Full Summary:

AH Bella has lived with a jaded perception of love, mainly because she and her family were/are con artists. When her path crosses with Edward, a handsome, rich doctor, the opportunity is too great to pass up, and he becomes her next mark. Along the way she falls in love, quickly changes her plans to be with Edward. But fate has different plans for her, taking her away from her beloved. Edward always knew that there was a mystery surrounding Bella, but it will take one hell of a bachelor party, two marriages, a funeral, a chance encounter, and a lot of mistakes for him to find out what she has been hiding for so long. After all is revealed will Bella and Edward be able to forgive one another.

Starts with a brief look at the present and then goes to the past to find out what happened.

Told from both Edward and Bella's POV and possible other POV. All cannon eventually.

A huge thanks to Project Team Beta for helping me out for this first chapter.

Song for the Chapter I Still by the Backtreet Boys

No copyright infringement intended. All things Twilight belong to SM

This is my first attempt at Fan Fiction so bear with me lol

Chapter 1: WTF?

Present Day

EPOV

Coming home to my empty house was always bittersweet. I loved coming home, because everything screamed Bella. Esme and I decorated this home during our move; from the forest green walls, to the brown moldings and black leather couches, everything was intended to remind me of Bella. I had insisted on a huge kitchen, a huge backyard, and a Jacuzzi tub, because I knew Bella would have loved it. Everything was meant for her, to remind me of her, yet I can't bring myself to move or to part with anything that reminds me of her, because I still loved and missed her.

I searched the first floor, and Vanessa was no where to be found, which was not surprising she was probably with Renée. I grabbed the mail from the floor and made my way over to the kitchen. The kitchen looked brand new, because we hardly ever touched it. I mostly ate at the hospital, and Vanessa could not cook if her life depended on it. She relied on take out most days. I grabbed a beer and made myself a sandwich.

It was only 9 p.m. I needed a distraction, so I quickly checked my phone messages. I had a lot of messages. It was June, and I still had some from March. A majority were from Esme and Carlisle, my godparents. I had a ton from Alice, no surprise there. I had a few from Jasper inviting me to a few ball games. I noticed that he stopped calling after only a few messages. Poor guy, I know he tries. I even had a few from Emmet, which was surprising, given our situation. The last message was from Vanessa, and my assumption was correct; she was with Renée. Vanessa knew I was a lost cause, yet she stuck by me through everything. She knew I could never love her the way I would always love Bella, but she accepted it and ignored it.

I decided that checking my messages was not the kind of distraction I wanted, so I went into the living room and turned on the TV but soon lost interest. I made my way upstairs to my room and got out of my scrubs to take a shower. As the warm water infused my body I began to think. Thinking was deadly for me, but I was a masochist and I couldn't help myself.

How did I get here? I lost the only woman that I cared about for unknown reasons My family hated me for marrying Vanessa, but I needed a reminder of Bella, and what better way than her sister. Those damn chocolate brown eyes. I pushed my family away from my mind, because they reminded me too much of the man I was before I lost her. Vanessa accepted all my indiscretions; she accepted my second hand love. All I could allow myself were pathetic reminders. Stop, Edward! Not today! You have 3 weeks of vacation to wallow in your pity.

I turned the water off and saw that I had 4 missed calls from Alice. I knew what she was calling for. I didn't need to be a psychic or have the ability to read minds to know what Alice wanted to talk about; Jasper was the topic of our discussions most days. He had been extremely distant for a few months, and she couldn't figure out why. She would call to vent and cry. I knew I needed to be there for her, but I just couldn't muster up the strength to do so. I wasn't that guy anymore.

It was still early, so I put my ear buds on and pressed play on my IPod, hoping it would distract me enough. I would deal with the world tomorrow. I was listening to my favorite playlist when I drifted off to sleep.

My dreams only consisted of one thing or rather one person: Bella. In this dream we were in the home Esme had decorated for us back in Seattle. She was making us breakfast while I was reading the paper. My dreams quickly became a nightmare; after eating, Bella would get dressed, and she would walk away like in so many of my other dreams. I begged her to stay, but she had everything packed and left. It was 1 a.m. when I woke up. I jumped off my bed and headed for the kitchen. I grabbed some water and got back to my room where I lie, hoping for sleep to come. These types of dreams/nightmares were not new. At first I would wake up and never could go back to sleep; instead I would go to the hospital and engross myself in work. As time progressed, work became my way to deal, but today I knew I couldn't go to work, because I was on vacation. Finally, around 3a.m., I went back to sleep. I was woken by the sound of Alice's ringtone. My God, Alice, don't you know I need my sleep? "What Alice?! It's a little too early for me to put up with your drama!" I instantly regretted my surliness.

"Edward, I need your help! I had a feeling to follow Jasper today, and sure enough he's at the Ritz Carlton having brunch with some skank!" she said, screaming into the phone.

"Alice, calm down please. I'll meet you there as soon as I can." I quickly shut the phone and got dressed.

As I made my way to the hotel, thoughts of murdering Jasper were tempting me. He promised to love my sister forever, and this was his idea of love. I was glad that Alice called me for support despite my lack of involvement earlier. As I drove into the parking lot, I called Alice to let her know I had arrived. She quickly got into the passenger seat and without a word.

"Alice, what's wrong? Did you see her? Do you know who she is?" I asked, worried that she hadn't said a word.

She was in shock but answered anyway. "Edward, Rosalie and Emmet are with him. I couldn't see who the other woman was. She's wearing a scarf over her head and had sunglasses on. Edward, do you think Rosalie hates us so much that she would set him up with someone else?"

I replied, "I don't know, Alice, but we should just go and find out. Rip the band aid off and get this done so I can kick his ass!" I could not believe their nerve, interfering with Jasper and Alice's lives like that. I was angry and ready to defend my sister.

We got out of the car and made our way in. The hostess offered us a seat, but we told her we were joining another party. I couldn't tell who was with Jasper. She had a familiar look, but we definitely did not know her. She had fiery red hair under her scarf, and was extremely pale. ,

Before Alice could say anything, the redhead got up and left the table after quickly hugging Emmet, Rose, and Jasper. I saw her stumble her way to the exit. Internally I chuckled, because it reminded me of Bella's klutziness. My amusement was short lived when I looked at Alice; she was seething, and frankly, so was I.

We made our way to their table, and I stood behind Alice so she could confront her audience confidently.

"Jasper Hale, who was that skank I saw you with? And since when are you on speaking terms with your sister?" Alice asked furiously.

"Alice what has gotten into you? Are you following me?" Jasper was just as upset as Alice, which infuriated Alice and I. Emmet and Rose just sat there watching the fight without any interest, almost no emotion.

"Answer me right now, or we're over!" Alice snarled back.

"Are you insane? You don't mean that!" Jasper looked panicked and hurt. He gave a heavy sigh and began, "First of all that skank, as you called her, was my cousin, Victoria. She was just passing through, and no, I am not on speaking terms with Rosalie."

"Your cousin? Is that how you hug your cousin? I saw you holding her earlier before these two showed up," Alice was glaring at Emmet and Rose. "And how are you not on speaking terms? You're having brunch for Christ's sake!"

This time Rosalie replied, while looking at her nails, "If you must know, Alice," my sister's name came out venomous. "Victoria does not know that Jasper and I are not on good terms and we wanted to avoid the news spreading within the family. And for your information, Alice, Jasper was comforting her because her loser husband asked her for a divorce."

Alice and I looked at Jasper for confirmation, and sure enough he was nodding his head.

"Alice, sweetheart, I know things haven't been great with me busy with my new book and you busy setting up shop, but I thought you knew how much I love you. I would never cheat. Victoria called me last minute to inform me that she was stopping by for a quick visit and had made reservations for Rosalie and me. I couldn't tell her no. You never tell Victoria no, so I called Rose, and we both thought it best to put up the pretense of a happy family to avoid hearing lecture upon lecture about the importance of family from our parents. You know how they are. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I knew you would never go along with this lie and would be unable to be civil with Rosalie." Jasper finished his little speech and waited for a response. He was right. Alice would never contain herself. I could see her resolve flounder, but there was still some hesitation.

I heard Emmet clear his throat, the only noise he had made since this whole fiasco began. "Alice, Edward, it was nice seeing you, but we really got to go." Emmet's words were awkward and strained. He looked at us with a sheepish grin and grabbed Rosalie before we could respond

"Alice?" Jasper asked.

"Jasper, I'm so sorry I doubted you, but you were so mysterious these last few days. I didn't know what else to think. Next time just tell me, even if I react negatively. I'd prefer you upsetting me temporarily than thinking the worst of you!" And with that Alice and Jasper made up. I said my goodbyes and headed home.

Today was the weirdest day of my life: Alice's problems with Jasper, seeing Emmet and Rosalie after so long, and watching Jasper's cousin Victoria run away from the table. I felt bad that my sister had gone through something so embarrassing; having to expose your flaws in front of your enemies must not have been pleasant. I let out a big sigh. I knew why I was dwelling on that. Her situation was similar to my own, only the band aid on my wound was slowly faltering, dragging almost, as opposed to Alice, where the band aid was ripped off.

As I made my way inside, I noticed that Vanessa was home. I hoped she wouldn't mind "moody Edward," because that was what I was going to be today. I walked in to find the house smelling like apple pie, and there were candles everywhere, leading to our bedroom I was sure. I made my way to the intoxicating smell of the apple pie, my favorite, when I finally saw her; she had her brown hair flowing down her back, and was wearing the sexiest lingerie I had ever seen. She turned around, and I was lost in her chocolate brown eyes. As soon as I saw her, I began attacking her lips and began to undress. Our kissing had to be stopped so I could pull my shirt over my head.

That's when she spoke, "Well hello there Edward, I'm so happy to see you so eager today. I've missed you," purring that last part. We had begun to make our way to the bedroom when I saw myself in the mirror.

I was groping this beautiful woman who wasn't Bella. She may have had her hair and chocolate eyes, but she wasn't Bella.

"Edward? What's wrong? Didn't you like my surprise? I thought we could start your vacation off right." Vanessa smiled seductively. As soon as those words left her mouth, I was brought back to reality fully.

"I can't do this. I'm sorry!" I said as I ran back out to the living room. She quickly followed.

"What the hell, Edward? I spent all day yesterday getting ready, buying this outfit, learning how to bake and buying all those candles. I come home to an empty house and thank God for my luck and set up quickly, and you tell me you can't perform your husbandly duties!" Vanessa was hurt, furious, and maybe embarrassed.

"I can't right now. I just had a weird morning," I said softly. Her anger faltered, and she came over to hug me. I quickly told her about the morning events, and she did the most surprising thing, she apologized for ambushing me. I instantly felt guilty.

The rest of the day was spent in silence. I went into my study and grabbed the only photo I had left of Bella. I began to think about how our lives could have been if I hadn't cheated on her with Vanessa. Maybe she wouldn't have run off and gotten into that accident that killed her. I was letting my mind wander and somehow it ended on the image of Victoria. She looked familiar, her bone structure and presence felt comfortable. Although I didn't interact with her, the way she had hugged Emmet, Rose, and Jasper was familiar. That same familiarity intrigued me, and I wanted to know more, but then I heard Vanessa shuffling in the house and was brought back to reality. Married, remember? Besides, you promised her you would try to avoid your indiscretions and give her the chance she deserves.

I couldn't contain my thoughts for too long. My mind wandered back to the day I met Bella, and all I could do was smile at our quick courtship…

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Just as I side note: Bella is NOT dead. Everyone just thinks she is