The light grew stronger and brighter, and in my peripheral vision, I could see my family shielding their eyes. Alice looked up at me. I'm so sorry, her mind whispered to mine. Bella looked around fearfully. Her skin looked like pale gold, and her hair whipped around her face.

She was leaving us. It was wonderful, beautiful, but I was terrified. It wasn't fair. We had made it through everything, killed James, and now this. But, as they say, life isn't fair.

Bella reached out to me. It was as if she was dissolving, her outline growing fuzzy and faint. I hugged her tightly one last time.

I pressed my lips against hers gently, our last kiss. But she was growing fainter every minute. It was now difficult to see her. "No!" Bella yelled. "Not now!" Yes, I thought, sending up my own pleas. Please, I need her. I can't live without her.

But no one listened.

An invisible barrier formed between us, separating me from Bella. She gave a cry of fear. Her fingers were gone now, her wrists little more than ethereal wisps.

I slammed myself against the barrier as hard as I could, trying to break it down. Unbelievably, I bounced off. I looked up desperately. Bella was fading faster now. She was a pale specter of her former self, held to earth by sheer will power. I saw tears rolling down her cheeks as she watched me.

I pressed hard against the barrier, using all of my strength. I closed my eyes, willing the wall to give. It vanished, and I tumbled forward.

I straightened, leaning for ward. My searching hands went straight through her. She lifted one ghostly arm, trying to touch my face, but was as successful as I was.

"I love you," I whispered to her softly.

"I love you, too." She paused a moment, then continued, "I'm scared."

I was too, for that matter, but I tried to keep my voice steady. "Don't be afraid. This is what you wanted."

"Not anymore!" She shouted in frustration. She was now a pure white shimmer in the air, with only the vague shape of a human body. Bella couldn't last much longer.

"I love you!" She called to me. Her last words before she faded entirely.

The quiet was deafening. My family straightened slowly, looking a me with sympathy in their eyes. Jasper fled the room, unable to cope with my grief. I closed my eyes, wanting to be alone.

I was selfish, I thought with disgust. I had wanted to keep Bella here on earth with me. Trapped. Maybe it was better that she was away from me. I couldn't hurt her now.

I would always love her. Unlike humans, who could lose love, and find it again some other time, we vampires loved no one but our mates. There would never be anyone other than Bella.

This was what Bella wanted. She had wanted it for two hundred years. Now that she had finally gotten it, the least I could do was be happy for her.

Curtain closes. The end. Good-bye. Seriously, that's all I've got. No more. This is the end.

YEAH, RIGHT!! Do you really think that I would leave Bella and Edward like that!?! I'm going to write the sequel any day now, so watch out for that. Plus there's an epilogue for this story. So keep an eye out.