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
Eden had not given her phone number to anyone but her closest friends, none of whom would ever do this to her. The voice that said her name sent chills down her spine. It was the sound of a grown man, but it sounded wrong in so many ways. Eden blocked the number and looked outside the window thinking who it could be, then she remembered that if Bennett got her number, anyone could. She texted Grace asking her if she gave her phone number to Bennett or Theo. Grace replied in a minute saying that she didn't.Eden closed her eyes and leaned back on the seat, waiting to get home faster. When she reached her apartment, she paid the driver and pulled out her bag. Outside the building of her apartment complex, she saw a weird looking man leaning against the door as he smoked a cigarette. He was wearing a black shirt, black jeans and a cap and sunglasses on his face. Eden paid no attention to h
Eden started panicking as she saw that ger hands were tied. Though the rope was loosely tied, she still couldn't get herself out of it.She realised something was different with her and looked down to see her body. She was no longer in the black dress and heels she had left in. She was wearing a short, light pink, silk nightgown that had thin straps, a very deep neckline and reached above her mid thigh. She felt relieved that she was still wearing her own undergarments. On her feet she was wearing white translucent stockings that reached up her thigh. Why would anyone dress me like that? She thought to herself. She didn't know who changed her clothes or what they did to her body while she was passed out.Eden pulled and twisted on the ropes, in hope's to break it but it was of no use. She heard the door creek open and she
Eden slowly opened her eyes when she heard a knock on the door. She said loudly, "No, don't come in." The door opened and a woman walked in with a tray of food. "Oh great, come in anyway. What was the point of knocking?"The woman looked distraught. She looked at Eden guiltily and placed the tray of food on the bed, just enough for Eden to pick up anything she wanted and eat it. "I'm sorry, Miss. Orders from sir," she said and walked out the room and Eden heard the familiar click of the door locking.Eden looked at the tray and saw that there was a big bowl of chicken soup, apple slices, breadsticks and a glass of water. The smell of the soup was filling up the room and Eden's mouth watered. She kept looking at the food but decided not to even touch it because it might be spiked with drugs.
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