Page 141 of Begin Again, Part 2

"Okay," Liam said, and waited for the white light. But it never came, and he realised then that was another lie. In the movies, there was always a white light at the end of one's life. So, where was his white light? Had he missed it? Did he do too many horrible things in his life that even God didn't think he deserved a white light?

Liam was suddenly aware of the intense heat radiating from the wound to his core. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before, and no matter how hard he tried to describe it to himself, death was the only thing that came to mind. Yes, it felt like death, and if he was dying, he wanted to spend his last moments with Eden.

"Call Paradise right now!" he croaked.

"Okay." James nodded, looked through Liam's coat, and pulled out his phone, his other hand still firmly compressing his wound.

Eden picked up on the second ring. "Liam, are you on your way home? Aiden's waiting for you."

"Princess," Liam wailed at the sound of her voice, and just for that moment, he forgot the excruciating pain burning his midsection. "I can't remember if I told you I love you today."

"Liam?" Eden said, her panic spilling through the phone. "What's wrong?"

"Aleksei shot me. That crazy bastard shot me, and I don't know what my odds are. I don't know if I'll make it home tonight. But I wanted you to know I love you and Aiden so much. You are my heart." He laughed, unable to believe the irony of it all. Who knew that the day he planned to make peace with the man would be his last? But in a way, it seemed fitting that he went out with a bang at the place where he'd burned so brightly he never thought his star would fade.

"Put James on the phone," Eden said sternly. "Put James on the phone right now. I'm not listening to this. I don't know what this is, but I'm not listening to it. You said you're coming home. You said you'll give Aiden a bath and read him a bedtime story. We're both waiting for you, so you'd better come home right now because I need you—"

"The past three months were the happiest I've been because of you. You are my hell, my paradise and my heart. I love you so much."

"Clarke Liam Anderson, you are not doing this to me! Do you hear me? You are not leaving me. What am I supposed to do with two kids on my own? I'm pregnant. Do you hear me? I'm pregnant, and you are not leaving me today!"

"That's great, Princess," he smiled tearfully. "That's so awesome. I hope it's a girl, and she has the heart of a warrior like you. I hope—"

Liam gasped his last breath as the light died in his eyes, his head lolling to one side.

Chapter

Forty-Three

HOW THE FAIRY TALE ENDS

There are moments in our lives—crossroad moments—that change everything through the convergence of destiny and choice. Moments when one must decide to proceed in the same direction or change course.

Liam getting shot wasn't that moment.

But, the seventy-two hours before the shooting, at the charity benefit, when Aleksei handed Eden the ring box, that was a crossroad moment, the converging point when their fate collided with their decisions. The minute she looked inside and saw the bullet, she knew she'd opened Pandora's box and released all the misery and evil into their lives, and Liam's feud with the Ivanovs would only end in grief and bloodshed.

As Jace and Aaron raced her to the Medi Clinic in Glen Eagles, where an emergency services helicopter took Liam, Eden knew she'd been presented with another crossroad moment. She could either curl up and die from despair, or hope and pray that the God she hadn't spoken to in years would miraculously come through for her and light up the way.

She chose to hope and pray, and it was all she did as she held Brenda's rosary and touched the crucifix for comfort.

Not a single word was said during the fifteen-minute ride to the hospital. The mood in the car was so sombre and the silence so eerie, it was almost as if they were already in mourning.

James was waiting for her at the entrance when they arrived. He hurried her inside, leading her through a series of hallways and elevators. As Eden tried to keep up with him, she couldn't take her eyes away from the bloodstains splattered on his shirt. They painted a harrowing picture.

"What happened, James? How bad is he?" she asked as they jumped into yet another elevator. They'd moved through so many floors and elevators that her head was almost spinning. But she was glad to escape the overpowering smell of disinfectant pervading the corridors, even if it was only briefly.

"They've just rushed him into surgery. Dr Samuels is working on him. He's one of the best trauma surgeons in the country. You can rest assured Mr Anderson is in good hands," he replied.

Eden was mighty relieved at the update. Liam's chances were significantly better if the best trauma surgeon in the country was on his medical team. But she needed a little more reassurance. So she pressed James, begging for the even slightest ray of hope. "He'll be okay, though, right? I mean, it can't be that bad?"

"The doctors are doing everything they can." He smiled patiently and repeated what he'd just said as he pushed her through the doors of the trauma unit, where they were greeted by a herd of security personnel from Anderson Logistics.

"We don't know if the shooting was an accident or if Aleksei plans to come back and finish the job. So we have to be careful," he explained his troop's presence.

Visibly distraught and anxious, Liam's parents rushed to her side when they saw her.

"Oh, Eden. I'm so glad you're here," Lois said, clinging to her. "The doctors haven't told us much. James said we lost him on their way here, but the paramedics were able to bring him back and control the bleeding."

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