Where's My Happily Ever After?

May You Rest In Peace, My Tattered Soul

Jade’s P.O.V.
Jasper was holding me close to him, promising that it’d all be okay. He told me he loved me more than anyone else could. He told me that Edwin didn’t know what he was losing.

He told me that he had missed me so much and wanted me back—for the rest of eternity.

I told him that I was sorry for whoring around back in high school and trying to make him as miserable as I was. It felt so right in his warm embrace. There was no hint of possessiveness and I remembered when Edwin used to hold me like that...

But I had lived the dream long ago and now it was simply a nightmare. Edwin and I had overstayed our welcome in love’s warm bliss, and now we were being kicked out on our asses into the cold winter night because some new Eskimos were the tenants and they would be reaping that love with their cold, feely hands for the rest of their lives.

Now I’m strangely in the mood. Hmm, so Eskimos are my turn-ons now... Can you say kinky or what?

“I wish I had never left you, Jade. Then you would never have gone through this. Baby, this will haunt me for the rest of my life. I know that he so quickly jumped into bed with another woman without a second thought—for I saw it with my own eyes—but I also know that I would never do that,” he promised, kissing my forehead.

“Jasper...” I couldn’t speak anymore since my heart was in the process of breaking into little pieces—scratch that, it was dust by then. Good thing it had long-since been stilled by Edwin’s venom.

He opened his mouth, but I pulled myself from him to cry when Edwin barged through the door. His shirt was ripped open, his pants were near his damn ankles like he’d just ran out of the little boys’ room without remembering that his fly was down, and he had the dreaded sex hair. Jasper attempted to pull me back into his arms, but I shoved him away so I could hold myself together.

It was hard since I’d grown so dependant on Edwin...

“Jade! Please listen!” Edwin begged, trudging up to me. His breath was raspy. Probably from his fun affair.

“These ears have heard enough lies!” I managed to sob, pushing him away despite the pain that shot through my heart. It hurt me to not be comforted by him, but this fairy tale just wasn’t meant to last.

“Jade, I swear I won’t lie! I know I did something awful, but I was thinking about you the whole time! I didn’t even sleep with her, I was running back here so fast!”

“You’re lying to me, Edwin Kaiser!” I hissed, forcing myself to toss out all weaknesses. This man was nothing to me anymore. “I know for a fact that you fucked around for the last time! I’m done with you!”

He looked absolutely stunned and hurt. Betrayal never looked so good on his pretty little face. I could have laughed, but I knew I would have burned in Hell. My heart was trying to affect me, but I forced it back into the pit of my stomach. That useless organ had never brought me happiness.

“Baby, I swear I—”

I smacked his hands away when he reached out again. I glanced to my ring finger and started laughing, going into hysterics. Burning in the flames of damnation was going to be the most fun I’d had in weeks.

“Don’t call me baby, my dear!” I mocked, my voice holding a fully intentional sneer. “I’m done with you! I put up with your male dominance routine; I put up with you beating me until I had passed out; I put up with you forcing me into things I didn’t want. But I will not put up with you cheating on me!” I gave him a nice little shove.

“I didn’t sleep with her!” he screamed, desperation so blatant.

“Who am I going to believe: you—the man who shoved me to the floor with the dirt you thought I belonged with—or Jasper—the man who did nothing wrong but want a loving family? And don’t worry, you don’t need to beat the answer out of me this time. I’ll tell you: Jasper!”

“He’s a lying son of a bitch! Jade, I love you!”

“Yeah? Love hurts, you bastard! Just leave me alone like you should have done that night at Starbucks! I wish I could go back in time. Know why? Because I wish I had never met you!

For once Edwin had nothing to say. He wordlessly stepped up to me as the silence surrounded us. No one said anything, but he smiled weakly as he took my hand and slipped the ring off of my finger.

“I understand,” he murmured, his eyes brimming with tears. I almost took back everything I had said to him. “It’s okay, I deserved that. I swear that you were the best thing to have ever happened to me and no one could ever take your place. I’ll love you until the day I die, if I ever do. I hope I don’t so I can dream of you forever.” He took in a shaky breath, kissing my hand before releasing it. “I know that nothing could change your mind. I wish you and Jasper the best of luck.”

He stepped back from me as I watched, shocked, as he stepped up to Jasper.

“Please, give her what I couldn’t,” he whispered with a voice full of so much pain. “Give her your world and love her like she was your last breath. Mostly, don’t let anything happen to her. She’s a princess and if you don’t treat her like that, you’ll have me to answer to. Got that?”

“Yes,” Jasper mumbled smiling softly. He pulled Edwin into a hug.

I would have make a spectacle of the term man-hug, but I was stunned. Had I made the right choice? That was the Eddie I knew and loved. And there were tears begging to fall down his cheeks.

All I could pray for was for my poor tattered soul mate to rest in peace.

“Jade, please. At least let me see the kids. I love them more than myself. I want to see them grow up. Please?” His voice was so soft. I could only nod and watch as Edwin kissed Avery’s forehead. He tried to hug Monique, but she shunned him. “I’m so sorry, Monique. I promise that Jasper will be a much better father to you than I ever could. I swear that what I wanted most of all was to be the dad of a happy family with you, Jade, and Avery, but I suppose some wishes are better left dead and buried. I love you, Manny, and Jade does, too. I’m...”

Edwin turned, not able to finish his sentence before he pushed past Nathan, who tried to hold him back. He slammed the door behind him, but I could hear him on the other side of that door. I knew that his back was pressed to the door as he slid to his knees.

He was crying and I couldn’t help but let tears silently stream down my cheeks. Jasper held me, but I couldn’t stop crying for Edwin.

Our love and luck had run out, but I wasn’t so sure.

He insisted that he hadn’t slept with her, but Jasper said he had seen it with his own eyes. And vampire eyes don’t lie.

But my heart was being tugged in every direction as Jasper drove Monique, Avery, and I home. Edwin’s voice wouldn’t stop echoing in my head, but I was sure that I didn’t want his voice to leave me just yet.

“I swear that you were the best thing to have ever happened to me and no one could ever take your place. I’ll love you until the day I die, if I ever do. I hope I don’t so I can dream of you forever...”

~Fin.*

*see author's note, you scalawags!
P.S. No intention of offending if you come from a long line of scalawags and are very sensitive to said term.
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Okay, so I cried nonstop while writing this chapter! I'm hopelessly emotional, but Jade is like a daughter to me--a child that doesn't cry and cry all the time =P but a daughter nonetheless. I can't believe that I could end this series like this!

...Or could I?

I'm thinking about writing another sequel. Maybe I'm pushing it, but I want that happy ending! What do you think? Sequel or end it like this? You decide! Actually, I do. But your input with ultimately persuade me.

So, here's what to do. You guys just leave a comment in this story's comments place, message me, or even drop a comment on my profile telling me if you want a sequel or if you want it to end like this: open ended and sucky. Though you could word it better, I want your opinions since I'm writing for my loyal readers =]