Begin Again novel Chapter 63

Gibby pressed her lips together, her mouth turning pale and her eyes darkening with fury. She yanked him aside to call him to order. "You can't do this. Clara's hired to take care of all your needs, personal and otherwise."

"And I told you, Eden will look after me, what is the issue?"

He will keep her so busy she won't have time to go on dates and hold hands with the lawyer. There'll be no playdates with their kids, and no playing happy families either. He'll shut this shit down real quick.

"I wouldn't have an issue if Eden was still your assistant. She won't come back to work for you. Not after humiliating her the way you did," Gibby jabbed at his chest with her finger. "And I still don't know what happened with your therapist, and why she's refusing to go with you anymore, but if I have to guess, you pushed her too far like I was afraid you would."

Liam tried to protest but slumped his shoulders in defeat; everything she said was spot on.

Gibby was on the roll today; she carried on. "You can't keep pushing her away like that and expect a different result every time you mess up! I thought you want to get better?"

"I do!" Liam said softly, careful not to raise his voice.

"Then get to it. Get Eden on board ASAP and end this thing with Linda," Gibby said, tapping her feet impatiently. "The longer you keep seeing her, the more you run the risk of people finding out. I won't be here to handle the aftermath."

Liam simply listened because she's right about everything.

"I'll fix this." He promised, looking over his shoulder at his parents as they watched them with huge curiosity. "I'll talk to Eden again. We'll come up with a treatment plan. She'll fix me. And everything will be okay. You don't have to worry about me, Gibby."

But Liam was very worried as he entered the restaurant, his assistant's words haunting him throughout the meal with his parents.

He never wanted to confront it, but he knew the longer he kept up with his therapy sessions, the more he ran the risk of his secret getting out.

God forbid if his father found out he's seeing Linda and learned the actual reason for his weekly sessions.

It would cripple him.

In all six generations of Anderson men, Liam doubted any had ever suffered erectile dysfunction. He was the anomaly. The bad code. And his father would view him as a weakling.

Then there was the financial fallout; the board will question every decision he's ever made the minute his mental health came into question, never mind that his brain worked perfectly fine, and the issue's just with his dick—

"—Darling, are you okay?" Lois asked, her eyes soft with worry and concern.

Clarke also threw him a worried look.

"I'm okay, just a conflict with the schedule." He lied as he drained his wine glass and played with his food.

"Your father has some news to share!" Lois clasped her hands, her face beaming.

It's been a while since he's seen her this happy. He liked it. She looked years younger.

Clarke spread out his medical results on the table, a huge grin lighting up his face.

Like his cousins, his parents never liked his ex. Lois always said something about her was off.

But Liam had brushed off her words of caution because back then when he could still get his dick up, he was pussy-whipped by Laura.

"Good for you, Son. You can do so much better," Clarke said.

Can he though, Liam wondered. What if his only 'so much better' was the shrew on the 36th floor? The thought terrified him and left him reeling with confusion. He had no control over his body where Eden's concerned. But he will fight his heart, to the death if he has to.

Lois clapped her hands again and waved their waitress over; news of his breakup called for a round of dessert.

"Nothing like a slice of cheesecake to soothe a broken heart," she consoled him as she ordered three slices and a pot of Earl Grey tea.

"I'll have to pass on the cake," he told his parents as he pulled out his card to settle the bill.

Clarke told him to put it away. "It's on us!"

Liam thanked his parents, kissed them both on their cheeks and promised to stop by later in the week for Holly's birthday. It was a promise he wished he didn't have to keep because he could do without another round of confrontations with his sisters.

There've been so many of those since he cut off their allowances.