Chapter 183: 183|The Prodigal Son's Return

The ride back to the penthouse was very different from their trip to the hospital earlier. Both Jace and Aaron were now chatting away quietly in the front while the DJ on Jacaranda FM kept them all awake with back to back hits from the 80s or maybe 90s.

"You must be so relieved, Ma'am," Aaron said and lowered the volume even more.

"It's Eden, Aaron. I'll have to call you, Sir, if you insist on this 'ma'am' business. And yes, I'm very relieved."

"That's good," Jace nodded, his head brushing lightly on the headrest, "You can sleep easily tonight."

"That's the plan," she agreed.

But she didn't sleep easy. In fact, she didn't sleep at all.

She was restless half the night, and after checking on Aiden for the umpteenth time, she dug through the laundry hamper and pulled out one of Liam's used shirts, she missed him something awful tonight, and she needed his scent all around her.

With nothing to do and all this time on her hands, Eden turned on her work laptop, cancelled all her appointments for the next few days and sent Clara an email to let her know she would be working offsite and, if needed, she would attend meetings virtually for the rest of the week.

Her friend called her promptly even though it was 03:00 AM, and no sane person should be awake at that hour.

They spent almost an hour going over Eden's crazy day.

"Oh my goodness, Edie, I'm so sorry. How's the Dragon holding up? The board didn't say much other than that Matt's in charge for the next month or so. No one dared to ask, and we figured the Dragon was suspended, you know, because he's been banging you and stuff. But oh my God, if I knew—"

"Clara!" Eden groaned. "Why would the board suspend him for that?"

"They hate him remember? Any reason is a good reason for those stuck up pricks."

"Those stuck up pricks pay your salary."

"I know that," Clara huffed on her end. "But I don't like the way they treat the Dragon sometimes. How is he? Is he going to be okay?"

Eden assured her Liam would be fine, and there's no need for her to panic. "But you have to keep this to yourself. If the board didn't announce it, I don't think they want people to know."

"Of course. You know me, I haven't told anyone you're pregnant, so I can keep a secret." Clara cried quickly.

"Oh God, did you have to bring that up right now? I won't miss you when I leave," Eden facepalmed herself. "But seriously, not a word to anyone about Liam being in hospital."

"I get it! Nothing tanks share prices than a dead CEO!"

"Too soon," Eden said.

"Sorry," Clara murmured. "Anyway, speaking of the Ivanovs, did you hear Andrei's back."

The name sounded familiar, but for the life of her, Eden couldn't place it.

"The other twin," her friend cleared up her confusion. "So I heard from a friend who works at Aero Shipping he was abroad all this time, handling their overseas operations. But he flew back a few hours ago. It was such a huge deal, the prodigal son back and all. Though he's not really the prodigal son since he's the favourite and is set to take over from their father."

Eden half-listened while she sent Sarah an acceptance email. She'd start in her new position as her freelance designer as soon as she'd served her notice as Liam's assistant.

"—Makes sense now why he's suddenly back. He's here to clean up his little brother's mess. Anyway, if you thought Aleksei is hot, wait until you see Andrei."

"I thought they're identical?" Eden stifled a yawn.

"Well, Jessica and Elizabeth were identical. But one was still prettier than the other!"

"Who are they again?"

"Ugh, Edie! Sweet Valley High? The book series?"

"Bye, Clara," Eden laughed and hung up. If she never saw Aleksei and his twin, it would be too soon.

After her call to Clara, she contacted the estate agent she's been dealing with and gave her the go-ahead to put her house on the market.

Next, she contacted storage companies and got a few quotes for her furniture.

With her housing issues sorted, she tackled her mammoth task—Aiden's book. She hadn't opened the draft in a while, and now that she was expecting again, she was determined to finish it before the arrival of the new baby.

By the time the sun crept up, she only had a few more illustrations to add to the book before shipping it off for editing and proofreading.

Eden snapped her laptop shut, yawned and stretched and called the hospital.

After spending an unnecessarily long time identifying herself and explaining her relationship with the patient in room 406, the nurse assigned to Liam assured her he'd slept through the night and was still out. If there was any change in his condition, she'd notify his family.

She clicked off before Eden could get another word in.

Dejected, she stared at the phone for a moment or two, tempted to call back and tell her exactly what she thinks of her attitude. But she talked herself out of it in case they start ill-treating Liam.

She sent a check-in text in the group chat, updating her friends on the rollercoaster that had become her life. But she deliberately left out the part where she was pregnant. She was not ready to deal with Lydia's judgement and Sienna's scolding.

Cassandra was the only one awake, and they spent a little while catching up.

The back and forth texting wasn't working for Eden, so she decided to call her, and she was glad she did. Her bestie was at her wit's end with her studio.

"Edie, I don't know what to do anymore. I think I have enough to keep the place running for the next two weeks. After that, I'll have to close shop and sell out to greedy giants like Van Holt Industries."

"Selling out isn't necessarily a bad thing, Cass," Eden said sensibly. "Look at me. I never thought I'd go corporate. But here I am. I admit it wasn't my dream job, but I learned a lot. Bills don't care if you sell out or not. They still have to be paid."

"Ugh, you're right!" Cassandra groaned in frustration. "But you know this has always been my dream!"

"And you're not giving up on your dream. You're just putting it on hold for the time being."

"Who are you, and what did you do to my friend?" Cassandra asked.

Eden laughed, but she still took a moment to reflect on her question before she replied, a hint of sadness in her voice. "She's still here. But she came close to losing what's important to her."

"I'm sorry," her friend said. "You've been through so much. How are you still sane?"

"I don't know. But I would have lost my mind if Liam didn't make it," she confessed as she strolled to the bathroom in search of Band-Aids. If the nurses wouldn't patch up his bruised knuckles, she would do it herself.

Tons of boxes fell out when she opened the medicine box, startling her so badly she almost jumped out of her skin from fright.

"—Edie, what was that?" Cassandra cried on her end, sounding just as shocked by the thumping noise.

Yeah, what was that? Eden wondered as she gawked at the condom boxes at her feet. There were so many and in all seven colours of the rainbow and flavours for every mood, and she couldn't understand why he'd panic-buy condoms of all things.

"Edie?" Cassandra prodded.

"It's nothing," she replied as she picked up the boxes and packed them away.

She almost came undone when she read the note Liam had left her. 'Surprise! Thought we should shake things up a bit! I'm partial to the glow in the dark ones. But I'm open to suggestions!'

Oh, Liam, she thought sadly, wondering how she got so lucky. Even when he wasn't around, he still found ways to make her smile.

Eden returned her attention to the call, frowning when she didn't find any Band-Aids or anything first aid related even inside the bathroom sink unit.

"So, how much do you need for the studio?"

"We're not touching Aiden's trust fund!"

"I've put the house on the market," Eden announced as she returned to the bedroom and looked through her handbag for her prenatal vitamins.

"Why? You love that place! It was supposed to be—"

"It's just a house." She repeated Isaac's words with a lot more conviction than she felt when they met for their farewell chat. "And you need the money. So how much?"

There was a long awkward pause, and while she waited for Cassandra to get over her embarrassment, Eden popped the pills in her mouth and washed them down with the water on her bedside table.

She didn't want to push, but the time to gloss over her friend's shitty finances was over. They couldn't keep doing this dance.

So she took control of the call again when it became clear Cassandra won't accept help willingly.

"Look, Cass, I've already sent through all the paperwork to put the house on the market. Not sure how long it will take, so you might have to close shop for a couple of weeks while we wait for the sale to go through. But I'm expecting at least R650K. Will that be enough?"

"Oh Edie, I couldn't!"

"Yeah, you couldn't. But I can, and I will. Cass, you said you don't want to sell out, and I want to help you. So, let me help, okay?"

"Alright," her friend agreed at last. "But I'll ask my legal rep to draft an investment agreement or something."

"Duh!" Eden chuckled. "Did you think I'm Mother Theresa, or what?"

Cassandra laughed on her side as well, and just for that brief moment, everything was as it should be, and they were two kids again with big dreams and bright hopes.

"Anyway, you and Matt?" Eden changed the subject, but her friend chose to remain evasive like she always does where Liam's cousin is concerned.

"He's my student!"

"He's single!"

"I'm with Skye."

"You don't love him."

"Okay," she conceded at last. "And I hate that you're right!"

Aiden screeching in his room, put the brakes on Eden's triumphant gloating before it had even begun.

"I have to run. Your godson's awake! I'll check in one of the days."

"Thank you, Edie!"

"Don't mention it," Eden smiled before she hung up and rushed to the nursery. Brenda already had things under control with Aiden, though. So while they went through their morning routine, Eden also got ready to spend the day at Liam's bedside.