Her nerves and shock emptied, Eden stood up, fixed her dress and flushed the toilet before heading to the basins, her eyes clashing with Laura's in the mirror as she rinsed her mouth and wiped it off with Liam's handkerchief.
"What do you want?" She demanded, knowing very well she would regret entertaining the other woman.
"Nothing," Laura smiled wickedly. "I wanted to congratulate you."
"For?" Eden asked as she ran her hand through her hair. It was a bit messy after her quickie with Liam. But now, after her unexpected bathroom stop, it was a hot mess of note.
Franco would be so disappointed.
"Your happy family, of course," Laura pulled out a small perfume bottle and spritzed herself, sending a cloying cloud in Eden's direction. "I underestimated you, but I must admit, it was a brilliant plan—To give Liam a child so you can get your hands on all those billions!"
"I don't have time for your bullshit today," Eden turned and glared at her
Liam pulled Eden to the dance floor, not taking no for an answer. He needed to get her away from their table to figure out what was wrong with her. But the moment he held her in his arms and they gently moved to the song—something about a lady in red—he forgot all his anger. She felt so perfect in his embrace, like she was made for him and the thought of that Isaac dude dancing with her, touching her, holding her this closely sent him in a mild fit of rage. He won't share Eden with anyone. And his kid won't be going on any more playdates with the lawyer. Not when he was alive and well. Now that he knew about Aiden, Liam wanted nothing more than to rush to Eden's place, pack up their belongings and move them both to his house. But any moving—whether it was him or her and their son—would have to wait until he returned from his trip. He subconsciously tightened his arms around her waist at the thought of being away from them for so long.
His cousins brought the car around, and Liam gently placed Eden in the back before jumping in beside her. "How the hell did you ruin this chance?" Matthew asked as they pulled away from the Convention Centre. "I mean, I hand-delivered her to you, in a black dress and sparkly shoes. What more did you need? I thought you wanted to fix things. That's why I invited her?" "I do," Liam grunted. "But shit's just gotten even more complicated. Take us to Forrest Creek. We have to pick Aiden up." "Why?" Matthew turned briefly in his seat to look at him. "I thought you planned to meet him when you come back?" "I did," Liam replied. "But I want them both with me tonight." His cousin nodded, turned his attention back to the road, and took the off-ramp leading to Eden's neighbourhood. Julian, sitting in the front with his brother and silent all along, stirred to life with the one question Liam would rather not get into. "Why the hell was Eden so agi
"What the fuck!" Julian swore when he opened the box. "Liam, you've received threats before, but nothing so—" "Definite?" Matthew finished off. "I believe 'definite' is the word you're looking for." "No wonder Eden's so rattled," Julian said. "She's terrified. You just found her and Aiden, and now the mob is sending you death threats. I warned you to stay away from the Lusso deal." "Well, it's bloody too late to back out now," Liam shrugged dismissively. "Besides, Aleksei won't do shit. He's just trying to scare us off." The brothers knew he's talking horse shit, so they nodded and didn't say anything. Just as well, Liam thought as he stared outside his window. The longer he spent on the matter, the more restless he grew. He'd tried to downplay Eden's run-in with Ivanov for her sake, but his cousins were right. All the threats he'd gotten in the past were vague emails and letters and maybe one or two phone calls. Some were from people he knew
Eden sat at the breakfast counter, staring at the baby monitor in front of her and cradling a cup of tea in her hands when Liam walked into the penthouse. "Why aren't you sleeping?" He asked as he closed the door behind him and turned on the security system. "I told Dave and the housekeepers to help you settle in for the night." "They tried." She replied. "But I wanted to wait for you—So we can talk." She looked lucid and sounded calm, and it made Liam very nervous. "Right now?" He asked, his eyes wandering to the clock in the living room. It was 10:15 PM and a bit late for a serious chat. "Yeah," Eden smiled. "No better time than the present, right?" Liam's gut clenched, and the alarm bells in his head went off at her tone. He didn't like it at all, and he didn't like seeing her so subdued. Where was his sassy Princess, the woman who constantly pushed his buttons and tested his last resolve? He wanted to see th
Liam was in such a hurry to get the hell out of the kitchen and leave all the tension behind he had completely forgotten this was his first real meeting with Aiden. Now, as he hovered on the threshold, anxious out of his wits, he realised how unprepared he was for this moment. So for a brief minute or two, while he plucked up the courage to meet his son, Liam was only too happy to just stand there with one foot in the door and watch his Aiden babble away at the plushy in his hands. But then his son looked up from the toy and gazed at him with the same denim blue eyes they shared, and all the air left Liam's lungs. "Hello," Aiden cried in his baby voice and waved his tiny hand in his direction. Liam stood dead still as love, unlike anything he had ever known, filled his heart to the brim, rendering him weak, and he wondered if it was possible to fall in love with the same person twice, especially one so tiny. "Hi," he smiled, his rubber
Eden was not lying when she said she couldn't cook, and Liam couldn't understand how she managed to ruin his chicken soup. It was too watery, too salty, and the meat was too mushy. But he wolfed it down with a lot of enthusiasm. "How is it?" She asked eagerly, their anger temporarily on hold while they filled their stomachs and prepared for a possible round two of their Battle Royale. Liam stared glumly at his half-full bowl, thinking of the best way to tell her it's shit. But when he looked up and found her looking at him with those wondrous eyes of hers, he didn't have the heart to crush her spirit. "It's great," he lied. "I love it." And that was his biggest mistake. Eden was only too happy to dole out more of the soup. "Eat, have some more." "Okay," Liam croaked as he forced himself to swallow it down. They slipped into silence for a while as they both watched Aiden play with the PAW Patrol plushy they'd brought back from Forre
"We should talk about the custody agreement." "I'll sign anything you want me to sign," Eden said as she threw on a sleepshirt and pulled back her hair in a ponytail. "I don't want you to sign anything," Liam tugged her in his arms and held her. "I told George and his team to hold off on everything." "Why?" She asked and squirmed out his grasp. "Isn't it obvious?" He asked and crossed his arms. "I was angry and not thinking straight." "Where do you keep the toothpaste?" He pointed at the top drawer on the cabinet under the sink, and he watched her feel around inside it with her hands, squinting the whole time. "Why are you squinting?" He asked. "I can't see very well without my glasses," she replied. "Things are a bit fuzzy." Of course, Liam thought as he kissed her nose and pulled out the toothpaste. He spread it on her toothbrush and handed it to her. "Thanks," she murmured and turned to the sink to br
"When did you start seeing a therapist?" Lois didn't even give him a chance to answer her first question before she fired her next. And Liam just stood there in the middle of his kitchen, wondering how things had gone so horribly wrong so quickly. He knew it was bound to happen someday, and in a way, had tried to prepare himself for this eventuality. But he never expected his secret to come out just when everything in his life seemed to be spinning out of control. He'd barely begun to deal with Aleksei's threat, was still recovering from Eden's deception, and now this shit with a possible breach in Linda's office— "Son? Are you there? Say something! When did you start seeing a shrink?" Clarke broke through his thoughts with demands of his own. "Two years ago," Liam replied as he sat down at the breakfast counter and absently massaged his temple. "Sweet Jesus," Lois burst into tears. "I knew it. I knew everything was too much for you. W