Summary: After a tragic death, Bella maintained a safe, yet lonely existence until an unexpected encounter on a stalled elevator ignited a fairy-tale romance. Bella and Edward throw caution to the wind and find what truly makes life worth living. AH/M

* I don't own these characters

Prologue

BPOV

I had never really been fanciful. I never wanted to believe in happily-ever-afters and fairy-tales because my life had been far from Disney-like. Now, don't get me wrong. I had never been abused, neglected, disabled or disfigured. Plenty of people had lived through true suffering; my life had not been horrible in comparison. My life qualified as a lonely existence, particularly the last few years. My mother died about six months after I was born and my father died during my senior year in high school. Both my mother and my father had no siblings and both sets of grandparents had been laid to rest; it was just me, my older brother Emmett, and his girlfriend Rosalie.

Looking back on my cynical nature, of never believing that dreams come true, I had to chuckle a little. Sometimes great things are fated, even for those of us who thought ourselves destined for mediocrity. When I remembered how I came to meet my true love, I had to wonder if even one of the hundreds of circumstances, decisions, or coincidences that day had been changed even minutely, would it have turned out differently? It was amazing how I became a believer in fate so quickly. One hot, summer day in New York City changed my life forever.

AN1: (7/17/11) This is my first fanfic. I enjoy reading many different authors and there are so many talented writers out there that really spark my imagination. For my first try, I wanted to write a story with little angst and lots of love, since real life has been kicking my butt lately. This will be a Bella and Edward romance story written in both Bella's and Edward's point of view. Anyway, I hope you like it and I welcome any advice or suggestions as I go on.

AN2: (11/03/11) The first 22 chapters of this story were originally posted with no help from betas. It was a learning process for me as a new author. However, I have several wonderful people that are helping me make some edits: Jen, Perry, and Jen. I love these ladies for their suggestions and advice. Two of them are talented authors here on FFN, mamabean and Perry Maxwell. Check out their wonderful stories.

I will be replacing each of the chapters as they are fixed, so the story will not be taken down at any time. I hope the changes make this story even more enjoyable for the great readers I have been blessed with so far.

Also, I would like to thank one of my reviewers, Annie's words, for her suggestions on the new summary for Fated Love.