Hello, darlings. So I know a number of you are probably mad at me over what I have done, i.e. breaking up Twlight's golden couples. But I promise this story is far from over and that everyone gets their happily ever after. I just can't tell you how. At least, not yet. For that, you have to keep reading. So to help you with that... here's Chapter 16.

A/N: Keep an eye out for POV changes. Otherwise, things will be very confusing. Trust me.

Disclaimer (since I haven't done one in a while): Stephenie Meyer owns all of this except for the servants, the horses, and the plotline. So basically, all she really owns is the characters. However, for this fact alone, I worship her.

Chapter 16 – Through Thick and Thin (Rosalie's POV)

One week later….

It had been a week since my confrontation with Emmett. I still remembered the fight, but had put it behind me. I had decided that it didn't matter now; I was happy and that's what mattered. Plans had been steadily progressing for Royce and my wedding. Every time our families came together to discuss the plans, I nearly screamed with happiness. Everything was going perfectly; Royce and I were going to be married, I was going to be a King, I'd be rich. Still, something felt wrong, like something in my life was missing. Suddenly, it came to me. How long has it been since I last talked to Alice and Bella? I realized then that I hadn't told them about my engagement. I was shocked. What kind of friend am I? I needed to remedy this, fast. Inspiration hit me like a burst of lightening. I remembered our earlier days in the park, playing by the pond. One day, Alice had decided to hide behind one of the willow trees around the pond and ended up discovering a small clearing with a bench in it, surrounded by willow trees. No one knew it was there, so we had made it our little secret. Ever since that day, it had become the place we went when we needed each other. I knew it was wishful thinking to think that they would be there, but nonetheless I went to my carriage and proceeded to the park.

Alice's POV

The pain was unbearable. I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. Just thinking of him brought tears to my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I refused to seem weak, but it was hard. The connection I had with Jasper ran deeper than love. There was something more there. It felt like we were meant for each other, body and soul. It was like it was fate for us to be together. It felt so silly to believe in fate and destiny, but there was no other way for me to explain what there was between me and him. I felt sick. Maybe talking to Rosalie and Bella will help, I thought. But how will I know where they are? Suddenly, an idea hit me. I remembered our willow grove in the park by the pond. It seemed unlikely that they would be there, but maybe, just maybe, they would be. Hopefully, I went out to my carriage and headed to the park.

Bella's POV

One week. That's how long it's been since I had seen Edward and Tanya together and had ended things with him. Seven days. That's how long I've been moping around, crying myself to sleep every night, and waking up hating every day before it's even begun. I lived in a state of half awareness now; I ate and drank and spoke to people when they spoke to me, but I was empty, a shell. My reason for life had become Edward and now that I didn't have him anymore, I didn't feel like there was a reason to life. But I kept going, knowing that I would upset so many people if I were to end my life. My parents. Alice. Rosalie. Carlisle. Esme. Jessica. Lauren. Angela. My other friends. I just couldn't do this to them; it would tear them apart. Maybe if I just talk to someone, let out all these feelings, things will get better, I thought. Maybe Alice and Rosalie can help me get over him once and for all. Now, where could they be? I thought through all of our favorite spots throughout town, until I came across one idea that seemed logical. What about our willow grove? I thought. I doubt they'd be there, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Determined, I got into my carriage and drove to the park.

The park was quiet when I reached it. There were a few people around, but not many. I made my way towards the willow trees at the edge of the pond. I reached our little grove and slipped in between the trees, making sure nobody saw me. I walked forward, through the hanging leaves, and gave a little start. Alice and Rosalie sat on the bench, Rosalie as joyous and happy as Alice and I were miserable and forlorn. I came over and sat next to them. For a while, nobody spoke. Finally, Rosalie broke the silence.

"I've never seen you two so miserable before," she said, concerned. "What happened?"

Alice looked at me. "Do you want to explain first, or should I?" she asked, her voice cracking from the pain she was in.

"Go ahead," I told her, my voice dead. She nodded before beginning.

"It all begins about a week ago, when Jasper came to my house to get my parents permission to marry me," Alice said.

"You're marrying Jasper?!" Rosalie shrieked.

"No," Alice said. "I'm not."

"But you just said he…" I began.

"That afternoon, after he left, I had a visitor," Alice continued. "His name was Jacob Black."

I gasped. "Jacob Black? Isn't that…?"

"My intended?" Alice asked. "Yes. The very same man. He's alive and well and here in Forks. It turns out he wasn't killed in the war after all. And now he's come here, to marry me. My parents decided that it was only right for me to marry Jacob, not Jasper. As you can imagine, Jasper didn't take the news very well. He was furious at me. He hates me now because, as he put it, I've betrayed his trust." Rosalie grit her teeth, her eyes glinting murderously. Tears began to slide down Alice's cheeks. She pulled out her handkerchief and began to dry them.

"Oh, Alice," I said. "I'm so sorry. I know exactly how you feel."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do," I said. "You see, Edward and I…. we got into a fight."

"What happened?" Alice asked.

"Well, like your story, mine begins a week ago, when Edward invited me on a picnic," I told them. "We went to this gorgeous meadow he had found and had a wonderful time. Midway through the picnic, he told me something."

"What did he tell you?" Rosalie asked.

I hesitated. "He told me he loves me," I answered finally.

"Oh, my gosh!" Alice and Rosalie screamed. "Tell us everything. Every little detail of what happened."

I ignored their request and continued with my story. "Naturally, I was ecstatic when I heard this. I was so, so happy. That night, I saw him. He was out walking with…." my voice broke. "With Tanya." Alice and Rosalie gasped. "I was furious. The next morning I sent him a letter telling him that what was between us was over. He came to my house to talk to me once he got it. It turns out he has feelings for her too. He…" I broke off, crying. Alice and Rosalie wrapped me in a hug.

"Ssh, Bella, it's okay," Alice cooed softly.

"Don't cry, Bella," Rosalie said. "Everything will be alright." After a few more minutes, I finally stopped. I smiled weakly at my friends.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that," I told them before changing the subject. "Rosalie, you never told us what has you so happy."

"Oh, right," Rosalie said. She paused, looking back and forth between our faces before blurting out, "I'm engaged."

"What?!" Alice and I shrieked. "You and Emmett are getting married?! Oh, my gosh!"

"Wait a second," Rosalie said. "Who said anything about Emmett?"

Alice and I both stared at her. "Wait…" Alice said. "You mean you're not engaged to Emmett?"

"Exactly," Rosalie said. "Emmett and I are not engaged."

"So who are you engaged to?" I asked her.

Rosalie paused again, looked back and forth between our faces, and blurted out, "Royce King the Second." Alice and I were silent. Rosalie looked at us, confused. "What's wrong, you two? Aren't you happy for me?"

"We're thrilled Rose, don't get us wrong," Alice began. "But are you sure this is what you want?"

"Of course this is what I want!" Rosalie said. "You do know what this means, don't you? I'm going to be a King. I'm going to be rich, the envy of every woman in this town. I'll have everything I could ever want to make me happy. It's perfect."

"What about Emmett?" I asked.

"What about him?" Rosalie replied without a hint of care in her voice.

"Well, how did he take the news?"

Rosalie sighed. "Not so well," she confessed. "You see, Royce is very concerned about our impending marriage, so he asked me to abstain from seeing Emmett any more. Emmett was so angry. He kept blaming Royce, even though I told him Royce just asked, while I actually agreed. Emmett actually went as far as to call me a vain, spoiled, pompous, arrogant brat." Alice and I stared at her in shock.

"He said that?!" Alice asked.

"Yes, he said that," Rosalie said. "But please don't go making a big deal out of it. It doesn't matter to me. Royce is my future, not him."

Alice and I exchanged a look. I opened my mouth to respond, but was silence by the leaves of the willows behind us rustling. "What was that?" I asked.

"Probably just the wind," Rosalie said.

"Uh, Rose, maybe you haven't noticed, but there's no wind out," Alice pointed out. "It's probably just an animal." The leaves rustled again and we could hear footsteps and voices talking to low for us to hear.

"Come on," I said. Hesitantly, the three of us rose and began making our way towards the trees. We had barely walked a few feet when the leaves parted and three men made their way into our clearing.

Rosalie's POV

The three men continued to walk into the clearing, unaware that we were standing there. Suddenly, they noticed us and stopped. I looked at them and realized that I was looking at Jasper and Edward. That must mean that….

There he was, staring at me with eyes so cold, I wanted to look away. I kept my chin up, meeting his eyes, never wavering. We continued to stare at each other like this, never wavering, for what seemed like eternity. I heard Edward mumble, "Er… sorry, we were just…um, we'll just go…"

"You can stay," I said coolly. "We were just leaving." Breaking my connection with Emmett, I started walking away, with Alice and Bella following beside me. Together, we brushed passed the boys and into the leafy ring around the clearing.

Alice's POV

I recognized the three men instantly as they came into the clearing. Instantly, my eyes searched out the only one I really wanted to see. There he was, as handsome as I remembered. Looking at him, I felt a strange rush of emotions. Love. Trust. Heartbreak. Remorse. Hurt. Pain. Caring. The three of them stopped walking, and Jasper looked at me. I tried to meet his eyes, but I couldn't. I turned away, wishing I could just go up to Jasper and hold on to him and tell him that everything would be okay and that it didn't matter to me what my parents wanted, all I wanted was to be with him. I stayed where I was, knowing that I couldn't act on my wants, both because it was unladylike to grovel like that, and because I couldn't do that, even if I wanted to; I had to obey my parents no matter what.

For a while, no one spoke. Then Edward mumbled, "Er… sorry, we were just… um, we'll just go…"

"You can stay," I heard Rosalie say. "We were just leaving." Wordlessly Bella and I fell in step beside her as we made our way from the clearing. As we passed the boys, I spared one last look at Jasper. He was watching me, his eyes a mix of emotions I couldn't understand. Our eyes met for the briefest second before Jasper looked away. I turned my head away from him and continued walking.

Bella's POV

The minute I saw the familiar bronze hair in the casual state of disarray, my heart began to beat faster. No, I thought. No. He can't be here. He just can't. I looked at him, desperately hoping I had been wrong. My eyes locked onto emerald green ones and I knew it was him. No one else had the power to make me feel as confused as I did now, looking into his eyes, and not knowing what he saw. Did he see the jealous girl who had stopped being friends with him? Or did he see the girl he still loved? I felt myself falling to pieces as I stared into his eyes, and I looked away, watching him out of the corner of my eye. He turned his head away, and mumbled, "Er… sorry, we were just…um, we'll just go…"

I couldn't tell if he was talking to me or to all three of us. I opened my mouth to respond, but Rosalie cut me off. "You can stay," she said. "We were just leaving." Alice and I walked over towards her, smoothly merging into a line. We passed the boys as we left the clearing, and I couldn't resist the urge to look at Edward one last time. He was watching me, pain radiating from all of his face. It hurt so much to look at. The last thing I wanted was for him to be in pain. I turned away as we slipped among the willow leaves, two tears slipping down my cheeks. I quickly pulled my handkerchief from my pocket and dried my tears for fear Alice and Rosalie would see me crying.

The three of us emerged from the leaves and wordlessly proceeded to our carriages. As we were each about to get in to our respective carriage, I found my voice. "Will you to be at the Cullen's masquerade ball this weekend?" I asked them.

Alice sighed. "Yes," she said. "My parents insisted Jacob and I go together."

"I'll be there with Royce," Rosalie said. "We were planning to go public with the engagement at the ball." I nodded, a faint smile on my lips. With that, we each got in our carriage and went our separate ways.

So who thinks that all hell will break lose at the masquerade ball? Well, if you keep reading, you'll find out! Please review.

xoxoxoxoxo, TwilightTeen212