Eden's point of view:"So that's what happened," Grace said to Eden outside her hotel room. "Oh," Eden replied. She was not sure how she felt about it after Grace had told her everything that happened. What if Theo had forced Grace to do this after threatening her? What if Grace was lying so she doesn't worry. "Grace, are you sure that this is alright?""Yes. In fact, I feel happy about this. He was really nice and understanding about everything," Grace said and smiled involuntarily. Eden knew at once that she was telling the truth, with the way she smiled. "We, I just hope everything goes fine with you two," Eden said and pulled out her phone to show Grace the messages she had exchanged with Bennett the night before. "Not sure if it'll be like that with me.""God what an asshole. Do you want to go back to your room and talk about it?" Grace asked."Oh, not right now. Leo is still there.""Oh no, what about Georgia?" Grace asked disappointingly. Eden rolled her eyes and said, "Let'
Eden lay on her bed staring at the ceiling of her room, thinking about how she drove Leo away from her. She had feelings for him too, and she had thought about leaving everything behind and not going back home, and she had let it pass like a fleeting fantasy. She knew the responsibilities that she had on her shoulders could not be abandoned just like that. She owed it to Bennett, no matter how badly he treated her. Most importantly, she owed it to herself to get the best education that she was able to get. She thought that maybe after getting her college degree she would come back to Italy and look for Leo. If he was single and ready to give it another chance, she would love nothing more. But for now, she had to let him out of her mind. Eden got out of her bed and decided to go downstairs to get the free hotel breakfast. She didn't have much of an appetite so she had one small bagel with cream cheese and a cup of coffee. She went back upstairs, waiting for a message from Grace. She d
Later that day, Eden and Grace got lunch from a restaurant, and then went to a street market nearby. They stayed out talking and wandering around the city for a few hours until it was time to get ready for dinner. Naturally, Grace did Eden's make-up and then went back to her own room to change. Eden picked out a straight, full-sleeved, and boat-necked black dress that reached her knee. It was a plain dress for formal wear but it hugged her body very well. She paired it with a platinum pendant and black stilettos and straightened her wavy hair. Feeling confident, she walked out of her room and knocked on Grace's door to see if she was ready. Grace opened the door while trying to put on an earring, and asked Eden to come in. She was wearing a dark purple silk dress with thin straps and baby pink gems forming small flowers all over the dress. It wasn't too tight but still made her curves look very prominent. Eden let out a low whistle as she saw her. Grace turned around and looked at h
Eden stopped in her path and stood there staring at the man who was busy talking to his wife. It was the man she had kicked at the club in Pisa. He is their important business associate? A fucking pervert? Eden thought to herself.Bennett turned around to see that Eden was not moving with him. He looked at her with confusion and asked her, "What happened?"Eden broke out of her reverie and managed to give him a fake weary smile. "Nothing, let's go." She entangled her arm with Bennett's and walked with him to the table. Her mind was too occupied to think of anything other than the man. Grace and Theo had already seated themselves. It was a big round table with 6 chairs around it. Theo sat next to the man's wife, with Grace to his right. Eden quickly took her place next to Grace so she didn't have to sit next to the pervert, apparently Mr. Rogers. Bennett made a confused face at Eden's erratic behavior but took his place between Eden and Mr. Rogers anyway. "Hey, you must be Eden," Mr.
Grace and Eden walked back out to the dinner table and sat with everyone to finish their dinner. They had decided to stay on their best behavior until the Rogers had left. Claire seemed like a wonderful woman to Eden, and it broke her heart that she was with a human trashbag. The rest of the evening went nicely and she tried her best to not give any reaction or a hint to anyone to make it look like she was uncomfortable. She was friendly and jolly with everyone. They finished their dinner and were on their desserts when all of a sudden Claire got excited and pointed out something. “Look, they’re dancing.” Everyone turned their gaze to see that there was a small dance floor in the restaurant and a few couples were dancing to slow music. “Allen, come on let’s dance.” She urged.“Oh, honey, you know I haven’t danced in so long,” Allen complained. Pretty sure you were asking me to come and grind on you in the club, Eden thought.“Allen, please,” Claire said with a pouty mouth and stood
"You bitch, you listen to me. I'm sure Bennett had told you how important I am. If you say a word to him, I'll make sure I destroy the Masons. And I'll make sure I destroy you," Allen said to Eden, threateningly stepping towards her. "I have tried to get reasonable with you but you can't understand shit. If I so much as feel him acting differently toward me, you'll see what I can do."Eden stepped backward and she bumped into someone. She turned around to see Bennett standing right behind her. "Mind if I steal my wife back?" he asked with an amused smile. Allen smiled charmingly and said, "This one's a keeper." He turned and looked at Eden "So happy to get acquainted with you, Eden."Eden smiled and said, "It's my pleasure." Allen smiled at both of them and left to go back to Claire. Bennett took Eden's hand and started dancing with her again. Eden looked at Bennett and said with a tired and weary voice, "Can we leave now?"Benett had a stern look on his face. He looked enraged when
Eden asked Grace if she needed some time alone, and went to her room to get changed into comfortable clothes. She felt like every interaction she had with Bennett was gradually becoming a bigger headache later. She told him that she would handle Allen but in truth, she had nothing planned. She was going to do nothing about it and hoped that Allen would forget all about it and she would too. Allen was a vile man and he deserved to suffer the consequences of his actions, but Eden decided she would not be the one to take revenge on him. She wanted nothing more than to finish her studies as soon as possible and leave this life of lies and deception behind. Eden heard a soft knock on her door, and she opened it to see Grace looking at her with concern. Eden gestured to her to come in. She wasn't in the mood to talk but realized she needed some company to think about something else. Grace asked her what happened and Eden told her in detail what Bennett and Allen said to her. Grace hugged
Eden spent the day exploring the city on her own. She did a lavish breakfast and lunch at the best diners in Florence. She visited some historical figures and walked around parks and monuments. This was the perfect day for her. No complications, no dilemmas. Just her and some peace. It was already 7 PM by the time she got back to the hotel. She wanted to ask Grace if she wanted to have dinner so she went to her room first before going to her own.Eden knocked on Grace's door and waited for her to open. When she didn't get a response for a while, she knocked again thinking she must be in the bathroom. After not getting any response, she went back to her room thinking that she must be out on a date with Theo. Eden went back to her room and lay on the bed. After a while, she found herself thinking about Leo. Things didn't end between them the way she had hoped. She took a deep breath and decided to text him. 'Hey, are you free tonight?'It didn't take Leo long to respond. He sent Eden o