the start

Chapter 1


Bella was a quite girl, she was content spending her nights reading books by Tolstoy, Edith Wharton and Jane Austen. She loved learning and was happy when NYU had sent her an acceptance letter. She had to put it off for a year because of finances, so she had attended a local community college. Now she had finally had enough money to go to her dream school. She would study literature and spend her days walking around New York City, going to Central Park and going to watch Broadway plays on the weekends. She was even prepared to go to the Ballet and watch the Swan Lake, she wanted to take in everything.

However there was a glitch in her plans, her father couldn't pay for her living expenses. She couldn't stay in the dorms nor could she get her own apartment. Charlie Swan, was distraught that he couldn't help his daughter. He wanted to be able to at least find her a place to stay. He then contacted his old friend Esme Cullen and told her about Bella's situation. Esme had always been a kind and generous woman and she had come up with a plan that would help Bella.

"Bells, I need to speak to you about something."Charlie said.

Bella was standing by the stove, cooking beef stew. She turned the heat down and turned around to face her father.

"What is it?"

He felt very awkward, he was afraid that she would not like the plan that he and Esme had come up with.

"I think I might have ehh found you a place to stay in the city."

She looked up at him with hope in her brown eyes. She had been praying for a miracle.

"I was speaking to Esme last night and I told her about what was going on. You know her son, Edward he lives in Manhattan. He has a pretty big place and well.. They offered you a place to stay. Now I'm not too happy about you staying with him, but you can stay there till you get on your feet. He travels a lot so he will hardly be there. I — think you should take them up on this offer."

Bella felt like she was about to faint. She knew all about Edward Cullen, he was the editor of GQ magazine. All the teachers at Forks High School, always encouraged their students to try their best because people like Edward Cullen graduated from there and they did important things. Now she was suppose to live with him, fate seemed to have a very dark sense of humor.

"Dad.. I don't know what to say. I don't even know him. That's going to be so.. awkward." She said.

She started playing with her hands and bit down hard on her already tender, ruby red lips. It was one of her bad habits, one she would never give up.

"We don't have a choice Bells, it's either that or community college again."

Both father and daughter shared looks of defeat. Bella knew she would have to live with him, besides she was going to New York City, she would be out all day and just go back to Edward's place to sleep and anyways he would always be traveling, just like her father said.

One Week Later

"I said either you get that interview with Leonardo Di Caprio, or you're fired."

"Sir, I tried my best but he's still mad at you for stealing that model away from him." Jeffery said.

Edward laughed dryly and banged his fist angrily against his glass desk. He had finally become the Editor of GQ magazine, something he worked very hard for, without the help of his father. For years he had lived off his trust fund, traveling around Europe. Going on expeditions into the Amazon rain forest in South America and scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. He had seen it all and done it all. Finally he decided to head back to New York City and put his journalism degree to good use. Who better than the ultimate bachelor to run a magazine made for successful men. He would call Leo later and explain to him that the model incident was just a mistake, the funny thing was he didn't even remember her name, all he knew was that she was a Victoria's Secret Model. He calls the Leonardo Di Caprio, Leo and he sleeps with Victoria's Secret models? Aren't we famous…

"Leave that to me, I'll sort it out. I always do."

"Of course you do sir."

Jeffery had been working for Edward for three years now, he knew he was a rude man from time to time and he tried his best to agree with whatever Edward said. He had seen many people fired for disagreeing with him, or even something stupid like staring at him for too long. Edward was a ferocious beast at best and it was better to stay away from him. It was 10 pm and once again Edward was making Jeffery burn the midnight oil with him. Edward began to type with his long piano player like fingers, and he seemed to have calmed down.

"Excuse me sir, but could you please let me leave early tonight. It's my little girl's ballet recital tonight and I promised my wife and her that I would be there."

Edward immediately stopped typing and glared at Jeffery from his stormy emerald eyes.

"Yes of course. You can leave now."

Jeffery was stunned by his boss' random act of kindness, he quickly thanked him and made his way out of the fancy office. Edward swung his chair around, so that he could face the New York sky line. He had it all, everything money could buy, but he didn't have a family. He stared out into the distance, the lights from the buildings twinkled almost as if they were stars. His heard his I-phone started to ring, the familiar sounds of an epic war score echoed through out the room. He took it out of his pocket and saw a unfamiliar number. He pressed accept and held the phone to his ear.

"Hello? Is this Edward Cullen?" A soft, angelic voiced asked.

"Who is this?" He asked rudely.

"It's Bella Swan, I'm the girl that's coming to live with you." She said, sounding very scared.

Edward had completely forgot about the girl that was going to stay with him. He was angry at his mother for promising her friend something without consulting him first. He couldn't say no to his mother, even if he tried. He knew he felt bad for the girl. She wanted to have an education, not having a place to stay shouldn't stop her from that. He was a cold man, but he had a heart, well whatever was left of it now.

"Hmm. What do you want?"

"I lost your address on my way over here, I came with a bus and then they left me in Pennsylvania and I took a train into the city. I'm at Grand Central Station. " The girl said sounding very anxious.

"Calm down Isabella. I will come get you. I'm not too far away. I will text you when I get there."

He hung up before she could answer and walked out of the office, grabbing his black Burberry coat that he had got in London. There was something about her voice that was angelic and smooth, it reminded him of someone he use to know. He walked out of the GQ offices and towards a black, stretch limo that was waiting for him. The driver opened the door for him and he got inside. He picked up his I-phone and went through his emails.

"Should I take you home Mr Cullen?" Alfred the driver asked.

"Grand Central Station first and then back home." He replied curtly.

Edward kept a sense of professionalism with the "help" it was what his father taught him. The chauffeurs and maids were there to serve, you didn't need to become their friends. It was the Masen way. To piss his father off he had changed his last name to Cullen, which was his step father's last name. Edward was cold to everyone and he sometimes wondered why everyone hated him..

He looked out the window at the bright lights and the people walking by on the sidewalks, the commoners as his father would call them. Several minutes later they arrived at Grand Central Station.

"Alfred, write Ms Swan on a piece of paper, use it as a sign and go inside. Then bring her back out here." He ordered.

Alfred looked at Edward from the rear view mirror, and shook his head.

"Yes sir. I will be back soon with Ms Swan."

Alfred got a piece of paper out and wrote Ms Swan with a black sharpie. He held the piece of paper in his old, white, wrinkled hands and got out of the limo.

Bella was staring to worry, maybe Edward was just going to abandon her and she would have to become a homeless person and live on the street. She was sitting down on a bench, eating a Hershey's candy bar that she had gotten from the vending machine. She noticed a chauffeur walk in front of her and he was holding up a sign. Her blackberry beeped, she quickly looked at it and saw a text from Edward.

I have sent my chauffeur Alfred to get you. He is an elderly man, dressed in his full uniform.

He should be holding a sign with your name on it.

-E

She quickly replied and hit send.

Thank you. See you soon.

-B

She tapped the chauffeur on the shoulder. Alfred turned around to look at her.

"Excuse me, are you Alfred?"

"Yes I am. You must be Ms Swan." He said.

Bella nodded her head enthusiastically, she was glad that she was finally leaving the station.

"Yes I am! Thank you so much for coming to get me."

Alfred looked at her with a stunned expression, he was not use to kindness from the people he worked for and this young girl had shown him more kindness than Edward or Mr Masen had ever showed him in the 20 years he had been working for them.

"Err you are welcome Ms Swan. Let me get your luggage."

"Oh no, please don't worry about it! I got it. It's just one bag." She said kindly.

She picked up her black bag and wheeled it over to Alfred.

"See, it has wheels. I can take it to the car."

"Ms Swan, I should really —-" Alfred began to say.

"No need, I insist I want to take it." Bella said, interrupting him.

He smiled at her and motioned for her to follow him outside. Bella wheeled her crummy looking black bag, out of Grand Central Station. As soon as she walked outside she was blown away. The buildings were so high and people were walking everywhere. The cool fall air floated around her and moved through her hair. She pulled up the zip in her white hoodie to stay warm. Alfred walked towards a stretch limo.

"He has a limo?" She asked, sounding shocked.

"Yes he does. Let me take your bag and put it into the trunk. Unless you would like to do that?'

"I don't mind. Open it up please."

Alfred and Bella walked to the trunk. He opened it up and Bella put her bag inside.

"What are you doing?" An angry musical voice asked.

Bella turned around to face the angry voice. Edward looked much better in person, his emerald eyes were blazing with anger and his pale skin almost glistened under the moonlight. She bit on her bottom lip, suddenly she felt afraid of him.

"I was just putting my bag in the trunk." She said.

"Excuse me Isabella, but that is why we have Alfred. It's his job to do that. I don't pay him for nothing. Now get in the car." He said rudely.

Bella felt like crying, first she had went through that awful cross country bus ride, she almost missed her train to New York, she had lost his address and now Edward was so rude to her. She nodded her head and looked down at her worn out black converse sneakers. She felt so out of place next to Edward, he was wearing expensive black, shiny shoes and a designer coat, she felt childish and poor. Alfred quickly came over to open the door for them and kept apologizing to Edward. She hated how he treated poor Alfred. She slid into the limo. She had never been in one before and it looked exactly like the ones she saw in movies. Black leather seats, a place for champagne and a divider between the driver and the passengers. It was beautiful.

The limo began to pull away from Grand Central Station. Bella avoided Edward's gaze and looked out of the window, taking in all the sky scrapers and the hustle and bustle of the city. Everything felt so alive.

"How old are you?" Edward asked.

She turned away from the window and looked into his beautiful, emerald eyes.

"I'm 19 and you?."

"So young. I'm 29." He said.

He had a smirk on his face, it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

"You're 10 years older than me. I just wanted to thank you for letting me stay with you. I know it's probably the last thing you would have wanted, but I really am thankful."

"Do you think I'm old? You're welcome. I couldn't say no to my mother…"

Bella looked at him curiously. He was asking a trick question.

"No I don't think you're old."

"Now that's the correct answer."

The rest of the limo ride was uneventful and filled with an uncomfortable silence. The limo pulled up next to a brown, ivy covered town house, that had more than 4 floors. It was a pre war house, which had a very old Victorian feel to it. Edward wasn't expecting the girl to be beautiful, but Isabella lived up to her name. She was a very beautiful girl, her red, tender looking lips looked kissable. Not that he would want to kiss her.. she was only 19 a child and besides, he wasn't that cruel because if he ever took her to be his, he would destroy her. Alfred opened the door and Edward stepped out waiting for Isabella to join him. He walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell. A petite woman opened the door. She was wearing a maid's outfit. She seemed to be in her late 30s.

"Hello Mr Cullen and Ms Swan? " She asked questioningly in an Eastern European accent.

"Yes, it's Ms Swan, but please call me Bella." She said kindly.

Edward looked at her, she was kind to the help - how odd.

"You will not call her Bella, Adrianna. You will call her Ms Swan." He said angrily.

Bella looked up at him with a shocked expression on her little face.

"Edward, I said it was fine. I prefer to be called Bella over Ms Swan."

Adrianna looked afraid. Edward glared at Bella and tried his best not to lash out at her.

"Are you challenging my authority? I suggest you knock it off. " He said.

She shook her head and looked down at her shoes. He heard her sniffling, but refused to think that he could make her cry that easily.

"No." She said softly.

"I think we should go over a few rules." He said as he walked into the house.

Bella walked inside, she looked around. There were paintings from the Victorian era hung up around the entrance. To the right of her was a huge grandfather clock. The floors were made out of solid wood. However, it saddened Bella when she realized that house had a completely life less and cold atmosphere.

"Adrianna, take Bella's bag to her room. Bella follow me." Edward instructed.

Bella glared at him, he was controlling and dominating. It was starting to get to her. She did as she was told and followed him into a study. There was a bookcase to the side of the door and a mahogany desk in the center. There were papers stacked up into a neat pile on the table and there was a gold pen laying on top of it. Edward walked behind the desk and took a seat. She walked over to the stiff looking, black chair. It looked like one of those chairs they use to have at Forks High School. She sat down on the plastic chair and looked at a picture on Edward's desk, it was a huge family picture, so she could hardly make anyone out.

"I have written out a contract for you. I have listed the number of rules I would like you to follow while you stay here. Please sign it, if you don't abide by my rules, I'll kick you out." He said sounding very serious.

She wanted to throw the stupid rules in his face and run away, but she couldn't because she was stuck here with him.

He handed her a piece of paper, she took it from him and read it.

Rules for Isabella Swan

1: Curfew is at 12 pm on weekends and 10pm on weekdays.

2: No boys are allowed over.

3: You must get permission first before inviting any friends over.

4: No loud music.

5: You are not allowed to go to the study on the 4th floor. You are FORBIDDEN from entering that room.

If I ever catch you anywhere near the 4th floor I will throw you out onto the street.

Ms Isabella Swan Mr Edward Cullen

Signature Signature

Bella was completely shocked, these rules were so unnecessary. Not even her parents would ever make her abide by these rules. He even gave her a curfew! She was very curious about the 4th floor, she wondered what was so special about that particular study. He should have known girls love crossing the boundaries when it comes to anything forbidden. He gave her the gold pen and she signed the paper. She gave it back to him and he signed it. Then he put it into a folder and put it inside his desk.

"I hope we can sort of our living arrangement. You stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours." He said.

"Ms Bella, I can show you your room now." Adrianna said from the door way.

Bella nodded at Edward, she couldn't speak because if she did she was sure she would burst into tears. She got up from the chair and walked towards Adrianna.

"Goodnight Ms Swan." He said.

"Goodnight." She said very, very softly.

She followed Adrianna up 2 flights of stairs, she could feel the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. The stairs made creepy, creaking sounds as they walked onto it. Adrianna opened the door to a room and Bella walked inside. It was a beautiful room, the walls were painted lavender. There was a desk near the window and a queen sized bed in the center of the room. There was a flat screen TV hanging on the wall in front of the bed and there was a purple rug on the floor. The room had a huge east facing window. That had white decorative moldings all around it, in shapes of flowers. Beats sharing a small dorm room with a creepy room mate.

"Ms Bella. I am so very sorry for Edward's behavior. He may seem very rude, but inside he is just hurting." Adrianna said.

Bella was confused, Edward had treated Adrianna so badly, yet she was defending him.

"I don't understand, why is he hurting?"

"I can't not say why Ms Bella, but he has been through too much. You are kind girl, maybe he needs kind girl to help him. Give him a chance, please? That's all I ask for." She said.

"I will see what I can do. " She said softly.

"Thank you. I be going now! Speak soon to you Ms Bella." She said in broken English.

She walked out of the room, leaving Bella by herself. She sat down on the bed and the tears started pouring down her pale cheeks. She kicked off her sneakers and laid down on her stomach. She couldn't stop crying. She missed her warm house, she missed her father and she was so sad that Edward treated her so poorly. She was stuck here. She was always paying for other people's mistakes, first she had to pay for her father's financial problems and now she was probably paying for some girl who broke Edward's heart and subsequently turned him into a monster. He had everything, she found it very hard to believe that he could be hurting about anything else. She sobbed into the lavender pillow and prayed for a better tomorrow.

Edward had finished some work on his laptop in his study, he walked past Bella's room. The door was creaked open a little bit and he could hear heart wrenching sobs. He walked over to the door quietly and looked into the room. She was emotional.. or maybe he had been too hard on her. He knocked on her door.

"Can I come in?" He asked.

"Just a minute!" She said.

He watched as she raced around the room looking for something to wipe away her tears. He decided to just walk in.

"No need to hide, I heard you sobbing."

She looked at him with a sad expression on her face and her big, brown eyes were watery. The sight of her in pain and in tears, pulled at his heart. Nobody not even a beast, could not feel something for her.

"You did? I'm sorry. I'm just overwhelmed."

"There's no need to apologize. I'm sorry for being rude. You must be hungry. Do you want to get some Chinese with me?" He asked.

She smiled a little and nodded her head.

"It's okay. Yes I'm starving, I love Chinese food."

"Me too. You know New York has the best Chinese food in the whole world, well except for China." He said, attempting to make a joke.

Bella giggled, it sounded like heaven to him.

"That's true. So, what are you going to order?"

"Orange chicken and fried rice. Do you like that?"

"It's my favorite."

He looked at her curiously and smirked because it was his favorite too. He pulled out his I-phone and ordered the Chinese food for delivery. He ended the call and sat down on her bed sort of awkwardly.

"What are you going to study at NYU?" He asked.

"Literature. I love writing and reading."

He smiled, he studied literature and journalism at Yale.

"That's a very interesting subject. I studied that and journalism at Yale."

"I know you did, I read that in your first publication of GQ, under the notes from the Editor section." She said.

"So, you've been stalking me?" He asked jokingly.

"Um no! I just happened to come across it and now here I am talking to you. Fate had a weird sense of humor huh?"

"I'd say so."

They both sat there awkwardly and looked at each other. There was something different here and they both could feel it. It was that unknown feeling, something you feel when something great or horrible is going to happen. Adrianna walked into the room with a paper bag of Chinese food in her hand and two glasses full of coke. She placed it onto the dresser table and then quickly left. Edward reached over and gave her some food. He handed her a fork. She opened the box up and began to eat the food. He was right, it really was the best Chinese food she had ever had. She began to eat very quickly and savored every morsel of the Orange Chicken. He chuckled a little, he hadn't found anything to be humorous in the longest time, in fact he hadn't remembered the last time he laughed.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"You have Orange Chicken sauce all over your face." He said.

He reached inside the paper bag, grabbed a napkin and began to wipe the sauce off her ruby, red lips. His fingers gently grazed across her lower lip by mistake. He felt a spark of electricity at the skin on skin contact and quickly recoiled his hand away as if he had been electrocuted.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Isabella I need to go finish some work of mine. I'll see you in the morning okay? Have a goodnight." He lied.

She nodded her head and waved goodbye to him.

"Goodnight Edward! Thanks for the food." She said kindly.

He smiled a little, took the food with him and walked up 2 floors to the 4th floor. He walked into his private study. It always made him feel somber when he went in there, nobody was ever allowed up there. He walked over to the big oak desk, left the food on the desk and sat behind it. There was a picture of a beautiful, blond in a black picture frame on his desk. He looked longingly at the picture.

"I wish you could tell me what to do right now. I miss you Tanya, I really do. Bella is kind, she's like an angel, maybe you sent her to me? What am I doing? You can't talk back to me." He spoke loudly to the picture.

He grabbed the picture frame and hurled it across the room, it broke into pieces. Next to about 10 other broken picture frames. He walked over to it and picked the picture up and he shouted out in anguish. He was a broken man, a beast with no love and nobody to hold. For who could ever learn to love a beast?


Chapter 2

The last few days had been a blur for Bella, she did some sightseeing and she hardly saw Edward, she somehow felt disappointed that she hadn't seen him. The last time they talked, he had seemed kind and charming. She was starting to become very curious about him. Today was the first day of classes at NYU, she was feeling nervous to some extent. She had tried straightening her hair today with her flat iron and put on some make up. She was wearing blood red lipstick, it suited her. She walked down to the kitchen and started looking through the fridge for something to eat before she made her way to class.

"So, your classes start today?" A beautiful, manly voice said from behind her.

She spun around and was surprised to see him standing there. He was wearing a long black coat and his green eyes seemed to be a bit friendly today, but only a little bit. He was still intimidating standing at over 6 feet tall, she felt very tiny compared to him, the power trip just wasn't fair. He stood there staring at her as if she was an alien who had just decided to make itself comfortable in his kitchen.

"Yes I do. I'm a bit nervous."

She bit her lower lip, she didn't want to admit that to him. She was sure he already thought she was an idiot. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out 2 iced starbucks coffees and handed one to her.

"The caffeine will keep you awake. You look like you haven't had a goodnight's rest in days." He said.

She took it from him and she instantly felt the skin under her eyes with her free hand. She didn't think she had bags under her eyes, but clearly he noticed that.

"I can't sleep sometimes, especially when I'm stressed."

"I'm the same. Have a good day. Alfred can take you to class."

He was about to turn around and leave.

"Edward, wait. Where have you been for these past few days? I haven't seen you around."

He smirked a little and looked at her with a bemused expression on his handsome face.

"I was at my estate in Albany, I had to solve a few.. problems." He said.

"And is everything okay now?"

"Why do you care?"

He didn't mean to sound so rude, he was so use to speaking to people that way, it didn't occur to him that it probably wasn't the best way to speak to an impressionable 19 year old. So, for the first time in 10 years, Edward Cullen was about to apologize for his rudeness. Talk about being a hard ass.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so rude. It's just surprising to me that you would care."

She looked down at her sneakers, and then looked at him with a surprised expression. She wasn't expecting him to apologize.

"It's okay, I guess I care about people a lot and I just wanted to know if everything was okay."

"Yeah it's okay now. I'll talk to you later." He said.

He smiled at her and then walked away. She watched him walk away and wondered how on earth she had ended up living with him, life was strange.. too strange at times. She picked up her brown, bag and swung it over her shoulder. Today was going to be a very long day.

Bella was sitting in her literature class, she had arrived early and was waiting for class to start. A girl with black hair and glasses walked up to Bella. She had a small face and she seemed kind. Bella smiled . as the girl sat down next to her.

"Hey I'm Angela!" She said, sounding sweet.

"I'm Bella."

"Professor Avery, is really sexy." She said.

Bella giggled, Professor Avery was teaching the class they were in.

"I've never seen him before." She said.

"You must be new, well all the girls have a crush on him! And rumor has it he doesn't mind hooking up with students." She said softly.

Bella laughed, she definetly wasn't the type of girl who would randomly hook up with any guy.

"Do you have a crush on him?" Bella teased.

Angela's cheeks turned a pinkish color and she giggled like a school girl.

"Yes! But don't tell anyone." She said.

"Your secret is safe with me."

Bella wondered if Angela was wise to want to be with an older man, the whole power trip, always annoyed Bella. She thought about this morning and how she had felt so small compared to Edward, she felt powerless as if he could consume her whenever he wanted. Just then, a handsome looking, tanned young man walked through the doors and towards Bella and Angela. He smiled widely at Angela and then took a seat next to her.

"Jake! This is Bella, Bella this is Jake." She said.

He smiled warmly at Bella, his whole demeanor was bright and shiny, so different compared to someone else Bella knew.

"Hey Bella, are you new here?" He asked.

"Yes I am new here."

"Where are you from?" He asked.

"Forks, Washington and you?"

"No way, Bella Swan? Your dad told my dad that you were moving here and that I should keep an eye on you. It's Jacob Black by the way."

Bella's eyes opened up wide, Jacob looked so different now from when they were use to spend time together before she moved, but when Bella moved back to Forks from Phoenix they never re connected. He had changed so much, she barely recognized him.

"Jake! You look so different. I didn't even recognize you. I'm sure you won't need to keep an eye on me, I'm so boring. I doubt I'd do anything wild."

Jake and Angela swapped seats, so that he could talk to Bella. He was surprised to see how beautiful she had turned out.

"It's only been, what? 8 years. You look great. Ah, you're not living, if you're not doing anything dangerous. Maybe I can help with that."

Bella smiled, it was nice to see someone familiar. Maybe this year would be fun for her, she would do adventurous things in New York.

"It's been forever. Oh I will be looking forward to that." She said, sounding a bit flirty.

She bit her lip and blushed slightly, had she really tried sounding flirty?It's always the shy ones..

Professor Avery walked into the lecture hall. All heads turned to look him. He was about 6 feet tall, he had brown hair and handsome features. Bella understood why Angela had a crush on him, but he seemed almost dangerous and it scared Bella. Edward intimidated her but Professor Avery made her skin crawl. He was an amazingly beautiful man, but he looked sinister. "Snap out of it Bella, he's your professor, he isn't that scary."Bella thought, mentally scolding herself.

Professor Avery's hazel eyes landed on Bella, it was as if he could smell fear. He smirked in her direction and walked over to the front of his desk. He placed his brief case on top of it and stared at everyone. He winked at Angela and then cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.

"Today we will discuss Tolstoy's classic Anna Karenina."

Bella tried paying attention to his lecture and took out her notebook, ready to take down notes.

Edward had been stuck in meetings all day long, and had a fight with one of his employees, it was fair enough to say he was in a very bad mood. It was 8 pm and he had just arrived back home. He was cold, grumpy and pissed off. Isn't he always? He swung the door open and threw his coat at Adrianna. She knew it was best to make herself scarce and disappear immediately. He walked straight to the kitchen and located his liquor cabinet. He pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels and looked through the ornate, oak cabinet for a glass. He placed it onto the granite counter top and poured some into it. The brownish liquid dangled around the glass. He heard foot steps behind him, he spun around and had a menacing look on his ruggedly, handsome face. He was about to tell the person to leave him alone, when he realized it was Bella, he sighed and turned around.

"I won't be great company right now." He said in a low voice.

"That's okay, I just came down here to get something to drink.. Are you okay?" She asked with caution.

She walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of Evian water. She closed the stainless steel fridge door and proceed to sit down at the table that was by the window. The table was made out of oak and was bare. She looked at Edward carefully and wondered why he was so pissed off. He walked over to the table, he dragged the chair a few inches away from the table and took a seat. He pushed his chair in, and looked at the young girl carefully, she was actually very attractive. He took a sip of his whiskey and decided that if he got very drunk, he wouldn't be able to resist her and that would be wrong, so very wrong.

"I had a bad day at work, that's all. How was your day?" He asked.

He wasn't use to talking about his day to anyone, in fact he was a bit of a loner. He never really talked to anyone about anything. He took another sip and smirked, the burn from the alcohol felt so good.

"I'm sorry to hear that, want me to cook for you? I can make something that you like. Maybe it will make you feel better. My day was good, I met an old friend! He's from Forks like me. My lit professor seems alright I guess."

He smiled at her, how kind, how naive.

"It's okay little girl, but thanks for the offer. Glad your day was good. Who is your Lit professor?"He asked sounding curious.

He didn't like how happy she sounded about that boy from Forks. He did not know why he felt that way.

"Professor Avery, do you know him?"

She was glad he seemed to have calmed down, but the alcohol made her feel uneasy, she didn't like drunks. Edward sat up straighter and his eyes seemed furious. She looked at him like a deer stuck in the headlights.

"You stay away from him okay? He's a very bad person. Don't stay alone with him after class. Promise me you will do that Bella?" He asked, sounding frantic.

"I promise, but what did he do Edward? I'm scared now."

He shook his head, and gulped down the rest of his drink. He put the glass down with a thud.

"I can't say what, but you need to trust me on this one. The world isn't rainbows and butterflies Bella. You are too young to understand that, but there are evil people out there and they look for people like you to use and abuse. You need to be very careful." He said.

She moved back with her chair. Edward had frightened her and upset her. Did he think she was 5 years old? She wasn't a child. She was 19 years old and he was talking to her like she was his precious baby girl, who he was protective of. She stood up and pushed her chair in.

"Thanks for the warning Edward, but I'm not a baby. I can take care of myself just fine. I know he likes sleeping with his students, I'm not that naive. I know about sex, so you can actually be frank about that. I'm going to go now. Goodnight."

She shook her head, turned on her heel and exited the kitchen. He was in shock, did she really just tell him off and did he just let her get away with it? He got up from his chair and walked back to the liquor cabinet. He grabbed the bottle of Jack, pulled the cap off and began to drink from it. "To hell with her, and everyone else. That's what you get for trying to help people." He thought bitterly to himself.

He was prepared to call the Dean and expose Avery if he had to. He wouldn't let him harm another young girl, especially not Bella. Nobody could hurt her, she was too fragile and he felt the need to protect her, but he did not know why. For it was impossible for a man like him to care, it was not in his nature.


Chapter 3

Edward was sitting behind his desk at the GQ offices. He was reading an article someone had wrote about one of the best restaurants in the city, the 21 club. He had been there a few times and decided maybe he would take Bella there, she had been avoiding him all week and it was getting on his last nerve. He would buy her an expensive meal and she would forgive him. People could be bought off right? He looked up when he heard his door creak open, he was about to go off at the person, when he realized it was his father. He stared at him blankly.

"What do you want?" Edward asked rudely.

His father looked like an older version on him, but with brown hair and soul less eyes. His father smirked and walked towards the front of Edward's desk.

"Nice set up you have here. I just came to give you some good news." He said.

Edward folded his arms and stared at the man who was supposedly his father, the man he hated. The one who had made him make so many mistakes.

"What news? You're getting married to a 21 year old model?" He said.

"No, I'm not getting married for the 4th time. I bought Conde Nast Publications, so that makes me your boss." He said smugly.

He froze and stared at the smug bastard. He felt like he was in a glass box and the walls just crashed down all around him. He had finally worked hard to get to where he was, to free himself from his father but now he was controlled by him again.

"Good for you, but let me do my job without any interruptions from you." He said firmly.

His father shook his head and laughed, sounding very sinister.

"On one condition, find some girl that loves you before spring and you can keep your job."

Edward laughed and glared at him.

"You're kidding me right? Do you not remember what happened the last time you forced me to do something like that?" He said angrily.

His father's expression turned blanked.

"Sometimes people have to suffer for others to gain wealth and power.. "

"I will not do that again. Why does it matter if I find someone to love me or not?"

His father shook his head and sighed.

"We're an old money family Edward. Your grandfather left some silly rules in his will about how his descendants would get money. If you are not married by the time you turn 30, then we will not get the $200 million that is rightfully ours. My brother Edwin will get the money and he will destroy everything we worked so hard for. Not only will we not get the money, we will also lose our trust funds. Which means you will have no house and I will fire you." His father explained.

"You can not do this to me! Don't place this on me. You expect me to find some innocent girl and use her just so we can get money?"

"I'm stating the facts. Oh Edward don't be dramatic. I'm sure you can find some girl, you know you care more about money and status than you would care to admit."

Edward was stuck, it was true he enjoyed having money, status and power. It upset him that he would have to use another woman to help him attain more wealth. The last time it ended badly, very, very badly and he was never the same again. This time he would find someone that was not his friend, a girl he barely knew.

"Fine, I'll do it."

His father smiled and clapped his hands together.

"Maybe I can finally be proud of you. Try to find an innocent girl, maybe one from a small town. Make sure she's naive and that she won't suspect a thing. We want the media to like our family again, so she should also be kind."

Edward gulped, someone fitted that description perfectly and he instantly hated himself for thinking about her that way.

"I'll find someone, now excuse me I have a deadline to meet."

Bella was in her Literature class, it had just ended and she had dropped her pen and notebook on the floor. She bent down to pick it up, she was feeling tired so she took her time retrieving the fallen items and then placed them back in her brown bag. It was starting to tear at the seams, she realized she would have to buy a new bag soon. She looked around and realized she was the only student left. Professor Avery had a smirk on his face and his eyes never left her small frame She bit her lip and was determined to get out of there and fast. She quickly walked down the stairs, only to have him block her exit.

"You're Isabella Swan right?" He asked.

"Yes." She said softly.

"I read your paper about the themes of Anna Karenina, I was very impressed. You're very smart and you have in depth knowledge about the subject matter, that most students can't seem to grasp yet. I can give you your paper now, if you want."

He smiled at her charmingly, she blushed slightly. It was flattering that he thought she was smart. She suddenly remembered Edward's warning. She figured that she should be careful, but maybe Edward was just being judgmental.

"Thank you so much Professor Avery. I love reading, I've read Anna Karenina at least twice. Oh yes I would love to see my paper."

He smiled at her, she was innocent and he liked hunting for innocence.

"Follow me." He said.

For a second she paused, Edward's words were ringing in her ears. She shook her head and followed Professor Avery to his office. He walked in and turned on the lights. It was a medium sized office, with a small bay window. His desk was a mess with papers thrown everywhere, some were even on the floor. It was a far cry from Edward's neat and orderly desk. He looked through the mess and handed Bella her paper. He had given her an A, she smiled brightly.

"You're so beautiful Ms Swan." He said.

Bella looked at him weirdly, that was a very inappropriate thing to say to a student.

"Um thanks Professor Avery." She said, emphasizing on the professor part.

Run girl, run

He laughed and leaned back against his desk.

"You can call me James." He said.

"I prefer Professor Avery, it's more professional." She said firmly.

"Of course Ms Swan, whatever suits you. Do you want to stay and have some coffee with me?"

She stared at him in shock, it was like he said, "Do you want to lay down on my desk so I can rape you?"

"I have to go. Edward Cullen is waiting for me." She said.

She knew that maybe dropping Edward's name would give her some protection. James Avery looked like he had seen a ghost. He walked around to his desk and sat down.

"Eh you can leave." He said.

Bella walked out the door and smirked, when she was sure he couldn't see her. There were some perks to having Edward in her life. She walked out of the campus and onto the busy street. To her surprise there was a black limo parked by the curb and Edward was leaning against it. He seemed to be angry, as usual. She walked towards him. The city was bustling and there were cars rushing down the street. It was so alive compared to Forks.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"My meeting ran late, Alfred told me he was suppose to pick you up, so I decided that we would come pick you up first and then go home.. Why are you so late? We've been here for 10 mintues."

She sighed and looked at his handsome face. She was standing close enough to him, to smell his expensive Armani cologne, he smelled really good.

"One of my professors wanted to speak to me after class. Sorry about that."

He glared at her, as he opened the door. She got in and he slid onto the seat after her. The limo started pulling up into traffic.

"Which professor?" He asked.

"Avery." She said softly.

He slammed his hand against the car door, the noise frightened her.

"What did I tell you about him? You need to stay away, please don't forget that."

"Maybe I will if you tell me what happened."

"It's too personal and it's not my story to tell. He hurt someone I care about okay? I don't want you to get hurt."

"Why do you care if he hurts me? You hate me don't you?"

He looked at her in disbelief, because he thought she was the one who hated him.

"I don't hate you Bella. Do you hate me?" He asked, ignoring her first question.

"Of course not! You have been kind enough to let me stay with you. I'm forever grateful to you." She said kindly.

He smiled at her, it was good to know someone thought there was some good left inside of him.

"It's my pleasure. Tonight would you like to go to dinner with me? It's an expensive place, so wear something nice."

She looked outside and at the busy city. She wondered if maybe he was trying to buy her off. He had to add in that it was an expensive place. She hated pretentiousness.

"I think I'll pass tonight. I have to write 2 essays and I'm so tired."

Edward glared at her and looked away. He decided to ignore her for the rest of the ride home. He was not use to rejection and it irked him.

Edward and Bella had both arrived back home. He was in a bad mood and she was upset that he was sulking like a baby because he couldn't get his way. She was about to walk upstairs, when she heard him shout for Adrianna, who came running into the entrance hall to see what he wanted.

"What is it Mr Edward?" She asked.

"Make sure Isabella stays out of the kitchen tonight. She's ungrateful." He said spitefully.

"But what if Ms Bella gets hungry? She spend all day at school, she need food."

Bella stormed up the stairs and shut her down firmly. He was being so cruel! Edward was furious at her behavior and ran up the stairs, with Adrianna close behind him.

"Mr Edward, she is just young girl! Don't shout at her, please she is too nice!" Adrianna pleaded.

He banged loudly on her door.

"Either you join me for dinner tonight or you don't eat at all." He said angrily.

Adrianna shook her head.

"You no get girl with that attitude." She said.

She shook her head and walked away. Edward stared at her, "Why would she think that I'd want Bella?" He thought to himself. Maybe because in a twisted way you do?

"You're lucky I love food! I'll get ready and meet you downstairs later." She shouted, sounding stubborn.

"Fine, be down in an hour."

She shook her head and flipped him off from behind the door. It was a good thing he didn't see it because she was scared he would throw her out the window. He wanted her to have dinner with him, she wouldn't mind staying at home and having a simple dinner with him, one that she would cook. It was the way she was brought up, she wasn't use to going to fancy, expensive restaurants for dinner. That made her a bit nervous and she didn't feel like having people stare at her. They would all think why was a man like Edward taking a plain, teenager out to dinner?

She walked over to her closest and looked for something pretty to wear. She found a black, strapless dress. It hugged her body in all the right places, she had bought it at a boutique in Seattle, she didn't have a special occasion to buy it for ,but it was so beautiful she simply could not resist. She took her black sweater off and pulled her jeans off. She was in her black Victoria's Secret bra and panty set. Little did she know Edward was watching her, he was sitting in his room and had knocked his pen onto the floor, he walked over to where it fell, it was on top of a very old vent, which had holes in it so you could see the room on the next level. He almost fainted, when he saw Bella in only her under garments. Her body was amazing, he knew he shouldn't look, but he had never been so tempted in his whole entire life. She had round, full breasts and a nice ass. He gulped and continued to stare, as she pulled a pretty looking dress onto her body. She looked like a little, pale, gothic princess. He quickly stood up and walked back to his bed. He didn't want to feel like a pervert. He didn't know whether he should try to make Bella fall in love with him, or maybe if they got closer he could ask her to marry him. After all, if he lost his money and house, she would have no place to stay either. It would help both of them out. His father always had a way of messing up his life no matter what.

An hour later, they found themselves seated at 21 Club. It was a restaurant that was one of the speakeasies during the roaring 20s, during the prohibition era. Edward liked the black and red décor and the historic vibes it gave off. The food was good and he didn't mind spending a lot of money for it. Bella hardly talked to him, and he was starting to feel like a fool for forcing her to come along with him. She was seated opposite of him and looked around the fancy restaurant. She felt so out of place.

"So you're not going to talk to me?" He asked.

"Are you going to give me ultimatums? Because if you are, then I'm not going to speak to you."

He laughed, he liked that she was showing some signs of fierceness.

"I'm sorry, that was stupid of me. You know some guys do much crazier things to get a beautiful woman, like you to have dinner with them." He said.

She blushed, leaving her cheeks a bright pink color. She giggled slightly.

"Was that a compliment? I'll forgive you this time." She said playfully.

"Yes it was. I promise to behave better." He said.

They looked into each others' eyes and smiled. Bella bit her lip, when she realized how attractive he really was, his playfulness made him more appealing. His strict, serious demeanor took away from his attractiveness, it didn't matter how good looking he was. A bad personality was like poison to Bella, but she was starting to see that Edward wasn't that bad, life had just turned him sour.

"I'll believe it when I see it. Your mom says you never come home to Forks, why is that?" She asked.

He took a sip of his Chardonnay and sighed. He had to admit, it was a bit nice to have someone to talk to.

"She has her new family. They don't really like me."

"I don't think that's true. Whenever I see them they always talk about you." She said.

Bella had met Emmett Cullen a few times at fundraisers for Forks High and at the local diner. He always said his half brother who lived in New York was cool. She had never met Alice, because she moved away years ago, but she knew Emmett and his wife Rosalie.

"My step dad is a good man. They have a nice, non-dysfunctional family. I rather keep my darkness away from that. They don't need to see me and my mother doesn't need to be reminded of her past."

Bella looked at him with concern, he was keeping himself away from people who cared about him. It hurt to know that he would think so badly of himself. She wanted to let him see that he deserved to be around kind people.

"You're not as bad as you think you are. Do you prefer being on your own? I mean you're not married or anything.." She said cautiously.

"You don't really know me Bella, I'm not a good person. Yes I do, that way I can't hurt anyone." He said.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" She asked.

"I have many.. lovers. No girlfriend and I have to keep it that way for now."

"So, that might change soon?" She asked.

He smirked, and wondered why she cared about this.

"Maybe, with the right woman who knows?" He said mysteriously.

She bit her lip.

"I'm sure many girls would die to marry you."

"Are you one of them?"

She gasped and blushed deeply.

"I'm just kidding sweetheart." He said jokingly.

She giggled and playfully poked his hand, there was an electric spark when she touched him and they immediately pulled their hands away. "How strange, that never happens." She thought to herself.

"Do you miss your father?" He asked.

"Yes I do, I'm worried about him. He's probably living off pizza and beer now, without me."

"Doesn't your mom cook?"

"My parents are divorced, my mom lives in Florida with her new husband. My dad is all alone. I feel so bad for leaving him." She said honestly.

She hadn't expressed how she had been feeling about everything and it felt good just to let that go. She was surprised at how natural she felt talking to Edward, like she didn't have to pretend to be anyone but herself. He looked at her with understanding and nodded his head.

"That's tough, but your dad will be okay. I bet he's proud of you for going after your dreams. I'm glad my parents are divorced though, because my dad is a dick." He said.

He laughed and drank more of his wine. It was so unusual to say that to someone, he wasn't use to it.

"Thanks Edward. I hope he will be okay. He's that bad?"

"Yes he is that bad. Have you ever been in love?" He asked randomly.

She looked down at her wine glass, and started to trace her finger around the rim of it. She bit her lip and blinked her eyes.

"N-n-no." She stuttered.

He looked at her very curiously, "What a strange reaction" He thought.

"I see, no guy has ever been good enough for you?" He asked playfully.

She shook her head and it seemed like there were tears in her big, brown eyes.

"No, it's me that's not good enough for them, Edward." She said very softly.

He was completely shocked. She was smart, kind and beautiful, a very rare combination. Nobody would ever deserve a goddess like her.

"Don't ever say that. Bella, you are a very rare type of girl. The idiots are intimidated by that. You deserve a man that knows how lucky.. I mean you know you'll find someone better."

He was about to tell her she would find her soul mate, but he wasn't sure if that was true for he did not want to give her false hope. She smiled at him for his kind words and nodded her head.

"Thank you Edward, but I don't believe in love."

"Neither do I." He said honestly.

Somehow, he didn't want to believe her. She was innocent and it seemed to him that she had a kind heart, full of love. How he wished he had met her 10 years ago, when he was almost as innocent as she was . They could have fallen in love, got married and live together in Forks, but he was a dangerous monster and he was afraid he was going to hurt her. He feared that it was too late to stay away from her now, his father's words echoed in his ears " Try to find an innocent girl, maybe one from a small town. Make sure she's naive and that she won't suspect a thing" He was too selfish at times and he knew what he was going to do, but there was no stopping him now.

A/N: So what do you think about Edward's decision? It's pretty crazy. This story is going to be a bit darker than other ones I wrote but I hope everyone sticks around and sees what happens. Thank you to everyone who reviewed earlier.


Chapter 4

Bella had just come home from her classes, it had been a long day and she was exhausted. She collapsed onto her bed and stared at the ceiling, she had never felt so tired or hungry before. She groaned and rolled off the bed and onto her feet. She pulled the door open and headed downstairs to get some food. She wondered if she would see Edward, she always liked talking to him after a lo
ng day, lately they had actually been friendlier towards each other. She wondered why Edward had a change of heart lately but she wasn't going to argue with it. She jumped down the last stair and walked into the kitchen, there was a tall Brazilian looking model type sitting on top of the counter while Edward was pouring some Chardonnay into two wine glasses. She had waist length black hair and vivid brown eyes, she was blessed with high cheek bones and full red lips. Bella instantly felt insecure in her t shirt and jeans, she rolled her eyes and walked over to the fridge. She wanted to quickly get a snack and then leave Edward and his model alone. Edward watched her carefully, she could feel his eyes on her. She instantly turned to look at him, the model glared at Bella and then at Edward.

"Is this a joke?" She shouted angrily at him.

He sighed and took a sip of his wine, he placed the glass down and shook his head.

"No?" He said casually and shrugged.

"You, who are you?" She demanded as she stared at Bella.

Bella was tired, hungry and now she was annoyed. She glared at the idiotic woman in front of her.

"I'm Bella, I'm a house guest of Edward's." She said.

For some reason she didn't feel like explaining her situation with Edward, the model could come up with her own theories as to why Bella was really here. Edward looked at Bella and shook his head. The model jumped off the counter top and shook her head and started swearing in Portuguese.

"You are so pathetic Edward, you and your girlfriend deserve each other." She shouted angrily.

She grabbed the wine glass and threw it near where Edward was sitting, the glass shattered against the wall and she stormed out of the kitchen. Bella heard the front door slam shut and looked at Edward in shock.

"You sure know how to pick them." Bella said carefully.

She walked to the fridge and pulled out a container filled with strawberries, she shut the fridge and placed the strawberries on the oak table. Edward quickly drank the rest of his wine.

"She's crazy, jealous and delusional. Thanks for ruining my night." He said.

"Ruining your night? I'm sorry about that, you know her throwing a wine glass at you is so normal. I seem to have saved you from a crazy person."

He smirked and walked over to where she was, he walked behind her. She could smell the alcohol in his breath, she was staring to think he was an alcoholic. She suddenly felt the air around her thicken like she couldn't breathe. He moved her hair away from her neck and moved his head closer to her bare skin. He smelled her and gently rubbed his nose against her neck.

"You should take her place, you owe me that much." He whispered seductively into her ear.

She quickly moved away from him, a part of her was deeply aroused and she knew if she wasn't a virgin she would probably let him do whatever he wanted to her. It was hard to resist a man like him, but she wondered if she would ever want someone like Edward to be the first man she ever had sex with. She didn't know if she wanted to remember him forever.

"You're drunk or whatever it is you are, but you know I won't do that with you." She said stubbornly.

"Why not?" He demanded stubbornly and crossed his arms.

She rolled her eyes and walked up to him. She wanted to show him that she wasn't afraid to stand up to him. She stared directly into his emerald eyes.

"Because I'm not someone you hook up with randomly and it would make things between us awkward." She said firmly.

He was surprised at her sudden boldness, he suddenly felt at a loss for words.

"Fair enough." He said dumbly.

Bella picked up the container with the strawberries and went up to her room to eat them. Edward was the most confusing man she had ever met, so why did she feel like she was starting to develop some sort of feelings for him? "It's not fair, he's the worst man for me, I can't care about him." She thought to herself miserably.

It has been 5 days since Bella and Edward had last talked, he had been avoiding her after the awkward conversation in the kitchen. Edward was mad at himself because if he was being honest, he wasn't as drunk as he made himself out to be. There was just something about Bella that night that made him feel as if he was unable to resist her, her boldness had only turned him on more. He was starting to think that Bella wasn't as shy as she let on to be, she just had her boldness buried away, but sometimes it made it's rare appearances. He was suppose to take another trip to Rochester to sort out a few of his affairs there. He wondered if maybe Bella would like to get out of the city for a bit. He had to still put his plan into action, he would have to make her fall in love with him. It wouldn't be too hard, most woman that he met instantly fell in love with him. Bella was a shy, insecure young girl, all he had to do was pay her enough attention and he would be able to manipulate her into doing anything. It was almost too easy, she would be very easy to catch he was sure of it. He pulled out his phone and sent Bella a text.

Meet me in my office when you come home, I have something I'd like to discuss with you Miss Swan

He heard the sound of footsteps and wondered if maybe she was already home. He heard the doorknob turn and his suspicions were right, Bella was standing at the door. He let his eyes wash over her as he took in her appearance, she was wearing a purple and black checkered shirt, pale blue jeans that were tattered at the bottom which carelessly touched the ground, paired with Chuck Taylor high tops or what appeared to be them. The shirt hung tightly to her body, he could see the curves of her breasts and wondered why she would hide her body, he wanted to see it, he wanted to free her.

Bella arched a thin, brown eyebrow at him, he leaned forward and folded his hands as he placed them on his desk. He smiled at her charmingly, he had been blatantly checking her out but he decided to continue like that never happened, she would just have to play along. He doubted she had it in her right now to stand up to him. She stepped inside of the office and reached over to shut the door. She quickly walked to the brown, plastic chair. She took a seat and avoided his gaze, he wanted to stare into her beautiful, chocolate brown eyes but all he could look at was the side of her face. It would have to do for now. "Do you have any plans for this weekend?" He asked. She sighed, then finally turned to face him. She looked into his eyes, their gazes locked for a second. He quickly looked away because it felt too intimate for him, it was almost as if she had peered into his soul. He finally felt like he had a soul, something he hadn't felt like he had in years. That wasn't normal, now was it? "No I don't have any plans. I was just going to stay at home and study." She explained briefly. She began to pull at a piece of purple, loose thread that was hanging from the sleeve of her shirt. He wondered why she didn't just pull it out. "Would you like to go away with me to my house in Rochester for the weekend?" For the first time in a very long time, he actually felt nervous about asking a girl to go away with him. It almost made no sense, he mentally scolded himself for losing it around her. She didn't answer him, she still seemed preoccupied playing with the stupid piece of thread hanging from her sleeve. She probably found him to be so boring that a piece of loose thread had more appeal to her than he did. He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to calm himself down. He had enough of this, he reached over and grabbed her arm, he took his other hand and ripped the thread off the sleeve and threw it to the side. She looked up at him with complete shock on her beautiful face.

"Why did you.." She could barely speak.

He still held her arm in his hand, he could feel the warmth of her skin and he could feel her veins underneath his hand. Touching her felt so right, he almost didn't want to let go, until he felt her tugging her arm away from him. He instantly let go, he was acting like an insane person. He was sure she would run away now.

"I'm sorry, that thread was annoying me. I have a slight case of OCD I guess." He said casually.

She stared at him blankly and then giggled slightly. He felt relieved that she found something to be funny.

"More like a major case, next time just ask and I'll tear it off myself." She said.

She looked at him and smiled sweetly, it was hard for him not to return such a sweet and innocent smile.

"That might be a better idea, yes or no to Rochester?" He asked.

"Yes. I want to go.. with you."

He smirked at her, his plan was going to fall into place perfectly. It was almost too easy, he always got what he wanted.

It was Friday afternoon and Bella was zipping up her old black, leather suit case. She couldn't believe that she agreed to go away with Edward for the weekend. What had she been thinking? She would be completely alone with him, she should have felt more uncomfortable about it, but the thought of being with him alone seemed almost alluring to her. She sighed as she pulled at the zipper that was stuck.

"Just close!" She shouted at the bag.

"Do you need some help?" She heard a voice behind her ask.

She felt embarrassed, she had been shouting at a bag, how mature of her. She turned around to face him and shrugged her shoulders.

"Yes! Please help me close this, it's stuck."

He smirked and walked over to her. He grabbed the small sliver zip and pulled it with ease, closing the bag. She crossed her arms and pouted slightly.

"You make it look so easy."

"You're welcome."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh thank you so we leaving now?" She asked.

He chuckled and nodded his head, as he picked up her suit case and headed towards the door.

"Yes we are."

She followed him out the door and down the stairs. She walked out onto the sidewalk and looked at the silver Mercedes that was parked outside. Of course he would have a fancy car. He was putting their luggage into the trunk of the car. He was wearing black Ray Bans, his dirty golden blonde hair was pushed back slightly and he was wearing an expensive looking black shirt, that had a few buttons undone exposing a few stray chest hairs. She had to admit he really did have some style, she figured he would have to have some sort of style if he was the Editor of GQ magazine. It was almost not fair, she was living with one of New York City's most eligible bachelors and she hadn't even tried to flirt with him. She promised herself that when she moved to the city she would be bolder and that she would be more adventurous. "I should do something crazy this weekend, maybe I'll drink or who knows maybe Edward and I will have some fun." She thought to herself. She was determined to have a memorable weekend.

"Lets get going Bella." He said and flashed a smile at her.

He got into the driver's seat and waited for her to get in. She grabbed the handle of the door and opened it, she slid onto the seat and shut the door. The seats were leather, it felt smooth and sleek against her fingers. The car smelled fresh, it still had that new car smell to it, Bella adored that scent it was weird but it was almost addictive once you inhaled it. She inhaled deeply and then exhaled. Edward looked at her curiously and chuckled, as he started up the car and merged onto the road.

"What are you doing?" He asked curiously.

"I just like the smell of a new car." She said.

He nodded his head and looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"I got this car last week, it does smell good doesn't it? I guess we have that in common. I want to talk to you about something."

She looked at him intently and wondered what he wanted to speak to her about.

"What is it?"

"Are you enjoying your time here? I hope I'm not making you miserable." He said, it sounded as if he was nervous.

"Of course I am, it was my dream to live here and now I'm living it thanks to you. You're not making me miserable, but I mean I'd like to get to know you better."

"Good to hear. Get to know me better? I don't think you'd want to know me." He said in a low voice.

"We're living together, we might as well at least.. become friends."

He smirked.

"Friends? I think that's a good idea. Actually this weekend will be perfect for us to get to know each other better."

She arched her thin, brown eyebrow at him. He had been keeping her at arms length ever since he had met her, she wondered why all of a sudden he was so open to getting to know her.

"You do? Well in that case I'm glad I agreed to going with you. Do you think we could do something.. crazy this weekend?" She asked cautiously.

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow at her.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" He asked curiously.

"Just something fun, I'm sure you would have some good ideas. I just really want to have fun." She said.

She hoped she wasn't giving off the wrong vibes, but she really did want to have fun and maybe he did too.

"I think our ideas of fun might be different and I doubt you'd be interested in my idea of fun."

"Oh is your idea of fun sex? Who is to say that's not my idea of fun too?" She said teasingly.

He was taken by surprise at her question, was she actually being serious? He saw her as this innocent girl, but the boldness that she had been showing lately was making him rethink that statement. Perhaps she was a bad girl hidden away by a virtuous image. He reached over and placed his hand on her knee, she instinctively pulled away and he smirked at her.

"It's definitely not, I think I just proved my point."

"Maybe it's just you that I don't want to have that kind of fun with."

She smirked at him and looked out of the window. He glared at her, was she playing a game with him? He liked games and he liked winning even more.

"Oh really? I'm sure you're dying to have that kind of fun with me."

She spun her head around and looked at him. She put on a shocked expression on her face.

"In your dreams."

"Actually you have appeared in one of my dreams." He said teasingly.

She punched his shoulder lightly.

"You're such a perv." She said.

"You're the one who started talking about sex." He shot back.

She laughed and shook her head.

"Okay can we please drop this conversation now?"

He nodded his head and laughed.

"Of course because I think someone is getting horny."

"Ha Ha very funny, that someone is probably you."

5 hours later Edward and Bella had arrived at his mansion in Rochester. The house was painted white and looked like an old gothic castle. It seemed like something out of a fairytale. Bella was almost afraid to stay in it. Edward had the butler bring their luggage into the house. The inside had mahogany hard wood floors and had all types of obscure paintings on the wall. It was a bit depressing and dark inside. It seemed as if it could be haunted but at the same time it was breathtakingly beautiful, actually it was exactly like Edward. They had some dinner and went off to their respective rooms. Bella was sitting in bed reading The Age of Innocence, it was one of her favorite books when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!" She shouted.

Edward opened the door and walked inside.

"Do you have everything you need?" He asked.

She smiled at him and nodded her head.

"Yes I do, but I don't have anyone to talk to."

He smirked as he walked to the bed and the sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I can fix that. You know what we were talking about in the car? I was thinking, would it really be that strange if we were somehow attracted to each other?" He asked.

She blinked her eyes a couple of times, she wasn't sure if she was hearing him right. "Is he actually saying he's attracted to me? How is that possible?" She thought to herself.

"No I don't think that would be strange at all. What are you trying to say?"

He moved closer to her and took the book out of her hands, he placed it on the bed side table next to him and took Bella's hand in his. She felt like electric shocks were going through her body.

"What I'm saying is that I'm attracted to you." He said in a low voice.

He let go of her hand and tangled his hand in her hair as he reached for the nape of her neck, he pulled her closer to him and then softly kissed her. She was hesitant at first and then gave into the kiss. She kissed him back softly, he felt carried away and kissed her more passionately, licking her bottom lip gently and then pushing her onto the bed. He pinned her hands to the bed and slowly broke away from the kiss as he stared into her brown eyes. She looked up at him like a helpless victim, he smirked at her.

"You were lying in the car, you do want to have this kind of fun with me."

She glared at him and struggled to break free from his hold, he was confused at her reaction, most woman loved it when he did this. Bella wasn't most woman.

"Get off of me!." She said as he released her hands.

She rolled away from him. She looked upset and annoyed.

"You didn't stop me from kissing you." He said sounding angry.

"That was before I knew this was just a game to you. You wanted to prove a point, you took it too far. Please just leave and tomorrow we can pretend this never happened." She said as she sat up and fixed her shirt that had moved.

He was shocked now, didn't she feel the chemistry between them when they kissed? Even he wasn't expecting that.

He glared at her and then walked out of the room. How was he going to make her fall in love with him if she treated any physical contact from him as if he was going to rape her? He slammed the door shut and started cursing under his breath. He grabbed a vase that was placed out in the hallway on a small table and threw it against the wall, breaking it into pieces. She would pay for doing that, he hated rejection.

Bella felt overwhelmed, when Edward kissed her she thought she would explode into a million pieces, but he had frightened her when he pinned her hands to the bed. She felt helpless and when he said she was lying about earlier she felt like he was just doing that to prove a point and that he didn't truly like her. Would he hate her now for doing that? She was scared that he would want her to do more than she could offer right now.

Relationships were never her thing, she didn't even understand how she could make one work with someone like him. He has issues that much was true, but even though she was mad at him she wanted to help him. She wanted to be the one who would eventually save him from himself. She wanted to save his soul. The only real question was, did he even have a soul that could be saved or would she be wasting her time? Bella knew well enough that everyone's souls deserved to be saved regardless of how bad or evil they seemed. She wanted to find Edward's light, she wanted to be the one who could show it to him.

She jumped off the bed and then opened the door quickly. She knew that she had to find him. She saw a broken vase laying a few feet away from her, she shook her head, she had really angered him. She saw him walking into a room, she walked faster until she reached him. She walked into the room and walked over to him. He saw her and then glared at her, his emerald eyes looked dark now, it was almost black.

"What do you want?" He snarled.

She knew he was angry, but she had to fix it.

"I'm sorry Edward, I'm so sorry. I just got.. scared." She said honestly.

"Scared? I wasn't going to rape you." He said.

He looked at her and then placed his hands on her shoulders. She was afraid he would hurl her across the room.

"I know, I just didn't think I'd be able to give you what you wanted so I freaked out." She rambled.

He looked into her eyes, she could see that he was calming down now.

"I don't want more than you can give right now. You should know that." He said softly.

She knew this was her chance to do something crazy, something bold. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. He wrapped his arms around her waist, trapping her against him. She kissed him on the lips hungrily, it was the craziest thing she had done so far. They continued to kiss as he moved them towards the bed, he turned her around so she was facing him and pushed her onto the bed. He pulled away from their kiss, she looked at him curiously.

"Lets go to sleep." He said.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because I want to show you that you can trust me."

He smiled and then turned the lights off. This was the strangest situation she had ever been in. She crawled over to the right side of the bed and covered herself with the blanket, she watched as Edward did the same. She moved closer to him.

"I do trust you Edward." She said.

He smiled at her and didn't say anything because that was the most foolish decision she could ever make, yet it would benefit him greatly. However it didn't make him feel better because he felt something when they kissed, something he had never felt before, it stirred his heart and up until now he had thought his heart had died.


Chapter 5

Bella woke up and was sure that last night had been a she really kiss Edward and end up sleeping in his bed? She felt an arm around her waist, she sighed to herself. It wasn't a dream, it was reality. She felt so embarrassed for what she had done. At least she did something bold, it was what she wanted. She felt safe with Edward's arm wrapped around her, it felt right. Being close to hi
m felt natural, but she remembered how angry he was last night and she felt afraid of him. She moved his arm away slowly and got out of bed. She turned to look at him, he looked almost innocent when he was asleep, she felt something in her heart gravitate towards him. She definitely cared about him, but she also knew it wasn't a very smart thing to do.

He opened his eyes slowly and looked at her. He smiled, he still looked sleepy but now that he had rested, all the anger from last night seemed to disappear.

"You're leaving without saying good morning?" He teased.

Bella ran her fingers through her hair and laughed.

"Of course." She said jokingly.

"So.. about last night." He said.

She held her hand up to stop him, she didn't want to discuss something she hadn't had time to process yet.

"Lets talk about it at breakfast? Maybe we should go somewhere."

He smiled at her and nodded his head.

"Okay boss, I'll take you to this diner I always go to." He said and then yawned.

She smiled at him.

"That sounds perfect, I'll go get ready."

She quickly walked out of the room and headed back to her own room. "I can't believe I shared a bed with him last night, what the hell is going on?" She thought to herself.

Edward walked down to the entrance hall, he was wearing a black shirt with jeans. He held his leather wallet in his hand and waited for Bella to show up. Last night had been intense, he had almost ruined his whole plan, but Bella had really upset him when she acted like he was going to rape her, that really pissed him off. He was surprised when she came to him and apologized; he knew that he had to prove himself to her so he asked her to sleep in his bed to prove that he would never do anything to her unless he had her permission. There was something about their kiss that made him feel unsettled, he didn't know what it was, but Bella had a certain effect on him and he was trying hard to shake it off. At least they had some sort of chemistry. He might as well have some sort of fun while his father bossed him around.

Bella was taking forever to dress and it was annoying him, if Bella was one of his employees he would have fired her for her tardiness, he hated waiting for people it was one of his pet peeves. Just then, Bella descended down the stair case and walked towards him. She looked breathtaking in a short, black bandage dress paired with Chuck Taylors, he smirked at her. He wondered why she had chosen to dress up a little today, he assumed it had to do with him. Women were always trying to impress him.

"I'm sorry I took so long." She said.

He waved his hand in front of him to dismiss her apology.

"It's okay, I didn't mind waiting for you." He lied.

She smiled at him for thinking he was being kind to her.

"Thanks!" She said.

He smirked and nodded his head.

"Are you ready to go, beautiful?" He asked.

She smiled brightly at him and nodded her head. She was so trusting, it was making him upset because he didn't want to exploit her trust or kindness.

20 minutes later they had arrived at a rustic looking diner in a secluded area of town. Bella was expecting him to take her to some pretentious place, but was glad that he had chosen something more low key. He held the door open for her, she thanked him and walked inside. They found an empty booth and sat down. Bella reached for the brown menu and scanned it to see if she could find anything that she liked. She was reading about the spinach omelet when Edward cleared his throat, she looked up at him.

"Can we talk about last night?" He asked.

She looked back down at the menu, she didn't know if she was really ready to talk to him about it or not, but she knew she had no choice.

"Yes we can."

"I don't want to pretend like it never happened. We should try to see if we have something, maybe I could kiss you again?" He asked.

Bella looked directly into his emerald eyes, something felt insincere in what he was saying, Bella was good at reading people and Edward's eyes and demeanor didn't look honest to her at all. She didn't know if she could trust what he was saying so easily.

"I don't want to forget about what happened, last night was really intense, I wasn't acting like myself Edward. I told you I don't believe in love and you told me you didn't either. We won't be having sex any time soon, so I really don't know if I can give you anything." She said honestly.

He looked directly into her eyes, he had the same angry look from last night in his eyes now and she felt really scared.

"Didn't last night prove that I wanted more than just that with you? You don't really believe that Bella, you're just saying that to sound stronger. Look I don't know what this is, but we shouldn't ignore it."

She looked at him and this time she thought he did sound sincere, he was right about that. It wasn't like she truly believed there was no love in the world, she was just insecure that nobody would love her. Maybe Edward could show her what was missing in her life.

"You're right. I guess I'm just scared. So then are we going to see what this is?" She asked.

He smirked, she wondered why he smirked that way, it was as if he was playing poker and he had just won.

"Yes we are, you won't regret your decisionMs Swan." He said.

She giggled and nodded her head.

"I don't think I will, Mr Cullen."

Edward's phone began to ring, he quickly answered it and his facial expression grew serious.

"Yes? Okay I'll be there in 30 minutes. Sorry I'm late, okay I'll bring that for you.I can't talk now Elena, I will talk to you later." He said and then hung up.

"Elena? Who the hell was Elena?" Bella thought to herself.

"I really have to go, lets order some food to go and then you can eat back at the house. I'm sorry I have to do this. I promise I'll be free when I get back and we can do something together." He said.

Bella closed her menu and nodded her head. She had no idea what was going on.

"That's okay. I'm sure whatever you have to do is important."

He smiled at her.


Chapter 6

Edward promised he wouldn't leave Bella for too long, but he had a lot to do and found himself at Elena's house longer than he expected to be. Bella appeared to be jealous, but if she really knew the truth then she wouldn't feel that way because Elena was Tanya's mother. Ever since Tanya's death all those years ago Edward tried his best to help her out and make sure that she had everyth
ing she needed. It was something that Tanya use to do for her mother and he felt as if it was his responsibility to take over, after all he blamed himself for her death. She was his best friend and if it wasn't for him then she would still be alive. Edward took a sip from his coffee cup and settled back into the black sofa. The house was average sized and inside it was decorated with all sorts of vintage and antique items. It felt very homely, something Edward wasn't use to anymore. Elena was sitting on the sofa opposite of him; she was about 55 with graying hair and inviting, warm blue eyes. She had slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and her forehead was sprinkled with a few freckles. No parent should have to lose their child, yet somehow she never let her heart grow cold, it was something Edward wished he could learn. Guilt was like poison and eventually it would kill you, or in Edward's case it killed his heart, or so he thought.

"You know you don't have to always come here. I know you are very busy." She commented.

Edward shook his head, he wouldn't hear it.

"I'm never too busy for you, besides you love having me over here." He said charmingly.

"You've always been a charmer young man. Now who is this girl you are here with?" She asked cautiously.

Edward felt awkward all of a sudden; he would have to lie to Elena. He couldn't tell her that he was about to repeat history. He cleared his throat and crossed his long leg over his knee. He placed the cup of coffee down on the oak coffee table and shrugged his shoulders."

"It's not serious. Her name is Bella." He said in a low voice.

He wasn't willing to give Elena more information. He felt like a monster, who would take advantage of such sweet innocence, but a monster? Bella deserved more than that and he knew it. Elena shook her head, she was a very insightful woman.

"You haven't appeared to be this happy in years. If you care about this girl make it work. You do deserve to be happy Edward, she would have wanted that for you. You were her closest friend."

"I don't deserve anything. Tanya should be here now if it wasn't for me and my father." He said angrily.

Elena glared at Edward, in a way that a mother would do when she is about to correct her child out of love.

"You were young. If anyone is to blame for all of this it would be your father and my ex husband all they cared about was protecting their money together and then they hatched that stupid plan for you and Tanya to get married. Neither of you really had a choice, you cared about each other as friends and did what you needed to do. That was a long time ago Edward, you need to come to terms with it. You can't blame yourself forever." She said strongly.

He hung his head in shame; he seldom talked about what happened with Tanya and about what made him such a monster. He could have stood up to his father before, he could have changed everything, but his greed for money took over all rational thinking.

Then there was the accident that ended her life. He was driving that night; she was talking about how she was in love with Avery and how she wanted a divorce. Edward knew that if she bailed on him before a year had passed he would lose a lot of money and the scandal would have looked bad for his family. They were in Rochester driving back home from a Christmas party, there was ice on the road and the two of them were arguing. Edward got so upset that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and the car swerved over the black ice, the car flipped several times leaving Tanya and Edward severely injured. A few minutes after the crash Tanya died from her injuries, Edward never stopped blaming himself for what happened. It changed his life forever and he was never truly the same.

"I didn't have to go through with it. I'm dealing with it the best way I can Elena. I have to leave now." He said quickly.

He took out a $100 note from his leather wallet and placed it onto the coffee table. He smiled at her.

"There you go."

Edward had promised her that he wouldn't be that long, but hours had went by and Bella was still alone. It gave her a lot of time to clear her thoughts. She was sitting by the stone fireplace in the lounge. She was lounging on the red sofa, reading The Age of Innocence. She knew that there was something strange about the sudden change in Edward's behavior towards her and she knew it should raise a few red flags. The truth was Bella wasn't use to somebody wanting to be with her, she had become somewhat content with being by herself. She didn't hate herself or have severe self esteem problems, it was simply the fact that she had never met a man that she felt like she could love nor had she ever had anyone fight for her. For once she didn't want to think of the consequences, she wanted to know how it felt to have someone actually pay attention towards her. Edward was messed up and he had many dark secrets, she was sure of that much. She stopped reading her book and looked at the bright, orange flames that were swirling in the fireplace. "I wonder where he is, maybe he's not that interested in me after all." She thought to herself. She was deep in her thoughts when she heard footsteps approach her, she looked in the direction of the sound and saw Edward standing near her. She tried to suppress a smile, she was glad that he was back now. He smirked slightly at her and walked over to where she was. He took a seat, quickly engulfing her with the scent of his Armani cologne.

"I'm sorry I was gone for so long. I had to deal with something." He said, not giving too much away.

"It's okay. Is everything alright?" She asked sounding concerned.

He nodded his head and stared into the blazing flames, he seemed to be somewhere else.

"Edward, look at me. Did something happen? You can tell me you know." She said stubbornly.

He turned his head slightly to look at her, she had a look of pureness in her eyes, the type that he didn't even know existed anymore.

"Let's just say that I had to deal with something from my past and it's always difficult." He said.

She was surprised that he told her a little about what was happening, but she knew that was all he would offer for now. She took in his appearance, he looked so put together on the outside. Perfect hair, good looks and his clothes always looked like perfection, but when she looked into his eyes it was that of a beast, like he had been through so much, so much that he could never be repaired or fixed. The sadness in his green eyes was almost too much to bare. Bella quickly looked away.

"I don't know what you're dealing with, but the best thing to do is to let go of the past."

He smiled slightly at her, like she had made some sense.

"You're the second person to tell me that today. It's easier said than done." He said quietly.

He got off the sofa and walked towards a CD player to the right of the fireplace. It was in a glass cupboard. He pulled the door open and pressed a few buttons. The soft sounds of soft music started to fill the room, Bella recognized the song it was Echo by Jason Walker . He walked back over to her and placed his hand out to take her hand into his. She looked at his hand carefully, realizing that he wanted her to dance with him. She shook her head, Bella didn't dance, she was clumsy and it always lead to someone being injured.

"May I have this dance?" He asked.

"I don't dance. I'm incapable of dancing." She said.

He laughed and shook his head. He grabbed her hand, pulling her onto her feet so she was standing in front of him.

"I doubt that Bella. I can teach you." He said kindly.

He made her place her arms around his neck while he wrapped his arms around her waist. The sudden contact with him made Bella feel flustered. She didn't understand why being so close to him would make her feel this way. His scent, his personality, everything about him was enough to make her feel delirious, like she had some sort of illness and there was no cure for it. She looked up into his green eyes.

"I'm going to step on your feet." She said nervously.

"You're not. Just look into my eyes and focus on what we're doing." He instructed.

"Look into your eyes? Shouldn't I be watching my feet?" She questioned.

"No, just let the music take over. Don't think about anything else." He said.

"I'll try my best."

He started to sway her across the room. Bella let the sad sound of the music and the instruments take over, she found that her feet started following the beat. Without over thinking the next step she was able to stay in sync with Edward who was a pro at this. She stared into his eyes the whole time, which was strange for the naturally shy and timid girl. Edward spun her around and she fell against him when he brought her closer to him. Her breath became heavier, she bit down on her lower lip. Edward held her in his arms for a few seconds and buried his nose in her neck, taking in her natural scent. She closed her eyes wanting him to keep on kissing her. She wanted to turn around and make out with him passionately and then demand that he took her up to his room.

"You smell like strawberries mixed with vanilla." He whispered into her ear.

"It's my shampoo." She said softly.

He turned her around so she was facing him.

"Bella.." He said, sounding like his voice was caught with emotion.

He stared deeply into her chocolate brown eyes, as if he was staring at the beautiful girl for the first time. Bella bit her lip, she didn't know what caused him to act this way. He suddenly let her go, she almost lost her balance and felt saddened to be away from him. She took a small step back and looked at him with a confused expression on her face.

"You should forget about what I said earlier. I'm not good for you Bella. I was wrong to try to bring you into my world." He said bitterly.

She felt like he had just slapped her across the face. Didn't he feel how electric it was between them? How could he just take back what he said? It made no sense to her.

"You can't ask me to just forget it. Not good for me? Let me decide that." She pleaded.

He shook his head and looked away from her, his gaze directed towards the flames.

"You would choose wrong because you don't know all the details Bella." He said firmly.

She blinked back tears, he was rejecting her and it felt like he had thrown a piece of heart into the blazing flames that was next to them. He couldn't tell her that he was bad for her and then just tell her to forget about what he said earlier.

"I don't care what I choose, as long as it's my own choice, but if that's really what you want Edward then there's not much I can do." She said quietly.

He looked upset, but he refused to say anything. She took one last long look at him. There was too much darkness and dramaticness to him, it would be foolish for her to fall for him. She knew this now and already he was starting to hurt her, so why did she feel like this was just the beginning and that it was far from over?

Edward and Bella had been back from their trip for a week now. Edward was sitting in his office at home drinking some scotch. His plan was falling into place and he ruined it all by taking one look at Bella. They were dancing, it was like they were made for each other. He looked into her deep, brown and loving eyes, eyes that were free from hate and evil. Her pureness was so tangible that he knew then that he could never use her the way he planned to. The deadline still loomed over his head like an ominous cloud, Bella had been ignoring him ever since they came back. He would just have to find someone else, she deserved more than that. It was fair enough to say that he was miserable. He was consumed by his pain on most days and drank his sorrows away. He knew that she was undoing him in some way and he didn't understand why. He took a sip from his scotch as he read an article for his magazine. There was a soft knock on the door, he looked up from the article.

"Who is it?" He said, sounding angry.

"It's Bella." She said,sounding annoyed.

A small smile crept onto his face, but he quickly concealed it when she pulled the door open and walked inside. She was wearing a tight fitting black knit sweater which showed off her curves perfectly, paired with purple skinny jeans. She was wearing makeup and her brown hair was wavy and down. She took his breath away. She pulled the black, plastic chair out and sat down on it.

"I need your permission for something."

"What is it?" He asked.

"I need you to temporarily lift one of your rules just for tonight."

"Which one?" He asked stiffly.

"The one about having boys over. My friend Jake is here and we need to study." She said.

Edward immediately felt enraged by her request. Study was just code for hooking up, he had been young once and he knew how that worked.

"I don't want you screwing some kid in my house." He said angrily.

Bella blinked her eyes and shook her head.

"I will be doing no such thing! He's just a friend and I need to study for this test or I'll fall behind in class. Anyways there was somebody I was interested in, but he's way too bad for me." She said stubbornly.

Edward smirked, he didn't want anyone else to touch her. She was too pure for that, it would disgust him if she was defiled by some stupid college frat boy.

"You better mean that Bella or I'll kick you out in an instant. Now about this other person, maybe he was just being idiotic..."

Bella rolled her eyes at him and laughed dryly.

"Yes Mr. Cullen I understand that. I'll be sure to just study. Well has he come to his senses yet?"

He smirked.

"He will never be in the right frame of mind.."

"I don't care."

"Don't be rude."

"I mean I don't care if he will never be in the right frame of mind. He thinks he's worse than he truly is."

Edward laughed and took a sip of his scotch.

"Can we please stop referring to me in the third person? My head is spinning." He said.

Bella watched him curiously, he appeared to be intoxicated and out of it.

"Your head is probably spinning because of that." She said pointing to the drink in his hand.

"No it's not." He slurred a little.

She pushed her chair back and walked over to where Edward was sitting. She reached for the glass to pull it away from him, but he refused to let it go. How much had he been drinking? Surely it was more than just this one glass.

"Edward, how much have you drank?" She asked.

"I was at the bar, they sent me home for drinking too much and now here I am drinking this scotch. Don't worry so much, beautiful." He said sounding flirty and drunk.

She shook her head and tried pulling the glass in his hand away again.

"You need to stop, please for me?" She asked.

He looked into her eyes and smiled, he put the glass down on the desk and pushed it away.

"Now you do something for me. Give me a kiss." He said.

Bella rolled her eyes.

"No Edward. If you feel weird or something just shout for me. I'm going to go study now." She said.

She didn't want to leave him alone, but she was sure if she stayed there she would end up kissing him and she would just want to do it again and again afterwards. She grabbed the glass of scotch and walked out of the office with it. She went to the kitchen and dumped the liquid in the sink and then she left the glass there.

Jake and Bella were sitting in her room. She was glad that she had someone to hang out with, without the added drama of confusing feelings. Jake was handsome and he wasn't confusing or complicated like Edward, it was a nice change. Jake was sitting on the other side of the bed.

"This place is really nice. I can't believe Cullen lets you stay here for free." He commented.

Bella looked around at her room, it was really nice. She smiled slightly.

"Oh trust me I'm paying to live here." She said cryptically.

Jake looked very surprised and taken back.

"Does he make you.." He said.

Bella gasped and shook her head, shaking her hand out in front of her.

"No! It's not like that. Sorry I made it sound so bad. I meant I'm paying for it because Edward can be a little rough around the edges at times." She said honestly.

Jake nodded his head in understanding.

"I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I know you're not like that. It sucks that he's such a dick though. If you need to escape him, you're welcome to hang out with me." He said kindly.

Bella smiled, she was glad Jake was her friend.

"It's okay. Thanks Jake, I might have to take you up on that offer."

"Anytime. Anna Karenina is so depressing. Why does love have to be all complicated in these books? They call it great literature, yet these people are miserable. I don't get it, love should be simple, no complications." He said.

Bella tilted her head to the side, Jake made some sense about love being simple, but simple love was never epic. People wrote things about the type of love that could pull your heart out and then at the same time make you more alive than you had ever been, it explored more human emotion and pain, which made for an interesting and torrid love affair.

"It is depressing. I hate it when people don't get their happy endings. I guess literature likes exploring epic love you know? The kind of love that rips your heart out and saves you at the same time. Maybe these books are warnings. Like I'm reading The Age of Innocence and it's so obvious that Archer and Ellen are soulmates, but society and they themselves stop their love from being more than just an affair. Maybe you can read that and make sure you never let it happen to yourself. I don't know, but when I fall in love one day I wouldn't care if it was difficult because nothing worth it comes easy." Bella said strongly.

She blushed a little, she had said way too much and Jake probably thought she was being crazy. She realized that she said "When I fall in love." She always said love was never for her, but in the heat of the moment she ended up saying it was almost a 100% possibility that she would fall in love. It made no sense.

"Uh-huh. It makes sense, but don't confuse pain with love." He said cautiously.

Little did Bella and Jake know, somebody was listening in to their conversation. In his drunken state Edward walked to Bella's room, he wanted to talk to her, but he heard her talking to her friend and decided to listen to their conversation. She was a romantic, he knew that there was no way she didn't believe in love. If she thought epic loves were difficult, maybe one day she could fall for him, but what would he do then? Use her? Or maybe he would love her.

He suddenly lost his balance and fell onto the floor making a huge noise.

"Shit." He muttered as he tried to get back onto his feet. His senses were impaired so it made it difficult for him to regain his balance.

Bella swung the door open and looked around to see what made such a big noise. She saw Edward on the floor, she shook her head and immediately tried to get him back up onto his feet. Jake quickly walked over to his other side and picked him up.

"Don't crinkle my suit jacket." Edward slurred.

Bella and Jake looked at each other.

"Edward, shut up." Bella said sternly.

"She has a dirty mouth this one here." Edward whispered to Jake.

Bella directed them upstairs towards Edward's room. She knew under normal circumstances, Edward would have murdered both Bella and Jake for going into his room. He was very fussy when it came to his possessions. She opened the door to his room, it was very clean and orderly just as she imagined it would be. There was a king sized bed in the center of the room, with a black duvet on top of it and then to the side there was on bedside table with a lamp on it. There was a GQ magazine placed on top of it along with his wrist watch. Edward pulled away from Jake and Bella and stumbled onto his bed. He glared at Jake.

"You need to leave." He snarled.

Jake held his hands up in surrender.

"Okay man, no need to get defensive. Bella, lets go out for pizza or something." Jake said while looking at her with a frantic look in his eyes. She realized that he was afraid for her safety, but the funny thing was Bella was completely content with taking care of Edward, she owed him that much and she was afraid he would do something stupid.

"It's okay Jake. I think I'll stay here, I'll see you tomorrow." She said quickly.

"Are you sure?" He asked concernedly.

"Yes very sure. I'll call you in an hour." She said.

He nodded his head.

"Don't forget or I'll come back here.." He said.

She smiled at his protectiveness and waved at him as he walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

"The kid likes you." Edward said.

Bella turned around to look at him.

"At least someone likes me." She said dryly.

"Stop being so stubborn. I like you."

She went over to sit next to him.

"You're saying that because you're drunk."

"It's true. I don't want to push you away, but I rather you be safe and happy than be dragged down with me." He mumbled.

She arched an eyebrow at him, why was he doing this? It made her feel like there was some hope.

"Simple loves are never epic." She said.

"I heard what you were saying about it, did you mean what you said?"

He had eavesdropped on her, she should have been furious, but she wasn't.

"Yes I did. I'm starting to see that somethings are just worth fighting for."

He ran a finger down her cheek,she closed her eyes. Just one simple touch from him made her feel flustered. He was making her feel something she had never felt before. He moved closer to her, so that she could feel his warm breath on her neck. He smelt like a brewery mixed with Armani cologne, an interesting combination. He moved her brown hair away from her neck so it was exposed. He was fixated with her neck, little did he know it was her most erogenous zone.

"I never want to hurt you." He whispered.

It turned out that a drunk Edward was very honest Edward.

"Then don't."

"I'm a monster Bella, it's inevitable. If you choose to be with me, it won't be easy." He warned.

"Don't say that about yourself, you're more than that. I don't want easy Edward. Nthing has ever come easy to me."

"Don't say that I never warned you." He said as he placed a seductive kiss on her neck.


Chapter 7

Bella couldn't believe that she was taking care of him, especially after how he treated her before. Why was it that a man could trea
t you so terribly yet you would still care about him? It infuriated her so much, but at the same time she knew there was no way that she could just leave him there while he was drunk and was incapable of taking care of himself. She had fallen asleep in Edward's bed while she made sure she was okay last night. She turned around in the bed to look for Edward, but he was gone. She sat up and looked around for him, she saw him standing by his full length mirror adjusting his tie. He was wearing a sleek looking black suit and he had a cold expression on his face as he went through his daily morning ritual of getting ready. Bella just looked at him, he was like a cold, impossibly beautiful statue. His green eyes seemed to be a million miles away , he caught a glimpse of her in the mirror and turned around.

"You can leave now. Thank you for last night, it will never happen again." He said coldly.

She stared at him with a shocked expression on her small, heart shaped face. She threw the covers off her and scrambled onto her feet. She stopped for a second, so she wouldn't look like an awkward girl trying to run away so she wouldn't cry in front of him. She turned her head to look him directly into the eyes, her big brown eyes filling with tears.

"After all I did for you, how can you just stand there and be so cold? How is it possible for someone to be so cold?" She asked with bitter emotion in her voice.

She felt like her throat was closing up on her and she felt like she couldn't breathe. How many times could someone be rejected and then get up and keep trying? It made her feel worthless, like she was just not enough to have something as simple as love.

Edward stared at the young girl, her eyes were filled with tears and it pulled at his heartstrings, but he kept his cool exterior. The cold, indifferent mask on his face remained the same. He pulled at his silk, navy tie and looked directly into her eyes. She was making it difficult for him, he could not hurt her, he rather have her think he was a monster than to hurt her and cause her to feel pain, although it was probably too late for that since she had tears in her eyes.

"Hmm I suppose you can call it cold, I prefer to call it my personality.I thanked you for your kindness, what more do you want?" He said casually.

She took a deep breath and exhaled. She shook her head and had a look of disgust on her face.

"I want nothing Edward. I want absolutely nothing from you." She said with a definite tone in her voice.

She looked down at the ground as she walked out of his room and shut the door behind her. After she left he ran his fingers through his hair, he had never felt guilt for treating people badly in a long time and he was confused when he suddenly felt wracked with guilt. If she only knew what he was capable of then she would understand.

Bella ran down the stairs and ran into her room, brushing past Adrianna. She shut the door and leaned her back against it as a fresh flow of tears fell down from her eyes, she let them flow as she closed her eyes and felt her heart ache. She quickly wiped them away, this was exactly why she didn't want to fall in love. She hated the rollercoaster ride you had to go on when you had any form of feelings for someone. It made you feel confused and sad. "What was the point of putting your heart through hell for fleeting emotions?" Bella thought to herself. She slid her back down the door until she was sitting on the floor, she pulled her knees up to her chest and slightly rocked back and forth. She couldn't do this to herself, she would have to push any feelings she had for Edward to the very bottom depths of her heart. She had to protect herself from him, she would stay away from him as much as she could. It all sounded so good to her, but how could you kill a feeling? It seemed impossible to her.

Edward had walked down to her room, he didn't know what he was doing. He couldn't apologize, but he had to find out if she was okay. He was about to knock on her door when he heard sobs coming from the other side of the door. He closed his eyes, she didn't deserve this. He would have to stay away from her, it was the best thing to do. Arianna walked up to him, she seemed afraid, he wondered why everyone always seemed to be afraid of him. Was he really that much of a monster?

"What did you do to nice girl?" She asked, sounding a bit brave now.

Edward glared at her, he wanted to tell the help to mind her own business, but he knew she was right.

"I don't know." He admitted honestly.

"Find out and then fix it, you look happy when she get here." She said in broken english.

He knew she was right, it would be the best thing to do.

"Yeah I guess so." He said.

He knew that right now wouldn't be a good time to speak to her, he straightened his shoulders and walked towards the staircase. He had to go to work and focus on anything but those sad, sad brown eyes.

Bella had stayed in her room all day, she didn't want to do anything until she felt better about herself. She tried doing some homework and some reading, but she couldn't get her mind off what happened. She was sitting by her desk, checking her facebook on her laptop when she heard her phone beep. She picked up her blackberry and saw a text from Angela. She opened the text and read it.

B! You need to have fun!

I'm going to this party in SoHo later, you have to come.

There will be cute guys there and alcohol.

Bella laughed, it was not her scene at all. She was about to politely decline Angela's offer, but she decided that maybe she should have some fun. Edward's draining energy had been getting to her, she was 19 not 40, she deserved to have a night out for once.

You're right I do.

Text me the address.

Cute guys? I'll see about that!

xoxo

B

She hit send and smiled, now it was time to get a cute outfit together. She shut down her laptop and pushed her chair back. She stood up and took off her black t-shirt and jeans. She walked over to her closet and started looking through her clothes to find something nice to wear to the party. She found a cute pink colored dress that was short. She quickly slipped it on. It was about time she did something crazy.

Edward was watching Bella through the vent in his room. She was on the laptop and the next minute she was taking her clothes off and putting on a fancy looking dress. He was concerned about where she was going and wondered if Jacob was the one who texted her, he was probably taking her on some date. Edward didn't trust him and he wasn't going to let Bella get herself into some stupid situation. Just because he couldn't be with her didn't mean that he wasn't going to keep an eye on her. He watched as she applied make up on, grabbed her clutch that was on her dressing table and exited the room. He got back onto his feet and headed out of his room. He knew that following her would seem stalkerish, but she was a young girl alone in a big city. How could he not follow her?

He walked down the stairs and watched as she headed out the door. He quickly walked to the window that was next to the door, he watched as she walked down the street. He grabbed the keys to his BMW, he hated driving in the city, but it was an emergency. He rushed to the door, opened it and walked outside. He walked very quickly to his car, got in and then merged onto the road. He kept Bella in clear view as he watched her get into a cab. "What is she doing to me?" He thought to himself.

The cab pulled up to the SoHo apartment building that Angela had given her the address to. Bella was totally out of her element here, she paid the driver and got out of the cab. She stood in front of the building and looked at it, it was brown with fire escapes running across it. She took a deep breath and exhaled, she would have a good time tonight and forget all about a certain someone. She heard a car go by, she turned around to look. It looked like Edward's BMW, she rolled her eyes because she didn't want to be reminded of him right now. She walked into the building and took an elevator up to the 4th floor where the party was. She looked for apartment 201, she saw a door open with people walking into the apartment, she assumed that was the party and she headed towards it. She looked at the number on the door and it was 201, she walked into the apartment. The lights were dim and there was a strobe light flashing in the background, the room was noisy and Bella could smell weed and cigarette smoke in the air. There was a couple making out on the couch in front of her like no one was watching and people were dancing and grinding against each other. "So this is what people do when I'm at home reading like a loser." She thought to herself. Somebody approached her and gave her a big hug, Bella froze she couldn't see who it was.

"Don't be so stiff B! It's me Angela." She said.

Bella relaxed and hugged her friend back, she was glad Angela showed up because she was starting to feel out of place. She let go of her and looked at her, Angela was wearing a very short black dress that showed off her amazing legs that were lengthened by nude colored Jimmy Choo shoes.

"You look amazing!" She said kindly.

Angela nodded her head and smiled, while she looked at Bella's cute pink dress that was paired with some black stilettos.

"Thank you B, you look beautiful!" Angela slurred.

Bella realized that Angela had been drinking before she got here. A handsome looking guy came up behind Angela and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, while he kissed her neck. Bella felt uncomfortable watching him act that way with her friend, in front of her. He looked at her up and down, he smirked a little and then whispered into Angela's ear, she blushed slightly.

"Bella, I hate to do this but I um need to do something. Go get some drinks and I will be right back." Angela said.

The guy let her go and then took her hand as the two of them disappeared into the crowd leaving Bella alone. She felt like going home, but then she realized Edward would be there and she wanted to avoid him right now. She made her way to the table which had some drinks on it, she pushed passed people who were dancing and finally made it to the table. She picked up a cup which looked like it had rum and coke in it. She took a small sip from it and made a funny face when she tasted how strong it was. It was more rum and less coke. A guy with piercings and a blue mohawk walked up to her, he let his eyes wash over her and didn't hide the fact that he was checking her out. He picked up a cup and downed it fast.

"Hello beautiful." He said sounding charming.

Bella looked around to make sure that he wasn't talking to someone else. She blushed slightly and waved at him with her free hand.

"Hi!" She said and instantly regretted sounding so childish.

"Hi, do you want to dance?" He asked.

Bella looked around and for a second she thought she saw Edward standing in the crowd, she blinked her eyes and looked again, but she didn't see him this time. "Say yes to this guy and forget Edward." She told herself.

"Sure thing handsome." She said, feeling surprised by her sudden boldness.

He smirked and took her hand as he led her out to the dance floor. He pulled her close to him, he smelled like weed and sweat. She started missing Edward's sweet scent already. The music sounded really sexual, the guy started grinding against her. Bella tried to get into it and have fun, but she didn't feel right. She didn't want to be at some party alone because her friend ditched her to have sex with some sleazy guy and she didn't want some stranger grinding with her. She pushed her hands against his chest.

"I'm sorry I don't feel like dancing." She said.

"Do you think you're too good for me?" He asked.

"No I didn't say that, I just don't feel like dancing." She stammered.

He grinded against her again and pulled her closer. He let her go and then grabbed her by the arm as he started pushing her through the crowd.

"Do you just want to get straight to it then?" He asked.

"No! Let me go." She said firmly.

The rest of the party goers ignored the obvious struggle Bella was having as the guy pulled her through the crowd and up the stairs.

"I hate teases." He said.

"And I hate assholes like you." A angry, musical voice said.

Bella gasped as she saw Edward standing behind her. She had never seen him look so scary or menacing before. His green eyes almost looked black and it looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel. He grabbed the guy from the back and pushed him down the stairs, he tumbled down the stairs and landed on the floor with a thud. Bella had fallen onto the stairs when she broke free from the guy when Edward grabbed him. Edward carefully helped Bella up and held her hand as the two of them walked down the stairs. He kicked the guy hard in the stomach and then walked with Bella out of the apartment as everyone stared at them. He pulled her hand and directed her towards the elevator.

"What are you - doing here?" She asked.

He looked at her with concern in his eyes.

"Forget about that for a second. Are you okay?" He asked.

She shook her head and her lower lip trembled. He wasn't good at comforting people, but he knew that he wanted to hold her, so he pulled her closer to him and held her in his arms. He felt her wrap her arms around him and she rested her head against his chest. She was breathing heavy, he knew she was really upset. She felt so tiny and fragile in his arms, he felt an overwhelming need to protect her. He held onto her tightly and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you." She whispered. They slowly pulled away from each other and he smiled at her. He pressed the button on the elevator and waited for it to open up. The two of the got in once it opened and he pressed the ground floor button.

Edward and Bella were sitting in his car on their way home. She looked out the window as they drove through SoHo, the lights looked amazing and bright. Edward was silent since they got into the car, she could only wonder what he thought about her now. She was so sure that he didn't care about her, but actions spoke louder than words. He had saved her, monsters didn't save people. She reached out to the radio and pressed play, I'm in here by Sia started playing. Soft and sad sounding piano music filtered through the car. Edward was holding onto the steering wheel tightly as he turned right. She just stared at him, she knew now that it was impossible to kill a feeling.

"You saved me." She said randomly.

He looked at her from the corner of his eyes.

"It was nothing." He said softly.

"It wasn't nothing Edward. How did you know I was there?" She asked.

"I want to beat the crap out of that guy. I was following you.."He admitted in defeat.

She blinked her eyes at him, did she hear him right?

"Forget about him. Why were you following me Edward?" She asked.

He sighed and looked a bit angry, he shrugged his shoulders.

"I just had a feeling that you might be in trouble."

"I don't get why you would do that for me, you made it clear this morning that I meant nothing to you."

He laughed dryly.

"You don't get it, but I do care about you Bella and so much." He said with some emotion in his voice.

She smiled slightly, it felt so good to know that he cared about her, that someone like him who was so perfect could care about someone so ordinary like her.

"Then let me understand Edward. Thank you, that's all I needed to hear." She said.

A small smile appeared on his handsome face.

"You can't, no one can. I'm much worse than what you think I am."

She looked down at her hands, why was he so difficult?

"No you're not Edward, you're just not."

"If Bella says I'm not that bad, then I'm not."He said jokingly.

She rolled her eyes and laughed a little.

"What I say goes."

"Of course."

He pulled up into the parking space for his car and then turned the engine off. He turned to look at her, he had sadness in his eyes.

"I wasn't always like this, but something happened and I was never the same again. You asked why I'm so cold earlier and it's because of that. I've seen shrinks, I've tried everything to feel normal again, to forgive myself for what I did, but nothing worked. I am who I am Bella and I wish I could change, but it's just not possible. It's as if a curse was placed on me and nothing can break it. I'm doomed to be a beast for all of eternity." He said in a rare moment of vulnerability.

She stared at him, she was not expecting him to be so open with her. She didn't want him to think that of himself because there was redemption for all human beings. She wondered what made him this way and it hurt her heart to know that he was in so much torment from his past.

"I'm so sorry Edward. I shouldn't have said all of that earlier. Curses can be broken, nothing is ever permanent. I don't know what you did, but if you haven't forgiven yourself for what you did then you're always going to feel this way. You need to let it go eventually and if you need to talk I'm here."

He looked deeply into her warm and inviting brown eyes, eyes that seemed to be trying to save him, to draw him in. She reached out for his hand, he let her touch him for a few seconds, but quickly pulled away. She pulled her hand back meekly and looked at him again.

"Maybe one day I will Bella and I'll remember that. You should go in, it's been a long night." He said.

She looked at him sadly, he was pushing her away again, but he had opened up to her and it was a start. She gave him a small, sad smile.

"Love always breaks the spells and curses in fairytales." She said as she opened the car door and got out of the car.

She walked up the stairs to the town house and opened the door with her spare key. She walked inside and shut the door. Edward's eyes never left her till she walked inside. Maybe she was right, love could break spells and curses, but he was no prince charming. He didn't think that Prince Charming would ever consider using the woman he loved for his own personal gain. Where was the place for monsters and beasts in fairytales? They were just villains and nothing more.

"Can you hear my call? Are you coming to get my now?

I've been waiting for you to come rescue me

I need you to hold all of the sadness I can not live with inside of me"

The words from the song Bella put on dragged out, he smirked at the irony of it. He had saved her tonight, but she didn't know that she had thrown a life saver out to him tonight. She wanted to understand him, to help him. Nobody had done that before.


Chapter 8

Bella sat on the stairs and waited for Edward to walk in. He had been out for about 10 minutes and she was starting to wonder if he had went somewhere. She looked up and saw the brass doorknob turn, the door opened and Edward walked inside. His golden hair shined brightly in the light and he looked like a male model or a greek god, but even better if that was possible. Their eyes locked
as soon as he saw her sitting on the steps. She gave him a small smile, it was an awkward type of smile, one you smiled when you didn't know what to do. He didn't say anything as he walked over to where she was. He sat down next to her and stretched out his long legs. She felt intoxicated by his scent of Armani cologne.

"Do you want to tell me why you decided to go to a party like that by yourself?" He asked.

She looked down at her fingers. "I wanted to forget about you." She thought. She looked back up at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"I just wanted to have fun for once. My friend was there, but then she ditched me." She explained.

He smirked and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Don't you have fun living with me?" He asked.
She rolled her eyes and laughed.
"It was a joke." He said.
"It wasn't a very good one. I know what I did was stupid."
"Yeah it was, you seem like you're not sure of who you want to be."He said.

She looked at him curiously, it was like he was looking right through her and in that moment she felt so vulnerable and she didn't like how open she felt. It was a risky move, if you shared too much with someone it would connect you and that could be a really big problem in itself.

"You're right about that, but I'm ready to find out who I really am." She said.

"That's a good thing. I think I lost myself - a lot has happened with me over the years." He said in a low voice.

She looked into his green eyes, she could see that there was so much pain in them and she wondered if maybe that was to blame for his coldness and tough exterior. She was also starting to realize that behind the money and power was a man who was wounded beyond repair, she didn't know the reason for it, but it seemed as if he had been affected by something life altering. She reached out for his hand, which was freezing cold, and gently squeezed it as she looked into his eyes. He looked at her and then quickly looked away from her pensive gaze, it was far too intimate for his liking. He did not want her to see through his facade of coldness. Edward didn't want anyone to know how damaged he was although it was too late now because he had been letting his guard down around her a lot lately.

"What's lost can always be found, don't give up." She said, offering words of encouragement.

He smiled weakly at her and looked down at their hands, her hand looked so fragile as if he could break it by just gently squeezing it. He wasn't use to someone trying to show true affection to him, he slowly pulled his hand away and stood up. He watched as the hopeful expression on her face fell and she nibbled at her lower lip. He had to save this girl from himself, he was the most dangerous predator to her and he had to stop making such rash and stupid decisions when it came her.

"Yeah well I'm going to bed. See you around." He said, quickly putting on the mask of ice he was so accustomed to wearing around people.

Bella didn't say anything to him, she simply nodded her head and moved to the side so that he could get past her. He walked up the stairs without a single glance at her. She stared out into space, getting lost in her thoughts. "Why does he always do this to me?" She thought miserably to herself. This time she didn't feel like crying, she was starting to feel numb as if she had reached her limit. Who did he think he was anyways?

It was Monday morning and Bella decided it was best to catch up on some studying before classes started. She would have to talk to Angela later about how Edward had saved her and how she would never go to another party with her again if she planned on just ditching her. She was flipping through the pages of her text book when she heard someone pull up a chair and sit next to her, she turned her head to the side to see who it was. She saw that it was Professor Avery, she froze because he truly frightened her. He was wearing a buttoned down white shirt and his hair was slicked back, his features were those of a very good looking man, but if you looked into his blue eyes it was almost sinister.

"I hear that you're living with Cullen." He said casually.

"I really don't think that's any of your business." She said firmly.

"He's a really bad person, he's a life ruiner." He said bitterly.

Bella arched an eyebrow at her professor.

"It's funny, he says the same thing about you."

"I'm sure he does. You should know exactly what he did. He took the love of my life away from me just because he could, not because he loved her. He used her like she was just some asset to his company.." He said in an almost growl.

Bella blinked her eyes, she felt angry that Avery would say such horrid things about Edward. She wondered if this woman had anything to do with changing Edward and making him cold, she needed to know more.

"He's not a bad person, I don't know what he did, but he's not some beast. What do you mean by him taking away the love of your life? He dated some girl you loved?" She asked curiously.

Avery leaned back against the chair and tapped his fingers onto the table and then glared at Bella. His eyes were far away and it looked like he was thinking about a million sad thoughts.

"He didn't just date her, he married her and ruined her life and mine. That's the man you're living with. He's nothing but a monster and one day I plan on taking what he loves away from him. Are you with him?" He asked and leaned in closer to Bella.

She moved her chair away from him, she was in shock. How could Edward have been married before and not told her? She shook her head.

"No I'm not with him. I have to - go." She said sounding as if her mind was a million miles away.

She grabbed her textbook off the table and her bag from the edge of the seat and walked as fast as she could out of the library. Her heart was beating out of her chest. Edward had basically used a woman for his company according to Avery, could it be true? She rushed down the hallway and looked for the restrooms, she walked to the woman's restroom and sighed in relief because nobody was there. She pulled her blackberry out of her pocket and quickly called Edward. She wanted to know the truth. The phone rang a few times until he finally answered.

"What?" He asked rudely.

She rolled her eyes, he sounded like he was in a bad mood.

"Avery - he told me some awful things about you Edward." She said.

She heard him inhale sharply and shout at someone to get out of his office.

"What did he say to you Bella? I told you to stay away from him." He said sternly.

She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed.

"He said that you took the love of his life away and that - you were married before. Is that true?"She asked.

There was a long pause and she was starting to think that maybe he had hung up on her.

"You shouldn't believe everything people tell you Bella. I'm at work. I'll talk to you later and stay the hell away from Avery if you can." He said angrily.

He hung up on her and she put her phone back into her pocket. She looked into the mirror, her tired and sad brown eyes looked back at her. He was hiding something and she had a feeling it was all in the floor he had banned her from going to, she would have to figure this out. It had to be why he was pushing her away, she needed to know exactly what she was dealing with in order to get somewhere with Edward one day.

***

Edward slammed his I-phone onto his desk, he didn't want Bella to know about how much of a monster he really was. "You finally found a girl that you could care about and you can't even be with her."He told himself bitterly. He picked up a glass of scotch from his desk and swirled the liquid around before he took a sip from it, feeling the alcohol burn his throat. He paid for the consequences of his past everyday, there was no escaping it. His life should have been a cliche, he had experienced a deep loss and in turn it should have made him a better person, but Edward knew that life didn't always work that way. Guilt had a way of killing a person slowly from the inside out like a poison. He did not become a better person, nor did he want to make most of every moment, that was for happy people not him.

His power and wealth became his only friends and if he didn't marry someone soon he would lose that too. He didn't want to lose everything because he would have no self worth, he would be nothing without his job. He kept thinking about what Bella had said to him earlier "what's lost can always be found, don't give up." Why did she have to be so kind, loving and helpful? It infuriated him, but it wasn't her fault that she was so amazing. She was like a mirror showing him how cold he had become, he was aware of it, but whenever he looked into her eyes when he said something hurtful to her he would instantly realize how cold he was and he despised himself for that. He heard the door open, he was about to tell whoever it was to go to hell and leave him alone. He glanced up and saw that it was that Brazilian model he always hooked up with, but he could never really remember her name. At least he's honest to himself. For once he wasn't in the mood to do anything to her, all she wanted was sex and his money. She walked over to him and let her Burberry trench coat fall to the floor, revealing a red lingerie set. She turned his swivel chair around and placed her hands on the arm rests.

"Why so glum?" She asked and pouted.

He wasn't about to have a serious conversation with a woman he just used for sex.
"Work, stress." He lied.

"I can help with that." She said as she placed a kiss on his lips.

He immediately wished it was Bella, but he could never have her.. so he kissed the model back and let his hands roam around her body, falling into familiar habits. This was how he drowned out everything.

Edward had taken Marie out for dinner at an expensive restaurant, if he needed to marry someone soon he was going to explore his options. He had dropped her off at her SoHo apartment and now he was back at home in his study reading some articles for the magazine that need his approval to be published. He hadn't seen Bella since he came back and he was starting to feel like his old self again, as long as he wasn't near her his facade wouldn't crack. He heard a loud noise coming from outside the door of his study which was very weird considering that he had banned everyone from coming up to the fourth floor. He pushed his chair back angrily and walked swiftly to the door, he yanked it open and walked out into the hallway. He saw Bella standing in front of a broken vase, he was furious with her and he tried his best to calm down.

"What are you doing here?" He asked angrily.

She took a few, small tentative steps back and looked up at him with fear in her eyes.

"I- I came here by mistake." She stuttered.

He walked closer to her and stared her down. He could tell that she was afraid, but he was too angry to care.

"You're lying. You're not going to find anything here Bella." He said.

He grabbed her by the arm carefully and walked with her towards the stairs, she walked down with him and felt infuriated at him for escorting her out of the 4th floor like she was someone who was trespassing. When they got down to the 3rd floor, Bella tried pushing his hand away from her arm.

"Let go!" She shouted loudly.

He stared at her for a second and quickly let go of her arm.

"You know you just broke one of the rules."
"So you're going to kick me out? I'll go get my stuff and leave." She said.
"I'm not going to kick you out. Don't be ridiculous."

He wouldn't kick her out, he couldn't bare the thought of her not being in his life even though he wanted to avoid her and there was also the fact that she had nowhere else to go. Bella stared at his neck and noticed a hickey on it, she tried to pretend that it didn't bother her, but it did.

"Well thank you? And you have a hickey on your neck." She said.

His hand instantly reached out to his neck and he sighed, he suddenly felt like a cheater who had been caught.

"That's none of your business Bella." He said stubbornly.

"Is it your girlfriend or one of your many whores Edward?" She said angrily.

"Are you jealous?" He asked with a smirk.

"Get over yourself! That's your problem Edward you think that everybody wants you, but in actuality your personality is so toxic that not even all the good looks and power in the world can ever redeem you! You tell me that you have feelings for me and then you tell me to just forget about it. What kind of person does that? If you're with someone else you should just say it." She said angrily.

Bella may have been naive sometimes, but she was no doormat, she would not let some man treat her like she was nothing. Edward wasn't expecting this from her, nobody ever called him out on his behavior.

"Stop, you don't know me Bella. That's just too damn bad for me now isn't it? I have everything I want, I don't need to be anything else. I'm not with anyone yet - but that's going to change soon, so you better get use to it. We fight so much - why would you even want to be with me?" He asked.

She clenched her hands into fists, he was really getting under her skin right now. She just wanted to slap him across his unfairly perfect face.

"If you don't have happiness you have nothing! You have everything yet you actually have nothing. Well good luck to the unlucky soul who gets to be with you because she's sure as hell going to need it. I don't even know anymore. You're right we fight too much, it will never work. I don't even know why I kissed you that night, I regret it."

She knew that she was just lying to herself, she regretted a lot of things, but kissing him wasn't one of them. He glared at her, how could she regret that kiss they had shared? They had so much chemistry, didn't she feel that? He grabbed her shoulders gently and pushed her against the cream colored wall. He stared directly into her eyes, she had pissed him off more than usual and somehow it had made him want her more than he did before. He ran his index finger down the side of her neck and dragged it down to the top of her shirt, he slowly undid one button, revealing a hint of cleavage covered by a lacey black bra. Bella closed her eyes, she wanted to push him away to tell him to stop, but she couldn't. His touch against her soft skin felt so right and so natural. She bit down on her lip hard. He kissed her chin and then made his way down to her neck and then he trailed soft kisses all the way down to where he had unbuttoned her shirt. Bella let out a soft moan. He slowly pulled away and looked at her, she was breathing heavy and she had her eyes closed.

"Do you really regret kissing me?" He asked her.

Her eyes fluttered open and she stared directly into his magnetic green eyes. She shook her head.

"No I don't." She said truthfully this time.

He placed his hand on the side of her warm cheek.

"We've got to stop doing this - I just can't seem to stop myself whenever I'm around you. I can't offer you a fairytale ending, but it would be a waste to ignore all this chemistry. Let's go finish this in my room." He said in a low seductive voice.

She suddenly looked afraid and quickly buttoned up her shirt. She looked up at him and felt so ashamed about what she was about to say to him.

"I can't - it's not that I don't want to. I just don't know what to do." She said feeling completely vulnerable.

He looked at her with confusion in his eyes.

"You don't have that much experience, that's fine I can teach you." He said.

She blushed and hated herself for being so cliched and shook her head.

" Edward - I'm a virgin." She said in a soft voice.

He ran his fingers through his hair and stared at her, how stupid could he be?

"I see, I'm sorry. I didn't know." He said a bit awkwardly.

"It's okay and anyways I would need more of a commitment to do anything like that with you." She said nervously.

He placed a small kiss on her forehead. He didn't want to hurt her, but how much longer could he deny himself what he really wanted? He didn't know if a lifelong commitment would be something he could do, but if he had to get married then he would want to marry Bella and if it didn't work out, she would get a lot of money in the divorce settlement. It seemed like a fair deal to him. It amazed him how he could convince himself of one thing when he wasn't around her and then change his mind instantly just by touching her and looking at her.

"I'm not promising you that I'll be the perfect boyfriend, but do you want to take a chance on whatever this is?" He said and pointed to her and then to himself.

She looked at him and blinked her eyes, she was sure he had some sort of mood disorder or he was just extremely indecisive, but she was sick of being forever alone and what she felt for Edward was dangerous and exciting, you didn't just walk away from that. Maybe she would get burned, but it would be better than never knowing. She knew it wouldn't be easy.

"Yes I do and I'm not promising to be the perfect girlfriend." She said teasingly.

He smirked and then scooped her up in his arms, she laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

He walked towards his room with her in his arms.

"You're going to sleep next to me tonight, let's see how this goes." He said a bit playfully.

She looked up at him, she had never seen him so playful since she had met him. Could she have anything to do with this change? Yes.

Story writer: Kim Hepburn
will add more when it is posted xoxo

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 17.09.2012

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