Epilogue Chapter 7

Edward

Within a moment, everything can change. Your eyes can meet someone else's, and then the course of your life could be forever altered. The day that my eyes met Bella's, I fell in love. Looking back, I realize that was not the exact moment, but it was the moment that started it all.

I fell in love with her in every moment.

I admitted my love for her on one of the worst nights of my life. Though the happiness I felt by admitting it didn't change the horrible night, it gave me something better to remember.

I remember many different things about Vanessa Masen. I remember her fighting spirit, her playfulness in the face of terrifying circumstances, her love of books, her fear of death, and her dreams she never got to fulfill.

I remember the day she told me that I loved Bella as I was starting to realize it for myself. She told me these three days before she passed away. I was exhausted from working too much and I missed Bella more than words could express, and she knew it.

She looked at me point blank and said, "You love her, don't you?"

Ness was much too smart for her own good sometimes. She knew more about her disease than she should have needed to — even teaching her own parents things from time to time. She easily recognized my love for Bella the first time the two of them meet, according to her.

Once she'd told me that I loved Bella, she had said something that I thought back to often.

"You're going to marry her one day. I have a lot of dreams, but one of them is that the two of you will be happy and together. That you'll give her the kind of thing she writes about. Because she deserves it."

Bella deserved more than that. And so after a year and a half of dating, I knew it was time to ask her to marry me. I was fulfilling Ness's dream, and along with hers, I was fulfilling my own. Today I was asking the love of my life to marry me.

I was nervous, but my excitement eclipsed that. Honestly, I'd wanted to do this that very night I'd admitted my feelings, but I knew to take my time with Bella. I knew her fears. Over the past year and a half, she finally faced them, accepting help so that she could move on and be happy.

Be happy with me.

I supported her as she attended therapy and learned to accept loss without forgetting the people she loved. The death of her father had taken a toll on her, which I'd known since soon after we first met. She'd lost a part of herself. She was strong, though, and learned to live with what life had given her. It wasn't fair, but it was reality.

We were happy now — blissfully happy. Our relationship wasn't a fairytale, though — as much as it seemed like it sometimes. We fought, we made up, and then we fought again, as we always would. As all couples would. But never once was there the thought that we couldn't move on from it. She'd fall back into my arms and our lives would go on.

As much as I supported Bella, she did the same for me. She was always there, ready and willing to listen to whatever I said. She was there to comfort me when the terrible part of my job became reality. She was always there for me, in whatever capacity I needed.

She was my other half.

My soul mate.

. . . . .

I checked my watch, pacing the living room of the apartment. I had the evening planned out meticulously with Alice's help. She had made sure all the finer details were taken care of — things I hadn't even thought about. Bella's favorite flowers were around the apartment, a few candles were lit — to create the ambiance, whatever that meant — and Bella's favorite playlist was turned on.

I'd considered doing this at a million different places, but I knew my beautiful girl. No matter how much attention she received from her books, she still hated crowds. So, I figured she wouldn't enjoy people she didn't know clapping and congratulating her if I did this in public.

Our apartment was just right.

It was our home. We'd found it together six months ago and the space was ours. Together, mixed perfectly, were her things and mine. This was her favorite place in the world, filled with the books she loved to bury herself in and the items she sought comfort in.

Another ten minutes passed, and I straightened my tie once more, praying it still looked good. My phone finally buzzed with the text I'd been waiting for from Alice — who'd taken Bella out so that I could set everything up.

We're coming up.

A grin was plastered on my face as I realized my dreams would become a reality. I didn't doubt she'd say yes. I was nervous, of course, but deep down, I knew what her answer would be.

"What the?"

I chuckled as the door opened and Bella looked around. Her mouth opened, but no more words escaped. The moment her eyes met mine, her beautiful lips curled into a knowing smile. She looked gorgeous — as she did every single day.

"Hello, beautiful girl," I said, taking a few steps to meet her as she walked into the living room, looking around.

"Why is our apartment covered in tulips?" she teased, clearly knowing exactly what I was doing.

"I like tulips," I chuckled. "But I love you."

With her hand in mine, I dropped down on one knee, pulling the ring box from my pocket with my free hand. I heard the snap of the camera Alice was taking pictures with, but my eyes never left Bella's. Nothing else existed to me in that moment.

"Isabella Swan, I love you more than I thought it was possible to love another human being," I started, opening the box to show her the ring I'd picked out. It wasn't extravagant, but I'd made sure it would complement her stunning beauty — inside and out. "It wasn't until I found you that I realized the strength of love. How it pulls you to someone, how it eases your pain, and how it makes you look at the world in a different light. I promise to love you, to make you smile, laugh, and enjoy every day we spend together. Will you do me the extraordinary honor of becoming my wife?"

She grinned, nodding as tears filled her eyes. "Of course. God, of course I'll marry you. Yes. Oh, yes."

I slid the ring onto her slender finger and stood as she threw her arms around my neck, weaving her fingers through my hair and pulling my lips to hers. For those few moments as we kissed, everything in the world was right. Nothing was on my mind except the love of my life, who had just agreed to marry me.

. . . . .

"I'm never taking it off," Bella said, laying her head against my chest.

Hours had passed since she agreed to marry me, and now we were alone and in bed together, celebrating on our own.

I much preferred this way of celebrating.

"I have to keep making sure it's still there," she giggled

I tilted her chin up, kissing her softly "It's not going anywhere any time soon."

"You know, I thought maybe you'd do it soon, but I had no idea it'd be tonight."

I smirked. "You thought I was going to ask you soon?"

She shrugged. "I had a feeling. It just felt . . . right."

The feeling was entirely mutual. It was as if Bella and I could read each other . . . Another thing that made me sure our love was meant to be.

"Thank you for the love you've given me," I said, caressing her bare back. "Thank you for overcoming the fears you had and letting yourself fall in love with me. For giving me more than I ever thought possible."

She propped herself up on my chest, smiling. "You brought me back to life. No words will ever express how much you mean to me — what all you've given me. I wasn't about to let this go. Fear wasn't taking you from me. I love you, Edward, and I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together, falling deeper and deeper in love with you."

. . . . .

We married nine months later during a small ceremony in front of our friends and my family — her family, too. My parents had all but adopted Bella, claiming her as one of their own. She adored my mom and dad, just as they did her. I knew full well that it wasn't the same as having her own parents, but Bella said it was more than she ever thought she'd have.

The ceremony was beautiful and just as Bella wanted it to be, though she really didn't have too many demands. It was the perfect day. Our honeymoon was even better, if you asked me. And about five weeks after we returned home, we learned that our lives were about to change again.

For the much, much better.

"She's going to kick me," Bella said, looking over her large, rounded belly at me as I talked to our daughter. "She's finally settled down, and now your voice will get her all worked up again. I'm trying to eat ice cream, you know."

I laughed, kissing her stomach. "I think Mommy is about to sign your eviction notice, sweet girl."

"Or I'll keep her in here and just kick you out."

"Grumpy." I smirked, sitting back up and leaning against the couch. I leaned in to kiss her, and she turned her cheek at me. "Oh, very grumpy. I do apologize, beautiful girl."

If there was one thing I'd learned through Bella's pregnancy, it was that apologizes went a hell of a long way. No matter what I did — even if I didn't do anything — I would apologize. Usually she'd forgive me, but sometimes it took a little more.

I did just call her grumpy, so I was already assuming I'd have to do more . . . Until the tears came.

"I'm not grumpy," she cried, putting the small tub of ice cream on her bump. "I'm not. I'm just . . . She's due in two days! Why hasn't she come yet? I can barely walk. Hell, I can't even wear closed shoes! Nothing fits because I'm gigantic and my boobs hurt constantly."

Holy mood swing.

I put my arm around her, pulling her close to me as I kissed her temple. She didn't want me to tell her that she wasn't gigantic or her feet her fine or that I found her waddle to be kind of adorable. So, I didn't. I just held her as she cried.

"She'll come soon, Bella," I said. "I promise she will. You're so close."

"Am I bad for just wanting her out?" she asked, looking up at me with a pout. "I just want her. I love having her inside of me and feeling her growing, but damn, I want our baby already. She's so fucking stubborn. I blame you."

I cocked my brow, smirking. If our daughter was stubborn, it was most certainly not because of me. My wife was extraordinarily stubborn. "Me, huh?"

She rolled her eyes, sighing. "Fine. That's not on you, but you did knock me up, so I get to blame everything on you."

"I'll give you that," I chuckled. "And you're not bad for wanting her to come. Not at all. I'm excited for her, too."

"You're a good man, Edward Cullen." She wiped her tears and smiled, placing my hand back on her stomach. "She's moving around again, so you can talk to her."

I laughed and kissed her before leaning back down and talking to our daughter once more. I made sure to throw in a, "please hurry and come," to make Bella happy. But really, I couldn't wait either.

I was going to be a father. A terrifying thought at first because of my job, but also an immensely joyful one. Our little girl was perfectly healthy, which was the most important thing in the world to me. After all the kids with heart conditions and birth defects I'd seen on a daily basis, that was my biggest fear. It was the only concern that crossed my mind when Bella and I saw the positive pregnancy test.

Thankfully, the ultrasounds had eased my fears. Our little girl was perfect — I'd studied the images of her heart meticulously. I counted being friends with her obstetrician as a great perk because I'd gotten away with requesting to see our child more times than any other expecting parents normally would. I'd even brought home a portal ultrasound at one point, thanks to him.

Bella didn't let me keep it long, though. I annoyed her, apparently.

"I love you, sweet girl," I said, kissing her stomach once more. "And I love you too, Bella. Do you want anything else?"

She shook her head, handing me the empty tub. "No, the cookie dough ice cream hit the spot. But I mean, I wouldn't mind a foot massage. Not in the least, actually."

"Let's go get in bed, then." I stood up, holding my hand out to help her off of the couch.

I was quite proud of myself for not laughing at her grunt. The one time I had, she didn't speak to me for almost an entire day. I would never make that mistake again.

. . . . .

"Still nothing, huh?" Maggie, one of my nurses asked from across the operating table. "Not even a maybe?"

I shook my head, holding my hand out for a clamp. I didn't even have to say what I wanted because she knew. Maggie was an experienced, talented nurse who knew what I wanted even before I did sometimes.

"Nope, not even a little," I said. "Bella's due date was yesterday, so she's decided our daughter doesn't want to come out. She's cozy."

She laughed softly. "Of course she is, but she'll come soon. I bet you're excited, aren't you? Any names yet?"

"We've decided, but we're not telling anyone until she's here and we know the name fits."

The name was actually my idea, and I loved it. Bella cried when I told her it and agreed immediately. She picked our daughter's middle name, giving me the same feeling I'd given her. Now, I was left praying it fit our little girl.

"I'm so happy for you, Dr. Cullen. For your wife's sanity as well as your own, I hope she'll come very soon."

"God, I hope so," I laughed.

Once I'd finished my surgery, I told the teenage boy's parents that he'd come through with flying colors and headed to my office to work on charts before going home. I found Bella in the nursery, folding another load of laundry that she'd washed.

"What are those, the six to nine month clothes?" I asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"I pulled them out of the totes and decided to go ahead and wash some of them," she sighed. "I keep messing with things. The whole nesting thing has only gotten stronger as the days pass."

"Let me help." I smiled, walking into the room and sitting down on the floor beside her. How the hell she got down here was a mystery to me. "Maybe she'll come on Christmas, you know? I think that'd be nice."

She narrowed her eyes at me as I chuckled. "If she waits another week, it'll be all your fault. How dare you jinx me, Edward Cullen? A week overdue is not okay. Not even a little."

"I'm sorry. Your water will break in minutes . . . Better?"

"Much, actually. So, how was your day?"

As we folded the clothes and put them back into the totes, I told her that my surgeries went well and all of my patients were recovering nicely. Never in the time we'd been together had she asked me to stop talking about my work. I didn't understand how it didn't bore her, but it didn't. She always said she loved how passionately I talked about my patients — that it made her happy to hear.

In return, I could easily let her talk to hours about a character she was writing that was driving her insane. It was a privilege to get to read her stories as she wrote them — one I didn't take lightly. She'd written three more young adult books and a romance novel since we'd been together. The romance novel was one she'd started when we first began dating — the one she let Ness read before she passed away.

It did incredible and shot up the best sellers lists almost overnight. I'd had the honor of attending many of her signings with her — which were much more crowded than the ones she'd done before — and she said she'd never felt more relaxed than when I was with her. I'd fallen in love with an extraordinary and brilliant woman. The things she could create and turn into a novel astounded me.

"Ugh, I'm having more stupid Braxton Hicks contractions," Bella said as I helped her up off of the floor. She groaned, stretching her back as my brow rose.

"Are you sure?"

"I . . . I don't know? Hold on."

She blew out a long breath as the pain passed. She'd had false labor pains more times than I could count, so the chances were good that was what it was once more, but . . . there was always a chance. We'd learned a few weeks ago to stop jumping the gun because she wound up so disappointed. She was thirty-seven weeks when she was sure it was time. We'd even gone to the hospital, only to be told to go back home.

"I'm going to set my stopwatch, just in case," I said as she walked in front of me and out to the living room. She eased herself down on the couch as I pressed the button on my phone to start the stopwatch.

"It kind of felt different," she said. "I mean, I'm probably reading too much into it, but . . . maybe?"

I nodded, smiling as I pressed my hand to her stomach. "Maybe."

. . . . .

Hours passed and the contractions had become more and more regular. At first she'd have two or three and hour, but then they started coming quicker and quicker with more strength. Once they were at five minutes apart, I called Garrett, her obstetrician, and he told us to go ahead and come in. Bella was astoundingly patient — more so than I was, even — and went about making sure everything was ready before we left for the hospital around ten at night.

Getting checked in and everything sorted out was a bit of a haze. While Bella settled in, I called my parents and Alice, as promised. My parents would be flying out tomorrow morning and Alice would come once the baby was born. She and Jasper had gotten married a month before we got engaged, and then welcomed a son six months ago. They'd moved out of the city to Stamford, Connecticut where Jasper had taken another social worker job at a hospital there.

They loved being out of the city and tried to convince us to do the same, but this was our home. Bella decided that someday she'd want to move, but not anytime soon because I wanted to stay close to the hospital. I knew she didn't love it here, so I didn't take her sacrifice lightly. I promised we'd move in a few years, if she still wanted to.

"Oh God, I'm regretting my decision," Bella said, squeezing the life out of my hand as another contraction ended. "I kind of want drugs. All the drugs."

I kissed her temple, wiping the strands of hair that had fallen out of her face. "You can have the drugs, beautiful girl."

She sighed, rubbing her stomach. "No . . . I stupidly wanted to do this naturally, so I'll stupidly do it naturally."

"Well, you're at six centimeters, so there's a chance it won't be too much longer."

"If she keeps taking her sweet ass time, she's grounded," she laughed softly. "Can I walk around, please? I need to move."

I nodded, helping her up off of the bed. We walked up and down the halls of the floor, stopping every so often as a contraction came. She was incredible and strong, handling the horrendous pain better than I ever thought possible.

"I love you, Bella," I said, rubbing her back as she groaned in pain, kneeling on the floor against the bed.

Her hand came around her back, gripping mine tightly and I knew she was saying the same. The words never needed to be spoken, it seemed. I loved her, and she loved me more than anything in the world. We found each other when neither of us were looking for much of anything, and we'd completed each other's lives.

A few more hours passed and Bella was ready to push. The room was soon crowded with nurses setting up, and the bed was broken down.

Garrett Foster came back in, smiling as Bella glared at him. "If I ever say I don't want drugs, I'm lying," she said.

He laughed, settling down on the stool in front of her as her hand gripped mine. "You've done amazing, though. Now, let's get this show on the road. She'll be here soon."

"Ready?" I asked, trying to contain my grin.

She nodded, giving me a small smile. "You can smile your handsome smile. I won't hit you."

And so I did just that, letting my excitement show as I coached her to push. Garrett stayed silent, knowing that Bella wanted this to be between the two of us. I wiped the sweat from her brow, telling her how amazing she was through each push. She was beyond exhausted, but she did it, and quicker than I thought she would.

It took five pushes, in fact.

Five extremely painful pushes until the most beautiful cry filled the room, and Bella fell back against the bed, crying at the sound. Our daughter was laid on Bella's chest and everything except for the beautiful cry was silent.

"Oh my god," Bella whispered as we stared at the gorgeous child we'd created. She squirmed in my wife's arms, completely pissed off as the nurse cleaned her off, rubbing her with the blanket.

"She's . . . she's incredible," I said in awe. How could I describe the most perfect being in the entire world?

Bella lifted her head, tearing her eyes away from our child as our lips met. The kiss was quick, but filled with the love that swelled our hearts. "I love you, Edward."

"I love you, too."

No matter what beautiful stories she could ever write, not a one would compare to ours in my eyes. Ours was real, beautiful, confusing at times, it overcame fear, it brought a beautiful little girl into the world, and it completed us.

"Hello, Charlotte Esme Cullen," Bella said as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Charlie." I smiled, caressing our daughter's tiny cheek.

I fell in love.

I fell in love with Isabella Swan.

I fell in love with her in every moment we spent together.

And then I fell in love again the moment I saw what our love had created.