Page 51 of Begin Again, Part 2

"Of course, it matters!" Eden seethed. "How am I supposed to trust you when you had people follow my son?"

"Your son? He's my son too, Princess!" Liam fired back at her. "And you are such a brilliant example of trust, aren't you?"

The front door creaked open as James and two of his guys rushed out of the car to de-escalate what was quickly turning into a volatile situation.

"Eden, what's going on?" Brenda rushed down the driveway and quickly bundled her up in her arms, while James tugged at his sleeve and pushed him towards his car.

"Mr Anderson, I think we should leave. You and the missus can talk about this when you're both calm."

"No." Liam pulled away from his head of security. "I'm not leaving until I see my son!"

With that, he pushed his way inside the house, Eden, and the nanny hot on his heels as he opened and closed doors, looking through the rooms.

His heart imploded in his chest with a love so intense, so complete it threatened to incapacitate him when his gaze fell on the miniature version of himself sleeping peacefully in his little cot in the smaller bedroom he assumed belonged to Brenda.

He was still getting used to the immense love brimming in his heart when a wave of grief so profound, so life-consuming, washed over him, and he fell to his knees, weeping for all the time he lost with his son, all the memories he wasn't in, and all the milestones he missed.

All the anger and confusion he'd felt since James dropped off the paternity report, the sense of betrayal he'd tried to ignore the whole afternoon, culminated in that moment of total despair when all he could do was cry because if he didn't—if he held it all in—he was convinced it would eat him up and swallow him whole or he'd fly into a murderous rage.

For the longest time, Liam knelt on the floor in front of his son, his broken sobs reverberating through the room until he had no more tears left in him.

Completely gutted and emotionally exhausted, he stood up, pushed Aiden's legs under the blanket, and tucked him in.

"Hey, Kool-Aid, it's Daddy," he whispered as he gently took his hand, marvelling at its size. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get here. I didn't know about you. I would have gotten here much sooner if I had known. I would have fought so hard to be here—"

His phone buzzed in his pocket, interrupting his peaceful moment with his son. He pulled it out quickly and rejected Clara's call as he leaned over the crib to kiss Aiden on his forehead. His baby smell hit him hard, and once again, he was free-falling and drowning in the pool of raw, unrestrained love. He smelled like Eden, that same light floral scent, and baby shampoo. It could be baby powder too. But Liam wasn't sure because he didn't know shit about babies. Whatever it was, shampoo or baby powder, it was now his favourite scent, right up there with Eden's.

His phone pinged again, and this time he couldn't ignore it. It was Linda calling to check if he was still feeling homicidal.

"I'm on my way," he told her and hung up.

Liam was surprised to see Eden at the door. He'd completely forgotten he wasn't alone. His heart ached anew at the sight of her tear-stained cheeks. He desperately wanted to hold her and thank her for giving him such a beautiful son. He wanted to assure her they'd work through her lies and deception. But he was still so furious with her, and the longer he stayed in her presence, the more he ran the risk of slipping into the homicidal rage that had prompted his call to Linda earlier, requesting an urgent appointment.

"What you did—" he said, his voice catching in his throat. "What you did is unforgivable, Princess."

"Liam, I'm so sorry. I should have told you. God, I know I should have told you, and I was going to tell you," Eden cried as she tried to hold him, but he shook off her hands and pushed her away from him.

"You'll hear from my lawyers soon," he called over his shoulder and quickly made his way to the front door.

"There's no need. I've already drawn up a custody agreement," she said softly, stopping his progress with her announcement. Without waiting for his response, Eden slipped inside the door directly across Aiden's and was back moments later, with an envelope in her hand.

"I was going to tell you, that's why I had this drawn up," she said, handing him the agreement.

"When? In another two years?" Liam scoffed as he read through the document. It was a standard agreement, and her child-support demands were modest. Signing it would save them both the drama of a long, drawn-out custody battle. But—

"I tried to tell you so many times," she said. "I was planning to tell you after the Fashion Week event—"

"You didn't try hard enough, Princess," he cut her off. "And just so we're clear, my son will not be ferried between two homes. You'll both move in with me, or he does. Those are your only choices. Choose wisely."

He didn't give her a chance to try and change his mind. He dashed out of her house and slammed the front door so hard he almost rattled it off the frame.

Chapter

Nineteen

CODE BLUE

Brenda came out of hiding when she heard the front door bang shut, looking as terrified as Eden felt. For a minute or two, they both just sat on the couch in complete silence and stared at the blank TV screen.

---