Page 110 of Begin Again, Part 2

"I don't know." Eden shrugged. "I've taken so much from him, and all he wants is for us to move in with him. It's not an unreasonable request."

"But?" Isaac's eyebrows shot up.

"But I'm terrified," she confessed. "I'm shit scared of losing so much control and giving up so much of myself."

"Edie, it's just a house." He squeezed her hand. "It doesn't define your strength and independence. That's all inside you."

"But what if things don't work out with Liam? What then? Where would I go? I need a place I can call my own. It's bad enough I haven't done shit with my life. My career is a mess. My finances are equally bad, and now if I move in with Liam, he'll insist on taking care of me, and I can't allow myself to be so dependent on him. The thought of losing so much control and giving him so much power terrifies me."

It terrified her to such a point she began hyperventilating. The nasty red bumps on her skin from earlier were back, and she felt like throwing up. But she held it in.

"Hey, easy there," Isaac said gently. "Slow breaths, Edie. Nice and slow. No need to panic."

Eden nodded and tried to breathe through her nose while tugging at her collar. She absently scratched her neck and swept her gaze through the room, trying to find something to distract herself.

"I'm sorry," she said when she was sure she could speak again without breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Maybe you should talk to Liam about this," Isaac suggested.

"And say what?" Eden snorted.

"Everything you've just told me."

"Yeah, maybe," she nodded, but she knew she wouldn't. Liam was...He had his life together. He was a billionaire, for goodness' sake. How could he possibly understand her midlife crisis? Was it even a midlife crisis when she was only twenty-six and hadn't experienced much of life?

"Anyway, what did you want to tell me?" She smiled at Isaac, changing the subject as she checked the time on her phone. She told Jace she wouldn't take longer than half an hour. They were fast approaching her cut off time.

"I'm leaving Rock Castle soon." Isaac left her floored with his announcement. Eden sat in numb silence for a second or two, convinced her ears were deceiving her.

"Edie." He took her hand and held it. "Did you hear what I said?"

"I don't understand," she whispered. "Why? When? How?"

"I'm transferring to the office in Port Alfred."

"But why?" Eden asked, her voice shriller than she liked. "Aren't you happy here?"

"I am." Isaac's grin didn't mask the sadness in his eyes. "Zoe's not, though. She misses her mom. As much as Nandi pisses me off half the time, she's still Zoe's mom, and I have to do what's right for our little girl."

"Can't Nandi move back to Rock Castle?" Eden asked as sadness she hadn't foreseen descended on her like a giant wave.

"She's just started a new job. She won't give it up."

Eden nodded as though she understood. But she didn't. She was too caught up in the sound of her sadness. The depth of her grief at the thought of Isaac moving on was unexpected, especially since she hadn't known him that long. But he was one of the few people who got her. He helped her do up her little bungalow, built stuff with Aiden, and listened to her vent about Liam more times than she could remember. What was she supposed to do now with her backyard? Who was she supposed to call when she needed a sounding board?

"What about my jacaranda tree?" Eden blurted out. "You promised to help me plant one in my backyard, and you said we'd put up a swing for Aiden and Zoe."

"I know, but if you're moving in with Liam, you won't be planting jacaranda trees. Besides, he can help you with that now," Isaac said and took her hand again. "Let's be honest. I'm not the sun missing from your bracelet. I'm not the first person you think of when you wake up, and the last you see when you close your eyes and fall off to sleep."

"But—"

"No, Edie. You love him, and he feels just as strongly about you." Isaac shook his head firmly. "Go to him. He's waiting for you. If you tell him jacarandas are your favourite, he'll plant a whole field for you."

"You're right. He will," Eden laughed tearfully as she impatiently wiped away the stubborn solitary tear that had snuck out despite all her attempts to blink it away.

Isaac expelled a long sigh. "I don't want to leave, and my dad's not happy with my decision. But Zoe's getting older, and I want her mom to be in her life. I don't ever want her to ask me why I kept them apart."

His words hit home, and Eden couldn't keep it together this time. She burst into tears, and for a little while, she wailed into her hands, realising she didn't want that for Aiden.

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