[Edward POV]
I waited for Abby to explain about my secret, but she never did.
"If you want to know what I know, you'll have to do a few things for me first." Abby said with a mischievous grin.
"I can do it for you, not to you. Cause I'm already done with my past whorish lifestyle." I said, putting my guard up slightly.
She rolled her eyes and said, "I'm not that desperate. Although, it has been a couple years since I last been with someone."
"Huh? Why?" I asked in surprise.
She pointed at the mountain of work in front of her. "I've basically been here since the research lab finished construction."
"Really?" I was slightly surprised. "Don't you have any work-life balance, now that I think about it, I'm the last person who should say anything to you, so forget I tried to lecture you about it."
She laughed and said, "But you're so tan? Look at me, I'm so pale, if I went to the beach, people will thought someone light the–"
"Beacon for Gondor." Both of us said in unison. We froze and inhaled deeply.
Suddenly, I received a phone call. I picked it up immediately.
"Hey Alex." I picked up the video call immediately. "You sure have perfect timing here."
"Why? Did you almost rekindle the romance with your ex?" She asked while cackling.
Abby peeked into the conversation and gasped slightly. "Alex Dunphy? Is that you? You've grown up so much!"
"Abigail? You too have grown up." Alex's eyes were glued on Abby's chest. "It seem that you have your mother's traits."
"Oh, how's Desiree?" I asked Abby in a side conversation.
Abby replied, "Oh she's fine. She's at the White House now."
Alex interjected, "Anyway, I just realized I forgot to send the email explaining the situation to Abigail."
Abby grinned and said, "He already explained it all to me. He needs to gain my blessing and give me closure, right?"
"He sure does." Alex replied. "If he had done something wrong. I'm not going to hammer all the nitty gritty and let you handle the situation."
There was a screen flash, almost indiscernible to the naked eye, but I noticed it.
"You can use him sexually if you want. Make sure he plants your seed in you, and carry his baby to term, for the sake of humanity's progress." Alex added.
"Excuse me?!" Abby's mind short-circuited. "Ba-Ba-BABY? You're here to impregnate me?!" She took a step away from me instantly. "I'm not ready for that yet! At least buy me dinner first."
"Robin, stop playing around– You'll let me impregnate you over dinner?" I was baffled by Abby's reaction that I almost let Robin get away with it.
Abby's jaw couldn't be closed and she was extremely confused by the situation.
Robin showed me the true footage instantly. Alex was frustrated, screaming to the screen, "EDDDD! DON'T FALL FOR IT! THAT'S NOT ME! EDDY!"
"Alex, calm down. It was just Robin messing around." I comforted her.
"Eddy?" She asked in surprise. "What happened?"
Robin appeared on the screen behind Alex. "I'm trying to save humanity. That's what just happened."
"Robin, go play elsewhere." I scolded her. "I'm not building a race of superhumans."
"We need your progeny to take over the colony we're building in terraformed planets." Robin added, face fully serious.
I sighed and said, "Get out of here."
She cut the call and left only Alex in the connection. Alex was baffled by the whole situation.
"Did she deepfake me? Damn, your CEO is quite scary, Eddy." Alex replied fearfully.
"She is on a mission. She's turning me into a breeding stallion." I replied with a sigh.
Abby was still dumbfounded by the whole situation. Alex sighed and said, "Alright. As long as you can handle her, I think we're fine."
Her screen flickered again, "Although, if you want to breed Abby. I'm fine with it. Ten children. You can use surrogates too."
"Robin! I saw you taking over." I scolded her again.
The true Alex appeared again. Her lips raised as if it had a fish hook stuck to it and she stared at the screen in disbelief.
"So she can take over anytime she wants?" Alex asked wryly. "I should communicate with you only physically next time."
"That will be best." I agreed with her.
Abby suddenly got a phone call from a random number. She pressed the decline call button, but her phone answered on her own.
Robin appeared on the screen of her phone. "AHHH!" Abby screamed in horror, but she didn't drop her phone.
"Miss Abigail. Calm down." Robin said monotonously.
I turned my camera so Alex could see what's happening.
"What– What do you want?" Abby asked nervously.
"I'm here with a proposition." Robin said, steepling her fingers together like a mastermind. "10 billion dollars, straight to your account. If you could seduce and carry Edward's child to term."
"Robin!" I was aghast. "What the hell are you doing?" I asked angrily.
Robin replied, "Sir. This doesn't concern you."
I was baffled by her reply. "It's my baby!"
"Not if you don't know about it. This is a private conversation between us. You're being impolite, Edward." Robin replied.
My mind short-circuited for a bit. I turned to Abby and said, "Hey. Just cut the call–"
"10 billion?" Abby's eyes were glued on Robin. "I can do a lot of stuff with 10 billion dollars."
"Oh good. She's hooked." I mumbled.
"And you don't even have to pay taxes on it." Robin added to sweeten the deal. She smiled devilishly, trying to lure the innocent soul to her trap.
"Oi." I interjected with a deadpan voice. "What is happening here? Am I being pimped out?"
I turned to Alex and asked, "This is crazy, right?"
Alex however, has a similar expression to Abby. "10 billion? That's a really high figure."
Abby turned to Alex and said, "I know. It's hard to say no to that."
"We could do a split." Alex suggested. "50-50. I'll let you sleep with my boyfriend. You get pregnant with his seed. Then, we split the ten billion."
I threw my hands up in defeat. "No one is listening to me."
"Oracle. Override. Cut the call." I used my AI to help me. Oracle was the only one who remained loyal to my orders. Well, Robin was loyal too, it was just she's too unhinged.
Robin disappeared from the screen completely this time.
"Hey! My ten billion!" Abby whined, glaring at me. Her eyes screamed murder for a second before she started undressing me with her eyes.
I covered my body slightly and said, "Uh-uh, Not going to happen."
Alex also snapped out of it and said, "You know what. My mind went blank for a second here, and my greed took over. I didn't even need that 5 billion. If I marry you, I'll basically… become a trillionaire."
"Marry him–" Abby realized something and gasped. "Oh! That's why you asked me to split it! You're his girlfriend! The one who can force him to do closure on all of his exes!"
"Technically, we're not together yet." Alex replied. "We were friends with benefits, and we're trying to get together, but we can't seem to get the blessing from our family."
Abby squinted her eyes in confusion and said, "That's stupid. You're both adults now. Just do whatever you want."
"I would have if my boyfriend wasn't such a sucker for my family." Alex added with a weary sigh. "He loves my father, so he desperately wants to get his approval."
"I get that. That sucks." Abby replied with understanding. "He loved Phil, even when I was in California. Your dad's a good dad."
"Are the two of you bonding right now?" I was surprised.
Alex laughed and said to Abby, "I've read your research on genetic markers. You're quite amazing."
"I also read your papers on bio-energy and genetic manipulation. You're awesome." Abby giggled together with Alex.
"It seems like Eddy really has a type huh?" Alex replied, looking at me with disdain.
"Brunette with big boobs." Abby laughed.
"I meant to say Brainy with big boobs." Alex cackled slightly.
"Why don't you come here too Alex? I'd like to be friends with you. You seem awesome." Abby asked.
Alex blushed slightly and said, "Alright. I'll be there tomorrow. I have to go with my friend for her wedding dress fitting today." She turned to me and said, "I'll be with Haley."
"Oh. Good luck." I told her. "Break her leg."
"You mean break a leg– I'm not going to get sucked into this. I'm not breaking her leg. Goodbye." Alex cut the call quickly.
I laughed after seeing her get all flustered. Abby noticed it and said, "Wow, you really love her. I can see it in your eyes."
I shrugged slightly. "She's always been there for me. So, yeah. I love her."
Abby shrugged and leaned on the table, "I'm jealous. I want romance too. But the last action I got was when I was examining a cadaver and his hand fell on my butt."
"Heh. A corpse felt you up." I sneered, amused.
She glared at me slightly, before blinking twice as a sudden realization hit her.
"Wait. I know what I want." Abby replied.
"What?"
"Romance."
"Lady, I'm spoken for." I said flatly.
"Not with you!" She exclaimed with annoyance, giving me a side eye. "I want you to find me someone good. Someone that's sensitive, and cute, but a beast in bed."
I laughed, "Again, I'm spoken for–"
"You know what? I do want ten billion. So if you insist, let's bang one child over right here and now." She took off her lab coat.
Startled, I raised my hands up to guard myself and said, "Fine! I'll help you find a good partner."
…
[Alex POV]
We had the dress fitting at my sister's company.
"Can you make it in time?" Jenna asked Haley. "It's the bride's and the bridesmaids' dresses. And you have four days to make them."
Haley smiled confidently and said, "I've done more in less time."
I approached her and greeted, "Hey."
Haley stiffened for just a second before turning slightly to the side, focusing her attention on Elsa, who was standing on the platform in the wedding dress waiting to be fitted.
"Why don't you move a bit? I need to see if it interferes with your walk," Haley said, grabbing Elsa's hand and guiding her down from the platform.
The platform was surrounded by four mirrors facing every direction, allowing the bride to see every angle of the dress at once.
Enid nudged me with her elbow and whispered, "Why is there such icy air between the two of you? Did you wear her clothes and ruin them again?"
"I did that once," I rolled my eyes. "I can't even do that anymore since my chest—"
Jenna cut in before I could finish. "Alex. What's with the icy look between the two of you?"
Enid added before I could reply, "I know, right? It's like they're mortal enemies now."
I was caught off guard by their description. "Really?" I asked. I didn't feel like it was that bad, but an outsider's perception could be very different from my own. They could see something I couldn't.
"I need to make her spit out why she's doing this," I mumbled under my breath.
"Do what?" Enid asked, gasping in excitement. "Gossip? Come on, girl, spill!"
Jenna added, "Or we can get Elsa to put the two of you in an interrogation room and make both of you confess everything."
"That's… actually not a bad idea."
"Excuse me, what?" Enid asked, shocked.
"Interrogation," I said casually, already walking toward Haley.
"So," I said, leaning closer, "do you want to know what we did when you didn't come back to the house?" I asked tauntingly.
Haley gasped and turned sharply toward me, scissors still clenched in her hand. "I know you're my sister," she said tightly, "but I'm holding scissors right now, so stay away from me."
"Just tell me," I urged. "Why are you being so weird?!"
"BECAUSE YOU'RE DATING MY EX BOYFRIEND!" Haley snapped loudly.
Every girl in the room gasped and turned to look at me. Even Elsa, still wearing the wedding dress, froze.
"Alex? You're dating your sister's ex?" Elsa asked in disbelief.
"You're dating someone?" Jenna asked, confused. "Who?"
Enid looked genuinely hurt. "I thought I was your best friend. Why didn't you tell me you're finally dating someone?!"
"Yeah," Jenna added, "I almost set you up with my lesbian friend."
Elsa rolled her eyes. "You mean you."
"Hey," Jenna argued, "I swing both ways, not just one direction."
Enid grabbed my arm tightly. "Tell me. Who are you dating?"
"What—" My mind went blank. Maybe trying to force Haley to explain herself in front of everyone hadn't been such a good idea.
"Um… you all know him," I said.
Elsa scoffed. "You're acting like you're about to tell us you're dating Edward. Just say who it is."
"That's…" The words caught in my throat.
Enid's eyes widened as realization hit her. "You're… dating Eddy? For real?"
"OH GOD!" Jenna exclaimed in disbelief. "Seriously, Alex?!"
"See. It's weird, right?" Haley tried to get my friends to agree with her.
"Um…" Enid was speechless for a few seconds. My heart beats quicker.
"No, actually, it's… fine?" Enid replied, ending her sentence with a slight questioning inflection. "I mean, it's been four years. And they went to college together."
Elsa turned to Jenna. Jenna was taken aback by her gaze and said, "Well. I'm jealous, but it's not like it's a supernatural thing that's happening. So I guess I'm fine too. In fact, I'm superfine."
Although she tried to pretend, her words carried a sense of sadness to it.
Suddenly, Gloria walked into the room. She put down her leather purse and greeted cheerfully, "Hola! I hope I'm not too late to see the wedding dress!"
Haley was taken aback. She turned to the side, "Yeah, sure. Elsa's over there–"
Elsa came out of the changing room, already back in her detective outfit– jacket and jeans. "Oh, I'm sorry. Are we not done yet?" She asked.
[Gloria's commentary]
"Claire gave me a call." Gloria said cheerfully. "She told me about Alex and Haley. So, I came here to avoid Haley stabbing Alex with her scissors. It happened to a cousin of mine, when she found out her sister was dating her ex boyfriend."
"Her ex-boyfriend, who is also her cousin." Gloria added. "Third cousin. Even if we're Colombians, we're better than people living in Alabama."
[Commentary ends]
After the fitting, I was bombarded with questions from Enid and Jenna about my relationship with Edward.
They wanted to know every detail of what happened between us. How frequent we were doing it, the size, the curvature, in which I would never describe it to them.
"So, you went behind your sister's back." Jenna laughed sarcastically. "Does it make you feel excited? Like, the taboo feeling makes things hotter?"
I rolled my eyes at her and said, "Actually, no. It's making me feel really guilty."
"Well, I'm not trying to be on your sister's side, but I get what she's feeling." Enid said.
She sighed with her entire body, throwing her hands down in defeat, "I mean. What do I need to do to make Edward do me?"
Jenna laughed and said, "That's actually easy now. Since Alex is dating him. Just be their unicorn."
"Oooh." Enid turned to me with expectation.
"Hell no." I cursed her out.
"Ah, you're not even his girlfriend yet, but you're already possessive of him." Jenna said playfully.
I rolled my eyes at both of them and said, "I hate you."
Both of them snickered and Jenna asked, "So. Do you want me to talk to your sister? I'm pretty persuasive."
"Really? Despite the fact that you never managed to get Eddy to give it up to you?" Enid teased.
"Hey, Eddie is the weirdo here, not me." Jenna scoffed.
I replied, "I don't think that's necessary. I'm pretty sure Gloria will talk to her about it."
…
[General POV]
Gloria and Haley went to a cafe together after the dress fitting.
"So, what should we talk about?" Gloria asked.
Haley rolled her eyes and said, "Please. Gloria, there's no need to pretend. You want to know about my opinion on Alex and Edward, right?"
"I didn't bring it up, but since you did, let's talk about it." Gloria said cheerfully. "But make sure not to stab Alex with any sharp tools, okay?"
Haley was taken aback. "I'm not doing that."
"Good. Remember what I told you. Sista before Mista."
"But, didn't Alex kinda had broken that?" Haley asked.
Gloria was taken aback. She replied, "It doesn't work if you have a relationship with someone else. It only works if you're alone."
"Ugh." Haley groaned. "I don't know, I think this is a huge betrayal."
"Yet, Alex still wants to get your blessing." Gloria said placatingly. "She and Eddie, they didn't even want to date until they got your blessing, and Phil's."
Haley thought about it and said, "Well. I guess they are being a bit respectful. But, I know for sure they have had sex! I can sense it from the two of them."
"What's wrong with that? You had sex with Andy, before you dated. And he even had a girlfriend back then." Gloria argued.
Haley deflated immediately, putting her head on the table before straightening up again.
"But we love each other. And his girlfriend was already cheating on him!"
"Then, you can't get mad at Alex. Maybe they too love each other."
Haley grumbled and said, "Fine. I'll try to be okay with it."
"You don't have to be okay with it." Gloria held Haley's hand in support. "Just tell her what you really feel."
Haley was comforted by Gloria's words. She joked, "Alright. I'll talk to Alex properly."
Gloria laughed, and suddenly, she froze. Haley noticed it and turned around. She froze too as she saw Edward and Abby standing right by the cafe.
Their eyes met with each other, and both of the parties were stunned.