So, this is it. And just for a change of pace and as I was trying to grant as many wishes as possible with this chapter, I wrote it in Edward’s POV. I hope you approve. ;-)

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About a month and a half later…

My fingers dusted lightly over the keys, listening casually as the notes chimed faintly. Tonight was the last night I would have off from rehearsal until the performance weekend and I was planning on making it count.

Unbeknownst to Bella, who believed tonight was just going to be a secluded dinner and alone time, I had finally found the right ring to propose to her with. I had scoured the city in what little free time I had for the ring I want. I must have gone in and out of twenty jewelry stores before I’d seen it, perched in the corner display case of an antique store. I knew it was the one the moment its diamond momentarily blinded me from the sunlight from outside that reflected off its display case.

It now rested securely in my pocket, its box a burning reminder of the leap I was about to take as I sat at my piano and waited for her. Soon my random keystrokes melted into a familiar composition that I had just finished earlier this week after months of wrestling with it. The sweet notes drifted easily from my fingertips, the conflict had felt with them now erased. Calmness began to spread through my frame and I felt myself losing to the music’s pull, forgetting completely about my nerves for the time being.

I didn’t notice she had come in until she slid onto the bench next to me quietly. I barely kept myself from jumping; instead I quickened my fingers as the melody rose and tilted a smile in her direction. I felt rather than saw her smile.

The melody swelled and became frenzied in its storytelling until it climaxed, the notes shattering into a different, more elevated peace than the beginning melody had. When my fingers finally stilled against the keys, I heard her sigh beside me and I looked over to see an unreadable expression on her face.

“That was beautiful, Edward,” she murmured, her voice so low I could have imagined the words coming from her if her mouth hadn’t moved ever so slightly to confirm their emission.

“I would hope so,” I said. “It would have to be very beautiful if it would ever hope to live up to the beauty of the woman who inspired it.”

Curiosity burned in her eyes and I knew what she would ask before she even thought of the question.

“Who was it written for?”

“You,” I answered simply, prepared.

The shock that registered on her face was a wonderful sight.

“Y-you wrote that?” The words stumbled out her mouth, her eyes were wide with wonderment and I felt a buoyant sense of pride at putting it there. It wasn’t exactly how I’d planned to reveal the finished composition to her, but tonight was truly the best night to play it for her even if I hadn’t even known I would be.

I nodded in reply. A hand flew to her mouth and I quirked a smile at her. She truly did not know all the tiny ways in which she was absolutely stunning.

“Edward, it’s magnificent,” she complimented and I looked down in my lap where my hands rest.

“I’m glad you like it,” I confessed, feeling inexplicably bolstered by her love of the composition. It wasn’t that I expected her to reject the ring, but I was still understandably nervous to proffer it. I continued in a quieter tone, afraid if I spoke any louder, I would break the oddly anticipative mood the music had caused to drift over us. I made sure to make eye contact with her before saying, “Bella, I’m about to ask you something that I really hope you’ll want to say yes to.”

“Edward,” she admonished with a small laugh, resting her dainty chin on my shoulder. “You know I could never say no to anything you asked.”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” I said. I shifted slightly from where I sat on the bench so I could clearly feel the ring box in my outer pocket pressing against my leg. Preparing myself for what felt akin to jumping off a cliff, I took a deep breath and began, “Bella, we’ve been together for almost five months now and I know that’s not a really long time, but it’s been long enough for me to be certain of what I want concerning our future. Bella,” I paused as I felt her lift her face from my shoulder. Her eyes were wide with understanding already and she had shifted to a more upright position, looking a little tense as she waited for me to go on. I wondered fleetingly if she was remembering to breathe. “I don’t know about my career or anything else, but I do know that I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I want to be your husband and the father of your children. I want to grow old with you by my side. Most of all, I just want you for the rest of forever.”

She gasped a little as I stood up from the bench, feeling shaky and high off my nerves all at the same time. I fished the ring box from my pocket and fell onto one knee before her as she got to her feet, already nodding emphatically before I could even ask the real question.

“Bella,” I started softly, her name feeling like silk as it fell from my lips. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes, yes, yes, Edward, yes,” she gasped, sounding breathless and I was staggered to see tears glistening in her eyes. I all but jumped to my feet and scooped her into my embrace, holding her tightly. Her tiny arms hugged me back fiercely and I buried my face in her hair, inhaling her sweet scent.

“Thank you,” I breathed into her hair.

She pulled away from me and shoved me lightly with her hand.

“How could you possibly think I would ever say no to that?” she demanded. Her eyes were shining with such unutterable happiness; I thought I would simply explode right then and there with absolute and pure joy.

I shook my head and just pulled her close again, holding her until she requested softly to see the ring. I released her immediately but didn’t step away as I held out the small box still in my left hand which I hadn’t even had a chance to open for her yet. She took it tentatively from me, as if she were afraid it would disappear the moment she touched it, and popped it open. I was gratified to hear an appreciative gasp from her.

“Will you put it on me?” came her soft question and I couldn’t stop the huge smile from creeping across my face.

“Of course, love,” I assented, taking the ring box from her. I plucked the ring from the box, placing the box on the piano bench, and turned back to Bella. I couldn’t resist kissing her once before sliding the ring onto her finger.

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Announcing our engagement to my family went smoothly enough, although Bella’s family was a slightly different story. Her father took it well, seeing how he was pre-warned by my showing up on his doorstep about a week before asking for his permission. Her mother was a slightly different story. While Renee wasn’t angry, she seemed almost disappointed in Bella, but Bella insisted that once she met me she would change her mind. I could only hope.

Both Renee and Charlie had flown in for the concert tonight, although I would see neither of them until after I had finished playing. Bella had left my apartment about an hour before me in a rush to get to the airport to pick up the first one of her parents and although we’d only been separated for a few hours, I already longed to be back in the comfort of her arms. Sadly, it would be another long stretch of time before I’d see her.

Pre-show warm-ups were a blur to me as the notes were so ingrained in me by now, it was hard to even play if I wasn’t on auto-pilot.

Top of show places was called sooner than I even thought possible and as I made the long walk across the curtained stage to the grand piano that waited for me an unwelcome current of nerves shot through me. This was truly the first time I had played for a real audience since my time in the conservatory. My former professor had been exceedingly kind to even think transiently of me for this job and it was a favor I knew I couldn’t forget. There were people in the audience tonight that every pianist dreamed of playing for.

Other players began to take their spots around me and five minutes was called softly out. I heard the soft rumble of the audience seeping in from under the thick velvet curtains and my fingers traced along the piano keys experimentally. They ghosted over a few scales just to pass the time until slowly, impossibly the sign was made for the curtain to rise.

Instruments all around me tensed and I stilled my hands at the ready, watching the conductor carefully for the signal. He tapped his music stand as soon as the initial applause pattered away and the signal came. My fingers danced along the first few keys and the orchestra struck up behind me, weaving together beautifully. The rest of the night was an exhilarating blur of ivory keys and music pages being turned over and over again. Impossibly, I had forgotten how much I loved to perform until that final moment when the company took a bow. It was in that moment as well, that I found Bella’s glowing face in the audience. Her eyes met mine in recognition and the smile that lit her face was beyond ethereal.

All I wanted to do in that moment was run across the stage, grab her and never let go again. In a very short time, Bella had become my reason for breathing and the ring that now graced her finger only affirmed that for me. There would never be a world for me that didn’t hold Bella in it and that meant that there would never even be a chance for me to re-visit the self-loathing and disappointment that had defined my life before her. She had erased that darkness from me and replaced it with her lightness instead and by doing that, she had made me feel more complete than I had ever felt in my life.

As the curtain closed on the orchestra and the players began to mill around, congratulating each other on a wonderful performance, I ducked out as soon as I could without seeming overly rude. I was just entirely too eager to see the one person I knew would be first in line to see me backstage. True to my instincts, there she stood just outside the stage door, looking more beautiful than any woman had a right too.

Without speaking, I took her in my arms and kissed her exultantly.

“I missed you,” I whispered against her lips.

To my surprise, she threw her head back and laughed at me. I smiled in response, and pulled her a little closer.

“You’re so silly,” she murmured. “You just got done playing spectacularly in front of hundreds of people and the first thing you say to me is that you missed me.”

“It’s true,” I pointed out.

She sighed, shaking her head at me and cupping my cheek in her hand. I leaned into her palm and turned slightly so I could kiss it.

“I missed you, too,” she echoed my previous statement. I smiled and leaned down to kiss her properly. I’m sure we would have stayed wrapped up in the moment if the stage door hadn’t banged open behind us, causing us both to jump a little. A violist came out, nodding goodbye to me, and the moment broken, I turned back to Bella.

“We should get going. Everyone’s waiting for us out front,” she said, sounding a little regretful.

It was my turn to laugh.

“We’ll have plenty of time to be alone later,” I assured her and she elbowed me playfully before taking my hand and leading me down the sidewalk.

We were stopped countless times by people wishing to shake my hand before we finally spotted our families among the crowds. They waved us over and I tightened my hold on Bella’s hand as she tugged me in their direction. Pulling her back towards me quickly, I gave her a quick kiss on the top of the head.

“I love you,” I whispered in her ear. I couldn’t tell if she heard me above the crowd she craned her neck around, stopping momentarily, and smiled at me.

“I love you, too.” Her words were unintelligible above the murmur of the crowd, but it was okay. Unlike before when I absolutely craved to hear Bella speak any sort of affectation towards me aloud, I no longer needed to hear them to know they were true. And that was perhaps the greatest gift of many Bella had given me.

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The End.

It’s been a wonderful ride, my dears. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Although no, I won’t be writing a sequel for this story, I do have a lot of others Twilight fanfiction posted here as well as a parody I’m working on with a friend of mine. If you want more from me, check those out. Thanks for all the support and love over these past few months! :-)