Page 63 of Begin Again, Part 2

"Very well then." George cleared his throat, slid two folders in front of her, and explained each contract at length.

Eden's eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets when she saw the child support offer and the proposed backdated payout for the last two years. With just a few strokes of a pen and her squiggly signature, she'd become an instant millionaire, and she'd be able to do so much with her windfall. Cassandra would never have to worry about finding investors for Chef's Kiss. Eden could easily fund the podcast or talk show Sienna kept harping on about. Brenda's mom, too, could get a new wheelchair and the best physiotherapist.

Eden paused and looked at Whitman and back at the document again. They were so determined to get her to roll over, they'd thrown in a lot of other extras to sweeten the deal. Just for being Aiden's mother, she'd get a shiny new car every two years or choose one from Liam's fleet. She'd also use the Andersons' private jet and vacation homes all over the world whenever she wanted. In addition to her ridiculous monthly allowance, she'd have a personal shopper and access to all the clothing boutiques on 9th Street. To top it all off, she'd have power of attorney over Aiden's shares at Anderson Logistics.

Eden read and reread both offers, barely understanding some of the legal jargon designed to confuse the crap out of her. At that moment, she desperately wished she'd brought Isaac along because a lot of what she'd gone over sounded too good to be true, and she was sure there was a catch somewhere. But she'd be an idiot not to sign.

"Pen?" She held out her hand at last and snapped her fingers. A silver Parker appeared out of thin air. She took it, scribbled on the document, and passed it back to Whitman.

The old geezer took one look at the terms and frowned. "What's the meaning of this?"

"I'm not selling my son!" Eden announced. Yes, she could do a lot with twenty million. A holiday in Montenegro sounded good right about now, and the idea of never having to work a single day in her life appealed to the hedonist in her. But she'd never have stopped Liam from seeing his son, so there was absolutely no reason for him to buy her off. The whole arrangement and all his ridiculous extras made her uncomfortable, and she was properly pissed off with him for even thinking he could get her to give in with all the carrots he dangled in front of her.

"Eden McBride! Who do you think you are?" Liam's bark rumbled through the room, his lawyers flinching at his tone.

Eden was unfazed, though. Without even glancing at him, she stared straight at Whitman and carried on. "I don't want any of these things, and I certainly don't want any backpay. I raised Aiden alone with no expectation of being compensated. He's my son; I don't expect to be paid for taking care of him. As for the child support offer, my only request is that it's paid into a trust your team will manage until he turns twenty-one. I have no interest in his shares in Anderson Logistics. His father can look after them for him."

George opened his mouth to sputter something, but slammed it shut and scribbled furiously on the document, making all her amendments.

"Now, which one of these offers does Mr Anderson want me to sign?" Eden asked, her gaze still on Whitman.

But Liam replied so softly, his voice barely carrying through the room. "Whichever one you think will be in the interest of our son. Choose wisely, Princess."

Both offers were impossible. But then again, what did she expect from him? He never did anything half-assed. When he fucked her, he fucked her good. And when he hated her, he went all in.

In the one offer, she and Aiden would have to move in with Liam, and she'd have to give up her house. But it was more than just a house to her. Her bungalow represented her independence and freedom, and her ever-changing identity. It was supposed to be her fresh start after Grammy died, and her dream of returning home. It was the second most important thing she'd ever done as an adult, and she couldn't give it up. Not so soon, at least.

The second offer was just as insane. She'd have to permanently hand Aiden over to Liam, and could only have visitation. She'd robbed him of two years, but Liam was determined to get what was due to him tenfold. He wanted a lifetime.

Eden laughed, realising how right her father was. It was a classic game of chicken. Liam was trying to force her to chicken out and give him what he wanted by proposing extreme measures. He wanted her and Aiden to move in with him. But she couldn't. Not when there was so much resentment between them. They'd only destroy each other, and she would never allow her son to witness all that ugliness. She'd never felt backed into a corner as she did then.

She looked at Liam and held his gaze, her heart smashing to shards the longer she drowned in the ocean in his eyes. For the longest time, everyone held their breaths, afraid to move an inch as their silent battle continued.

A solitary tear slid down Eden's cheek, and she wiped it off impatiently, devastated beyond words that everything had come down to this bitter fight.

"I wish you hadn't done this," she whispered.

"I wish you hadn't kept my son from me," he whispered back. His words gutted her more than any punch in the stomach ever would.

"Very well then." Eden nodded.

He'd pushed her over the cliff, and she had no choice but to jump. And since she wasn't willing to back down, she'd take it all the way and gamble with everything she had, like her father said she should, and pray it would tip the scales in her favour.

"I'll go with this one." She tapped the document giving Liam full custody of Aiden.

Chapter

Twenty-Three

PLAYED ME

If George was mildly puzzled before, he was now downright confounded as they all sat in numb disbelief and watched the negotiations that should have been over in under forty-five minutes reach a screeching end before they'd even begun.

Liam was equally shocked. He wasn't expecting Eden to take it all the way. She sipped her drink and swiped and tapped on her phone while his legal team stuttered in their seats, demanding to know if she understood the terms of the agreement.

"Yes," she replied, barely looking up from her glass, making it clear who was in charge.

If Liam wasn't so furious with her, he'd have reached for her and kissed her senseless, and maybe fucked her right there on the table, because her level-headedness and composure at a time when she should have been an emotional mess was a huge turn-on for him.

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