Chapter #2 - "A Year of Surprises"

Phoenix and Leighton’s relationship bloomed. He was spending most of his free time at her place (or lack thereof), and the two were becoming inseparable. She was smitten with his hardworking attitude and charm, and he doted on her lovingly.



However, as the town of Sunset Valley took notice of the young couple, the gossip started…

“Uhh…Nixie..Didn’t you hear about Leighton’s crazy wife?” Phoenix’s best friend Brittany questioned.

“No…What in the world are you talking about?!” Phoenix’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Well, I've never personally seen her, but the story around town is that Leighton’s mother arranged a marriage for him when he was just a young man...Not just to anyone, to a much older and quite wealthy lady from another town! No one knows much about her, but they say she's crazy. I’m worried about you…I don’t want you to get hurt.” Brittany touched her friend’s shoulder in concern.

Phoenix decided to dismiss Brittany’s story as mere gossip. After all, Brittany always loved her Soap Operas a little too much.



However, as the weeks progressed, and more of her friends and neighbours began taking interested in Phoenix and Leighton’s romance, the gossip continued.

”You should at least confront him about it. Ask him to tell you the truth,” her friends advised.



Unfortunately, Phoenix didn’t even have the chance to talk to Leighton about the rumous as the very evening she intended to confront him; the couple was ambushed by Phoenix’s greatest fear - Leighton’s lawfully wedded wife, Ophelia.

”How dare you embarrass me and your family like this! Your mother is furious with you! You must come home now and take care of your responsibilities!”



”Ophelia, I DON’T LOVE YOU! I never have and never will. I can no longer do whatever my mother wants! I can’t live my life just for her. It’s over Ophelia. I will be sending you the divorce papers in the morning.” Phoenix noticed that despite his stern and determined voice, Leighton was shaking.



The next morning before leaving for work, Leighton promised Phoenix that he would take care of everything. He departed, leaving her with a heavy feeling in her heart.



That was the last time Phoenix heard from Leighton. He wasn’t returning her calls and she never saw him around town, despite looking desperately all over for any trace of her best friend and lover.



Three months after Leighton’s departure, Phoenix bumped into her old classmate and high school crush, Xander Clavell. He was visiting Sunset Valley for a notorious freestyle competition that took over the town every year.



Catching up with Xander was a welcome distraction from her sorrow, and she was quite impressed to find out that he was in the jewelry business.



As the two chatted into the evening, Phoenix felt a little bit of nostalgia for her teen years. Could my teen crush on Xander be reawaking? she wondered. She had to admit to herself that for the first time in three months, Leighton did not occupy every corner of her mind.



Perhaps it was the pain in her heart caused by Leighton’s betrayal or the emptiness in her bed, but the night before Xander was to leave Sunset Valley and return home, Phoenix invited him over and confessed her inexplicable attraction to him.



She knew even back in high school that he was a notorious bad boy, but that night when he planted his lips on hers she threw all caution – and all thoughts of Leighton – to the wind.



Laying in Xander’s arms that evening, Phoenix felt like everything was finally going to be okay. She didn’t have any plans for a relationship with Xander, but she knew spending the night with him was a way of getting back to living life for herself and herself alone.



Xander also didn’t have plans of committing to Phoenix, despite his attraction to her, for one of his greatest fears was that of commitment to another Sim.



He also didn’t have any plans of disclosing his real profession (of a jewelry thief) to his lover, and that night while Phoenix dreamt of building a wonderful house for herself in the future, Xander was planning his next heist.



For the next couple of months, the twosome continued their affair, spending the weekends at each other’s houses...



…Or rather, bedrooms.



One evening while spending the weekend at Xander’s place, Phoenix admitted that she was falling for him and wondered what kind of a future did he see them heading toward. Xander froze, unable to respond. It was quite clear simply from his expression that he did not have any interest in taking their relationship anywhere serious.



Hurt and disappointed, Phoenix stormed out of the house, stating that she needed some space. She was beyond furious with herself for allowing herself to fall for Xander. She knew that their relationship would never be anything beyond a physical connection, but somehow her heart and mind had betrayed her once again.



Her body had also betrayed her. A week after her breakup with Xander, Phoenix fainted at work due to dehydration. She was sick with what she thought was a stomach virus, but upon being taken to the hospital by Brittany, she received shocking news – she was pregnant with Xander’s child.



She hid the news from Brittany for a few weeks, but after her friend grew concerned over the fact that Phoenix was missing many rehearsals for their upcoming musical show she had to admit what was happening.



”I think that I’m going to have to take some time off from my career dreams…I’m going to have a baby…” Admitting it out loud to someone else made it all too real and Phoenix knew that she had to contact Xander and tell him of the news.



That very night, she invited Xander over and blurted out her pregnancy announcement.



Xander was silent for a very long time. He finally spoke:

”I’m sorry Phoenix. I’m not ready to be a father yet. I don’t think that I can be there for you right now. Please give me some time…I’ll contact you once I’m ready to talk.

Phoenix was taken back with his response. However, she knew that she had to let him go.



As the months flew by, Phoenix began preparing for the arrival of her child. She didn’t know what the future held for her or her child, but she knew that she had to be strong. It was her and her baby against the world.

Stay tuned for the next chapter to meet the little Legacy bundle of joy and find out what happens to our heroine!

Chapter #1 - "A New Beginning"

In this chapter, you will meet our heroine and the founder of the family, Phoenix Legacy. You will learn about the trials and tribulations that she encounters upon her arrival to Sunset Valley and see her fight to overcome them in order to grow into a loving, confident, and strong young woman.



Ahh...Sunset Valley! A poetic little town, surrounded on one side by the warm, inviting ocean and on another by the picturesque mountains.



Families from all over the Sim World travel to this town in hope of making their dreams come true.



Meet Phoenix Legacy, a beautiful twenty-year-old blonde with magnificently unique red eyes. She is a lucky, charismatic, and ambitious genius, and is quite family-oriented. Upon a falling out with her parents over an arranged marriage, Phoenix picked up her life savings of $20,000 and moved across the country to pursue her dream of becoming a famous singer.



Phoenix was drawn to the town of Sunset Valley for it boasted one of the most exquisite training facilities for musicians. Due to the urgency of her situation, she had to choose the only available lot in all of Sunset Valley. She bough a large property on the brink of town, draining her bank account.



While Phoenix was blessed with a magnificent view, she had nothing but grass and some trees on her land.



Anxious to prove to herself and to her parents that she would succeed, Phoenix found a job in the Music career (as a lowly "Fan"). She also enrolled at the College of Musical Knowledge and began her voice lessons. She had no doubt in her mind that she was well on the road of becoming a famous singer.



Unfortunately, her unrewarding job left her very drained, providing her with little time to work on her passion.



In order to blow off some steam, Phoenix decided to spend her first evening in Sunset Valley meeting new friends. The first person she encountered was a man by the name of Leighton Sakemoto. He was very kind, offering her a tour of the town. By the time the two parted, Phoenix's foul mood was already lifted.



Upon parting with Leighton, she wandered to the beach, meeting up with a very fun group of people. She dined with Cyclone and Brittany; who she later found out were also in her job field. Brittany was training to make it as a flute player in the Sim National Orchestra (but was also working as a Fan at the moment), while Cyclone owned his own magazine oriented toward the music industry.

"Hurry up and become famous so that I can write about you!" he teased.



Upon bidding farewell to her new-found friends, Phoenix arrived home to realize that her only possessions were the clothes she brought with her, a garbage can, and a mailbox that would soon be filling up with bills.



She didn't even own a bed!

Thinking of the first person that came to her mind, her new friend Leighton, she called the number he had given her and asked for a favour.

"I'm really sorry to bother you Leighton, however I have nowhere to sleep! I was wondering if you knew where the nearest motel would be? I actually don't even have access to an information book at the moment!" she admitted sheepishly.

"I'll be over in one second. I may have something even better than a number to the nearest motel!" Leighton laughed.



Half an hour later, Leighton showed up at Phoenix's doorstep (or lack thereof!) with a brand new bed.

"I bought this for my Mom last Christmas, hoping that she would get the hint to move out of my house and stop trying to run my life. However, no such luck...She's still living with me. The good news is that I have an extra bed." Leighton announced.

Grateful for his kind gesture, Phoenix would not let Leighton leave until he accepted full payment for the beautiful red bed.



That night Phoenix had a peaceful sleep under the starry sky. Her dreams were full of music, of course.



The next morning, Phoenix awoke to find a table, two chairs, and a fridge filled with food arranged neatly next to her bed. She had no doubt that Leighton had been the one to gift the necessities to her. She smiled to herself, thinking of how lucky she was to have found such a thoughtful new friend.



Despite having some great new necessities, Phoenix still had to rely on the town gym for her daily showers.



The positive side of bathing in a public facility (aside from saving on utilities!) was that she always managed to meet someone new.



She continued fostering her friendship with Brittany, and the two were slowly moving up together in the music career.



In fact, Brittany played a large role in introducing Phoenix to a very important individual, the owner of a prestigious record label - Sim Recordz.

“I have heard wonderful things about your voice and I love your unique look. I’m in town this week, looking to sign some new talent. I really wish to see you perform. I'm going to arrange something for you at the local theater.”



The next weekend, Phoenix took the stage and sang her heart out. She mesmerized the crowd and the owner of Sim Recordz. He promised to make her a star!

“I have to fly out to Simwood to attend to a very urgent business matter, but once I’m back I’m going to have a contract for you to sign Phoenix!”



Things were going well for Phoenix. Cyclone was very impressed with her performance as well, and wrote an article about her in his magazine.



A promotion followed shortly, and Phoenix was finally able to afford her own shower!



Things were also improving for Phoenix in the romance department. Her friendship with Leighton bloomed into something stronger, and she soon realized that she harboured feelings of love and passion for her best friend. He was ambitious, brave, good, frugal, and family-oriented - quite a catch!

(On a side note, perhaps you should put some clothes on while lounging around the house Phoenix! At least until you can afford walls and don't need to live on your lawn!)



One warm summer evening, three months after they first met, Leighton invited her to the beach. There, he confessed his own feelings to her, proclaiming that he couldn’t hide his passion any longer.

“I really hope that this doesn’t ruin our friendship…I just can't hold on to this secret any longer. I love you, Phoenix.”



Phoenix simply responded with a deep kiss. Her heart was bursting with happiness. She loved her best friend and he loved her, her career as a singer was finally taking off, and she could even look forward to getting a roof over her head soon! She was on top of the world!



However, as the saying “all good things must come to an end” implies, Phoenix’s luck was about to run out. Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out what happens to our heroine to derail her dreams!