Bella Swan had finally learned that being loved and being allowed to choose were not always the same thing.
In New Orleans, behind the walls of an old house that had become both sanctuary and fortress, Bella was building a life she had never expected with Jasper Whitlock. There was a baby coming, a family forming around them, and for the first time in longer than she could remember, Bella could say she was happy and mean every word.

But across the street, the Cullens were waiting.
Alice had seen a monster. Carlisle believed Bella was dying. Edward was certain she needed to be saved, whether she wanted saving or not. Night after night they stood beyond a threshold they could not cross, waiting for one mistake.

Inside, Jasper, Bella, and the family who had chosen them prepared to hold the line.
Because this time, Bella would decide her own future.

Bella squinted through the rain-lashed windshield. There was something in the road. Something tall and dark and absolutely not supposed to be there.
She slammed on the brakes.
The figure didn’t move. Just stood there, rain streaming down what she now realized was a tuxedo. A very expensive, very wet tuxedo.
She rolled down her window. “Are you okay?”
The stranger turned. Golden eyes met hers, filled with more pain than she’d ever seen.
“No,” he said quietly. “But I’m hoping to be.”
Best decision she ever made, hitting that brake.