A/N: First off, I want to thank everyone that read and commented. You made my day! Second of all, this is dedicated to Edward! Happy Birthday, love! And last but not least, enjoy!

p.s. Our " personal trainer" will make his appearance soon, hang tight.

Disclaimer: All affiliated characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

CHAPTER 1

6 months prior to the wedding…

A strong wave of anxiety took over my body as I looked at the building in front of me. My breathing came in shallow gasps and my hands began to tremble. The mannequins on the window display stared back at me, taunting me with their attire.

I couldn't do this.

I was about to back away from the store and run to the safety of my car when I heard someone shout my name.

"Bella!" The owner of the voice crossed the street and walked towards me. I placed a smile on my face and cleared my throat.

"Hey, Jess!" I yelled back, hoping my voice sounded as cheerful as hers. She pulled me into a hug as she reached me. I hugged her back, needing the comfort she was offering. Jessica pulled away and the smile on her face fell the instant she took in my appearance.

"Bella, are you okay? You look a little under the weather." Concern was laced into every word she spoke.

"Umm...yeah, I'm fine." I smiled. Hoping to convince her, even though I knew I wouldn't be able to.

"Are you sure? You're sweating up a storm." Her eyes flashed up to my forehead. I hadn't even realized I had started to sweat. I rubbed the perspiration away from my face and looked back up at her, my smile widening.

"I'm fine, I promise. I'm just a bit nervous." Comprehension swept over her face, her smile returned. I breathed out a quite sigh of relief, having avoided her line of questions.

"It's okay, Bella. Everything will work out, trust me. We still have a while until the wedding. I'm sure we'll find a dress by then."

If only she knew that I was worried for a completely different reason but I couldn't tell her that. She could believe whatever she wanted to believe.

"I guess I am worrying a bit too much. Shall we get started?" I responded, confirming her suspicions.

"Yeah, let's go!" Jessica clapped her hands, opened the door to the boutique and walked in ahead of me. I looked at the bridal shop one last time and took a deep breath.

I could do this. I had to do this.

I opened the door, with my head held high, and walked in. As soon as I stepped into the store I knew I was in for a long and tiring day. Every square inch of the shop was occupied by a broad range of dresses, shoes and accessories. I was already beginning to feel overwhelmed and we had just arrived. Jessica was flipping through the dresses on the racks. An array of emotions flickered past her face as she judged the dresses; one second it was astonishment and the next it was revulsion. I was pulled out of my thoughts by a young woman approaching us.

"Hello. Welcome to Jean's Bridal Boutique. My name is Angela, can I help you ladies with anything?" I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off abruptly.

"Hi. I'm Jessica and this is Bella…" Jessica motioned with her hand towards me. I smiled and waved at Angela, she returned the gesture.

"Bella is going to get married in six months and we need to find the perfect dress for her. A dress that is simple yet elegant while maintaining an essence of youth. Basically, the kind of dress that renders everyone speechless. I've compiled a list of what we are looking for in a dress." Jessica handed the list over to Angela, who looked at it with wide eyes. I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my mouth.

"Oh…wow. This is quite a handful. How about we start with your size?" Angela looked over at me, folding the list back up and placing it in her pocket. I smiled and nodded my head.

"Yes, let's start with that." I replied.

"Oh god, another one? How many have we been through already?" I frowned at the dress that was shoved through the dressing room door.

"Just a couple more, Bella. I have a feeling that we're getting close."

"That's what you said five dresses ago, Angela. I'm so tired of this." I muttered under my breath, shaking my head in frustration. I was aware that I probably sound like a child but I didn't care. My patience was long gone. The gown that I was currently trying on was gorgeous. Then again every gown that I was given was gorgeous until it was placed on my body. It felt as if I was stealing the beauty away from the dresses by wearing it. After trying on a dress, I looked into the mirror and felt uncomfortable, awkward and anything but beautiful. On every gown we found imperfections. In one dress I looked shorter than I was and in another the white looked morbid against my already pale skin. The list went on and on. I zipped up the dress, closed my eyes and stumbled my way to the showcase area of the shop.

"So…how's it look?" I said to Angela and Jessica. I peeked a look at them when I didn't hear a response. The look on their faces said it all.

"Umm...it's better than the last one?" Angela's statement sounded more like a question than a compliment. I held back the tears that were ready to make their escape. My feet dragged themselves onto the platform in the middle of the shop. I closed my eyes once again, turned toward the 360 degree mirror and opened my eyes. Angela was wrong, this dress did not look better than the last. If anything it was the worst of the bunch. The bow placed under the bust of the dress was supposed to give the illusion that I had a big chest but it was too exaggerated and looked out of place. The train of the dress was too long and with my luck I was sure to trip over it. To top it all off, the fabric under the dress was itchy and kept riding up. I turned around to face Jessica and Angela, a sad smile on both of their faces. As I stepped down from the platform, ready to change into my normal clothing, Angela's voice stopped me.

"Wait...I have one more dress that you could try. It arrived just today. Let me run back and get it." Before I could protest Angela was running through the store towards the back room.

"Jessica, I've had enough for one day. Can we please go home?" The tone of my voice must of sounded desperate because Jessica was on her feet in an instant.

"Here Bella. Please try this on one, please. I think this is the one." Angela placed the dress in my arms.

"Angela, I appreciate your help, I really do. But I just want to go home and I'm sure you do to. It's well past closing hours. Why don't we just leave this for another day?" As I said this I started to place the dress back into her arms but was stopped.

"Please Bella. Just one more? What's the worst that could happen?" I sighed loudly and shuffled my way back to the dressing room. Following my new routine, I put on the dress, not bothering to see how beautiful it was, closed my eyes and walked back out. My feet stepped onto the platform and I spun towards my two person audience. I heard what I least expected, gasps.

"Oh...my...god. That's it! That's the one!" Clapping, laughter and squeals of joy invade my ears. The sounds were so foreign that it took me a while to recognize them. I felt two hands spin me around towards the mirror.

"Bella, open your eyes." Jessica's voice encouraged me. I took a deep breath and willed my eyes to open, slowly. What I saw, took my breath away.