His Wife | Twilight Saga | Carlisle Cullen

10. Explanations

*Third POV*

As Carlisle entered the house, Ian and Mateo scowled at him as he and his family passed by. Beatrice sat on the couch farthest from the entry, just staring at the hot flames crackling in her fireplace, as the Cullen children stared towards the Heinz and Reinhart children who turned away and continued in the living room. Carlisle tried to clear his throat; this wasn't the Beatrice he remembered.

He remembered Beatrice as sweet and caring. Beatrice sat in front of him, cold and distant. Carlisle was nudged from behind by Ian and Mateo, who had moved by him, "Hey!" Emmett began. He tried to move but was halted by Nathaniel, who was staring at him.

"You touch either of my uncles, Cullen," Nathaniel gritted out, "I will make you regret it."

Nathaniel removed his hand and followed both of his uncles while Emmett stared at his best friend, stunned by the threat. The Heinz boys and Reinhart girls stood behind Ian, Beatrice, and Mateo on the couch, while the Cullens remained still. "Well, sit down," Mateo said, passively waving at the couch in front of them.

The Cullens imitated the Heinz and Reinhart families. Esme, Carlisle, and Connor sat in front of the grownups, their children behind them. "How long?" no one could say, the quiet was deafening. Beatrice mumbled, aware that everyone in the room could hear her.

"Beatrice," Carlisle sighed, "Please let me explain-"

Beatrice turned to face him, her eyes no longer the warm honey-gold they used to be, but frigid pitch black as she glared at Carlisle. "I don't give a flying fuck about your explanation, Dr Cullen," she said, "I asked...how long have you been this way?" Carlisle couldn't take his gaze away from her soul-piercing gaze.

"Since 1663," He muttered as his mind was clouded with fog.

"How," Beatrice demanded still staring.

He was compelled by her. Edward realised and made a step forwards, but he didn't go very far before he was pushed against the wall. As his forearm smashed into his throat, "You touch my mother, and I will throw you into that fireplace!" Christian hissed. Nobody moved because they didn't want to incur the wrath of the Heinz and Reinhart families.

"I don't want to repeat myself again," Beatrice glared, "How. Were. You. Turned."

"During the previous raid, I discovered a coven of genuine vampires lurking in the sewers. During a chase with them, I was bitten and transformed into a vampire; to avoid slaughter, I hid in a potato cellar during the transformation." Carlisle began, his mind still foggy, "I was repulsed by myself and attempted to kill myself many times; when that failed, I instead hid deep in the woods, away from humans, as I couldn't justify the fact that I could murder an innocent person...especially my wife."

When Beatrice finally blinked, no one moved. The connection was severed, and the haze on Carlisle's thoughts lifted like fog on a hazy morning; the cosy blanket it offered Carlisle vanished as if it had never existed. Carlisle felt pain for the first time in his life, a pain he had never felt before. He groaned in pain as he pinched the space between his eyes before gazing up at Beatrice, who was still staring at him. "There are no words I can use to express my apologies to you Bea," he murmured, dissatisfied with himself.

"It's Dr Heinz to you," Beatrice growled.

Carlise felt like a piece of him had chipped away, his own wife, refused to acknowledge the vow they both made in holy matrimony. But he hadn't kept to that vow either. Carlisle shook his head, "No," he declared, "You are my wife, you're my Bea."

"I stopped being your Bea the day you left...eight months pregnant with your son...you seem to have plenty of control now Dr Cullen, what's stopped you from looking, to see if we were still alive?" Beatrice tightened her fist. "You must be feeling the pull of not only our mate relationship but also the bond you share with our son!" Beatrice's rage finally erupted as she rose to her feet and pointed in his direction, "You! We were abandoned! You abandoned me, a woman, during a time when we were expected to focus on practical domestic interests and hobbies that supported the betterment of their families, and especially their spouses!"

Her rage would not let up; she was too far gone, with venom lining not only her eyes but Carlisle's as he sat there accepting her berating. "I didn't have anyone. My family had perished a long time ago, and when you never returned, everyone assumed you were dead. I guess they were right..." she finally finished yelling.

Carlisle couldn't bring himself to lift his head, knowing she wasn't done, "It also seems like you started your own little family, did they keep you that busy that you couldn't search for me or for Christian?"

"Hey leave us out of this," Connor backed out, "He turned us for his own reasons, none that concern you."

"Oh please," Ian scoffed as Mateo glared at the man, "This discussion doesn't involve you this is between husband and wife."

Everything quickly devolved into a yelling match, with the Cullens protecting Carlisle and the Heinz and Reinharts defending Beatrice. Carlisle and Beatrice simply ignored them all, saying, "How could you live with yourself? Leaving us? Leaving me? What could have been going through your mind?" she inquired.

"I...I don't know Bea- Dr Heinz," Carlisle checked himself as he saw her rage increase, "I thought...you would have been safer...if I left..." His throat felt tight, his heart gripped in sorrow, and he had no idea why he had fled. "I can see now that...my choices and actions...have negatively impacted not only you but our son as well," Carlisle reached out for her hand, but Beatrice pulled away, "If you'll let me, I'd like to fix things."

Beatrice burst out laughing. "You think...you can just come in here...I compel you to explain to me everything...and everything will be alright?" she reached up and clutched her hair, "You're dead wrong," she chuckled, the fire in her eyes going out like a flame being blown out, "Christian will come to you on his own terms, but us...that's not easy to fix."

Everyone else had quieted down and quit arguing. Everyone remained still as Beatrice strolled past the couches and out of the living room, listening to her footsteps and then the bang of the door. "I think it's time for the Cullens to retire for the night," Mateo said as he led them all out of their home. "Have a lovely evening," he said as he shut the door.

Carlisle had essentially gone insane, his wife had just rejected his offer to repair their marriage. "Carlisle?" Esme called, laying her hand on his bicep, prompting him to shrug her off and begin heading towards his house, not saying anything as the children, Esme and Connor, followed him.