“What are you talking about?” asked Leo, genuinely confused.“Uh, aren’t bars banned from serving alcohol to minors? I’m just 18,” said Eden.Alex chuckled and said, “The legal age for drinking here is 18, don’t worry, get whatever you want.” It made sense to Eden why they did not ask for an ID at the restaurant when Bennett and she downed almost an entire bottle of red wine. Also at the hotel, there was a bottle of champagne in the room, meaning they kept it there knowing their guest was only 18.Leo looked even more confused. “Wait, you’re 18? I thought you were older. Also, what is wrong with the USA, they allow you to get married at 18 but not drink? At what age are you allowed to drink?”“Twenty-one,” Eden answered.“NO! Tell me that’s not true, signora!” Leo exclaimed, his eyes widened. His reaction was comic. “I’m only 20, will I have to wait a whole year to be able to drink again?” “I mean I have been drinking since I was 16, I just made sure no one who could get me in troubl
Grace’s Point of View:Grace locked the door behind her, feeling satisfied with her job. She walked down to the reception and double-checked that the check-out was for early morning. She didn’t want Theo to be in there too long for it to become an act of vengeance. It was an act of vengeance, but Grace wanted Theo to think that it was nothing but a silly prank. She knew that since Eden was married to Bennett, Theo can’t blackmail her into taking the kidnapping to the police, if she gets caught, so would Eden, and that would not be good for his brother.Grace smirked, as she walked outside, hailed a cab, and went back home, to pack for her trip the next day. She would be in Italy and Theo would have no way to contact her for at least a few days. When she reached home, she stripped out of her clothes and went to the bathroom to take a nice warm bath, rewarding herself with a glass of champagne, that she sneaked from her father’s minibar. After her bath, Grace walked out to her bedroom
Eden's Point of View:After hanging out in the bar for some time, Eden, Leo, Alex, Dante, Jimmy, Charlotte, Marina, and Georgia decided to go to Charlotte’s house to pass time and get ready for the night. She had a big bungalow and parents who were almost always out on business trips, leaving the house for Charlotte. Eden was unsure if she was really welcome, so she told Georgia and she told Charlotte how Eden felt. Charlotte walked to Eden and lightly tapped her head and laughed and said something in Italian. Georgia translated it for her and said that Charlotte called her silly for thinking that. Eden smiled at her and said ‘Gracias’. She was somewhat surprised at how friendly they were to a stranger, she felt grateful to meet them and have them accept her. None of them were pretentious or rude, she liked being in their company. Though she got a sour vibe from Marina, then again she didn’t expect any of them to be nice to her. She smiled at Marina a few times, to which she didn’t re
Eden had never gone thrift shopping, but she was willing to give it a try. She agreed to go to the place with Alex. They walked a few blocks, chatting about colleges and studying. Eden liked Alex, the way he was so decent and casual with her. He never tried to hit on her once or say something inappropriate, he was just plain friendly. Alex and Eden walked for about 15 minutes before they reached their destination. They were talking and hitting it off so well that they didn’t realize it took them to reach the thrift store.“Ah, here it is,” said Alex, as they got to the doorstep.The store was nothing fancy, it didn’t even have a name on the outside. It was in a crummy street, and clothes were piling on each other. Eden was not sure if she wanted to go in.“I know what it looks like, but come on in, you might get surprised,” said Alex, as he walked ahead, gesturing for her to come in.Een reluctantly walked inside. And looked around. It was a lot bigger on the inside and it only had
Eden and Alex walked back to Charlotte’s home, talking and laughing. They were almost at the door when Eden got a phone call, it was from the hotel that Bennett’s mom had booked in Milan.Eden looked confusedly at the number, wondering why they were calling after she already checked out. She had given her number at the reception during the check-in but she didn’t understand why they were calling her now.Eden picked up the phone, and she gestured for Alex to go ahead and get the door opened. “Hello?”“Mrs. Mason, our bellboy has been at your door with the champagne you ordered, but you didn’t answer the door. We tried the hotel landline too but you didn’t pick up,” said a man with an intense Italian accent.“Um, I think you’re mistaken. Do you mean Mr. Mason ordered it?” asked Eden.“No, signora, Mr. Mason just left somewhere, our bellboy said that the lady in the suite for Masons asked for it,” said the man, his voice slightly agitated.Eden suddenly felt weak in the knees. “Sir, are
Leo looked at Eden, confused. He got up from the floor and walked towards her. “What are you talking about, Signora?”Eden pointed toward the bong that was kept on the table. “That.”“But you said that you don’t want to do it?” Leo asked, as he walked towards the bong and picked it up.Alex walked up to Eden, and slowly said, “Eden, do you think this is a good idea?”“Hey man back off,” Leo said. “Let her have some fun for once, she is so tense all the time anyway.” He walked over to Eden and asked her to sit down on the couch, and so she did, ignoring Alex’s question. Leo sat down next to her, lighting the lighter under the glass where the weed was stored.“Now suck from the top, don’t do it too much, just a little okay? This is very strong,” said Leo.Eden took a deep breath. Not wanting her brain to overthink this decision too, she leaned in, took the glass top in her face, and sucked in the steam. She ignored Leo’s advice and made sure she pulled until she felt herself go light-he
The music played loudly on the speakers and all of them had another round at the bong, except Alex and Eden, she thought one time was enough. Eden hung out with everyone, mostly talking to Leo, Alex, and Georgia since they were the only English speakers. Leo couldn’t stop gushing over how beautiful Eden’s voice is, and Georgia kept trying to flirt with her, to which Eden was more open now. She entertained the idea of hooking up with Georgia in her mind. Since nothing held her back from experiencing anything anymore, she was more open to some ideas now. She owed no loyalty to Bennett since he clearly had already moved on. But before she did anything, she wanted to make sure herself. She excused herself from the living room and walked out the sliding door towards the pool. It was already 6:30 PM, so the sunlight had almost vanished. She could hear crickets chirping from the bushes on the side of the pavement. There was a lawn chair where Eden sat and pulled out her phone from her pocke
While the girls were walking upstairs to get ready in Charlotte’s room, the boys stayed in the living room since they didn’t care about changing or getting ready. Charlotte and Marina walked together first, and Georgia and Eden walked behind them. All of a sudden, Georgia stopped Eden on the steps until Charlotte and Marina were out of the earshot. Georgia watched as they disappeared into Charlotte’s bedroom. Eden turned to Georgia, looking for an explanation. “See, Lily,” Georgia took a deep breath and said. “I know Marina hasn’t been the nicest to you, has she?”Eden looked confused about how Georgia knew. “Yeah, she hasn’t been rude either, but I get a feeling she doesn’t like me. But why do you ask?”“The thing is, Marina e Alex have an on and off relationship, I can’t explain. “È complicato,” said Georgia. “But she don’t like it when Alex gets closer with another woman that is not me or Charlotte. And since you Americana, and Alex also Americano, I think she get more insecure b
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