For several days Eden continued to hang out with Eve and Dan, practicing the songs and going out for a snack afterwards. Shebfelt comfortable around them and had fun every time she was with them. From all the interaction, Eden was convinced that Dan had feelings for Eve. She saw him looking at her and smiling for no reason many times. Though she didn't want to intervene, she felt like it was a shame that Eve couldn't see it. Finally, the day of the auditions came. They were going to perform Duvet by Bôa. Though there were only going to be three people present as judges, Eden wouldn't stop feeling nervous. They walked onto the stage and took their positions. Eden's hands were clammy and sweaty with nervousness. She turned around to look at Eve. She gave her a reassuring smile and a thumbs up, calming her nerves a little. Eden took a deep breath and started singing as Dan and Eve picked up their parts along the song.And you don't seem to understandA shame you seemed an honest manAn
Eden stepped on the stage with her heartbeat accelerating by the second. It was the first round of the competition. If they passed it, they would be qualified for the final round. Eden peeked out the curtains and looked through the crowd to find Bennett but she couldn’t see him anywhere. She held the mic in her hand and paced around behind the closed curtains. She could almost hear her heart beating in her ears, deafening the loud chatter coming from the crowd. I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I can’t do this.Eden felt a hand rest on her shoulder, breaking her reverie. She turned around to see the one thing she had been dying to see. It was Bennett, smiling down at her reassuringly. He could tell that Eden was panicking and he embraced her into a bear hug, tightly pulling her closer to his chest.Eden felt her heartbeat slowing down and her breaths becoming stable again. She closed her eyes, inhaling Bennett’s familiar scent. “You can do this. Stay
When Eden walked down the stage she saw Bennett smiling at her from a distance. She ran over to him and hugged him tightly as he lifted her up and twirled her around. She giggled loudly, her face red with excitement.Bennett kept her down but didn't stop hugging her. "You did so good, I'm so proud of you."Eden held him tightly and rested her head on his chest. When she pulled away she saw her friends smiling at her happily. She left Bennett's arms and walked over to them to get bombarded with hugs and cheers."Oh my God, Eden I got literal chills," Grace said as she showed her her arms. "See, I still got them."Eden waved her away, feeling shy from all the compliments.Eve came down the stage and waved to Eden. She walked over to her to ask what happened."They're announcing the contestants who qualified, come," Eve said and held Eden's hand, taking her away from everyone else.The announcer stood on the stage with a mic in his hand."The judges have made their decisions. Here are t
Eden walked around in the park alone for 15 minutes, trying to clear her thoughts. It was when she saw James Neilson she realised that her guard wasn't around. James was her classmate who lied in front of the whole class that he interned for Bennett Mason when he clearly didn't. Eden had steered clear of his way and tried to avoid interaction with him as much as possible because she knew he didn't like her.She took a deep sigh when she saw him walking towards her. Her guard was nowhere to be seen and she accepted that she was just going to have to take shit from him. Ever since she came back to college after the Carter incident, she caught him staring at her many times as if he had something to say. She knew he was dying to give her snarky comment or make her think that she was stupid.Eden looked at James and before he could say anything, she snapped at him, "What?""Okay, first of all, you don't have to be so snappy," said James. "Second, I didn't come here to annoy you or anything
"Eve," Eden said as she held her shoulders and pushed her away from herself to look at her face. Tears and snot were running all over her face as she cried. "Eve, listen to me," Eden said once again to get her attention.Eve wiped her tears and looked into Eden's eyes, "Eden, I'm so sorry.""Are you going to keep apologizing or are we ever going to start practicing?" said Eden, smiling reassuringly at Eve, subtly telling her that she had already forgiven her."I don't care about the song or the competition. I can't believe what I said, I just want you to be my friend," said Eve."Okay, I'm not going to lie," said Eden. "You really did hurt my feelings, but you owned up to it and realised it was wrong, that's all that really matters to me," said Eden."Why are you always so nice," said Eve and she wiped her tears with her long sleeved shirt and smiled at Eden. "I thought you would never talk to me again.""Of course not," Eden said and pulled her into a hug. "You're one of the people w
Eden closed her eyes as she waited for the announcement to be made. She had given her all into performing the song and she had a lot of hope that they were going to win. If they lost, it would break her heart. Not because they lost but because Eve would get depressed. There was a deafening silence in the atmosphere as everyone anticipated the results."And the winner is… EDEN, DAN AND EVE!"Eden opened her eyes and looked at Eve's face. None of them could believe it was true, but when it finally sank in, they started jumping and shouting, while the other contestants on the stage clapped for them, clearly not too happy with the results. Eden hugged Dan and Eve tightly with tears filling up her eyes. She pulled away from them and ran down the stage, straight into Bennett's arms. He picked her up and kept hugging her for a long time and then kissed her."I absolutely knew it, you know," said Bennett as he wiped the tears off Eden's face. All of them stayed back and celebrated their vic
Grace's Point Of View:Grace looked at Eden with teary eyes and hugged her. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" she asked with a shaky voice, trying not to break down in public.Eden smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "God, you worry so much. Bennett takes good care of me. Your girl is in good hands, I promise," said Eden, trying not to cry because it would only make Grace cry even more.Grace was finally leaving for Italy for her new job. Though it saddened Eden that they won't be able to hang out regularly like they usually did. Eden knew this was going to be a huge change in her life and she needed to embrace it. She had gone through bigger changes and made it through.Betty and Chester had left two days before and Grace was worried that after she and Theo left, Eden would feel lonely every time Bennett isn't there. She remembered meeting Eve and Dan and the competition and saw how nice they were to Eden. Things had cooled down with the media about everything that happened and l
Grace dried her hair as she got ready for work. Theo was still showering as she got ready. It was a big day for both of them, it was Grace's first day at work and Theo was being announced as the official manager at the new store. It was a triple story building. First floor was a lobby, second was only for the showcased diamond jewelries and the third was a trial area full of huge mirrors where men and women could try on jewelry and see what looks best on them. Theo knew that being a mere manager was beneath him but he understood that they needed someone on the inside to look after things so nothing goes wrong. There was one thing that Theo never told Grace. He was only going to be in Italy for 6 months. While Grace thought that they were going to live there together for a long time, Theo didn't have the heart to tell her the truth. She was so genuinely excited that when he saw the sparkle in her eyes, he thought it was not something he wanted to tell her and ruin her happiness. Thoug
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