Chapter 31

"Okay, let's start with the first step," Carlisle smiles at Eve as he closes the passenger door and buckles his seatbelt. His golden eyes watched his daughter with amusement as she mimicks him nervously by buckling her own seatbelt and then starting up the car. His Mercedes comes to life at the same time Eve's heart beats a little faster. "Make sure to keep your foot on the brake the whole time before you want to start driving or back out of a parking space," Eve places both hands on the steering wheel and looks into the rearview mirror before readjusting it until she was sure she could see properly. Carlisle smiled with an approving nod when she glanced at him, "Good. Only one thing left to do now. Are you ready?"

"Do you think I am?" Eve wondered, not too sure of herself now that she was officially behind the wheel and about to head onto the road for the first time.

Carlisle placed his hand over Eve's shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze, "I'll be here the whole time to guide you, Evelyn."

"And if that doesn't convince you, I'm here too," Emmett chimed from the back seat, his hand ruffling her hair affectionately until she waved him off. She scowled at her older brother but couldn't help but smile when she caught his proud grin from the rearview mirror. "You got this, kid."

With a tender smile, Carlisle motions towards the gearshift, "Go on."

Taking a deep breath, Eve decided to take Carlisle's confidence in her and placed her hand over the gearshift.

"Okay, here goes."

As she watched Carlisle's car disappear behind the trees, Esme couldn't help but smile with pride. It was only when they were out of sight that she turned around and headed into the house where Alice was currently planning yet another graduation party. Jasper sat across from her at the table, currently questioning her motives, "Why must we throw a party, Alice?"

"Because, Jasper," Alice sighed as she slumped into her chair at the dining table and waved towards the laptop in front of her, "how long do you think we can go pretending when no one has seen us do anything around town other than going to school lately? It'll be good to keep up appearances. We don't want another teenager suspecting what we truly are, do we?" Even though the two had been married for a long time, Esme couldn't help but think they sounded more and more like bickering friends, fed up with one another. "If you don't want Eve around people, then you're just going to have to take her out for the night or ask her to stay in her room."

"It's not that I don't want her...you know what? I'm not going to argue with you," With a roll of his eyes, Jasper stood up from his chair and turned to walk out of the room. The look of annoyance on his face was evident when Esme walked into the dining room, and she couldn't help but share a scolding glance his way.

The empath shared a grimace with his mother as he passed her, only stopping when she placed her hand over his shoulder, "Let's go for a walk? I need some help in the garden."

Although Alice kept her attention on the laptop and started dialing on her cellphone to order a graduation cake for the party, Esme could feel her daughter tensing as soon as she saw her in the room. With a gentle smile, Esme told Alice they'd be back soon, and she would help her with more planning.

It was only when Esme and Jasper were in the greenhouse that she knew for sure they were out of range for anyone in the house to hear their conversation. Esme started cutting the roses that had bloomed nicely and placed them gently in the vase she planned to take inside, "The peonies Eve brought me the other day are so lovely, I decided to plant some of my own. I'm sure she'll love them in her room too."

Jasper was silent, clearing out any leaves that may have fallen off the plants.

Once she was finished, Esme turned and faced her son, "Jasper, look at me, sweetheart?" When he did and saw the sadness in his eyes, she tilted her head to the side and placed her hands on her hips, "what's going on between you two?"

"Me and Alice?"

"We can start with that if you want..." Esme mused. The glint in her eyes told him she was also ready to discuss his relationship with Eve that had seemed to progress in more ways than one.

Jasper took a seat on one of the stools by the work table and ran a hand through his hair, "I get that Alice feels guilt for what she did to Eve. I feel it and know that it's genuine. But the secrecy..." He shook his head with a subtle sigh.

"You don't trust her as you used to. It's normal after having your trust broken," Esme reasoned softly, sitting down beside him and gazing up the flock of birds that flew over the glass roof and the raindrops that slowly fell, "it must be very difficult. I know it was for me after my first husband betrayed my trust..."

Jasper's shoulders fell forward, and suddenly, the weight of the world was resting atop him, "I loved her Esme, I truly did. But the fact that she kept Eve from me? And I caught Alice in the lie long before meeting Eve? To think that she would have taken her away if we'd been too late that night to save her...I can't look past it so easily. Eve is my mate, my everything now, and I could never do that to Alice no matter who she loved. Now, I realize I could never make Eve choose between me and a life outside of this."

"So you knew you had another mate..." Esme murmured with understanding.

His nod was all Esme needed to know that Alice's lie of omission had been the downfall of their marriage, of the strong bond she and Jasper both had. Wrapping her arms around her son, Esme smiled tenderly when he rested his head against her shoulder and allowed himself this moment of vulnerability. Esme couldn't imagine the pain Jasper must have felt being betrayed by Alice even if she hadn't seen it that way and justified it as protecting the family. They'd been best friends, in love at one point or another, and each other's constant support. But she supposed that was the thing about living forever...love can be fleeting, and yet, when it's time to move on, it still hurts.

On their way back home, the sound of Carlise's Mercedes coming to a slow stop in front of the house instantly put a smile on her face when Jasper gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before disappearing. When she rounded the house and saw him pulling Eve into an embrace as soon as she stepped out of the car, Esme's heart swelled with joy.

She knew her son would ache to lose Eve if she did choose to remain a human, it would possibly destroy the kind young man and strip away his will to live, but she knew he would make that sacrifice if it were what Eve wanted—regardless of how heartbroken Jasper would be. That's why watching Jasper hold Eve close and forgetting the world around him told Esme that Jasper would always cherish his true love.

He would cherish Eve forever.


"Stop fidgeting. You look great," Rosalie snapped as she finished doing Eve's hair. Eve sat stiff as a board on the stool, facing the window of Rosalie's room, fidgeting with anticipation and nerves to see herself. No one had ever done her hair before, not since she was a little girl and her mother had offered to braid it before school.

The memory of her mother still settled heavily in her heart.

Staring at the evergreen dress Esme had gifted her; Eve couldn't help but be nervous. This was her first time truly leaving the house since the Cullen's took her in. The first time where she didn't feel unwelcome or in danger. And the difference was, she wasn't going alone this time...

Rosalie placed her hand over Eve's shoulder and stepped back, "Alright, go look." Standing up, Eve walked towards the vanity behind her and looked at the reflection of a young woman—of her—and Eve's heart stuttered. Her short hair had grown a bit past her shoulders and was now flowed nicely with the curls Rosalie had made with the curler. The subtle makeup on her face brought out her hazel eyes under the warm light in the room. The silk material or her green dress accentuated her curves and the freckles on her arms and chest.

Looking at herself clearly for the first time in months, Eve suddenly felt.

"Beautiful." Eve looked up from the mirror and turned to see Jasper leaning against the doorframe, hands in the pockets of his black pants making him appear as if he were a panther—ready to attack at any moment with his stoic demeanor.

She hadn't noticed Rosalie had left the room moments before Jasper appeared, feeling the warmth of her joy and awe coat his senses and urging him to see her.

She tried to hold in a smile as her cheeks blushed and walked across the room in her bare feet to stare up at the man who'd somehow won her heart completely, "I...have never worn a dress like this before. I think it'll be hard to get used to."

"You look perfect. With or without a dress," Jasper's amber eyes looked her up and down with a lazy grin of satisfaction that suddenly made her stomach clench. His hand reached for her, making her heart beat faster with anticipation to feel his skin on hers again, but before they could get any farther, Carlisle cleared his throat.

They both look behind them to spot an amused Carlisle standing in the hall, adjusting the cuff links on his jacket with a grin of his own, "I have to interrupt, but if we want to make the reservations, we really should go."

Eve didn't truly understand why Carlisle and Esme had insisted so much on taking Eve out for dinner—in Seattle no less—however, Jasper had convinced her. She knew it was because of the graduation party Alice wanted to throw, and if anyone from her high school saw her living with the Cullen's—Eve didn't want to be a part of that.

"I don't see why you want to go to a restaurant when none of you can eat," Eve murmured as she followed Carlisle downstairs, Jasper's hand securely on her lower back. Looking to both of them as they make it into the living room, "We can go on a walk or something."

Carlisle chuckled and patted her shoulder, "It wouldn't be much of a night out if we did what you and Jasper always do. Now would it?"

"Hmm," she eyed Carlisle suspiciously but let it slide when Esme walked into the room, and Carlisle's eyes softened at the sight of his wife. Esme wore a beautiful lavender dress, similar to Eve's, that looked as if it had been made especially for her. Carlisle walked over and placed a tender kiss on her lips while Esme smiled shyly at whatever he whispered into her ear.

Eve couldn't help but admire the two, whispering to Jasper as he came and wrapped his arms around her, "Isn't it amazing? Seeing two people so in love?"

Jasper whispered into her ear, making her heart stop once again when he drawled, "It is." An overwhelming affection wrapped around her then. Eve looked up and saw the words Jasper wouldn't quite say out loud—not in a house full of vampires.

The thought of Jasper saying I love you the other night remained vibrant in the back of her mind—on her body, where he'd teased and worshiped with gentle caresses and passionate kisses.

Tugging on the lapels of his suit jacket, Eve pulled him closer, igniting the fire in his amber eyes just a little more. "You don't play fair," she murmured, causing him to chuckle as he placed a quick kiss on her lips.

"Alright, kids, let's see a big ole smile!" A bright flash stunned Eve after Emmett took a photograph of all four of them without any warning.

A low growl from Jasper made her shake her head when he went on to try and snatch the camera from his brother's hands, "The worst timing, Emmett."

"Aw, you're just saying that because I caught you two smooching. Ew, by the way," Emmett looked at Eve when he said that last part, bringing out a giggle from her as she watched the two of them bicker. She supposed things could only get better from here on out—since she wasn't alone anymore—because she had a family for the first time in a long, long time.


A few hours later, Eve found herself in an elegant restaurant she knew she'd never been able to afford were it not for the Cullens and stared at the menu for a long moment.

"Wow, this is a little expensive..."

Understatement of the year.

"Order whatever you want," Jasper kisses her temple before taking her hand in his, comforting her every time she grew anxious. The second she'd felt herself slipping into flight or fight mode was when they walked into the quaint Italian restaurant in Seattle. There weren't many people in the restaurant, and the staff was friendly, even though the hostess and waitresses couldn't take their eyes off Jasper and Carlisle. Little did she know that every waiter around Eve's age was ogling her and Esme until Jasper shared a perpetual fear their way, just for fun.

A part of Eve felt guilty that they did all of this to be here with her, to sit through a dinner like this and simply...be together. But her heart was so incredibly full that she couldn't complain one bit. If this is what selfishness was, Eve knew she would take it if it meant being happy.

Once they'd had dinner on the patio that looked out into the city, the lights and stars illuminating Seattle beautifully, Carlisle straightened and smiled at her from across the round table, "So Evelyn, now that we're here, I suppose we'll have to tell you the cause for celebration, if all goes well tonight."

Eve tensed slightly, but Jasper's gift and the way his thumb rubbed small circles on the outside of her hand managed to calm her. She glanced between Carlisle and Esme, who was now smiling knowingly at her, "I thought...we were getting out of the house for the party? What are we celebrating?"

Reaching over, Carlisle takes Eve's other hand and looks into her eyes for a long moment, "In part, yes, that is why we left the house but..." he glances to Esme who then nods, "We've been discussing this for some time now, and everyone is more than happy, even Alice believe it or not.

"Okay, I'm nervous now," she chuckled breathlessly. Her eyes searched Carlisle's gentle ones and saw pure love in them, the way he looked at his children or Esme. Pure, genuine love.

"Why don't you open this first?" Esme asked as she slid over a closed folder and handed it to Eve. Slowly, Eve picked up the thick packet and unwound the red string that tied it together. Before she pulled out the first page, she granted Jasper one last wary look and found that he was smiling at her. A kind, unique smile he granted her only when they were alone.

As soon as she read the first page and understood what it was, her heart stopped.

Adoption papers...

"Evelyn...We would like you to become an official member of our family. If you wish it, and if not, that's alright too. We won't try to force this on you in any way. You're already a daughter to both of us, and we're more than happy to welcome you regardless. Because Esme and I love you more than you will ever know, sweetheart." The tears that flooded Eve's eyes were instant as she realized what Carlisle was telling her, how he rushed to say everything as if she would say no. As if she could say no!

"You...want me? To be your daughter?" Eve couldn't wipe away the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

"We want you to be a part of our family and feel loved sweetheart," Esme said through a wavering voice, her eyes swimming with emotion. "You deserve to feel loved, and we all do. So much..."

"But Alice-"

"We've spoken to Alice as well, and she agreed that the best place for you to be is with us. As a member of our family." Carlisle reassured her.

She blinked more tears away, filled with so much joy that she wasn't sure she could take it. Her heart was about to burst with all this love.

"What do you say, darlin'?" Jasper murmured, silver lining his eyes as if he could cry as well, cry for the girl he loved that in return loved his own family so much.

Standing on shaky legs, Eve walked around the table and couldn't stop herself from crying harder when Carlisle and Esme stood up as well, nervous as they waited to hear her answer. But the words didn't come. Instead, she threw her arms around both of them and wept when they embraced her. Eve knew Jasper had projected her gratitude and love onto his parents, letting them know her answer wholeheartedly. That was more than enough for Carlisle and Esme as they held onto their youngest and said, "We love you too. Welcome to the family, Evelyn."


Thanks for reading x

The number of reviews I've been catching up on since going on my small hiatus have been overwhelmingly lovely! I'm so glad so many people love Eve and this fanfic as much as I do, and I can't wait to share more chapters to come.

The next update will be on August 1st!