AN: I don't own anything, Stephanie Meyer still does.

First of all I want to thank my friend My Lion. My Lamb for giving such a sexy name to a new character I introduced in this chapter. He is going to play a key role in the story and I really hope you guys like him. His picture is on my profile under Gage.

Also, I want to thank my wonderful beta Jagga-Love. Not only she fixes all of my grammatical horrors, she also wrote the dress descriptions on this chapter. Girl you rock and you know it! Pictures of the dresses are also in my profile.

Last but not least, to all my reviewers and everyone who added the story to their alerts, thank you! You make this all the more fun.

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APOV

"…police investigators say that they have linked the 'Post-it' killer to two murders in the greater Seattle area and another one in Mexico. There are still no clues as to who this person is, there has been little or no evidence left at any of the crime scenes, but one thing is now certain, a serial killer is lose on our streets…"

Gah! "Bad news here, bad news there, a serial killer walking around town, I don't even know why I bothered with the news during my mornings. They are so darn depressing!" I turned off the TV and headed to the kitchen to grab a water bottle before heading out for work. I had not been able to sleep much last night. I was trying to piece together every single detail that both Edward and Isabella had mentioned about their soul mates.

Unfortunately, I did not have many details on either one of their stories. Isabella had not even mentioned were she had met this so-called soul mate, but she had promised to tell me all about it at some point, and today will be the day for her to fulfill that promise. As I analyzed things over and over, I realized a couple of things, and all I was looking for now was evidence prove my theories. For starters, Edward and Isabella were very alike: both of them were extremely reserved people, both of them had sworn not to date as no other person could measure up to their soul mate (although Isabella had changed her mind recently), and both of them had met and somehow lost their soul mate. It had to be them. I could feel it was them.

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Traffic had been a bitch. If it wasn't for my quest of reuniting soul mates, I would have hated this Monday as I tended to hate all the others. I loved my job, but DC traffic was a nightmare, especially on Mondays, and there was also the fact that Monday's were our busiest day of the week. Great.

Instead of going straight to my office, I headed to Isabella's to see if she was already there. I was hoping she was so that we could have some extra time to chat. "Alice! How was your weekend?" she asked as soon as she saw me approach her door. Good, I was glad she was already here. "It was incredible girl! We have so many things to talk about. Would you mind stepping into my office for a few minutes?" I asked. "Sure, I actually have some things to talk about with you as well," she said as she stood up to join me.

Once in my office I asked her to tell me about her weekend. I already knew that both of her dates had gone bad, but I was curious to see if she had met again with either one of them or if anything else exciting happened. I was not expecting what she told me. She explained that on Friday she had found out that her ex-best friend had been murdered. I told her what I heard in the news this morning about the Post-it killer and we both shivered at the thought of a serial killer lurking around our beloved city. We both agreed that we would be going to take some self defense lessons at the same place Rosalie did, we did not want to be easy targets for anyone.

"So, Isabella, I was wondering if this would be a good time to talk about what happened to you before we met. You had mentioned that there was a catalyst that had urged you to change who you were and that you had suffered a great deal. What happened?" I questioned. She gave me an uncertain look and then started to bit on her lip.

"Do we have to now?" she asked, looking as she was hoping I would say no. "Yes, you went to two dates with two nice guys and the dates were terrible. I think that in order for you to open up to another person you need to deal with your past demons, and I can certainly help you with that," I told her as I reached out and patter her hand. "Alright, I guess you are right. It all started the day of my wedding…"

Isabella told me about her relationship with Mike and what had happened to her at her wedding. I could not help the giggle that escaped me as she related how she had taken her dress, shoes, ring, and veil off and had ran from her wedding in her underwear. Then she told me about her angel, how she had crashed into him and how something had taken hold of her and for a moment she had forgotten who she was, where she was and connected at a level she never thought possible with this stranger.

"Where did all of this happen?" I asked. "This was in Acapulco, about six weeks before we met," she said. "Did you at least get the name of this guy?" I asked, already knowing the answer, but needing to hear it regardless. "Yes, his name was Edward…" she said, a tear running down her face.

I stood up and gave her a hug. "Everything will be alright Isabella. I just know you two will find each other, trust me on this, I just know." I told her. She gave me a small smile as she headed out of the office. In the other hand I was super excited. I was going to be able to complete both of my projects at once, and what a way to end this. Yes!

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"Are you ready for lunch?" Isabella asked, leaning on my door frame. "Yes, let's go. Where to?"

"How about we go to Corner Bakery? I have been craving the Chicken Pomodori." Isabella said, as I grabbed my purse and headed out of my office. "That sounds wonderful," I noted as my stomach growled.

We grabbed our lunch and met back at the table. We were at Union Station, one of our favorite places to people watch at lunch time. At one side of Union Station, you could catch the Metro and head anywhere into the city. On the other side were the commuter trains. The place was always packed with travelers and tourists, as well as local professionals. Everyone was always hurrying around trying to get to their destination. On the lower level, there was also a huge food court where you could get food from a lot of different countries. There was also a movie theater and some shops.

We spoke a little more about Isabella's past, her parents, and a date that I had set up for her later this week. A date I was hoping went terribly wrong, as well, now that I knew she was Edward's Bella. I was going to keep those facts to myself until I could figure out a way to get them together, and then let destiny do its thing.

"Alice, I forgot to ask you something," Isabella said. "Are you by any chance related to a Dr. Cullen at John Hopkins?" Wait, had she already met Edward? Was I wrong?

"Yes, as a matter of fact, my brother is a Neurosurgeon there, and so is my father" I managed to respond. "Why, do you know him?" I asked, making an effort to hide my panic. "No, no, I have never met him. My best friend Angela is doing her residency at John Hopkins and she mentioned that she was friends with Dr. Cullen. She invited me to a Gala this Saturday." In my haste to get Isabella's info, I had forgotten all about the Gala. "Yes, of course, my father is one of the surgeons being honored that day. We are all going, are you?" I asked her, as I formulated a plan in my head.

She told me that she was planning to go and we made plans to commute together. Baltimore was not that far off, but traffic on Fridays could be a nightmare, so we could all keep each other entertained on the way. I would ask Emmett to take his Jeep so that we could all fit. "OH MY GOD Alice, what is that on your finger!?" Isabella gasped, pointing at my engagement ring.

Once again, I was so caught up in Edward and Isabella's world that I had managed to forget my most exciting news. "Jasper proposed this weekend," I told her as she squealed like a five year old girl. "Details, I want details Alice" she said. I told her everything that happened with Jasper this weekend, the hotel, the proposal, looking at wedding venues. She asked if we already had a date, and I told her that we were going to take our time and would not probably set the date until after Emmet and Rose's wedding next summer. We spent a couple more minutes talking about my upcoming nuptials and then we headed back to work. We would be meeting this evening after work to go to the mall and find her a dress for this weekend and also an outfit for her date on Wednesday.

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BPOV

Wednesday was finally here. Alice and I had spent so much time chatting about personal stuff on Monday that most of our work had spilled over to Tuesday and we worked until the wee hours of Wednesday morning trying to catch up. It was too late to catch a train as the Metro had shut down for the night, so I decided to take a Taxi. Fortunately, in those circumstances, I was able to bring the receipt back to the office and they would always refund me the money spent.

I gave the taxi driver his money and a tip and headed out of the cab. There were many cars parked right in front my building so I had him drop me off a block away. I lived in a very nice neighborhood and I did not feel afraid of walking one block all on my own. I was halfway down the block, when I heard footsteps right behind me.

I quickened my pace just in case, but then I heard the steps hurrying – catching up. I discreetly opened my purse and I grabbed my pepper spray bottle. I turned around to look at who was following, but there was no one. How weird. I could have sworn someone was chasing me, following me. I was now in front of the building door, and I made my way in as soon as possible, making sure that the door closed behind me.

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The rest of my Wednesday had gone by in a blur. Alice had given me permission to come in around noon so that I could be rested for my evening. I was going out with one of Alice's college friends. His name was Gage Evans and for what I had seen on the photo that Alice showed me, he was very handsome. He was tall, about six foot two, had dark brown hair, almost black, dark brown eyes, and a medium build. He worked at the Pentagon as a civilian employee, processing grants and contracts with several companies in the private sector.

My cell phone rang at exactly 6:00 p.m. It was Gage. I said goodbye to Alice - it looked like she was going to spend another long night at work - and left the office. He was standing right outside the elevator, and I immediately recognized him. "Isabella?" he asked as he approached me. "Yes, that's me, nice to meet you Gage," I told him as I shook his hand. He lived in Bethesda just like I did, so we had decided to have dinner at Green Papaya, it was a small Vietnamese restaurant at the heart of Bethesda and only a couple of blocks from my apartment.

We instantly clicked. We had so many things in common. He had been born and raised in Seattle and had moved here for college. He had attended Maryland University at College Park just like Alice, Rose, Jasper and Emmet had. We talked about our upbringing, our taste in music and books. He was almost as passionate about cooking as I was. I really felt comfortable with him and I was really looking forward to another date. After dinner, we went to a coffee shop called Cosi, and had coffee as we spoke for hours.

He asked if he could walk me to my apartment and I said yes. For the first time in a long time, I felt comfortable with another person, and I kind of liked Gage. He was almost perfect…but he was not Edward.

"Isabella, I had a wonderful time tonight. You are absolutely gorgeous and very smart. Thank you," he said as he grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips. "The pleasure was all mine Gage, thanks for a wonderful night." I told him.

"Are you doing anything this weekend?" he asked, looking hopeful. "Actually I am going to be out of town attending an event with my friends," I told him as he lowered his eyesight to the ground, looking rejected. "But how about we get together next Wednesday?" I quickly asked, trying to convey that I was interested.

"That would be wonderful. Should I pick you up at work then?" he asked. "Yes, that sounds like a plan, and we can figure out where to go then." I replied.

He moved closer to me, and slowly leaned his face until it was close to mine, and very softly gave me a kiss on my cheek. "Until then," he said as he moved away. I felt myself blush as I looked back at him. A kiss on the cheek was perfect. I was not sure if I was ready for anything else, and I really wanted to get to know him before we went any further. "Until then," I repeated. He waved goodbye as he started to walk away, and I waved back, feeling very glad that I had met him.

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"Road trip!" I heard Emmet squeal as I approached his Jeep. The rest of the week had gone pretty smooth, but I was glad that the weekend was here. I had told Alice on Thursday that my date with Gage had gone wonderful, but she looked like she was disappointed to hear that. Was she sorry she introduced me to him?

I knew that I was a little broken from all the emotional baggage that I carried with me, but why would she set me up on a date with someone she did not want me to date? I decided that I was going to ask her what that was all about at some point this weekend. It was not like her to be so unenthusiastic about something, especially the fact that I had a good date.

The road tip turned out to be quite eventful. It started off with a battle of the iPods as Rosalie and Emmet argued whose iPod was better suited for the trip. Jasper suggested a compromise and we listened to Emmet's iPod for the first half of the trip and then to Rosalie's on the second half. Emmet knew all the lyrics to every Britney Spear songs in his iPod, apparently he was quite obsessed with her.

Rose spent the first half of the trip ridiculing him about his music taste and fighting over the volume of the radio. I thought the bickering would be all over once it was Rose's turn to use her iPod, but boy was I wrong. Rose was a big boy band fan and she had everything from Boys II Men to the Jonas Brothers. Emmet spent the second half of the trip talking shit about all the boy bands, and of course the fight for the volume never ceased.

By the time we arrived at Angela's townhouse, I had a killer headache. Alice and Rose were going to meet me and Angela tomorrow at Angela's house so they could help us with our hair and makeup and we would make our way to the party together. Ben and Jasper knew each other from when they were kids, and he was going to hang out with the guys and meet us there.

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"Don't we look fabulous?" Rose asked as she took a last glance at her reflection in the mirror.

She was wearing a red strapless dress with intricate black lace embroidered all over the cloth. It was tight to her body with a cute ribbon under her bust, embodying her beautiful curves. A little bit of the bottom half flared out to above her knees like a skirt. She looked drop dead gorgeous with the thing, the length of the dress accentuating her long, toned legs.

Alice was wearing a flutter-sleeve dress in black; it looked wonderful on her delicate features. Adorned with a delicate bow around her waist, the ruffled attire proved to show off Alice's curvy figure and yet it was incredibly simple. The dress itself ended above her knee which allowed Alice to look so innocent and yet simply beautiful. Just like her.

Angela had on a deep V-neck dress, also in black, with an A type skirt that flowed to just slightly below her knees. The material around her chest ruffled to the middle, emphasizing the upper half of her lovely body. The laced sleeves gave off an elegant angle to the effortless cut of the dress.

I had on a navy blue jersey knot-front halter dress. The V in the front went almost to my waist and the length of the dress itself, ended right at my knees. At my waist, the long ribbon tied allowing me to see the curves that I never really knew existed. I loved the simple color and cut of the dress, it was like a blank canvas: nothing really there, but so much to see.

We really did look fabulous.

Alice seemed to be more excited than usual, I knew that this was an important event for her and her family, but she seemed too worked up. Angela, Alice, and Rose had hit it off right away, and I could tell that she fit in into our group perfectly. Alice kept grabbing Angela and whispering things to her as they both would steal glances at me every now and then. I had the suspicion that they were planning something, and that it had to do with me.

The gala was being held at the Four Seasons near the harbor. As soon as we had arrived, Alice, Rose and Angela were flanked by their respective other halves, and at that moment, I regretted not inviting Gage. I was not the fifth wheel this time, I was the seventh wheel, and it was a bit depressing. I was sitting at the same table as Ben and Angela while Rose, Emmet, Jasper, and Alice were seated with the rest of her family at the other end of the room. Alice said that she wanted me to stay at my table while she grabbed her family, she wanted to be the one to personally introduce us all.

She came over a few minutes later, her hand hooked on one of the most handsome man I had ever see, apart from Edward. "Isabella, these are my parents," She said as I stood up to meet them. I hadn't noticed a beautiful woman standing next to them with caramel color hair and green eyes, just like Edward's.

"Hello Dr. and Mrs. Cullen, it is a pleasure to finally meet you," I said as I stretched my hand to greet them. Mrs. Cullen quickly wrapped me in a hug and told me to just call them Carlisle and Esme. They were the most perfect couple I had ever seen, and they looked so in love, I could only hope someday to be as in love with someone as they seemed to be.

"Apparently my brother is late, something about him wanting to surprise me with something," Alice said, a look of annoyance on her features. She said that she would come back with him and introduce us as soon as he arrived.

I spent the next thirty minutes chatting comfortably with Angela and some of her colleagues seated at our table. Angela asked me if we could go to the restroom and we both excused ourselves and left the table. "Thanks so much for inviting me Angela, I am having a great time" I told her as we made our way to the stalls.

"I am so glad you are having fun, but I have a feeling the best is yet to come," she said, sounding completely excited. I wondered what she had meant by that, and I figured that maybe she was going to be awarded something as well. I heard more footsteps enter the restroom and I knew we were no longer along. I heard someone talking to another person as I was finishing up.

"So Tanya, you and Dr. Cullen huh?" the person asked. "Yes, we are madly in love," someone else answered, I assumed it was Tanya. "We are getting married soon, he tells me constantly that he can't wait to make me his wife and that I am the love of his life," she continued. I made my way out of the stall when I saw the two women talking. "Congratulations Tanya," a wash out blonde said; a look of pure envy on her face. "Thanks Lauren," the other woman said, she must've been Tanya.

She was gorgeous. I assumed she had meant Alice's brother, and I was sure Alice would love the surprise he had for her. He was obviously engaged and in love. Alice had mentioned a couple of times that her brother had been single for way to long and that one of her projects was to find him a special someone to make him happy.

I looked at Angela, who had made her way out of her stall at the same time as I had, and she no longer looked excited. She looked as if she had received some horrible news. I thought that perhaps it was the nerves and I followed her quietly to the table. As soon as she arrived at the table she excused herself saying something about warning Alice.

I was about to seat back on my chair when something green and sparkly caught my eye. I turned around slowly hoping that I was not imagining things, but there he was: my angel. I gasped as I looked at him and I closed my eyes and reopened them in an attempt to assure myself that he was not a figment of my imagination. Edward looked absolutely gorgeous in a charcoal gray suite. His beautiful bronze hair looked sexier than ever and he was wearing my favorite crooked smile. My Edward.

He was staring at me, his eyes a mix of excitement and lust. He started to approach me, his eyes never leaving mine. I was in heaven, I had found my angel, and this time I was not going to let him go. He was right in front of me and was going to say something when the beautiful woman from the restroom approached him.

"Eddie, there you are," she said as she kissed him in the lips and wrapped her arms around his waist. I wanted the earth to swallow me whole right then and there. I was too late. He had someone in his life, he was in love, he was getting married.

I had always thought that we had shared the same connection, but now it was painfully obvious that he did not, and I felt so ashamed…so embarrassed. I felt the hot tears trail down my face and I could not take it anymore, so I did the only thing I thought of doing at that moment…

I ran…