Begin Again novel Chapter 225

The thought of spending an indefinite amount of time in the hospital did not please Liam at all, so as soon as they returned to his ward after their brisk walk, he tried every trick in the book to get Eden to speak to the doctors and get them to discharge him.

But she refused to do his dirty work, much to his dismay. He thought she would want him home as soon as possible.

"Whose side are you on?" He glared at her.

"Yours, of course. I don't want to take any chances, you know," she said as she helped him up on the bed.

Their son was now sitting on the floor, craning his neck at the blank TV screen in the corner and sipping his boxed juice.

Liam had never met a kid who loved TV as much as Aiden, and he wondered if it was normal. Maybe spending all that time with Brenda during the day wasn't such a good thing. Maybe he needed to start going to school to get his mind stimulated.

"I'm someone's fiancée now, you know, and I need the groom present for the shotgun wedding. So, we're not taking any chances." Eden carried on, tilting his bed to get him more comfortable before she stared at the ring on her finger again, her eyes sparkling with sheer happiness and something Liam could only describe as awe.

She looked utterly beautiful and so happy at that moment, and he was chuffed he's responsible for her joy.

"You love it that much you haven't even looked at me since I slipped it on you," he grumbled, pulling her down beside him. But before he could steal a kiss or three, Aiden shuffled over to the bed and stood on his tiptoes and stared at them, babbling something to Eden while he pointed at the TV.

"PAW Patrol is finished, Aid," she ruffled his hair but turned on the TV anyway, and Aiden clapped his hands when she miraculously found a cartoon network.

"Thank you!" He squealed with joy and dashed off to the corner again.

"How do you even understand him?" Liam asked. "Speaking of, I'm going to need your cheat notes."

Eden looked away from her dazzling finger only to frown at him and scratch her head. "What cheat notes?"

"On Aiden. There must be some notes to help me figure out what he's saying."

What Liam thought was a reasonable request was funny as hell to Eden. She burst into laughter and slapped her thigh as she gasped for air.

"You've got jokes," she sighed, at last, flicking the tears from the corners of her eyes with her thumb. "There are no cheat notes."

"What do you mean? How am I supposed to understand what he's saying?"

As if he knew he was the hot topic of the hour, Aiden ran back to the bed, this time though, to drop kisses on parts of Liam's face not covered by plasters.

"There!" His son touched both his cheeks gently and blew over his skin.

"Better!" He added, much to Eden's delight.

"Good job, Aid." She murmured as she placed him back down on the floor.

"Where did he learn to do that?"

"From everyone, I guess," Eden replied and poured him a glass of water. "He was here almost every day and watched the nurses. I thought having him close will help—"

"It did," he assured her as he took the glass even though he wasn't thirsty, and his bladder could certainly do without any more liquids.

He took her hand and placed it over his heart as he pulled her down on the bed and held her even though it was uncomfortable as fuck.

"A month from today," Eden murmured on his chest.

"What?" He stared at her.

"Our wedding day."

"Isn't that too soon?" He asked.

His mom would freak out at the amount of time she has to pull off the wedding of the century.

"Liam, it took us two years to get here, and we were blissfully happy for a few days until we almost lost it all. I don't want to waste any more time." Eden said firmly.

"Me too," Liam agreed. "Let's do it!"

"So we're doing this?" She wiggled on the bed and propped herself on her elbow, her eyes flicking over his face.

"We are!" Liam nodded, and she eased her face close to his and kissed him properly, igniting places she had no business lighting up in his condition.

"If you don't stop, I'll fuck you right here," he groaned hoarsely when they paused and reluctantly pulled apart.

"No, you won't, not with your son in the room at least," Eden smiled cheekily as she jumped off the bed and fixed her clothes.

"Where are you off to? I thought you're both spending the night? I'll ask the nurses to bring another bed in," he offered, unable to bear the thought of not having them close to him tonight.

"I need our bed tonight. Beauty sleep is hard work, you know," she smiled and grabbed her bag and Aiden's backpack. "How do you expect me to get my new-bride glow if I don't have enough sleep?"

Fair enough, but he had to try again. "But I'm sick."

"No, you were shot. Stop using the sick card," Eden murmured as she kissed him again, and he kissed Aiden's hair and pinched his cheek playfully.

Their son protested but chuckled anyway as he pushed his hand away. "Stop, Dad!"

"I love you three so much," Liam said as he placed his hand on her tummy, following it up with a kiss. "Is she okay in there?"

Eden nodded. "She seems to be. But we'll find out in a couple of weeks. We have our first doctor's appointment."

Two weeks, Liam sighed wistfully as he watched his heart leave the room. How was he supposed to survive that long?

He called his medical team in as soon as Eden left. He wanted to understand the extent of his injuries and see how soon he could go home.

Dr Knight and the attending physician were pleased with his progress, but they still wanted to keep him at the hospital for another week, two at most.

"I know Andrei's been trying to reach me, James," Liam mumbled sleepily. "Why didn't you tell me?"

His head of security looked guilty as sin. "You just woke up."

"I woke up at 10:00 AM. You've had plenty of time to tell me. Why didn't you?"

"Because your father doesn't want you to get entangled with the Ivanovs again. Let the law deal with them."

"If Andrei was here every day, it means he wants something from me. Arrange a meeting with him," he announced.

"Are you out of your mind?" James roared at him, startling Liam out of his numbed state. His handler rarely lost his temper, but when he did, it was a sight to behold. "You've just escaped with your life. This is Andrei. He's far more vicious than his brother."

"I know that."

"Think of the missus and the babies."

"That's exactly why I want a meeting with Andrei, James," Liam shouted back. "If it was just me, I'd take this thing with the Ivanovs all the way. But Eden and I are about to start our life together. I promised I'll give her a lifetime of happiness. But how can I do that when I'm constantly looking over my shoulder and worrying about what the Ivanovs are plotting next? I want Eden and my babies to feel safe!"

"Your father will not be happy!"

"I know."

"There's a guy. He does clean jobs. Leaves no traces."

"I know."

"You just have to give the order."

"How will that make me any better than the Ivanovs?" Liam demanded as he sat up and reached for the bottle of water on the bedside stand.

"They are rabid dogs!"

"And we are human beings, James." Liam shook his head. "I don't ever want to hear such suggestions again."

"The missus has made you soft."

"No. Eden's made me more responsible, and I'd like to believe a better man, too." He smiled sadly. "Being a father changes you, James, and you know this. You have two of your own. I want Aiden to look at me and be proud of me. We both know my father has done questionable things, and as much as we're close, but after Uncle Sully—our relationship was never the same. And I don't want that with Aiden."

"Your father will continue to do questionable things, especially if it means keeping all of you safe. If you won't give the order, he will."

"Enough!" Liam barked, his head pounding. He reached for his food and hit the button for his meds. But within moments, his tongue felt so thick he could barely taste the Mac and Cheese.

His eyes glassy, his whole body numb, he pushed the tray away and fell back on the bed.

"We're human beings, James. Not savages. We don't kill people."