To koppfi, LifeLoveLoki, leward1992, and Jessenia22 — my cherished reviewers. Thank you for always leaving encouraging words since the beginning of AIV. Sometimes I feel like I am obligated to update this story as soon as possible for you. As far as anyone is concerned, Altheia and Bella could have died in the throne room if I wanted to end it then. So everyone else reading this has you four to thank! And to everyone else who left a review at a point, even those who did anonymously, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. You all don't know what a review means to authors who are starting out.

Chapter V: Consequences

Bella emerged from the doors of Palazzo Viti, not once glancing at the brooding Edward Cullen as she rushed past him and onto the streets.

"Bella, wait—" Edward called out, barely rushing to match her pace. "Bella, stop. Could you just listen to me—"

Bella bristled, turning harshly to swat at the cold hand that pulled at her forearm. "Listen to you? Why?"

"Bella, I love you." Edward said so earnestly that it churned Bella's stomach. "I was wrong. But what I did— I thought that was best. We both knew I was a danger to you, Bella. It was just a matter of time."

"And it still is, Edward!" Bella's gaze hardened. "You listen to me. You're still a vampire. You could still kill me. And honestly! It doesn't even seem to matter whether you love me or not, because what you did... that was for you. You did that by yourself. You chose to leave for yourself."

"Bella, there's nothing I can do to take back what I did. I hurt you. But I had to give you a chance at a normal, happy lif—"

Bella hadn't even let him finish his sentence. She rolled her eyes as soon as he started moping and turned away to walk towards a secluded restaurant two streets over.

Edward could only sigh and follow after her.

"Table for two?" the waitress asked as they entered. Bella nodded.

"The one by the window looks great." She said to the waitress before turning to Edward with a blank face. "You're paying."

Edward sighed again. "Of course."

»»—- ❈ —-««

As they were sat across each other, tense silence consumed in between the clinking of metal utensils against porcelain.

This would be a complete contrast to that time in Seattle, Bella decided. Reminiscing hurt, but she could remember how she had hung on his every word, desperate for the truth of what he was. She had been so intrigued by him. Dazzled. He had been so different from everything she knew. Even without his warning, she knew Edward was dangerous the moment she saw him — and what a stupid lamb she was.

Even after knowing the truth, she chose to focus on the snippets of humanity that peeked in between. Instead, she chose to marvel at the little moments that showed more of Edward than of the predator.

It was so easy, you see.

Like how peculiar and sarcastic his sense of humor could be. It didn't take much for him to make her laugh. How he could act so young sometimes. And Edward liked to hum. He always opened the door for her. His favorite color was brown. He would argue against melodrama in the same breath that he'd claimed to deserve suffering the curse of immortality alone. Edward.

Ironic and melodramatic and romantic and loving Edward.

Him enjoying playing the piano. Him composing her a lullaby. Waking up to see him reading Brontë beside her.

It didn't even take a month for her to fall in love with who he was... that it didn't matter what he was.

Her Edward.

But that felt like so long ago.

Now, every time Edward would open his mouth and attempt to defend himself, Bella would immediately raise a finger to his face to shush him and then use it to point to her food. "I'm still eating," she would deadpan.

But the truth was she was lost in her memories. She couldn't speak yet. All the words were jumbled in her mouth. Her brain was frothing with the memories she had tried to vomit months before.

There was a part of her that refused to believe Edward was really here. In front of her.

Here. Now.

Because that meant holding him liable. For the pain... For answers. For what needed to be done.

For what comes next.

Her Edward.

»»—- ❈ —-««

When she did finish eating, she dabbed around her mouth slowly with the table napkin before putting it down and looking pointedly at Edward, which he took as a cue to start his case.

But Edward shook his head. "No."

"No?" Bella raised a brow.

"No," Edward repeated, a knowing look in his eyes. "I get it."

"Do you?" Bella's answering tone was patronizing, like she was talking to a child. "Do you really, Edward?"

"Yes, Bella, I get it." Edward cleared his throat. "We are where we are because I chose it on my own. I shouldn't have made that decision."

"And choices have consequences," Bella agreed. "Like. For example, I've become so detached to the stunt you pulled that my instinct is to get away from you. That even though I know, deep in my heart—" Bella's voice wavered. "—you did all those things because you loved me. Enough to leave me... To protect me in your own way. And that hurts but I've accepted that."

"Bella—"

"No, listen. I wish you could read my mind. I do! I do, I wish you could. Just so I could show you what it was even remotely like for me. What I had to do. To start thinking again. To try laughing again. To — to trust again."

Bella paused, clearing her throat as tears threatened to spill.

"But all before that, Edward, I chose to love you. 'When the lion fell in love with the lamb,'" Bella quoted to herself mockingly. "I did. I chose to love you. Even when you left me. Even now, Edward, even when you're sitting there like I'm the one who's bringing this on us. Like you're the victim, because god — I know I love you, because if I didn't, I wouldn't even be here trying to understand why you did what you did to me.

"...But for now, I love you enough to stay," Bella said after a moment, as if she was angry with herself. "That's the difference between us, Edward. I'm here to stay. I'm still here to stay. But there are consequences. Just like with everything else. I've changed. Things have to, at least... to make this work, we have to try." Bella's voice broke. "But just because I still love you that doesn't mean I should be willing to lose myself again." Bella harshly wiped her tears away. "It was so painful, Edward... I can't even look at you without remembering what... what you said to me that night."

Edward listened as he watched Bella's face transform from hurt to frustration to conviction. He clenched his jaw, his mind instinctively telling him to be stubborn, because damn it, I'm not wrong but he fought through it as he thought about what Bella really meant to tell him.

"...Alright." Edward agreed after a period of silence. "We'll try."

Bella's pursed her lips before exhaling sharply. "I just... I just had to get that out there, Edward."

"I know. I had to know." Edward agreed as he appraised her slowly.

He frowned as he realized she was blinking rapidly to prevent herself from crying.

"I feel like I don't deserve you. I know I don't," Edward admitted to himself. Bella let out another shaky breath. "And whatever it is you want to do, fine. Let's talk about it. What do you want to do?"

After another moment of silence, Bella said, "I choose to stay."

"Yes, I understood that—"

"No—Edward," Bella huffed as she looked down, fidgeting with the ends of her hair. "I choose to stay here. In Italy."

"...what?"

"You don't know what it's like. To be hurt. And then to be free out here," Bella's eyes wandered from the surroundings of the small but homely Italian restaurant. Warm tones of brown and beige and soothing chatter filled the place. She let herself relax. "To meet new people. To discover who I am without... any of this," she gestured lamely between them.

Edward's eyes narrowed. "Is this about Altheia?"

"Edward, this isn't about her," Bella wrung her hands in frustration. "Out here... it's different. I'm different. I have a chance. It's not Forks. It's not Phoenix."

Bella ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm not the girl her parents or the Cullens left behind anymore."

Edward frowned.

"And yes, Edward, I have thought about this, don't even imply that I haven't," she warned him with an index finger. "I choose to stay here. And anyway, I've wanted to leave Forks ever since. . ." she trailed off, shrugging.

"Ever since we left." Edward finished weakly as he leaned back into his seat, defeated.

Bella propped an elbow on the table and placed her chin on a palm as she gazed out the window. Her gaze briefly flitted past him and then back to the outside.

"Choices have consequences." Edward muttered as he regarded the woman in front of him, his voice low and tired.

Bella has changed.

"Choices have consequences..." Bella agreed in a murmur, her eyes averted from him but hopeful.

His Bella.

Her gaze never strayed once from the outside view of the Volterran nightlife.

"...and this is me choosing me."

»»—- ❈ —-««

Aro Volturi — accompanied by his guards — and Altheia Beneventi emerged from Palazzo Viti just as Edward and Bella returned to the palace steps.

Bella's eyes widened as she registered that the Italian woman was comfortably conversing with the vampire king that wanted them both dead.

Well, not really dead per se. Undead.

She swirled back to glare at Edward accusingly, "Did Alice see all this was going to happen tonight?"

Edward had the right mind to try and look sheepish.

"Bella, I was looking all over for you! We should be getting back," Altheia called out, recognizing Bella's raised voice as she descended the steps. "Oh! Edward?"

"Yes, the Cullens were invited to the Gallery as well," Aro intoned, eyeing at Bella's wary disposition to him as she settled on Altheia's opposite side.

"Yes. Um. Edward and I... talked," Bella whispered to Altheia as she nervously shielded herself from the gaze of the Volturi. "Which, by the way, I have to tell you about—"

"Signore Aro and I talked as well," Altheia replied, nudging Bella excitedly. "Well—"

"—I'm staying in Volterra."

"—I'm staying here!"

The two humans blinked at each other before bursting out in rambunctious laughter.

Aro's eyes widened. His hand reached out to Edward, who begrudgingly placed his in.

"To study?"

"Yes! To study!"

After a moment, Aro released his hold and clasped his hands together in delight.

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" Aro's voice was ecstatic.

Edward blanched as he looked on to the two brunettes chattering excitedly.

"Volterra welcomes its new scholars!"

»»—- ❈ —-««

HOTEL ETRURIA. THE DAY AFTER. . .

"So how did Charlie take the news?"

"Not well," Bella replied honestly as she plopped herself down beside Altheia on the hotel bed. She had just finished what was a four-and-a-half-hour-long phone call with her father. "He's going to call again after talking to Renee. I think he wants to stay with me for a while before saying anything about it. And he wants to meet you."

Altheia shrugged. "Most parents wouldn't even allow a freshman university student like you to study abroad just like that, Bella."

"The thing about Charlie is... he doesn't hover," Bella tucked herself into the blanket, suddenly feeling tired. "Granted, he's very concerned about me. With the rollercoaster my life has been. But it helped that I was just honest about everything. Well, almost everything." Bella joked dryly, resting her head on a pillow.

"Charlie sounds like a cool dad," Altheia remarked. "So you just... told him?"

"Yeah. I'm thinking University of Pisa. But we'll have to see. At the very least, I've got half a year to prepare things."

"Lucky you," Altheia huffed. "Signore Volturi expects me to be settled in by mid-April."

"I don't think that's too bad," Bella ran her palms through the softness of the comforter. "I hope they don't mind that I'm tagging along until Charlie gets here."

Altheia hummed as she lazed on the bed.

Time lapsed for a while until Altheia nudged Bella with a foot.

"Hey," The Italian scholar murmured gently as Bella turned to face her, their noses almost touching. "I'm proud of you. You know that, right?"

Bella's gaze softened. "I know it feels like I'm rushing into things but... it doesn't feel wrong. You know?" she let out a small, nervous smile.

Altheia hummed thoughtfully as they laid side by side in comfortable silence. "I think that sometimes we decide what's right."

Bella closed her eyes and smiled softly.

Right.

Version 18 January 2021

Post Chapter Discussion

K so I've always felt that people never really took Bella (and her emotions) seriously. That's why I gave her this chapter (and this plot development). It's also why I'm Team Bella. I mean, this girl loved everyone else and found simple joys in reading classics and sunlight and warmth and no one really ever saw her as her own person. Tbh even the readers. It was all about gorgeous Edward and gorgeous Cullens and immortality and that was frustrating. So I wish more authors took the impact the break up had on Bella more seriously (I'm looking at u Smeyer ahahah) and that HUMANITY vs IMMORTALITY is a THIIIINNNGGG sjdashkj

And yea since this is a fanfic I just thought the timeline and story would make sense if Twilight started during her last year of high school. So that we wouldn't be romanticizing toxic, underage love stories. And wouldn't it have been more interesting to see everyone taking college courses? The very thought of Edward taking a class in Psychology makes me cackle. Thanks for always keeping up with me!