Theo leaned back on the chair as if thinking deeply about something. Grace noticed that he looked upset."Theo, you don't have to answer it. I really liked you a lot and I guess it's just an itch to know why we couldn't work it out," said Grace.Theo looked at Grace and gave her a guilty smile. "You're right, I owe you an explanation. I can't deny that I like you a lot too. You're the first girl who made me feel something real for the first time in a while, and it scared me. I was so used to getting drunk, having meaningless sex, partying, and whatnot that I got too numb to the sensation of actually falling for someone. I was happy the entire time I spent with you, but when things started getting too real, I got scared and ruined something that gave me true happiness."Grace was speechless. She looked at Theo with wide eyes. Before she could say something, he got a call, and he excused himself to pick it up. When he came back, he said, "I have to go. I'm so tired of Bennett calling m
"And then I worked for him for three months, modeled for him and he taught me about design. I did learn a lot from him, he's truly a legend. I talked to Theo a lot over these days, mostly on call or text. I know he said that he might want to get with me again, but I don't know if I want to be with someone who had so many unstable feelings. I think we're okay being just friends. Bottom line is, I missed you like crazy. And I came here straight from the airport," said Grace. She held Eden's hand and smiled. "Now I want to know everything about you."Eden looked at her and said, "I'm so sorry I Didn't see your texts. I changed my phone number after the divorce. I lost my old one the day I left the cafe. God I wish I had never gone to that pub and drank so much.""Wait, what?" Grace asked."Yeah, remember that bar Alex used to take me to? I went there and got wasted. Bennett came to save me again," said Eden."You did that again, Eden?" Grace asked, sounding angered."You don't know what
Eden sat through her class, unable to stop thinking about Mom's death. It made her want one thing: to find her real mother. She didn't want her to leave the world some day and never have met her or gotten an explanation about why she did what she did. Though she was angry at her mother for leaving her with a monster like Alfred, she wanted to see her and hear her side of the story. The only problem was that she didn't know where she was or how to contact her. She knew that Bennett probably had contacts that could find her but she didn't want to talk to him again. An idea came into Eden's mind and she quickly texted Grace to meet her the next day at her apartment. Grace knocked on the door and Eden answered with an excited look on her face."Grace, I think I'm ready," Eden said, feeling nervous."Ready for what?" Grace asked in confusion."To see my mother," Eden replied."Oh," said Grace, not knowing if it was a good idea. "Are you sure about this?""After Mom's death, it got me thi
Eden paced around the room, waiting for Grace to call with information about how the talk went with Theo. Finally, her phone rang and she got excited and fell from her hand and below the bed. She groaned and cursed out loudly, but quickly shut her mouth remembering that a family with young kids lived right next door. She got on her knees and bent down to fish out her phone. Fortunately, it was still ringing and Eden picked it up before it got hung up.Grace was on the other line. She said, "Okay, so Theo agreed to do it. He said he'll get you the number before 12 AM tonight."Eden felt relieved but for some reason, her heart was pounding loudly. I am finally going to see her. I can't believe it. It had been more than 12 years since she last saw her mother. Eden paced around the house, thinking about what she was going to say to her mother. This was a big step for her and it may be the biggest thing she has ever had to deal with in her life. Even after the alcohol problems, abusive fa
Eden boarded the flight and waited for the plane to take off. It was a two hour long flight, but it felt like an eternity to wait for it to land. She didn't tell Grace that she was going to Florida on her own, because if she did, Grace would have forcefully come with her. Eden took deep breaths to calm herself down and listened to some calming music. She was a nervous wreck and wanted to jump off the plane to avoid the confrontation. But she knew she got herself into it and owed herself some mental peace. After two hours, the plane landed. Eden had brought nothing but a duffel bag with two days worth of clothing. She knew that she was not going to stay for even one day, but brought them in case of any delay. She walked out of the Florida airport and hailed a cab to her mother's home.Martha's house was half an hour away from the airport. Eden was fiddling with her fingers and tapping her legs, in anticipation of seeing her mother again. She didn't know what kind of reaction she was g
"Who is my father then?" Eden asked, not knowing if she was going to like the answer or not.Martha scrunched her eyes and said, "What are you talking about? You keep calling him Alfred and not refer to him as Dad. Did he do something so bad that you don't even want to be seen as his daughter? I can't imagine what he put you through." Martha placed her hand on Eden's shoulder and looked at her with sympathy."What?" Eden was confused. "Alfred is not my father, what are you talking about?"Martha was confused too. "Eden, I don't understand. Do you mean that he did something wrong?""No, I mean he's biologically not my father, that's why he was selling me off to marry an old creepy man. Ever since you left he has done
Martha ran after Eden, trying to stop her. "Eden, wait! Please, just hear me out?"Eden turned around abruptly and looked at Martha with anger filling her eyes, "What do you want me to hear, huh? How you purposely abandoned me when you didn't have to.""Eden, just try to understand me, please. I've always loved you. Me coming back into your life would have only meant problems, and nothing else. Of course I thought that when I didn't know how your father had been treating you. Right now, I regret nothing more. God, I would have ran barefoot across the country if I knew what was going on with you. Baby, I'm so sorry," Martha said, crying. She approached Eden slowly who was standing in the living room, looking down on her feet as her tears fell down uncontrollably. Martha pulled in Eden for a hug as both of them sobbed. Eden opened her
"True love doesn't fade out in a couple of months, maybe you should see him, try to talk things out," Martha advised. "The media, the publicity, none of it matters if you're not happy. Let them think what they think. Like that Game of Thrones saying goes, the lion doesn't eat sheep that are- wait what is it again," said Martha.Eden burst out into laughter at her mom's attempt at trying to be hip. "It's 'the lion doesn't concern himself with the opinion of sheep'.""Yeah, yeah, fine you're cooler than me," said Martha jokingly as Eden continued to laugh at her.As they talked, Eden couldn't help but feel a very strong wave of nostalgia. She remembered talking nonsense things to her mom while she fueled her fantasies and played