Hello!

A massive thanks to Coleen561, mixmatched9, melanieintn, flock6, sujari6, mommymac0508, WeFallForever, teamedwardtwilightfan and Twerd101 for their reviews. Thank you!

Firstly, a huge sorry for the late update. We temporarily had our internet cut off this week, so I couldn't update at all. Turned out the router was broken and we had to have a new one installed. It wasn't good. I had university assignments to research for, and fictions to update, so it couldn't have come at a worse time! But for those 3 days, I was like a walking zombie without the internet. I never knew how reliant I'd become of it. I think I just need to spend a week in the wide open and the fresh air without any technology around me and see how I do. Actually, no. I'd probably kill myself! I need technology!

Anyway, chapter is here now and that's all that matters.

This chapter is named after "All good things come to an end" by Nelly Furtado. Love this song.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, it isn't mine, so just leave me alone! Jeez!

Bella Swan's Point of View

I was starting to get freaked out, like majorly freaked out. Things around me seemed to be different, and not in a good way. Ha! Far from it. I didn't like this change and I was terrified of what could happen because of it. I always thought that change was supposed to be a good thing, a great thing, something to look forward too and grab with open arms. But in my vampire's case, I guess it wasn't.

Edward wasn't himself.

Not in the slightest. He seemed distant and far-off all of the time, almost as if he was in his own little bubble and nobody else was welcome. When he spoke to me or kissed me, it seemed that he wasn't totally there. Whilst his body was with me, his mind wasn't. I didn't like it, not one bit. Something had changed, something had happened for him to do this total u-turn, and I feared that it was me.

He takes me out on the most amazing date, gropes the hell out of me in his car, takes me home, then everything suddenly changes.

He wasn't cold towards me, far from it. He still held me and kissed me, and we had definitely gone to second base a few times since the date three days ago, but I knew that he wasn't right. I could sense that something was up. I wondered if it was something I did. Perhaps my reluctance to have sex with him was beginning to get on his nerves and he wanted more. He was male, so I understood that me not putting out in the bedroom could get on his nerves. Men need sex twenty four hours a day, seven days a week! It was just nature.

But I knew that wasn't it, it couldn't be. Edward loved me, and when he found out that I wasn't ready, he was beyond angry with himself for allowing it to go that far. He was willing to wait for me, no matter how long it took for me to gain my confidence and take the plunge. So sex didn't seem to be the problem with him.

But it was after our date that everything changed, it was after our romantic evening together that his distant attitude began, so I couldn't help but feel I had done something to upset him.

Yet every time I asked him, he told me to stop being silly.

"Its not you, Bella," he would say. Or "nothings wrong, I'm fine." Or "just feeling hungry, no biggy." I couldn't get the truth out of him and I was ready to tare my hair out from the stress of it all.

I could be bald at the end of this. Is that what you want, Edward? A bald girlfriend whose nerves are on the edge? Is it?

Regardless, something was up, something major.

It was panicking me, not outwardly so much, but inwardly. I wouldn't show my worry to Edward because that would only make him worse, and that was the last thing I needed. But deep inside, my stomach was doing summersaults. I didn't like how he was becoming; I hated how he was acting. I would say something to him and he wouldn't even listen, his mind clearly daydreaming. He would take me somewhere and we'd end up in a completely different place. He was becoming forgetful and quiet. He was never like that around me. Mine and Edward's bodies and minds were so intune with each other that we were always aware of the other, always conscious of where each other was. It did not matter that Edward could not read my mind, he had the ability to do it anyway.

However, if I tried to pull away from him to give him time alone, even for one minute, his grasp and hold would tighten ten-fold. His mind may not be recognizing me, but his body certainly was. He constantly wanted me in his arms, he always found a part of my body to mindlessly kiss, he stayed with me each and every night, holding me as if I would disappear. His body was more aware of me than ever.

That was what was confusing me. He was with me in one way, but he had completely vanished in another.

I spoke to Carlisle about it, questioning whether anything was wrong with the family or if anything had happened to make him this way. He would just shake his head and tell me Edward would say if anything was wrong. It wasn't his place to tell me anything. This just made me a hell of a lot worse!

"It's like he's not even there," I told Heidi on the phone that night. With Edward taking a shower, it gave me the perfect moment to call up my sister and get everything off my chest before I went to sleep. I needed a girlfriend to talk to, and my sister fitted the bill.

"He's just being a typical man," she told me. "There's blatantly something wrong and he refuses to tell you. He'd rather just keep all his emotions bottled up. I don't know why men do that."

"But he usually tells me everything," I explained. "He never keeps anything from me. What do I do?"

I heard her sigh. "You need to be tactful about this, Bells. Be gentle with him. Don't just ask him; slip your worry mildly into conversation. Don't make it obvious that you're onto him."

"I suppose," I said. I had been quiet blunt with my questioning recently. Maybe if I slipped the question into normal conversation, he would think nothing of it and just answer me. There was fat chance of it happening, though. He was a vampire, he picked up on everything. Tricking Edward was like trying to hide your credit card from Alice - not gonna happen! But it was still an idea that I hadn't tried yet, so I would give it a go. It's better than nothing, right? I heard the bathroom door opening and closing and I knew my phone call would have to end.

"I better go," I told my sister. "I'll call you in a few days."

"Okay," she replied. "Good luck and don't take no for an answer. Love you, Bella."

"Love you, too," I replied, hanging up my phone and placing it on my bedside table. I let out a deep breath.

I shouldn't even be in this position. Edward and I should be happy and in love. We should be open and trustworthy of each other. We should be a unit that works and secrets should not be kept. But instead he was holding something from me, being secretive and depressed, and there was fuck all I could do about it.

He entered my room and closed the door behind him, his hair still damp from his shower and his sweat pants and t-shirt giving him a relaxed look. He was perfect, even in clothes that were so simple. He smiled at me as he approached my bed, but I could tell that his eyes and his mind were elsewhere. Over the last few days, I had come to expect this, so I just smiled back, not needing to say a word.

He lay on the bed with me, making sure I was tucked in warmly under the quilt on all sides. He always lay ontop of the quilt as his cold temperature always seeped through whenever he lay underneath. I didn't mind him sleeping under there with me, but after I woke up twice during the night with my lips and teeth chattering, he said he would lie on top of the covers. It was probably best in the long run. Forks was cold enough as it was, lets not add a vampire into the mix!

His arm hung lazily over my waist and he pulled me to him, my back flushed against his chest, his fingers lacing with mine, my body feeling his every movement as he breathed. He buried his face in my hair, kissing along my scalp. I somehow managed to lean over and turn of the lamp that illuminated the room without breaking from his hold. With the room blanketed in darkness, I couldn't see a thing. But with Edward next to me, touching me and holding me, all of my senses were heightened.

He was silent as per usual, but his grasp was tight and strong, never faltering. I was here for the long run.

"You okay, Edward?" I asked him.

"I'm fine," he answered, his fingers unlacing with my own and beginning to run up and down my arm, ghosting over the skin.

"You seem quiet. Are you hungry or something?"

"No."

"Because hunger makes you angry, you know. If you don't get your fill of food, some people can get rather upset and quiet and distant."

My slipping my concern into conversation was completely tactless and very indiscrete, but I had to try something.

I'd never make it as a spy, never.

"I'm not hungry," he said, his breath tingling along the back of my neck.

"Oh." Then I went silent. He didn't want to talk, this much was obvious, and no matter how much I wanted to get through to him, I didn't exactly want to push him, either. Pushing might make him worse and he could end up distancing himself even more. That was the last thing I wanted. This was bad enough, I'd go mad if it got any worse.

But his downer was making me just as depressed. If Edward's sad, then so am I. If he's angry, then I feel it as well. It's like we are one person, one being, one soul. Everything he feels, I feel. And right now I was feeling sad and just a little angry. Well two can play at this game. I ignored him after that. He obviously didn't want to talk to me, so I wouldn't talk to him. I just closed my eyes and willed sleep to come.

But it wouldn't. Not when Edward was giving me sweet little kisses across my neck and behind my ear, my eager body betraying my angry mind. I didn't understand. How could he be so sweet and loving, and then blatantly ignore me? Was he bipolar or something because he was driving me crazy! Sleep eventually did come and, believe me, I couldn't have been happier when it did.

xXx

The rain was pouring down like a waterfall on Thursday morning, so none of us had any option but to stay indoors for the whole day. Alice got bored instantly, which I was hardly surprised about, so I spent most of the day entertaining her as best as I could. Edward was moping about as usual, so I decided to just let him get on with it. I was tired of trying by now. If he didn't want to open up to me, then fine.

After Alice spent the morning playing Bella-Barbie and dressing me in every single outfit that she could find, we went downstairs and made a quick lunch of pasta and sauce. After eating we finally settled down in the living room, resorting to board-games to occupy ourselves. Mousetrap came first, but Alice quickly got bored of that, so Monopoly came next. Alice was very good and within half and hour she owned half the board! Carlisle and Esme were amused by this while Jasper merely cheered her on!

Hey, I want my own cheering squad!

Edward entered the room soon after our game began, looking at no one and sitting down silently on the sofa. He flicked through the TV channels, completely in his own world, cutting everyone else off. I let out a sigh. I wish he would just stop this. It was utterly obvious that something was wrong, and the fact that he was denying it was getting me mad! If he wouldn't open up to me, the girl who he apparently loved, then who would he open up to?

Yes, I was beyond mad and angry, but seeing him like he was, was heartbreaking too. I couldn't do anything for him and I felt completely helpless. All I wanted was to see the smile back on his face and the spring back in his step. I wanted my Edward back to normal. But no, he wasn't letting me do that. He wasn't letting me do anything.

It wasn't until Emmett came bounding into the room that I found out why. And, I had to admit, it was the last thing I expected…

"Hello, guys and bitches," he said with a big cheesy grin on his lips. Rosalie immediately smacked him around the back of the head as she followed him into the room.

"No language in front of Alice please, Emmett," Esme said as she flicked through her magazine. I merely smirked. Emmett, Jasper and Edward swore in front of Alice all the time and she never took any notice. She was thick skinned for a 12 year old and, whilst she was still an impressionable child, she never swore herself. It merely rolled off her back.

"Sorry," Emmett apologized, rubbing his head. Rosalie could be a bit rough sometimes. "We just had a phone call, by the way."

"Oh," asked Carlisle curiously. "I didn't hear the phone. Who was it?"

"Eleazar Denali," Emmett replied. "The Denali's said they will be here on Saturday."

Who?

"I see," sighed Carlisle.

"Yeah. Tanya sounded especially excited, Edward, you old dog," Emmett laughed, patting Edward on the back. Edward glared at him, throwing daggers at his brother with his eyes.

My eyebrows furrowed. What did that mean? Who the hell were the Denali's and what did this girl Tanya have to do with Edward? Well, I could guess that they were vampires straight away, who else would visit the Cullens? I just prayed to God that they weren't like our last vampire visitors. Still, after what happened with James, Laurent and Victoria, I knew that the Cullens would not let anything dangerous near me or the pixie for a very long time. I knew these people would be safe, but I wanted to know exactly who they were.

And who the fuck was Tanya, and why was she so excited to meet my vampire? The jealousy was rising within me, and I gritted my teeth as Emmett continued.

"Never knew you had it in you, bro," he said.

"Emmett," said Carlisle. But his tone was deep and angry, almost like he was warning Emmett. The head vampire's eyes shot straight to me, but I couldn't for the life of me understand his look. I swallowed.

"Tanya Denali. She's hot, she'll make a great wife. Bet she's great in bed, too. Has Aro set the wedding date yet?"

I froze.

I stopped breathing as a lump clogged itself in my throat, a strange feeling covering my body, almost like terror and loss. My heart thumped in my chest and it felt as if my whole world was suddenly crashing down around me. Tears started to naturally form in my eyes and I suddenly understood Carlisle's look. I understood it perfectly. My eyes shot to Edward, my vision blurry due to my tears. He finally looked to me, sorrow, desperation, fear and sadness swimming in his golden eyes. I whimpered.

Oh god…

It all made sense now. The quietness, the possessiveness, the ignorance. There was something wrong with him, something very wrong with him. He had once told me how the Volturi arranged marriages, but I never thought it would happen to him, never in a million years. Guess I thought wrong. This Tanya Denali, he was going to marry her, whether any of us. or I, liked it or not.

I've lost him… I've completely lost him…

I didn't say anything as I stood up and left the room quietly, and nobody said anything to me. I felt his eyes on my back, boring holes into me, but I didn't look back. I didn't dare look back. I continued up the stairs, my chest constricting as I forced the breath out of me.

My whole body ached, my heart became sore as it broke in half, and the lump in my throat refused to move. My hands trembled as I placed them on my door handle and entered my bedroom, closing the door behind me. I barely made it in before I simply collapsed upon my bed, my body racking with sobs and cries, the tears staining my cheeks and my quilt, all my emotions from the last week coming out at once. I knew I was being loud but I didn't care. I wanted them to hear my cries, I wanted him to hear my cries. I wanted them all to know how hurt I was, how sad I was… how utterly broken I was.

This was what had been bothering him since Friday night, this was what was wrong with him all this time. I understood now why he couldn't tell me and I felt sympathy at the position he had been left in. How can someone possibly tell the person that they love that they are marrying another? How could he have possibly said that to me?

But he should have! How could he keep something so big and important from me? This would change both our lives and he had kept me in the dark for almost a week. I thought he loved me and adored me and wanted to share everything with me. he obviously didn't love me enough to tell me about this. How could he?

I loved him… I hated him… I didn't know what to do…

An icy cold hand suddenly lay itself on my shoulder.

I knew it was him straight away. The tingling sensation that covered my skin said everything. Even through the fabric of my shirt I could sense him, like a little radar going off and beeping on high alert. I never realized how intune we both were with eachother until moments like these. Edward could sense me due to his vampiric hearing, anyway. But the fact that I could sense him really showed the depth of our connection.

"Leave me alone please, Edward," I whispered, my voice muffled by the pillow I was hiding in.

"No, I won't," he said clearly. I felt the bed dip beneath me and I knew he was going nowhere.

"Please, just go," I tried again.

"I'm not going anywhere, Love," was his reply. "We need to talk about this."

Love? LOVE? After what had just happened, he thought he had the authority to call me Love? Normally, if ever he called me by that name, it would make my heart thump in excitement and my skin to cover completely in goose bumps. But now it just felt like he was laughing at me.

"Talk? You wanna talk? You sure as hell didn't want to talk before!" I shot back, lifting my head up and looking at him properly, standing up from the bed, my anger apparent. I swear I could see my tear stained face reflected in his shining eyes. His golden orbs looked so sad and defeated by the whole situation, but I didn't care. I felt worse.

"Bella, please-" he began as he stood up with me, but I cut him off.

"You're getting fucking married, Edward! You are marrying a woman who isn't me. You have kept this from me for a whole fucking week. You ignored me every time that I tried to help you, and now you want to talk?" I was bordering on hysterical, but I thought my reaction was perfectly justified.

"I know," he sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Calm down so we can-"

"CALM DOWN? Oh, believe me, I am far from calming down. I'm ready to rip your fucking head off!"

He seemed to get angry then, his eyes turning black. "You think I wanted this to happen? You think I want to marry a woman who I don't love and want fuck all to do with? You think I want this?"

"You could have told me! But no, you want to keep it a secret and watch me find out the hard way. Is that it, Edward? Do you want me to wait and then suffer? Did you want to drag this out and watch me crumble to pieces?" I approached him and hit him after each sentence. I punched his chest after each time I spoke, putting as much force behind my punches as I could.

"Of course I don't!" he shouted as if my words were the stupidest thing in the world. "I am in love with you, I'd never want you to suffer."

"But look at me," I said through the tears. "Look at what's happening to me. I'm suffering, Edward. I'm hurting. If you had just told me from the start, we could have worked through this. We could have made the blow a lot less painful. If you have to do your duty as a vampire, then do it. Just don't keep trying to break my heart in the process because, believe me, you've already done that!"

"I'm sorry," he whispered, looking at me deeply, his whole being defeated. "I'm so sorry…"

"You're getting married, Edward," I whimpered, my anger dissipating into sadness and pain as my strength vanished. My body just could not take the anger anymore. "To someone else. You're getting married… You're getting married…"

The tears streamed down my face in nonstop waterfalls, with no hope of letting up anytime soon. I could feel my heart ripping apart, and it was killing me.

He approached me then, his arms open, ready to hold me as the sobs racked my body. I took a step back, pushing him away from me. I couldn't let him, not now, not after what had been said, but he tried again and this time I did let him. I couldn't help but let him. His body called to mine, just like it always had, and my own body responded. I collapsed into him as he wrapped me in his arms, tight and safe. I buried my face into his chest, fisting his shirt in my hands, grasping onto any part of him I could. He had never held me so tightly and warmly as he was now, almost too afraid to let me go.

I loved him so much that sometimes it physically hurt. Every single part of me belonged to him, my mind, my body, my soul, my heart. I really thought that he would be the one who I'd be with for the rest of my life. I still wanted him to be that, I always would want him to be that… but now that could never happen.

He'd never hold me again at night.

He'd never kiss my lips again.

He'd never be the man to make love to me for the first time.

He'd never be able to love me again…

The cries left my mouth so fast that I was struggling to breathe, struggling to stand, but Edward's arms kept me up. He kissed my cheeks, my nose, my forehead, my eyes, all my tears, my lips. But after today, none of it would mean anything.

Even though his tears could not leave his eyes, I felt the sobs as his body shook. I felt the struggle and the anger over the situation as his fingers and arms gripped me more tightly. I felt his heartbreaking, just like mine, with every kiss he gave.

But he had to do this. Regardless of how much I moaned and protested over it, the marriage had to be done. The Volturi were not to be messed with. After the conversation Edward had had with me over them, I had feared them up to this very second, and I still did. What they say, goes, no matter how you feel about it. To deny the Volturi would be instantly accepting death and punishment. You just didn't do it. It was Edward's duty to fulfill Aro's wishes.

So if the Volturi wanted him married, he'd have to do it. I just didn't get why it had to be Edward.

"I love you," he whispered, repeating it over and over like some sort of mantra. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," I replied in earnest, needing him to know that I wasn't truly angry with him. "I love you, Edward, no matter how much this is hurting."

He pulled away from me then, looking down at me. "Then… then I won't do it. I'll tell Aro that I refuse to marry Tanya Denali. I'll tell him no. Then me and you, we could run away or something. Make a life together elsewhere. It doesn't matter where we go as long as-"

I placed a finger to his lips, silencing him. A sad half-smile formed on my lips. "You know we can't do that," I said. "He'd find us, you know that as well as I do. And then things would be even worse than they are." He pulled my hand from his lips and kissed my palm as I continued. "It's your duty to answer Aro's wishes, Edward, and I respect that. I hate it, God, how I really do hate it, but I accept it."

"I hate it too," he whispered as he closed his eyes. "So much. I fucking hate what the Volturi has done to us."

"But we had a good run, right?" I tried. "The weeks we were together were the greatest of my life."

"Mine too," he said, a smile finally gracing his lips.

"And… And we can still be friends, I suppose. Just because we aren't together anymore doesn't mean we can't still be in each other's lives. If friendship is the only thing we're allowed, then I want to take it."

"I'd like that," he said.

"Good," I answered, essentially ending the conversation. "Good."

We were silent then, content in just holding each other for the last time before it would have to end forever. I'd miss him, totally and utterly. Friends was good, but it wasn't what I wanted. I wanted him, wholly and fully. I didn't want the second best option, or the third or fourth. I wanted the best, I wanted us to be together till the end of our days. But I couldn't have that, could I?

The Volturi would not let it.

"Edward," came Carlisle's voice from the bottom of the stairs. "I need to speak with you. We need to reply to Aro's letter."

I felt Edward's chest rumble and shake as a growl left his body at the sound of that name. I felt his anger, I hated the bastard just as much. Reluctantly, he pulled away from me. He lifted my chin with his finger so that I could see into his eyes. They were gold again, just how I liked them. He caressed my face with his fingertips, his eyes scanning each contour of my face. I blushed as he pressed his forehead to mine.

"Go," I said, putting on the best smile I could muster. "You have a wedding to organize."

I felt his wince. "Don't say that," he begged.

"But it's true," I replied. "You're getting married and you need to discuss the details. You should go."

He suddenly lowered his lips to mine, kissing me gently and tenderly for one last time. I felt my salty tears on our lips as they continued to fall, making this whole situation seem all that more real. This kiss was sweet and loving, telling me his feelings for one last time. There could never be any from now on. As soon as he left my room, Edward and Bella would be no more. We'd be friends and that was it. I'd never be allowed to love him again…

He finally pulled away, a sob leaving his lips as he did. He let me go then, taking a step back and just looking at me, his eyes glistening. And then he was gone, leaving me in an empty room, leaving me totally alone, giving me the rest of forever to cry my heart out.