some kind of madness is swallowing me whole

epilogue

Bella and Edward spent three and a half years falling in love and traveling, away from his family on their own adventure.

First, they took a secluded vacation to an island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro which Bella later knew as Isle Esme, an island that Carlisle bought for Esme. The island had everything that Bella could've wanted in their first vacation together. There were long days in the sun away from any prying eyes, hours hiking in the jungle, and moments Bella believed that the chaos she caused was all but a dream. She knew it was a fantasy because of the simple fact that she couldn't have the sweet release of sleep to end her long days.

After seven months they decided that it would be time to go home but they didn't want to stop their adventure. They decided on going to Italy to make sure the Volturi weren't talking about Mike. But that was only an excuse they used to bring meaning to another trip together.

Italy was nothing like Bella imagined. Every step she took there was something new to smell. Though she couldn't eat anything, she lived vicariously through everyone else she saw eating.

Every moment for the next eight months was with Edward. He told stories about Carlisle's time with the Volturi, how he almost moved to Italy, and long nights spent on their rented apartment balcony under the different phases of the moon.

"Where do you want to go next?" Edward asked after spending months in Italy.

"Let's go to France," Bella said.

She wanted to show Edward some of her past, too. They've been to Isle Esme which belonged to his family and Italy has traces of him, too. It was time for Edward to see what Bella's most memorable moments were.

They spent six months in France. They went around the mountains, through the Palace of Versailles,—where Bella narrated the very night she lost someone so special to her— and weaved their way through all of the streets.

Traveling with Edward meant everything to Bella. It reminded her that he stayed when her life was taking a turn for the worst. It reminded her that he was going to be there wherever and whenever.

They decided that they wanted to make their memories on this trip instead of only living in their past ones. So, they decided on Asia and went to as many countries as they could fit in the 15 months they stayed there.

They used their time in Asia to share things they never told each other. Edward learned that Bella broke her toe before she was a vampire. Bella learned that Edward was allergic to cats. They talked about how they wanted to spend their futures and neither could imagine one without the other.

Neither of them was quite ready for the traveling to stop and they didn't have to tell each other, they just knew. After Asia, they decided that Iceland would be perfect since it was summer and they needed more privacy.

"I don't know how I never thought of Iceland before," Edward said one night while looking at the Northern Lights.

"It's because you've never been a nomad or even considered it. Once you leave home it can be hard to go back," Bella said and Edward gave her a concerned look. "I didn't mean that we would never go back, it's just been good being just us."

"Well since you bring 'just us' into this," Edward said, moving at vampire speed and wasn't sitting next to her anymore. He knelt in front of her while holding a ring in a black box. Bella pulled her hands up to her face in shock.

"Bella, I know we haven't known each other for that long considering how old we are but I couldn't imagine spending eternity with anyone else. I want to spend forever chasing the world with you. I want to fall in love with you in new places. I want to explore every inch of the world and I can't imagine doing any of it without you. Will you give me the honor of marrying me?" Edward didn't know he wanted to marry Bella when she sat in his seat that day in class but looking back on it now it felt inevitable. Their strings were already tied.