“Your classes will start in two weeks. We’ll be back from Italy long before that,” said Bennett.Eden was not sure how she felt about this trip. Noticing Eden’s uncertainty, Bennett said, “You can bring any friends of yours on this trip, or you can go and have fun alone in the city. What I am saying is that you don’t have to be with me the entire time. We have no reason to stay together there.”Eden thinks about what he said for a while, then looks at him and says, “Are you bringing any friend with you?”“No.”“I suppose it can be a good break from all this mess,” said Eden. She had never been to Italy before, but she had always dreamt of visiting the Baptistry of San Giovanni in Florence. It was said that the ceiling of that place is so beautiful that it is physically impossible for one to not look up when they enter. Eden was not sure about spending time with Bennett in Italy, she thought she could use a break. She decided that she would plan her own trip there and Bennett can do a
Eden didn’t need to pack, she already had a suitcase packed with things she needed. She wasn’t the type of person to overpack and think too much about what she takes on a trip. She had a few fancy dresses, a few casual, and a couple of nightwear. After dinner, the entire family sat in the living room at night, chatting and deciding what movie to watch. They could never decide on a movie, they spent the whole time arguing about what to watch. Eden had never had a family to spend time or laugh with. The friendly and open atmosphere at the Mason house was just what Eden needed. Although, she was still not okay with how things were going with Bennett. She wished that they could at least be friends so they could spend some time together without being awkward around each other.“Say, Eden. Your father is an interesting man,” said Chester out of the blue.Eden was unsure about how to reply. He certainly was an interesting man. “Oh, haha. What makes you say that?”“At the reception, after yo
Eden wanted to pull the hem of her gown from below so that her thighs were properly covered, but she decided not to, in case Bennett was watching her, she didn’t want him to think that his gaze intimidated her.She felt relief as soon as she got inside the bathroom. She quickly washed off the makeup, thinking that she would directly go to bed and sleep without thinking or looking at anything or anyone. She walked back to the room and saw that Bennett still had not put on a shirt. His back was against her while he sat and looked at something on his phone. He was not watching her, and she had all the time to look at him, to admire him. She looked at his chiseled and muscular back, slim waist, and tanned skin. Eden, once again, found herself thinking about things that she did not want to think about. Bennett’s head turned to look at Eden, who was standing still looking at him. Eden was caught off guard and said whatever came to her mind, “Y-you’re going to sleep like that?” Eden asked.
“Uhm, I just forgot the time when we’re leaving,” said Eden, while looking at a shirtless, sweaty Bennett, who was now facing her. As Bennett stepped closer and closer to her, Eden felt her breathing getting stuck in her throat but managed to remain emotionless. Finally, he reached the door and opened it wider to talk to her. Eden struggled to keep her eyes fixated on his face only, no matter how appealing the rest of his body seemed.“I think I told you last night,” said Bennett, panting. “At 9:30, but we have to leave at 8, so be ready.” Bennett turned around and walked toward the weight sets. “Close the door on your way back.”Eden complied, quickly closing the door and hurrying back to the room. At this point, Eden was not sure what to do about Bennett’s images in her mind. Suddenly, she was struck with an idea. She thought if she found someone nice and decent in Italy, who showed interest in spending time with her, maybe she could take things further to satisfy her need, and mayb
The flight landed at Milan Airport. It was 7 AM there since Los Angeles is 9 hours behind Milan. Eden and Bennett, jet-lagged from the travel, took a cab and headed straight to the hotel. When they reached, the receptionist checked them in and they were escorted by a bellboy to the room. As Eden and Bennett walked into the suite, they saw a huge hall with a big TV and a comfortable couch and a steel bucket with ice and champagne. It was just what Eden expected a five-star hotel in Milan to look like. It was beautiful and elegant. To their disappointment, they found that there was only one bedroom. Eden thought that it was foolish to think that Bennett’s mother would make a reservation for a suite with two rooms. “I’ll move to another room,” said Bennett, as he walked towards the door.Eden stopped him and said, “No, you should stay here, I’ll get a room for the night, it's just for tonight, I will leave tomorrow anyway.”“No, I’ll go. Please, I insist,” said Bennett firmly, and Eden
Bennett’s Point of View;Bennett closed the door behind him as he walked away from the suite with his luggage. He was tired of the travels and wanted to sleep for a couple of hours. The room he booked was on the same floor as Eden’s suite, so he didn’t have to walk much. The room was not as big enough or luxurious as the suite, but it was still in a five-star hotel and matched all its expectations. Bennett did not care about which room he was in, he had stayed in far better suits in far better hotels before. He knew that Eden needed a better experience on this trip than he did. She had never traveled much because of her father’s restrictions. He knew this from when Eden had kidnapped him. The next day, he looked into Eden’s background and everything that there was to know about her and her motive for kidnapping him. Rich and spoiled as she may have been, she had a rough childhood and a terrible father. He knew about her mother, he even knew where Martha Brown was currently living. He
Eden’s Point of View:Eden walked to Bennett’s room, her feet stomping with anger on the wooden floor. She had not even worn any slippers before walking out. All she wanted to know was what the hell did Bennett want from her. Why would he toy with her feelings for no reason? If this was his way of punishing her for kidnapping him, she did not want to keep up with the ruse anymore. Eden reached Bennett’s door and paused for a moment, to get her thoughts in line. She looked ahead at the door intently and started thumping her fist on it. Bennett opened the door and stood there shirtless, but Eden did not care about it, she was mad at him and she wanted answers. She walked in, past Bennett, and stood there waiting for him to close the door.“What the hell do you want from me? I realized my mistake and I apologized. Are you doing this as some sort of punishment?” asked Eden, anger filling up her bones.Bennett walked over to the bed, picked up his shirt, and put it on, but let it remain
Bennett was in no mood to resist whatever Eden was doing to him. He knew that she wanted to be in control, just like she has always tried to be. She ran her hands all over his chiseled chest and abs while looking intently into his eyes. She bent down and kissed his lips again, and he returned the favor gladly. But Eden pulled her lips from his again and started tracing them from his cheek, down to his neck. Bennett closed his eyes, giving himself to her touch and kisses. Eden felt accomplishment when she finally heard him make a small but raspy moaning sound when she started sucking and biting on the sensitive spot of his neck. Bennett’s hands were on Eden’s waist, but with the way Eden was making him feel, an image of her naked body on the bed came back into his mind and he wanted to feel her skin on his hands. He held her thighs, slowly massaging them as they traveled upwards, toward her ass. He lifted up her short robe, exposing her bare skin for his hands to roam around. He held
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