What if….Edward never returned after leaving Bella in New Moon? What if Bella accepted his loss….and accepted Jacob Black as his replacement?

Hi everyone! I'm Amrita, and this is first FF here! This is a Twilight FF, and basically the story is that Bella, while never fully recovering from Edward's loss, did decide that it was time to move on. She's 29, has been married for 7 years, and is happy…. or as happy as she can manage to be. But what happens when everything changes suddenly?

Remainder- Edward knows that Jacob is a werewolf, but the rivalry between them is not really that developed.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight Saga or any of its characters. They all belong to the one and only Stephenie Meyer, one of the most amazing authors ever.

Chapter 1- Suspicions

"Good night, sweetie," I said, kissing Linda on the forehead. "Good night, Momma," she said, huge brown eyes sparkling as she smiled widely, showing the gap where her front teeth had recently fallen out. I smiled back and shut the door to my five year old daughter's room, and sighed. I walked to my own bedroom, where Jacob was sitting in bed, with some or the other automobile magazine. He looked up and smiled as I entered, his white teeth as usual sparkling against his russet skin. I lay down quietly, my melancholy thoughts keeping me from smiling back. He lay down next to me and put his arm around me, and asked quietly," Are you okay, Bells?" I forced a smile, and said," Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" He looked at me thoughtfully, shook his head, and pulled me closer. He wrapped his hand around mine, and was soon fast asleep. I could feel the heat radiating from his body even though the air conditioner was on full blast. I sighed and tried to relax, but the same thing that had been haunting me all day refused to leave my mind.

There had been so many times that I thought I'd seen him- just a flash of white and brown in the distance. But this time…. I knew I'd actually seen him, seen the unforgettable gold eyes, the pale white skin and the unique bronze hair that I had never seen anywhere else. The face that had haunted my dreams and my days for the past 9 years…. I knew this was no hallucination, because I knew my imagination wasn't good enough for that. I sighed again, and pushed Jacob's arm off. I needed to get out and have some time to myself, just to think. Quickly, I clambered out of bed and dressed in the first things I found, then went to the door, stopping only to grab the car keys. I opened the garage door and climbed into my old Chevy, still standing to the side, ignoring the shiny new Toyota that stood next to it. I pulled out and headed towards the woods near my old house. I parked 10 minutes from the house, to prevent anyone from hearing the noise of the approaching truck, and walked the rest of the way. The lights in the Swan residence were all off except for a dim glow in the kitchen- Seth, no doubt. I knew he'd been visiting Charlie and Sue today, and I guessed Sue must have told him to stay. I hoped he hadn't heard my noisy old truck. I crept to the woods, staying out of sight of the windows. A movement at the kitchen window caught my eye, and I froze as Seth's face came into view. He had retained none of the features that characterized him when he was a teenager- his happy grin and gangly limbs were long gone. The now 24 year old Seth had a well muscled body, serious eyes and a grim set to his mouth. His eyes swept the woods suspiciously, and for one second my breath caught as they paused on the tree behind which I stood. The next second he turned away, back to whatever he was doing. I slowly let my breath out and turned to the woods, and after a few minutes of searching or the trail, made my way into the forest.

The trees darkened from deep gray to almost black as I went deeper and deeper, following the trail, toying with the idea of looking for the meadow. It was not a new idea; I had thought about it many times before, but had always talked myself out of it. This time though, it wasn't just a thought, it was a longing, a terrible desire to see something that had such a real connection to him. I moved, dream-like, through the woods, going off the trail and wandering on my own. I tripped often; the passing years had done nothing to cure my clumsiness. The dangers of the woods faded to the back of my mind, though, as I went farther and farther in. Tree branches scratched my face and the warning calls of animals danced around me, but they were no match for the irresistible pull I felt. And then, suddenly, it emerged in front of me. The first sign of moonlight I'd seen since I entered the woods fell through opening in the trees. The grass had grown longer, and bushes around had become bigger, but it was still very recognizable. My breathing slowed as I closed my eyes and walked to the center of the meadow, letting my imagination take control.

I thought of the first time I'd come here with Edward, and the wonder that had flowed through me when I saw the sun sparkle on his skin. Till today, I had seen no sight to equal that. I let myself lose the control I had forced on my memories of him, and I let myself imagine him beside me. The gash that had finally sealed shut 7 short years ago burst open again, but I ignored the pain. I focused on how it had felt when his smooth, icy skin was under my fingertips, how it had felt to run by fingers through his silky bronze hair, how it had felt to gaze into his smouldering gold eyes, how it felt when his lips pressed against mine…. For one short second, the pain overwhelmed me, and my eyes snapped open. I let out a moan, falling to my knees and wrapping my arms around myself. It had been so long since I had felt like this- as though I was falling apart inside, as though I had a deep wound in the very center of my body. The tears started without warning, and ran in rivers down my cheeks. Suddenly there was a whisper of wind, and a soft, almost soundless thump. I should've been afraid; anything could be lurking in the woods. Yet, instinctively, I knew there was no need to be scared. I squeezed my eyes shut again and slowly got up. The breeze blew a new smell towards me, an unbearably sweet scent, and my eyes snapped open again.

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