章節 43: CHAPTER 43

"Hey..."

Bella greeted him, but he didn't greet her back. Instead, he said, "Come take a walk with me."

The two of them then walked in the woods. Over time, they went deeper and deeper. Along the way, Bella, who was following Edward closely from behind, had a look of confusion on her face. She didn't understand why Edward suddenly acted like this.

Bella had inquired about Edward from Alice today when they were at school, but Alice gave her a vague answer that didn't satisfy her curiosity. Suddenly, Edward stopped and turned towards Bella, his gaze fixed on the ground.

"We have to leave Forks."

"Why?" Bella asked.

Edward then fixed his gaze on Bella and said, "Carlisle is supposed to be ten years older than he looks now, people are starting to notice."

"Okay, I... I've got to think about what I'm going to say to Charlie. I'll somehow convince him," Bella said, looking perplexed.

There were a few seconds of silence between them before Bella said, "When you say we..."

"I mean my family and myself," said Edward firmly.

When she heard that, Bella became even more confused. Back when they were at school, Alice had told her that they were taking a break today. But now, after Edward said those words, Bella couldn't believe it.

"What about Alice and Mikael? They told me today that you and your family weren't going anywhere. Alice even said that she would stay," Bella asked, confused.

Edward, who heard that, simply said, "They lied to you. We're leaving, Bella."

Bella, who still couldn't believe what he had just said, shook her head and said, "Edward, what happened with the previous incident was nothing. I've already forgotten about it."

"You're right, it was nothing. Nothing but what I always expected, and nothing compared to what could have happened," Edward said, his face filled with regret.

Then, with a pained expression, Edward said while staring at Bella, "You just don't belong in our world, Bella."

"I belong with you."

"No, you don't"

When she heard that, Bella said in a serious tone, "I'm coming with you!"

Edward then stared at her with the same serious tone, "Bella, I don't want you to come."

"You don't... want me?" Bella said, her face filled with sadness.

"No."

Edward reluctantly said with no emotion on his face whatsoever. But Edward knew deep down that this was the best decision he could make, he had to do this to keep Bella safe. Even if it cost him parting with her, which put his heart in a difficult situation. Edward knew he wouldn't want to be separated from Bella, but he had to do this.

"You've changed... a lot," Bella said. She felt betrayed after Edward uttered those painful words.

"But if it's not too much to ask, can you promise me something?" Edward asked while Bella was still in a state of shock.

"Don't do anything reckless or dangerous, for Charlie's sake. And I promise something to you in return: this is the last time you'll ever see me. I won't come back."

When she heard that, she couldn't say anything. She just felt sad, confused, and shocked at the same time. Her breath was ragged because of it.

"And you can go on with your life without any interference from me. And it would be as if I never existed, I promise," Edward said with an expressionless tone. However, he knew that he was hurt inside when he uttered those words to Bella.

"If this is about my soul, take it! I don't want it without you!" Bella spoke loudly while staring at him.

"It's not about your soul... you're just not good enough for me," Edward said while staring at her. He knew that when he said those words, it would leave a deep wound in Bella. But he had to do this, he wanted everything that's best for her, even if it cost him greatly.

"Am I not good enough for you?"

"I'm sorry I let this relationship go on for so long."

Bella's breathing became more ragged, and she had a pained expression on her face.

"Please... Don't..."

"Goodbye."

Edward said coldly and then approached Bella, who was struggling to breathe due to his sudden declaration. He kissed her on the forehead, struggling to let her go. Eventually, he made up his mind and released her, then vanished from her view.

"Edward..."

Bella called out to the woods but received no response. She then decided to make a reckless decision and chase after him, going deeper into the woods while calling his name multiple times. She didn't realize that as time passed, it was getting darker. But it didn't stop her from chasing after Edward, who had long gone from Forks.

She was so preoccupied with chasing after Edward deeper into the woods and calling out his name that she didn't realize that somebody had been following her the entire time.

...

( MC Pov )

After coming home from school, I immediately tried to think of something that could maintain Bella's loyalty to Edward. I knew that Edward's decision would deeply hurt Bella's fragile heart.

Time is running out, I can't think much longer. Then, something clicked on my head, I never wanted to do this, but for the sake of Edward.

"Alice! I'll be going out for a moment, you can cook first and wait for me." I shouted at Alice who were in the kitchen.

"Okay!" Alice shouted back and I immediately vanished from my spot and I appeared in Seattle.

This is a technique that I recently developed over the past few months. It's similar to teleportation; I "mark" a certain area with my energy and can teleport to that "mark" from wherever and whenever. However, it comes with a cost: I have to put a decent amount of my energy each time I teleport to that "mark," and once I teleport there, the mark will disappear. Therefore, if I ever want to go back to that place, I have to put another mark.

Fortunately, I don't have to worry about running out of energy since I can replenish it in no time, thanks to the abundant amount of natural energy in this world.