A/n: Neither Edward nor Bella belongs to me; Stephenie Meyer deserves all credit.
Bella and I were alone in my family's home, reclining on the bed we would soon share. My family had gone on a hunting trip, leaving Bella and me alone for this pivotal moment of her life—her death. Or at least the death of her mortal life, to take on the immortality of the "eternal damned." Bella and I were married the previous day. I now faced the task of ensuring that we would be together forever. If only that didn't mean bringing agonizing pain upon my beloved wife.
"Are you ready, Edward?" Bella inquiring softly, tearing me from my reverie.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked her in response, giving hr one more chance to back out, to return to her human life.
"Of course," she replied. She put on a smile, trying to look brave, but I could hear the tremor in her voice. If my heart were still alive, it would've wrenched in anguish. How could I do this to her?
I gave Bella a small smile to reassure her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. For once, I didn't have to remind her to "be good." I nearly grinned as I remembered that after this, we wouldn't have to hold back anymore. Then I began caressing her neck with my lips. When I reached her pulse, I stopped, resting my lips against it for a moment, feeling it beat one last time. I felt Bella tense as I suddenly sank my teeth into her neck and quickly withdrew.
The pain wasted no time in assaulting Bella's body. Her screams immediately pierced the still, silent air. I hurriedly placed one bite on each of her wrists to speed the transformation process. I then settled in at Bella's side, my arms around her, for a long couple of days.
As she screamed for me to "put out the fire," my sole desire was to take her pain upon myself. My sweet Bella didn't deserve this suffering! All I could do was to tenderly caress her shoulders and speak comforting words into her ear. Nothing I did, however, could lessen her agony.
Finally, three horrible days after my teeth pierced her skin, Bella's pain evaporated, and she spoke her first lucid words in three days: "Edward, I love you."