Disclaimer: All affiliated characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone. After many unforeseen complications, I finally finished this part. I have one request for my lovely readers. Please, just read through the entire part before flaming me all right? Every thing I write is there for a reason and will be explained sooner or later. Our beloved character will be here soon. Thank you for reading and I would love to know what you think of this part.

CHAPTER 2, PART 2.

"Thank you so much for you help, Angela. You've been wonderful." I gave Angela a hug. I don't think anyone else would of done a better job at handling the entire day like she did.

"It's been a pleasure. You'll have to stop by and show me how the dress looks on you in a couple of months." The smile on her face was genuine and sincere, I couldn't help but smile back.

"I have a better proposition, why don't you just see it the day of the wedding?" The smile on her face grew as she pulled me into another hug. Jessica and I walked out of the store after our goodbyes to Angela and headed in the direction of the parking lot.

The Seattle skyline was invaded by a clump of dark clouds that moved slowly across the horizon. Cold air swooshed around us, sending my hair flying into my face. March weather was at its worst and I couldn't wait until it was over. Jessica immediately began to list off all the things we had yet to accomplish for the wedding. I sighed quietly and focused on anything but the upcoming months. I hugged my jacket closer to my body and looked down at the pavement as I walked, concentrating on the cracks.

"Bella? Bella, are you listening to me?" My head snapped up, Jessica was impatient to say the least.

"Umm…no, sorry. I was thinking about…" My brain went over a million different lies to tell her, each one more incredulous than the last. "…the wedding. Yeah, I was thinking about the wedding. Sorry, what were you saying?" I opened my car door and threw my purse inside.

"I was saying how I need to meet with you and your fiancé tomorrow. We need to get together to discuss the invitations." I cringed inwardly at the mention of that word…fiancé.

"Yeah, sure. No problem, I'll be sure to tell him. What time do you need us to come in?" Jessica pulled an agenda out of her bag, turned it to the appropriate date and searched for a time slot that she could fit us into.

"Well, the only time I have available is at 10:30 in the morning. Is that okay?" I mentally went over anything that I had going on at that time. To my dismay, I had the day off tomorrow.

"That's perfect, Jess. I'll see you tomorrow." Jessica smiled and hugged me goodbye. I quickly jumped into my car, thankful that the day was almost over.

As I walked into my dark apartment, an overwhelming feeling of loneliness swept over me. Without bothering to turn the lights on I walked over to my phone, the beeping red light telling me I had a message. I pushed the button and half-listened to my messages.

"Congratulations, you've been selected to participate in an exciting-" I rolled my eyes and skipped over the message. Stupid telemarketers.

"Hey Bella. I was just calling to see how your day went. I bet dress hunting was pure torture, huh? Call me back as soon as you hear this message. I-I lov…miss you, Bella. Bye."

I sucked in a quick breath at the words he almost spoke. Not wanting to focus on those three words, I picked up the phone and dialed his phone number.

"Hello?" A groggy voice responded, my eyes glanced toward the clock in my kitchen-11:00 p.m. It was later than I realized, I should of waited until the morning to call.

"Hey Mike. Did I wake you up? I'm sorry. I'll call back tomorrow morning, okay?" My finger was already on the 'talk' button, ready to end the call.

"No. It's okay. I was just napping. How was your day?" He sounded exhausted.

" It was…horrific." No other word could depict the entire day.

"That bad huh?" I could hear the chuckle behind his words. A small smile spread over my lips, but as soon as it appeared, it vanished.

"Yeah, pretty much. But in the end, we found a dress. I had to put a deposit on it so they could hold it for me. I'm going to make monthly payments until I finish paying for the dress." I walked into my bedroom, flipping the light switch on.

"Bella, why didn't you call me? I could've sent someone to pay for the dress. You don't have to worry about making payments for it." The tone in Mike's voice changed just like I expected it to.

"I know. But, I don't want you or your family to pay for this entire wedding. I want to contribute too, if only just for a small part of it." I quickly changed into my pajamas and headed for the bathroom.

"Please Bella. Let me just do this for you, okay? You've helped out my family and I beyond belief." My legs gave out from the entire day as I fell onto my bed. I didn't feel like arguing with him, so to his joy, I gave in. Just as I was about to hang up with him, something occurred to me.

"Jessica wants to meet with us tomorrow. to go over the invitations." The prospect of tomorrow sent a new wave of panic over me. Time was doing it's job and I had yet to come to terms with what I was doing.

"Jessica? Who's Jessica?" I nodded my head in frustration.

"Jessica is the wedding planner remember? I hired her a couple of weeks ago. She's been a huge help." I reminded him.

"It must of slipped my mind. What time does she want to see us?"

"She said about 10:30 in the morning. Her office is a couple of blocks away from where you work. I'll meet up with you in the parking lot and you can follow me there." My mind voiced out the plan before I had a chance to even think about it. Lately, my mind had been making a lot of decisions for me.

"Why don't I just pick you up? That would be easier." Mike responded back.

"I have things to do early in the morning…wedding stuff. I'll just meet you at your job,

okay?" Once again, my mind did the talking. I heard his sigh and knew I had convinced him.

"Fine, I'll see you tomorrow. Night, Bella." I could hear him hesitating, wanting to say something.

"Night, Mike." I quickly ended the call before he could say anything else.

As I curled up in bed the day's events began to catch up with me. I hugged a pillow as I finally left the tears flow. Without my permission, my mind thought back to the day that changed my life forever.

"Mike! Calm down. I can't understand what you're saying." I swerved through Seattle traffic, honking at the cars that blocked my way.

"She's dying, Bella. She's…oh god." I clutched my cell phone as I heard a heart-breaking sob come from Mike.

"But…But, I thought she just had the flu."

"I don't know what happened. The doctor says we should start saying our goodbyes. She could go at any moment. Please, hurry Bella." Mike's desperate voice caused me to disregard the speed limit.

"I'm hurrying. I'll be there in five minutes." I hung up the phone and focused on getting to my destination.

I drove up the driveway that led to Mike's house, parked my car and ran inside. My legs walked up the grand stair case, as if they knew exactly where to go. I stopped outside a door where muffled voices could be heard from within. When I opened the door the scene playing out in front of me almost brought me to my knees.

Mike's eyes flashed to me when he heard the door open, the look in his eyes one I had never seen before-devastation. I heard him whisper something to the woman lying on the bed. She turned to look at me, a smile on her face. I approached her and sat down where Mike had been sitting previously.

"Hey, Grams." I whispered out, not being able to manage anything else. From behind me I felt Mike's hand on my shoulder, silently thanking me. The door shut and I looked down to woman staring back up at me.

"Hi, Beautiful." Despite myself, I smiled. She had taken to calling me that, "Beautiful", even though I thought otherwise.

"Bella, I know I don't have much time left-" I stopped her, I wouldn't allow her to give up.

"Don't say that. You're just a little sick. You'll be better in a few-" It was her turn to cut me off.

"Please, Bella. Just listen to me, okay?" I nodded my head. She sighed and took in a deep breath. Her hand held mine, holding on tightly.

"Oh, Bella. You've grown into such a beautiful woman. It's been like watching a flower bloom before my very eyes. Our lives have never been the same since we met you. Each member of this family loves you very much. You know that right?" I nodded my head, words at this point were impossible.

"That makes me very happy. I hope that you love us as well."

"Of course I do, Grams. I love all of you." I said with honesty. The Newton's were my family. They took me in and loved me unconditionally when no one else could. A smile, that I would never forget, crossed her face.

"Thank you, Bella. We will always be here for you. No matter what. Always remember that." Grams' breaths were coming in shallow gasps. Her body was fighting a losing battle and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

"There's…one thing I want to…ask of you, Bella. One last…request."

"What is it, Grams? I'll do anything you ask of me." I told her quickly through my tears.

"Please, please…" She whispered, I leaned in closer to hear her.

"Please, take care of Michael for me. I know he's going to struggle after I'm gone." By this point, I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. Nor the sobs that took over my body.

"He loves you, Bella. He really loves you. You should see the look on his face when he talks about you. It's like watching a child on Christmas morning." What she said next stopped my entire world. In that instant, life as I knew it would never be the same again.

"There's no one else in the entire world that would take better care of Michael than you, Bella. Please, watch over him. Make my grandson happy." Grandma Newton's eyes were full of hope, love and trust. Forgetting about the consequences, I looked into her eyes and said the words she wanted to hear.

"I will, Grandma. I promise." She smiled and took in a deep breath, closing her eyes. I felt her squeeze my hand one last time before it went limp. The smile stayed on her face even after she stopped breathing. I gasped in shock and covered my mouth with my hands.

No, No, this couldn't be happening.

"Grandma? Grandma!" My sobs and tears increased as I took in the situation.

"Oh god, no! Please, no, no, no!" I fell to the floor, my entire frame shaking. The door opened as I heard hurried footsteps coming towards me. Someone picked me up off the floor and cradled me in their arms, out of the room.

The bed sunk under my weight as I buried my head into a pillow, desperate to muffle my sobs. I felt someone sit next to me, their fingers going through my hair. The action was supposed to soothe me but it did the exact opposite. I turned my head towards him. His eyes were red, puffy and glazed over with tears that desperately tried to break free. It was like looking into a mirror. It didn't matter who got closer but I soon found myself wrapped in his arms. I was holding onto Mike for dear life and he was doing the same. Our tears, sobs and thoughts all going toward the one person we would miss immensely. At that moment I didn't care about the future or what was to come, all I cared about was losing someone so close to my heart. The future could wait, I would handle everything as it came to me. Everything would be all right. At least that's what I told myself.

On that day I vowed myself to keep the promise I had made. If not for me, then for her. I cried myself to sleep, as I did every night, and dreamt about what my life would have been like, had I not made that promise. In my dreams, I wasn't getting married to a man I didn't fall in love with.