Epilogue: 3 Years Later
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"Please tell me you're joking." Bella said staring at Alice in horror.
"I do not joke about clothing Bella, I thought you would have known this by now." Alice responded rolling her eyes at the other girl.
"I was mostly hoping that you were trying to mess with me. Honestly, I don't see why I can't wear pants. Wouldn't that go better with everyone else?" Bella tried to implore even while knowing that it would be of no use.
Alice didn't even bother responding verbally simply glaring at Bella and holding out the dress expectantly. Rosalie laughed loudly from where she was perched, already fully dressed and ready, on the end of the bed in Bella and Jasper's room.
Bella skirted her eyes around for a possible escape before heaving a resigned sigh and accepting the offered dress with a look of distaste. She didn't know why she never got to pick out her own clothes for things, even her prom dress she hadn't seen until moments before leaving for the dance. Granted at least with Prom Rosalie had picked out her dress and at least taken her style into consideration when choosing, this time it was obvious that Alice had chosen and as much as she and Bella had gotten closer since everything that went down in Italy and afterwards the pixie like girl still didn't seem to grasp that they had very different ideas of what clothing should look like.
"Would you hurry up already?" Alice demanded snapping Bella out of her thoughts. "I know you hate it and would never pick it out for yourself but we're going to be late if you don't hurry up. And as much as you may not like what you have to wear, I know you don't want to hold things up today."
"Fine," Bella growled, pouting as she finally began changing. Practically before she had zipped herself in, she was being pushed into a chair for her hair and makeup to be completed.
As both Rosalie and Alice worked to finish getting her ready, she took deep unnecessary breaths trying to remind herself that it was all going to be over after today, she just had to make it through the wedding and reception and then it would all be over, and she could live in yoga pants for the rest of eternity if she felt like it (or at least until the next time Alice decided she was in charge of planning a wedding).
"Girls, it's time!" Esme said poking her head into the room just as Bella's feet were being forced into a ridiculous pair of heels that she would never be able to walk in if she wasn't a vampire. "Rosalie, you need to get started."
Rosalie grinned at the older woman and strutted confidently out of the room to start the music and subsequently the ceremony. Bella steeled herself for a moment after she was gone before joining the rest of the wedding party that was gathered in the hallway. Alice linked her arm through Esme's as the exited the room and the two of them went to take their seats, grinning brightly the entire way.
"Don't even say it," Bella growled when she caught sight of Jason's smirk. "I will take you down even if I am wearing a dress."
Jason's smirk grew wider but before he could say anything the music started, and Carlisle offered Bella his arm to escort her down the aisle. She huffed out an unnecessary breath before pasting a bright smile on her face and allowing Carlisle to lead her into the room that was practically overflowing with guests.
She and Carlisle took their places at the front on either side of Reverend Webber, turning to face what must have been close to the entire population of both Forks and La Push. She wasn't sure if she was more surprised by how easily they mixed with the wolves these days, not even noticing the stench of wet dog anymore, or the fact that so many had accepted this particular coupling. Granted, she allowed herself to admit that it would be hard to object after seeing the wide smiles on both Edward and Jason's faces as they walked arm and arm down the aisle.
The service was thankfully short, because as much as she loved both Edward and Jason like brothers, she really hated standing up here in front of all these people, especially in a freaking dress. Granted she had to admit that the deep blue dress that Alice had picked for her didn't look terrible when paired with the men's tuxes. Not to mention she figured she couldn't complain too much considering Jason had asked her to be his "Best Woman" immediately after he and Edward had decided to get married not even considering any of the guys that he had grown up being friends with.
Her smile felt far more genuine as Reverend Webber pronounced them Mr. and Mr. Cullen-Phelps. She never would have imagined this when she first made her escape from Maria and found her way to Forks but she couldn't say that she was upset with how it had turned out, even if she was going to spend the rest of the day fielding questions from every guest in attendance as to when she and Jasper were going to be getting married themselves (never if she had her way).
As the crowd of people made their way to the back yard where the reception was set to take place, she felt Jaspers arms snaking around her waist and pulling her back against his chest. She still missed her mother and Phil every day, but that pain was far less than it had been when she'd first come to Forks. She'd found her mate, gained a larger family than she had ever dreamed, and was working on a college degree at an Ivy League school when she had never thought she'd even make it to a community college. As much as she wished they could still be here with her, she couldn't think of anything she would change if it would mean not ending up where she was.
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Aaaaaaaand that's the end y'all. I know it's short and I'm sorry about that, but it feels right to me. It's not at all where I thought this would end up when I started this, but I also never imagined that I would still be writing this story a decade after I started it. Eventually I'm going to update all the previous chapters with edits because when I started this story, I was a teenager that believed I could make it through typing something without making any errors and never actually proofread anything.
Thank you to everyone that stuck with me through this, I know its taken forever but I hope that if you've made it this far you enjoyed it and aren't too disappointed with how I decided to end it. Your reviews give me life.
Love Always,
Emily Rai
