Here is the second and last chapter of this little story, with this it will now be marked complete. I've made the point that I wanted to with this story and I'm so glad that I did. Thank you so much for the outpouring of love and support with this very small project. As I stated, a new chapter of The Bunny Ranch will be out very soon.

I own nothing.

"I want you to know that while I don't condone what you did with Jacob, those choices were your own, I'm also well aware of my part in all of this."

Edward's voice is soft, only emphasizing the sadness. Yes, Edward, you played a part in all of this too. Instead of voicing this, however, I look over at him, taking a moment to think about my words because I know that anything I say will set the tone of how this will go. And while I have no desire to continue hiding my feelings, I don't think that placing accusations and blame on him is the right course of action. We both made mistakes, but in all honesty, mine are the root cause of the brokenness of our relationship right not. Not only because I betrayed him in the worst possible way, but because I lied. I lied when I told him that everything was fine. I lied when I told him that I forgave him for leaving. I lied when I told him that I trusted him to stay, and I lied when I assured him that Jacob was just a friend rather than my insurance policy. God, we have so much to talk about.

"I appreciate you acknowledging your mistakes, Edward. But the truth is, I haven't been entirely honest with you. And I'm not just talking about the Jacob situation."

He looks over at me, apprehension clear in his golden eyes. I take a deep breath and then force myself to keep talking. If I can get everything out in the open, then maybe we can focus on working past it all.

"The truth is that I haven't really forgiven you for leaving." His head drops even lower and I begin to panic. "Please don't misunderstand me, Edward. I'm so happy that you're back. I'm so incredibly grateful that you're here and in my life. I love you, and I want you to stay. I guess I was just so afraid to talk about it, that I never got the chance to resolve my feelings. I didn't want to rock the boat or give you a reason to leave me again so I kept it all bottled up, hoping that the feelings would eventually fade away."

Tears prickle behind my eyes but I press on, "I was wrong though. I was wrong because the longer we went on, the more those feelings of insecurity and inadequacy and anger...well, they festered and grew into resentment. It started with resenting the fact that you made a unilateral decision about our relationship, no matter what the motivation was, that hurt me. Your hurt me. Then despite my absolute joy at having you back, the resentment started growing when you, again, decided that I was not competent enough to choose my own friends. When you started dictating to me who I could see and who I couldn't. I know that your intentions were good. I know that. But that's not how it felt. It felt stifling and condescending."

He's silent for a long while. I don't dare look over at him, though, because I'm afraid that instead of helping what feels like a hopeless situation, that I made it even worse. Holy crow, Bella, when will you stop being so self-centered. I'm just about to backtrack when he finally speaks.

"I understand how you would've felt that way. I'm sorry that my actions made you feel stifled. That's the last thing that I wanted to do."

He's quiet for a moment but then he speaks again. "I was afraid."

"Afraid?" My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline in surprise. My vampire is not afraid of anything.

"Yes. Afraid. I was afraid that I was losing you to him. I could feel that you were holding back, and I knew how he felt about you. You connected with him in a way that you didn't with me. I knew that he was manipulating you by playing on the insecurities that I, myself, had caused. I knew that it was just a matter of time until he succeeded. You trusted him, and you didn't trust me. I guess it goes without saying that I was jealous, too."

"Jealous? Edward, what on earth could you be jealous of?"

His eyes burn into mine and my heart breaks with his simple answer.

"He had you."

"Oh, Edward. He never had me."

Edward is right though. I didn't trust him. I didn't trust him to stay. I guess he is also right that Jake did have a part of me. I hate to admit that, but it's true.

"He had your attention, your trust and your loyalty."

"My loyalty?" What the heck is he talking about?

"Yes. Your loyalty. I was never allowed to say anything derogatory about him without being properly chastised by you. I was not allowed to express my displeasure for you spending time with another man, without you jumping to his defense, yet he could openly insult me and my family, openly pursue his romantic interest in my mate, and completely disrespect and disregard our relationship with no consequence whatsoever. The only thing you ever defended was your choice to become a vampire. You never once defended me or our relationship beyond the supernatural."

Ouch.

I can't help but flinch at those very ugly realizations. Every time I berated Edward for saying something derogatory about Jacob flashes before my eyes and the unease in my stomach twists a little more. Especially knowing how many times I let Jacob slide with his insults about Edward.

"You're right. I did not defend you or our relationship the way I should have. You deserve one hundred percent of my loyalty and I did not give that to you. I'm so sorry."

The tears finally slide down my cheeks and Edward instinctively reaches out to brush them away. It's heartbreaking, however, when he catches himself before he makes contact with my skin and pulls his hand back.

I know that we have so much more to talk about and work through, but I have to get this off of my chest.

"Edward?"

He doesn't reply with words but he looks over at me, giving me his full attention.

"I don't want to explore my options. I don't want to see or date anyone else and I don't want you to either."

I know that I have no right to ask this of him, but I have to. I just can't stand the thought of him with someone else. I don't think I could survive it. Too bad you put him through this very thing.

"I could never be with someone else, Bella."

His voice is so tender and full of devotion. Devotion that I don't deserve, but that I'm selfish enough to take. I nod my head at his declaration, so grateful for that reassurance.

"So, we'll work through this together. I belong to you, Edward, and only you."

"Are you sure, Bella? I don't want you to feel pressured. When I suggested giving you time and space, that was not at all for my benefit. I'm mated. I belong to you. I just want you to be sure. I don't want you to feel pressured."

"I don't feel pressured. I'm sorry, Edward. I'm sorry for ever making you doubt me."

"I'm sorry for not being strong enough to stay. I'm sorry for hurting you and I'm sorry that I broke your trust in me." His eyes are so sincere and so deep that it almost hurts to look at him.

"Thank you for your apology." He merely nods his head at my words. We're quiet once again and while a lot of the tension has dissipated, the silence is still uncomfortable.

"It looks like building trust back on both sides is where we will need the most work. It's probably the best place to start. Do you have any ideas?"

He shakes his head in the negative, then looks off into the distance. "I'm sorry that my family was so cold with you yesterday. They were upset. I talked to them last night. I think they'd each like to talk to you privately. I'm sure there are some unresolved feelings you have for each of them as well?"

Again, he's right. It's not like it was only him that left me. They all did and there is definitely some resentment lingering there. I do understand their demeanor yesterday, however. Edward is their son and brother. He deserves their loyalty. I have no hard feelings about that.

"That would be good, I think. Um, do you think that Carlisle would be willing to do some counselling sessions with us? I know that we have the best of intentions but, perhaps we would be more productive with someone there to help navigate the hard parts. Someone that loves us both?"

He looks surprised by my suggestion but nods his head, a small smile lifting the side of his mouth.. "I think that might be a good idea. I'll talk to him and let you know?"

Hope swells inside me at his words. He really wants to fix this. "Yeah. That would be great."

He's quiet for another long moment, and I can't think of anything else to say. My head is too jumbled up and I don't want to disturb the hope that has settled and taken root inside me. Just when I start to worry that he's going to end our time together, however, he speaks,

"I hate that he's touched you in ways that I haven't."

Such a simple declaration but it speaks volumes. It's an awful confirmation that my infallible vampire really does experience jealousy and insecurity.

"Me too."

I don't know what else to say, however his eyes look over at me with an intensity that makes my lower abdomen clench. He looks very much like a predator right now.

In less than a blink of an eye he's close enough to me that we are sharing breath. He slides his hand into the hair at the base of my head and then so low the words are barely a whisper,

"May I?"

All I can do is nod. I don't care what he's asking but I am willing to give him anything.

His nose brushes along mine and I grasp at his bicep, desperately needing something to hold me steady.

"Please understand that if you nick yourself on me teeth, I will have to change you."

He takes a deep breath and then asks again, "Are you sure?"

It's all that I can do to nod my head. My heart is pounding and my head is swimming. His golden eyes steel with resolve before his lips descend upon mine. His lips are soft and gentle but this kiss feels serious.

Very serious.

He opens his mouth and softly pushes his tongue inside my mouth. I open up to him and moan at the flavor. The kiss is torturously slow, sensual and deep, so much different that the hormone fueled, frantic way that Jacob devoured my mouth. Edward is thorough in his explorations and by the time he pulls away I'm in a complete daze.

"Wow."

He presses two more lingering pecks to my lips and then rests his forehead against mine. Tears fall from my eyes because I just cannot contain the emotion that swells inside of me for this man. How could I have ever jeopardized this?

It doesn't matter, though, because I know now more than ever that the long road ahead of us is going to be more than worth it. Our unbreakable bond is worth it.

Our love is worth it.

Fin

Again, thank you so much for reading. I'd love to hear what you guys thought of this small snapshot in time.

Love,

Laila