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 was supposed to visit the University of South California (USC) in a week to meet with the counselor and decide which course she’ll be pursuing, as said in the letter. Bennett had apparently pulled some strings and found her a seat in the college before the new session started. Eden was thankful but not very pleased because she should have been the one to decide which college she wants to go to. She texted this concern to Bennett, saying she wants to choose a college on her own.Bennett replied, ‘You can’t find a better college in the whole of Los Angeles, this is where I graduated from, believe me, it’s the best.Eden texted back, Wait how old are you?Bennett: Twenty-four, why?Eden: You’re a lot older than me.Bennett: Um, ok.Eden: But that’s not the point. What if I wanted to apply to Harvard or Yale?Bennett: Yeah, you can’t leave the city for that long while we’re married. Eden: Right. What about UCLA? Bennett: Even I don’t have sources there. You can apply there but they
Eden woke up at 11 AM the next day since she and the girls had slept very late the night before. Natalia and Sophia had already left earlier in the morning but Grace was next to her, drooling all over her pillow and snoring. Grace smiled and thinks she’ll have to get the pillow washed. Eden shakes grace and asks, “Don’t you have to go select the bridesmaid’s dresses?”Grace moans groggily, asking Eden, “Ugh. What time is it?”“It’s 11 right now.”“Oh shit,” said Grace while getting out of the bed. “I have to go, all the best for your lunch.”Eden thanks Grace as she looks around for her phone and purse. Eden went to the bathroom to get fresh and when she came out Grace was already gone. She sat on the ledge of her window, staring at the spot where she and Bennett had shared a kiss. Once again, she thought, Why was he not affected at all?’ Eden felt angry at herself for feeling so much while he felt nothing. She was nervous to see him and his family. She was worried that they might s