Hi all! Thank you so much for reading this story and for the wonderful reviews, I love reading them all :) I want to clarify about the setting since some people had some questions and confusion about this. It is fully an alternate universe, and I've decided to combine modern and period aspects, so things like the overall way that Bella is being treated with her place in her family and arranged marriage, the carriages, the executions, etc. are all inspired by medieval/fantasy ideas, whereas everything else, language, clothing, the cell phone, etc. are obviously from modern times. So to categorize it, I would say it's an alternate universe with whatever elements from past/fantasy and modern that serve this story the best. I hope this helps! Now, without further ado, please enjoy the next chapter.

I'm too nervous to sit. I have no idea how the conversation will go and can't help but pace in the room waiting for him.

Finally, after what seems like forever, the door creaks open, and in walks Edward, his hair looking more disheveled than normal, his shoulders slouching. Is this what I've done to him? I feel like I keep hurting him. Maybe I'm the one who's not good for him.

Our eyes meet and we're frozen, staring at each other, neither one of us willing to make the first move that will determine what happens next. What happens to us.

Rosalie's words echo in my head. I have to be willing to speak up. So I do, getting right to the point.

"You told me not to push you away and yet the second things got a little difficult that's exactly what you do. Push me away"

Edward's eyes go wide, his mouth opening and closing a couple of times before he finally speaks, his voice a hoarse whisper. "You flinched."

"I would have flinched with anyone, Edward. That's what happens now after-" I cut myself off, not wanting to relive the memories. "I probably would have had the same reaction to a door slamming. You just…" I swallow, trying desperately not to cry, but it doesn't stop my voice from breaking. "You said I should leave."

He looks somewhat apologetic, although much more heartbroken. "I thought I was protecting you."

"It made me feel disposable." There. I said it. "Temporary. Like me walking out of your life means nothing to you."

Realization dawns on his face. "It means everything to me," he croaks out. "You mean everything to me. I've told you that."

I shake my head, not knowing if I believe him as easily as I did the first time. "Then why was it so easy for you to go there? It doesn't feel…I don't…Every time you dismiss me, change the subject, or don't share things about my kingdom, it doesn't feel like protection. It feels like you don't think I'm worthy enough to be by your side. You said we were equals but honestly, Edward I don't know if I believe that."

"God, Bella." His face scrunches up in a tortured look. He takes two large steps to reach me and drops to his knees, finally allowing himself to touch me. Edward rests his hands on my hips, looking up at me with his eyes so green, I feel like I'm back in the forest where I found him. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm so fucking sorry."

He presses his lips to my stomach, resting his head against it. "I thought the less you knew, the less guilty you'd feel about everything. I know you said you were okay with it, but it's still your family."

I shake my head, sliding down to the ground so I can look at him. "That's not my family. Not anymore. You are."

Edward wraps his arms around me and we're silent, both processing what we've just said. Eventually, Edward pulls back, running his thumb across my cheek. "Were you really going to go back to Alynthia?" I could see some of the anger flaring in his eyes but to his credit, he does his best to hide it.

I glance down, knowing now that it was a selfish thing to do. "If there wasn't anything left for me here, the only thing I had left were my people. I thought I could, I don't know, expose him or something? I probably would have come up with a better plan on the way there."

His nostrils flare, and he buries his face in my hair. "You just about gave me a heart attack."

"You were the one who wanted to send me to god knows where alone," I say, some of the lingering hurt coming through.

Edward pulls back, grabbing my face in his hands. "I was stupid to think for even a second that I could have you anywhere away from me. Watching you walk away felt like having my heart ripped out of my chest. This, my love," he says, grabbing my hand, placing it on his chest over his steady heart. "This beats only for you. It's wholly and completely yours. I would have given myself a week tops before I came after you. You are anything but disposable or temporary, Princess. In fact, you are the only thing that is anything but. You are my equal, from here on out, you'll know everything, good and bad."

He must see that there's still something holding me back. His promises, they were just words. He had proven himself with his actions, but I wasn't sure if I could just give all of myself to him the way I had before, not yet. Because if I did, I wouldn't have anything left for me.

"You don't believe me?" He asks, and I hate that I'm the one hurting him.

"It was so easy to feel like my entire world was falling apart from just one word from you, one fight, and I don't ever want to put myself in a position again where my entire existence hinges on other people. It almost killed me. Rosalie said I have to learn how to be enough for me, and I think she's right. I have to learn how to trust myself. What about the next time-"

"There won't be a next time," Edward practically growls.

"You can't promise that. And I can't either. We're human. We make mistakes. If I'm truly going to be the kind of person you deserve," Edward tries to cut me off but I stop him. "If one day you want me to be your queen, I can't expect other people to put their confidence in me if I don't even have it in myself."

Edward looks thoughtful for a moment. "Do you remember what I told you in the hospital? Let me be there for you, Bella. I know you think what Rosalie said means you have to handle it all yourself, but it's not something that's going to happen overnight. You're the strongest person I know, and if you don't believe that yet, let me believe it enough for the both of us. That's not giving up your power. That's taking control of it, because you get to decide who to lean on. Who to put your trust in. And I will selfishly wait, hoping it will be me you give that honor to. And if you don't believe my words, I'll prove it to you. Every day. We have all the time in the world."

I let his words sink in. He was right. I thought being strong and powerful meant carrying it all yourself, but it really means to be the kind of person who doesn't lose sight of who they are, what they want, even when they decide to let others in to help them. My father didn't break me, if he did, wouldn't I start to think the way he does? The fact that I know he's an evil man already shows me that he didn't take everything from me. I would come out the other side, while he would be forced to deal with the consequences of his actions.

"Just please don't run away again," Edward says, grabbing back my attention. "Even when I'm being irrational and try to convince myself it's for the best, I know the only place you belong is right here," he hugs me to him tighter. "I would never hurt you."

"I know that," I assure him. "But I think you need to know that too. I have a lot of things I need to confront after what my father did and sometimes I can't control the way my body reacts but I am never," I grab onto his shoulders to make sure he hears me. "Never, afraid of you. You are the only place where I feel safe. And I promise I won't run. Next time we have any kind of…argument, promise me you won't push me away and I promise I won't run."

My hesitation with Edward, it had nothing to do with him, and I couldn't, wouldn't, punish him for that.

"I promise I'll do my best, Princess," he says. "I'm not perfect, but you have my full permission to pull my head out of my ass if I try to push you away again."

"Deal," I tell him, and for the first time since he's come home today, I smile. And then a thought pops into my head. "You know what the best part about a fight is?"

Edward's face is buried back into my hair, muffling his voice. "What, Princess?"

I tilt my head so my lips are right next to his ear. "Make-up sex."

His head pops up so fast, it jostles the both of us. "Who told you that?" He narrows his eyes at the door. "Was it Emmet? It was Emmet wasn't it, that motherf-"

I cut him off with a kiss. "I love you."

Edward's face transforms, softening with the adoration I know is only for me. "You are my life."

I give him my best innocent look. "So no make-up sex?"

He growls playfully, pulling me to the floor on top of him before rolling us until he's hovering over me. He nips at my neck.

"That tickles," I giggle.

Edward peppers my face with kisses. "That will have to wait. Emmet gave me a long and thorough talk on the art of groveling. Apparently he's an expert."

"What does that even mean?"

Edward shrugs. "Jewelry, flowers, grand gestures until you're no longer mad at me."

"But I'm not mad at you. I was hurt, but not mad. If anything I thought you'd be mad at me," I admit. "And I don't need any of that. I just need you."

"I know," he says. "But a princess should be spoiled. I have a surprise for you."

Even though I don't need anything from him, I can't turn down a surprise. "You do?"

He nods. "Come on." He helps me up, grabbing a hold of my hand.

"Where are we going?" I ask when he makes a turn into an unfamiliar hallway. It's only when the lights appear dimmer and he turns into stairs heading down that my body freezes. Edward moves forward but my feet refuse to move. It looks so much like those stairs.

He finally turns. "Princess?"

I can take my eyes off the descending stairs, feeling like I'm back at the castle being lured down by my own father. "I don't think I can."

Edward's brows furrow and he looks down at where I'm staring. His eyes meet mine and he steps towards me. "Princess, it's not those stairs. You're not there anymore."

"I know. I know that. I don't know why. It's like my mind knows but my body hasn't caught up. Maybe some other time," I turn around to head back but he stops me.

"Hey, do you trust me?" He asks. When I nod, he leans forward, capturing my lips with his. He hooks his hands under my thighs and lifts me up to wrap them around his waist. I hear a door opening and when I finally pull away and open my eyes we're in a brightly lit room. I glance behind Edward at the stairs which no longer look as scary.

"See," he smiles. "No big deal."

"What about next time?" I ask but he just shrugs.

"I have no problem carrying you down stairs anytime. And Alice said it would take time. It hasn't been that long."

"Are you guys done over there?" Emmet's loud voice echoes in the room and that's when I realize he's here too.

"What's he doing here?" I ask, suspiciously. Usually having Emmet around, especially with that expression on, meant trouble.

"He, my love," Edward says, grabbing my shoulders and turning me around. "Is going to help you learn to fight."

"Fight?" I take a good look around the room. Now that I'm not focused on the stairs, I can see the equipment set up, the punching bag in the corner, the larger mat in the middle, and some other miscellaneous gym equipment along the walls. "Who am I fighting?"

"Hopefully, nobody," Edward says. "But I want you to feel as powerful on the outside as I know you are on the inside."

"It's part of his groveling," Emmet adds.

I ignore his statement and look up at Edward, this amazing man that I've been lucky enough to have pretty much fall in my lap, and try to keep myself from crying. "That's the most thoughtful thing anyone's ever done for me."

"Well the bar is low," Emmet blurts. I pick up the boxing glove on the ground and chuck it at his head. It bounces right off and he barely even flinches. "Hey, that was good aim. We might make a fighter out of you yet!"

I couldn't believe Edward had thought of this for me. Part of why I felt so powerless and fearful of my father and Jacob was because I didn't feel like I was strong enough, or even had a chance at defending myself. But Edward was giving me a solution to that. Even if I wasn't good, or even decent, just knowing I had some kind of training would make me feel so much more confident.

"Come on, little princess," Emmet says, walking to the center of the mat.

"I'm fighting Emmet?"

"No," Edward says immediately. "But you can practice some moves on him."

"Yeah, Eddie boy would go easy on you," Emmet says. "But I won't sacrifice my pride and dignity for you, B."

I guess Emmet had a point. Even thought Edward says he wants me to learn to fight, I'm sure he would tell me I was doing great, even if I wasn't. "Okay," I agree, standing across from Emmet. "What's first?"

"Well, I think it's important for you to learn defense just as much as offense," Edward says, standing next to me. "So let's work on how to escape someone's hold if they were to grab you. Are you okay with that?"

"I think so."

"Great. Emmet's going to grab you, and I want you to try twisting out of his hold like this." He shows me how to bring my arms in to create some space and twist my body to break the hold. "Whatever you have to do, you can't be afraid of hurting the other person."

I nod, feeling my nerves bubble to the surface. "I'm ready."

In the next second, Emmet's large arms are wrapped around my shoulder and he's pulling me back like he's trying to drag me away. I struggle against him, but his arms don't budge.

"Twist Princess," Edward says. "Whatever you have to do."

I try to listen best I can, jerking my body to the right. I feel myself back in my room with Jacob, only this time, I'm not letting him win. I bite down and kick my leg back, hearing a groan and the arms loosening. I feel us both fall to the ground and I slide under his arms, standing and backing away as quickly as I can.

"That's my girl!" I hear Edward cheer. I look down to see Emmet's face contorted in pain, holding his arm and crotch.

"She bit me!" He accuses. "And she can explain to Rosie why we're not having children."

"Sorry, Emmet!" I apologize. I didn't mean to hurt him, but when I got the image of Jacob's face in my head I couldn't help myself.

"It's okay," He chokes out.

"Good start, Bella," Edward praises. "But I think you can do better. We'll teach you actual moves you can use now," he says.

"Okay," I nod, eager to get started now that I know I could potentially do this.

I look to Emmet for confirmation and he holds up a finger, his voice still off. "Sure. Just give me a second!"