She wasn't what he was expecting. Never did he think he would - could - fall in love with someone else let alone another human but it couldn't be helped. Falling in love with her couldn't be helped. No matter how hard he tried - and boy did he try he couldn't stop himself from breaking the promise he'd made so many years ago to his now deceased wife.
"I will never love another. You are my first love and you will forever remain my last." He'd whispered into her ear.
Yet, here he was breaking that promise as he gazes down into the face of the human who'd stolen his heart from his late wife.
"Edward?" His father's voice forced its way into his mind.
"How could I let this happen?" His grip on the medal pole on the gurney tightened,"How?"
Carlisle placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder as his gaze fell onto the young human that lay unconscious before them,"What happened wasn't your fault, son." He says.
Edward nods his head,"Yes, it is." He growled,"I made her a promise and I broke it." He says.
"I'm sure she'll understand that it wasn't your fault."
He shakes his head, his gaze never leaving her face,"I promised her that I'd never do it again, that I would never find another who could do what she did for me." He says, his voice cracking,"I promised her that she would remain the first and the last and yet here I sit with another."
Carlisle then realized that his son wasn't talking about the young human before him but about something totally different,"Edward, son, who -"
"I promised Bella that I would never fall in love again and that she would forever remain the first and last to take my heart." He says before turning his head and lifting his gaze to meet his father's,"I broke my promise because before me lays the woman who has taken my heart from her. I allowed her to steal my heart away from Bella." He says, his eyes filled with regret and relief at once.
"Edward, it's not a son to fall in love again." Carlisle states.
"No, but it is a sin to lie." His gaze drifts back to the young human before him,"And that's exactly what I did. I lied."
"What is it that truly frightens you, son?" Carlisle questioned,"I can see it in your eyes. You're afraid of something."
After a silence that could be described as an eternity to humans, Edward finally spoke,"I fear that I have done onto Bella the utmost betrayal." He says gravely.
"And what is that?" Carlisle questioned.
"I fear that I've fallen for this human harder than I had fallen for Bella." He barley whispered,"I fear that my heart was never meant for Bella but for her." He states,"Bella was only the carrier. She was meant to hold onto it until she was born into the world." Edward turns his head and lifts his gaze to meet his father's shocked gaze,"How could I betray the woman who'd given me a child of my own? How could I allow myself to fall in love again after making such a promise?"
Carlisle didn't know what to say. What was he suppose to say? His son had just admitted, in so many words, that Bella wasn't his soul mate, that she wasn't the one meant to hold his heart but that THAT right belongs to the human that lay before them.
"What are you going to do?" Carlisle questioned him.
Edward scoffs out a laugh, "I was going to ask you that same question." he says bitterly.
"The decision is yours, Edward." Carlisle says, "Whatever you choose we all will be behind you."
Edward shakes his head, "I don't know what to do. Do I leave? Do I walk away from the one, other than my daughter, thing worth my existence and lose her forever to keep her safe? Or do I risk it all and allow myself to love her the way that I want?" he questioned himself.
To be continued......
