Page 134 of Begin Again, Part 2

The millions of eyes inside the elevator jumped straight to their entwined hands. Eden tried to wiggle away, but Liam held her tight in his vice-like grip, and dragged her beside him as everyone crammed themselves into the corner, singing their greeting almost in unison, "Morning, Mr Anderson."

Liam nodded a hello back and stared straight ahead, while Eden wished the floor would open up and swallow her. As if she wasn't under the spotlight already, they had to stop on almost every floor. If people didn't know they were an office romance before, there was no doubt in their minds after the unusually long elevator ride. The intimacy between them was plain for all to see since every time people jumped in or out, Liam would pull her in front of him and hold her closer than the code of conduct recommended.

The moment they were left alone in the elevator as it surged to their floor, Liam was all over her like a rash, kissing her like he hadn't seen her in years.

"You can't do that here!" Eden admonished him when they reached the 36th floor.

"I can. The board approves," Liam grinned mischievously as they paused outside her office.

"No, they don't. They wanted to fire you," she reminded him.

He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Enjoy your day, Aiden's mommy."

"You too, Aiden's daddy," Eden said, her heart bursting with sheer joy at his words as she watched him saunter down the corridor and turn the corner to his office.

Eden spent a large part of her morning meeting with the marketing and brand teams to go over the event lineup for the family fun day, where Lydia would make her big debut as the company's brand ambassador. By the time Sarah announced a second tea break, Eden's head was swimming with market analysis data—all the boring stuff she had no interest in and would never have known existed if Liam hadn't thrown her in the limelight and put her in charge of Lydia's onboarding.

She was so drained that she could barely move from her chair. She closed her eyes, hoping to catch a quick nap while everyone took a body break.

She was still trying to convince her brain to shut down when Clara came in with a tray of something awful in her hands. Whatever it was, Eden didn't think it tasted as horrible as it smelled. But heavens, the smell—no—the stench was too much for her.

She gagged and wrinkled her nose, surprising the few people still scattered around the boardroom with her question, "What is that?"

"What?" Clara asked, her eyes dark with confusion as she glanced at the tray of mini savoury mince pies.

"That smell! Oh, dear Lord! Can't you guys smell—" Eden couldn't even finish her rant. She puked a little in her mouth as she scrambled out of her seat, grabbed her phone, and dashed to the restroom.

She locked herself in one of the cubicles and retched up the biscuits and tea she had throughout the meeting.

Feeling weak, fatigued, and unwell again, she flushed the toilet, closed the pan, and sat down. She wasn't sure if it was because she was sick or just her nerves, but her hands shook like crazy as she unlocked her phone and rapidly flipped through the calendar, her eyes widening in horror.

It was impossible. There was no way it was true. The doctor assured her it was ninety-nine percent safe, and only one unfortunate soul out of a hundred women could fall pregnant while on an implant.

Eden was damn certain she wasn't that unfortunate soul. Other than the shit with Simon, her luck had always been relatively good. There was no way she was part of the unfortunate one percent. The dates on her calendar, though, told a different story.

Sure, since she had the implant, her periods had become lighter, but they were always on time. Like clockwork. Until now.

The restroom door opened, and high-heeled footsteps clattered on the tiled floor, stopping in front of her cubicle. A second later, a double knock pulled her away from her lying calendar.

"Eden?" Clara called out from the other side. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied. "Give me a minute."

"You've been in there for a while now."

"I'll be out soon," Eden said, praying her voice wasn't as panicky as she thought.

"I don't like talking through the door. Can you let me in, please?" Clara knocked again.

Bewildered, Eden stood up, unlatched the door, and ushered her friend in, before sitting down again.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" Clara whispered as soon as the door slammed in place.

"Don't say it!" Eden replied, matching her quiet tone. She had no idea why they were whispering since they were the only people in the restroom. But she reckoned they could never be too careful.

"Nausea, funny smells, throwing up..." Clara counted Eden's symptoms and came to a terrifying conclusion. "My sister had the same symptoms, and seven months later, I became an aunt."

"I have an implant," Eden snorted. "This is just a scare, nothing more."

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