Hi guys! I know, a day early... but I thought I would treat you all with a little surprise for this last chapter in the form of an early update. I apologize for the shortness, but I thought that I said everything I had to say regarding this story and its characters, I just wanted to wrap things up nicely, and it turned into this short epilogue.

I will keep the heartfelt words for the bottom notes. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: for one last time, I own nothing.

Chapter 27 – Epilogue

A few months later – January – BPOV

Christmas was a loud affair this year. Rose and I hadn't had a Christmas the last 2 years. We all celebrated together, along with my dad, Carlisle and Esme, and even Rose's parents.

Indeed, Mr. and Ms. Hale finally came around. They were initially opposed to Rose moving to Seattle, so she lashed out. She told them how she felt, about how standoffish and cold they were with her. It took a few weeks, but they finally called her to apologize. Things aren't 100%, but they are better. Mr. and Ms. Hale even helped us move into our apartment last week, before going back to New York.

They also offered to cover rent for us, leaving only bills to split between Rose and I.

Our place is just a few blocks from Edward, Emmett and Jasper's, and about a 15 minutes' drive to UW, so life is good, for the most part.

Renee died a few weeks ago, in a highly secured hospital room, in the hospital where Carlisle works. Therefore, they were able to proceed quickly with the transplant. Esme is still recovering, but she looks a lot healthier than before. It's a relief for everyone.

Another relief is the Seattle Police Department was able to gather enough evidence to bring James and Phil to court quickly. Even better was the fact that Rose and I were not required to go up on the witness stand. The lawyers defending James and Phil tried to trip Edward, Emmett and my dad up on their testimony, but failed.

James pleaded not guilty to all the charges, but was found guilty of several murders, including Royce King's; he ended up getting the death penalty. Phil, for his part, had the common sense to plead guilty. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, with no possibility of parole before 15 years.

I can't say that we can now put all of this behind us and move on, but Rose and I are definitely getting better. She has more to overcome than I do, but with the support system we have, it is definitely easier to get passed it all.

We heard Victoria, Tania and Irina had disappeared, Jessica woke up one day and they were gone. They literally left her behind. She later learned they are now in Florida, working in exclusive clubs.

How she found us? She never got around to telling us, always evading the subject. So I'm guessing it wasn't something quite legal… but it doesn't really matter. All she wants is friends, and if she feels we can give her that, then we'll try to include her… as annoying as she can be sometimes.

My point is… we're doing good. We will never truly get passed these traumatic events, but we'll learn to live with the consequences. Edward is there for me, Emmett is for Rose, and we have family and friends to help us remember that none of it was our fault, that we didn't deserve anything that happened to us. We deserve what we have now.

I deserve what I have now. He may have sold my body, but my soul is not for sale.

The end.

Thoughts? Please review :o)

So this it, guys, the end of this adventure. I spent 6 years working on this story. It's not exactly how I had planned it, but I'm still proud of it.

I am amazed by the response this story received from you, readers, I will forever grateful for your kind words. I am also grateful to the readers who gave me constructive critism, because it can only help me becore a better writer.

This was the first, and probably the last, time I was appearing in the Twilight universe. I'm not saying I will never write with these characters again, but the probabilities are pretty low at the moment. I have a new passion: the TV show Once Upon a Time. I have several ideas for OUAT fics. I am currently working on two of those ideas. I am hoping those of you who decided to follow me, will follow me into this new universe. If you decide to step back, that's fine too. I would never hold a grudge for that. To each his own passion, I will always respect that.

I hope to see you all around here again. Until then: Au revoir!