(Thomas POV)
We stayed on that blanket longer than I expected.
Not talking much.
Not moving much.
Just… existing in the same breath of space while the mountain held its silence around us.
Edythe kept brushing her thumb over the ring, as if making sure it was actually there and not something her mind had conjured from a dream she wasn't supposed to have anymore. Every time her eyes drifted down to her hand, that same quiet expression settled over her face, wonder, disbelief, something fragile and newly formed. Something she didn't let the world see.
Only me.
Eventually, she shifted just enough that her cheek pressed lightly against my shoulder.
"We should head back soon," she whispered. "The others will worry."
I huffed a small laugh. "Alice knew the moment I woke up this morning that something was going to change today. She's probably redecorating timelines as we speak."
Edythe shook her head. "No way she saw this through your dark spot in her visions. I can't wait to finally surprise her for once."
I chuckled, running my fingertips along her cheek. "Love, I'm almost certain the moment you allowed me to slide that ring on your finger, all her future paths shifted. Maybe not much, but enough that if she was paying any attention to you in any vision, she saw that ring on your hand."
Edythe groaned softly. "Oh. I hadn't thought of that… She'll explode."
"Like a supernova," I agreed. "She'll probably have the entire wedding planned out in her head before we get back to the clearing."
Edythe tipped her head up, narrowing her eyes at me. "You're assuming I'm letting her plan anything."
"Oh no," I said immediately. "Absolutely not. I'm not walking into that battlefield."
Her lips curved. "Good."
But her voice softened again, drifting into something quieter.
"What will you tell your family?" she asked.
I blinked. "Tell them?"
"That you're engaged." Her tone held the faintest uncertainty, as if the word felt new in her mouth.
"Ah. That." I sighed. "I'm pretty sure Charlie knows it's coming."
"Bella will be happy," I went on after a moment. "Renee will be confused. Shocked. But happy for me."
I paused, then asked, "And your family?"
Edythe didn't look up; she just rested her hand over my chest again, as if listening to the heartbeat she found grounding.
"They'll be… surprised," she said slowly. "Concerned. Protective. Carlisle will smile quietly. Esme would cry if she could. Emmett will be unbearable. Rosalie will look at you like she's calculating whether you're a good enough match."
A beat.
"And Alice… Alice will dismantle the furniture in pure excitement. Jasper will sit back and watch it all, laughing in his quiet way."
She paused a moment, "Edward… He will brood and probably pout, but he will keep any objections to himself if he knows what's good for him. And eventually he will be happy for me."
I snorted. "Sounds about right."
"But they will all accept it," Edythe added, firmer now. "They will accept us."
I pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "Good. Because I'm not giving you back."
That earned me a small, soft laugh, the kind that cracked open the frozen edges of the world.
She pulled back enough to meet my eyes. "We should tell them together."
"Of course."
Another beat passed, long enough to feel the weight of everything waiting at the bottom of the mountain.
School.
Bella.
Charlie.
Edward.
Alice.
The Volturi — someday.
The pack.
Leah.
She was somewhere on the far side of these woods right now, wrestling with her own truths. I wondered if she'd shifted tonight. If she'd read even a page of the journals I'd given her.
But that was for another day.
Today belonged to Edythe.
"Alright," she murmured, rising to her feet with that liquid grace only she had. She offered me her hand. "Let's go."
I stood, folded the blanket over my arm, brushed pine needles from my jeans.
The sun was sliding low behind the ridge, catching the ring on her hand, once, twice, sending muted rainbow fire over her skin.
Edythe saw me looking.
Her fingers curled around mine, firm and certain.
"You realize," she said quietly, "that nothing about our lives is simple from here on out?"
I smiled. "I didn't ask for simple."
Her answering smile was small, but it reached her eyes completely.
"Neither did I."
We started back down the trail, step by step, toward the clearing where the others would already be waiting.
Hand in hand. My mind clear and solid, everything felt exactly where it needed to be.
(Third-Person POV – Cullen House)
The Cullen house was quiet in a very specific way, not tense, not worried… just waiting.
Alice was the only one who couldn't pretend to be calm. She drifted around the great room like static, too restless to sit, too wired to stand still.
Esme watched her with fond patience from the sofa, a half-finished sketchbook open in her lap.
Jasper tracked the emotional currents with subtle amusement, smoothing edges only when Alice's excitement spiked high enough to rattle the light fixtures.
Carlisle sat in his favorite armchair with a medical journal open, though he hadn't turned a page in ten minutes.
Rosalie was seated at the large desktop computer at the far end of the room, scrolling through listings for rare car parts with surgical focus. Esme insisted anything involving grease stayed firmly in the garage, so Rosalie's "hunt" was digital this evening.
Edward, meanwhile, was pacing a single, controlled circuit, two steps toward the stairs, two back to the fireplace, until he caught himself and forced the motion still. Surprised his actions hadn't brought about jokes at his expense about his restless wait to go be with Bella once Charlie went to sleep.
Emmett sprawled across the loveseat like a coiled spring pretending to be a couch potato. Every so often, he glanced at the front door with a grin too wide to be legal.
He and Jasper exchanged one of their "we promised not to say anything" looks.
Rosalie didn't turn from her screen when she muttered, "Emmett, if your face stretches any further, it might tear."
Emmett only grinned harder.
Alice suddenly spun toward them. "STOP BEING LOUD."
"We aren't talking," Emmett protested.
"Your feelings are loud," Alice snapped. "All three of you."
Jasper lifted a calming hand in apology, but she shot him a glare too.
Esme set down her sketchbook. "Sweetheart, maybe sit for a minute…"
"I CAN'T," Alice squeaked, vibrating in place. "Everything's shifting. Future threads are rearranging like lunatics, and I can't look too closely because someone…" She pointed accusingly at Edward. "Will snoop."
Edward frowned, finally focusing on something besides his absence from Bella's side. "You're hiding something."
"Yes," Alice said bluntly. "A surprise. For Edythe. And I am not letting you ruin it."
Edward's eyes narrowed. He didn't push, not when Alice was intentionally thinking of absolutely nothing.
Carlisle closed his journal. "I believe that would be Thomas's truck."
The room stilled as everyone listened. A few still not sure why all this attention was directed to Thomas and Edythe's return from their outing. The truck engine cut off and the closing of doors were heard.
A moment later, the soft thrum of familiar footsteps approached, too balanced, too synchronized to be human steps on the gravel walkway.
The front door opened.
Edythe stepped inside first.
The change was subtle… but unmistakable.
A brightness around her. Something delicate and new in the way she held herself, like a violin string tuned to perfect resonance.
Thomas followed her in closely, shutting the door behind him.
And on Edythe's left hand—
The faint glint of a ring.
Alice emitted a sound like a suppressed shriek exploding through her teeth. She slapped both hands over her mouth to contain the rest.
Esme gasped softly, her whole expression melting into joy.
Carlisle's quiet smile deepened.
Emmett punched Jasper in triumph. Jasper took the blow with a quiet grin.
Rosalie finally swiveled from the computer, assessing the pair with sharp eyes… then giving one slow, satisfied nod. Approval, Rosalie-style.
Edward stared.
At the ring.
At Thomas.
At his sister.
Then at Alice.
"You knew."
Alice beamed beneath her hands. "I didn't look," she insisted, words muffled. "Not directly. But the moment she kept showing up in the future with a ring, I stopped paying attention so I wouldn't spoil it."
Edward exhaled through his nose. "Thank you," he said dryly.
Edythe stepped forward. Esme swept her into a warm, lingering embrace. "Oh, sweetheart… congratulations."
Thomas dipped his head respectfully. "Thank you."
Carlisle approached next. "We're very happy for both of you," he said, sincerity ringing clear.
Emmett barreled over. "YES! Finally! Jasper and I have been sitting on this for weeks."
Rosalie folded her arms. "You nearly blew it every time Edythe walked in the room. You are lucky I didn't ask about what secret you were so poorly hiding from me."
Emmett blinked innocently. "My restraint was incredible."
Jasper chuckled. "Your restraint was nonexistent."
Edythe raised an eyebrow. "What exactly did you do?"
"NOTHING!" Emmett yelped, voice cracking adorably. "Just… existed. Loudly."
Thomas shook his head, amused.
Edward still hadn't spoken.
Edythe turned toward him. The room quieted.
Edward studied her face for a long moment, the brightness, the certainty, the peace. This all hit doubly because of his deal with Bella. That he would only turn her himself if she agreed to marry him.
Finally, his features softened.
"Congratulations," he said, stepping forward to pull her into a brief but sincere embrace. "Truly."
Edythe relaxed fully for the first time since stepping inside. "Thank you."
Alice couldn't contain it anymore.
"Oh my GOD…WHEN'S THE WEDDING?"
"Alice," Edythe warned, voice dangerously calm.
Jasper gently placed a hand on Alice's shoulder. "Breathe."
"I DON'T NEED TO BREATHE," she squeaked.
"Then metaphorically breathe."
Alice pouted. "Fine. But I am celebrating violently in my head."
Jasper winced. "I can feel that."
The family began to gather around them, not crowding, but embracing, welcoming, forming the protective circle they were built to be.
Thomas slipped his fingers through Edythe's.
She held his hand like it was the axis of her world.
And in the soft golden light of the Cullen home…
The future began to take shape.