Woman of the Hour // volturi kings

01. love hurts

1995

The gloomy sky of Anchorage did nothing to dampen Claire's mood. She was feeling her usual, optimistic self. She was rarely seen without a smile on her face, even sharing her positivity with the occasional rude customer that visited the small café she worked at. It was contagious, they'd always offer her an apologetic smile in return. She believed in being kind to everyone because it cost you nothing.

Maybe that's why Edward Cullen was drawn to her. Her mind was a constant stream of positive thoughts to plicate his inner monster. She was also beautiful; she had gorgeous, dark brown hair that was always down, piercing blue eyes that felt like that they could see through your very soul and a million-dollar smile that lit up the room.

They had been dating for nearly two years, having hit it off in English class on his first day, much to the dismay of her many admirers. They quickly became inseparable, Edward enjoyed basking in her sunny thoughts while she swooned for his gentlemanly manners. She'd become close with his family, surprisingly Rosalie and Jasper taking the strongest liking to her. They'd even nicknamed her Sunflower.

Claire was stood on her front porch wrapped up in a warm jacket to protect herself from the cold breeze waiting for Edward to show up. He'd been distant lately, so she had asked him out on a picnic. He accepted and insisted on picking her up, but he was running late. That didn't stop her excitement, she was practically jumping up and down with the thought of spending time with her boyfriend. She was so in love with him, she was convinced he was it for her. No one would ever make her so content, no one would treat her so well. Even if they hadn't had the conversation about her immortality, she was sure she'd spend the rest of her life with him, no matter how long that would be.

She skipped off the porch with the picnic basket in her hand when Edward's car finally pulled into the driveway, quickly making her way towards the vehicle. He didn't get out like he usually did to open the door for her, but she quickly dismissed his behaviour and opened the door and got into the passenger seat, the basket in her lap.

"Hey, I missed you," she told him softly, letting her eyes take in his side profile. He looked tense, his amber eyes glued ahead, and his jaw clenched. It stirred an uneasy feeling in her gut. He was typically happy to see her, always greeting her with a smile.

"We need to talk," he stated simply as he reversed out of the driveway.

No more words were spoken between them, Claire's mind going a mile a minute while Edward desperately tried to catch any coherent thought she had. He really did love her; she was a wonderful girl. She did make him happy; she was his best friend. But he wasn't in love with her anymore.

Unfortunately, she wasn't his mate, his soulmate. He knew his love for her wouldn't survive forever, but he tried anyway.

They finally arrived at their destination, a peaceful park where they had many picnic dates together. To Claire, it seemed dull right now. The grass wasn't as green as usual, the birds weren't singing as cheerfully as they normally would. The cloud of doubt was creeping in on her, her mind so loud that she didn't notice Edward had left the car until he knocked on her window, making her jump.

He didn't open the door for her, again, so she slowly let herself out, the picnic basket hanging low by her side. She followed behind him, he seemed eager to get where they were going and certainly didn't seem like he was going to wait for her to catch up.

She stumbled off the path, stopping when she spotted Edward standing in the middle of their usual clearing, his hands in his pockets and his back to her. She was scared; scared about what he wanted to talk about. She thought everything was going well, that they were still going strong.