This story is very important to me because the first part of it, when Gabriella is human, is based on real life events from someone very close to me. All the characters mentioned in that part are real too, I only changed names.

Enjoy!

Pre-story introduction

Edward:

My "siblings" and I had been on vacation for a few months now. Carlisle agreed with us that we would leave them alone for a year or so; Esme agreed after a lot of convincing. She didn't want us to be away from her too long.

She became my mother after Elizabeth, my human life mother, I could barely remember her after all those years, but that didn't bother me because I knew from what Carlisle told me that she loved me until her last minute of life.

I was alone at the hotel. My brothers had gone to the casino to make some more unnecessary cash, and I stayed at my simple hotel suite…well, not so simple. My suite had a piano and a window view. But the rest of the suite was just how I liked it, simple. As I lounged in my room, I started wondering if I would ever find love…I mean the love of my existence like my siblings and Carlisle has.

I envied them sometimes, and it was hard for me to be around them when they got all lovey-dovey and retreated to their bedrooms. At 118 years old, I still haven't found the one. Well not that I actually went looking for her, either. I was still trapped in a seventeen-year-old body, but I was making it hard too. I knew that in Forks there had been lots of girls interested in me, but the problem was that I wasn't interested in any of them, and it was very disappointing for both sides.

I knew Esme was growing impatient because I didn't have somebody, but I still had hope that I would soon meet my mate. Ever since Alice joined the family, she always told me that I had to have patience because she knew that I was going to be loved by someone at one point in my existence and that when that day arrived, my whole future would change forever. She told me that my life would never be the same after that perfect woman made an appearance in my lonely existence.

By some crazy miracle I believed her; no one ever dares to bet on Alice.

The months went by, and I was getting bored. I wanted to go back to Forks, but Alice wasn't going to let me bail on the rest of the trip. She would tear me apart and burn me if I dared to leave, so I didn't have another option. I just had to suck it up and enjoy the rest of the vacation.

"Emmett, why the hell do you have to be such a jerk?" Alice yelled, opening the door and fumbling inside the penthouse, furious. I turned off the TV and stood up from the couch to see what was wrong. I froze in my tracks when I saw Alice. She was covered on pink sticky stuff and she was livid

"Emmett McCarty Cullen! What the hell did you do to her?" I exclaimed, taking a towel and handing it to Alice. She thanked me as she took it.

Emmett huffed and sat on an armchair, his arms crossed on his chest, "Dude, I apologized, okay? And besides, it wasn't my fault she stood under it. I swear the prank was for the hotel manager not her," he said in his defense.

Alice was still angry, "You owe me a new Dolce dress, you know that Emmett?" she said and went to her shared room with Jasper to change. Emmett laughed when she was out of sight.

"I heard that!" she yelled.

I threw a cushion to Emmett, and he caught it in midair and threw it back at me.

"Stop that crap, man! I told you in Rome not to keep doing pranks on the hotel staff! Do you want us to get kicked out of every hotel in the world?" I asked, exasperated. This was the tenth joke he had done on this trip.

My patience with him was dancing on a fine line. "And I'm telling Rose by the way…unless Alice didn't do it already…" I trailed with a smile; I knew Alice told her. I saw it in her head and heard the conversation. Rosalie was beyond pissed. She was on her way to the hotel; I didn't want to be here when she exploded against Emmett.

Ten minutes later Rosalie barged through the door with five shopping bags in her hands and Jasper behind her "Emmett Dale McCarty Cullen, I leave you alone for two hours and this is what you do! What the hell where you thinking? I told you to stop this nonsense in Rome! You're in so much trouble," she said, running after him.

Our hotel was near a small forest. The hotel wasn't that crowded with guests, so Emmett jumped off the balcony, Rose right behind him; lucky for them no one saw them. I made sure of that.

Okay, what can I say about that night? Alice got her revenge, Emmett got his punishment and everything went back to normal. They say that payback is a kick in the rear—Emmett words not mine. He had to buy Alice a new Dolce dress, and the rest is history.

More months passed by and our vacation wasn't ending. We were on Isle Esme. I loved the island. It was perfect, and I liked Brazil a lot. I kept thinking and wondering when was I going to find my mate. I was tired of being alone. It had been too many years, but I had to be patient. Alice had said so, and I believed her. We stayed in Isle Esme for a month before we went to Germany.

After Germany we went to Switzerland and Russia, and our last destination was Japan. We spent another month there. We were at the airport on the last day of our trip. We were going home. I was reading a magazine when Alice sat beside me with a smile. Jasper had gone to the various stores at the terminal and Rosalie and Emmett…well I don't know exactly where those two went to.

"Edward, I saw her," she said, looking in my eyes.

I looked back at her confused. "Who Alice? Who did you see?"

"Your mate. I finally saw her face," she told me.

I looked around hopefully; Alice pinched my bicep.

"Stop that! She's not here, dumbass," she scolded me with a frown.

I exhaled; I could only hope that I could see her now.

Alice had told me when we started our vacation that my mate was on her way that she was getting closer to me, and that it would only be a matter of time before I met her. Apparently, that time had arrived. I was finally going to meet her. I got nervous. Would she like me? Would she love me back? Those and more questions flowed through my mind; I shook my head to clear it from all the inning questions that were not going to be answered at the moment.

"What does she look like, Alice?" I asked.

She let me in her mind and only showed me her eyes. They were golden like mine but with a hint of brown. It was a rare color. Another question escaped my lips. "Is she a vampire?" I asked.

Alice nodded. Okay, that explained the eyes.

Alice took my hand and sighed. I knew that sigh, something was wrong.

"What is it?" I asked

"Your mate," she said.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked panicking.

"I can see that this is going to be a bit difficult for you to gain her heart," she said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because she will play a little hard to get. I can't see the exact reason for her to be like that…I've been having a few flashbacks of her human life, but I can't understand any of it. So I guess you will have to figure that one out," she told me solemnly.

I nodded and asked one more question. "Will it all be worth it in the end?" I asked.

Alice smiled sweetly at me and answered, "Yes, Edward, and believe me when I say this. No matter what you two go trough and no matter what she tells you, it will work out in the end. I promise. I've seen it."

I nodded again and smiled at her. I couldn't be happier she was finally here; I was just a few hours away from meeting my mate.

"Gabriella," Alice said all of a sudden.

"What?" I asked.

"Her name is Gabriella Swan," Alice said.

After that, she stood up and walked away.

I couldn't wait to get home; I couldn't wait to meet my mate, my Gabriella.

A/N: The next chapter is Gabriella's introduction of the story, and we might find out why it will be hard for Edward to gain her heart...