Bennett puts his hand around Eden’s shoulder and looks at her, smiling. “You want to tell it this time, babe?”Eden looked at him like she was going to swallow him whole. This goddamn piece of shit.“No, babe, I want you to tell it,” Grace fake smiled at Bennett.“Well alright then,” said Bennett and looked towards Alfred. “We met at a party for the first time. It was a mere coincidence that Eden decided to sit next to me. And well, I was absolutely intoxicated by her beauty, it was so addictive I felt like I was drugged, nearly lost all my senses. And then we got to know each other and fell in love. I’ll tell you, Mr. Brown, she really had me trapped the moment I met her.”Eden’s face was going red. He was indirectly talking about the kidnapping. “Oh, isn’t that so romantic,” Alfred commented. His eyes were glistening will happiness but all Eden saw were dollar signs instead of his pupils. “Eden, run along now. Let the men talk.”“What is it, the 18th Century?” chuckled Bennett and
Eden kept pacing around her room on Monday morning. She knew his father and Bennett were in a meeting at that exact moment. If the deal is off between the for some reason, she would be in a lot of trouble. What if I just steal some money and run from here? I am 18 now after all. But no, no my father will have the entire police department looking for me. I need to talk to Sophia, she always knows what to do.Grace picks up her phone and dials Sophia, hoping she was no longer mad at her.“What?” Sophia’s tone indicated she was clearly upset.“Man, you can’t seriously still be angry,” Eden whined.“Oh, yeah of course. Why would I be? It’s not like you almost got me killed.”“Oh come on. We’re all safe, aren’t we?” Eden was getting irritated at all the complaining, but she knew she had no place, knowing that she did get her in a lot of trouble. “Listen, all I need right now is your help. I promise there will be no more crazy schemes and dangerous plans. I am really stuck right now.”Soph
Eden waited in anticipation in the living room as she heard her father’s car pull into the driveway. Her palms were sweaty from nervousness. Her future depended on what happened in the meeting between her father and Bennett. She stands up as she sees her father entering the room. “Well? What happened?” “What happened is,” Alfred looks at her and pauses. “You got yourself a new fiance.” Somehow, Eden was washed over with both relief and nervousness. Relieved because she does not have to marry Carter anymore and nervous because she is going to be seeing a lot more of Bennett now. She could no longer deny that she was physically attracted to him but she knew she would never show it to him, after all, all he needed was her to be his pretend wife with no real feelings. “So what are you going to say to Carter?” asked Eden. “That is not your business. Turns out I will be providing much more efficient services to the Masons, and their project can be initiated soon. So your wedding will
Once again, Eden found herself anticipating the arrival of a man in her living room. It was almost 5, the time at which Bennett said he would be coming. Eden was feeling anxious, not because of the future, but because she was worried her feelings of arousal may surface unannounced once again. I have no reason to be attracted to Bennett, Eden thought. It does not matter that he has the most chiseled, muscular but lean body, a smooth and deep voice, and oh, those thick jungle of hair and that jawline-*ding ding*The doorbell rang, making Eden want to punch herself for getting lost again in her fantasies. He’s still a jerk and I don’t like him, she reminded herself as she walked over to the door. She sighed before opening it.Bennett stood there with a smile and a bouquet of roses. Eden looked at him ludicrously. Why did he bring flowers?Eden gestured him inside, and he walked in after handing the roses to her. “These are for you.”“Um, thanks?” said Eden, closing the door.“Don’t worr
Bennett strummed the guitar. It still sounded wrong and made buzzy noises.“Yeah you are going to need to practice, you’re not pressing the strings hard enough on the fretboard,” said Eden, trying to hide the red in her ears.“With a teacher like you, I’m sure I'll learn in no time,” Bennett smiled, a smile that almost made Eden melt. He keeps the guitar aside and says, “Before, I go, I want to apologize for making those comments on your intelligence. I know that you must have had a tough time with your father. What you did was just a survival instinct, and I respect you for taking a stand.”Eden nodded, looking down at her thighs. She felt like he was condescending to her because she knew that what she did was, in fact, stupid. Her anger toward him surfaced once again. She did not know why she kept getting angry at him for the smallest things. She took a deep breath and looked at Bennett, and said, “Well thank you for your kind words, I would have not known that I was taking a stand
Eden looks at Bennett’s car as it drives away. The red Toyota, too, drives away shortly. Eden could not move from the pavement, she looked at the floor and begged her feet to take her back to the house, but they wouldn’t listen. Her heart was fluttering, and she was still breathing heavily. She knew she was not supposed to feel any of it. Knowing how calm Bennett was about it, it was embarrassing how much it was affecting her. She understood that it was just a publicity stunt because a reporter had been tailing him. She forced her mind to stop thinking about anything and walk back home. She could still feel the wetness on her lips, and for some reason, she wanted it to stay that way. Eden knew she should not think too much about any of it, as Bennett told her before kissing her. ‘Don’t think too much.’ The words kept ringing in her mind. She thought, ‘There’s no way this doesn’t affect him in any way.’ But the, there was no way of telling. As much as she hated her brain for this, all
Carter Schmidt’s hands shook violently as he looked at the local newspaper. There she was, his beloved Eden, in the arms of another man, kissing him. He could not bear the thought of not marrying Eden, her father had given him his word. The headline read “The Two Most Eligible Bachelors of The Town To Be Wedded In 2 Days?” An anonymous source had tipped the reporters that Eden Brown and Bennett Mason were to be married in a very, very short span of time. And, of course, there was the image of them kissing, taken by the paparazzo. That called for speculation all over the town, and more reporters started crowding the houses of Brown and Mason.Carter could not believe it. He quickly dialed Alfred on his private phone. He picked up after three rings.“What is this bullshit in the newspapers? Why does it say your daughter is going to marry the Mason boy.”“Oh yes, I forgot to tell you, Carter. We can call off the merger now, I don’t need it,” said Alfred, with a condescending tone.“What
“I agree, you look absolutely beautiful, Eden,” Grace too was shocked. Eden knew this was the dress when Grace agreed. Every time they went shopping, Grace was always too indecisive with dresses, she never knew what to buy. It always took her the whole day to decide on one dress. But when she asked Eden to get the wedding dress, at first sight, she knew she had to.Though it did not matter to Eden what kind of dress she wore, some part of her wanted to look her best. She thought that maybe it was because of Bennett but quickly shook the thought out of her mind, not wanting to let the unwanted feeling get to her again.After getting the dress, they got matching white shoes for Eden from another place and decided to get coffee. They want to a small cafe that was not known by many people. Mom and Pop’s Cafe, run by a sweet and old African-American couple, was the one place where the girls liked to hang out the most, mostly because of the delicious homemade pastries and coffee. While mos
Eden let out a monstrous scream as Bennett held her hand. He could feel her nails digging into his skin but he knew he couldn't let go. "PUSH!" the doctor screamed at Eden. "PUSH! IT'S ALMOST OUT! PUSH HARDER!" Eden let out one last loud scream before it was over and she could finally take a breath. Her grip loosened on Bennett's hand and she fell limp on the bed. She heard the sound of crying and suddenly all her energy was back. Three years after their wedding, Bennett and Eden's daughter was born. The baby was wrapped into a clean towel and handed to Eden. There was still some blood on her body but Eden wanted to hold her before the nurses took her for a bath. "Emily," Eden whispered. "Her name is Emily." Bennett leaned in next to Eden with his eyes full of tears. He looked at his little baby girl like he had never seen something so delicate and precious. Eden's heart raced faster than ever when she saw Bennett pick Emily up in his arms. When she saw his tears and the smile
Three years later: Grace woke up and noticed something weighing down on her stomach. She turned her head around to see Theo sleeping peacefully next to her. The droof falling from his mouth and onto the pillow made her smile. She quietly reached for her phone on the nightstand and clicked a picture of him before kissing his forehead. She was up 10 minutes before her alarm went off so she turned it off and walked to the bathroom to get fresh, hoping Theo would get a few minutes more to sleep. When Grace walked out of the bathroom she saw Theo sitting up on the bed with his phone in his hands and his eyes wide open with shock. "Woah, that drooling picture isn't that good," said Grace. Theo didn't look away from the phone and kept staring at it. Grace got concerned and asked, "What's wrong?" "Nothing's wrong. I'm going to be an uncle," said Theo, his voice monotonous. "Wait. Wait. Wait. What are you talking about?" Grace walked over to him and sat next to him on the bed. "Theo." "E
Theo's PoV Theo looked at Eden and Bennett suspiciously as he stared at the ticket they handed him. "This doesn't make sense. You want me to come to your honeymoon?" "Yeah, of course. It's so much more fun when you're there too," said Eden. "I mean, yeah sure, I'll go. But are you sure you're okay with this?" Theo asked. "Theo, it's not like we're asking you to stay in the same hotel suite as us too," Bennett reasoned. "Alright. I could use a vacation after the last few days happened," said Theo and put the ticket in his pocket. "But promise me you're not going to make me feel like a third-wheel?" "Yes, yes we promise. Also, your ticket was a last minute idea so we couldn't get it in the same flight as us, but the landing time is only two hours apart so we'll see you there when we land," said Eden. "I know we're all thinking it but I'm gonna say it, this is all sounding very suspicious and weird but I've heard some good things about the nightclubs in Paris so I'm not going to co
Grace didn't regret her decision of sleeping with Theo, and after all he said to her she didn't think that it didn't mean anything to him. She just felt embarrassed that even after trying to show Theo her resolve, it only took one kiss for her to give in. "I didn't think you'd want to avoid me after what happened this morning," said Theo. He came closer to Grace and whispered in her ear, "I want you more than ever now." A chill ran down Grace's spine. She stopped herself from shuddering and looked away, trying to ignore the feeling. She didn't want Theo to think that she would fall for him again so easily, he needed to know that she can't forgive him this fast after everything that happened. "Yes, I guess too much stress can make people do or say certain things they wouldn't do under normal circumstances," Grace replied with a cold voice. Theo seemed to have taken offense to that. He shifted away from Grace and looked out the window, not saying a single word to her again througho
Grace's PoV: "The bride and groom may kiss now," the pastor announced and Bennett and Eden kissed each other. Grace watched them with tears in her eyes, she felt so happy that her best friend was finally happy. Of course she felt guilty for being late for bringing the dress. She remembered why she was late and quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. She looked over to the groom's side at the altar and saw his best man, Theo, standing next to him and smiling at Grace. She quickly averted her gaze and started clapping for Bennett and Eden. Everyone left the chapel to attend the reception ceremony at a different venue. Eden had forgotten her phone and asked Grace to bring it to the reception. When she walked out all the cars were filled up with only one left, but someone was already inside it. Grace thought she had already had a rough day, that person can squeeze one more passenger in the car. Grace opened the door and stepped inside the car, closing the door behind her. "I'm so
Eden paced around the room while her make up artist tried to get her to settle down. Grace was still not done with the dress and Eden was considering getting a readymade dress. It was an hour before Eden had to walk down the aisle with Buddy. He had offered to walk with her since there was no other father figure present. Eden picked up her phone and dialed Grace and it went straight to voicemail. She sat back down on her chair hyperventilating when she suddenly heard the door burst open. It was Grace standing with a dress bag and heavily breathing like she was just running. "Oh my God, Eden I'm so sorry. Something happened and I-" "It's fine, it's all fine. Thank God you're finally here, I was just about to go and buy a last minute resort," Eden said as she stood up and walked quickly towards Grace. "Can I see it now?" "No, close your eyes. We'll put it on you and then you get to see it," Grace smiled with excitement. "That wouldn't be very convenient but okay," said Eden. "Let's
"Okay, so we got the guest list done. Invitations will be sent out tomorrow morning, the venue is booked, flowers are decided and the caterers have been taken care of," said Grace. "Now there's only one thing left to do." "Grace, I really wish you didn't bother yourself, Sophia and Natalie with all these tasks. We have help doing all of those things. You should focus on your store," said Eden as she buried her nose in her laptop, staring at the previous year finance reports. "And I really wish you would stop working for just a couple of days so you could enjoy your wedding preparations," Grace urged. "You've done nothing but work since Bennett announced the date of your wedding." Eden sighed and looked up. "I've been working so hard because I'm going to get off work a day before the wedding, the day of the wedding and the day after. That's three days going without work, and I need to prove to everyone I care about the business too." "Eden, I know this is important to you, but no on
Eden wore a beautiful cream gown that went down all the way to her ankle with a slit that reached up her left knee. It had a heart shaped neckline and thin shoulder straps. Grace was wearing the same dress as her since both of them were bridesmaids at Sophia and Natalie's wedding. They waited at the altar as both their father's walked them down the aisle. Eden couldn't help but get teary as she saw the wedding happen. She didn't remember what happened the night they got wasted at Grace's house and she didn't remember saying anything to Bennett, or even calling him. "The brides may kiss now." Natalie and Sophie kissed each other and the applause erupted from the guests. Eden and Grace hugged them tightly before congratulating them. After the wedding, all the guests made their way over to the reception. Eden saw Grace getting in the car with Theo while holding his hand and smiled at the thought of them finally making up. Eden got in her car with Bennett and smiled at him when she
Eden's PoV Eden got back from a tiring day of work and went through the mail to see if she received any. She saw a purple letter that caught her eye. It said that it was for both Bennett and her. When she opened it, a wave of happiness washed over her. It was an invitation for a wedding. Sophia and Natalie's wedding invitation. Eden almost started jumping around with happiness and squealing with excitement. She picked up the phone and immediately called Grace to ask her if she received the invitation. Grace picked up the phone and started screaming loudly on the phone. Eden couldn't contain her excitement and started screaming too. She heard the door open and the sound of footsteps running towards her. "What's wrong?! Eden?!" Bennett yelled as he ran over to Eden and saw her grinning ear to ear with eyes full of tears. "Wha- what? I don't understand? What's going on?" "NATALIE AND SOPHIA ARE GETTING MARRIED!" Eden yelled. "I can't believe this. Oh my god of my god oh my god." R