7 - The storm

It all began when Noel invited Taylor back to his place so she could see the rest of his rubber duck collection.



The minute they stepped through the door, Noel turned on the charm offensive, and they were soon locked in a passionate embrace. Taylor was smitten, threw all her inhabitations to the wind, and ended up staying the night.


Well most of the night. Noel fell asleep easily, but Taylor began to wonder what on earth she was doing there. She was meant to be staying away from him! It could never lead anywhere. Taylor snuck home in the early hours, feeling even more confused than before.



She avoided Noel for the days, whiling away her time writing articles and working on her new sci-fi novel. She wasn't feeling great; nauseous and bloated all the time, craving weird things like onions with her bread and jam sandwiches. Two days later she knew why....she was pregnant. She couldn't go through this alone, even if she and Noel could never marry, surely he would support her?

The first shock came when she rang the Maloney household to speak to him. "He's moved out", informed Noel's father. "Spread his wings and all that". Taylor asked for his new address and decided to head straight there. Her stomach was in knots...she had no idea how Noel would react to her news.


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"Taylor! What a, erm....surprise". Noel closed his front door behind him without inviting her in. Was he hiding something? "I'm pregnant". She blurted the words out, and watched his grin freeze and then falter. They stared at each other, and it felt like an eternity until Noel limply raised his arm and patted her shoulder. "Urm, well done, that's well....very well done".


"Well done? It's ours Noel. Yours and mine". Noel sighed and crossed his arms. "I have a new life here Taylor. I'm trying to make something of myself away from my family. This should never had happened. I'm sorry". Just then, the door clicked open, and beautiful sim that Taylor had never seen before peeked out. "Noel honey, dinner is ready". Taylor's jaw dropped. She felt as though she was staring straight into a mirror. This beautiful sim had the same high cheekbones, the same dimpy nose, the same dark pigtails tied with neat bunches at each side of her head. The same swollen stomach safely cocoonoing a new sim life.


"Coming darling". Noel sighed and turned back to Taylor. "So now you know". His arms were still folded, and he stared callously at Taylor. "You bastard". It came out as a whisper, she knew that if she raised her voice he would hear the well of tears cracking beneath it. She had no more words. "Please leave now", Noel shooed her cruelly. "With pleasure. You will never meet your child", she spat.


With that, she turned on her heel and started the long walk home. Her knees trembled all the way, and the tears rolled freely down her cheeks. But her head was held high. She would make this work, just her and this new little life that was flourishing inside her. She never did look back.

6 - The calm before...

Taylor arrived home that night with a revised version of “Noel Mahoney – What a load of baloney rubber duck enthusiast”. She had a feeling that he would love it. Cooking was hardly her forte, but she whipped up a mean Mac & Cheese for the occasion. Noel arrived right on time and devoured his faster than Taylor could find her spoon.

Later, they settled down on the couch for a chat, and Noel made it perfectly clear that he would not be washing up. He loved his article though, especially the bit about the rubber ducks.

Four days later, Noel was spotted leaving Sacred Spleen Memorial Hospital alone with quite a smug look about him, but what happened in between...........?

5 - Forbidden love

When Taylor woke up in her new bed the next morning, there were three things of which she was absolutely positive: First, Noel was rich. Second, there was a part of him–and she didn’t know how dominant that part might be – that thirsted for her blood. And third, she was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Ok, maybe she was getting a bit carried away with the second part, but it was the first one that really troubled her. She could never marry Noel. This was one of the commandments of the Legacy bible that she could not break. She had religiously lived by the Legacy, and was sure to be damned to the grim reaper's hell if she starting sinning now. She decided to forget about Noel, but it was by a cruel twist of fate that she bumped into him the minute she stepped outside that morning.

"Hey! I thought I recognised you". His grin made her knees wobble, and she inwardly cursed the Sherlock Holmes disguise that obviously hadn't disguised her at all. "Did you find what you were looking for in my garbage yesterday?". M.o.r.t.i.f.i.e.d.
Taylor remained a brilliant shade of beetroot while they chatted, and before she knew it she had invited him over for dinner with the promise of a preview of the piece she was writing on him.


They shared a final lingering look before parting ways, and Taylor sped to work to start a new article on Noel. She would have to scrap "Noel Mahoney - What a load of baloney". Thank goodness she had all day to rewrite it!

4 - Money well spent

Taylor was ecstatic when she arrived home. Her house had been transformed, and it had turned out just as she imagined...


The interior design still required a bit of work, but on a salary of 1568,00 simoleons a day, and with book royalties of over 4000,00 simoleons coming in every week, Taylor knew that she would have the place perfect in no time.

3 - Noel Mahoney

With the 32,000 simoleons she had saved, Taylor decided to hire an builder and decorator to buff up her little home. Can't have a successful career woman living in a bedsit forever. While the contractors worked on her house, Taylor found herself having a good old rummage in the Mahoney's bins. One thing that she learnt during her days as an investigative reporter is that if you really want a juicy story on some sim, you need to get in amongst their garbage!



It was dirty work as always, but the fear of getting caught was an adrenaline rush unlike any other. Taylor found some intriguing artefacts belonging to her nemesis, Noel Mahoney. 2 rubber ducks, a large meteorite, and an old newspaper. Gripping stuff. Taylor decided to head out to the park disguised as Sherlock Holmes....she had to track down Noel Mahoney to see what else she could extract from him for her article.



Success! Taylor found Noel ambling through the park on his way to work. After a bit of a schmooze, and under the false pretence of a front page article in "The Snob Times", Noel agreed to an interview. He really laid himself bare, but Taylor left feeling frustrated...and confused. He was just so....nice. A hopeless romantic, charming, funny, and determined to make his own way in the world even though he was born into one of the wealthiest families in Sunset Valley. Taylor felt her heart take an involuntary flutter when he mentioned that he was single. "He was quite the looker too", she sighed to herself as she headed home.

2 - The working girl

Taylor's first day at work as a paper girl was a roaring personal success. She was initially mortified when she realised that the Mahoney household was one of her delivery stops for the "Snob Times", but a great aimed throw of the paper whacked an unsuspecting Noel Mahoney square on the head. Epic success.

Taylor headed straight to the library after work to type up an article named "A Guide To Well Aimed Paper Lobbing". The article was snapped up in minutes by a renowned publisher, earning Taylor 100 simoleons.

Taylor's creative juices flow, especially when it's bringing in the simoleons. With over a dozen articles published, and a steady flow of promotion bonuses, Taylor finally has enough to build a modest house...well a bedsit really, but it's home-sweet-home Alabama.



28 sim days later, Taylor has published 5 best sellers, written some damning articles on the residents of Sunset Valley, and fought her way to the top of the Journalism career. Her happiness may last a lifetime, but with all her time consumed by her drive to the top as a Star News Anchor, Taylor has realised that her love life is seriously lacking. "Who will carry on my legacy?", she despaired. Time to find love....pronto.

1 - A dustbin and a mailbox...

The arrival of Taylor Phoenix in the plush Summer Hill Springs area of Sunset Valley has caused somewhat of an uproar amongst the wealthy residents. The beautiful manors of the Alto family and the Mahoney family have neighboured each other on the private cul-de-sac for many sim generations, enjoying undisturbed views over the tranquil Summer Hill Park and Sunset Valley mountains. Both families are said to be very disturbed at the recent purchase of 15 Summer Hill Court. Rumour has it that the new girl in town has so much as the clothes on her back, a standard sim council dustbin, and a shiny new mailbox to her name...

Taylor has not had the warmest of welcomes in Sunset Valley. Her first visit to the park saw the untimely death of Margaret Menzes. A crowd gathered when Margaret suddenly passed away, and the grim reaper appeared to stake his claim. Margaret died of natural causes - she was an old biddy.

Taylor looked suitably traumatised, and is heard to have screamed "I don't want to die, I have a legacy to uphold!". Luckily the grim reaper left without so much as a sideways glance at her.



Spurred on by her brush with death, Taylor immediately headed to "Doo Peas Corporate Towers" and applied for a position as a paper girl. She has decided to follow her dream career as a Journalist. Being a paper girl seemed the most natural step in that direction. Well she'll be handling newspapers...that's what journalists do right?