Summer turned to fall, which would soon turn to winter. Rosalie was enveloped in preparations for the most lavish wedding. Her wedding planners had pushed for a Summer wedding, to give them more time, but both Rosalie and Royce had both insisted that the sooner the better. Royce provided the funding without a second thought, sparing so expense for his lovely fiancée. Any sort of expedited charge was taken care of by the Kings without a word with a careless flick of the hand. It would be a spring wedding; Rosalie was thrilled at the thought of a beautiful spring flowers adorning the chapel for the scene of her Rochester ceremony.

It was already the last week of August. Rosalie was unsure about the small amount of time to plan everything, but Royce insisted. Royce repositioned his family's personal assistants to speak with his fiancée's family instead, also arranging for the most expensive wedding planners and décor that money could buy. The Kings insisted on paying for everything, despite the tradition of the bridal party being responsible. Royce waved his hands, as if swatting the ideas away from Rosalie's mind when she suggested not having her family pay for anything just wasn't proper.

Royce insisted that the money meant nothing to them. Mr. and Mrs. King maintained that they needed to ascertain that their only son had the finest wedding that money could buy. The Hales agreed; after all, Rosalie was their only daughter.

Immediately after Vera and Benjamin had returned from their honeymoon, they had been helping where they could with the wedding preparations. Though Rosalie found herself swamped with the help of professional assistants, she couldn't help but be relieved when her best friend appeared at her house to discuss wedding colors and cake tastes.

Through all this, it was suspicious that Royce never once showed to an appointment. No, it wouldn't be proper for him to attend things such as the dress fittings and the bridal shower, but there were things he didn't show to that Rosalie couldn't help but feel more than a little disappointed. The cake tastings, the registry, venue appointments, and the flower arrangements were all settled by Rosalie alone. Vera was there beside her for every appointment she could make, but Rosalie couldn't help the creeping loneliness as she had toured a lovely chapel in downtown Rochester unaccompanied.

When Rosalie addressed her concerns over his absence, Royce insisted that he was having a busy time with the bank. He was speaking with his father on matters of completely taking over the bank as soon as the two were wed. Rosalie always nodded silently, unsure of what else she could do.

The wedding venue was booked months in advance; it was a lovely country club in upstate New York instead of the chapel she had envisioned. The décor would be so extravagant that the Kings had bought out the week prior to assure that all the decorations would be flawless- planning to see them set up in person many days in advance to guarantee their necessary perfection. A thought tickled the back of Rosalie's mind at how wasteful this seemed in the middle of an economic depression, but she dismissed it as soon as the idea had rooted in her mind. She only would have this one wedding in her life and she would make it extraordinary.

One day, sitting at her parent's kitchen table with one of the many wedding planners, as she studied the minute difference between crimson and scarlet and if they paired well with indigo, there was a knock on her front door.

Rosalie looked up at the door, then quickly back at the wedding planner; she hadn't been expecting company today. Frowning, she rose to answer the door.

"Hi, Rosalie." Vera was disheveled and alone. She peaked up at up at Rosalie from under her mop of chestnut hair, before hastily looking back down at her own feet. Rosalie, however, had not missed how her eyes were red with tears and sleepless dark circles deepened her already dark brown eyes. Her dark hair was piled into a messy knot on top of her head and it looked as though she hadn't combed it in days. She was trembling.

Rosalie's eyes bulged as she took in the sight; she immediately filled with protective rage as she scooped her friend into a wordless warm hug. In the hug, Vera dissolved once more into tears. She lost her footing and relied solely on Rosalie to keep her standing. Rosalie, speechless, stroked her hair silently waiting for Vera's sobs to quieten. They stayed that way for a while and Rosalie could hear the wedding planner leave out the back door.

Rosalie helped Vera inside and they sat on the floor together, as Rosalie wasn't sure Vera could make it any farther. Rosalie noted how Vera had yet to meet her eyes.

"Is… There anything I can do?" Rosalie asked hesitantly. She held onto her friend's hand and noticed it was still shaking. Her mind raced as she tried to devise what exactly had happened.

Vera shook her head slowly. Her mess of hair on top of her head shifted and strands of hair fell into her face but she didn't move them. She stared, unseeingly, in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Rosalie pleaded, she look both of Vera's hands into her own and Vera finally looked at her. Vera's lower lip trembled as she mumbled something unintelligible.

"What?" Rosalie moved the hair out of Vera's face and Vera swallowed, taking a deep breath.

"Nothing's wrong," Vera murmured.

Rosalie, utterly dumbfounded, looked at her friend as though she had completely lost it. Vera looked an absolute mess; she had never seen her so unkempt in the many years she had known her. Vera searched Rosalie's face as though trying to find the words to say it. Her lips moved, but no sound came with it. She took another steadying breath before trying again.

"Rosalie," she sighed, "I- I'm pregnant."

Rosalie wasn't sure if she had heard her friend correctly. Her mouth fell open and she tried to say something in response, but she wasn't sure what to say.

Vera was only nineteen, and while having a young family wasn't all that unpopular, she had just married a carpenter. Stability and financial security were two things that were generally required to have a child, of which Vera had neither. The one thing she did have, though, was an overwhelming love for her husband.

And her husband loved her.

Rosalie exhaled the shocked breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding. It came out as a deep sigh.

"I know," Vera whispered, staring at her and Rosalie's joined hands. "I haven't told Ben yet. You know how he gets when he's stressed- just all over the place. I just… I don't think I can hide it much longer. I'm starting to show."

At this, Vera stood, and Rosalie stood with her. Vera drew her smock-like dress tight against her stomach. There, under the tie at the top of her waist was a little bump. It was so small that if Vera hadn't said anything, even with a more form fitting gown, Rosalie would've just assumed her petite friend had a heavy meal. Rosalie stared, her mouth open, her fingers moving to cover it.

"How… how far along are you? Do you know?" Rosalie stuttered. Vera wrapped her arms around herself as she moved to sit at Rosalie's kitchen table. She couldn't quite meet her friend's eyes. Rosalie frowned. "Is everything… healthy?" Rosalie didn't want to assume the worst, but the look of concern on Vera's face was troubling.

The brunette anxiously chewed on a thumbnail as she stared at nothing in particular. "Well, yes, everything's fine and healthy. I just came back from the doctor's this morning. I was thinking it was a nasty bout of the stomach flu or something. I hadn't slept at all the past few days- sick at every hour of the day. Benjamin honestly didn't want to let me go see Dr. Cullen by myself, but I told him to go to work. And I-" she looked Rosalie in the eye, as Rosalie arched a brow. "Well… I've found myself in a bigger predicament than just finding out, having a full term to think and plan and Rosalie-"

"Vera." Rosalie pulled up a kitchen chair to sit beside her best friend as she spoke slowly. "Let's talk this out slowly. What did the doctor say?"

Vera's brown eyes blinked slowly as she sniffled. "Well… I'm already four months along."

Rosalie's eyes bulged and she fought the urge to gasp aloud. Vera looked down at her lap, unable to even look at her best friend.

"Rosalie," she murmured. "How am I supposed to tell Ben that not only are we expecting, but we're already almost halfway there?" Her arms fell to her sides in defeat as she leaned back in the chair and looked at the ceiling, fresh tears beginning to flow.

The moment of silence between the two was thick. Only the little hiccup of Vera's increasing tears punctuated the silence as Rosalie took in this new information.

"Are you sure the baby is alright?" Rosalie whispered, very concerned. Vera turned, crossing her arms in a glare that was so sudden it rivaled even the most ferocious scowls that Rosalie had ever produced. Rosalie took a step back.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Vera said. Her jaw was a harsh line as she spoke through her teeth.

Rosalie fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Vera." She gestured to Vera's stomach to which Vera looked down and wrung her hands nervously.

"Oh, right. You know, I think that's why I'm so shocked- Dr. Cullen said the date of conception was probably around our honeymoon. I'd had no symptoms until recently, and honestly it doesn't look-"

Rosalie went to stand beside her, holding her hand gently.

"You know I'll be here for you every step of the way."

Vera nodded, silent and grateful.

.x.

Days passed, turning into months. It was now early November and Rosalie had felt the past year had passed in a happy blur. Anticipation was thick in the air as shortly, many things would happen.

Vera would have her baby at the beginning of the new year. Rosalie watched and helped where she could with Vera's pregnancy. She made sure that Vera was comfortable; she had told Royce about her best friend's pregnancy in the case that his financial assistance would be needed. Rosalie knew that neither Vera nor Benjamin would ever accept money, but Rosalie was cunning and knew there were ways that they could help her friend financially without her ever knowing.

Royce ordered work to be done on his parent's house, a large mansion on the outskirts of Rochester. He contracted specifically Benjamin's company to do the woodworking as he planned for an additional room. When Rosalie questioned him about it, Royce shrugged it off with a mysterious twinkle in his eye. He told her that once he took full ownership of the bank, then his parents saw no need to stay in Rochester. They were planning on settling somewhere warmer, and further south, for their comfortable retirement. Leaving the entire property to their son and his new bride.

That being said, Rosalie couldn't help but press why they would need an extra room when the entire estate would be theirs' alone. Royce smirked.

"Do you honestly think I would ever let you go without anything your best friend has?"

Rosalie shivered.

Something clicked into place.

All of the yearning for something that was missing in her life these past many months, despite her engagement with Royce giving her everything her heart dreamed about, finally had a name.

Rosalie wanted a baby of her own.

From that moment on, she watched Vera with the eyes of someone who was envious once more. She hadn't felt the sharp pang of jealousy since earlier that spring before she met Royce. Vera's short engagement and modest wedding had meant nothing to Rosalie as she courted Royce. It had been an expectation that Rosalie should aspire to marry Royce, so when her engagement at Vera's reception happened that wasn't even a surprise.

Now, however, Rosalie watched Vera with a burn of jealousy as she watched her best friend's pregnancy progress.

While it took almost halfway to term before Vera began to show, she was now well into her third trimester and had a pronounced bump that looked still small, but now impossible to hide. Even with the baggy maternity frocks she wore now, the swell of her stomach had grown a noticeable amount.

Rosalie couldn't help but stare as Vera stood by the kitchen sink, as Vera was nursing a hot cup of tea. Vera constantly kept one hand on her belly, protective already. Rosalie looked away and sighed deep in wedding preparations as the kitchen table was covered in papers, flowers, and swatches of silk and lace. Rosalie looked down as the crimson silk, the one decision that Royce had made himself in an offhand comment, as she tried to pair it with a deep violet lace. She frowned, the textures were off. However, as she layered them next to the bouquet of roses, she thought she just might have finally figured out the floral arrangement when there was a sudden knock at the door.

Vera placed her tea cup in the sink, moving to answer the door. Rosalie cut her off, murmuring a low, "No I have it, you should sit."

Vera scoffed, but sat at the kitchen table all the same. She pulled the notebook Rosalie kept of compiled lists and turned to the catering options as Rosalie left to answer the door.

Royce stood in the doorway in a crisp black suit, with a bouquet of violets in his hand.

"Here to help me sort out the catering?" Rosalie offered, nails tapping in an offbeat rhythm on the wooden doorframe.

"Darling," Royce rolled his eyes in bemusement. "Please tell me you didn't forget." He tucked a loose blonde strand behind Rosalie's ear. She frowned.

"I'm sorry?" She was really quite thrown, she had lost all track of time. She hoped it wasn't an important date-

Royce shook his head as he pulled her into a firm kiss, before placing another peck on the tip of her nose.

"Oh, what am I going to do with a wife who doesn't remember her own husband's birthday?"

Rosalie's mouth dropped, her cheeks blushed a bright scarlet, and she grasped for the threads of an apology as her mind raced blankly. She collected her thoughts and cleared her throat.

"I suppose I still have one more month to learn a few things," she responded with a sly but sheepish grin.

"Hm," he hummed, "Quite so."

Royce moved to kiss her, but then hesitated as he backed away and pinched the bridge of his nose and heaved a heavy sigh.

"I suppose that it's a good thing I came early. You still have over an hour to get ready."

Rosalie, still stunned that she had forgotten such an important date that she left without a word, not before she kissed him quickly, and rushed upstairs.

"Happy Birthday," she said, smiling coyly at him over her shoulder as she paused by the bannister.

He said nothing in response, lowering his head and shaking it in playful disbelief.

"I better go help her," Vera sighed. She trudged her way up the stairs after Rosalie.

Royce watched her too.

Within half the hour, the two friends emerged from Rosalie's room, arm in arm. Rosalie, striking in a deep cobalt velvet dress, leaned her head on Vera's shoulder closing her eyes and a soft smile played at her lips. She looked up at Vera, thanking her over and over.

The long skirt swished around her calves as she descended the stairs, Vera lagging behind her as she carefully held onto the bannister. Rosalie caught a stray hair that came out of the tight bun Vera had undoubtedly spun into her hair; she twisted the blonde strand around her polished nail before tucking it sleekly back into the diamond hairpin that Royce had given her before their first date. Royce noted his diamond sparkling on her left hand as it dropped from beside her face as she stood in front of him.

"That was impressively fast." He noted, raising a dark eyebrow.

"Why thank you," she smiled back at him. Her red painted lips were irresistible to him as he leaned down to kiss them, but she tilted her head at the last minute as to not smear the makeup.

In the flash of an instant, Royce's hand was on her jaw. He gripped her chin tightly and Rosalie's heart hammered in her chest. He moved her chin in his fingers to face him once more. He kissed her quickly before backing away.

Rosalie's eyes were open. They widened and her mind raced for something to say. She felt frozen.

"Darling," Royce crooned, "You simply can't deny me a kiss on my birthday."

He kissed her again, swiftly, as to prove a point.

Her lips were parted as she started to say something. Just then, Vera came up behind her with a light jacket.

"I grabbed this from your closet, just in case it gets chilly tonight." She folded it and placed it into Rosalie's numb arms. Rosalie looked to her friend as if Vera would say something, despite Rosalie always being the confrontational one.

However, as Rosalie looked at Vera's soft face, she noticed that the brunette looked at her with an air of blissful genuine ignorance.

She hadn't seen it.

Rosalie frowned. Pushing her own worries down in a settling breath, she moved to take Royce's arm.

Royce thanked Vera, nodding to her as they left. Rosalie didn't hear it, though, a dull ringing muted her fiancée's voice. She wanted to dismiss it, so she rested her head on Royce's shoulder. Her right ear pressed into the thick fabric of his smart suit. She breathed in his cologne and the deep scent of peppermint and cigar smoke filled her nose.

He opened his car door. They had walked down to his car and she hadn't even noticed. Her brow furrowed. How unlike her.

She vaguely heard him shut her car door before he moved around to the driver's side. She took comfort in the rumble of the car engine as it started. She crossed her leg over the other to hide the fact that it was shaking.

"Alright, Rose. Get ready for tonight, all the boys of the wedding party will be there. I know I don't have to ask you to make a good impression." There was laughter in his voice, but Rosalie couldn't quite understand what was so funny. She arranged her features into what she hoped to be a bright smile as she looked up at her fiancée.

"Oh absolutely," she forced her grin wider. Royce grabbed her left hand as he drove, playing with her large engagement band that rested on her third finger with a self-assured smile. Her right hand, however, was in a tight fist. Her sharp nail drew a speck of blood and she wiped it on the smooth velvet of the inseam of her dress. No one would be the wiser.