Begin Again novel Chapter 189

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 that woman again.

Reluctantly, he crossed the room and dumped the soiled shirt on the couch before he pulled Eden up to her feet and held her close, resting his chin on top of her head as he tightened his arms around her.

Maybe he was impulsive for bringing her over, especially since it was his last night with her for a while. Letting her go in a couple of hours was going to be harder than anything he had ever done in his life.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, trying to delay their chat even though it was as inevitable as his trip.

It's funny; he'd wanted this talk. He'd wanted them to clear the air. But now that it was finally happening, and Eden seemed so deathly calm and prepared for it—maybe too prepared—Liam wished they could postpone it until after his return because it was bound to get ugly and brutal. He was so afraid that by the time they laid everything out in the open, there'd be nothing left of their hearts.

"—No, I'm not hungry. I can't seem to hold anything down tonight," Eden said.

Liam didn't hear her, though, because he'd already released her from his embrace and was now looking through the fridge and pulling out veggies and a tray of chicken his butler or one of the housekeepers had had the sense to defrost.

"I'll make you soup," he announced as he turned back to her with a nervous smile.

It had been a while since he cooked and had very likely gone rusty. But, he wanted to cook for Eden at least once. If Ivanov followed through with his threat, he might never get another chance.

"You like chicken soup, right?" Liam asked, pulling out pots and knives and a chopping board from the cupboards. "It should settle your tummy. You threw up quite a bit in the car."

"I'm sorry," Eden whispered and stared at her hands on her lap.

"It's okay, Matthew will get the car cleaned—"

"No. I'm not apologising for that," she shook her head. "I mean, I should. And I will apologise to Matthew when I see him. But that's not why I'm sorry right now."

Liam frowned and crossed his arms. "What are you talking about?"

"Two years ago," she looked up, her eyes shimmering with tears as her gaze held him in place. "I'm sorry for not telling you about Aiden. I'm sorry for running to the Blue Mountains when I should have stayed and fought for our family. And I'm sorry for drawing up the custody agreement without your input. It's all my fault, and I know that, and I'm so sorry."

Her words left him floored and speechless for several minutes, and he leaned on the counter, blinking away his tears, the searing ache in his heart worse than anything he had ever felt.

He took many shallow breaths in that minute or two while he waited for her justifications. But they never came.

He'd expected some screaming and maybe some tears and lots of excuses from her. But what he didn't expect was her raw honesty and determination to take accountability for her actions.

"Why?" Liam asked when he thought he'd swallowed up the lump in his throat. But somehow, his voice still came out thicker than he'd wanted. "Why didn't you tell me when you found out you were pregnant?"

Eden released a long ragged sigh as she went to the sink to rinse her mug. "I didn't want to ruin your life."

"Ruin my life? How?" Liam whipped around and stared at her.

"I thought you were married. When we met, you told me—"

"I know what I told you!" He shouted, startling them both with the sudden spurt of anger in his words. "I know what I said that night."

Knowing that they'd lost so much time because of a misunderstanding, something that they could have easily cleared up had she been brave and taken a chance and asked for clarity instead of running to the back of beyond, didn't sit well with him.

But as much as he wanted to blame Eden for everything, he had to own his part too.

"That's just the thing," Liam snorted. "You never do."

"Wow!" Eden whispered. "I know right now it might not seem like it, but Liam, I'm still the same person you met two years ago, and I know I made a terrible mistake, but I want you in my life. I want you in Aiden's life, and we can still have the life that you imagined."

"How?" Liam asked. "When I can't trust you? Two years Eden, this isn't two days or two weeks or two months. It's two fucking years of memories and milestones I've missed out on. My face was splashed in newspapers and magazine covers. I did tons of TV interviews, and you knew where to find me. There were ways to reach out to me."

"Why do you think I came back? Why do you think I applied for a job at your company even when I didn't even have any experience?" She asked softly. "Because I stayed away from you until I couldn't. Even when I thought you were married, I still wanted you, and I wanted you to have a relationship with Aiden."

"Yet you went through such elaborate pains to keep us apart." He reminded her. "How many times did I ask to see Aiden's photos? How many times did I beg you to meet him? But you consistently declined my requests and denied my attempts. Did you tell your friend to hide his videos?"

Eden hesitated ever so briefly before she nodded. "I didn't want you to find out about him from a blog."

"Unbelievable." Liam shook his head and looked through the fridge for more stuff to add to the soup. He never followed any recipes when he cooked. He liked to experiment, and so far, all his experiments had proven to be big hits with Matthew and Julian—

"I'm sorry if I could take it all back, I would. I wanted to tell you so many times, but the timing was never right."

Turning to her again, Liam carried on when he's sure he could speak without losing his shit. "You know what's the worst of it all, I asked you, and you looked me straight in the eye and told me he's not mine. How do you lie like that with a straight face? What else have you lied about? How am I supposed to trust you when I don't even know if you're telling me the truth or not?"

"I was angry, and I said the first thing I could think of to lash out at you—"

The sound of their son fussing in his room crackled through the monitor. They both stared at it for a second, maybe two, before they reached the same decision.

"I'll go check on him," Eden said.

Liam shook his head. "No. I'll go. Take over the cooking."

Something close to panic flickered in Eden's eyes at his words.

"What?" He asked.

"I don't cook." She dropped her gaze and stared at her feet. "I don't know how to cook. I mean, I can make basic stuff like toast and eggs and rice—"

"I suggest you learn fast then," Liam called over his shoulder as he turned to the stairs.