✓ | 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍, j. hale [1]

XIV. Promises

Unsurprisingly, the Cullen house was the most beautiful home that Evelyn had ever seen. How could she have expected anything less? Large glass windows replaced most of the walls, letting in plenty of natural light and offering fantastic views of the forest around them. The interior was gorgeous; light wood and metal accents along with minimalistic decor gave the home a modern flair with a hint of sophisticated elegance that Evelyn had only ever seen in magazines. A house like this should have been out of place in the middle of the forest, but for some reason it seemed to fit right in.

As Evelyn stood in the doorway gaping at the front room, Jasper squeezed her hand with a grin. "You seem surprised."

"Maybe a little." She met his eyes, grinning. "I guess I was expecting to see a huge Victorian mansion with cobwebs and a creepy butler or something."

Jasper rolled his eyes, gently pulling her into the spacious foyer so he could close the door. "Very funny, Ev."

"I'm glad you think so," Evelyn retorted, trying to mask her anxiety with playful sarcasm. She could hear faint voices from the floor above them, and from the sight of Edward's Volvo outside, she knew that he and Bella must already be up there.

Feeling her apprehension, Jasper placed his strong hands on her cheeks, gently tilting her head up so that he could clearly focus on her face.

"I'll be with you the whole time, Evelyn. Everything is going to be okay." He smiled softly, tucking a loose wave of hair behind her ear. "They practically love you already."

Evelyn frowned, placing her own hands over his and squeezing his fingers. "How can you know that? I haven't even met half of them yet."

He shrugged, his golden eyes softening as he searched her face. "Because you make me happy, and that's all that they've wanted for me for quite sometime."

Evelyn's heart sped up at his words, making Jasper chuckle. The effect he had on her never failed to amuse him, but he had spoken the truth. He knew that she knew, too, because he could feel a sense of calm slowly spreading throughout her body, her apprehension fading away. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, his lips barely brushing her skin before he pulled her by the hand towards the steps. "Let's go before Esme and Alice get too impatient."

Just as they reached the top of the stairwell, the crash of glass shattering echoed through the whole house, and the voices abruptly silenced. Evelyn felt Jasper tense, but he did not pause at the sudden noise. She squeezed his cold hand tighter as he led her into the kitchen where the rest of his family was waiting.

As they entered, Evelyn saw the Cullen family gathered around the kitchen island, with Bella and Edward standing just to the right of the doorway where she and Jasper had just emerged. With a quick scan of the room, Evelyn saw that Rosalie, her eyes fierce with the anger on her face, was standing in a pile of shattered glass and lettuce leaves. As they entered the room, Rosalie's sharp gaze met hers. Evelyn knew instinctively that her presence had just made Rosalie even more angry, and she shifted closer to Jasper, who was standing tense and still, his eyes hard.

"Perfect," Rosalie said. "Just perfect."

"It's- It's just cause I know you guys don't eat, so..." Bella started, awkwardly stuttering while she tried to smooth the situation over. By the smell of food wafting from the stovetop, Rosalie's annoyance, and Bella's explanation, Evelyn thought that they must have been trying to make them dinner.

"Of course, that's very considerate of you, Bella." Evelyn's eyes landed on a beautiful brunette woman, with kindness in her ocher eyes and warmth in her tone that made her suddenly miss her mother. She could only assume that this was Esme. Carlisle came around the island to wrap and arm around her, nodding in agreement.