Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

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Where the Lines Overlap

Final Season - We are Broken

Epilogue - Endless

The cemetery was quiet, the kind of stillness that always settled deep in my chest when I sat here. The air smelled of damp earth and grass, and the sun filtered through the branches above us, casting soft patches of warmth over the granite headstones.

Mark's name, etched into the smooth stone in front of us, stood just as stark as always. Warmth bloomed in my chest, my heart pounding a little faster, my eyes stinging with the threat of tears. The years carved beneath his name still felt impossible to accept sometimes.

Edward sat beside me, his arm draped over my shoulder as I leaned into him. It wasn't often that we came here together—this was usually my time with Mark—but today felt right. Maybe because it wasn't just about me. It was about our family, about catching him up on the life that kept moving forward, no matter how much we missed him.

I let out a small breath, a smile tugging at my lips before I spoke.

"Leighton got into Brown. Can you believe it?"

Edward hummed, his fingers tracing slow circles against my arm.

"She'll be a psychology major like you." He paused, then added, "We even thought about moving there with her."

I tipped my head, giving him a look.

"You thought about that." The accusation was light, teasing.

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Yeah, that was all me. But Jasper knocked some sense into me."

I smirked.

"Leigh did that. I just backed her up."

"That's also true," he admitted. His gaze flickered to the headstone, and he smiled. "Well, Golden Man, you see, our daughter is very much like you."

I huffed a quiet laugh.

"Headstrong and rational."

Edward grinned.

"And shrewd. Sensible. Confident," he added.

I nodded.

"She's ready for this."

"She definitely is." Edward sighed, stretching his legs out. "But it's sad she and Mel decided to break up."

"Yeah," I murmured. "I really like Mel. But it's the most sensible decision."

"Yeah, since Mel got into Oxford."

I lifted a brow.

"That sounds a lot like a story I know."

Edward groaned.

"Don't start," he said with a wry smile. "Mel is great, and Leigh was in love with her, but not like that."

"You don't know." I countered. "Maybe their stories will overlap in the future."

"Or maybe Leigh will meet the love of her life in college."

"Or later in life."

"Or later in life," he echoed, his smile softening.

I exhaled, my gaze settling on Mark's name again.

"Anyway, Sunny, our kids are great."

"They are." Edward's voice warmed. "Oh, and Noah's the team captain this year. And by the way, he's an awesome center—just like his Papa once was."

I smirked.

"Our boy plays as well as you."

Edward snorted.

"And he's getting taller. Maybe he'll be as tall as you, Golden Man. Last time I checked, he's now an inch taller than me—six-six. Can you believe that? And he still has two more years of growth."

I chuckled, shaking my head.

"He plays every day for more than six hours. I wouldn't be surprised if he reaches at least six-eight." I sighed. "It's already weird having to look up at my seventeen-year-old son."

Edward laughed.

"He gets a lot of good laughs out of that."

"And you, right along with him," I accused softly.

His grin was pure mischief.

"It's sweet that you're the shortest man in the house."

I scoffed.

"I'm still pretty tall."

Edward kissed the side of my head.

"You are, Love. Just not in the house."

I rolled my eyes, but the warmth in my chest never faded.

"Anyway… Leigh cried a lot after reading her graduation letter."

Edward smiled knowingly.

"You cried too," he added with a chuckle.

"Look who's talking."

He let out a breath, shaking his head.

"It is a beautiful letter." His voice softened, turning inward. "And we all miss you, Golden Man."

I nodded.

"We do."

Edward shifted, his hand tightening slightly around mine.

"We'll come back next month for our throuple therapy." His tone was mockingly light, teasing—oddly a lot like Mark's.

I groaned, closing my eyes.

"You're ridiculous."

Edward chuckled.

"Mark would be laughing. Actually, he is. Can't you hear it?"

I huffed.

"I just can't with you," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"Actually, that would be a joke he'd make."

"Yeah, yeah," I murmured, pushing myself up. "Come on, we're gonna be late for lunch." I ran my fingers over the cool stone one last time. "See you soon, Sunny. Love you."

Edward exhaled beside me, still smiling as he glanced at the grave.

"I'm not sure he'll let me come with him next time, but we'll talk later, Golden Man."

I smirked.

"Come on."

And with that, we left the graveyard, stepping back into the world Mark would always be a part of.

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I felt the mattress deepen by my side, but I couldn't make my eyes open.

I was in such a comfortable and heavy slumber that I didn't want to wake up. My mind fought to keep me under the sleep haze, but I couldn't ignore the scent I knew too well, the one that had been a constant in my life for four years—the one that still called me to greet the warm feeling that, now more than ever, wrapped me up in joy when I was faced with his contagious smile.

"It's time to wake up, sleepyhead," his voice found its way inside my ears. "Come on, Hubby. Open your eyes, I know you're awake."

As usual, I could only comply. He'd always had this strange power over me—I could never deny him anything. So, not sure why I kinda faked irritation far stronger than I felt, I opened my eyes and glared at him.

"Oh, let it go," he said in a mocking tone. "You're not mad, you're just grumpy 'cause I woke you up a little earlier than usual."

"Good morning to you too, Mr. Hale-Cullen," I deliberately snapped, sitting up on the mattress and leaning against the headboard while folding my arms across my chest. "Why the hell are you disturbing my sleep so damn early on a Saturday?"

He started to laugh, the mischief of a man I loved so much. And, as always, I couldn't ignore it. His laugh, just like his smile, never failed to affect me, never failed to make me laugh when he did, even if I was annoyed. I tried to remain serious, and I didn't know what he was laughing at, but I couldn't control it. I was simply too weak to fight it. So I was laughing along in seconds.

Edward grinned down at me, his amusement still clear in his eyes.

"Come on, Love. You know why I'm disturbing your precious sleep."

I stared at him, my mind sluggish but starting to catch up.

"Noah's birthday," he prompted, his smile softening into something warmer. "Eighteen, Jazz. We planned the whole breakfast thing, remember?"

I groaned, scrubbing a hand down my face, but I nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember."

Edward pressed a quick kiss to my forehead before stepping back.

"Good. Everyone will be here in half an hour, so get up and get ready before he wakes up. I'll go ahead and—"

Before he could move away, I caught his wrist and pulled him toward me. He let out a soft huff of surprise as he nearly tumbled onto the bed, catching himself with a hand on my chest. His eyes flicked to mine, questioning, but I could already see the smile forming on his lips.

I held his gaze, my fingers wrapping around his wrist a little tighter.

"I love you," I said, my voice quieter but no less firm. "I've always loved you."

Edward blinked, his breath catching ever so slightly. His expression softened in that way it always did when I let my guard down, when I gave him a part of me without reservation. He was completely still for a moment, and then, just like that, happiness spilled over his face.

"Love," he murmured, his voice carrying that almost disbelieving joy, like he couldn't quite believe this was his life, that we had this, after everything.

I didn't give him time to say anything else—I pulled him down the rest of the way, catching his lips with mine. His hand slid up to cup my face as he kissed me back, slow and deep, like he was savoring the moment, like he wanted to hold onto it as much as I did.

When we pulled apart, Edward exhaled a breathless laugh, his forehead resting against mine.

"I love you," he whispered. "More than anything."

I smiled, my fingers trailing down his wrist, over his palm, feeling the warmth of his skin against mine. He smiled back, eyes impossibly bright, before he pulled away just enough to stand again.

"I really do have to get things started in the kitchen," he said, though his voice held a lingering softness, as if he wasn't quite ready to move yet.

He turned toward the door, but I saw it happen—his body stilled for just a second, and I knew. I knew exactly what was on his mind.

Edward's hand hovered near the doorframe, his fingers brushing against it absently. His head tilted just slightly, his expression caught somewhere between nostalgia and amusement.

I sat up a little more before letting my thoughts slip out.

"We were so damn stupid," I muttered, almost to myself.

He turned back to look at me, raising a brow.

"What?"

"When we were eighteen," I said, shaking my head. "Hell, even before that. We were so in love, but we couldn't see it. How the hell didn't we know?"

His mouth curved into a smirk, but his eyes—his eyes were far away, lost in something only he could see. He huffed a quiet laugh.

"I knew." He shrugged. I nodded. "Just… didn't think you felt the same."

I let out a laugh. Even after all these years, I still couldn't quite believe how blind I'd been.

"I was so gone for you, it was pathetic," Edward added.

"Yeah." I mused, tilting my head slightly. "I seem to remember you waking me up at ungodly hours just to see me smile. That should've been a clue."

Edward's smile softened, and he stepped closer again, close enough that I could see every tiny shift in his expression, every flicker of memory crossing his face.

"You always smiled for me," he said, his voice dropping. "Even when you were annoyed."

I rolled my eyes.

"Because I was weak."

He flashed me a grin.

"No, because you loved me."

I held his gaze, the warmth between us stretching, deepening, settling into something that had been there for three decades, or even more, and still never faded. He was right. I'd always smiled for him. Just as he had always loved me.

Edward sighed, shaking his head with a final amused chuckle.

"Alright, love, now I really have to go."

I let him go this time, watching as he moved toward the door again. But just before he stepped out, he glanced back at me, that same smile on his lips—the same one that, all those years ago, had made me wake up, had made me laugh even when I tried not to.

And, just like back then, I was powerless against it.

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The lake stretched before us, a mirror of the sky painted in fading golds and soft purples. The fire crackled steadily a few feet away, its warmth curling against the cooling night air. Our picnic blanket was sprawled beneath us, the remnants of our fifth anniversary dinner scattered between the wine glasses still half-full.

Our Wood Anniversary.

It felt right, somehow. Of all the anniversaries we could have celebrated, this one carried the weight of everything we had built together. Wood—the symbol of strength, of deep roots, of something that endures, growing richer with time. It wasn't lost on either of us how much it mirrored our love. How we had weathered every storm, bent but never broken, our roots tangled together too deeply to ever come undone.

Edward sat beside me, his arm draped over my shoulders, fingers tracing absent patterns along my upper arm. He had been quiet for a while, watching the water, the slow ripples dancing in the moonlight. But there was something in the way his chest rose and fell, something in the way his fingers tightened against my skin every so often, that told me his mind was full.

Then, softly, he spoke.

"There was a question I asked you once…" His voice was barely above a whisper, as if he wasn't sure he should bring it up. "If you thought… if I had never broken us, we would be it to each other." He exhaled, shaking his head. "At the time, you were about to marry Mark. You told me that you thought your feelings for him would have prevailed." He hesitated, his gaze slipping from the water to me. "Back then… was there ever a version of that future you envisioned, that I was the one by your side?"

I let the question settle between us, its truth humming beneath my ribs.

"You were always there in my future somehow, Edward." My voice was steady, but the weight of everything we had lived through thickened the words. "I could never envision a future without you in it. There were so many versions I saw… but in none of them were you not there." I turned to him then, lifting a hand to trace my fingers along his jaw. "I guess this is the most significant thing about us. We envisioned different futures, sure… And nothing, absolutely nothing, happened the way we expected. But one thing was, has been, and I believe will always be true and real, solid like a rock."

His breath hitched just slightly.

"What is it?"

I smiled, small but sure.

"You and I." I let it sit there for a moment before I spoke again. "Haven't you noticed? Somehow… it has always come to you and me."

His fingers curled around mine where I still cupped his face.

"You still love Mark."

I nodded, because there was no denying it.

"And I always will." I swallowed, the depth of what I felt for both of them pressing against my heart. "But don't you see…? I love you the way you've always deserved… because of him. He taught me how to love… his love for me, my love for him… it shaped me… so I could love you—the person who was meant for me." I pulled in a breath, releasing the truth I had known for so long. "You. I was meant for you, Edward. And you were meant for me. We had to go through everything we did… so we would get right here… at this moment when we know, as clear as day, that there's nothing more right or more fated than us."

His eyes burned into mine, searching, absorbing, and I watched as something in him settled—something that had lingered in the shadows of his heart, something that had always wondered if he was enough. If I was truly his.

His hand cupped my cheek, his thumb sweeping under my eye like I was something fragile and precious, something he had waited his whole life to hold.

"I love you, Jasper. Always have. Always will."

The certainty in his voice, the unwavering devotion in his gaze, made my chest tighten in an almost painful way.

I turned into his touch, pressing my lips to his palm.

"And I love you forever."

The fire crackled beside us, the lake whispered against the shore, and in that moment, nothing existed beyond the two of us.

Like the strongest trees, our love had taken root, its foundation deep and unshakable. It had endured the seasons, survived the fiercest storms, and now, standing tall, it stretched toward forever.

Edward finally saw it. Finally felt it.

I was his. Completely.

And he was mine. For all time.

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Forever After

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