A family is torn apart by the death of a beloved member.  Victoria came back for Bella but killed another before she was destroyed.  No one can deal with the grief of loss and they suddenly find themselves all on very different paths, but all essentially broken with no light to guide them.  

Can a chance encounter eight months later bring this family back together?  Can they heal?  Can they let the one they lost go and be at peace?  Can they learn to act on hope?

**Companion story to Acting on Faith by Oceanwaters2006**

**Also, props to Oceanwaters2006 for the Banner!!!**

**Warning - Dark Themes**

After returning to the town that she hasn't lived in since she was eight, Bella finds herself more intrigued by the Cullens than she realizes.  As she matures and begins to understand the weight of morals and choice, she realizes that there is one man who is always there for her.

Nessie is a girl taken from her home to be a slave of Volterra. She is purchased by Edward Cullen and his wife, Bella. They find her a delight and make her a useful member of their life, even gifting her to Edward's captain of the guard, Jacob.

Jacob accepts Nessie as his personal slave, but as each day passes he realizes that his affection for her is growing. She loves him, and he her. However, her status as a slave means that he can not truly honor her by sharing his life with her as he wishes.

He knows to have her as his life partner he must free her, but he fears losing her if she is free to choose.

But before he can move to free her she catches the eye of Caius, the nephew of Volterra's ruler. Caius is a cruel and sadistic man who has never failed to get what he wants and he wants Nessie.