Begin Again novel Chapter 54

"—I woke up, and you were gone. But that wasn't even half of it." Liam laughed bitterly, his mouth twisted in a sneer. "Dave told me you ran out of there in nothing but my shirt. Were you in such a fucking hurry to get away from me that you couldn't even get dressed?"

"I looked for my clothes, and they weren't anywhere. How else was I supposed to leave?"

"You were not supposed to leave!" Liam roared, his hands balled into fists at his sides. “Nobody leaves me! I make them leave!"

And there’s the real reason for this song and dance, Eden thought as she stared at him, open-mouthed. He wasn't upset she left because she meant something to him. He was livid because his ego was shattered, his manly pride bruised.

She'd never hated him as much as she did then.

"You are despicable!" She whispered.

"I was supposed to make you leave!" Liam growled.

"With that kind of arrogance, I'm sure plenty of women must have left you!" Eden plopped back down on the couch, suddenly drained from all the screaming and shouting.

"See, that's where you're wrong," he said. "No woman has ever left me. You were the first Eden McBride."

"What is this?" Eden demanded. "Am I supposed to be flattered?"

"No." Liam shook his head. "You have to take responsibility for what you did."

"Are you insane?"

"Just broken," he said sadly. "You broke me! And you are the only one who can fix me."

"I'm sorry," she murmured, acknowledging the pain in his eyes for the first time. As insane as it sounded, it didn't make it any less real for him, and she couldn't ignore the hurt and anger she saw in the depths of his eyes.

"You think a simple sorry will fix me?" Liam demanded as he crossed his arms and leaned on the window.

"What do you want me to do?" Eden asked, her shoulders slumped. "Tell me what you want me to do, and I'll fix this."

Liam ignored her plea and continued with his accusations. "Because of you I haven't touched another woman, I couldn't touch another woman even when I wanted to, even when I desperately wanted to fuck them senseless I couldn't because you did something to me. You broke me!"

Linda jumped in and explained every time Liam has to perform his fear of intimacy and anxiety gets in the way. He's so afraid his performance will fall short somehow, and his partner will leave him the same way she had. He'd gotten it in his head that the only reason she left him after that night is that he didn't meet her expectations, that he was inadequate in some way.