Basically everyone has at least one guilty pleasure they're not too proud to admit they have. For some people, it's enjoying food that isn't necessarily good for you. For others, it's playing video games often thought of for kids.

For Hilary, it was watching cheesy, dramatic soap operas.

In all fairness, she hadn't electively chosen to begin watching them. When she and Tyson were living together, she watched them every single day. Hilary generally just tuned them out, but once it got to the point where she'd become super pregnant and confined to bed rest, she much preferred to be downstairs with her mother rather than upstairs and alone, which pretty much forced her to begin paying attention to the TV.

"This is a little much, isn't it?" Hilary wondered aloud after one of the characters tossed a drink in the face of another character….

"Yes, more often than not it gets a bit silly," Johanna agreed, folding a shirt and placing it in the laundry basket next to her.

"So how come you like watching it so much?" Hilary asked before gasping and covering her mouth. "I'm sorry, that came out way ruder than I meant it to!"

"Oh, don't worry about it, dear," Johanna scoffed. "It's a perfectly valid question! Honestly, they're just really addictive. You can't help but to wonder what's going to happen next, no matter how crazy and unrealistic the story is."

Hilary twisted her mouth as she considered Johanna's reply. "That actually makes sense." She turned back towards the TV, resting one hand on her large belly. "So why's that girl so mad?"

"That girl is Emilia, and she just found out that her husband cheated on her with her sister…well, her half-sister, Leesha," Johanna explained.

"That's so messy," Hilary breathed.

"It's ridiculous, but the husband certainly is good looking," Johanna sighed. "She just couldn't stay away."

Hilary blinked and tilted her head. "So like…where does she even go from here? What does she do with her husband? Kill him or something?"

"Wouldn't be the first time on this show," Johanna noted. Hilary's eyes widened as she snapped her head towards her mother, waiting for her to say she was joking. When Johanna realized Hilary was giving her that look, however, she simply hummed and continued, "That's really happened before. More than once, actually."

"This is actually insane," Hilary commented.

"Now you see why I can't stop watching this nonsense," Johanna agreed.

"It's so dumb, but it's like…I need to know what happens next!" Hilary cried. "That trashy husband of hers better get what for! And her trashy half-sister too. A glass full of cocktail to the face isn't enough."

Johanna smirked and cast the laundry basket aside. "Well, if you're going to get sucked into this train wreck too, might as well catch you up on the history of the whole thing."

XXX

And so, ever since then, Hilary had religiously watched Days of Our Lives every single day. She was not proud of this fact, however, and did not admit it to anyone…not even her husband. It had been that way for nearly seven years and she certainly wasn't about to change that fact.

Well…wasn't planning on it, at least.

After successfully putting her children down for a nap, Hilary made her way downstairs with the intent of watching her (secretly beloved) drama. She was taken off guard, however, when she found Tyson sitting on the couch with the television remote in his hand.

"Tyson!" Hilary hissed, covering her heart. "When did you get home?!"

"Uh…like 15 minutes ago," Tyson replied.

"And you came in that quietly?" Hilary asked, hardly believing it.

"I guess so," Tyson murmured, shrugging his shoulders. "But…probably not. You normally hear me, so you must've been pretty busy or something. Where were you?"

"Trying to get all three of our kids to nap at once," Hilary grumbled.

"Wow, that's basically impossible," Tyson marveled. "Did it work?"

"Surprisingly enough, yes," Hilary sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Took me forever though."

"You seem kind of tired yourself," Tyson observed. "Maybe you should take a nap, too!"

"It's not a bad idea, but I think I'd rather just relax for a bit," Hilary sighed, sinking down beside her husband.

"Sounds good to me!" Tyson chuckled. "I'll even put on a show for you!"

"What show?" Hilary questioned, not thinking anything of it.

"I don't know, whatever it is you have saved in your folder here," Tyson replied.

Hilary jumped straight up, her hands scrambling to grip the couch. "What folder?!"

"This one that I found on the TV hidden behind like three other folders," Tyson answered as though it should have been obvious.

Hilary's entire face involuntarily turned red. "Wh-why are you snooping around like that?!"

Tyson blinked. "How come you're so worked up over it?"

"Because you're digging into my private stuff!" Hilary howled.

Tyson stayed silent for a moment before warily responding, "I feel like you're hiding something from me."

"I'm not," Hilary grumbled unconvincingly, her face still red.

Tyson, of course, wasn't convinced and clicked the final folder. Hilary unleashed a horrified squeal and jumped on top of him, trying to snatch the remote from his hands. Tyson grunted and tried to shoulder her off, which did him no good.

"Hil, what's gotten into you," Tyson muttered.

"Don't you dare open that folder, Tyson Granger!" Hilary warned.

"oops…too late," Tyson deadpanned.

Hilary's eyes widened as her head snapped up to look at the TV. A seemingly never ending list of the same title over and over again graced it, causing Hilary to groan and sink down until her face was buried between her husband's neck and shoulder.

"Days of Our Lives?" Tyson read, furrowing his brow. "What's this, some kind of documentary about Beybladers and Bitbeasts?"

Hilary only responded with a huff, which Tyson decided to take as a yes.

"Oh, well, that's no big deal!" Tyson chuckled. "I thought this thing was gonna be full of shows with half naked guys."

Hilary sighed and didn't bother to pick her head up. Tyson clicked on the remote again, starting the first episode on the list. As soon as Hilary heard the melodic theme song, she picked her head right back up and gasped.

"Why'd you turn it on?!" Hilary cried, reaching for the remote once more.

"Hil, chill!" Tyson laughed, holding the remote above his head. "I don't know why you're being so weird about having a bunch of documentaries recorded. I'll watch these with you!"

Once the theme song ended, a strange sound emitted from the TV, causing Tyson to raise an eyebrow. Hilary caught sight of the screen and squeaked, covering her face with her hands.

Tyson pursed his lips and slowly turned towards the TV. "Hey, that kind of sounds like when we…" His eyes widened, and he whipped his head back towards Hilary. "How come people are making out on a documentary about Beyblades?!"

"It's not a Beyblade documentary!" Hilary finally stormed.

Tyson remained silent for a moment before humming thoughtfully. "Well that makes a lot more sense." He looked over at the TV again and watched for a few more seconds before realizing, "hey, wait a sec. Your mom watches this show! Isn't this that-"

"Dumb, cheesy, overdramatic soap opera?" Hilary finished for him. "Yes. It is."

"She's watched this everytime I would pick you up," Tyson mused. "She never answered me and her eyes were glued to the TV.I always thought it seemed like a pretty weird show. So…you like it too?"

Hilary hesitated for a moment before tensely replying, "I guess you could say that."

"How come you hid it behind all these folders?" Tyson asked.

"Because it's embarrassing," Hilary replied, apparently shocked he even had to ask.

"It's not embarrassing," Tyson chuckled. "It's just a show!"

"Yeah, a dumb show," Hilary grumbled.

"But you just said you like it," Tyson reasoned with her.

"Technically I didn't say that," Hilary corrected him. "I said I guess you could say I like it. Not that I do like it."

"Right…" Tyson drawled. "Well, you have to kind of like it to have this many episodes of it recorded."

"It's just addictive, that's all!" Hilary cried. "Even mom says that! You can't stop watching because you get sucked into it. It's really more of a hostage situation than anything."

There was a beat of silence. Then Tyson burst out into laughter, much to Hilary's annoyance.

"What's so funny?!" She demanded.

"You're coming up with so many excuses about liking this show," Tyson snickered. "It's really not a big deal, Hil."

"Well, it is to me!" Hilary growled, jumping to her feet as she began to pace the floor. "There's a stereotype that goes with those dumb shows! And the stereotype is that they're only watched by bored housewives with nothing better to do. I will not be viewed as a stereotypical housewife!"

"Hey, I don't think of you like that," Tyson tried, nervously waving his hands in front of him. "You're way more than just a housewife. It's just one of the many reasons I love you so much!"

"Oh, Tyson, I know that you know that," Hilary breathed, settling down enough to walk back over to him and sit on his lap. "I just don't want other people thinking it."

Tyson smiled against the back of Hilary's ribs and wrapped his arms around her. "No one's gonna think anything. Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks," Hilary murmured.

"So…since I now know this isn't a Beyblade documentary, can we watch something else?" Tyson asked sheepishly.

Hilary smirked and shook her head. "Absolutely."

XXX

"The baby is totally Steven's."

"No way! It's got to be Jonathon's."

"Why? It'd be so much more dramatic if it was Steven's!"

"Yeah but if it is then Ali and Jonathon will break up, and they can't just break up one of the best couples on the show!"

"But they always do that!"

"Yeah, but Ali and Jonathon are different."

"They've already broken up like…twice."

"I know, but-"

"Ahem."

Emily and Julia looked across the table, where Hilary was shooting them an unimpressed look.

"Oops," Emily murmured before genuinely apologizing, "sorry about that, Hilary."

"Yeah, we keep forgetting you don't watch Days of our Lives," Julia added. "Even though you totally should! It's so good."

"That's what you both keep telling me," Hilary sighed, picking up her menu to peruse it.

Emily and Julia had been watching the show since they were teenagers, but they had no idea Hilary watched it as well, and she'd been insistent on keeping it that way. They frequently got swept up in discussing the latest episodes and their little theories, and apparently called each other over the phone weekly to do just that. Still, when the three women had arranged to meet up for lunch, Hilary hadn't really expected to get caught in the middle of one of their chats.

"I just keep thinking…what if Bruno reveals Ali's secret about knowing who stole Rod's beloved watch?" Emily continued in a hushed tone.

"He would never," Julia refuted, reaching for her iced tea. "He's her uncle! And she's his favorite niece!"

"Anything is possible if Dr. Gaines breaks out his watch to hypnotize," Emily mused. "And he and Bruno have been having that feud for years! He'd do anything to tick him off, and going after Ali totally qualifies."

"Please, Dr. Gaines will figure out the father of her baby," Julia scoffed.

Hilary just peered over the top of her menu with narrowed eyes. "Really?"

The two other women quickly looked just as guilty as they had before.

"We just keep getting carried away," Emily sighed, shaking her head.

"It's because it's so good," Julia groaned. "Hilary, seriously, you should watch it. Just try one episode!"

"No thanks, I'm alright," Hilary plainly replied, finally putting down her menu to take a sip of her water.

"Oh but the guys are so hot," Emily sighed, fluttering her eyelashes.

Hilary smirked at the orange haired nerd. "Hotter than Kenny?"

Emily's face flashed red and she glanced up towards the ceiling. "No comment."

Emily remained silent for a moment before contemplating, "what if Bruno secretly wants to expose Ali because he knows she's a threat to the family business? After all, her father, ya know, Bruno's half-brother-"

Hilary slammed her menu down and glared at a startled Emily. "Just because Bruno and Daniel don't get along doesn't mean he'll get Ali in trouble! She's literally the only thing related to Daniel he cares about; he's not risking that."

Both Julia and Emily's jaws dropped following Hilary's outburst. Hilary kept the aggravated look on her face…until she realized what she'd just done. Once that hit her, her eyes widened and she smacked her hands against her head. "Oh no."

Emily and Julia slowly turned towards Hilary. Finally, Julia managed to ask, "you…already watch Days of our Lives, don't you?"

Hilary remained silent for a long minute before admitting, "…Maybe."

Emily's eyes lit up. "Why didn't you just say so in the first place?! You could've totally joined in on our phone calls!"

"Because I don't like to admit that I actually watch it," Hilary grumbled, lowering her hands. "I mean, Tyson literally just found out about it and we've been married for seven years."

"Wow, that's some dedication to hiding it," Emily breathed, sounding genuinely impressed.

"It's such a dumb show," Hilary muttered, shaking her head as she took a sip of water.

Now Julia was even more confused. "Wait, if you think it's so dumb, why do you watch it?"

"Because I can't stop," Hilary plainly replied, putting her glass down. "It's so stupid, but it's so addictive. How am I supposed to stop watching after all of those crazy cliffhangers they give you? It's like a crazy deep spiral I can't get myself out of. Or a really grizzly train wreck that you just can't look away from, no matter how bad you want to."

Julia still seemed perplexed, but Emily was just happy that one of her best friends was actually into the same show as her after thinking she'd never even seen it and constantly begging for her to get into it. "So does this mean you'll join in our phone discussions now?"

Hilary grimaced at the idea. "Emily, it's already bad enough I owned up to watching this nonsense. I don't need to feel any worse about it."

Emily pouted at Hilary's dismissal of the idea. "But it'd be so much fun for all of us to talk about the wedding next week!"

Hilary sighed and rolled her eyes. It was so hard to say no to Emily for some reason. "Fine. But just next week. Then I'm out!"

Emily quickly nodded her head before leaning into Julia once Hilary picked her menu back up. "We're so gonna rope her in."

"Oh, absolutely," Julia assured the brunette. "If Hilary thinks she can get out of those calls now that we know her dirty little secret, she's out of her mind."