Coincidence

"Bella? Edward?"

Our lips separated abruptly. Esme stood by the doorway, an apologetic smile on her face. "Alice said she'll bite off your heads if you don't come out now."

I giggled as Edward rolled his eyes. "Ready, Mrs. Cullen?" he whispered in my ear.

I replied by placing my lips softly on his. His arm swiftly knocked me off my feet and by the time I ended the kiss, we were already outside. Awaiting us was a shiny black convertible adorned with pink and white flowers and bows. Edward put me down and led me into the passenger seat.

"Finally you both leave," Alice joked, her face radiating with pleasure. I began to fear what she had planned for us. She pecked my cheek through the open window and gave Edward a brief hug. "Enjoy yourselves," she ordered. Esme, Carlisle, Jasper, Emmett, and even Rosalie stood by Alice's side, waving at us until Edward drove our wedding car out of their sight.

"Where to?" I asked casually. Edward took his eyes off the road to look at me.

His expression turned serious again, making me nervous. "Bella—" he started.

"Edward," I cut in. I wasn't going to let him give me the freedom to be selfish this time. "I'm not doing this for you, but for me." This wasn't a lie because his happiness was essential to my survival.

When he didn't respond to that, I questioned him again, "Where are we going?"

He sighed. "To the airport."

Now I got suspicious. "Where are we flying to?"

"That's a surprise." His lips twitched into a slight grin.

I pouted my lips and crossed my arms. "Not fair! I'm always the one to be surprised," I complained.

I felt relieved to see a full-blown smile on his face now. "That's 'cause your reactions are the funniest."

"But I want to see your reactions. I bet they're funnier than mine."

He chuckled, his eyes turning back onto the road as we neared the biggest airport I've seen in my life. I've been to a few airports in my life but this one had my eyes goggling it with childlike wonder.

"It's just an airport, Bella," Edward teased. I bit my lip so my mouth wouldn't hang open in awe.

The airport was beautiful but the plane. My mind absently wondered if this was how your daily life would be as a celebrity. They served delicious dishes that I had never seen my life. Only then did I realize how hungry I really was and gobbled everything down quickly. Crying was a tiring exercise.

Edward just stared at me with his golden eyes, an untouched cup of coffee in his hands.

During the plane ride, I gazed out the window. I eventually fell asleep after I saw nothing but blue water for a long time. Edward gently woke me when we arrived. I had no idea how much time the trip had taken; my dream had been too distracting.

"Bella, we're here," he announced. His sweet voice had a faint tone of sadness to it that I easily recognized. I sighed because I knew the reason for it.

I looked at him with apologetic eyes. "You heard me sleep-talking again." It wasn't a question. After a moment of hesitation, he smiled a smile with too much despair behind it.

"Bella, don't worry about it. I promise I don't mind."

My heart seemed to constrict as I followed him out of the plane. No matter how hard I tried to take Jacob Black out of my life, it seemed like an impossible task. Even my dreams were built around my lingering feelings for him, emotions that would just hurt everyone I loved. Again I was the selfish one, the one ruining Edward's happiness. Perhaps it would have been easier if I had not met Edward, perhaps it would have been less painful if our paths had not crossed.

Perhaps it would have been better if I had never existed.

Because I knew that without Edward, I would have never been truly alive. It was impossible to imagine a life without him.

But then, it was impossible to imagine a life without the other him.

When we were out of the airport, I realized how tropical our surroundings were. There were palm trees along the roads and the sun blazed over our heads. Although the current temperature had me sweating crazily, Edward was dressed in full sleeves, long pants, and dark shades.

The forced smile was still pasted on his perfect face. "Let's go shall we?"

I tried my best to smile back. I entered the taxi as he held the door open for me.

As we passed by many unfamiliar landscapes, a particular sign caught my attention.

"Aruba? Seriously?" I cried, making the taxi driver jump. Edward laughed. Besides being annoyed for just figuring it out, I was pretty thrilled. I was in Aruba. I could remember my friend in California bragging about traveling here over her summer break. I had been so envious at her vivid descriptions that were fit for paradise.

"But Edward, how—" I started asking and then became very aware of the driver eying us with curiosity through the rear-view mirror.

He understood my unfinished sentence and answered in a way that no eavesdropper could comprehend, "We're going to an isolated spot, where we can enjoy this honeymoon to the fullest." That made sense. I would be the only one to see his skin sparkle beautifully like hundreds of gems under the sunlight.

Forcefully shoving any Jacob-related thoughts aside, I smiled brightly with excitement. Shyly, I asked, "Edward, do you remember your promise?" I saw the driver listening intently now but ignored him.

Edward frowned a little. Of course he remembered. "Yes," he replied grudgingly, "and I promised I would try. You did keep your promise." He looked at me and grinned, shaking his head. "You and your hormones."

I giggled, my cheeks reddening rapidly. The driver's attention was back on the road. Maybe he realized he'd rather not hear anymore.

Maybe this honeymoon would turn out good, I thought smugly.

The mood became lighter again and our conversation became similar to what normal newlywed couples would talk about on their way to their honeymoon spot. This was easy and the pain and tension I had felt less than an hour ago on the plane seemed to have evaporated. As easy as breathing. And Edward was my air.

But then we both knew our relationship could not ever be easy. That was the difficult and loathsome reality that we had to face.

Our synchronized laughter was interrupted when the cab suddenly jerked to a stop. Edward's hand flashed to catch my head from bumping into the front seat. The driver was too busy swearing in a foreign tongue to notice the inhuman speed of Edward's movement. The driver of the car in front of us shouted something like an apology and we started moving again.

I realized that Edward's hand was still on my cheek, the chill sending shivers down my back. He had gone rigidly still and I tensed, sensing that something was incredibly wrong. His nose wrinkled and I followed his topaz eyes that had drifted to two figures outside.

Either this was sheer coincidence or fate playing a very cruel trick on us. This was just beyond injustice. How was it that every time I gained the slightest bit of joy, destiny had to immediately shatter it into tiny, uncountable pieces?

What were they doing here of all places? The two had frozen on the street as well and I briefly saw that my best friend's expression was also twisted in disgust, no doubt from the vampire smell. My eyes met Jacob's and at that moment, my heart seemed to explode. Oh, how I longed for him!

I grabbed the icy hand on my face so I wouldn't break down into pieces again. How could I live only on oxygen if there was no sun? Quickly, I scanned Edward's agonized face.

Was there possibly a way to have both air and light? Could they coexist in my world?

Or was I only able to have one and not the other? Was there no way for me to survive?

I closed my eyes for a brief second. That very moment, I hated myself like never before. Because it was clear that my decision would cause indescribable pain to all.

But I had already selfishly decided to go against every ounce of logic. With surprising clearness and strength, I cried, "Stop the car!" and opened the door.

Okay, thankfully I got this chapter out quicker than earlier ones :) Hope you enjoyed! And thank you for the reviews and comments. I really appreciate them. They really help so please continue to do so! Hopefully this one had more story than the last one. Next: What will be Bella's choice? Ahh I'm having a tough time trying to untangle the plot myself!