Page 109 of Begin Again, Part 2

"This is different. Liam loves her, and they have a child. They have to do what's right for Aiden," Erica tried to defend her position.

But Steve put his foot down. They may be finalising their divorce, but he still wore the pants in their failed relationship, however small and tight they were now on his burgeoning frame.

Surprised he took her side and thrilled he was willing to treat her like the adult she was, Eden shot him a grateful smile. It seemed her father had done a lot of growing up these last two years and had learned from his mistakes. Her mom, on the other hand, was still a work in progress.

"How did the negotiations go?" Steve asked, changing the subject.

"You were right. They backed me into a corner," Eden smiled brightly. "And I went for the extreme offer."

"Atta girl!" he said proudly and rested his hands on his stomach. "Wait for the call begging you for another chance."

"It already came," she said, and stared at the red marks on her hands while she stressed about a wedding she didn't want.

"Now that they've reached out, lay off a little on playing hardball," Steve slipped into his professor role and brushed her up on his Negotiation Skills 102 class. "Meet them halfway, so you both walk away with the best deal."

"Thanks, Dad." Eden took another sip from her glass. "But it's already settled. We've reached an agreement."

Isaac called as she was about to leave and head back to Green Point. "I can't talk right now," she whispered, throwing cautious looks at her parents.

"Okay, no stress. Do you want to meet for coffee?" he asked. "Remember I said I have something I need to discuss with you?"

Eden's gut clenched at his words. She didn't like the sound of his voice.

Sensing her hesitation, he added, "It's important,"

"Okay," she agreed, even though she didn't want coffee. "Just one cup"

"That's perfect."

"That didn't sound like Liam," Erica accused as soon as Eden hung up.

"It wasn't," she replied as she packed away Aiden's toys in his backpack and headed out, with her son toddling at her side, glad the meeting with her folks had gone relatively well.

Eden asked her handlers to drop her off at the coffee shop on 6th Street.

"I'm meeting a friend," she explained. "I won't take long."

Jace and Aaron exchanged looks, but didn't say anything.

Isaac was seated at a window table, with Zoe beside him in a high chair, when Eden walked in with Aiden.

"I was starting to think you stood me up," he said as he got up from his seat, gave her a quick hug, and placed her son in the other high chair.

"Traffic was a nightmare," she smiled apologetically as she sat down and spent a few minutes browsing through the menu even though she knew she'd get a chai latte. She always got a chai latte.

"So, how did it go with the lawyers?" Isaac rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward in his seat.

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask," Eden said, her eyes lighting up when their waitress returned with their hot drinks.

"That bad, huh?" Isaac said when they were alone again.

"It was awful." She nodded and watched Aiden babble away with Zoe for a while before filing Isaac in on her crazy week.

He listened intently and drummed his fingers on the table, his eyes giving away nothing while she spoke.

"So, this is where we are. Liam wants us to move in with him," she said as she toyed with her cup.

"What are you going to do?" Isaac reached for his espresso and took slow, measured sips.

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