Page 143 of Begin Again, Part 1

They hung up with Eden promising to see him at 11:00 AM.

She normally took her lunch break at midday, but Liam had his session with Linda today.

Turning to the window, she sighed and spent a long time people-watching Isaac's colleagues on the rooftop.

Since their confrontation—it was hard to believe it was just yesterday—Matthew's assistant had made a point of sidelining her and keeping her in the dark on the work front, choosing to do everything herself, even the skivvy tasks like fetching printouts and setting up meeting rooms she'd delegated to her in the past.

Eden had plenty of time on her hands now that she didn't have to fetch newspapers and restock stationery cupboards. Time was a dangerous thing when her life was such a mess. She spent half her morning replaying her fight with Liam, wondering if she'd made a mistake, and perhaps hasty by drawing a firm line between them.

She wanted him. He wanted her, too. That much was obvious. But in all the weeks she'd daydreamed about him, all the times she'd fantasised about a relationship with him—and there'd been plenty, Eden never considered how the dynamic of their work relationship would change. She always saw him as a man first and her boss second, and maybe that was her first mistake and the biggest reason the rumours in the chat had thrown her world for a loop. The stuff written about her had damaged her self-esteem as much as Lucy's slap. She never wanted to be that girl—the one people assumed only got the job because she slept with the boss, and she never imagined she'd be a walking cliche and the subject of office gossip someday.

Tired of working herself into a frenzy over a man she almost had, Eden accessed the group chat and spent exactly ten minutes talking nonsense with the girls. They wanted a photo of her lunch date lookbook, and after much convincing, she took a quick selfie and posted it in the chat. They were thrilled she'd listened and stuck to the LBD she'd bought on a whim after Simon left her. It was supposed to be her revenge dress, but she never got to wear it because she fell pregnant shortly after her engagement ended and ran for the hills.

Today was as good as any day to take it for a spin. She'd paired it with her leopard-print stilettos. Thanks to Franco and his scissors, she couldn't pile her hair up in a high bun like Lydia had suggested.

Eden took a few more shots in different poses and uploaded them, earning more compliments and a firm reminder from Cassandra to act cute and refined while eating.

She was still grinning like an idiot when her phone vibrated in her hand, and 'Mom' flashed on the screen.

Eden didn't want to speak to her, but she knew their dinner last week was the beginning of such frequent communication. She'd opened the door she closed two years ago because she wanted to keep the one leading to the truth about Aiden's paternity tightly shut.

"Hello," she answered after a couple of rings.

"Edie, it's Mom."

"Is everything okay?" she asked, even though she didn't want to know if her mom's life was still a self-contained mess. But it was the right thing to do, and it was what normal people did following news of an unexpected divorce. They checked in and asked if everything was okay.

"Just checking if you're okay. Your father and I realise the news must have been so sudden, and we should have told you when we first thought about the split. But you were in the Blue Mountains and refused to talk to us."

Her words left Eden stunned. For a second, there she had her going, thinking she was sincere. She didn't see it coming; the blame snuck in at the end.

"So it's my fault now?" she asked as she stood up and slammed her office door shut. Her heart rate rocketed when her eyes collided with Liam's in Matthew's office. When did he get here? She wondered as she took in his strapping physique wrapped in a dapper pinstripe suit and his go-to white shirt, a navy tie hanging loosely around his neck, his hair a mass of flames under the down-lights.

Goodness, she sighed sadly. One whole day, with no contact from him, she was almost going crazy out of her mind. She missed him as much as she craved his touch and kisses.

Argh! Eden groaned silently, tapping her chest to soothe the searing pain in her chest, threatening to incapacitate her. She made her choice. She had to see it through now.

"—You didn't want to talk to us; you shut us out for two years!" Erica dredged up the past like she'd done in the past, conveniently forgetting her part in the mess.

But Eden wouldn't let her get off scot-free. "And whose fault was it, Mom? You gave me no other choice!"

"You didn't want to tell us who Aiden's father is. You still don't. Is it Liam? I've been thinking a lot since we saw him—"

"I told you it's not him. Don't bring him up again." Eden stopped her before she could go far with her quest for the truth, her eyes drifting back to the window, to the man in question.

Since her friends had brought up the idea at the playground, it was becoming increasingly harder to fight the urge to pack up her shit and leave town again. But she couldn't leave until Liam was okay.

She held his gaze for a while, wondering if he missed her and if he regretted their fight as much as she did.

She would have carried on with their staring match if her mom didn't try to make a play for the mother of the year award again.

"If you want to talk, your father and I are here for you."

Eden gritted her teeth. She didn't want to talk. What good would it do when they'd already decided to end their marriage?

"Mom, I have to go," she interrupted her second—maybe third— round of apologies. She was so tired of people doing stuff and then apologising for their shitty actions.

Her parents. Liam. Lucy. Everyone thought it was okay to treat her like shit, and a 'sorry' would excuse their actions.

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