Disclaimer: All characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the wonderfully talented Stephanie Meyer. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Aurora
Chapter One
Against All Odds
Edward
The sight of her still took my breath away. Her smooth milky skin, unruly chocolate mane, and those enchanting amber eyes made my head spin every time I gazed at her. She was effortlessly exquisite and irrevocably mine.
Edward, what are you thinking about? Bella asked sheepishly, twirling a thick tendril nervously, as we lay lazily on the shores of Isle Esme.
The curious thing about my wife was that she was always second-guessing her perfection. The transformation enhanced her already incredible beauty, and she felt uneasy about the attention her new grace and splendor was drawing to her. She often mistook mesmerizing gazes for faultfinding glares. She could never accept that she was dazzling, and thought of herself as more uninteresting than glorious. Although she was the personification of perfection, she still felt unworthy of the looks of envy that were often cast at her and found the relentless compliments baffling.
I was just thinking of how blessed I am to be with the woman of my dreams. I ve waited so long to find you, dreamt of finding my eternal love for nearly a century, and now that you are lying here beside me I feel as if I m still dreaming.
She leaned in and kissed my lips, tenaciously. Her slender fingers twirled through my rumpled hair tenderly. She pressed her body into mine, passionately for a moment and then pulled away dizzily. If she still had a heart, it would be heaving out of her chest.
How s that for proof that this is real, Mr. Cullen? she cooed in my ear, running her hands down my bare chest.
I m not finished with you, Mrs. Cullen, I teased pinning her beneath my eager body.
I could hardly believe that this was my life. Although it had been seven years since Bella and I were married, every day with her felt like a divine dream. I had spent many sorrow-filled years painfully alone, longing for a partner to make me feel absolute, the way Esme completed Carlisle. Now that I had what I had spent so much time searching for, my life now felt whole.
The moment I found Bella, I knew that I wouldn t be alone any longer. Whether she chose to be with me or not, the love I felt for her would warm my soul for eternity. I loved her silently, never thinking she would ever consider loving me, but to my amazement she did choose me. I had never experienced anything as extraordinary and exhilarating as being with her. We had the odds stacked against us for so long, I wasn't sure how long our eternity would even be, but somehow against all odds, our relationship survived and flourished. There was a time when I didn t think we could endure all of the obstacles that impeded us, but here we were celebrating our seventh year of marriage on the very island we honeymooned.
I reminded myself to thank Alice for helping me plan such an elaborate anniversary gift for Isabella, as I watched my wife smile with satisfaction beneath the tangerine sky. The sun was melting into the turquoise sea, and Bella was silently taking in our surroundings. The island was breathtaking. The sparkling ivory sand stretched for miles in every direction. Tall palms danced in the salty breeze that caressed our skin. A school of dolphins splashed across the horizon and a family of Gaivotas soared into the sunset. It was surreal how perfect this moment was. There was nowhere else in the world I would rather be than here on Isle Esme with my Bella.