“Leo? Wh-what? How?” Eden was shocked. She knew that Leo was coming to America as a foreign exchange student but she had never thought that it could be the same college as her. Eden had begun to think that none of this could be a coincidence. She kept running into him in the most unlikely places. He was at the museum, then near her hotel, in Pisa, and then in her college too. “I know what you’re thinking. You definitely think that I am following you. Even I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you here yesterday,” Leo said, stepping back from her as if trying to let her know that she was safe and that he wasn’t there to hit on her.“Yesterday? Did you see me yesterday? Why didn’t you say anything?” Eden asked, still not sure if she wanted to believe him.“You were just leaving in a car, and I didn’t know where you were going. I didn’t call you because I knew you would try to avoid me if you knew I was here,” Leo explained. “I know things didn’t end in the best way between us, but isn’
For the next two days, Eden didn’t see Leo on her college campus. She only hoped that he took the hint and acted maturely to make Eden’s life easier. Grace didn’t beg her to drop her to college anymore and James too stopped trying to belittle her. Life was going perfectly for her and finally, it was the weekend. A moving truck stood outside the Mason Manor. They didn’t have much to take back to the new home, just a few cartons of clothes and some personal things since the penthouse was already fully furnished and there were going to be housemaids to handle everything else. At the end of the day, everything was sorted and Bennett and Eden were ready to finally move out. There was still some fixing to do in the new house, like sorting the closet or buying groceries, etc., but they could do it slowly while living there.Eden and Bennett bid goodbye to Chester, Betty, and Theo before heading out. The penthouse was only 10 minutes away from the Mason Manor and they could come back easily a
Eden paced around the house waiting for Bennett to come back. Alfred had come to her home in hopes of having Eden divorce Bennett and marry Carter because he suspected Bennett of tricking him. Before leaving, he had dropped another bombshell on her. He told her that Eden was not his daughter. That actually explains a lot, Eden thought. She always thought that what kind of father would do this to his daughter, but now that she knew that Alfred was not her father, it made sense why he ghosted her emotionally since her mother left and why he was so adamant about selling her off for a business deal to anyone who came with a better offer to him. It didn’t make her sad that she wasn’t Alfred’s daughter. She smiled when she thought that she had another father out there in the world who could have loved him. Though, she did feel angry at her mother for cheating on Alfred and making him a stone-cold man, down to the core. When she was small, she always thought that her mother and father were
Grace’s point of view:“So I suppose I should tell you about what happened with that Mr. Cooper of yours,” Grace said as she handed a glass of wine to Eden. Eden’s interest was immediately shifted to Grace’s story. She got so busy with the shifting process that she never got to ask Grace what she talked so long about with Professor Cooper. She looked at Grace, gesturing for her to keep talking. “Okay, so here’s what happened…..”3 days agoGrace stopped the car in front of the college gate and turned to Eden. “Okay here’s the thing. That professor of yours. He’s hot. I want him. Simple.”“Come on, grace. That’s my professor, man,” Eden tried to reason with her, knowing full well that it wouldn’t do anything.“Eden, listen. Just introduce me, that’s all you have to do and I’ll take it from there, okay?” said Grace.“Ugh, fine, but I swear this is definitely the last time you’re coming with me. This is your one and only shot with him, there’ll be no more of that after today. Alright?”
Grace sat on the edge of her bed and stared at Professor Copper's card. She thought of Theo as she stared at the digits. Why am I doing this? She asked herself. She got up from the bed and shook the thought of Theo out of her head. It was 11:00 PM. She wasn't sure if she should call the professor this late. She remembered how much the professor was into her. And thought that it was okay if she did call him. She dialed the number and waited for Professor Cooper to pick up. After two rights, she heard a voice with an intense British accent speak on the other line, “Hello.”Grace got nervous as soon as she heard his voice. “H-Hi.We met at the university today. I was with Eden.” The professor was quiet for a while. He didn't seem to remember Grace. I am grace. You gave me your card today. Remember?” Grace felt embarrassed that he didn't recognize her. She didn't hear any reply from the professor. She stayed in line and waited for him to say something. After a while, she heard a muffled
Eden looked at Grace in astonishment. She said, “ What? He has a wife and two kids. How could he have not told you that when he gave you his number? Who does that? That is so messed up.”“Well, I guess I'm happy, he told me before things went too far. I wish he was single though. He is kind of really handsome. Haven't you noticed too?” Grace asked.“I don't know. He's not that good-looking. I guess it's the British accent that people like,” said Eden.Gray smirked and said, “Yeah, there's someone else that you find handsome now. God, you have become such a wife material.”Smacked her arm and said, “.You're an asshole. Do you know that?” Her mood suddenly changed again. She didn't know what Bennett had gone out to do and it frightened her that he would do something reckless and get himself in trouble. Although she knew emotion was not what drove Bennett to do things, she had noticed that he had started to be more impulsive while he was with her. Last week, they were at a restaurant on
Eden looked at Grace, hoping for an explanation, but Grace stayed silent and looked down at her feet as if thinking about what to say. Eden looked behind her and saw that there was no guitar in the hallway either. “Grace, you didn’t get my guitar?” Eden asked, growing more and more suspicious.“Well- well I went to your fath- Alfred’s place and he was in his study,” said Grace.“Okay, and?” Eden pressed.“So your housemaid let me into your room and, um…” Grace’s words trailed off slowly, giving Eden a growling feeling in her chest. She didn’t know what was wrong but her gut told her she didn’t want to hear it. “Alfred. He destroyed your guitar after he left from here.”Eden sat on the couch, staring into the empty space. Alfred had destroyed the thing that was most precious to her. Her mother’s last gift. Eden closed her eyes and kept repeating in her head, ‘It’s just a guitar. It’s just a guitar. It’s just a guitar. It’s just a guitar.’ Before she could control herself anymore, she
“You’re lying!” Eden yelled as tears filled her eyes.Alfred stood up from his desk and smirked at Eden. “You’re right, Eden. He doesn’t work for me,” he said with an evil smile. “He works for Carter Schmidt. He always has. When that rat Bennett married you, Carter was bent on destroying your marriage with him. So he hired Leo to charm you and get you to sleep with him, which you, being as stupid as you are, did very easily.”Eden’s world was spinning now. She now knew sleeping with Leo was a terrible mistake. She looked at Leo with blurred vision. She trusted him and she was vulnerable to him, but all he was doing was following orders from a man she hated. What baffled her more was the fact that Carter, who claimed to love her, was ready to let her sleep with another man if it meant destroying her relationship with Bennett. Leo looked at her and said, “Lily, I just came here because your father called me. He and Carted have been working together to get you and your husband divorced.