her waist. She looked just like she did back in September- pale skin, brown hair and eyes. She looked rather on the skinny side, and not quite as alive. A part of me wondered if this was because of me, but I only left to protect her humanity.

It couldn't be.

What if these monsters had something to do with it? Was it possible that the Volturi somehow had a guard that could give you your worst nightmare? I've never heard of such power, but the Volturi collects gifts as if they were trophies to be collected on a shelf, so it wouldn't surprise me. But the way her blood called for me and her calm heartbeat felt like it wasn't just an image that could be conjured.

She was the real thing.

"Bella," I whispered to her.

If this hell, then this was too cruel. Why would he of all people have an arm around her, a human? The Volturi didn't have any morals.

They were monsters.

But why would she be in the presence of one of the kings?

"Bella, what are you doing with him? You know who he is, Bella, right?" I inquired, suspicion lacing my tone.

Bella took a step back before my fingers were able to touch her face once more. Why? This couldn't be Bella, she would never act like this.

"I know who he is. I wouldn't be here, if it wasn't for him," Bella said in a quiet voice.

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

I realized what I said was very off-putting considering I just angered one of the king's of our world, especially the wrong one. Caius stepped between me and Bella, and I realized that I could probably die right now, but at least death would be more forgiving, I hope.

"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?"

I kept my mouth shut, as that seemed to satisfy Caius, who stepped back to let Bella speak.

"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," I murmured. In a way, I did, but no one really knew when Victoria was going to go after her. "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 cried out, angrily.

"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," I whispered. "I thought death would be a better option."

"You didn't think that through, did you?" Bella remarked, "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."

Bella was rather quiet for a few minutes. Her heartbeat picked up a little bit, and she chewed on her bottom lip a little bit, before she spoke.

"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."

How can Bella think like this? She couldn't be Bella. They must have manipulated her to say that, because we were both obsessed and fell head over heels with each other. We belong together. Why couldn't see the acts I've done were brought out of acts of love?

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

In a way, it was true. She could have kicked me out anytime she wanted, and I would have respected her wishes. Yet, she didn't. She kept her window open, and let me stay in her room for hours into the night.

"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."

It was almost like my undead heart broke. This couldn't be Bella? Why would she say that? We were supposed to be together forever and ever? She was mine, she couldn't be anyone else. Reading Caius' mind meant that I truly lost her.

She was his.

No longer mine.

And soon in the upcoming days, I would be dead, unless by sheer chance- I would keep my life. But what was the point in living, anymore? Bella was alive, Victoria got her, but she wasn't mine anymore.

Update (August 6th, 2023): Well that wrote quickly. I don't feel sorry for Edward.

Story is on Ao3 under FireisEverywhere!