Eden brushed her hair as she got ready to meet with Leo. She had asked him to come to one of the busiest cafes in the city. She managed to convince Bennett to not come with her, but he still made her take Buddy with her."I still don't understand why you can't take me," Bennett said as he lay on the bed, completely naked except for a thin layer of bedsheet covering his manhood. "I already told you. I know that you're going to get angry at some point and Leo is also a… passionate man. I don't want anything to go wrong," Ede replied as she got up from the dressing table and walked over to Bennett. She was wearing nothing but her panties and bra. She was getting ready earlier but Bennett had picked her up from in front of the mirror and threw her on the bed, stripping all her clothes down. Eden knew why he was so adamant on having sex when it was time for her to go. He wanted to let her know who she belonged to before she went to meet Leo. Eden sat next to Bennett and said, "I'll be ca
When Bennett was finally done reminding Eden who she belonged to, he went to bathe, leaving her to get ready to meet Leo. She wore simple jeans and a black Star Wars t-shirt, paired with white sneakers. She was feeling nervous to meet him. The whole world knew that Carter was dead. There were cameras in Bennetts office that recorded everything that happened, including all the hostages who acted as witnesses. For security reasons, the media was not told that it was Bennett who had shot Carter, killing him in an instant. It would only spark speculation and unwanted drama. The officer who commanded the raid in the office said Carter was hostile and had to be shot before he did any more harm to anyone. The videos from the camera proved that Carter was indeed not in the right state of mind. Though everything was fine between Eden and Bennett, neither of them felt the same. Bennett had killed a man and Eden had gone through enough to say she was ever going to be okay, but she felt like th
Eden looked at Leo, not surprised at what he said but it still made her heart ache. She knew she loved Bennett with all her heart but it pained her to think about the heartache she caused Leo."But my intentions were still not pure," Leo continued talking. "I didn't want to ruin your relationship with Bennett for Carter. I wanted to ruin it so I could have you all to myself. I tried to convince you to stay with me. I thought you loved me too, but you didn't. It broke my heart, and I decided to stop pursuing you. I told Carter that I was done with his games, but he said he wouldn't let me go to college. It was my last chance to get my family in a better condition, so I agreed again."Eden looked at him and felt guilty for being so harsh to him without knowing anything. She stayed silent and kept listening to what he had to say "You father, Alfred, for some reason he wanted the same thing too. For you to end things with your husband and marry Carter. He sent me to your father's home to
Eden sat in her classroom listening to professor Cooper's lecture. Her mind was distracted, no matter how hard she tried to focus. After a whole month of online classes especially arranged for her, Eden had come to attend the class for the first time. She was nervous that it was going to be awkward for her after everyone saw what happened to her in the news. She was right to be scared, everyone around her treated her like a broken showpiece. They kept staring at her shamelessly and walking up to her to ask her questions about what exactly happened. No one cared about anything she went through, they only wanted to get something to gossip about. A guard walked with her at all times, and any time she felt overwhelmed by people bombarding her with questions, she just gave him a look and he came and rescued her. During the lectures no one was allowed to talk in the class anyway, so Eden would take a seat at the far end of the class and bury her face in the textbook. The teachers were aske
Eden went straight to Bennett's room and plopped on the bed. She was tired and wanted to sleep. Bennett was still not home from his office. She thought about Eve's offer. She wanted to sing for them but she wasn't sure about it.Eden got up from the bed and went to the bathroom to get fresh. She went downstairs to have lunch with Betty, Chester and Theo. Chester had finally announced his retirement, and Bennett to be the new CEO of the business. Him and Betty were moving to Florida the next month, and Theo was going to settle in Italy to be the one in charge of handling the business in Italy, leaving the house for Bennett and Eden alone. They talked on the dining table about how everything was going to change for the family. Betty got emotional over how things had finally worked out. Eden had permanently shifted into their house again. After everything had cooled down, she told Bennett that she was going to live in her apartment, which made him angry at her for assuming he was goin
After her classes, Eden walked to the auditorium at 3 PM to see the band practice. After much persuasion from Bennett, Eden decided to give it a real chance. As Eden got closer and closer to her destination, the sound of drums and guitar kept getting louder. She opened the huge door of the auditorium and stepped inside to see Eve going crazy on the drums. There was another man who was playing an electric guitar. Eden didn't know that it was just a two man band. Eden walked over to the seating area and sat there until they were done with their music. It was an upbeat rock music piece from the song Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. When they finished, Eden started clapping and approached the stage. Eve walked down from there and practically ran to come to Eden. She looked happy to see Eden. "You really came!" Eve said excitedly. When she felt like she was looking more excited than she wanted to show, she slowed down and said in a low voice, "So you came, huh?"Eden smiled and said,
Eden walked back to the auditorium the next day after her classes, feeling pretty nervous. She agreed to continue practicing with the band but she didn't know if she was ready to perform at the huge competition and sing in front of people. She was stuck because she couldn't say no to Eve's face. She sounded rather genuine while pleading to Eden and she knew she would feel guilty for the rest of the week for not giving them a chance.Eden walked into the auditorium and saw that Dan had brought his acoustic guitar with him. It was a beautiful Fender guitar. It looked a little old but that was what Eden really liked about it. She preferred worn out guitars over brand new ones. Eve and Dan greeted Eden before she got on the stage and got herself comfortable with the guitar. It was smooth and she could play the chords effortlessly. Eve gave Eden a list of songs to practice from, there were five songs, out of which they had to learn 3 for the 3 rounds of the competition, but they needed t
Eden got out of the car and smiled apologetically at the guard, inviting him to come in. He politely but sternly offered to wait outside for them and have a smoke by himself.Eden smiled guiltily and nodded at him before leaving to get seated in the cafe. They ordered some sandwiches and coffee to drink while they talked. It was a small cafe and gave the same vibe as Mom's and Pop's cafe. Eden enjoyed her sandwich and coffee while she talked to Eve and Dan. She felt like she really fitted in with them. She could talk freely about singing and her hobbies and they never once asked her about the incident with Carter. Eden felt happy to have some company that understood her and treated her normally.Eve excused herself for the bathroom, leaving Dan and Eden alone at the table. Dan watched Eve leave and when she was finally out of earshot, she looked at Eden and said, "Hey man, I'm sorry if I came off as rude yesterday. I'm gonna be honest with you, I wasn't really sure about having you i
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