Page 85 of Anteros' Return

“Leave my dad alone, Mike!” He stepped closer to Em who looked as though all the air had been sucked from her lungs.

Mike dropped his arms to his side, turning to face my son who clearly wanted nothing to do with him.

“Liam, come on. Don’t be like that, mate.” Mike tried to coax Liam towards him, holding out his hand to him.

“I’m not your mate! You made my dad leave us… You made us think he didn’t want us. I hate you!” he spat with tears filling those big, emerald eyes. “You can go now,” he shouted, and I could not have been prouder of him.

“Liam…” Mike started but Emily made sure she was the one that cut him off.

“You heard Beckett’s son. You can go now.” Emily faced Mike. “I don’t ever want to see you around here again. Come around any of us, and I promise I’ll make your life hell. I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done to my family and me.”

“Emily… You don’t mean that… I was there for you when he wasn’t,” he stuttered, knowing it was too late to stop the shit flowing from his mouth mid-sentence.

“And we all know why he wasn’t, don’t we? Because of you and the countless lies you told. You broke me in ways I never expected. Not Beck, but you… And now he gets to put everythingback together. Now, go.” She snapped the last two words as Liam and I looked on.

I couldn’t lie. I was scared to see Liam’s true reaction once Mike had gone, but at the same time, I was glad everything was out in the open. The question on my mind was how he knew. He couldn’t have heard us. He was outside the whole time. I kept my eye on him even when Emily had come inside to deal with Mike.

I needn’t have worried though as Liam slipped his hand in mine, squeezing it tightly. He took Em’s hand shortly after, making the three of us look like a united family. A family that wouldn’t be broken by someone as fucked up as Mike.

“You’re making a mistake, Emily. A massive mistake!”

“No, Mike, she’s not making a mistake. The only one making a mistake by being here is you.” I stepped closer to him as there was a certain look of shock on his face. “I don’t want to ever see you around Emily or our son again. You don’t talk to them, you don’t even mention their names, or breathe the same air as my family.” I gripped his shirt, keeping my cool as much as I was able since Liam was beside us. “They are nothing to you, and I swear if you come around here again, I’ll make you regret the day you crossed me, understand?”

“Beck,” he mumbled, trying to keep his composure.

I tightened my hold on his shirt, my eyes burning into his. “I said, do you understand?!”

“I understand.” He scoffed, but that’s all I needed to shove his arse out the door.

I closed the door behind me, composing myself before turning to face Em and Liam. I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t anxious about what would happen next, because fuck, I had no clue how tonight would go. But one thing I was sure of was how happy I was that me being his dad was out in the open now and we could move forward.

Just the three of us.

29

Icould still hear Mike telling me what a mistake I was making from the other side of the closed door. I took a second to process what had just happened. My mind was spinning, and I felt as though the rug had been ripped from beneath my feet. I knew the second I turned around Liam would have questions, ones I was ready to answer.

“Mum?” His voice broke the silence, and for the first time tonight, it sounded quiet and confused. To be honest, I didn’t blame him. I couldn’t.

“I’ll give you two some time.” Beck smiled at me sheepishly before heading into the living room to busy himself with something. I appreciated that. I loved the fact that he wanted to give Liam that time and let him be the one to start the conversation and not the other way around.

We ended up in Liam’s room, sitting in his reading corner, his chin practically resting on his chest.

“How long have you known?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Since the beginning pretty much,” he whispered as he gripped my hand.

“Is that why you acted the way you did towards him?”

“Yes… I thought he didn’t want me, Mummy. I thought…” He sniffled, wiping his tears on the back of his hand.

“He wanted you. He just never knew about you.” I wrapped my arm around him, comforting my little boy.

“Because of Mike? He lied to you, Mummy. Why did he do that to us? Why did he take Daddy away from me?” His large eyes met mine as tears trickled down his cheeks.

“He wasn’t a very nice person, baby. What he did was so incredibly wrong, and you didn’t deserve that.”

“He did it to you too. You loved Beckett. I mean, Dad… You loved him so much, didn’t you?” He glanced at his desk, as if he was looking for something.

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