Bella

Isabella sat at her vanity in the large, pink room as she cried her eyes out, staring at her wedding invitation. Everything came together so quickly, in less than three months and tomorrow she would be someone's wife.

She couldn't help but to think what would happen if she chose her own life, her own path - married who she wanted and not who her father wanted. In truth, there was no one she wanted to marry. She had never been in a relationship, never kissed a boy. For most of her life, she had been sheltered, but having the option taken from her was just a little heartbreaking.

Her mother, Renee walked into the room, dressed in a lovely silk dress with a set of pearls draped around her neck. Her hair was in a tight bun as she walked over to Bella.

"It's done, Isabella. Your husband-to-be is now one of the most powerful men in the world and you will be the perfect wife."

Bella shook her head 'no' as her mother turned her around to face her.

"I can't do it! I can't marry a perfect stranger. I don't even know what he looks like. What if he beats me? Mother! This is not the 1800s! I will not marry him."

She stood up and dramatically flung herself on her bed as her mother followed her.

"You will marry him. You will give him children and you will grow to care for him in time, just like I did with your father. Arranged marriages are very popular in an organization like the one your father is in."

Bella turned over to face her mother.

"Mother, tonight will be the first time we see each other. It's absolute baloney!"

"Bella! Watch your language. I know this is all very sudden, but you have to accept your fate. Now, please get up and get dressed."

Shacking her head defiantly at her mother, Bella refused to move one finger. "I'm not going to marry him mother. I'm not you, I'm a woman of the 1920's and I'm liberated! I can't be forced to marry a stranger."

"Isabella Marie Swan, stop this nonsense now and get dressed. Your future husband and in-laws will be here shortly."

Bella climbed from the bed and plodded over to her vanity mirror. She pressed her face close to the mirror, pulling at her eyes.

"Jeepers! I look horrible! Why didn't you tell me that it was dinnertime already?"

Bella rushed to her closet and started flinging out dresses as Renee stood behind her.

"I thought you didn't want to get married to him. I thought your life was over?"

Bella turned to face her mother.

"It is, but I would still like to be dolled up if I'm going to be stuck with him for the next fifty years."

Her mother walked past her and pulled out a light blue suit dress with a collar, a belt and pleated skirt. She walked over to the bed and laid the dress down, then turned back to her daughter. Bella took off her blouse and skirt as her mother grabbed a brush and started brushing her hair into a loose bun.

"The important thing is to just relax. When I first married your father, it was a huge adjustment. I went from my father's house to my husband's house and we were virtually strangers."

Renee grabbed the dress off the bed and helped Bella slip into it.

"How did you and Daddy fall in love?"

Renee inhaled deeply and turned to look into her daughter's eyes. She couldn't dare tell her sweet Bella that she'd never fallen in love with Charlie Swan. Yes, she cared for him as her provider and the father of her only child, but she never fell head over heels in love with him as her heart always belonged to someone else.

"Sweetheart, love may or may not come for you and Edward, but that doesn't mean your life will not be filled with happiness. All my happiness came the day you were born and everyday after."

Bella embraced her mother. She inhaled her comforting scent that always reminded her that she was home. She felt sad all of a sudden; her mother wasn't in love with her father and she had no idea how to feel about that. As they held each other there, was a knock on the door. Renee removed herself from her daughter's embrace and walked over to answer the door.

Charlie walked in and pecked his wife on the cheek, then turned to his daughter.

"Isabella, Edward and his parents are downstairs."

Bella turned to stand in front of her vanity and patted her face with powder. She took a step back to look at herself in the mirror.

The suit dress showed off her figure. Her long hair was pulled back in a loose bun. She grabbed a pair of long pearls and threw them around her neck as her walked over to stand behind her in the mirror.

"You look perfect. He doesn't stand a chance against your beauty."

She smiled at her father.

"Oh, thank you Daddy. I'm ready."