Okay going to try a hand at doing a new story. Hopefully it will turn out right this time. This is a little different writing style this time and definitely rated T or maybe even M just incase.

This first chapter is quite long as I wanted to give it try to let the history explore itself and the starting of it. It will be smaller chapters in future. It will be a bit draggy as Bella's history comes in later. But read on and read the A/N at the end of the story too.

Title - I picked the title based on the song Beautiful Love by The Afters. It's a really good song, really. Literally really beautiful. Its the main theme song of the story anyway :)

Disclaimer - Don't own it! Playlist - Closing Credits "Bolero" of Moulin Rogue

The Promise

Flashback

The man walked quickly down the hallway of the great, white Masen house. He stopped shortly outside the two great wooden doors of the library before knocking smartly and opening the two great golden handles.

"Mr. Masen? Sir?"

The figure across the library responded by looking up from the desk opposite. He was rather young, boyish looking that would make any man his age envious of his good looks.

"Yes, Jonathan?"

"Mr. Swan is here as requested. The meeting you scheduled with him at this hour, sir," Jonathan, the family butler, senior of the three servants that were present in the household.

Mr. Masen leaned back in his chair and sighed before taking off his spectacles and nodded, "Send him in. Thank you, Jonathan."

"A pleasure, sir," Jonathan nodded politely before closing the door.

Mr. Masen rested his forehead gently on his thumb with that hand's elbow rested on the palm of the other. He wasn't well for someone his age and he was tired all the time. Although it wasn't showing on his face, his illness wasn't getting better. He could feel it growing on him as the days went by. He always sweat while he was sleeping at night and frequently was short on breath even when it was just climbing staircases that extended longer than usual.

He gazed at the picture sitting on the desk next to his papers. Before he could reach out to take it, a knock on the door came again.

"Come in," he said.

Another man, who had a rather large frame and matching brown hair and eyes came through the door this time and heartily called out, "Eddie!"

Mr. Masen arched an eyebrow at him gravely, "I would appreciate it if you addressed me formally as usual, Charlie."

Charlie swayed backwards as if to show that the words that Mr. Masen had said threw a punch at him, "Now, now. Let's not be -"

"Let's, shall we? I will come to the point, Charlie. I do not have any business in assisting your thievery ethics or showing you any leniency. You stole nearly half of Mr. Black's documents and nearly got away with it if it wasn't for the last minute change in plans of documents," Mr. Masen shook his head.

"What has that got to do with you now?" Charlie coughed as he sat down in a chair opposite the table.

"Billy Black is my client and you are…" and Mr. Masen hesitated before looking up with tired eyes, "My old friend…"

"Alright, you've made your point. Now tell me what's going to happen to me…" and Charlie's voice was beginning to lose its sense of humor.

"Nothing is going to happen to you, Charlie. You will go to jail for the maximum years possible and -"

"WHAT

"Mr. Black is a very important and powerful member of our society, you picked the wrong person to try and fool around with, Charlie."

"And? And?! There's more?!"

"As much as I hate to say this, the law is the law. When you serve your time in jail, Renee will have to serve her time as a maid in the Black's household."

"What? Work for that scoundrel? He could live off any beggar man's family's wages if that is what it takes to keep his family in one piece!"

"You are a bankrupted tradesman stripped from his honour! Don't you go lowering yourself even more than you already are?"

"I will not let Renee conform to his abuses."

"You and she will do as he says."

"But what about the house? My belongings?" Charlie exclaimed.

"You should have taught about the consequences before you did this, Charlie. Your house will be put up for sale and all your belongings will be sold of to pay the debt that you owe Mr. Black. All your family heirlooms will still be in your possession though."

Charlie put his hands to his face and heaved a big sigh, "I was just trying to protect my family. Black was going to remove my permit to continue working because I was always drunk during the afternoons. But I never got violent – I was just sleepy, but you know him, always taking any excuse to bump me off the system."

Charlie looked up to the ceiling, "On that same night he removed my work permit, I got drunk and this part was entirely my fault. I knew where he had kept his money documents and I thought he wasn't going to be back till later that night. Miscalculation – yeah, that's what it was…"

Mr. Masen arranged the papers on his desk neatly before placing his two palms together to rest on the desk, "I'm sorry, Charlie. I wish I could do more, but I can't. I hate to think what this will do to Renee, she's pregnant I hear?"

"Yes – but I'd rather to endure the rest of my life in jail than put Renee behind the bars. I'll serve my time, but I don't know what's going to happen to her while I am away…" Charlie's voice was beginning to crack.

Mr. Masen didn't answer.

Charlie stood up, "Eddie, what about the promise we made, huh? When we were just two idiots running around looking for a job?"

Mr. Masen closed his eyes. He should have seen this coming.

"What about that? Don't you remember?" Charlie repeated.

"Charlie, please. I -"

"No, I'll admit I did Black wrong, but I did nothing to you! I've always been at your side, thick and thin! You're like my brother! You can't -"

"NOT after what you did. I cannot promise you that anymore – the betrothal was just joke when we were kids, Charlie."

"Eddie, please. Don't give me that, huh? You know me, we're – we're like brothers you know?" Charlie pleaded.

"Charlie, you know how hard this is for -"

"NO YOU don't do THIS to ME!" Charlie yelled.

Mr. Masen also stood up from his chair with an unflinching face, "Charlie Swan, lower your voice immediately or I'll have you removed."

"Who was the one going around doing all those jobs just to fill in the gaps of the bills? You lucky scoundrel managed to land yourself with a rich wench while I had to run here and there like a dog bidding people's orders."

"Don't you talk about Elizabeth that way!"

"I'm not. I respect Liz, I know she's a hard worker and you've done yourself pretty dandy too. I'm happy – proud of you, but I really need you to do this for me. They're all I've got and the life growing in Renee's womb day by day will be the only thing that will give her the strength to carry on in life. Renee isn't strong – you know that."

Mr. Masen sat back down slowly and nodded after awhile.

"Even if -"

Charlie closed his eyes tightly with his dry and cracked lips pressed together before hoarsely saying, "If you will not allow them to get married, you will take good care of them, will you not?"

Mr. Masen considered this for a moment before sighing, "Renee will be waiting for you. Your time in prison will start in three days. You have all the time you need."

Just before Charlie left, he turned around and cracked a small smile, "He is a boy, isn't he? Liz gave birth last month?"

"Yes," Mr. Masen smiled.

"Are you going to name him after you like you always said you would if it was a boy?"

"That is the plan," Mr. Masen laughed, for the first time since Charlie entered.

Then, Mr. Masen softened, "What about yours? The doctor told you yet whether it is a boy or a girl?"

Charlie grinned, "A girl."

Mr. Masen sighed. This was going to be even harder to refuse Charlie's request now. "Figured out what you wanted to call her?"

Charlie's eyes sparkled, it was tearing up, and he mumbled clumsily "Renee picked the name just yesterday."

"Really now? What is it?"

"Isabella Marie Swan. But of course, knowing Renee she'll just end up calling her Bella."

Elizabeth Masen stood over the cot of her baby boy and she smiled, "You are the most beautiful thing is the world."

The baby hiccupped.

"Your father is going to be very, very upset," Elizabeth laughed.

"Because you are going to look just like me with that strange hair of yours," Elizabeth tapped the tip of the little boy's nose.

The baby yawned and blinked his delicate eyes at her.

"You have my eyes too, baby," Elizabeth sighed as she lifted him gently and began to sway him from side to side.

"What is your name?" Elizabeth cooed.

"Edward Anthony Masen. You are going to be the most beautiful boy anyone has ever seen. I'll make sure of that," Elizabeth kissed his forehead.

18 years later…

"JACOB BLACK!"

The boy lounging on the sofa in the living room yawned and rubbed his brown eyes. He looked at his watch – it was still early. Why the hell was he yelling this time?

"JACOB BLACK, I'M WARNING YOU!"

The boy, Jacob Black sighed and sat up. He ruffled his short black cropped hair and finally stood up slowly – stretching his muscular body. He was fairly good looking with a childish roundness to his face. His brown eyes were playful and mischievous – it was a walking entertainment machine.

"JACO -"

"COMING!" Jacob yelled back in a rich, deep voice with thrice the amount of lung power his Dad was throwing at him.

He bounded down the stairs taking big strides and met his annoyed father at the foot of it. His father was a midget compared to him but they looked similar in some ways. His had his father's glossy black hair but his chocolate eyes belonged to his mother.

"What?" Jacob grumbled.

"Renee's daughter is arriving today. I thought I told you," Billy Black shook his head.

"Right, the servant's daughter. Why is she coming here again?" Jacob asked while yawning once more just to annoy his father further.

Billy sighed angrily, "It was all part of that damn deal, alright? I don't want that girl in this house anymore than you do. If her mother worked for us, we had to take her in once she was orphaned or if anything ever happened to Renee."

"Yeah, you worked that woman so hard she just had to drop dead from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, you reckon?" Jacob rolled his eyes.

"Don't you use that tone with me, young man. That wretched husband of hers did me wrong, and I ain't putting up with that unless I get something in return."

"So – how long is she staying with us?" Jacob tried to change the subject. He hated when his Dad lingered on old family history. It was pointless to him – he didn't see the reason why there was so much suffering.

"I don't know, I suppose for one term of your school."

"She's going to be studying here?"

"She came from a public boarding school, you think?"

"We're having our finals in a month, Dad. How is she going to cope with that switching to other schools at this period? Is this even permitted? How did she even get accepted into the school without recommendation?"

"I don't know and frankly, I don't really care. The Masens took care of all that load of crap."

"Why them?"

"All you gotta do right now is to make sure she stays outta trouble so that the family name isn't going to get soiled."

Jacob rolled his eyes once more, "Yes, yes, of course. Always entrusting me with everything in the end, huh?"

"Look, Masen and her father were old friends. They made some sort of pact, like – er – their children are supposed to get married or something like a…"

"Betrothal, Dad. So she is the one who is going to marry him, huh? The one you told me about last time?" Jacob shook his head.

"Whatever, anyway she is to stay with us for one term of your school and when she is eighteen before you guys all go off to college, she's going to marry that Masen's son."

Jacob smirked, "That mummy's boy next door? Why can't she stay with them instead?"

"Since that old witch, the – the sister I think, of that Mr. Masen moved in, everything's become rightly traditional over there. She won't allow the couple to live together till they are married. You think I never tried to argue about shifting her over?"

"Does she know she's going to marry that freak?"

"Judging from Renee's sudden departure, I guess not."

"So – shouldn't we tell -"

Ding, ding, ding

"Get the door, Jacob and not another word. It is not our business, the Masens will handle this."

Jacob reluctantly went to open it thinking of what a hell time he was going to get looking out for this stranger who was probably some annoying public student that was going to be very meticulous about everything she did.

When the door was thrown open, Jacob found his eyes meeting a pair of similar brown eyes but this time more intense and chocolate rimmed. The long hair that was flowing past her shoulders was mahogany brown and her fair skin was the most enticing thing he had ever seen.

"Hi?" Jacob said with a certain stammer in his voice.

The slender girl that stood before him with a heart shape face that looked strong and determined nodded politely, "Isabella Marie Swan. I'm looking for Mr. Black."

"Come in here, child," Billy's voice called from inside.

She was just about to pick up her suitcase when Jacob leaned over, "Let me help you with that."

"Thanks," she smiled and walked in.

Billy stuck his hand forward, "Billy Black, your mother worked for us you recall?"

Isabella shook his hand and nodded, "Yes – I recall. I never saw much of her though, always was away."

"How would you like to be addressed?" Billy asked.

"Bella, please. Thank you for taking me in, Mr. Black."

Billy grunted which sounded a little more like a strangled laugh, "Yes, well – JACOB! Show her to her room."

"So, this is it!" Jacob announced as he placed her tiny bag on the floor.

The room was fairly big with a nice antique bed and a dresser with a small table for working at the left end. Right at the side of the bedroom was a big window.

"My dad sleeps on the top floor and it has only one room anyway. I sleep at the other end of this floor," Jacob explained.

"Thanks, Jacob," she smiled and began to start unpacking her things.

The silence between them was strange and Jacob found himself shrugging awkwardly at the doorway while watching her, "So – what's your name again?"

"Bella," she laughed without looking at him.

"Tomorrow is first day of school! Excited?" he grinned.

He couldn't help noticing that she had very few belongings and very little clothes. Her unpacking was done in just a few minutes. It shocked him – how could someone be so deprived of material provisions? His whole life most of his things were provided – he wasn't filthy rich but he was fairly wealthy neighborhood.

She walked over to the window and peeped out, "Yeah, I guess so."

"How about a little tour? Of the house?" he suggested.

She was staring out of the window with the strangest expression on her face. It was then he realized that the window of this room was facing the Masens' house next door.

But before he could walk over to take a look too, she turned around and shrugged, "Sure – hey, I'm sorry I don't seem very friendly. I take time to get warmed up to people."

Then she gave him a warm smile. It was beautiful and he felt all fuzzy inside which was difficult to hide as a smile crept on his face too.

As they were walking down the staircase, Bella asked, "So where is your mum?"

"She died a long time ago. Her name was Sarah and she was the prettiest woman I had ever seen in my life," Jacob smiled to himself.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Bella's face softened.

"Nah, it's cool. I have two older twin sisters though, Rebecca and Rachel but they both don't live here anymore. I'm the youngest you see – Becky married a Samoan surfer and she lives in Hawaii now."

"Wow, that's awesome!" Bella exclaimed.

"If you say so," Jacob laughed with a twinkle in his eyes before adding, "Rach's got a scholarship few years back so now she's in the Washington state."

"So just you and your Dad, huh?"

"Yup, pretty much just the two of us. Beware though, my dad and I don't get along much at times so it can be pretty rowdy around here!"

"I think I can handle it," Bella teased.

"What bout you? I knew your mum," Jacob patted her lightly on the back.

"Yeah – I knew it was going to happen. With all the work she was trying to handle to keep my fees up and running. I mean, I knew I would be going away to live somewhere else which is here. She always told me I would, one day but she never told me why. She wouldn't even tell me who was going to pay for the private school fees. I know it's surely not you guys."

Jacob knew who – but Billy's warning was still fresh and clear in his head.

"What bout your Dad?"

"My dad died in jail when I was five. He was convicted twenty years but again, I never knew why. Renee always brushed me off whenever I asked her. He died on his fifth year there – Renee said it was excess alcohol consumption, it poisoned him."

Again, Jacob knew why. Billy never had been the one to keep family experiences to himself. He always used it as lesson times and lectures for Jacob and he hated it.

"The old house? What's going to happen to it?"

"It was sold long ago, a few months after my dad went to jail to pay a debt he owed someone and – hey, you okay?"

Jacob began to feel uncomfortable. He knew who and why – it was killing him inside to keep this from her.

"Yeah, no problem. Carry on…"

"Second house was sold to pay her medical bills…" and Bella sounded different this time.

"I mean, we knew we had to. That's why she used last of Charlie's savings to send me off to boarding school. She stayed with you guys permanently after that – remember?"

Jacob nodded faintly.

They stopped right outside the kitchen and Jacob pointed across to the windows and nodded proudly, "We have a backyard out there. The gardeners come once awhile so it's quite well kept. You can walk around and stuff you know?"

Bella's facial expression was a cross between shock and dreamy like before saying softly, "It's really pretty, and I've never had this kind of place before."

"Would think so since you've been holed up in the boarding areas," Jacob agreed.

"So how far is school from here?" Bella wrinkled her nose.

"Not that far, within a ten minute walking distance but don't worry – I got a car. I'll send you there no worries."

Bella blinked, "You have a car?"

"Yeah."

"Wow – rich kids," Bella muttered jokingly.

"We're nothing compared to the Masens next door! You should see their house – but I think you already did since the window is facing it. You should see their cars! Man – I'd kill for a set of wheels like that freak has."

"Freak?" Bella asked absent mindedly.

"Yeah, the Masens only son. The only child too – the devil, he's one pampered jerk. He's got an Aston Martin V12 – and in silver! I heard that's just ONE of his cars, that Mummy's boy…"

"What does this – this boy look like?"

"A pain in the ass, that's what he is. Why?"

"Nothing, just wondering. Hey, do you think I could take a walk by myself in the garden? I thought I saw something in the window over the hedge."

"Over the hedge is the Masens house," Jacob shook his head.

"Yeah, I know but I thought I saw something."

"Just don't let them catch you peeping over. They are pretty closed up folks – you wouldn't want to be in trouble your first day here, let alone your first hour," Jacob joked.

"Don't worry, I just want to see something. A minute peek and I'll be right back," Bella promised and she walked out into the open sun.

This is all based on narrator's POV but I promise you, following chapter is based on one of the characters POV and the first sight begins next chapter!

It will pick up better after this chapter and Bella's alot more stronger than this. Loads of things coming up and starting from next chapter I will put previews of future chapters so you guys can get an idea. Its not all a sad depressing story - it won't be! Trust me:)

What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Should stop? Tell me what you think! The summary and front and back design for this story is on my profile. Take a look! And tell me what you think too!

READ and REVIEW guys!

- Akanay