Chapter 1

'Bella, please don't do this! You're over reacting! Think about this; do you really want to leave Forks and me? I thought we said we were going to be together forever now that you're…one of us.' He hesitated with his last words.

'Edward, I have every right to leave you. Do you remember that time when you left me? When you left me in the middle of that forest in the dark without even bothering to explain to me why you were leaving! Well,' I paused for more effect,

'This is kind of how it felt back then. Although it may be a faint memory to you, but to me, it is a nightmare that will never leave me. So don't you dare go telling me that I can't do the same!' My voice screeched that last sentence and I felt something in the pit of my stomach that must have been the pang of guilt. This must've been what he felt like when he left me. I had my reasons for wanting to leave though. One of which I'd rather not explain to Edward.

As I picked up my small duffel bag, Edward grabbed my hand and held it with all of his vampire strength.

'Bella, please, just explain to me what I have done wrong. Please?' He was pleading now; his eyes a watery topaz.

-Vampires don't cry do they?

But then again, we'd done some things that most vampires can't do; give birth to child with parents who are a vampire and a human (now vampire) – so maybe it wasn't impossible for him to cry. I pulled my hand away and, with my head tilted away from him towards the door, I quietly replied.

'I have my reasons, but the main one is that Renesmee doesn't really accept me anymore. She's starting to take Rosalie as her mum. Do you know how that makes me feel? And since Renesmee has been around, you have paid less and less attention to me and it makes me feel like you don't really love me anymore. I'm sorry Edward, I want to go. This is my decision, please respect it.' I didn't dare look back at his face and as I headed to my new silver VW Beetle, the rest of the family returned from their hunt in the nearest mountains.

They'd seen my bag, they'd seen Edward's pained expression and they'd seen me heading to my car. Emmett was first to comment.

'You going on a trip, Bella? Where you going?' Alice must've seen something just now and realised somewhat what was going on.

'She's not going on a trip, Emmett. She's leaving…' she paused and looked at me straight in the eye, her expression cold; something I rarely saw aside from her usual playful, cheerful face.

'She's leaving for good.' There was a stunned silence and then the hundred questions came from Esme, Alice and Emmett from all directions. Carlisle stepped in and told them to quiet down. His usually calm, composed facial expression was twisted with confusion. He walked up to me and looked at me.

'Bella, why are you leaving? Have we done something wrong? Have we upset you in some way?' Oh no, he was blaming himself.

'It's not that, Carlisle. I love this family so much and I wouldn't leave unless I felt I really needed to, but I know where I don't belong and where I'm not needed,' I looked in Edward's direction.

'So I'll take my leave now. Please don't go blaming yourself, because it isn't your fault. It's me.' I smiled my way through the swift goodbye – I'm not the sentimental kind of person.

'Goodbye Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Alice, Jasper,' I briefly and quietly muttered Rosalie's name and walked straight past Carlisle to my car. I could hear Alice and Esme pleading Edward.

'Edward, stop her. She doesn't need to leave right? We can help her through whatever this is, so Edward, stop her. Please!' Through their tearless sobs, I heard Edward say something in a deep, empty tone.

'Let her go. She's not welcome here anymore,' the last sentence he made for me to hear.

'Edward! What is wrong with you? Don't give us this crap! Especially not her! You love each other so much and you're saying she's not welcome here?! Bella, don't listen to him!' Emmett was shouting to Edward and then to me.

'Emmett, it's okay. I know.' I had one more thing to do quickly before I left though, and I looked to Renesmee.

'Renesmee, come here,' she obediently came over. I leant down to her level, even though she was a little shorter than me now, and put something in her hand and whispered in her ear.

'You've done so well, my little angel. Now you know what you've got to do. Give this to your father when I call you, okay? Can you do this one last thing for me?' She was still part human, so tears were able to overflow from her beautiful, brown eyes. I wiped them away for her.

'Be strong my little one. It won't be long, I promise. Now go back to Rosalie and tell her to carry on looking after you as she is now.' Her small hand touched my face lightly and she sent a vision of when Edward, she and I were all together in 'our' meadow.

'I'll keep that with me, Renesmee.' I nodded at Rosalie and she understood. I got into my car and drove down the long driveway to leave the Cullen's home. I didn't look back as I knew it would hurt me even more to leave, even though I was doing this to protect the Cullens.

I had to go to the Volturi and become one of their 'team' so they didn't come after the Cullens. After all, they weren't finished with them and I couldn't even begin to imagine what they would do after we humiliated them at the last confrontation. Especially Jane; she was still pissed for how I humiliated her by stopping her attack on Edward back a year ago.

'Goodbye, Edward, my love. I won't be long, I promise,' I muttered to myself more as self- reassurance than just to the air. As the sun set below the horizon in front of me, the trees rushed beside me in a blur as I sped down the main road to the airport. I wasn't even sure I was making the right decision; it was the power of wanting to protect my family driving me forwards on this task.

'Volturri, you just wait. I won't let you go within 10 states of my family!'