Update 4 - Moving On

So, what happened the last update?

Oh right, Rose came with a heavy belly and told Liana the entire truth. She was in love with Steven, truly and utterly and madly in love with him, but when she learned that she got pregnant she realized this can't continue anymore. The baby needs a father, not some person who is married and have to hide his child's existence from his wife. She lost hope that Steven would ever tell about them to his wife, so she had to do it herself.

And Liana? She was pissed. The love of her life, the man she was married to since they were old enough to marry, slept with another woman. It was a very big surprise to Steven when he came home and the first thing he felt was a giant slap to his face.

Than they argued. For a very long time. Steven tried to excuse his actions, and when that didn't work he accused her of being so busy with her work that he had to find some appreciation and love somewhere else. If he thought it would help to soften her up he was dead wrong. Liana exploded. Mixology is her passion, her dream. A good husband would support her dream and encourage it, not sleep with someone else behind her back. Especially when she supported his fantasy that playing guitar in the streets would make them rich.

They continued to argue for what seemed like forever, but eventually there were no words left to say. Except for one. "Go"

"What?"

"I said go, get your bags and go somewhere else. I don't want you to live here anymore. And expect the divorce papers very soon".

"Liana, I know what I did was wrong, but is it really worth ending this marriage? After everything we've been through? So many years together? A child?".

Liana smiled sadly. "This marriage ended when you kissed that girl".

On a slightly lighter topic, when Liana and Steven were angry at each other, I looked at the menu of Liana's interactions with Steven and I saw an option that was "Apologize... In bed". This is one of the things I love about this game, how they plant little quirky things like that.

Everything happened pretty fast after that. Before Liam came back from school, Steven already packed his belongings and went to stay at their friend Zachariah's house. He invited him for as long as he needs, which was really helpful since Steven probably won't have enough money for even the smallest house in the near future. He couldn't stay at Rose's house because he stopped seeing her. They decided that they would still talk, and Steven would have partly custody over the baby when it's born, but other than that it would be very hard for him to forgive her for what she did. He understood her having second thoughts about their relationship, but she should have talked to him about it, or at least let him tell Liana and explain everything instead of going behind his back like that.

Only when Steven closed the door it hit Liana that this is truly over, that he left and she is alone now. Very quickly the anger faded away and all she felt was crushing sadness.

When Liam came home he found her in her room under the blanket. He wasn't stupid. When he didn't see his father he thought that maybe he's at one of the parks playing, but when he saw her like that it didn't take him long to understand that the secret was discovered.

Without saying a word, he crawled into the bed and hugged her. They stayed like that for a very long time, and at some point Liana actually felt better. She wasn't really alone after all, she had Liam.

When they both got up she hugged him so hard she almost squeezed him. "Thank you" she said. Liam just smiled and said "Everything is going to be ok".

Time passed, and Liana's wounds started to heal, but thing still weren't easy without Steven. Liana was very busy with her job, which now started at 2 pm, and that meant Liam had to come back from school to an empty home. He did his homework, played games on the computer (he certinatly inherited his mother's love for computer games), sometimes went to his friends' house or invited them over to his house, and in the evening he ate meals Liana already made and kept in the fridge. They were delicious of course, but nothing beats eating the food fresh and not microwaved, and eating with someone and not alone.

Another area in which Steven's absence was noticed was the repairs. The computer broke and Liana had to fix it all by herself. Fortunately both the computer and Liana survived.

Liam's birthday came, and he invited his family and friends to the cinema. They had an amazing time.

He obviously invited his father, which made him worry that there would be tension between him and Liana, but the whole party went smooth. Steven sat quietly during the movie, staying away from Liana to not spoil this day for her, but after it Liam came to him. It was the first time Liam saw him after what happened. His father looked afraid, terrified that Liam was still angry about him. Then Liam pulled something out of his pocket. "Captain Hero, you left him at our place when you left" he offered the action figure to his father and smiled.

Steven was speechless. "It's ok, you can keep him. He would be happier with you". Liam laughed and Steven smiled too, but then his face became serious and he looked at Liam in the eyes. "I'm sorry, for everything. I shouldn't have betrayed your mother's trust like that and I certinatly shouldn't have got you involved".

"It's alright. You shouldn't have done it, and I still feel angry, but you're my father and I love you". Liam said and then he and his father hugged a tight, long hug.

And... The time has come for our little Liam to age. But he really isn't really that little kid anymore. Everything that happened lately truly matured him. He supported his mother, stayed on his own, and despite all of this still managed to be an A student! Liam grew strong and smart and resourceful, and he learnt some lessons that he'll carry for the rest of his life. And now he's ready to start a new part of his life as a teen.

And this is how Liam looks like! Handsome don't you think? You can definitely see some of his father's features in him.

By the way, everyone already knew he was genius, but now it's official. And after what happened with his parents he's not really planning to get married quicly, so right now his aspiration is Serial Romantic!

Now that Liam is older, and she's freshly single, it's time for Liana to take more care of herself. She became good friends with Lily Rose (Anna's mom), so they went to the gym together.

And that was not all of it, she also got herself a makeover! She even got red tips, to bring out her wild side again. In the picture she's demonstrating her outfit while fixing the TV, since she got a little better in the whole repair thing.

Another thing that got a makeover is Liam's room. His old room wasn't really fitting his age anymore, so I redecorated it with a color that suits a teenager. Liam took advantage of the room right away and did his extra credit work, with Liana's help.

Some time passed, and Liana's birthday came! All of her friends and of course the most precious person to her, Liam, were there with her as she aged up.

It was not easy for her, finding out that the person she trusted was not worthy of her trust, and then having to learn to live on her own, and she still wasn't completely ok. But as she looked at the people who love her and came to celebrate her birthday with her, she knew she truly wasn't alone, and that she would be ok, eventually.

By the way, if you're wondering what is different in the picture, then the answer is it's the kitchen. Yep, the makeover spree has not stopped yet. Liana got promoted, which meant new cabins, which meant I had the opportunity to revamp the kitchen. It even has now the modern island in the middle of the kitchen thing that everyone use in their builds.

One day after school Liam went to the house of a new friend, Sky Hedrick. He moved to Newcrest recently and they only met at school a few days earlier but already became great friends.

When they arrived and Liam saw the house the first thing he said was "woah", because it was a really nice house. Not a mansion or anything but certinatly nicer than his house. Sky told him that this house belongs to his uncle. He used to be the CEO of a big company, but left because he didn't feel happy in the cold business world. He donated most of his money to charity and with what left bought a house in the small town of Newcrest, where he plans to grow and sell vegetable on the farmers' market. He let Sky and his mother join him because she heard of the great highschool here and there was no way he would let them spend their money on a house when he could let then stay with him. When they entered the house Liam met Sky's mother, Lora. He noticed she was very young, but he decided not to ask any question about it. She greeted them and said she was very happy to see Sky already having a friend here. Then his uncle Ben arrived and he greeted them too. Liam and Sky did their homework first, and then played in the computer for a little bit. And they obviously took advantage of the big pool. When the evening came Ben made hamburgers for all of them and they ate outside. The conversation was flowing and Liam really enjoyed Sky's family. Especially Ben, who he noticed was crazily smart, funny, and not at all bad looking from what he could tell. That raised an idea in his mind.

It was finally the weekend, and in Saturday night he went with Sky to the Rattlesnake Juice. There he saw a beautiful girl sitting at the bar. He remembered seeing her in school, her name was Simone Gilmore. He approached her and they started talking. To his surprise she laughed at his bad jokes and loved hearing about his favorite shows. They talked for a while and danced, and he didn't even feel the time passing. He didn't know if it was just all that juice or she was really interested in him, but he got over his fear, took a deep breath and asked her out. She said yes!

In Sunday morning he did something he didn't have the chance to do yet- he went to his father's new house to see his half sibling! Steven's career took a sudden turn for the better when an agent saw him playing in one of the parks. He arranged some concerts for him and soon Steven found himself a star! And he even had enough money to buy a small but beautiful house, suitable for raising a child. When the baby was born, a lovely girl called Micaela. Steven invited Rose and little Micaela to live with him, since Rose's house was a bit crowded because she was living with roommates. It was just for the sake of their daughter, nothing romantic... Or so they thought. Because quickly they found that they were unable to stay away from each other and their relationship started again. Liam was at first angry when he heard it, but he saw how his dad's eyes were shining when he talked about it and he realized that they really are in love.

So Liam met Rose again, this time in a little more appropriate situation than the one when he first saw her, and he met Micaela! Time moved fast, and she was already so big!

Alright so actually I forgot that it takes so little time for babies to age in the game and missed Micaela's baby stage completely. But she looks adorable in this sweater so you'll forgive me right?

The only problem was that the little girl was... Well... Insane. But at least she's cute.

In that night he took Simone for that date he promised her. They went to a cute little bakery that was just opened (Willow Creek Cafe by kesonkes If you want it). Liam noticed that this was a perfect place for a date, and saved it in his mind for later. They had the most amazing evening.

After the date Simone walked with him to his house since it was on the way to hers. And right there, in front of the door, they kissed. It was the most magical moment of his life so far.

And what about Liana? Well a few days later she received a text from Liam telling her to meet him at the new bakery after he finishes school, except he didn't show up. As she sat there and waited she heard a warm voice from behind her.

"Hello, can I sit with you?"

"Oh I'm sorry, I'm waiting for my son, he's supposed to come any second".

"Oh really? I'm waiting for my nephew, he told me to meet him here".

"Your nephew? Is he going to the school here?"

"Yeah he just enrolled, his name is Sky".

Liana laughed. She started to understand what happened. "That's the name of my son's friend".

"Oh you're Liam's mother?" He asked. When she nodded he laughed too. "Well I suppose we've both been set up. But we did got all the way to here, I suggest I could order us both a cup of coffee and we could enjoy this lovely place a little longer, what do you think about that?".

Liana smiled. "Who would refuse a free cup of coffee? I'm Liana spark by the way" she said and extended her hand.

"Ben Hedrick".

"It's very nice to meet you Ben".

Update 3 - Growing Up

Steven didn't spent a lot of time with Liam lately, so he made it up for him and took him with him after school to his work. He usually goes to parks and clubs but he decided to do something new and go to a store this time. It proved to be a great idea- a lot of people took a small break from their shopping and payed a little to hear Steven play, and Liam proudly watched his dad doing what he's good at.

After that Liam was hungry so they went to The Blue Velvet and Steven ordered chips for Liam, and a drink for himself. When Liam got sleepy Steven told him to wait until he would finish his drink, so poor Liam napped on the sofa. It's a shame, Steven started really good on the 'good father' scale that day, but didn't manage to keep up.

Speaking of which, it became sort of a habit for Steven to invite Rose over when Liana went to work. Liam was busy in his hobby of trying to find every possible rock in the universe so Steven and Rose used this opportunity to do... You know what... For the very first time. Everything was perfect... Until Liam came back home unexpectedly.

"Daddy look what I foun... WHAT THE HELL?!?"

After Liam ran from the room Steven lashed out at Rose. He accused her that she convinced him to sleep with her while there was a chance Liam would come back.
But then Rose burst out. She can't come there while Liam is at school because Liana is home than, and she can't come when Liana is working because then his son is home, so when exactly are they supposed to see each other? Or is he too busy with his family to spend time with her? Maybe it was a mistake to date a married man.

Steven sighed "I'm sorry, I was just upset and I blamed you. You couldn't know that he will come back. I couldn't either".

Rose tried to continue to be upset but there was something about Steven, she couldn't stay mad at him for too long.

She left after Steven promised to call her soon, but then Steven had to take out the other fire. He found Liam watching TV in the living room. He sat next to him and explained that what Liam saw was a mistake. He didn't mean it and he loves his mother. "Please don't tell her about it. It can be our little secret, right?". "Right....".

The next day bill day came again, but this time Liana and Steven were ready! Just a short click on the computer and that silly thing was payed. Oh, and by the way look at Liana's new look! I'm super proud of myself at that one.

The reason why the financial situation got a bit better is Liana, who is skyrocketing through her career, and got promoted, again, to a mixologist. I looked at her career panel and it said that her next job will be a Line Cook. Isn't it weird, to get promoted from a cook to a mixologist and than to a cook again? Sims 4 career system, I swear.

Liana also finally reached level 5 of the cooking skill and started working on her gourmet cooking skill. She made garlic noodles even though they still had regular pasta in the fridge. But everyone knows that there is never such thing as enough pasta.

Things seemed to go well at the Spark's residence in general. When Steven went to the park again he made more than 100 simoleons! Looks like when you're not horrible people are actually willing to pay you money.

After he came back home and Liam came back from school Steven helped him with his homework while Liana ate a brownie before work and look proudly at her husband and son.

But little did she know that things were not as they seemed. The minute she went to work Liam left and went to his room. Steven didn't have much to do but to wonder around the house and upgrade some of the things. Maybe partly because of the guilt he felt.

When the evening came Liam had no choice but to emerge to the living room to eat. He sat awkwardly next to his dad and ate his dinner.

"Is everything alright son?" Steven asked him.

Liam sighed. "I'm not going to tell mom about what you did, but it doesn't mean I approve it".

"Oh you're still angry about that? I told you it was a mistake! A one time thing!"

Liam looked at his father. He wanted to believe him, he really did, but he wasn't sure he could. He finished his dinner silently and went to his room.

Speaking of which, A little more money earned by Liana and I could more or less finish Liam's room. It came out pretty nice I think, and I put there all the things he collected. I couldn't afford a computer, but he has one in the living room and I'll get to it at some point. It's a shame he's aging up soon, cause then I'll have to revamp the whole thing.

One day Liam brought over his friends from school, Kaith (the kid from the park in the previous update) and Anne Rose. Anne is from a family I downloaded to the town, The Sweet Family by HarrietElison. The kids did their homework and then played together and in the evening Lianna made dinner to all of them.

Anna apparently thought she was being helpful by picking up the trash... And throwing it on the ground right in the middle of the living room.

But even after such a great day, Liam still couldn't really sleep. He told his father he won't tell his mom about what he did, but he couldn't bear having this giant secret. And his mom deserved to know. But he couldn't fail his dad, who he loves even though he's angry at him, and he didn't want to see everything around him collapse. What should he do?

He decided to set his mind off the subject and just have fun for these few days. Liana's new mixologist position gave her three days off of work each week, which means she and her family could have some well deserved fun in the afternoons. In the first day off that week Liam's friends came over, and in the second one Liana, Steven and Liam went to the cinema (Chompy's Movie Park by Drutruvuilder If you're wandering)! They all watched a silly kids movie, and afterwards Liana made some burgers while Liam played on the monkey bars, and then they all ate. It was a truly fun day.

And the third day was just as fun, beause it was Steven's birthday! His family and closest friends (and a bunch of other people he sort of knows because he doesn't have a lot of friends and a party with 5 people looks lame) went to celebrate with him in the newest club. I downloaded this night club too (what can I say, I got bored of the venues that came with the game), and it's called Club 46 by feroo-91.

Steven danced while Liana was responsible for the drinks. And don't worry, Liam had something to do as well, because the place had giant TVs and Liana brought all sorts of food for the guests.

And... Surrounded by his family and friends, Steven became an adult.

Here we have Liana blowing a kiss to Steven, but for some reason he looks at Jonney Zest which makes the whole thing really weird.

The party lasted until the small hours of the night, so naturally Liana and Steven woke up late (poor Liam didn't have that privilege and had to get up for school). After eating breakfast together Steven went to the park to earn some money.

And that's when the door bell rang.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Rose, and I have something to tell you".

Update 2 - Rose

Well look at that, that looks like a second update!

Liana is a dedicated worker and got back to work straight after Liam was born. And it was worth it because she got promoted again (hence the nice counters at the background of the picture)! She also decided one day to take a tiny break from cooking and drink mixing to learn how to bake (I got Get to Work people!!!). She baked some good quality brownies. Well, she's just starting, she'll probably end up great at at this like she is in everything else.

But Liana's success does have its price. When she left little Liam in order to go to work, Steven had to stay at home and take care of him instead of going to the bar and playing the guitar. He didn't like it. Liana is clearly ambitious, but it doesn't mean her job is more important than his, right? Just because she's great at it, and makes tons more money than he does... Yeah never mind. But he did use this free time to upgrade the toilet so that's good.

Liam sure is a screamer. Every night he wakes his parents at least once. Steven doesn't look very happy about it in this picture.

A new coffee machine from her (other) promotion. Wow, that girl is on fire! The promotion also changed Liana's work hours to be more normal (her shift ends in 9 pm now). It comes just in the right time with Liam soon growing into a child- she will now be able to see him before he goes to sleep.

Still work related- Liana had a really bad day. She woke up late, and only than I discovered she still had all of her daily tasks to complete, and about half an hour until work. I was afraid she won't make it until I remembered what day it was- it was Liam's birthday! It means that if they're planing to have a little party for the occasion, she should take a vacation day anyway! So that's exactly what she did.

Birthday party time! Apparently you can't actually throw a birthday party for a baby, but Liana and Steven were more than happy to throw a regular party with some of their closest friends and one baby whose basket was moved into the living room.

And the moment everyone waited for arrived-Liam grew into a child! This adorable kid is a geek, and wants to be a Rumbunctious Scamp, which means he wants to play a lot. Or something. The ambitions names in the Sims 4 are ridiculous. 

As a kid, Liam naturally can't continue living in his parents' room, so they built him a new one. It's underground and has old metallic stairs that are leading to it. How cool is that? Answer: Very cool.

Unfortunately,  Liana and Steven probably went too far in this case, because apparently a basement, even a small one like this, costs ridiculously too much. They just didn't have the money for such an expense. So they had to act a little tight with the decoration but believe me, I'm not giving up on the basement, and it will be full with toys and stuff soon enough anyway. Oh and by the way, here's that dinosaur doll I was talking about in the earlier update.

In that chance they also did some changes in the living room. Since Liam's birthday party got a silver medal (hell yeah), they got this lovely couch as a reward.

In the morning Liana woke up to find the trash can got knocked down. It looks like someone got too wild during the party last night.

I think it was Friday or Saturday because Liam didn't have to go to school. So although Steven was still asleep and couldn't join them, Liana and Liam ate their first adorable breakfast together. 

After he finished eating and doing his homework for the following day, Liam could finally do something fun. He played the computer for a while and then practiced a bit of typing.

"Daddy what is that?"

"That's a gnome son"

"Buy why is it nak..."

"It's cubism son"

"But..."

"Cubism!"

So, remember how I spent all of the Sparks' money on the coolest basement ever? Well bill day arrived, and they needed to pay 400 simoleons, while they had only 200. Liana could easily get the needed amount from her future shift's salary, but these exact two days they had for paying the bills were her days off. So our hero Steven tried to save the day and went with his guitar and his son to the local park. While Steven worked hard and earned an astounding amount of 50 simoleons, Liam played on the giant spaceship and adorably pretended to shoot aliens (I have noticed a returning pattern in Liam's behavior which is that everything he does is adorable). He also found a huge rosy quartz rock and got pretty excited.

After Steven finished playing he went to the grill to try his luck in making his kid something edible (he's not Liana after all) but on the way there he noticed this beauty and started to talk to her. Her name is Rose Collazo. She is single, which is good. He of course isn't but it's just some innocent flirting anyway.

He got so carried away he didn't remember to cook. Fortunately Liam is a resourceful kid and found a leftover plate of hot dogs right behind the bench. Steven joined him and they ate together. Hopefully the hot dogs won't make them sick.

The next day Liana and Steven slept late and Liam had the whole house to himself before he had to go to school, which meant he could watch TV while eating!

After he went to school Steven and Liana went to a mission- to get enough money to pay the bills. They went to the lounge in Willow Creek, and Liana practiced her bar tending skills while Steven played the guitar, with real determination this time. He made an impressing amount of 60 simoleons before Liam got back from school and they had to come back home, but sadly it still wasn't enough.

It was nice for Steven, spending time with his wife like that, getting to see her famous ambition aimed to help him for a change, but he knew that the minute they pay that bill she won't even look at his guitar anymore. Liana was like fire, which is something he admired in her when they first met, but he felt that lately he just got the burning part of it. And he couldn't forget the girl he met in the park, Rose, who was sweet and innocent and excited, in a way that Liana wasn't.

At the end, despite all their effort, they didn't get enough money to pay their bills. They seriously considered living without electricity but eventually they had to take some extreme steps. So... Goodbye Naked Gnome, your lack of clothing will be missed!

Steven told Liana he was going to play for tips like in any other day, but he really wasn't. What he did was to meet Rose in one of the local parks. Things got a bit uncomfortable when Liam surprisingly left school early and went to the park to see his father, but he told him to play on the pirate ship while he talks to his female friend.

Well actually I guess Liam's arrival wasn't that surprising. You see, it turned out that Rose is a sim I used in a different game. I downloaded her from the gallery (I'm sorry, I just couldn't find who made her, but if whoever made her is reading this, just tell me and I will credit you!). I changed her everyday outfit but I didn't change her party outfit, so when I saw her in this game in the party outfit I didn't recognize her but when she came to the park, she wore the clothes I gave her and looked completely different than what she looked like when I took the picture of their first meeting. So I had to use cheats in order to change her everyday look, and that probably messed with the game and made Liam appear there.

Any-who, Without Liam's intervention Steven was free to do what he really wanted and try some of his moves, but Rose ... I guess she wasn't as naive as Steven thought, and she didn't want to get involved with a married man.

Liam had a better day though. He made a few friends, little Keith (the kid that looks like Liam from behind. Yep, Liam is on the bench) and shy Alexander Goth. And a beautiful girl called Olivia. She ignored him at first, but eventually she played with him on the pirate ship. Steven came to him after he finished playing and they spent some time together.

Lianna finally went to work and earned a bit of money, so I was able to make Liam's room a little less bare, and add the new frog that Liam caught.



Steven was ready to give up on Rose, but one day after Liana went to work he found her on his doorstep. She had a horrible day and just didn't want to be alone.

And well... They kissed! There's no going back from that now...