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65|Wellness Check
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Mystified by the last three minutes, Liam watched Eden dash off.
One second she's crying buckets on his chest and the next she's babbling all kinds of strange things about Laura.
He stared at the emergency exit she'd just slipped through, debating whether to follow her or not.
She's clearly distraught, but as her least favourite person in the world at the moment he should just let her be.
Shrugging his broad shoulders, Liam turned to the bar, where a bottle of something—cognac, maybe bourbon—with his name on it, waited for him.
But he paused when panic stirred in the pit of his stomach, threatening to suffocate him.
"Fucking hell," he groaned.
She wouldn't.
But this is Eden. Anything's possible with her, especially in the emotional state she's in.
Without putting any more thought into it, Liam ran after her, bolting through the emergency exit and up the stairs.
By the time he reached the rooftop, he was
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"Why are you standing there?" "Just," Liam said and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Don't tell me you're afraid of heights?" Eden tilted her head slightly as she gawked at him. "I'm not!" He's definitely not afraid of heights, but if he came any closer, he didn't think he could stick to the boundaries she'd set. She'd made it very clear in his office he shouldn't kiss, touch or hold her in any way, and he's trying very hard to respect her wishes. So he stayed right where he was, rooted to his spot a few feet behind her. "Tsk tsk tsk," she laughed mockingly. "The mighty Mr Anderson is afraid of something." "I'm not afraid of anything!" Liam lied for the second time that evening. There's a lot he's terrified of, and Eden is high up there on the list. He was so afraid of losing his heart to her, terrified she'll take it and vanish again and leave him far worse off than he was when she disappeared two years ago.
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The minute she was alone again on the rooftop, Eden burst into tears and cried harder than she has in a while, the howling wind and the constant stream of cars ten stories below drowning out her loud, heart-wrenching sobs. She'd told Liam she wanted to be alone, but the truth is she would gladly take his company any day over this feeling of aloneness gnawing at her heart. "Pull yourself together," Eden told herself over and over. But she couldn't. She didn't know how to. She's twenty-six, with a baby of her own, and her parents' divorce shouldn't affect her so much. But it did, and in ways she'd never have imagined or would ever wish on anyone. Maybe it was the suddenness of it all or the complete randomness, but her parents' announcement had devastated her world beyond measure and shattered all the illusions she'd had about love and relationships and family. Yes, her family was dysfunctional at the very least. But, there was a sense of safety
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"Laura Stone is such a media whore," Lydia announced as she held up her phone. "You searched for her? Why?" Eden asked, wishing she hadn't mentioned the other woman."Well knowing you, you weren't going to stalk her!" Lydia smirked and pointed at herself proudly. "So, I— your trusted FBI agent—will do all the internet stalking for you, and dig up every piece of dirt on her. You're welcome!""Thanks!" Eden said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. But she took the phone from her friend and scrolled through Laura's gallery on her social media page. Her heart broke anew when she came across a few photos of the other woman posing with Liam's sisters at various social events. She sighed sadly as she gave the phone back to Lydia. Laura was clearly close to Liam's family, seeing she's so buddy-buddy with his sisters."She's got quite a profile," Cassandra murmured as she looked through her phone. "She's twenty-eight and an attorney at Hayes and Jon
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"So, who's it for?" Matthew asked as Liam returned the vase inside the box and reached for the painting. It was an impressionist print and nothing to write home about, at least not for the price he'd paid. The only reason he'd shelled out a small fortune for it was the artist had recently died in a car crash following a drug-fuelled joy ride on the N1 highway. For some warped reason, the art world thought his works were worth far more now that he's dead than when he was still alive. "Yeah, you're bringing out the big guns. I'm guessing it's for a woman!" Julian got straight to the point. "Please tell me it's not for Laura!" Matthew said and chugged his beer. "You just escaped with your life. I beg you, don't go back there." "It's for Eden!" "The same Eden you hate?" Julian's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Shut up! I didn't say I hate her," Liam scoffed. "It's my apology." "For what?" "The cookie incident," Liam replied
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As Liam watched Eden slowly make her way to him, he was overcome with emotion. The whole day he had tried to keep it together, and he had lost track of the number of times his cousins had had to stop him from running to her guest suite to see her. And now that she was here, and they were so close to the start of their next chapter, hard as he tried to blink away his tears, Liam couldn't. He choked back a sob, unable to believe how lucky he was. He had never seen that many brides before, but Eden took the number one spot from the few that he had. She looked incredible in her dress, a vision of grace and elegance and beauty, exactly how he imagined a real-life princess would look. But then again, she was his Princess, his hell, his paradise, and her slow progress down the aisle wasn't working for him. He crossed the room in few quick strides, and in a heartbeat, he had her in his embrace as he kissed her fiercely, much to everyone's surprise and cheers.
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