Thank you to Mel!

CHAPTER EIGHT

EDWARD

"If you want to make enemies, try to change something."

— Woodrow Wilson

I'd never been more simultaneously restless and anxious than I was right now. Bella, for her part, seemed to be doing fine with Charlie. She'd held her own without blowing up in front of everyone, which was more than I could say if I had been in her position. As it was, I had a hard enough time not losing it on my own parents.

Things had changed between us since they'd officially declared me as heir. There was a new sense of awareness from them and a new level of expectation as well. They were both trying to mentor me specifically in the nuances of their family's businesses, which was both refreshing and annoying.

I wasn't sure I liked how much direct attention they were giving me now.

I'd spent most of the time we were in session watching Bella. She was so fucking smart, and I knew her natural instinct was to understand the unknown, so it hadn't been surprising to me when I saw her eyes flying around the room. Likely, she was taking in each family, breaking them down in her head. I was dying to know what she thought of this madness.

I tried to go see her before dinner but I was quickly thwarted by being pulled into a glass elevator with my parents.

I'd never lived with them before, so when we all stepped out of the car and approached the Cullen family apartments, I didn't know what to expect. Was my mother staying here too? Did they get along enough to cohabitate in the Cullen quarters?

We all entered the apartments and were greeted by a well-dressed staff who stayed silent but presently alert.

"We have only an hour to get ready for dinner," Father said, glancing at his watch. "Edward, you may not leave these apartments until we go down together."

"Why not?" I asked, my mind already on the task of finding Bella.

"Because," Mother hissed. "This is how the game works." Her eyes narrowed at me. "Right now, your marriage is our one vulnerability. It will cause an upheaval when it is revealed. We need to have a strategy before that happens."

I scowled, annoyed that on some level I understood what she meant despite the fact that I wanted to do the very opposite of what she wanted.

"Bella's DNA is being tested now," I told them.

"Then we will have confirmation of her status by tomorrow morning," Father said, glancing at Mother.

She nodded, her mouth pursed. "It may be wise to meet with Charlie to discuss how we will proceed," she mused.

I opened my mouth to argue but Father spoke over me. "Yes, I agree," he said with a nod. "No one is going to like this marriage. They may very well demand a dissolution."

"But they can't," I argued. "It's been over a year."

Mother and Father both glanced at me but said nothing. I had the sense that they knew something I didn't, or else, they were privy to some depth of depravity the council of Sixteen heads was capable of. What exactly would happen when Bella and I revealed our marriage?

My stomach flipped at the thought.

I didn't care what anyone did or did not approve of; my only objective was to keep Bella safe.

Sucking in a tense breath, I turned away from my parents. I spotted a maid standing across the room looking like she'd rather be anywhere else. "Show me to my room," I ordered. Immediately she jumped into action, leading me to a bedroom that had a fully-stocked closet. The sooner I got changed, the sooner I'd be able to go down to dinner and see Bella.

….

The dining hall seemed to be constructed almost entirely out of glass. Above us, the winter night sky stretched on forever, the Milky Way glowing and gleaming like a giant slash across the stars. Under the dim lights of the hall, two long tables were stretched out beside one another. One table was set for the heads, the second table for the heirs.

I spotted Bella immediately, dressed in a white cocktail dress that accentuated her big dark eyes and the smoothness of her skin. She was standing slightly to the side of a cluster of heirs, and though she wasn't the most extravagantly dressed, I could see she was drawing a lot of attention.

I couldn't see any hesitation or uncertainty on her face, even though I was sure she must be nervous. Hell, I was.

Some asswipe was trying to chat her up, but Bella was staying perfectly aloof, a glass of wine pinched between her fingers and occasionally traveling to her red-painted lips. I wanted to march across the room and taste the wine directly from her mouth, lay claim to my own fucking wife in front of these worthless pissants.

Bella's gaze shifted across the room, as if she could hear my thoughts, and I felt my chest tighten as her eyes landed on me. God, she was fucking stunning. How had I ever thought of her as anything less? Had I really been that blind?

I took half a step toward her, but then Bella turned away from me, her gaze focusing on the guy in front of her, and I let out a resigned breath. Right, we had to play our parts.

I could do this.

I marched to the bar, ordering a vodka tonic, knocking it back in almost a single swig the moment it was placed in front of me. I motioned for a second while I took a breath, trying to steady myself.

Had it always been this difficult to interact with other Sixteen families, or was I on edge because of Bella?

It was hard to say.

I felt someone step beside me, and I glanced over, my shoulders dropping slightly when I saw it was Jasper.

"Hey," he said with a single nod of his head.

"Hey," I grunted, turning my attention back toward the bartender. When was he going to be finished with my drink?

For his part, Jasper seemed undeterred by my mood. I could feel him leaning casually beside me, like he had not a care in the world. I looked over at him, feeling annoyed.

"It's something, isn't it?" he asked, not looking at me, his eyes instead on the room. "Having us all together again like this, I mean," he clarified. "It's really something."

I snorted. "Yeah, something toxic," I mumbled. The bartender finally slid me a glass and I grabbed it, turning from the bar to face the room as Jasper was. He snorted at my words but didn't argue with them.

My gaze landed on Bella again and I felt my pulse jump in my throat. She was surrounded now by asswipes who were so far beneath her, and there was Charlie at her side, grinning and showing her off.

I wanted to punch his teeth out.

"How's she holding up?"

I glanced at Jasper as I took a sip of my drink, then motioned him away from the bar. I didn't want to give the staff any chance to overhear me.

"Honestly," I said, once we were a few paces away. "Better than me."

Jasper smirked and nodded. "She's more levelheaded, I think," he said matter-of-factly. "I mean, look at her. Thrown into the den of vipers, and here she is, charming them all."

My eyes cut across the room to Bella again. The crowd around her were all grinning and I did not like that, not one bit.

I couldn't ever remember getting this jealous over anything or anyone before.

"Did you know?" he asked, his voice low. I glanced at him in confusion. "Who she was. Did you know when you married her?"

I let out a tight breath. Right now, the only people who knew the full significance of my marriage with Bella were our parents and Jasper. As a head of another house, it would be well within his rights to out us before the council and demand that our union be dissolved. I wasn't sure what it meant that he hadn't done that yet.

"No," I said, shaking my head once. "No, I had no fucking idea."

Jasper hummed and I couldn't tell if he believed me or not.

"Her father is a piece of work," I said before I could really stop to think about what I was saying.

Jasper glanced at me and I quickly met his gaze. He looked surprised I was bringing it up, and I brought my glass to my lips to stop any more comments.

"You've spent time with him then?" he asked.

I huffed a laugh, lowering my drink again. "Yeah," I choked. "We got real cozy when he kidnapped us."

Jasper's eyes bugged and I shook my head to tell him now was not the time to talk about it further. I shouldn't have said as much as I did.

Not here, surrounded by enemies.

Before Jasper could ask another question, a bell was being rung to signify dinner was ready to be served. Jasper and I parted ways, him moving to the head table while I made my way to the heirs' table.

Despite the fact that we were all seated together, it was clear that the staff had accounted for the two factions the families had fallen under after the rift. I was seated on the end of one side while Bella was seated on the exact opposite. Beside her were the heirs to Charlie's second and third, while Emmett and Rosalie came to sit next to me. Technically, Jasper should have been between Emmett and me, but now that Jasper had been made head and he didn't yet have an heir, there was a temporary spot to fill.

I hadn't seen Emmett in about a year, not since before Bella and I got married. I'd always liked him in school. He'd been the most easy going of us, though his competitive nature had shown up more than once and led to him pranking and hazing countless students. He was the only comedic break I'd known.

He'd buckled down more since then, and he had become somewhat of a hardass in his attempt to step up and prove himself worthy of being named heir.

He flashed me a grin now, his dimples winking at me as we settled at the table. "Edward, man, it's good to see you," he said, a familiar jovial lilt to his words. Either he was drunk or he genuinely was happy to see me.

"You too," I said, a bit more evenly than he'd managed.

I fought myself from staring longingly at Bella, who was talking to some pompous looking asswipe. Seriously, was every guy in here horny for her?

Fuck, of course they were. Look at her.

I bit off a sigh and reached for my drink, polishing it off.

It was going to be a long fucking night.

…

As I had anticipated, dinner was long. I wanted nothing more than to bolt out of the dining hall with Bella, and I had to lock down my body and fight that instinct all night.

For her part, Bella was gracious and seemed to handle both the attention as well as the scrutiny like a professional.

It was me who was struggling with it all.

By the time dinner was over and we were heading back to our rooms, I just couldn't fucking take it anymore.

Bella was near the exit, probably ready to go back to her rooms, when I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her toward one of the service doors. Bella squeaked in surprise but didn't fight me as I swiftly tugged her out of the room. The door led to an empty service corridor and the moment we were alone, I turned on her.

"Edward, what—"

I cut her off, dropping her wrist and bringing both hands up to cup her face as I leaned in to kiss her. I felt her gasp against my mouth before she was surrendering to the kiss, her tongue slipping out to meet mine. I groaned and guided her back into the wall, needing to feel her body pressed against mine.

"You are fucking incredible." I moaned against her lips. "My god, you are a goddess."

Bella's hands slid down to my waist, and I could feel her nails raking at my clothes, digging harder when she heard my words.

My girl liked to be worshiped.

That suited me just fine because I'd never met anyone more worthy of being exalted than her.

Bella's teeth sank lightly into my lip and I hissed in pleasure, my hips bucking against hers.

"Oh god," she moaned. "Edward, wait, hold on."

I was in a haze so deep and urgent I could hardly hear her. This wasn't like the time we'd been drugged to sleep together. No, this time I was in a purely Bella-induced state.

Bella turned her head and my lips slid to her jaw, then to her earlobe before dropping to her neck. She moaned again, her nails skittering over my back. "Oh god," she cried out. "Edward, please, we have to stop."

I sucked in a deep breath as I finally managed to wrench my mouth from her skin. "Why?" My voice was a harsh rasp. I was so fucking gone.

"We can't be seen together," Bella said softly, her voice shaking slightly. "Imagine the uproar it will cause."

"Fuck all of them," I said petulantly. "I only care about you."

It was the truth, the rawest fucking truth I'd ever uttered, and I could see it in Bella's eyes that she understood.

Her fingers came up to my cheeks, her touch so gentle that it felt almost nonexistent. "I know," she whispered. "But this isn't a place for feelings, Edward. This is a place of survival. We have to be smarter than this."

I hated this. I hated my fucking life. If we were normal people, Bella and I wouldn't have this fucking wall between us, stopping us from being like any other married couple.

I tried to picture us living in some crappy apartment, doing boring normal people shit like … fuck, what did normal people do? Knit?

Bella's fingers stroked my cheek, her touch more concrete this time, and my eyes focused on hers.

"It scares me to be here," I admitted.

"I know," she murmured.

"Not for me," I told her. "I'm scared to let you out of my sight."

Bella was quiet for a moment, considering my words. "I'm being safe," she said finally. "I'm using caution."

I let out a breath and dropped my forehead to hers. "None of those pissants are worthy of you," I said quietly. "You know that, right?"

Bella smiled, her head tilting back against the wall so she could really look at me. "I don't know," she said softly. "One of them might be." She stroked my cheek again and I let out a hollow laugh. How had she known I'd included myself in the category of unworthy? We all were compared to Bella.

This time, she leaned toward me, lifting herself onto her toes as her lips caught mine. We hadn't kissed much, not in the grand scale of our marriage, but somehow the few kisses with Bella that we'd shared were more potent, more everything, than any interaction I'd ever had with a woman before.

Considering how many women I'd slept with over the years, that was really saying something.

"I should go," Bella said, breaking off the kiss. "Charlie will wonder where I've gone."

I didn't want to let her go. I wanted to take her back to my room and hide her there. But I was being impractical. I knew that. Bella had a role to play, just like I did.

"Please be careful," I begged. "I still don't trust Charlie."

Bella nodded, her hand landing somewhere over my heart. "I know," she agreed. "I don't trust him either."

It was a relief to hear that, even though it was small.

"If something happens," I said quietly. "If things go south, I want you to run, okay? Don't turn back for anyone, just run."

"Only if you promise to do the same," she said quietly.

I nodded. "We'll get out of this together, okay? We'll get off this miserable island, find Alice, and she'll be able to tell us what she extracted from the thumb drive. We're going to be okay."

I wondered if I said it often enough if I could make it come true, like some crazy manifestation.

Bella leaned up and kissed me one last time before she slipped out of my arms. She was gone through the service door before I could speak.

I let out a weary sigh. We had to make it out of this together.

…

I slept for shit that night, and by the morning, I was in a murderous mood.

My parents rightfully ignored me, and by the time we were back in the conference hall and settling into our box, I felt like I would crawl right out of my skin.

Immediately my eyes landed on Bella, who looked fucking stunning this morning dressed in cream slacks and a matching blouse. Charlie was clearly dressing her, since he had a penchant for white and my wife hardly ever chose the color for herself.

The color made her look tan and healthy, vibrant amongst the winter landscape outside.

Below us, the moderator, Harry, rang his stupid gong, calling attention to the room.

"Good morning," he announced. "We have a lot to get through today, so we must get started. But before we can begin, there are some announcements." He stopped and looked down at the slip of paper he had clutched in one hand.

"Per this council's requirements, Miss Bella Swan has been tested and verified as a genetic descendant of Charlie Bourgault," he read aloud. "Thus, Miss Swan's status as an uncontested heir is official and she will henceforth have a voice in these chambers."

I glanced over at Bella to see how she was taking this news. She seemed unsurprised, but then Charlie was saying something to her, pulling her attention immediately away from Harry.

"Unfortunately, there is one more update that needs to be delivered, and this, I'm afraid, is not so simple."

All eyes were on Harry as the words left his mouth, and I felt a slick feeling in the bottom of my stomach. What was coming?

Harry looked down before he let out a long breath. "It has been discovered that Miss Swan is not only the heir of Charlie Bourgault, but she is also the wife of fellow heir, Edward Cullen-Platt."

The room went still for a single heartbeat before exploding into chatter. Angry voices rose above the din as people surged to their feet.

No, this couldn't be happening, not like this!

Harry lifted his arms into the air, but not even the ringing sound of his gong being struck was enough to pull order back to the room. I could hear criess for an annulment of our marriage, and someone to my left was demanding one of us be killed.

This was going to turn into a bloodbath. We couldn't stay.

I looked across the room at Bella whose eyes were huge and round. She met my gaze and I mouthed a single word to her: run!

Bella bolted, turning to rush out the door behind her while I did the same. I could hear the families arguing, could hear calls for our annulment, but I didn't fucking care. Let my parents get stuck with all the questions. My priority was Bella.

I could hear people shouting my name and I knew that if they caught me, I'd be forced to stay here, likely until either my marriage with Bella was dissolved or one of us was dead.

My parents' marriage had been a point of contention for the Sixteen, but there had only been two families involved in that union.

Between Bella and myself, there were three familie dynasties on the table. Together, we could control a fifth of the land and assets the world had to offer. That had to be terrifying for everyone else.

I pushed harder, wishing I'd had time recently to add running back into my workout regiment. My expensive shoes slipped over the polished floors as I skittered out of the round corridor and into a stairwell that led down toward the garage.

God, I hoped Bella had gone that direction.

I flew down the stairs, holding onto the railing as I jumped over five or six steps at a time. Above me, I could hear others enter the stairwell and I swore, pushing harder.

I hit the bottom floor and sprinted to the exit, my eyes scanning the garage to look for something to block the door. There was nothing and I groaned in frustration as I took off, looking for Bella.

"Bella!" I shouted, my heart hammering. "Baby, where are you?"

I sensed her only half a second before she was colliding into my side. I wrapped my arms around her automatically and brought her against my chest, my breath heaving. "Bella, my god are you okay?"

"Fine," she gasped. "We have to get out of here."

I nodded and dragged her to the nearest car. It was a military grade truck, sleek in design though I knew it was built like a tank. The door was predictably open, the keys sitting on the dashboard.

"Get in," I said, hoisting her up into the cab.

"Who just leaves keys in open cars?" Bella demanded as she climbed through.

I jumped in after her and slammed my door shut before glancing at her. "Who would be stupid enough to steal from the Sixteen?" I countered.

She nodded in understanding as I revved the engine. "How are we going to get off this island?" she asked as I started booking it out of the garage.

"I don't know," I told her.

"Where can we go?"

I shook my head. I had no answers. I just needed her to be safe. Once she was safe, I could think again.

"Check the glove box," I told her. "There should be a satellite phone in there."

Bella frowned but leaned forward, popping the box open. "How did you know?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Most Sixteen cars have them. Dial this number for me," I said before rattling off a series of digits. Bella did and put the phone on speaker.

The phone rang once before the call was picked up.

"Edward?"

Bella looked at me in surprise when she heard Jasper's voice. "Jasper," I said, pressing on the gas. "If you were serious about that alliance, now would be a hell of a time to help us out."

Jasper hummed, and for a moment, I wondered if I'd pushed him too far. It was one thing for him to make a deal with Bella and me when we only had my power, but throw in the Bourgault empire and things changed. It was a hell of a power imbalance against Jasper if he wanted to stay in partnership with us.

"I figured you might be needing some help," he said after a moment. "Head north. Past the farthest point onto the shore. She's waiting for you there."

I let out a strangled breath. "Thanks, man. We owe you one."

Jasper hummed. "I'm sure I'll collect somehow. Lay low. I'll see what I can gather."

Before I could say anything else, he hung up and I turned to Bella. She was staring at the phone in her hands, perplexed.

"Who could we possibly be meeting?" she asked, looking up at me.

I honestly had no idea, but whoever she was, I trusted Jasper enough to know that she would help, one way or another.

…

"You have to be fucking kidding me," Bella said, making me glance over at her. Sitting on the shore before us was the smallest rowboat I'd ever seen.

"Come on," I said, shutting the engine off. I climbed out of the car and immediately swore. It was fucking freezing.

I went to the back of the truck looking for parkas of some kind. There were a few down coats tucked under the seats and I pulled them both out. It would be too big on Bella, but that didn't matter. It would keep her warm.

I moved to her side of the car and opened the door, holding out the coat to her. She was immediately shivering as she worked her heels back onto her feet.

"You took off your shoes?" I asked.

"I'm not an action hero," she said, jumping out of the truck and sliding the coat on. "I can't run for my life in stilettos."

I snorted and helped her zip up. She looked sort of ridiculous, and I prayed that whatever Jasper had in store for us, we could find Bella some better footwear once we were there.

"C'mon," I told her. "We have to keep moving."

We made our way across the rocky beach to the rowboat and Bella looked down at it skeptically. "Edward," she started, but I motioned for her to step inside.

"We don't have enough time to second-guess this," I told her. "C'mon."

She climbed in, looking wary as I pushed her out into the water. My shoes were getting wet, the water frigid and probably on the verge of freezing over for the winter. I quickly jumped into the boat and rowed us away from the island.

"What are we doing?" Bella asked, sounding as uncertain and frightened as I felt.

"I don't know," I admitted. "But there are easier ways to kill us, so Jasper probably isn't setting us up."

Bella bit her lip uncertainly.

I rowed on for a few more minutes until eventually the island grew small and distant, vague in its shape and landscape. I was about to suggest that we turn around after all and chance the angry mob versus dying out in the bitter cold, when ahead of us the water began to bubble.

"Bella," I gasped, and she whipped around. Before our very eyes, a dark steel vessel emerged from the icy waters. Within a few minutes, a hatch at the very top was opening and a woman with bright red hair popped her head out and blinked against the low light of the day.

"You must be Edward and Bella," she called, waving us over. "Come on now, we don't have long. We gotta dive again and scoot out of here before there's trouble."

I gripped the oars as Bella turned back to me, looking stunned.

I just shook my head.

I rowed us as close as I could to the open hatch and the redhead climbed out, one hand extended to help us pull in closer. "You might have a time of it climbing down in those shoes," she said, looking disapprovingly at Bella's feet. "But don't worry, we have extra boots down below."

Bella shot me a look to which I responded with an encouraging nod. She let the woman take her by the hand and lead her from the rowboat toward the hatch of the sub.

The moment Bella climbed in, I clamored out of the rowboat to follow her.

"Edward Cullen-Platt," I stated.

"Captain Maggie Stevens," she said with a bright smile. "Come on now, we're on a schedule around here."

I nodded and let her hustle me through the hatch.

My feet hit some sort of grate in the floor and I stepped away from the ladder, immediately seeking out Bella. Her fingers wove through mine and she gave me a reassuring squeeze as Captain Stevens climbed down behind us and sealed the hatch. When she was done, she turned and grinned at us. "Welcome aboard the Nautilus."