"When did you start seeing a therapist?" Lois didn't even give him a chance to answer her first question before she fired her next. And Liam just stood there in the middle of his kitchen, wondering how things had gone so horribly wrong so quickly. He knew it was bound to happen someday, and in a way, had tried to prepare himself for this eventuality. But he never expected his secret to come out just when everything in his life seemed to be spinning out of control. He'd barely begun to deal with Aleksei's threat, was still recovering from Eden's deception, and now this shit with a possible breach in Linda's office— "Son? Are you there? Say something! When did you start seeing a shrink?" Clarke broke through his thoughts with demands of his own. "Two years ago," Liam replied as he sat down at the breakfast counter and absently massaged his temple. "Sweet Jesus," Lois burst into tears. "I knew it. I knew everything was too much for you. W

Eden was jolted out of her long dreamless sleep by the unrelenting heat splashing through the windows. For a head-splitting second, she lay comatose on her back, staring at the ceiling, thinking about last night, afraid to even move because even the slightest movement left her feeling sore and tender. There was a reason she ran to the Blue Mountains and hung on to her panties for two years. That reason was now 37 000 feet in the air, somewhere halfway across the world, sipping fancy cognac in his private jet.  "Whee!" Eden squealed like a little girl as she flung the covers over her face when she remembered her very long chat with Liam and all the unholy things they'd done afterwards.  When he said he didn't think he could trust her anymore, she was convinced it was pretty much game over for

Hard as Liam tried to force himself to read Clara's agenda notes for the board meeting, he couldn't. So while he drank his second or maybe third espresso, he mindlessly browsed the net, searching for nearby outdoorsy places. The local zoo seemed to be a huge hit with young parents living the suburban dream. Liam thought it was too basic, though. He wanted his first-ever outing with his new family to be memorable. The botanical gardens were also high on the list of places to see. But in a couple of weeks, the company's family fun day would be held there. So, that venue, too, was out. "You disappoint me, internet!" Liam rubbed his chin thoughtfully and contemplated going down the rabbit hole again. He almost lost himself in it earlier while he searched for the source of the leak, and he really didn't want to go down that road again. The lure of the internet was too strong, though. He clicked several links and wasted fifteen long minutes sighing in frust

Erica slipped into her role of the injured and wronged party as soon as Eden and her son stepped inside her parents' penthouse. Despite the change in her folks' marital status, nothing much had changed in their matrimonial home. The place still looked as it did the last time she was here, and they issued her the ultimatum that sent her running to the Blue Mountains. And as Eden sat in the loveseat facing the pool on the deck, listening to Erica's outrage, she realised she'd come full circle, and two years on, her son was under discussion once again. "Why didn't you tell us, Edie?" Erica sniffled dramatically in her seat while Steve stuffed his face with last night's meatloaf and downed his red wine. He'd piled on more weight since Eden last saw him at La Famiglia, and he didn't look happy or healthy. She was concerned for him, but with too many problems of her own today, she couldn't possibly handle his as well. Maybe when her life made sense again, s

James and Steven were not happy with Liam's decision to head to Hayes & Jones. They would have preferred to have at least one uneventful day, and they tried to get him to change his mind about the visit, going on about the optics. "If the missus finds out, she won't be happy," James warned him. "You know Laura is a sore spot for her." Liam was well aware of this, and the last thing he wanted was to upset Eden. But he'd never rest until he figured out the source of the leak, and only his ex could give him answers. They spent the trip to the central business district in relative silence. He was about to send Eden a check-in text to find out how the visit with her parents had gone when his phone buzzed in his hand. It was Clara, and she didn't sound happy at all. "Aleksei Ivanov responded, Sir. He's happy to meet with you!" Liam had expected the bastard to give him a hard time. This was too easy, too quick. It could very well be a trap or—