Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and to those who put this story on their alerts and favorites. Truly gave me the encouragement to continue =)

Disclaimer: I am neither Stephenie Meyer nor Nora Roberts; therefore I am not getting paid for this story.

Chapter 1

8 months later…

Royce King had everything any man could ever want. He had a coveted NYU degree in Finance. He was the rightful heir of Allegiance Investments, a very prosperous mutual funds company. He was rich and successful with a penthouse apartment on the Upper East Side and a personal driver named Tom. Royce was a pretty content man, but there was only one thing missing in his life.

A wife.

He almost had a wife. Madison Price. The only child of Paul Price, the president and CEO of Mercy Bank Financial Group, Madison was the love of his life and his ticket to getting what would be one of the biggest mergers of the decade.

Being two years older than her, Royce didn't see much of Madison in his school years, even though their families were in the same circle. It wasn't until a fundraising event he attended a few years back, where he met her. He was just a freshman in college and went to black and white affair for his father. Madison attended with her parents. He saw her and immediately knew he wanted her.

She was the most beautiful woman he has ever seen.

She wore an off shoulder black dress that stopped at her knees. Her heels bringing her just about level to his six foot frame. The form fitting outfit accentuated her curves, but left everything to his imagination. He wanted nothing more than to peel it off her body. Her gorgeous blonde hair cascaded in waves down past her shoulders.

She could rival Victoria Secret models any day.

She was looking bored talking to some guy in a flashy suit. A slight pang of jealousy coursed through him, but he quickly squashed that feeling.

He made his way over. She was relieved when he came over and introduced himself, directing her to the drink table and away from the boring guy.

He would never forget that smile. It lit up her face whenever she smiled for him. But she would also smile for other guys, something he didn't like. That smile belonged to him, along with the rest of her.

After that evening it was a typical courtship. He escorted Maddy to her debutante ball then later prom. He was there when she graduated high school as was she when he graduated from the university.

Being a rich, beautiful couple, they were envied by everyone in their circle.

He proposed after only two years and was expecting a winter wedding.

But that was until the inevitable happened.

Royce was in a morning meeting when he received the call. Maddy had been missing for about a month and everyone was losing hope in finding her. She was last seen by her friend Vera Reynolds. He never did like the girl. He has told Maddy countless time to stay away from her and her carpenter husband. How would Maddy look associating with middle class people like them?

Maddy wasn't feeling well all day as accounted for by a few people including Vera. The police, of course, had their different theories on what may have happened.

He received the call that they found Maddy's black Lincoln in the river. They retrieved the car, but not the body. Some say she tried to escape, got caught in the current and drifted downstream. The police assumed a typical homicide where Madison was taken, killed elsewhere and dumped the car to make it look like an accident or suicide. Finding a broken gold necklace near the scene confirmed this theory.

Worthless cops. What did they get paid for? That's where the investigation ended. Case closed. Move on to the mob hit in Brooklyn.

Royce was preparing to leave his office for the night. Working another long day. He put all of his time and energy in his work since the funeral. His way of dealing with grief. When everything was in order, he headed down the elevator and out the building. He told his driver Tom to meet him at A60, a hotel bar in lower Manhattan. He was meeting his college buddy, one of his groomsmen, for drinks.

Josh Hamilton was waiting in one of the booths drinking a beer when Royce arrived. The place was crowded. People out to celebrate the start of the weekend. Royce joined his friend and ordered a beer as well.

"I'm glad you decided to come out tonight." Josh took a sip of his beer. "I was starting to worry."

Royce's beer arrived and he took a swig of it. "Yeah, well just been busy I guess."

"Bullshit. You make unnecessary work for yourself." He took another sip. "Look, man. I know you're still grieving and all, but it's time to move on. You need to go out more."

"I do go out." He grunted.

"You only go out to stay in the press and out of gossip columns, not for your own enjoyment." As always Josh was right. He did date, but only socially. He had no interest in other women or marrying anyone else. All he wanted was his Maddy back.

He finished his beer and ordered another one. "You're right. I just don't really care anymore."

"You have to get back out there, man." Josh said, finishing his beer. "Madison would have wanted that. Don't you think she would want you to be happy again?"

Royce just stared at his new bottle of beer, thinking. Maddy would want me to move on, wouldn't she? "She would. So what have you been up to?" He added hoping to change the subject.

Josh shrugged his shoulders. "I've been good. Went to Kyle's housewarming thing last weekend. You should have been there. There place is really nice." Kyle Scott, another friend and would been groomsman, recently came back from his honeymoon with his new wife Brenda. Royce sighed deeply, he didn't want to think about how blissfully happy his friend was at the moment.

His thoughts were interrupted, "Speaking of which…Brenda was telling me about their trip to Vegas, like I was caring." Josh scoffed.

Royce looked at his friend. "What about their trip?"

"She was saying that when they were there enjoying their honeymoon, gambling and dining every night. One afternoon, Kyle was some casino- gambling away all his money and she went shopping- spending the rest of his money." He paused to take a drink. "She said that while she was out, she swore she saw a Madison look-a-like walking down the street."

Royce furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, she kept going on and on about how this girl looked just like Madison and that she thought she saw a ghost. She chalked it up to being the Nevada heat getting to her. But swore on it, she did. The only difference was this girl's hair was longer and the clothes she wore. She asked me if Madison had a twin. I was like no, she doesn't have any siblings. The way I figure, she saw some tall blonde around Madison's age, and with the heat playing tricks with her mind, projected it to look like her. She even tried to follow the hallucination, but it disappeared around a corner." He snorted at the last part. "She was telling everyone. So I wanted to tell you first hand, before others came to you about it. The last thing you need is some stupid prick filling your head with false hope."

"Kyle's wife is an airhead."

"She certainly does have an imagination." Josh said. "But enough of that. Wanna catch a Yankees game next weekend?"

Royce smiled at the prospect of going to a baseball game. He nodded in affirmation and drank his beer. He debated with his friend the rest of the evening, talking sports and who the Yankees will play in the World Series.

~*~

Welcome to Forks

Rosalie sighed as she drove past the sign across the Forks, Washington border line. I guess this will be the next no name town I settle in, she thought. Coming from California, she has been driving up the west coast for the past few days. Only stopping for food, gas, and sleep, she was heading for the Canadian border. She picked up a brochure for Vancouver, British Columbia at one of the rest areas and thought this would be the perfect place to settle for good. No more traveling, no more living out of motels and shelters, Rosalie was ready to settle down with a place of her own.

While she was thinking about that, she glanced at the gas gauge. I could use a fill up…and food while I'm at it.

And a job too. She could save up some money. Research real estate in Canada and see about getting a citizenship too.

Rosalie pulled her hair behind her ear. The brown in her naturally golden hair faded out. She would need to buy another box of dye…or maybe she could keep her natural color for awhile, perhaps go for a nice auburn. She loved her hair, her favorite feature about herself. She's been growing it out and it was currently at her mid-back. Thick and long, Rosalie always loved to wear it out. But Royce never liked the attention she received especially…with men. He was never a trusting bastard, so he made her cut it short.

She cried for days after that horrible haircut. Her parents didn't even try to talk him out of it or did they comfort her. All they said was that it was a good look for her.

The only person who sympathized with Rosalie was her dearest and very best friend, Vera Reynolds. Vera never liked Royce and she let it be known every chance she had.

"Maddy, you can do so much better than that jerk." Vera once said.

"V…he's rich, handsome, and gives me everything that I could ever want or need." Rosalie replied. "He just got me this necklace the other day, just because." She fingered the gold chain around her neck.

"But honey, money isn't everything. Look at me and Cameron. We're comfortable yet blissfully happy. He worships the very ground I walk on and would give up his life for me."

Vera and Cameron have been married for a few months and lived in a townhouse in Queens.

Rosalie rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but what do your parents think about him?"

"It was tough in the beginning. They didn't like him for the very reasons you don't--"

"I don't dislike him. Don't think that I don't. It's just not what I ever expected, what anyone expected."

"Well, life is never what one expects, no matter how much they plan. But seriously, Royce is bad news."

"I've been with him for two years now, Vera. I think I would have noticed any ill traits in him by now." Vera just looked at her best friend, rubbing her very pregnant belly. She just knew in her heart that Royce King was going to break her Maddy's heart or do something worse.

Rosalie looked at her friend's hand. She couldn't believe that Vera was expecting a baby so soon in their marriage. Marrying merely months after graduating high school. She hated to admit how jealous she was, because she was. All she wanted in life was a husband and a child. A little bundle of joy to care for and to shower with love and affection. To have her happily ever after, just like in those entire Disney princess movies she use to watch when she was a girl. She was almost there; so sure that Royce would propose soon. They would be married in a year and a child would come shortly afterwards.

That was the plan.

Rosalie was brought back to the present when she spotted a gas station a few feet away. She pulled in, parked next to a tank and turned off the engine. A man wearing a red and white Nationals baseball cap came to her side of the car. Rosalie rolled down the window.

"Afternoon, ma'am. What will it be today?" He greeted leaning against the car.

"Just a fill up… regular," Rosalie said.

"Coming right up." The attendant went to put the gas in the car. When he finished, Rosalie paid the man and started up the car.

She drove out of the lot, heading in no particular destination. She drove around the town to get a feel for the size. It was rather small, only a few miles around with only three stoplights in the whole vicinity.

She drove back in the direction of the gas station, with a motel just past it. She would have to check in at some point, but she wanted to sightsee some more before calling it a day.

Rosalie found a parking space off the main street in front of a small fellowship church.

Getting out of the car, she grabbed her jacket. Even though it was late summer, the weather felt more like early spring. She draped the purse over her shoulder and started walking to the main street.

There were cute little shops in this town. She passed a coffee shop which smelled of cinnamon buns, a hardware store, an independent bookstore showcasing a display of the latest mysteries collection, and a pizza shop.

Rosalie stopped at a window display of a boutique shop. The headless mannequin was sporting a purple belted shirtdress with matching strappy wedges and cute a gold satchel bag.

Rosalie looked longingly at the display and sighed with envy. She shouldn't be wasting her money. She needs to save all that she could and as much as she would love a new dress; jeans, sweats, and shorts have been the attire of choice since on the road.

"You should just buy the dress, you know you want it." A voice said.

Rosalie sighed, "I can't. I don't have the means for frivolous spending at the moment. Besides-" She stopped herself and turned, realizing the voice wasn't in her head.

Smiling to her left was a short, petite girl wearing a cute khaki pencil skirt with a plaid split-neck top and topped it off with a white denim jacket.

"You're allowed to buy something nice for yourself every once in a while." She said.

Rosalie crossed her arms over her chest. "No, I already indulged most of my money when I bought my car a few months back. And the upkeep takes my extra cash."

Alice looked at the beautiful girl before her. She has never seen her before, Alice would have remembered that face…and the hair…and that figure. She could pass for a runway model. In fact that what she thought at first glance, but after her remark about money Alice knew otherwise. Maybe, she's a student or a tourist? Alice thought.

"I'm Alice, by the way. Alice Cullen." She extended her hand.

Rosalie shook Alice's hand and replied, "M-…umm, Rosalie…Rosalie Hale." She still had trouble remembering her new name at times.

"Rosalie. Wow, that's such a pretty name."

Rosalie nodded, "Yeah, I was named after my maternal grandmother." This was half true. Her grandmother was named Rosalie. Hale, on the other hand, was a name she seen in a car magazine and liked it.

"Oh." Alice said in awe. "So, where are you from?"

Rosalie furrowed her brow. "Umm…I was born and grew up in New York."

Alice's face lit up at the mention of her favorite city. "That's so cool. I always wanted to visit New York. All the lights and people, the nightlife. The fashion. My all time favorite show is Sex and the City. Carrie always had the greatest shoes. What are you doing on the west coast? Are you here for school?"

This girl talks a mile a minute. Rosalie thought. She chuckled, "I'm not here for school. I'm moving to Canada actually. That's where I'm headed."

Alice shifted her purse. "Why would you move from an amazing city like New York, to go to Canada?"

Rosalie was silent for a moment, trying to think of something to say. Out of all the people she's met over the past few months, no one ever really asked what she wanted or where she was headed. In her defense, relocating to Canada was a spur of the moment thing when she saw the brochure.

She was also considering how much she wanted to tell this complete stranger. She had to keep her past buried. Not risking others involvement and getting too close to people was not on the agenda.

"I just…wanted a new life." She shrugged and looked to the window display again.

Alice took a good look at the Rosalie. Trying to figure out the mysterious newcomer. She understood. Rosalie didn't want to tell her life story to a complete stranger. There was something about her though. She seemed like a girl who could have anything, but sensed that she gave it up for some good reason. If she's making her way to Canada, she probably needs a place to stay for the night. That gave Alice the idea of inviting her home.

"Rosalie. I'm actually on my way home from work. If you're not doing anything, you should come over and have dinner with me and my parents. We're having pot roast. My mom's special recipe." She smiled.

Rosalie turned at the invitation. She was surprised that this person would invite a complete stranger to her home. Alice didn't know her. She wanted to refuse, but Alice looked like the kind who doesn't accept rejection. I can't pass up a free meal. She thought. She'll just stay for dinner and then check in the hotel later that evening.

Rosalie agreed and Alice jumped up and down with excitement. "That's great; my house isn't too far, just a 15 minute walk." She said looping her arm through Rosalie's.

Rosalie couldn't help but laugh. This girl's exuberance was contagious. "The walk would be nice, but my car is down the street." She pointed.

Alice stopped. "Oh, right. Well let's go then."

Rosalie led the way to her red BMW, providing a low whistle from Alice. "Wow. Nice car."

Rollin her eyes, Rosalie unlocked the doors and got in. "Thanks, it's a '98 E36 convertible with a 2.8L engine and brand new suspensions that I just recently installed."

Alice had a look of wonder on her face. "You know how to fix cars?"

"I like to tinker with them. Always did. My family hated it though, especially my father. 'A girl shouldn't know more about cars than men,' he always said." Laughing, she continued. "Roy-"

She cut herself off. She couldn't believe it. About say something she shouldn't. She had to keep a distance from this girl soon or all of her secrets would be revealed.

Quickly Rosalie changed the subject. "So, where is your house again?"

It seemed to work, the rest of the time was spent on Alice directing her to their destination.

She drove in silence, mentally making a to-do list of what she needed to accomplish while staying in this little town of Forks.

Well what did you think? This chapter was very difficult for me to write. Not so much with writer's block, but I didn't know which direction to take and who's POV to start with. I've never written in third person before, so if I'm screwing it up please tell me. Especially with the tenses.

If you check my profile, I have a link to this page I created where I will store all the pictures and info for my stories. Go check it out, I already have some character pics uploaded.

But you know what to do. Leave a review. Critiques…spelling or grammatical mistakes…whatever. Just let me know what you think.