Diamond Legacies: Part 19

 

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New York, September 2226

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Eden Balev

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I felt wrong lying to Lara, but I knew I had to follow my gut. If my grandmother, my parents, and my family had taught me one thing; It was to follow your gut, trust yourself and what you felt. My entire ability stemmed on my feelings and my emotions. I wanted to know Nicholas. He wasn’t a bad guy, and I couldn’t deny the draw I felt to him any longer. It wasn’t lust, it was something else.

I told Lara I was meeting up with Esme that night after I agreed to have ‘ice cream’ with him. I didn’t know how long I could lie or pretend but Noah’s words ran through my head. How would I know what we were if I didn’t at least try? It might last a week, it might last a month, or it might even be something more than that. Time would only tell.

I arrived at the main entrance of central park and barely had to wait a few minutes before I heard him speak.

“Hello Odette” his voice came from behind me, and I turned to smile at him as he walked up to me. He had his hands in his pockets of his very expensive coat. My aunt would appreciate his sense of style, i knew that much. He returned my smile, and I was grateful it took more for me to blush than the average human.

“Hello Nicholas” I responded, and we both fell into a synchronised walk as we began walking down the path into central park. “So, you were telling me why you think I’m different. Or do you say that to all the girls?” I asked, I felt a bit harsh saying it, but I needed an answer. If this was going to work, if I was going to keep a secret like this from my family, I needed to know he was at least a little bit serious about me.

“I don’t say that to all the girls. I’ve never said it to anyone. There’s just something about you Eden that keeps drawing me in and I can’t explain it. But I want to throw away all my pretences and defences I’ve built up over the years just to get to know you. It’s stupid and reckless. I realise I can’t just date who I want and there are huge consequences for me being here right now, but I caught myself realising that I don’t care. I don’t care where you’re from or how much money is in your bank account. I don’t care if you want every cent in my pocket for yourself. I just want to know you. Money corrupts and breaks everything. I look at you and for once in my life I have a good feeling about someone and I want to take it. I’ve pushed away everyone in my life in fear of what damage they could do to my family, to my life and I’m finally bored of it. I’m finally done pushing. I just want to be normal; to stroll through central park with a beautiful woman and not be judged for it.” He explained and I paused by a bench. I stared off in front of us unable to look at him after he spoke the words.

His words hit me like a brick. His honesty, his transparency, all of it. He was telling the truth, everything about him was genuine in that moment and it was everything I had felt my entire life. I had done the exact same thing for years and maybe I didn’t have to with him. After all, he understood the pressure of a family dynasty and name more than anyone.

I wanted to tell him, there and then. I wanted to tell him everything, who I was, my true name, and I wanted to tell him what I was, but I bit my tongue. I pursed my lips as I sat on the bench and waited for him to join me.

“I can’t tell you why. Not yet. But I need you to know. Everything you just said. I feel it, I know it, I understand it. I want you to know right now. I am not after your money. I do not care about your wealth or your name. I do not want you because you’re rich” I said, my eyes bore into his and he nodded at the seriousness of the admission before a smirk covered his face.

“You want me?” he asked, and I let out a dramatic sigh as I broke eye contact and leant back on the bench, but I couldn’t stop the smile spreading across my face.

“of course, those are the only words you hear” I murmur but my voice was humorous. He was a man after all. I suppose I should have expected it. He reached for me, his fingers brushing my jaw as he made me turn my head to look at him.

“I heard them all” he said in a whisper. His voice shook slightly, I had never seen him this nervous before. I had observed him with many people, I’ve observed him stand in front of hundreds and give a speech, I know he commands rooms full of people and yet sitting next to me now, he was nervous. I saw his aura flicker with an emotion I rarely saw. At least as uncontrolled as this. I had seen it on my family members a few times, but they were very good at controlling this emotion around children and other family members. They’d had years of practice to keep it reserved for their partners.

Desire.

I swallowed as my eyes dropped to his lips. He slowly made his way closer to me. It was like he was waiting. For me to pull away maybe? For me to say no? I wasn’t quite sure.

He was close enough to kiss now but he waited before finally closing the space. I could see his breathing was faster and with him being this close to me I could hear his heart slamming in his chest.

I was sure my own breathing was matching his but all I could concentrate on was the pounding of his heart echoing around my head.

“Can I?” he asked as a small whisper escaping his lips. I gave him a small nod, not trusting my own voice before he closed the gap between us.

This wasn’t my first kiss. My first kiss was at school in the 9^th grade. It had been with a boy I was dating to seem ‘normal’ to kids at school. I remember thinking kissing was entirely overrated. At least at that age. When I left the private school my sister and I attended together and went to my ballet school I felt quite distant about relationships. I tried dating around but none of them could get serious. I was always scared of them finding out who or what I was so I pushed away any relationship that might have become anything real.

Nicholas was real though. Everything I felt for him was so real it felt like it was burning through my veins with every movement of his lips. This was what I always imagined a first kiss would be like.

I wanted to pour my soul out to him. I wanted to never leave his arms. I wanted him more than I have ever wanted anything in my life. More than my freedom, more than ballet, more than my family being whole again.

Kissing him consumed me. It was like nothing else existed in the world. Just him.

He pulled away, resting his forehead against mine for a moment but I didn’t open my eyes. I didn’t want the moment to end.

Because if that was our first kiss… I knew I was entering a world of heartbreak. Because that wasn’t normal. I knew that wasn’t normal. It wasn’t normal to feel that strongly about someone so suddenly. So much for Noah’s word of warning. My heart was absolutely and completely in this already. There was no shielding it. This was going to end in the worst kind of heartbreak or the best kind of love. And I hated myself for it. I was risking everything, including Nicholas’ life. Nicholas was everything wrong with the world, he was everything I didn’t want to be, he was everything I was running away from and yet I wanted to be closer to him. I wanted him to know every part of me. I didn’t want to run. I wanted to be by his side.

I opened my eyes after a moment to see him smiling at me. He leant forward brushing my lips again softly before pulling away properly. He didn’t move too far though. His body stayed close to my side and his hand found its way into mine, entwining our fingers as he turned to look back out at the world around us.

“I’m going to be in so much trouble” he chuckled after a moment of silence between us. I remembered the conversation he had with his father. It sounded like there were only a select few girls that that man would approve of. He would love Eden Cullen, the girl born into money, the girl born into an heirdom and raised by a billionaire. But I wasn’t her. Not anymore. I was Eden Balev. Someone William Disney, definitely, adamantly, didn’t approve of.

“Why me?” I asked him after a moment.

“I’ve already told you why Eden. There’s just something about you. You enchant me” he turned to smirk; I rolled my eyes.

“I’m no enchantress” I said although I could think of a few women in my family that were. They could bewitch any man with their beauty and mind. My own grandmother, Esther, being one of them.

“I can’t quite place it” he shrugged, his thumb softly stroking my own. “I tried to get you out of my head, but I can’t. So here we are” he said with a squeeze.

We spoke for another few hours and I was glad he forgot about the promise of ice cream.

Getting to know him I wondered how I was going to pull this off.

The more honest he was with me the more guilt I felt.

There was a growing feeling in my heart that felt like poison. Every time I had to lie or skirt around the truth it grew within me. I felt like I was poisoning the relationship before it even began.

After that date all I wanted to do was be with him and I knew from his messages he felt the same and yet I caught myself making excuses constantly to avoid facing him for too long, to avoid lying to him again and again.

It was exhausting and I realised very quickly this relationship wasn’t going to work, not if I had to hide everything about myself. I wanted to call Esme, I wanted to talk to my sister, I wanted to be held by my mother and told everything would be okay. But it wasn’t possible. Not now. I had to stay away from them, I had to stay away from that part of my life. I had to hide and be Eden Balev living in New York. The one time I wanted to be a Cullen, the one time I wanted to be supported and told I would have the protection of the Cullen name and family, I couldn’t have it. I pushed it away for far too long to finally accept it.

I knew that and yet the frustration didn’t lessen. I wished my grandmother was here. Esther. I wished Esther was here. She would be able to help me. She’d solve all my problems. Esther was trusted by Zio, trusted by the Volturi. If she told them Nicholas was a good guy, that he wouldn’t reveal our secret or ruin our world, they would believe her. But she wasn’t here, and the fate of Nicholas and the future of our relationship laid in the hands of my father’s ability to read souls and my uncle Eddie’s Walmart copy of my grandmothers’ ability. He didn’t have a scratch of power my grandmother had when it came to minds. No one did.

I just had to trust whatever we had, I could keep secret as long as possible, and I could avoid the wrath of the Volturi. What ever they had going on was distracting them enough, perhaps I could be certain Nicholas was my mate before revealing what I was to him, before the Volturi could threaten his life because of the power he held.

If I told him my birth name. If I told him the human story of the Cullen’s it would be one step closer to the truth without bringing him into the supernatural. If I trusted him with the secret of my birth and my family, maybe that would be enough for the Volturi to recognise he could be trusted with more. If I meant something to him, he would keep that a secret right? I believed he would. I believed I knew him well enough to know that.

I would just have to take a leap of faith. If we were to work, I had to risk my entire human life on the word of Nicholas Disney, the man set to inherit all the worlds media.

The thought set my nerves on edge and butterflies in my stomach all at once.

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It had been weeks since the date at central park.

I had a lot going on at the studio and Nicholas seemed to be as busy as ever. He came to the studio more than he ever had before and we would steal moments when our breaks lined up or he would drive me home, but we hadn't had time to go on another date yet. It was easier to hide who I was when we weren’t together for a long period of time. Id managed to get away with not eating in front of him every time as well, but I knew to go forward I needed to tell him more about me. I needed to tell him I was a Cullen, and I was absolutely petrified.

I had never been to his apartment before. It had been a few weeks of us casually stealing moments, but we hadn’t managed to get on a date until now. I knew if this went well and he accepted me as a Cullen, I would have to tell Lara too. I knew id feel better without sneaking around my best friend. She was getting suspicious already. I couldnt keep it a secret from her much longer. Even if she was going to be mad at me, she’d understand eventually. She had to.

I paused outside Nicholas’ building and took a deep breath before entering and walking up to the concierge. What apartment building had a concierge? I cleared my throat and the girl looked up at me from behind the desk.

“Penthouse?” I asked her casually. Nicholas had told me he was in a meeting until five, but I could head over, and he would meet me there. He said he informed the staff I was allowed in without him there. I hoped he’d passed the message along but by the look of the girl I wasn’t sure he had.

“Name?” she asked as she looked me up and down.

“Eden Balev” I said unable to hide my frown at her attitude.

“Go right up” she said with a wave of her hand, and I turned my back on her and headed straight for the elevator without saying thank you.

Great, now I was turning into him too.

But she had been so rude.

Considering she was in customer service; she was really bad at her job. I saw her watch me as the elevator doors closed. There was a moment before the penthouse light lit up on the dashboard and the elevator started moving.

I shook off the gross feeling I was getting from her glare and stepped outside the elevator when it arrived on the top floor. Well, I thought it was the top floor, but I realised very quickly that Nicholas didn’t just live on the top floor. He lived on the top three floors. I was greeted by an elderly lady with a pinafore on. Did I just step into the 20^th century?

“Eden, I assume?” the woman beamed a smile at me.

“yes” I said carefully, and she moved out the way for me to enter the apartment.

“Master Disney told me to expect you and to show you around so you’re comfortable, he will be home as soon as he can, he’s just finishing up some business.” She said and closed the door behind us.

The apartment wasn’t the biggest id been in, but it was no less grandiose. And for central New York, it had to be worth a fortune. I doubted Nicholas had designed it himself, but I could see the touches Nicholas had put on the interior. It was mostly black, grey and white with the occasional splash of colour as an accent. The entrance way opened to a small sitting area that was open plan and led to the kitchen. Across from the kitchen was a small, raised platform with a grand piano set out. My eyes widened at the sight, as above it hung a modern chandelier. To the right of the piano and to the left of the kitchen sat a glass staircase, the floating stairs kind that led to an open banister area where the bedrooms were on the second floor. Behind the staircase leading upstairs was a staircase leading downstairs. I could see the glittering reflection of a pool in the windows down the stairs.

“I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name” I said turning to the lady that let me in. I felt terrible not asking it. The apartment was immaculately clean, every wall out of the building had floor to ceiling windows giving the best view of New York city I had ever seen. I knew the spotlessness of this apartment was accredit to the woman in front of me.

“I am Gabrielle” she said with a small nod. “You can call me Gabby” she said after a moment.

“Do you… are you here a lot?” I asked unsure of what kind of staff Nicholas had. That was the one experience i couldnt really relate to. Whilst I had grown up rich like Nicholas, my vampire relatives had more than enough time on their hands to do their own cleaning and tidying. I didnt have staff growing up, no one in my family did. It also felt a lot like servants to me, which definitely was against the Cullen family moral code.

“I come around mid afternoon to do some light cleaning. I cook Nicholas his dinner if he’s not scheduled for a business meal and then I leave soon after he arrives home.” She spoke.

“You only come a few hours a day?” I wondered if that was enough for her to make a living from.

“Mr Disney pays me very well. I am very lucky to have such a benevolent boss. He pays me more than a full day’s work at most other jobs, I do not want for anything other than Mr Disney’s happiness and comfort.” She said and I knew from her aura that this was a well-rehearsed speech, but it was also the truth. She was a kind person and she loved Nicholas. I could see it in her reaction to saying his name. She genuinely cared for him.

“How long have you worked for him?” I asked curiously.

“I was one of his nannies as a child. I helped raise him and his sisters. I always had a special bond with Nicholas though, he had a harder time than the girls. He needed that extra bit of love and I raised him as my own. When he grew up, he hated the thought of me being out of a job. I was too old to continue working as a nanny, so he insisted on continuing to pay me my wage. I refused to take the money for nothing, so I offered to be his housekeeper instead. That way I felt like I was at least doing something for the money he was giving me. He takes care of me very well.” She said with a wistful sense of nostalgia. I was a little taken back by her brutal honesty with me. After all she had only just met me.

“That is very sweet of him to keep you in a job after he grew up” I commented with a smile, and she smiled back and took my hand in her wrinkled one.

“he’s a very sweet man, even if he doesn’t show it all the time. Youre very lucky to have him, but I’m sure you know that” she said with a knowing smile. I felt slightly uncomfortable. Was he mine? Could he be mine without knowing everything about me? I wanted him to be. More than anything in the world. That much i knew.

“Are you his therapist too? Has he told you everything about me?” I asked with a laugh unsure how much this woman knew about me.

“Nothing at all. I got a phone call from him a few hours ago to inform me of your arrival.” She said with a knowing grin.

“So why are you being so honest and open with me? I apologise for my questioning; I am just shocked you’re being so forthcoming to a girl he’s brought home.” I laughed awkwardly. Did she do this with all the women he brought back to his apartment?

“Oh sweetheart. The past few months I have seen a change in him that could only have meant there was someone new in his life. I haven’t seen him this happy since… well for a while.” She said with a pause before she carried on.

“Are you this open with all his girlfriends?” I asked curiously.

“You’re the first girl he’s brought home dear. You may think you’re just a girlfriend, but I’ve never seen him act this way before where a woman is concerned” she said with a knowing glance at me. “Now dear, would you like a drink? Nicholas will certainly scold me if I don’t make you comfortable before he returns home.” She said as she walked over to the kitchen area. I followed her and sat on one of the bar stools behind the island counter.

“I’d like to hear more about you” I stated but she was already getting some glasses from the cabinet.

“I am but an old woman, you’re the one that has stolen the heart of Nicholas Disney” she turned to smile at me. I liked her. She must be close to eighty and yet she had an aura of a young woman. She was kind and nurturing just as you would expect from someone that had spent their life around children, but she also had a feistiness to her, a spark. She reminded me of my own grandmothers. They were timelessly stuck in their twenties, even if mentally they had experienced centuries of life. They had a youthfulness to them that made them easy to relate to and somehow, without the gift of immortality, Gabby possessed the same traits.

“I’m not sure about that” I responded to her statement, but she shook her head in response.

“I have known that man since he was three years old. I have seen everything he has been through, and I have wiped away his tears and praised his successes. I have seen his love for his sisters and his mother and even his love for me. I have seen him put women on his arm and treat them as princesses and each time I’ve seen his heart harden from the experience when it ends badly, but I have never... ever... seen him like this.” She said and mid-way through her speech she came to lean across the counter to face me.

"Please don’t scare her away Gabby” I heard his voice before I heard his presence. I shook myself out of the staring match Gabby and I were having and turned to look at him standing in the open area leading to the door.

“This one doesn’t scare easily” she said with a grin as she turned to look at Nicholas. He came up to me on the seat and placed a kiss on my temple.

“Hello little swan” he whispered into my hair before he pulled away to put his coat on the hooks on the wall.

“Hey” I murmured but I didn’t stop watching him walk away.

“I have prepared your dinner Nicholas just as you asked. It needs heating at 200 for ten minutes. I’m sure you can manage that can’t you dear?” Gabby asked coming over to him, her hand patted his bicep. She was tiny compared to him.

“Thank you, Gabby,” he smiled down at her widely and I suddenly realised, it wasn’t his mother who was responsible for who he was, at least not entirely. And it certainly wasn’t his father. It was this woman right here. The woman who took a three-year-old boy under her wing, who cared for him as her own child and raised him to be a better man than his father. Raised him to be good in a world of greed and money.

“Have a good evening, dears.” She called smiling between us.

“It was lovely to meet you” I called out, stepping off my chair and coming over to say goodbye to her.

“you too sweetheart” she said and took my hand in hers for a moment before giving Nicholas a motherly smile and leaving the apartment. As soon as she left Nicholas turned to me a few feet away from him. His arms encircled my waist and he pulled me closer to give me a real hello kiss.

I giggled against his lips as I playfully pushed him away.

“So that’s who raised you to be so charming” I said with a raise of my eyebrow.

“I was her favourite” he said with a knowing smirk.

“she’s wonderful” I said as he led us over to the sitting area. He pulled me down on his lap on the couch and he went straight to kissing my collar bone and neck.

“I’ve missed you” he said, his aura flooding with desire at being this close to me. We hadn’t done more than kissing yet, but I knew it was inevitably close that the boundary was about to be crossed. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, we just hadn’t found the time. We had both been so busy and I had tried to avoid any moments like this where I had to be human around him. It all felt like a lie. Like I was betraying him.

“Nicholas” I said nervously as he continued to kiss my exposed skin. I knew if I didn’t stop him now, if I didn’t get the words out, I would cave to the desire and I wanted this to be something real. I didn’t want to start the physical side of a relationship without him knowing me. At least a little bit more of me anyway. The one piece I could give him.

“Hmm?” he asked into my skin, but he paused and pulled his head back as he realised he was letting his emotions dictate his actions and not listening to my tone of voice. He was nervous for a second that I didn’t want it, that I didn’t want him. I reached for his face that was so close to mine. I ran my finger over his jaw and my eyes locked with his.

“I need to tell you something” I said. I was shaking with nerves, and he noticed immediately. He took my hand, and I felt his warm grasp radiate through me.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, his aura matching my own. I could see how fast he’d fallen for me. Almost as fast as I had fallen for him. We hadn’t admitted it to each other yet of course. It didn’t matter that I could see every part of his soul, I didn’t want him to find it creepy that I was in love with him after such a short time together.

Love a first sight, or love after a short time was normal in my family. Vampires and the supernatural loved so strongly, so fiercely, when they knew it was there, they fell to its power without much fight. But it wasn’t normal to a human. It happened sometimes, of course it did, but it was often looked down upon. It was scrutinised and it was judged. And the last thing we both needed was more judgement. Especially when people thought I was a gold digger after his money.

At least I could put that part right. At least I was about to remove any doubt from his mind that I was with him for his money.

“Yes, but I’ve been hiding something from you, and it’s been killing me” I said, the emotion cracked in my voice.

“you’re not married, are you?” he played it as a joke, but I saw the panic in his aura at the thought.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“No, I’m not married” I responded and took a deep breath. “I need you to believe me when I tell you, I don’t care about your money. I don’t care about your name or your heirdom. What I feel, isn’t about your inheritance.” I said trying to look determined in my words.

“I never thought you were. It’s just convincing people in my life of that is harder than you imagine.” He said with an amused smile, but I could see he was unsure of where I was taking this conversation.

“I know what it’s like to be surrounding by people like that.” I sighed and finally let our eyes meet fully.

“How?” he asked curiously.

“I haven’t been entirely truthful to you about who I am.” I said slowly. His eyes danced across my face. I could see him trying to guess what I was about to say.

“I wasn’t born with the name Eden Balev. My birth name…” I trailed off. “My name is Eden Cullen. I came here under my mother’s maiden name so I could start a new life without the pressures of being a Cullen. Without people knowing my family and asking questions. Without them thinking I bought my way into the company, which I didn’t by the way.” I was rambling.

“Eden… Cullen?” he asked. “Carlisle Cullen?”

“He’s... my grandfather. Micah Cullen is my father. I am his first born child, the rightful heir to the Cullen hospital empire.” I said watching his face as he put the pieces together. Well technically I had handed it to my sister. Any ownership I had of the Cullen empire ended when I relinquished the name but it didnt change the fact I was born first, I was meant to be the one to take over from my father. I was raised to, just like him. Nicholas waited for a moment before he started laughing. “I just told you my deepest darkest secret, why are you laughing?” I asked concerned as this wasn’t a normal reaction to people hearing my name. I guess he could think I was joking. “You don’t believe me” I said realising it was the only reason he was laughing.

“No, no, I do” he said calming down his laughs. He looked back at me and took my hand again. “I knew something was different about you. You understood me better than anyone I’ve met before. My sister was freaking out over your dress at the wedding, and I knew for you to afford a Mary Alice dress you must have had a rich grandparent. I just didn’t realise you were from that much money” he said.

“Well now you can tell your father that I’m certainly not after you for your money and you'll know you're not lying to him in any way. If anything, I should be concerned you’re after mine” I said with a small wink at the end. He laughed at this too.

He didn’t respond, he just kept staring at me like he was marvelling at a piece of art.

“Why are you staring at me?” I asked him as i started to feel self-conscious after a while. He didn’t have questions? He didn’t want to know why? He didn’t want to see proof? My birth certificate? Anything?

“Because you’re beautiful.” He said unashamed. I knew I blushed.

“Alright prince charming, you must have questions for me.” I said almost begging him to ask me about my family.

“I understand everything. You did exactly what I wish I could do. Disappear, live a normal life. Make friends without them knowing how much money lines your pockets. You have a true friend in Lara, even if she misjudges me, I know she’s doing it to protect you. Even Noah, your dance partner. I think he’s a good friend for you too. All because they don’t know you’re an heiress. You’ve managed to do everything I wish I could. You have true friends, a normal life.” He said with a smile.

“How do you know about Noah?” I asked.

“I may have looked into your life a little bit the past few weeks” he said, this time he was ashamed, and he looked down at our joint hands.

“of course, you did” I shook my head. He had so much power in the world. I had to remember that.

“I’m sorry” he said thinking my reaction was negative.

“You didn’t find out I was a Cullen with my background check?” I asked. I wondered how thorough my grandfather had been in creating a backstory for me.

“No, your identity as Eden Balev is solid. I never questioned it for a second. It makes sense now though; you had the money to make it look convincing” he said with almost a proud nod.

“Yeah,” I sighed, even if he seemed proud, I was ashamed. I was still hiding so much from him. Just because he knew my name, he didn’t know everything. But this was enough, it had to be. I needed it to be for now. I had told him a part of myself I hid from nearly everyone in the world. He had a part of me no one else did. I could connect to him through our shared life experiences without having to tell him what I was. At least for now.

“Hey, there’s time, okay?” he asked, his hand cupping my jaw again.

“What do you mean?” I asked him carefully wondering what he had seen in my expression that gave him that reaction.

“You’re scared of something, scared of this or what I might find out about you because of your family. But don’t be. We have time to get to know each other. We understand each other because of our unique upbringings and that’s only going to make us stronger in the future. You know that right?” he asked.

“How can you be so sure there’s going to be an us in the future?” I asked, and his aura fluttered with feelings of new love and nervousness. He leant forward to place a small, sweet kiss on my cheek and finally my lips.

“Because I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.” He whispered and I moved this time, to kiss him instead.

“I’m part of your world Nicholas. I was raised the same as you. Told I was heir to a dynasty I didn’t want. How are you sure I’m the girl you thought I was?” I asked him parting from the kiss. I needed him to understand what I was telling him, he seemed blinded by what he felt for me.

“There was something about you that understood me from the start. I should have realised it myself seeing you in an entirely unique Alice Cullen dress. I should have known the relatability I felt with you was because you were raised under wealth. I should have known, the reason you don’t want my money is because you don’t need it, that you have enough of your own. I was drawn to you because you’re like me. You understand me. I’m not mad you lied or kept it from me. You didn’t know you could trust me.” He said with a nod of understanding.

“Nicholas.” I said softly, running my finger over his jaw, his eyes closed at the touch. “You have to promise me something” I added.

“Anything” he said instantly, and I knew in that moment. At that singular word. I knew that I could tell him everything and he would do anything to protect me. He would stand by my side despite what I was because he loved me. I saw it in every colour of his aura.

“You can’t tell anyone. You can’t tell your father, you can’t tell your family, or Gabby. No one can know who I am. No one can know I am a Cullen.” I begged him. This was past just protecting my human cover story now. I knew I had broken many rules right now telling him who I was. I’ve risked so much more than just my identity. Telling a human who I was right now was a bad move, especially when the Volturi were still working with the new frenemies they had at the estate. The Luna Disciples could not find out who I was. Not right now, not when the family was without the protection of Esther.

“I won’t tell a soul, I promise. I wouldn’t do that to you” he said his forehead resting on mine. I blinked away the emotion threatening to break through at his words. I wanted to carry on, I wanted to tell him what I was too, but I couldn’t, and I was sure it would destroy me. But for now, I wanted to enjoy whatever time we had.

We spent the evening laughing and talking about our childhoods, about our shared experiences and I could finally be truthful about my family and upbringing. It was freeing.

It felt so unbelievably natural and right. I almost forgot the sword hanging above my head, that was a metaphor for my supernatural heritage and the fact that this man before me, as one of the most influential people in the human world could never learn of what I was. Even if I believed in my heart and soul that he would protect the secret. Many others in my world wouldn’t. He was too powerful, too influential, and too human.

At some point during the evening with Nicholas I must have lost control of my thoughts. I wasn’t sure when, I wasn’t sure what broke me out of the room in my mind that kept my mind from my sister, but something did. It happened too regularly to notice normally because we never truly paid attention to each other anymore. We had learnt to give each other space and let each other live our lives but it didn’t mean we weren’t still connected. It didn’t mean occasionally, we let the other slip back into our minds without realisation.

It just so happened that one of those times was now.

I guess I was an idiot to think I could hide him forever, that my soul mate and telepathic sister wouldn’t find out eventually. I wasn’t sure she knew who he was, but she certainly knew I had told him I was a Cullen.

Her thoughts ran through my head with a judgemental tone I knew so well.

Eden, what the hell did you do?