Begin Again novel Chapter 190

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 rubbery legs pushing him forward and further into the room, his heart pounding louder than it ever had the closer he got to the little boy with his flame-coloured hair.

"What's your name?" Liam asked as he crouched on the floor and rested his arms over the crib, his vision blurred by his tears.

"Aid-Aid-en," his son replied.

"It's so good to finally meet you, Aiden," he took his tiny hand and held it in his big one. "I'm your dad."

"Dad?" Aiden said as he snatched his hand away and held up his toy in the air.

Liam laughed tearfully, completely in love with the sound of the word as it rolled off his son's lips.

"Yeah, I'm your dad. You can call me dad or daddy."

"Dad, Dad!" Aiden chuckled, flashing the tiny dimple he shared with his mom, and Liam's heart exploded again. It was the only thing he had inherited from her, it seemed.

"Let's get you out there," he said as he stood up and reached inside the cot, but Aiden immediately burst into tears and screamed his little lungs out the minute he scooped him up.

"Hey, Kool-Aid," Liam kissed his hair, trying to soothe him. "It's okay. No need to be scared. I'm your daddy, and mom's here."

Big fat tears rolled down his son's rosy cheeks as he carried on screaming. "Mom!"

Liam wiped them away with a tissue and tried to get him to blow his nose, but he firmly pushed his hand away, shrieking bloody murder at the top of his lungs.

"Let's go find Mom, okay? She's downstairs." He tried to reassure him, but Aiden wasn't having any of it.

Eden stumbled in a second later. "Aiden, baby, I'm here. No need to cry. This is your dad."

"I'm sorry, baby. It's okay. Daddy is a little upset right now, but not at you," he patted his head gently and kissed his cheeks.

Yes, he was sorry and hurt and in love. But he was also furious. Too many emotions in one go for one man to handle, and the longer he stayed in the room, the more he ran the risk of slipping into a blind rage—

"—Mom. Eat," Aiden cried, interrupting his gloomy thoughts.

"Okay, baby," Eden smiled and sat down in the rocking chair and nestled their son close to her chest to nurse him.

As he watched the peaceful moment between mother and son, Liam was filled with a love so intense he thought his heart would give out on him any second now. They both looked so beautiful and happy, blissfully unaware of his gaze on them.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he reluctantly pried himself away from his family as he pulled it out, a look of regret and sorrow in his eyes as he wondered how many such moments he'd missed out on.

He rejected the call when he saw it was his father. He figured James had filled him on the Ivanov threat, and Clarke had wanted to scold him for his recklessness.

He drifted out of the nursery to go and check on the food. The smell of chicken soup wafting through the room hit him as soon as he descended the stairs. His stomach growled loudly, reminding him he was hungry as fuck. The last time he ate was around lunchtime.

He set the table, lit some candles and put on some soft background music, hoping his last night with Eden could still be salvaged somehow.