I’d had more than my fair share of near-death experiences; it wasn’t something you ever really got used to.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Book One Preface, p.1
You could run from someone you feared, you could try to fight someone you hated. All my reactions were geared toward those kinds of killers – the monsters, the enemies. When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved? Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Book One Preface, p.1
It was still considered rude to stare at people, wasn’t it? Didn’t that apply to me anymore?
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.3
I was going without a lot of things these days, like Pop-Tarts and shoelaces, to avoid spending time in public.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.4
Personally, I didn’t get it. But then, I was just proud I could distinguish between the symbols for Toyota, Ford, and Chevy. This car was glossy black, sleek, and pretty, but it was still just a car to me.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.5
I briefly contemplated my issues with words like fiancé, wedding, husband, etc. I just couldn’t put it together in my head. On the one hand, I had been raised to cringe at the very thought of poofy white dresses and bouquets. But more than that, I just couldn’t reconcile a staid, respectable, dull concept like husband with my concept of Edward. It was like casting an archangel as an accountant; I couldn’t visualize him in any commonplace role.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.6
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.7
Body armor. Four thousand pounds of body armor. And missile-proof glass? Nice. What had happened to good old-fashioned bulletproof?
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.7
Ha ha. Because I was so fragilely human, so accident-prone, so much a victim to my own dangerous bad luck, apparently I needed a tank-resistant car to keep me safe. Hilarious. I was sure he and his brothers had enjoyed the joke quite a bit behind my back.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.8
Virtual indestructibility was just one of the many perks I was looking forward to. The best parts about being a Cullen were not expensive cars and impressive credit cards.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.9
The phrase “bite my head off” was not entirely a figure of speech when it came to Leah.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.11
The friendship that had sprung up between Edward and Seth was something that still boggled my mind. It was proof, though, that things didn’t have to be this way. That vampires and werewolves could get along just fine, thank you very much, if they were of a mind to.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.12
Wait till he hangs his gun up!
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.13
Edward grimaced, and I knew it was in objection to the word okay. He probably would have used something more like wonderful or perfect or glorious.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.14
I wanted to elbow Edward in the ribs, but I knew that move would only give me a bruise. I’d told Edward that people would immediately jump to this conclusion! What other possible reason would sane people have for getting married at eighteen? (His answer then had made me roll my eyes. Love. Right.)
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.15
For just an instant, listening to the absolute confidence in his voice, I experienced a rare moment of insight. I could see, fleetingly, the way the world looked to him.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.15
I’m one hundred percent sure about Edward.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.16
He wasn’t exaggerating; they’d been big on old-fashioned morals during World War I.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.16
Charlie’s mouth twisted to the side. Looking for an angle to argue from. But what could he say? I’d prefer you live in sin first? He was a dad; his hands were tied.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.17
The ultimate doom: telling Renée. Early marriage was higher up on her blacklist than boiling live puppies.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.17
I’m having an out-of-body experience right now.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.19
There was only one human experience I worried about missing. Of course it would be the one he wished I would forget completely.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.22
For several years, my biggest personality trait was going to be thirsty. It would take some time before I could be me again. And even when I was in control of myself, I would never feel exactly the way I felt now. Human… and passionately in love. I wanted the complete experience before I traded in my warm, breakable, pheromone-riddled body for something beautiful, strong… and unknown. I wanted a real honeymoon with Edward. And, despite the danger he feared this would put me in, he’d agreed to try.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.22
I was with Edward in my happy place.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 1, p.22
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.23
Sometimes it was so easy to forget that I was kissing a vampire.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.23
I opened my eyes and found his open, too, staring at my face. It made no sense when he looked at me that way. Like I was the prize rather than the outrageously lucky winner.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.24
It seemed silly that this fact – the existence of his soul – had ever been in question, even if he was a vampire. He had the most beautiful soul, more beautiful than his brilliant mind or his incomparable face or his glorious body.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.24
We were curled up on my small bed, intertwined as much as it was possible, considering the thick afghan I was swathed in like a cocoon. I hated the necessity of the blanket, but it sort of ruined the romance when my teeth started chattering.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.25
He started to pull away – that was his automatic response whenever he decided things had gone too far, his reflex reaction whenever he most wanted to keep going. Edward had spent most of his life rejecting any kind of physical gratification. I knew it was terrifying to him trying to change those habits now.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.25
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.25
But this is the dress rehearsal, and we’ve only practiced certain scenes. It’s no time for playing it safe.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.26
How different it would be when he didn’t need to worry about me anymore. What would he do with all his free time? He’d have to get a new hobby.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.26
I’m sure about you. The rest I can live through.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.27
I’ll miss my friends, too. Especially Mike. Oh, Mike! How will I go on?
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.27
Edward, we’ve been through this and through this. I know it will be hard, but this is what I want. I want you, and I want you forever. One lifetime is simply not enough for me.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.27
I clutched him closer for one second and then released him. I didn’t have a prayer of winning a tug-of-war with Emmett.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.28
He vanished – launching himself out my window too swiftly for my eyes to follow. Outside, there was a muted thud, and I heard Emmett curse.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.29
Jasper? What do vampires do for bachelor parties? You’re not taking him to a strip club, are you?
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.30
My last night as Isabella Swan. Tomorrow night, I would be Bella Cullen. Though the whole marriage ordeal was a thorn in my side, I had to admit that I liked the sound of that.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.30
I’d never seen Tanya before, but I was sure that meeting her wouldn’t be a pleasant experience for my ego.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2, p.31
No one expects me to be stunning. I think the bigger problem is that I might fall asleep during the ceremony and not be able to say ‘I do’ at the right part, and then Edward will make his escape.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 3, p.40
I was afraid to look in the mirror – afraid the image of myself in the wedding dress would send me over the edge into a full-scale panic attack.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 3, p.44
I should have realized that having Alice as my only bridesmaid was a mistake. I would look that much more uncoordinated coming behind her.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 3, p.47
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 3, p.48
All I really saw was Edward’s face; it filled my vision and overwhelmed my mind. His eyes were a buttery, burning gold; his perfect face was almost severe with the depth of his emotion. And then, as he met my awed gaze, he broke into a breathtaking smile of exultation.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 3, p.48
Charlie took my hand and, in a symbol as old as the world, placed it in Edward’s. I touched the cool miracle of his skin, and I was home.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 3, p.49
In that moment, as the minister said his part, my world, which had been upside down for so long now, seemed to settle into its proper position. I saw just how silly I’d been for fearing this – as if it were an unwanted birthday gift or an embarrassing exhibition, like the prom. I looked into Edward’s shining, triumphant eyes and knew that I was winning, too. Because nothing else mattered but that I could stay with him.
Bella Swan, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 3, p.49
I tried to comprehend, through the film of tears blinding me, the surreal fact that this amazing person was mine.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 3, p.50
One scorching hug stood out from all the others – Seth Clearwater had braved the throng of vampires to stand in for my lost werewolf friend.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 3, p.50
We took turns shoving cake in each other’s faces; Edward manfully swallowed his portion as I watched in disbelief. I threw my bouquet with atypical skill, right into Angela’s surprised hands. Emmett and Jasper howled with laughter at my blush while Edward removed my borrowed garter – which I’d shimmied down nearly to my ankle – very carefully with his teeth. With a quick wink at me, he shot it straight into Mike Newton’s face.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.55
It wasn’t nearly as easy to dance with Charlie. He was no better at it than I was, so we moved safely from side to side in a tiny square formation. Edward and Esme spun around us like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.56
I feel just horrible, leaving you to cook for yourself – it’s practically criminal negligence. You could arrest me.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.56
I’d never done anything good enough to deserve a friend like Jacob.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.60
Alice is an unstoppable force of nature.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.63
My relationship with Jacob used to be so easy. Natural as breathing. But since Edward had come back into my life, it was a constant strain. Because – in Jacob’s eyes – by choosing Edward, I was choosing a fate that was worse than death, or at least equivalent to it.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.64
I can do anything I want! Butt out!
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.65
The darkness was suddenly very crowded.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.66
My insides were chaotic with panic and grief, but that didn’t matter – only the outside mattered right now. Putting on a good show was something I knew I had to master.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.68
I’d been so glad to see Jacob here. I knew the sacrifice it had taken him. And then I’d ruined it, turned his gift into a disaster. I should be quarantined.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.68
You and me. That’s the only thing that matters. The only thing you’re allowed to think about now. Do you hear me?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.69
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.69
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.69
You’re the best, smartest, most talented sister in the whole world.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.71
I love you forever, Dad. Don’t forget that.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 4, p.73
Oh well, I thought to myself. He was a vampire, after all. Maybe we were going to Atlantis.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.77
Who gives an island as a gift? I frowned. I hadn’t realized Edward’s extreme generosity was a learned behavior.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.78
He didn’t ask what I was thinking, which was out of character for him. I guessed that meant that he was just as nervous as I suddenly was.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.79
Did my skin burst into flames? I had to look down to check. Nope, nothing was burning. At least, not visibly.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.81
I didn’t know how or when, but someday, Alice was going to pay for this.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.81
I started to feel a little dizzy, apparently a full-scale panic attack on the way. I sat down on the cool tile floor in my big towel and put my head between my knees. I prayed he wouldn’t decide to come look for me before I could pull myself together. I could imagine what he would think if he saw me going to pieces this way. It wouldn’t be hard for him to convince himself that we were making a mistake.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.83
I was freaking out because I had no idea how to do this, and I was afraid to walk out of this room and face the unknown. Especially in French lingerie. I knew I wasn’t ready for that yet.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.83
How did people do this – swallow all their fears and trust someone else so implicitly with every imperfection and fear they had – with less than the absolute commitment that Edward had given me? If it weren’t Edward out there, if I didn’t know in every cell of my body that he loved me as much as I loved him – unconditionally and irrevocably and, to be honest, irrationally – I’d never be able to get up off this floor.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.83
Don’t be afraid. We belong together.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.85
His arms wrapped around me, holding me against him, summer and winter. It felt like every nerve ending in my body was a live wire.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.85
I would have been happy to lie here forever, to never disturb this moment, but my body had other ideas. I laughed at my impatient stomach. It seemed sort of prosaic to be hungry after all that had passed last night. Like being brought back down to earth from some great height.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.86
My first instinct, the product of a lifetime of insecurities, was to wonder what I had done wrong.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.87
Fire and ice, somehow existing together without destroying each other. More proof that I belonged with him.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.87
Why am I covered in feathers?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.89
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.89
Ugh! Why can’t you just read my mind already? It’s so inconvenient to be a mental mute!
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.90
I was perfectly happy. Totally and completely blissed out. Now – well, I’m sort of pissed actually.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.91
That. That right there is why I’m angry. You are killing my buzz, Edward.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.91
You listen to me, Edward Cullen. I am not pretending anything for your sake, okay? I didn’t even know there was a reason to make you feel better until you started being all miserable. I’ve never been so happy in all my life – I wasn’t this happy when you decided that you loved me more than you wanted to kill me, or the first morning I woke up and you were there waiting for me… Not when I heard your voice in the ballet studio, or when you said ‘I do’ and I realized that, somehow, I get to keep you forever. Those are the happiest memories I have, and this is better than any of it. So just deal with it.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.94
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.95
How did you keep from laughing at this? I look ridiculous.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 5, p.96
I gritted my teeth for a second, fighting a smile. If there was one thing he couldn’t resist, it was an opportunity to give me something.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.102
He kissed me back, but not in a way that made me think I was winning. It was more like he was being careful not to hurt my feelings; he was completely, maddeningly in control of himself.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.103
In this dream that was both new and old, I simply had to protect the unknown child. There was no other option. At the same time, I knew that I would fail.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.105
It wasn’t desire at all – it was need, acute to the point of pain.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.107
I couldn’t tell if he was moved by the tears trembling in my voice, or if he was unprepared to deal with the suddenness of my attack, or if his need was simply as unbearable in that moment as my own. But whatever the reason, he pulled my lips back to his, surrendering with a groan.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.107
I was afraid to admit I was awake and face his anger – no matter whom it was directed at today.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.108
How much trouble am I in?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.108
The pillows all appear to have survived.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.109
I told you that it was all about practice.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.110
If I don’t have a better sense of equilibrium in my next life, I’m demanding a refund.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.110
I don’t spend my free time plotting like some people do. What can we do to wear Bella out today?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.111
His words painted a very happy immediate future, one free of pain for everyone involved. The Jacob-drawer, all but forgotten, rattled, and I amended the thought – for almost everyone.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.112
Now that I’d discovered exactly how good being human could be, it was tempting to let my plans drift. Eighteen or nineteen, nineteen or twenty… Did it really matter? I wouldn’t change so much in a year. And being human with Edward… The choice got trickier every day.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.112
Beautiful women only? Well, that was kind of flattering.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.114
Yes, I’m sure a movie will convince her that you’re human.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.114
I had another idea for burning calories.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 6, p.117
We seemed to exist outside of time here, just drifting along in a perfect state.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 7, p.119
The phone kept ringing. I wished Edward would answer it – I was having a moment. Possibly the biggest of my life.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 7, p.127
I’m a little worried about Edward… Can vampires go into shock?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 7, p.129
I would wait somewhere else for his mood to pass. I couldn’t talk to this icy, focused Edward who honestly frightened me a little.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 7, p.131
Surprising, absolutely. Astonishing, even. But wrong? No. So why was Edward so furious? He was the one who had actually wished out loud for a shotgun wedding.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 7, p.131
From that first little touch, the whole world had shifted. Where before there was just one thing I could not live without, now there were two. There was no division – my love was not split between them now; it wasn’t like that. It was more like my heart had grown, swollen up to twice its size in that moment. All that extra space, already filled. The increase was almost dizzying.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 7, p.132
This child, Edward’s child, was a whole different story. I wanted him like I wanted air to breathe. Not a choice – a necessity.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 7, p.132
I wished I could speak Portuguese, or that my Spanish was less rudimentary, so that I could try to thank this woman who had dared to anger a vampire just to check on me.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 7, p.134
As if I could discount something because it was a legend. My life was circled by legend on every side. They were all true.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 7, p.137
Behave. And then come back.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 9, p.176
Did you know that ‘I told you so’ has a brother, Jacob? His name is ‘Shut the hell up.’
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 10, p.188
I’m not saying things will work out easily, Jake. But how could I have lived through all that I’ve lived through and not believe in magic by this point?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 10, p.189
Carlisle only changed them because it was that or death. He doesn’t end lives, he saves them.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 10, p.191
You’re very pessimistic, Jacob.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 10, p.192
Please, Jacob. You think I should kill my baby and replace it with some generic substitute?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 10, p.195
There isn’t much you wouldn’t do for me, either, is there? I really don’t know why you bother. I don’t deserve either of you.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 10, p.196
I wish I could explain it to you right so that you would understand. I can’t hurt him any more than I could pick up a gun and shoot you. I love him.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 10, p.196
Not pleasant? Gosh, that’ll be such a change.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 12, p.241
So, who’s going to catch me a grizzly bear?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 12, p.242
Well, I’m starving, so I’ll bet he is, too. Let’s go for it. My first vampire act.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 12, p.243
Stop being a jerk, Jacob.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 13, p.247
Does this screw my total? Or do we start counting after I’m a vampire?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 13, p.250
It feels… complete when you’re here, Jacob. Like all my family is together. I mean, I guess that’s what it’s like – I’ve never had a big family before now. It’s nice. But it’s just not whole unless you’re here.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 15, p.298
We got off track, Jake. Out of balance. You’re supposed to be part of my life – I can feel that, and so can you. But not like this. We did something wrong. No. I did. I did something wrong, and we got off track…
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 15, p.298
You have the most beautiful voice in the universe. Who wouldn’t love it?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 16, p.327
Rose’ll catch me if I trip over my feet. Which could happen pretty easily, since I can’t see them.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 17, p.346
We’re going to die, I thought in panic. I was desperate for the precious one I guarded, but even to think of that was a lapse in attention I could not afford.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Book Three Preface, p.367
Non-reality was black, and it didn’t hurt so much. Reality was red, and it felt like I was being sawed in half, hit by a bus, punched by a prize fighter, trampled by bulls, and submerged in acid, all at the same time. Reality was feeling my body twist and flip when I couldn’t possibly move because of the pain. Reality was knowing there was something so much more important than all this torture, and not being able to remember what it was. Reality had come on so fast.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 19, p.369
Her tiny face was so absolutely perfect that it stunned me. She was even more beautiful than her father. Unbelievable. Impossible.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 19, p.372
If I did the easy thing now, let the black nothingness erase me, I would hurt them. Edward. Edward. My life and his were twisted into a single strand. Cut one, and you cut both. If he were gone, I would not be able to live through that. If I were gone, he wouldn’t like through it, either. And a world without Edward seemed completely pointless. Edward had to exist. Jacob – who’d said goodbye to me over and over but kept coming back when I needed him. Jacob, who I’d wounded so many times it was criminal. Would I hurt him again, in the worst way yet? He’d stayed for me, despite everything. Now all he asked was that I stay for him.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 19, p.373
It was sort of the pattern to my life – I’d never been strong enough to deal with the things outside my control, to attack the enemies or outrun them. To avoid the pain. Always human and weak, the only thing I’d ever been able to do was keep going. Endure. Survive. It had been enough up to this point. It would have to be enough today. I would endure this until help came. I knew Edward would be doing everything he could. He would not give up. Neither would I.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 19, p.374
I had done it. Against the odds, I had been strong enough to survive Renesmee, to hold on to her until she was strong enough to live without me.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 19, p.375
I hadn’t guessed that the morphine would have this effect – that it would pin me down and gag me. Hold me paralyzed while I burned. I knew all the stories. I knew that Carlisle had kept quiet enough to avoid discovery while he burned. I knew that, according to Rosalie, it did no good to scream. And I’d hoped that maybe I could be like Carlisle. That I would believe Rosalie’s words and keep my mouth shut. Because I knew that every scream that escaped my lips would torment Edward. Now it seemed like a hideous joke that I was getting my wish fulfilled. If I couldn’t scream, how could I tell them to kill me?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 19, p.377
Though the fire did not decrease one tiny degree – in fact, I began to develop a new capacity for experiencing it, a new sensitivity to appreciate, separately, each blistering tongue of flame that licked through my veins – I discovered that I could think around it. I could remember why I shouldn’t scream. I could remember the reason why I’d committed to enduring this unendurable agony. I could remember that, though it felt impossible now, there was something that might be worth the torture.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 19, p.378
It was harder not to answer this voice, but I stayed paralyzed. I knew that the pain in his voice now was nothing compared to what it could be. Right now he only feared that I was suffering.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 19, p.380
Edward didn’t answer, but Alice’s words gave me hope that maybe I didn’t resemble the charcoal briquette I felt like. It seemed as if I must be just a pile of charred bones by now. Every cell in my body had been razed to ash.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 19, p.383
I didn’t need the air. My lungs weren’t waiting for it. They reacted indifferently to the influx. I did not need the air, but I liked it.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 20, p.388
Oh. Of course. Edward wouldn’t feel cold to me. We were the same temperature now.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 20, p.389
Jasper and Emmett were in the front to protect the others, as I had assumed. What I hadn’t grasped immediately was that I was the danger.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 20, p.390
How many times had I stared at Edward and marveled over his beauty? How many hours – days, weeks – of my life had I spent dreaming about what I then deemed to be perfection? I thought I’d known his face better than my own. I’d thought this was the one sure physical thing in my whole world: the flawlessness of Edward’s face. I may as well have been blind. For the first time, with the dimming shadows and limiting weakness of humanity taken off my eyes, I saw his face. I gasped and then struggled with my vocabulary, unable to find the right words. I needed better words.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 20, p.390
His touch seemed to sweep beneath the surface of my skin, right through the bones of my face. The feeling was tingly, electric – it jolted through my bones, down my spine, and trembled in my stomach. Wait, I thought as the trembling blossomed into a warmth, a yearning. Wasn’t I supposed to lose this? Wasn’t giving up this feeling a part of the bargain?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 20, p.392
He smiled the kind of smile that would have stopped my heart if it were still beating.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 20, p.393
I was stronger than Edward. I’d made him say ow.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 20, p.393
It was like he’d never kissed me – like this was our first kiss. And, in truth, he’d never kissed me this way before. It almost made me feel guilty. Surely I was in breach of the contract. I shouldn’t be allowed to have this, too.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 20, p.394
You’ve been holding out on me.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 20, p.395
I knew there was nothing left inside me, and I faintly remembered the bloody removal scene, but the physical proof was still hard to process. All I knew was loving my little nudger inside of me. Outside of me, she seemed like something I must have imagined. A fading dream – a dream that was half nightmare.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 20, p.399
I stared at the beautiful woman with the terrifying eyes, looking for pieces of me. There was something there in the shape of her lips – if you looked past the dizzying beauty, it was true that her upper lip was slightly out of balance, a bit too full to match the lower. Finding this familiar little flaw made me feel a tiny bit better. Maybe the rest of me was in there, too.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 20, p.405
I guess my brain will never work right. At least I’m pretty.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 20, p.406
We have all eternity, and you’re worried about the time it would take to walk to the back door?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 21, p.407
Right. I was the monster now. I had to keep away from scents that might trigger my wild side. From the people that I loved in particular. Even the ones I didn’t really know yet.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 21, p.408
And I was very conscious of my family behind me, watching silently. Mostly silently. Emmett had already chuckled under his breath once. One mistake, and he’d be rolling on the floor. Then the jokes about the world’s only clumsy vampire would start.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 21, p.408
It was the first time anyone had ever applied the word graceful to me in my entire life… or, well, existence anyway.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 21, p.409
So Jacob was watching, too? I couldn’t imagine what he was thinking now, or what he was still doing here. I’d envisioned our reunion – if he could ever forgive me – taking place far in the future, when I was more stable, and time had healed the wounds I’d inflicted in his heart.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 21, p.411
I could finally understand why Edward never hit the trees when he ran – a question that had always been a mystery to me. It was a peculiar sensation, the balance between the speed and the clarity. For, while I rocketed over, under, and through the thick jade maze at a rate that should have reduced everything around me to a streaky green blur, I could plainly see each tiny leaf on all the small branches of every insignificant shrub that I passed.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 21, p.413
Why are you laughing at me?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 21, p.419
Such powerful emotions. I’d been prepared for the thirst part, but not this. I’d been so sure it wouldn’t be the same when he touched me. Well, truthfully, it wasn’t the same. It was stronger.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 21, p.420
I thought I wouldn’t feel this way for a long time? But I still want you.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 21, p.421
It was a surprisingly sensual experience to observe Edward hunting. His smooth spring was like the sinuous strike of a snake; his hands were so sure, so strong, so completely inescapable; his full lips were perfect as they parted gracefully over his gleaming teeth. He was glorious. I felt a sudden jolt of both pride and desire. He was mine. Nothing could ever separate him from me now. I was too strong to be torn from his side.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 21, p.425
My old mind hadn’t been capable of holding this much love. My old heart had not been strong enough to bear it. Maybe this was the part of me that I’d brought forward to be intensified in my new life. Like Carlisle’s compassion and Esme’s devotion. I would probably never be able to do anything interesting or special like Edward, Alice, and Jasper could do. Maybe I would just love Edward more than anyone in the history of the world had ever loved anyone else. I could live with that.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 21, p.426
Oops. I didn’t mean to tackle you like that. Are you okay?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 21, p.427
It seemed odd now that I had needed him so much then. That sense of absence without him near had vanished; it must have been a human weakness.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 22, p.430
Then he smiled his familiar smile, the smile of a kindred spirit, and I was sure our friendship was intact. It was just like before, when we were hanging out in his homemade garage, just two friends killing time. Easy and normal. Again, I noticed that the strange need I’d felt for him before I’d changed was completely gone. He was just my friend, the way it was supposed to be.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 22, p.433
Huh. I can see what everyone’s been going on about. You stink, Jacob.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 22, p.436
Jacob just kept grinning. This made me feel hopeful that things were going to be right between us, the way they hadn’t been for so long now. Maybe now I could truly be his friend, since I disgusted him enough physically that he couldn’t love me the same way as before. Maybe that was all I needed.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 22, p.436
He’s not telling it right. He left out the part where I growled at him.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 22, p.442
It seemed very natural to lean in and press my lips to her forehead. She smelled wonderful. The scent of her skin set my throat burning, but it was easy to ignore. It didn’t strip the joy from the moment. Renesmee was real and I knew her. She was the same one I’d fought for from the beginning. My little nudger, the one who loved me from the inside, too. Half Edward, perfect and lovely. And half me – which, surprisingly, made her better rather than detracting. I’d been right all along. She was worth the fight.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 22, p.447
Edward, I don’t want to hurt you, so please let go of me.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 22, p.448
You stupid mutt! You could you! My baby!
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 22, p.449
I’ve held her all of one time, and already you think you have some moronic wolfy claim on her? She’s mine.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 22, p.449
How dare you imprint on my baby? Have you lost your mind?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 22, p.449
You think you’ll be part of my family as my son-in-law!
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 22, p.450
Run away while you still can.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 22, p.451
You nicknamed my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 22, p.451
Edward was still apologizing, and I didn’t think that was either fair or appropriate. After all, Edward hadn’t tried to rip Jacob’s head off – Jacob, who wouldn’t even phase to protect himself – and then accidentally broken Seth’s shoulder and collarbone when he jumped in between. Edward hadn’t almost killed his best friend.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 23, p.452
I tried to erase the anger from my system entirely, but it was hard, knowing that Jacob was outside with Renesmee right now. Keeping her safe from me, the crazed newborn.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 23, p.453
It rankled to realize over and over again how much I owed Jacob when I just wanted to be mad at him.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 23, p.456
Jacob, I thought, despite myself. Though that yearning was both vanished and defined – and I was vastly relieved that it was – he was still my friend. Someone who knew the real me and accepted her. Even has a monster.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 23, p.459
I remembered further back, to the fuzzy, weak memories of my human life. Back to the very hardest part to remember – the time without Edward, a time so dark I’d tried to bury it in my head. I couldn’t get the words exactly right; I only remembered wishing that Jacob were my brother so that we could love each other without any confusion or pain. Family. But I’d never factored a daughter into the equation.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 23, p.459
There was still enough petty ire in my system to make me glad, not for his pain, but for the idea of having Renesmee away from him. How was I supposed to deal with having her belong to Jacob when she only barely seemed to belong to me?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 23, p.459
I felt irritated again, like Jacob was stealing my lines – and delivering them all wrong.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 23, p.462
Thirstiness was way down the list right now. Besides, Renesmee smelled good in a very non-food way.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 23, p.462
Renesmee smiled her brilliant smile, and her memory eyes did not leave Jacob through all the following mess. I tasted a new flavor to the memory – not exactly protective, more possessive – as she watched Jacob. I got the distinct impression that she was glad Seth had put himself in front of my spring. She didn’t want Jacob hurt. He was hers.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 23, p.463
For a tiny space, I was disappointed. What? No magic visions, no formidable offensive abilities like, oh, shooting lightning bolts from my eyes or something? Nothing helpful or cool at all?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 23, p.466
I was pleased by how often my face – both of my faces, hideous human and glorious immortal – cropped up in her unconscious thoughts. More than Edward or Rosalie. I was neck and neck with Jacob; I tried not to let that get to me. For the first time, I understood how Edward had been able to watch me sleep night after boring night, just to hear me talk in my sleep. I could watch Renesmee dream forever.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 23, p.469
No. No way! No, this doesn’t count. I stopped aging three days ago. I am eighteen forever.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 24, p.471
Rosalie grinned at me, and I was glad to see that the new comradeship between us was still there in her smile. I hadn’t been entirely sure it would last after Renesmee’s life was no longer tied to mine. But maybe we had fought together on the same side long enough that we would always be friends now. I’d finally made the same choice she would have if she’d been in my shoes. That seemed to have washed away her resentment for all my other choices.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 24, p.473
I realized that lots of things about me – like truly hating surprises, and not liking gifts in general much more – had not changed one bit. It was a relief and revelation to discover how much of my essential core traits had come with me into this new body. I hadn’t expected to be myself.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 24, p.474
I wasn’t afraid of hitting a tree; the tree would be the only one getting hurt in that scenario.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 24, p.475
You’re giving me a house for my birthday?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 24, p.476
I was just thinking – today is the first and last day of forever. It’s kind of hard to wrap my head around it. Even with all this extra room for wrapping.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 24, p.478
Edward had always thought that he belonged to the world of horror stories. Of course, I’d known that he was dead wrong. It was obvious that he belonged here. In a fairy tale. And now I was in the story with him.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 24, p.479
I sighed. My baby, the sea serpent. Maybe there was no help for it. Well, I wasn’t giving in.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 24, p.480
We’re going to tell Alice that I ran right to the clothes. We’re going to tell her I spent hours in there playing dress-up. We’re going to lie.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 24, p.481
I could really appreciate him now – could properly see every beautiful line of his perfect face, of his long, flawless body with my strong new eyes, every angle and every plane of him. I could taste his pure, vivid scent on my tongue and feel the unbelievable silkiness of his marble skin under my sensitive fingertips.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 24, p.482
He had the most beautiful, perfect body in the world and I had him all to myself, and it didn’t feel like I was every going to find a point where I would think, Now I’ve had enough for one day. I was always going to want more. And the day was never going to end. So, in such a situation, how did we ever stop? It didn’t bother me at all that I had no answer.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 24, p.483
I gritted my teeth and reminded myself of the negative consequences when I’d let my temper get away from me yesterday. Of course, Emmett wasn’t as breakable as Seth…
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 25, p.490
You have thirty seconds to tell me every single word before I give Renesmee to Rosalie and rip your miserable head off. Seth won’t be able to stop me this time.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 25, p.495
If I don’t kill Charlie tonight, I’ll consider forgiving you for this.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 25, p.499
I’m actually holding her so that my hands aren’t free to kill you, Jacob.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 25, p.499
Undiluted fear ripped through my stomach as the enormity of what I was about to do hit me. I was going to gamble on my iffy self-control with my pure human father as the guinea pig.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 25, p.499
Edward hadn’t forgiven Jacob, because he knew that no matter what happened now, I was going to be hurting. But I’d take the burn happily if that were the worst thing I’d face tonight.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 25, p.504
It wasn’t precisely a peck on the lips, and my wild vampiric reactions took me off guard yet again. Edward’s lips were like a shot of some addictive chemical straight into my nervous system. I was instantly craving more. It took all my concentration to remember the baby in my arms.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 25, p.504
I hoped Charlie could see past the changes in my new face to read the remorse there.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 25, p.507
Charlie shot an incredulous glance at Carlisle, still standing by the front door; he looked like Zeus’s younger, better-looking brother.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 25, p.509
This stuff isn’t for the fainthearted.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 26, p.512
I remembered how it felt, that first uncomfortable immersion in fantasy – the sensation that everything would disappear in the light of the rising sun.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 26, p.516
I’d actually made it through the whole day without hurting Charlie. All by myself. I must have a superpower! It seemed too good to be true. Could I really have both my new family and some of my old as well? And I’d thought that yesterday had been perfect.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 26, p.517
Emmett, how do you feel about a little bet?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 26, p.518
You. Me. Arm-wrestling. Dining room table. Now.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 26, p.518
I’d been so careful since the last time I woke up, trying so hard not to break things. It was a relief to use my muscles. To let the strength flow rather than struggling to restrain it.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 26, p.520
Just keep your mouth shut.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 26, p.520
It’s not going to wear off that fast. Maybe you ought to give it a month.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 26, p.521
Hey, whatever makes you happy, big brother.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 26, p.521
Fascinated by the undeniable proof that I was stronger than the strongest vampire I’d ever known, I placed my hand, fingers spread wide, against the rock. Then I dug my fingers slowly into the stone, crushing rather than digging; the consistency reminded me of hard cheese. I ended up with a handful of gravel.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 26, p.521
He was both dazzling and dazzled.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 26, p.523
It was a strange feeling – not surprising, I supposed, since everything felt strange now – this being a natural at something. As a human, I’d never been best at anything.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 26, p.523
After eighteen years of mediocrity, I was pretty used to being average. I realized now that I’d long ago given up any aspirations of shining at anything. I just did the best with what I had, never quite fitting into my world. So this was really different. I was amazing now – to them and to myself. It was like I had been born to be a vampire. The idea made me want to laugh, but it also made me want to sing. I had found my true place in the world, the place I fit, the place I shined.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 26, p.523
I took mythology a lot more seriously since I’d become a vampire.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 27, p.525
Happiness was the main component in my life now, the dominant pattern in the tapestry.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 27, p.527
The days were not long enough for me to get my fill of adoring my daughter; the nights did not have enough hours to satisfy my need for Edward.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 27, p.527
Even freed from old nightmares, from any dreams at all, it was impossible to forget the Volturi. Nor did they leave us without reminders.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 27, p.531
Are you officially dropping out of high school, then? If you’re going to keep up with Renesmee, you’re going to have to study a lot harder.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 27, p.534
Jacob was more a child than Renesmee sometimes.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 27, p.535
When I returned, I would take Jacob’s side. He should come with us. He had as big a stake in this as any of us – his entire life was at stake, just like mine.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 27, p.536
The Amazon offered a change from our normal quarry. Jaguars and panthers, for example. Emmett had a whim to wrestle with an anaconda.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 28, p.542
My first illogical thought was that Alice was playing some joke on us. Because there was no way that Alice could have dropped the vase by accident. I could have darted across the room to catch the vase in plenty of time myself, if I hadn’t assumed she would get it. And how would it fall through her fingers in the first place? Her perfectly sure fingers… I had never seen a vampire drop anything by accident. Ever.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 28, p.543
I felt not like stone but ice. For the first time since I’d been reborn a vampire, I felt cold.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 28, p.544
After all, the Cullens were in league with werewolves. From Irina’s point of view, maybe this meant nothing was beyond us…
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 28, p.547
His voice was still quiet, gentle, velvet… and yet the pain and desolation in the sound was unavoidable. His voice was like Alice’s eyes before – like the inside of a tomb.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 28, p.548
Was this the limit, then? I’d had more happiness than most people ever experienced. Was there some natural law that demanded equal shares of happiness and misery in the world? Was my joy overthrowing the balance?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 28, p.549
There was a hint of a smile on Emmett’s face now. I was surprised no one had hit him yet. I wanted to.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 28, p.550
It’s over. We’ve all been sentenced to die.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 28, p.553
The sunlight broke through the back windows, sparkling on Edward’s skin. My eyes had not moved from his since Alice’s departure. We’d stared at each other all night, staring at what neither of us could live through losing; the other. I saw my reflection glimmer in his agonized eyes as the sun touched my own skin.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 29, p.555
Emmett cussed loud enough that Jacob lurched to his feet with a growl. In the yard, his growl was echoed by his pack. My family was already a blur of action.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 29, p.556
I didn’t know how to cry in this body; I couldn’t do anything but stare. There was no feeling yet. Everything seemed unreal, like I was dreaming again after all these months. Having a nightmare.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 29, p.560
We would fight, they would fight, and we would all die.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 29, p.561
I did not know what Alice was trying to tell me, only that she’d gone to great lengths to keep it from anyone but me. The one person whose mind Edward could not read. So she must want to keep him in the dark, and it was probably for a good reason.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 29, p.564
I was the only person in the world who could lie to Edward. Was that what Alice wanted from me? Her last request?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 29, p.564
The whole imprinted-werewolf-gives-the-object-of-his-imprinting-whatever-she-wants thing was getting old pretty fast.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 29, p.567
Did vampires ever do anything absentmindedly?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 29, p.569
I didn’t know if I could stand this. As much as I feared for my life, for Edward’s, for the rest of my family’s, it was not the same as the gut-wrenching terror I felt for my daughter. There had to be a way to save her, even if that was the only thing I could do. Suddenly, I knew that this was all I wanted anymore. The rest I would bear if I had to, but not her life being forfeited. Not that. She was the one thing I simply had to save.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 29, p.570
I don’t know. But she’s Alice. She’s doing the right thing, like always.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 29, p.570
So this was what it felt like to cry.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 29, p.571
I’d been planning on needing years just to somewhat organize the overwhelming passion I felt for him physically. And then centuries after that to enjoy it. If we had only a month left together… Well, I didn’t see how I could stand to have this end. For the moment I couldn’t help but be selfish. All I wanted was to love him as much as possible in the limited time given to me.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 30, p.573
Edward, will you teach me how to fight?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 30, p.574
He froze, and then his eyes swept over me with a deep significance, like he was looking at me for the first or last time.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 30, p.574
Would you leave me unable to defend myself?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 30, p.575
I was a tiny bit special, in my own way – if having a supernaturally thick skull could really be considered special.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 30, p.575
Edward cut me off, his voice abruptly panicked. He was probably seeing the same image in his head that I was: the Cullens standing helpless, senseless pillars on the killing field – all but me. I’d be the only one who could fight.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 30, p.577
I have to learn everything. As much as you can possibly cram into my head in the next month.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 30, p.578
My head is sort of… private. But it doesn’t stop Jasper from being able to mess with my mood or Alice from seeing my future.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 31, p.596
I wished fervently that I might be good at this projecting thing, too, like I was somehow mysteriously good at all the other aspects of being a vampire. My human life had not prepared me for things that came naturally, and I couldn’t make myself trust this aptitude to last. It felt like I had never wanted anything so badly before this: to be able to protect what I loved.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 31, p.600
If Aro wanted me to do something – anything – all he had to do was threaten Edward and I would comply. And vice versa.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 31, p.605
I was amazed at the easy acceptance the visiting vampires had for Jacob; the problems Edward had anticipated had never materialized. Jacob seemed more or less invisible to them, not quite a person, but also not food, either. They treated him the way people who are not animal lovers treat the pets of their friends.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 32, p.608
Of course, Jacob got more surly with each new addition. He kept his distance when he could, and when he couldn’t he grumbled to Renesmee that someone was going to have to provide an index if anyone expected him to keep all the new bloodsuckers’ names straight.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 32, p.611
My first attempt at learning to fight did not go well. Edward had me pinned in about two seconds. But instead of letting me wrestle my way free – which I absolutely could have – he’d leaped up and away from me. I knew immediately that something was wrong; he was still as stone, staring across the meadow we were practicing in.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 32, p.615
Emmett was more than willing to help, though his teaching felt to me a lot like revenge for all the lost arm-wrestling matches. If I could still bruise, I would have been purple from head to toe.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 32, p.616
Every minute of the day that I wasn’t with Renesmee or learning to fight, I was in the backyard working with Kate, trying to push my internal shield outside of my own brain to protect someone else. Edward encouraged me in this training. I knew he hoped I would find a way of contributing that satisfied me while also keeping me out of the line of fire.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 32, p.617
Now my hands were free, and if Kate wanted to keep her hands attached to her wrists, she’d better keep her distance.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 32, p.620
We did not hope for the same things, but we all hoped.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 32, p.628
There was no way Jacob would voluntarily miss an afternoon with Renesmee sans bloodsuckers.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 33, p.630
Edward had gotten around to revealing my after car; as he’d suspected, I had not been capable of showing the appropriate enthusiasm. Sure, it was pretty and fast, but I liked to run.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 33, p.630
I wanted to be done with today’s mission, to have the mystery sorted out so that I could get back to the vital task of learning. Learning to protect some, learning to kill others.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 33, p.634
I’m not really a fan of drugs, and neither is my husband. Just say no and all that.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 33, p.641
Please! Is that the kind of people you usually deal with, Max? Maybe you need a new job.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 33, p.641
I had to admit, I was enjoying myself a little. I hadn’t interacted with humans much besides Charlie and Sue. It was entertaining to watch him flounder. I was also pleased at how easy it was not to kill him.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 33, p.641
So this man knew Jasper, not Alice. Knew him, and seemed afraid of him, too.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 33, p.643
I took a deep breath and smiled. I owed Max big time.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 33, p.644
The only reason Renesmee would need a forger was if she was running. And the only reason Renesmee would be running was if we had lost.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 33, p.644
Keeping secrets from Edward was bad enough; having to be away from him was almost too much.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 33, p.648
I heard the music before I was out of the car. Edward hadn’t touched his piano since the night Alice left. Now, as I shut the car door, I heard the song morph through a bridge and change into my lullaby. Edward was welcoming me home.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 34, p.649
It was not going to be the end of the world. Just the end of the Cullens. The end of Edward, the end of me. I preferred it that way – the last part anyway. I would not live without Edward again; if he was leaving this world, then I would be right behind him.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 34, p.652
You could always count on werewolves to be buzzed about a coming fight, no matter how suicidal.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 34, p.653
Renesmee sat on my lap, playing with her locket, opening and closing it. I watched her and imagined the things I would say to Jacob right now if I didn’t have to keep my words out of Edward’s head. If it’s ever safe again, take her to Charlie. Tell him the whole story someday. Tell him how much I loved him, how I couldn’t bear to leave him even when my human life was over. Tell him he was the best father. Tell him to pass my love on to Renée, all my hopes that she will be happy and well…
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 34, p.654
What if your trust in me is the reason that we fail?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 34, p.662
My shield has holes, Edward!
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 34, p.663
You thought of this a long time ago, didn’t you?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 34, p.663
How much had he pieced together? That I had a secret, absolutely. Would he have deduced the reason why I didn’t confide in him? Did he guess that Aro might soon know everything he knew? I thought Edward could have come to that conclusion, which explained why he had demanded no reasons from me.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 35, p.665
I couldn’t help being a little flattered; I still wasn’t used to being beautiful to everyone rather than just Edward.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 35, p.667
For one half second, I wondered what it would feel like to put my hand in the fire. What it would feel like when I burned…
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 35, p.667
I bowed my head again against a sudden urge to sob, clenching my teeth together. It was better that Renesmee go on without me. But I already missed her so much I could barely stand it.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 35, p.673
Edward and I had not had a last grand scene of farewell, nor did I plan one. To speak the word was to make it final. It would be the same as typing the words The End on the last page of a manuscript. So we did not say our goodbyes, and we stayed very close to each other, always touching. Whatever end found us, it would not find us separated.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 35, p.674
Seven months ago, our triangular relationship seemed impossible, three different kinds of heartbreak that could not be avoided. Now everything was in perfect balance. It seemed hideously ironic that the puzzle pieces would fit together just in time for all of them to be destroyed.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 35, p.674
I couldn’t see a goodbye anywhere in his eyes. Maybe he had more hope for something after this life than he’d let on.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 35, p.677
If any of the wolves stood with us, the Volturi would be sure to search out the rest. They had gambled their entire species on this stand. And we were going to lose.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 36, p.683
Of course he wanted Edward. Once he could see into Edward’s mind, he would know all our thoughts. Except mine.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 36, p.689
The shield blew out from me in a bubble of sheer energy, a mushroom cloud of liquid steel. It pulsed like a living thing – I could feel it, from the apex to the edges.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 36, p.690
It was almost physically painful to do it, but reluctantly I pulled my shield back and left Edward exposed again. The laughing mood had vanished. I focused totally on Edward, ready to shield him instantly if something went wrong.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 36, p.691
Edward’s chin came up arrogantly, and he held his hand out to Aro as if he were conferring a great honor.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 36, p.691
Every secret thought, every strategy, every insight – everything Edward had heard in the minds around him during the last month – now was Aro’s. And further back – every vision of Alice’s, every quiet moment with our family, every picture in Renesmee’s head, every kiss, every touch between Edward and me… All of that was Aro’s now too.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 36, p.692
Emmett, because he was dying to go. Jacob, because he wouldn’t be able to bear being left behind. Both nodded. Emmett grinned.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 36, p.695
I could feel the sharp plumes of light where my family and friends stood – each one an individual flavor that I thought I would be able to recognize with practice. I already knew Edward’s – his was the very brightest of them all.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 37, p.703
It was one thing to know that death was coming with fierce, unstoppable speed; it was another thing to watch it happen.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 37, p.708
In that second I understood that Caius had never underestimated the ties of a true family. This was the ploy. He had not wanted Irina’s complaint; he had wanted her defiance. His excuse to destroy her, to ignite the violence that filled the air like a thick, combustible mist. He had thrown a match.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 37, p.708
Edward’s and Jacob’s faces were almost identical masks of horror, despite the fact that one of them was an animal.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 37, p.722
You’re the only one we could ever trust her with. If you didn’t love her so much, I could never bear this. I know you can protect her, Jacob.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 37, p.723
I love you, too, Jake. You’ll always be my best man.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 37, p.723
Edward took my hand. He knew that he was included. When I said my fate, there was no question that I meant the two of us. We were just halves of the whole.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 37, p.724
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 38, p.725
I knew he was desperate to keep Edward and me, to imprison us the way he had hoped to enslave Alice. But this fight was too big. He would not win if I lived. I was fiercely glad to be so powerful that I left him no way not to kill me.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 38, p.730
His face glowed with an expression of triumph that I didn’t understand – it was the expression an angel of destruction might wear while the world burned. Beautiful and terrifying.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 38, p.730
My teeth ground together; Aro was never more dangerous than when he was gracious.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 38, p.731
I analyzed their expressions as Aro turned back to us. His face was as benign as ever, but unlike before, I sensed a strange blankness behind the façade. As if his scheming was over. Caius was clearly incensed, but his race was turned inward now; he was resigned. Marcus looked… bored; there really was no other word for it.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 38, p.739
Happiness expanded like an explosion inside me – so extreme, so violent that I wasn’t sure I’d survive it.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 38, p.741
I couldn’t speak anymore. I lifted my head and kissed him with a passion that might possibly set the forest on fire. I wouldn’t have noticed.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 38, p.741
So there are real werewolves? With the full moon and silver bullets and all that?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 39, p.745
You had me totally convinced that we were all going to die! I’ve been a wreck for weeks.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 39, p.746
This was about my acting skills?
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 39, p.746
I know it was rough for you, too. It’s just that… well, I missed you like crazy, Alice. Don’t do that to me again.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 39, p.747
The way everyone looked at me made me uncomfortable. Even Edward. It was like I had grown a hundred feet during the course of the morning. I tried to ignore the impressed looks, mostly keeping my eyes on Nessie’s sleeping face and Jacob’s unchanged expression. I would always be just Bella to him, and that was a relief.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 39, p.747
You are fairly ideal in every way.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 39, p.751
But most significant in this tidal wave of happiness was the surest fact of all: I was with Edward. Forever.
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 39, p.752
I knew it was working then, so I concentrated even harder, dredging up specific memories I’d saved for this moment, letting them flood my mind, and hopefully his as well. Some of the memories were not clear – dim human memories, seen through weak eyes and heard through weak ears: the first time I’d seen his face… the way it felt when he’d held me in the meadow… the sound of his voice through the darkness of my faltering consciousness when he’d saved me from James… his face as he waited under a canopy of flowers to marry me… every precious moment from the island… his cold hands touching our baby through my skin… And the sharp memories, perfectly recalled: his face when I’d opened my eyes to my new life, to the endless dawn of immortality… that first kiss… that first night…
Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 39, p.753
Now you know. No one’s ever loved anyone as much as I love you.
Bella Cullen,
Breaking Dawn, Chapter 39, p.753
♥ Breaking Dawn™ ♥
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