One year later

Bella

I looked at my empty room in the campus, smiling. Almost everything was already on its way to Forks but me... and it was something I would put remedy to soon enough. My first year of college had ended the day before, and I was excited at the thought of going home for the summer. My roommate, Sarah, always said that she had no idea how I could feel nostalgic with the amount of family photographs I had in my part of the room. But I did… I was nostalgic about Emmett and our endless matches with the Playstation; of the time spent with Rosalie learning how to fix cars; of Esme, and her infinite patience with me and my tomboy attitude, since she had decided she would made a real lady out of me; of Carlisle, the best adoptive father I could dream of, and especially of Jasper, my fiancé, my love, and the reason why I spent an entire year with a goofy smile on my face no matter what.

I was so worried my new car would stand out, when I first came there (escorted by the entire family, of course; the price to pay for being the youngest Cullen) after the wonderful summer I had spent in Denali… Well, after half a second I was there, I noticed there were cars even more expensive than mine. I was also terrified that I wasn't smart enough for that place, but thank God my inferiority complex disappeared after the first month. I made some friends, and after that, I enjoyed every single second of my new life as an undergrad student.

While I was putting away the photographs of me and the Denali clan ('my cousins that live in Alaska', according to my roommate and the rest of the world), I couldn't resist calling Tanya. I wanted to ask her if I could go to Denali and stay for a week or so during the summer vacations… I fell in love with that place and the natural reserve the previous summer, and the girls and I became good friends, once the shock of my presence in the Cullen coven had worn off. And the less sun my skin would take, the better. I got scorched during a ten-minute walk in the campus, for God's sake!

Tanya answered the phone before the first ring ended. "Bella, darling!"

"Hi, Tanya! How are things in Denali?"

"Nothing new… Why are you calling? Is something wrong?"

"Just checking if I still have some right on your guest room. I'd love to come visit you and your sisters for a week or so this summer… if it's not a problem. Forks is too sunny for me in this season."

Tanya laughed hard. "Forks? Sunny? Bella, you've spent too much time in that fancy college of yours. You've forgotten what Forks is really like."

"Haha. Ironically much, you're not the one that has to go out after sunset in summer."

"And this thing will never cease to amuse me. So… you coming here straight from college or you'll stop to say hello to Mom and Dad first?"

I laughed at the reference to Carlisle and Esme. It was our inside joke. And by the way, I loved calling Esme 'Mom'… but never as much as Esme loved to hear that word coming from me. I said I would go to Forks first, and she started teasing me about me and Jasper. And I couldn't even protest… Tanya was the one to have found us in a… well… 'really inappropriate situation' in the living room because we thought we had the house to ourselves. She didn't tell Esme, and that was probably the reason why Jasper was still alive. Or Carlisle, and that was probably the reason why I wasn't living in a convent. They took our four-year engagement quite seriously. More seriously than us, that for sure, because we never actually thought of waiting till our wedding night or something… but seemed like someone expected us to. But since the damage was already done, so to speak, we had to pay extra attention not to be caught. And Tanya found our subterfuges to stay together quite amusing.

I had already warned everyone about my intention of taking a road trip on the way back, and strangely enough, they let me do it. Like they knew I wouldn't exactly be alone. For a moment I panicked and wondered if they knew about my friendship with Alice, but how could they?

Alice had been my shadow during this first year of college. I had to blame – or thank – her for all the crazy things I had done with my new friends. Alice wanted me to make the most of this experience, but I had never been a party girl. I loved books and stuff… but I did my best to please her, and I didn't repent it. We would take that trip together. I hoped my mother would join us, but I knew that until she found Edward, her spirit would never find peace. Still, I had the impression that Alice knew more about that story than she had actually told me. Anyway, the moment I pushed down the accelerator, I forgot my problems and enjoyed the trip.

It didn't take me long to arrive in the Washington state (thank God, no police… I was driving a little faster than licit, to be home sooner), and I was smiling at the thought of Emmett losing the bet: he was sure I couldn't make it on my own and that the legendary bad luck I had inherited from my mother would manifest sooner or later. I was already imagining his defeated face and the pair of shoes I would buy with his money, when I punctured a tire. I cursed loudly, and I stopped the car by the end of the street to change the tire, thinking that thanks to Rosalie, now I could do faster and better than a mechanic. But my bad luck struck again. And I punctured another tire. I groaned, and called the number of the only mechanic I knew, one just outside La Push. I could've called Rosalie, but I was adamant in not letting Emmett win that bet.

Once my car was at the body shop, they told me it would take a while to find the exact tire needed for the Camaro, so I went to the diner across the road to order something to eat while I was waiting. I knew it was an excuse to drool at my car, I had heard a couple of mechanics whispering to get pictures with my car before doing the job. Apart from me and the Cullens, no one drove cars like that in the surroundings…

"You have guts to show your face around here again, vampire-lover."

I took out my sunglasses and smiled, turning to face Josh Clearwater. "And hello to you too. Long time no see… brother."

Josh and his friends were looking at me with deep hate in their eyes. They had to be all werewolves, but I didn't recognize any of their faces. In his sporadic phone calls, Dave told me something about the pack growth, but I didn't listen… I was more interested in what he wasn't saying to me. He sounded like… well, like me while I was still living in La Push. Weird.

"Still human, huh? Your leech doesn't think you're good enough for him?"

"Don't talk of things you don't understand."

"No one misses you in La Push. It's like you never existed."

My heart started beating faster, but I kept smiling.

"Tell that to someone who cares, 'cause I don't."

"Careful, Bella. You are in no position to talk like this to us."

"Oh God, I'm so scared," I said feigning fear.

If I had known in advance what that day had in store for me, I wouldn't have needed to pretend. But how could I know? I had spent an entire year away from there. I didn't know a thing about the new additions to the pack, or what they knew about me. I just assumed that everyone, like me, had put everything behind their backs and moved on with their lives. But the Quileutes had good memories, and an uncanny ability to hold grudges. I just didn't know yet how dangerous this could be.

Everyone in the body shop was too nice to me, but I didn't think it was weird. I was a girl with a beautiful car, and in Washington, this combination was a powerful magnet for men of all age, all immediately discouraged by the 8-carat diamond on my ring finger. And the guys there had repaired my Volvo more times that I wanted to remember. I trusted them. When they offered to check my car, I didn't see anything wrong. Alice was nervous, though. She had a bad feeling.

Once I was back on the road, I pressed the accelerator and the car jolted forward. I was used to driving fast. I loved speed. Everyone knew that. Josh Clearwater and the guys at the shop were no exception.

I remembered it when the brakes stopped working a few minutes later.

My heart raced while my hands clutched the wheel so strong it hurt, trying to keep control of the car. There was nothing I could do, but cry and scream in fear. I was going to die. This time no one would save me.

I didn't remember the impact with the trees. It all happened so fast I almost didn't notice. One moment I was in a car, the moment later my car was a smoking metal trap that was losing gas. I couldn't move. I couldn't stay conscious. Every bone in my body hurt, probably because they were broken.

I was going to die. And I was going to die alone.

Someone in La Push seemed to think I deserved it, for betraying my blood, my destiny, my heritage and daring to put my foot on their territory, now that I was living with their sworn enemies and probably thinking of joining their ranks.

Someone down there was cheering in that moment…

Emmett

I was checking the watch every five minutes; enough for Rose to kick me out of the room, annoyed like hell. And Rosalie was scary when she was angry. But what could I say? I really couldn't wait to have my little sister home! And I couldn't wait to win the bet. And to beat her at Halo. I trained. Lots of hours spent playing with that game during this entire year. Now I was sure I would beat her. HA!

I was so full of energy that Esme suggested me to go out for a run or for a quick hunt, while she finished preparing the food she had bought for Bella. Esme had always been our mother figure, but seeing the way she looked after Bella really warmed my heart. She would have made such a great mom. Pity she hadn't had that chance before dying.

Anyway, I went hunting. I was searching the woods for a nice, angry bear, when I heard the distinctive smell of gas and smoke. And blood. Lots of blood. I froze when I realized I knew that smell. That blood belonged to Bella. I started running in the direction the smell came, and what I saw when I finally arrived there… the car didn't exist anymore. And Bella was trapped inside, unconscious. I looked at the tank: it was question of minutes, even less, before the car would be set on fire. I tore apart the metal and the seat belt, and I took her out just in time.

The car was now in flames, but I couldn't care less. Bella was barely breathing. Her legs were broken. And God knew what kind of injuries she had inside.

"Don't worry, little one," I whispered, taking her in my arms and running home the fastest I could. "Carlisle will make you feel better. Wait and see. He's used to patching you up by now… Resist, Bella. Resist."

Carlisle

Bella's conditions looked dire since the beginning. When Emmett brought Bella inside and Esme screamed for me, I immediately ran out of my office to see what had happened, and I ordered them to take her in her room, telling Esme and Rosalie to keep Jasper away from there. I didn't want him to see her like that. Esme wanted to take her to the hospital but her conditions were simply too serious. And we knew Bella didn't want to become one of us. That was it. Bella was dying. And there was nothing I could do. We could just watch her die and make sure she didn't suffer.

Jasper didn't say a word when he saw her like that. He sat by her bed and took her hand in his. Bella opened her eyes, and Jasper smiled at her, trying not to look sad. But I knew he was dying inside once more.

Jasper

I wished I could cry. It was cruel that I could feel such pain and have no way to show it. Bella, my Bella, was dying in front of me, and I could do nothing. Carlisle was going to gave her some morphine, but Bella said no. She didn't want it. She opened her eyes and looked at me.

"I'm not ready to go," she whispered. "I think I could but I'm not strong enough… I can't leave you now… I know I was scared… but I'm not scared anymore."

I looked at the others and then at her, bewildered. Bella had changed her mind? I didn't want this life for her… but the egotistical side in me was rejoicing. Bella would be with me forever. I would love her and protect her forever.

"Bella, my love, are you sure?"

"She saw our wedding… it's meant to be. My death isn't. Please… Don't let me die this way. I want that future… the way she had described it."

I was going to ask her what she meant with those words, but Carlisle stepped closer and gave her the morphine dose Bella had first rejected.

"Bella… I want you to listen to me. I know you're in lot of pain, but it's going to become much, much worse in the next hours. I'll give you as much narcotics as I can to ease the process, but I can't guarantee you won't suffer."

Bella nodded. Carlisle examined her condition again, and decided it would be best if he bit her on the neck. I nodded in approval, the poison would enter her bloodstream faster. Carlisle asked to be left alone, and I reluctantly accepted. That would be the one and only moment I wouldn't be with her during the change, I swore to myself.

Carlisle

When I was finally alone with Bella, I took a moment to let the narcotics do their job. Then I sat on the bed and put Bella in a sitting position. She clenched her teeth and moaned in pain when I let her lean against my body. She was like a doll broken beyond repair… If there had been a choice, another way to save her, I would've taken it… but biting her was the only way to save her life. I kissed her hair, and bared her neck.

"Are you ready, my child?"

Bella nodded. I closed my eyes, sighing, and I sank my teeth in her neck. Her blood was delicious, even if it was tainted by morphine... I thanked God my self-control was stronger than the beast inside of me. Bella wasn't a prey. She was going to become one of my immortal children. I already thought of her like that.

I stopped drinking her blood, and I gently laid her back on her bed.

"It will start soon. Save the strength you have left, you're going to need it."

"How long will it take, Carlisle?"

"Three days,'" I said, removing a streak of hair from her face. "I'll try and make it as painless as I can, Bella, I promise."

Bella nodded and closed her eyes, trying to rest while she still could. Esme and Jasper were waiting by the door, and they immediately entered the room after I left. We had to be ready. The next three days would be hard for everyone, and especially for Bella.

Bella

It was like having a horrible déjà vu of the first time I met the Cullens, when I had almost frozen to death. Esme literally got me out of my clothes and helped me wear something more comfortable; Jasper took my hand, using his power to calm me and whispered soothing words in my ear. I was breathing heavily and bit my lips hard to not scream. The fire… it was in my nerves, in my veins, everywhere in my body. Esme wiped away with a wet cloth the sweat from my brow, and she saw the blood coming out from my lips, where my teeth had sunk too deep in my flesh.

"Bella, don't. Scream if you have to. Don't do this to yourself."

Carlisle had given me another big dose of morphine, but it had no effect on the pain I was feeling. Or it did, and the pain I was feeling was dampened by the medications. One way or another, it was unbearable. At the end I gave up. I filled my lungs with all the air I could, and I started screaming.

I lost sense of time; between the excruciating pain and the morphine Carlisle kept on giving me, I had no idea of how long it had been since everything had started. Some time after Carlisle's bite, the broken bones in my legs had healed. I could move in the bed now, and somehow it gave me a little comfort. I cried all my tears in Jasper's arms; he didn't leave me, not even for one second.

And then, the pain stopped. It peaked, making me wish to die right there and then… then it started to fade, slowly and steady. With every wave of pain that left my body, I felt my heart slowing down some and the heat leaving my body. Suddenly I felt cold, and Jasper wrapped me in a blanket. He laid down next to me, he kept me in his arms and like me listened to my heartbeat slowing down till it stopped. I was still crying, but I felt my tears drying on my cheeks without feeling others coming out from my eyes. When I stopped shaking, Jasper slowly removed the blanket from my body, but didn't break the embrace. He was cradling me like a child, whispering me in my ear how much he loved me. On a normal day, I would've closed my eyes and fallen asleep at the sound of his voice… I loved that little ritual of ours. And now it was gone forever.

No one came to my room after I stopped screaming in pain. They knew I was with Jasper and they probably didn't want to disturb us. It took me a while to find the courage to get up and go downstairs, but Jasper made sure I was engulfed in a big stream of calm and quietness and never left my hand. I caught a glimpse of my eyes in a mirror. Ruby red. Once, they were sapphire blue. Another thing I knew I would miss.

For the second time in my life, the Cullens welcomed me in their family. I was happy… but I was also so confused. No, not the right word. I watched their serenity, their composure, and I felt inferior. If it wasn't for Jasper and the soothing feelings he made me feel, I knew I would have already run outside that door, looking for blood. It was the only thing I could think about. I could still taste blood – my blood, human blood – in my mouth, on my lips. It tasted incredibly good and I craved for more. I was craving for human blood. What kind of monster had I become? How could I fit in that perfect family now?

Jasper and the others noticed my discomfort, and they spent hours trying to reassure me. Emmett tried to make me laugh, telling me that he would immediately teach me where the good stuff was, but all he obtained was a weak smile. It was hard shaking off that horrible sensation.

Since the only one I could really stay close to without flinching was Jasper, he decided to be the one to take me hunting for the first time. I was relieved… but also scared to death. Showing this new side of me to my fiancé terrified me. Jasper seemed so calm and relaxed… he slowly explained what kind of animals there were in the forest, he taught me to recognize their smell and told me the best way to attack them. He was like a teacher explaining a new subject to his favorite pupil. It felt so… normal… and in that moment I was in desperate need for some normalcy.

But when I smelled my prey, all my good proposition went to hell. The beast inside me growled. Blood. I wanted blood. It all happened so quickly I didn't even know how my brain could have registered it. I looked at the bloody carcass at my feet that merely a few seconds earlier was a magnificent deer, and I couldn't help but look at my nails – claws – stained with blood. The same blood that was on my shirt, and that was at the corners of my mouth. I felt Jasper coming closer, and I immediately hid behind a tree. I didn't want him to see me like this.

"Bella."

"Go away!" I shouted, sobbing. God, I so wished I could still cry.

"Bella, please. You did nothing wrong."

He was near my tree now. He leaned against it, where I couldn't see him.

"I feel a monster. I don't want you to see me."

"Bella you're not a monster. You're a predator. It's our nature."

"I just killed a living creature."

"Would you prefer there was a human being in its place?"

The beast growled yes. I closed my eyes. "No."

I banged my head against the tree. "How can you stand being near me?"

"Bella, what are you talking about?"

I heard him move, but before I could run he was already in front of me, lifting my chin with his hand.

"I'm nothing like you. I can't control myself. I want to bite humans so badly… I tasted my blood, and it was so good… I want more. I know it's wrong but I want it. How can I live with your family if I behave like this?"

"Bella, love… the transition will be hard. I won't lie to you on this. And it'll take years before you will be strong enough to be near humans without feeling the instinct to kill them. But you will. You're too good and compassionate to let this thing rule you. I'll be with you with every step you'll take on this road. Let me help you, Bella. Please."

I let him cradle me against his chest until I calmed down and then he took me home. I just asked him not to let the rest of the family see me. I took a shower and changed my clothes. The reflection in the mirror was still one of a stranger, but at least this stranger now looked a little more like me. The eyes bothered me to no end. I really missed my blue eyes, and I couldn't wait for the color to change from red to golden. For the rest… now I would be finally able to stay in the same room with Rosalie without feeling my self-esteem go under my heels. My hair were now silky and perfectly straight, and I could swear I was thinner and slender than I was before, but with all the curves in the right places. I gave my perfect reflection a perplexed look.

What was I supposed to do now with all of this? I wasn't the type that loved to be at the center of attention… but if I looked like this – stunning, that is – in a plain v-neck shirt and jeans, I didn't dare to think of what I could look like properly dressed. I lowered my head, groaning.

Jasper saw me, and he came into my room to hug me from behind and look at my reflection with me.

"Feeling better?"

"Until I saw this, yes."

He gave me a puzzled look. "You look the same. Beautiful, that is."

"No, love. I don't look the same," I said, giving a glance at my chest. "I definitely don't look the same."

He kissed my neck, barely hiding a smile. "And how is that a bad thing?"

I looked at him, outraged. But just for a second. I started laughing with him immediately. I teased Jasper, asking him if he wanted to see what else of my body had changed, and before I knew it we were already on the bed, laughing and kissing each other, without caring if someone would hear us.

I was probably affected by a never diagnosed bipolar disorder. How could I feel so bad and then so good in so little time?

The day I was buried in La Push cemetery was also the day we crossed the border into Canada. The treaty was broken, even if the werewolves didn't know it yet. We couldn't stay any longer. I couldn't wait to see our new house, though. If Esme had renovated it like she had done with my grandfather's house, it had to be amazing. I wasn't happy that I hadn't been allowed to go to the graveyard, but since I knew they would do another memorial service for the one-year anniversary, I swore to myself to attend that one. They had buried an empty casket, but not because the flames incinerated me in the accident. And I wanted to make sure everyone would take a good look at my eyes, especially Jacob. I now refused to call him father. Carlisle was my father now, he had given me life and cared for me in ways Jacob never did.

That objective gave me the strength and the motivation to work like a madwoman on my self-control. Thanks to Jasper and his experience with the newborns, I made rapid progresses. I did in a year what most vampires achieved in five, according to him. He was really proud of me.

Now that we were the same, he had told me everything about his past. About Maria and the wars he had fought. My poor angel had suffered so much in his life… but I swore it would never happen again. And since he was being so sincere with me, I finally told him and the rest of the family what I could do. Emmett laughed and called me 'our little psychic ghostbuster,' provoking a laughing fit from everyone. Lovely. At least they weren't taking this thing so seriously like they did in La Push. For vampires, it was normal to have special gifts. Edward had been a mind-reader, after all, and Alice could see the future. And even if the others didn't have a power like mine or Jasper's, it didn't mean they haven't any. Carlisle's compassion, Esme's ability to love, Rosalie's tenacity and Emmett's force were just as extraordinary in my eyes.

Jasper tried to convince me up to five minutes before my departure not to go back to La Push. He didn't understand my need for revenge. Rosalie did, though, so she decided to come with me. She wanted to make sure I didn't end up doing something stupid. My newborn year was finally over, but I was still keen to rage outburst once in a while, and it was better for me to have someone near to keep me calm and focused. Maybe it was childish, but we stopped to go shopping on our way there: we wanted to go perfectly dressed in black from head to toe. It was a funeral, after all. Mine.

When I saw all the people gathered around my tomb, I started growling. Rosalie took my hand.

"Calm down, little sister."

"For the first time, I want to tear someone apart and not for feeding purposes. Does that make me a bad person?"

Rosalie watched me with an eloquent look. I knew her story too. I knew what she had done to the men that had raped her. The context was different, but the action behind it was the same: someone thought that hurting us, killing us was something that would never bring consequences. Royce and his friends had been wrong, and so were the werewolves. But I would never get my hands dirty the way Rosalie did. I just wanted to talk.

When the priest stopped talking and invited Jacob to say a few words, I wore my sunglasses and moved towards the wolves and the humans. I walked with confidence and elegance now, thanks to Rosalie. She knew how awkward I was towards my new aspect, and she had taken care of helping me reconcile with my mirror reflection in the same way Jasper had helped me keep my instinct under control. The wind started to blow gently, and I stopped. I knew it was a matter of seconds before Jacob and the others would smell me in the air.

Jacob stopped talking immediately, and looked straight at me. I smiled, deeply amused, and I removed my sunglasses.

"Oh, no, please… continue. I missed your speech last year, and I really, really want to know what you have to say about your poor, dead daughter."

Kim was going to faint; I felt sorry for her. And Dave. But I didn't care for anyone else. I knew everyone was looking at my chiffon dress, my high heels and the scarf I had draped around my shoulders. Except for the fact everything I was wearing was black, I looked like I was ready to walk on a runway or go to a garden party.

Everyone… but Jacob. He was looking at my golden eyes.

"Surprise. I didn't die after all."

"You're one of them."

"Sorry, but… did you really think there was another reason behind the Cullens' rushed departure? Because if you did, well… don't flatter yourself."

All the werewolves minus Dave were slowly moving towards me.

I growled at them. They stopped. Little helpless Bella was long gone. They couldn't hurt me anymore. Me on the other hand, I could still count of the remnants of human blood in me. I was more than a match for them.

"Don't give me a reason to hurt you. Any more reasons than the ones I have, that is. I really don't wanna ruin my new dress."

"What do you want, blood-sucker?" hissed Charlie.

"What do I want? I'd love to be in Dartmouth right now. Or have a heartbeat. I miss my heartbeat. But it's kind of difficult when someone sabotages your car and provokes the accident that led to this. Right Josh?"

"Like we believe your word, leech" laughed one of the guys that was with Josh at the diner.

"Oh no… I'm not telling you did it. What was it… a suggestion to your friends at the body shop? Yeah, a suggestion... You didn't know what they did, so you had nothing to hide. But it wasn't you, was it?" I said, looking at Charlie. It was my best theory on the accident. Josh hated me because Charlie hated me, with such passion it was almost scary. And he had already tried to kill me once...

"If Emmett didn't go hunting, I would be down there for real. Thank God he's always hungry. But I digress…" I said, now talking directly to my father. "What I wanted never mattered to you, Jacob. And I'm happy I'll never have to call you father anymore. You disowned me? Well, now I'm disowning you. But… you know the best thing of all this situation? Now I'll walk out of this place, and I'll forget about you. All of you. But I know that from now on, you'll never forget about me. Have a nice day…" I said, wearing again my sunglasses, "…mine surely will be. Carry on."

Rose smiled in approval when I reached her. "Well done."

"Just… let's get the hell out of here. I want to go home before those dogs decide to attack us. I made them pretty angry."

"If they wanted to fight they would be already in the right place, actually…"

We exchanged a little smile, and we walked to Carlisle's Mercedes. I was so going to buy a car like this for my birthday.

"Bella, please wait!"

Rosalie looked at Dave, that was running towards us, and gave me a warning glare. "Five minutes, Bella."

I nodded. Dave was now taller and bigger than I remembered. There was little in him that remembered me of my friend now. And I knew he was thinking the same thing of me. But I could see the relief in his face in seeing me again. Maybe we changed appearances, but what we had inside stayed the same.

"They're gonna give you hell for this."

"I climbed the ranks, they can't. Or, at least, Charlie and Josh can't."

"Oh. Good for you."

"Are you happy, Bella? Really?"

I smiled. "Yes, I am. Really."

"What about that iceberg on your hand?"

I laughed and showed him the ring. "We'll marry as soon as I'll be able to walk down the aisle without killing someone. I'm sorry I missed your wedding."

Dave became sad all of sudden. "You didn't miss anything. Julie…"

Before I could ask for an explanation, I saw the other werewolves coming closer.

"Time's up, sis. Let's go," said Rosalie, already behind the wheel.

I immediately got in the car.

"Check the mail, once you're home," I said, before leaving.

"What?" I heard him ask, but Rosalie hit hard the accelerator and the Mercedes immediately jolted forward.

"Rose!"

"Don't start. And if your wolf friend is smart like you keep telling me, he'll figure it out by himself."

I hoped he found the envelope I left on his desk. I couldn't bear to lose my only friend… maybe it was a risk, but I gave him my number. It was inside another envelope on which I had written 'open only in case of a real emergency'. If he was smart he would wait at least six months before open it. Maybe more. Good thing I had all the time in the world.

I relaxed in my seat, and sighed. Rosalie had a big smile, and that made me shiver.

"No."

"Yes. You need to start looking for a wedding dress. And I just know the right place…"

Rosalie and Esme were already planning my wedding. I had been really reluctant to start talking about this so much in advance, but they insisted that planning a wedding required a lot of time, and with my good self-control we could rush things without problem; in the end I surrendered and we started discussing flowers, places, music, dresses and stuff. Rosalie took me hunting just so we would be sure I wouldn't feel tempted by the other brides in the store, and an hour and half later I was already inside my third wedding dress, with Rosalie that was helping me with the veil, and Alice, that always behaved like she was my invisible personal stylist.

I smiled at my reflection. Alice looked at my dress and nodded in approval. Rosalie said I was radiant, and it was true. In six months maximum, I'd marry Jasper, and I couldn't be happier.

I should've known that the usual unforeseeable twist was just around the corner.