Hey there! Here's my first fanfic! Hope you enjoyed.

Disclaimer: Twilight? Mine? Nope..but I wish it was...**sighes**

Chapter 1

It was raining.

What awful weather, I thought.

This didn't help a bit to relax my spirit.

I just had to move again, had to say goodbye to everything I had already gotten used to, had to leave my home, my friends… everything.

It's necessary, I just keep telling myself.

Actually, I had no choice in this matter: my father was a well-known doctor and he had been transferred to another hospital in Chicago. My mother didn't actually get bothered with that - she had always dreamt about living in Chicago - so I was the only one complaining. It had just been my 17th birthday and all what my parents did was to keep moving from one place to another.

"Just understand, Bella," they told me, while we were having our last dinner in Phoenix, "Soon enough you'll be making new friends, and we know you will love Chicago."

"But why now? Couldn't you just wait a little bit longer?" I asked, keeping the last part for myself, so Richard finally proposes to me?

Richard was the banker's only son. We had met at a ball that his father had organized, and he had found me a very interesting young woman. He was very gentle all the time and a good person to talk to, but was I in love with him? No, I wasn't. It was just that, at this point, I wasn't expecting to find my charming prince. It only happened in fairy tales, and my life wasn't supposed to be one. I had already given up marrying someone I loved, so I thought Richard would be the right choice. He was nice and always polite, and above all, he cared a lot about me, I guess he was in love with me. Not that I deserved his affection, in terms of beauty I was average: thin, with dark brown, silky hair that curled at the end, and pale skin.

Despite that, I did have the luck that a rich man had fallen for me. He had already told me that, so, I was half-expecting him to propose to me. I would undoubtedly say yes, because my family wasn't that wealthy, and so I needed a rich husband in order to have a comfortable life. It wasn't that I didn't respect him and his feelings, I did love him in a certain way, but it wasn't enough so I could say I was in love with him. I wished it wasn't necessary, but life isn't always as we'd like it to be. He was a good and charming man anyway, and he would certainly make a good husband, such as I would be a dedicated wife. I couldn't hope for anything more.

"Isabella Marie Swan, I know that you were expecting Richard to ask you to marry him," my mother started, although she knew how much I hated people calling me by my full name, "But, sweetheart, we have been told that his parents already have arranged him a marriage."

"What?" I almost gasped, "Why on earth he didn't tell me then?"

"I don't know honey, but the truth is that he is not going to go against his parents will, and, besides, he knows you don't love him, so probably, he wasn't expecting you to say yes."

It felt like someone had stabbed a knife in my back. I know I hadn't the right of feeling like this as I had never showed any interest in him. Well, at least not the interest he wanted.

"Alright, you did it. You finally did it. I'm going with you without saying a word," I said, bursting into tears and running up the stairs to lock myself in my bedroom.

I knew that I was being childish but it was so unfair: having to change all my life because of my father's stupid career. I crawled to my bed, snuggling against the sheets, and cried over my pillow until I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning when the sunlight filled my room.

Today is the day, I said to myself, the day you walk away without looking back.

Vivianne, the maid, carried my baggage to the entrance, where Alfonso, the butler, took it to the carriage. I entered and sat down without a word. I didn't know until when my silence would last, but right now I wasn't just in the mood to speak to my parents. I just kept facing the window and watching the view.

We arrived a few hours later. As I faced my new home I noticed it was just like the one back at Phoenix. Probably my parents thought it would be easier like that as I already knew the divisions of the house. I guess they were right. At least I was already used to one thing.

I walked upstairs and entered my new room. Yes, it was just like the other one: walls in light blue, a big, mahogany bed with pale blue curtains on both sides of it, just as I remembered…

Even the books were already on the shelves. I picked one - Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, one of my favourites - and started reading it. How lucky Elizabeth was. She had been able to find and marry the man she loved, considering that it was very unlikely both for me and for her, but she actually managed to do it. I just wished I was as fortunate.

It was true. My biggest dream was to find someone I truly loved and I could also get married with, but that would probably never happen, so I shouldn't keep my hopes up.

Someone knocked at the door and interrupted my thoughts.

"Come in," I said as Vivianne entered the room.

"Excuse me, Miss Bella, but your mother asked me to tell you that today there's a ball at a mansion of someone very important. What was the name? Hum, I think it is Mr. Masen. Yes, that was it. And you have to get dressed because it starts at 8."

"Alright. Thank you, Vivianne," I told her, smiling lightly. In fact, I was boiling in the inside with anger. Well, maybe that was an overstatement, but I mean, I had just arrived, and my parents already had parties to go to. And they didn't even have had the decency of asking me if I wanted to go, I just had to.

"Need any help, Miss Bella?" she asked, as helpful as always.

"No, thank you. I'll just send someone to call you if I need anything, or I may just do it myself. I'm pretty sure Alfonso is quite busy at the moment, isn't that right?"

"Indeed. Well, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me then." And with that she left.

I'd better hurry then, I wouldn't like to be late to this Mr. Masen party. I thought a little angrily - after all, I had just arrived to this new city.

I pick up a midnight blue dress I liked a lot from my wardrobe and put it on. I looked at myself in the mirror. I just loved this shade of blue.

I went down and called Vivianne to put my make up on me and to do my hair. After about half an hour in front of the mirror from my bedroom, I was finally ready to go.

My parents were waiting for me at the front door when I walked downstairs.

"Finally!" my father mumbled impatiently.

"Oh, Bella! You look so beautiful!" my mom squealed.

"Thanks mother," I replied, a bit too harshly. I still hadn't forgiven them.

"Are you ready to go, sir?" Alfonso asked.

"Yes, yes. We'd better hurry."

And then we left and headed to the ball.

A/N: I want to thank my fantastic beta: Cherrymars, who betaed this chapter wonderfully well :) An applause please!

Now, just one more thing...REVIEW!!! Lol. Reviews keep me going so if you want that to happen... review, review, review...

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