Hey, have you guys heard of 'Nightlight'? Ha-ha. You should check it out. It's a Twilight parody, by the way.

19.

"Do not, I repeat, bite your lip," Alice said firmly as she handed Bella's Louis Vuitton clutch to her. "I worked hard to make your lips look more luscious than usual."

Bella rolled her eyes then grabbed the clutch from her best friend. Alice then disappeared into the living room. "I'll remember not to." she opened the door and there was Edward in a night blue button-down, black slacks, and shiny black shoes. His hair was in its usual disarray.

And as usual, Bella found it attractive.

"Hey," he grinned, his eyes scanning his gorgeously made-up girlfriend. "You ready to go?"

Bella absentmindedly smoothed out an imaginary crease in her body-hugging evening dress and grinned. "I am," she said, giggling at the end.

"Remember to bring her home, okay, Edward?" Alice shouted from somewhere in the living room. Bella blushed.

"I'm afraid I might be able to forget," Edward called back, teasing. Bella slapped him on the arm and he chuckled.

"Bye, Al!" she shouted then hurriedly ushered Edward to step out of the condo with her.

Edward chuckled at the gesture. "Eager to leave, aren't we?" he teased once they got out of there.

"Shut up," she grinned then entwined her fingers with his.

…

Some French Restaurant in Fifth Avenue

Bella laid down her fork then grabbed a napkin. She dabbed it to her lips. She didn't want to start talking with red pasta sauce on her face—especially when she was with Edward. "Thanks for taking me here," she smiled. Edward grinned back at her through his thick eyelashes.

"You're welcome," he teased. He then propped his elbows on the table and entwined his fingers together. "Anything for you."

Bella laughed. He was such a smooth-talker.

A moment later, Edward called a waiter to give him the bill.

"So, you said earlier you have something to tell me," he reminded her when the waiter walked away, making her smile falter a little bit.

She shook her head and grinned at him. "I'll tell you after our date," she told him, wagging her index finger in front of his face.

He leaned back on his chair, his eyes wide in curiosity. "It must be important, then," he guessed. She nodded then took a sip of her white wine. She was glad he didn't pry her on the topic.

Bella shifted when she noticed he was staring at her intently, as if her announcement would show on her face if he did.

Fortunately, the waiter reemerged with the bill. Edward looked at it for a second before fishing out his wallet from his pocket. After placing a few hundred dollars with the bill, he stood up from his chair. Bella followed suit and they both went out of the restaurant.

"It's a beautiful night," Bella commented as she looked up at the towering buildings. "Too bad we can't see stars in New York. It would have made it better."

Edward nodded in agreement.

When they got to the car, he chivalrously assisted her in getting inside the passenger seat. After she strapped herself in, he went to the driver side and stepped inside. He turned on the engine and drove them out the lot.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked when she looked out the car window and realized they weren't returning to her condo just yet.

"I suddenly remembered that my best friend's girlfriend is having an art show," he said, his eyes on the road. "It would be a good opportunity for you to meet them, Bella."

Bella gulped. She was going to meet his friends?

Edward chuckled. "Don't worry. They're nice people. They won't eat you," he assured her.

"If you say so," she mumbled, making Edward chuckle once more.

A few minutes later, Edward and Bella stepped out of the car in front of an art gallery. Since the building had large windows next to the entrance, Bella could see that the place was crowded. There were different people inside, drinking champagne and nibbling on finger sandwiches.

Edward gave his car keys to the valet then wrapped an arm around Bella. They entered the place and were soon enveloped in loud chatter. Bella looked around and realized that most of the people here were buyers. She knew this because they were holding checkbooks and sign pens. Edward's best friend's girlfriend must be famous, she thought.

"Edward, I see you finally brought your ladylove," a booming voice teased behind them. The couple looked over their shoulders and saw a big man with curly dark hair and cute dimples. He was wearing a striped polo under a gray vest, black slacks, and pointed shoes.

Bella was amused to notice that he finished the outfit with a Fedora hat on his head. He looked like Ne-Yo.

"Emmett," Edward said calmly. "Aren't you supposed to be with Rosalie?" Rosalie must be the artist, Bella thought.

Emmett shrugged then inserted his hands inside his pockets. "She shooed me away," he chuckled, not the least bit perturbed by his statement. "She said I was distracting her."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Anyway," he said as he squeezed Bella's shoulder. "Emmett, this is Bella. Bella, Emmett."

Emmett stretched out a large hand and Bella politely shook it. "Nice to meet you," she said.

"I didn't think Edward would even have a chance to land you, Bella," Emmett grinned mischievously. "I'm still amazed to this day."

Bella blushed. Edward glared at his friend.

"Emmett, there you are!" a gorgeous woman with wavy blond hair cried as she grabbed Emmett by the elbow. "I've been looking…" she stopped midsentence when she realized who were in front of her and her boyfriend. "Oh. Hey Edward." Her gaze turned to Bella. "This must be..?"

"Bella," Edward stated. Bella smiled politely. "My girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you Bella," the woman smiled. "I'm Rosalie Hale. Welcome to my art exhibit, by the way."

This was Rosalie Hale—the artist? Suddenly, Bella grew self-conscious. She was the model here, but Rosalie looked more beautiful than her—way more beautiful. She even had a better figure!

"Thank you," Bella said. "Um, your artworks are really good."

"Thanks," Rosalie smirked. She tugged at Emmett and added, "If you two don't mind, Emmett and I are going to meet up with the rest of the buyers."

"No, it's fine," Bella answered.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked when Rosalie and Emmett disappeared from view.

Bella stepped out of his arms and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I didn't think she was like that," she mumbled, absentmindedly grabbing a flute of champagne from the nearest table. She took a sip and sighed.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

She looked up and met his green eyes. "She's beautiful," she breathed. "She should become a supermodel."

Edward smirked then leaned closer. He playfully tugged at a loose curl from Bella's hair. "Don't be threatened," he whispered. "You're prettier than Rosalie."

Embarrassed, Bella looked away from him and mumbled, "You're probably blind."

He chuckled then shook his head. "I'm not," he said. Then he sighed. "You don't see yourself clearly, you know."

She rolled her eyes then took another sip of her champagne.

Moments later, classical music danced from the speakers. She couldn't help but sway a bit in the melodious sound of…

"Claire de Lune," she said dreamily against the rim of her glass.

"You know Debussy?" Edward asked. She nodded then closed her eyes to savor the music. She just loved music like this. It was—soothing. It always made her relax and momentarily forget about the stress her career was bringing.

"Mmm," Bella mumbled when Edward pulled her close. He chuckled and let her nuzzle in his neck. "Edward Cullen, you clean up nicely."

"I get that a lot," he joked.

"I wish this night won't end," she sighed.

"Me too," he admitted.

…

Unfortunately, Alice had called to remind them that time still moved. Reluctantly, Edward drove Bella home.

But Bella knew that she shouldn't end this day without him knowing about Italy.

"Wait," she said, tugging at Edward's arm. He was then about to turn away before she did. He looked at her for a second before facing her again.

"What is it?" he asked. Then a sudden realization came to him. "Oh, you still haven't told me your news."

She nodded. "but before that…" she trailed as she pulled him closer to her—so close that she made him press her to the wall.

She kissed him as passionately as she could. She really didn't want to leave—to be deprived of this majestic feeling. But, like her boss had said, she had to think of her career, too.

She pulled away, her breathing going ragged. "Edward, I have to tell you something," she willed her self to say. He looked at her, waiting.

She took a deep breath then began. "I'm leaving next week."

Edward's mouth opened but nothing came out. Despite Alice's warning, Bella bit her lip anxiously.

"Why?" he finally managed to say.

"Remember my offer from the Volturi?" she reminded him. He looked at her blankly. "I accepted it. Edward, I'm going to Italy."

0*0*0

Edward Cullen POV

Her words rang in his ears. She's going to Italy… Bella's going to Italy…

It was stupid of him to hope that the Volturi would take back the offer. Bella was a tremendous model. They would be crazy not to hire her to endorse them. But, of course, his selfish side acted more than his reasonable one.

He didn't want her to leave. That was obvious. And it seemed that Bella knew it, too. She looked at him nervously, biting her lip as she did.

"I… understand," he managed to say. He knew she was going to hurt when he voiced out that he didn't want her to go to a foreign country—away from him. So he had to be brave—and professional.

Bella sighed in deep relief. "I knew you would," she smiled then kissed him once more on the lips. This kiss lingered more than usual. It was like she was showing her gratitude through it. Edward couldn't complain about that. He liked this 'thank you' better.

When they pulled away from each other, he grinned. "Well, see you tomorrow."

Bella's eyes widened, a smile erupting on her pretty face. "Tomorrow?" she asked. He shrugged.

"It depends," he joked. "Do you have modeling affairs tomorrow?" he asked.

"I only have one for Zara," she said, tilting her head to the side. "But that's in the morning. It will probably end by eleven—before lunch, maybe."

He nodded then ran a hand through his hair. "Cool. I have an appointment with Calvin Klein in the morning. It will also end before lunch." He grinned and pressed his forehead to hers. "I guess I'll see you for lunch, then."

She giggled then stepped away, her hand on the doorknob. She sheepishly waved at him then went inside the condo. When she disappeared inside, Edward sighed then sluggishly turned away.

…

Edward's pad—thirty minutes later

Edward stared up at the white ceiling, Bella's announcement running through his mind like a broken record player. He closed his eyes and reluctantly stood up from his stupor on the sofa. He dragged himself to his room and slid inside the covers on his bed.

He couldn't sleep. He just blankly stared at the blinking red numbers on his digital clock on the bedside table. Before he could forcedly close his eyes, his cell phone rang. He blindly grabbed it and pressed it to his ear.

"Hello?" he said groggily.

"Yo, Edward. You awake?" Cooper asked from the other line. Edward sighed then sat up. He pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned.

"Kind of," he admitted.

"What's up? You sound beat up," his friend commented. Before Edward could reply, he added, "oh. By the way, did you hear from Tanya?"

"What's with her?" Edward asked.

"She did tell you she got Bella to be invited by the Volturi, right?" Cooper asked carefully.

Edward messed up his hair and sighed. "Yeah, I did," he mumbled. Unfortunately, he wanted to add but thought better of it. "So, what's your point?"

"Dude, you're not even bothered that your girlfriend's leaving next week?" Cooper was obviously flabbergasted.

"Cooper, I have to be fine with it," he reasoned. "Bella's happy about it. She just told me she's going earlier."

"Oh." But Cooper wanted to know. "But, are you really fine with it? I mean, Bella's going to be away for a long, long time."

"Cooper, you're not helping," he snapped. He pinched the bridge of his nose again and sighed in exasperation. "Anyway, of course I'm not. I'd be stupid not to be pissed at the arrangement."

"Well, you do have a medical degree," Cooper said in a joking tone. "So it's unlikely that you're stupid."

"Why are you calling?" Edward interjected.

"Tanya and your brother want to talk to you tomorrow in the afternoon," Cooper answered. "They said something about an offer."

"Fine," Edward mumbled then hung up. He fell back on his pillows and tried, once again, to sleep. And this time, he ignored Bella's words.

I'm leaving next week.

I'm leaving next week.

I'm leaving…

Next week.

0*0*0

This is a preview for the next chapter:

Bella put a smile on her face, using her eyes to convey her feelings to him. She gave him one last kiss on the lips and turned to go.

Italy you better be worth it, she thought and entered the plane.

ATTENTION: the next chapter would be the last one before I start the sequel. But I have to warn you guys: I'm leaving it as a cliffhanger. So be prepared. =)

IMPORTANT: I want to know. Will I post the sequel as a new story, or am I just going to upload it here? please tell me what you think.