Emma’s POV“Good morning my lovely friends,” I greeted Sammy and Ryan as I sat down at the table with them. It was about 9 a.m., so we were at the hotel’s restaurant to get breakfast. “How’d you sleep?” I asked them. “Good,” Sammy answered, looking at me weirdly. “Yeah, I’m just going to ask what we’re both thinking. Why the hell are you so chipper this early in the morning?” Ryan asked as he took a sip of his water. “I don’t know,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “I’m just happy I guess”. “And why is that?” he asked with a brow raised.“Who knows,” I replied. “Mhm, right. As if we don’t know you’re all giddy because of that little boy toy of yours,” Ryan said. “Shut up,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Don’t call him that. Sammy,” I turned to Sammy and pointed at Ryan. “Warn your man”.“Please don’t drag me into you twos spat,” she said with her hands joined together. “I’m not interested in none of this today”. “Whatever,” I said, then clasped my hands together. “So, my birthday t
Emma’s POV“So, D-Day is tomorrow. Are you excited?” Tony asked me after taking a sip of his coffee. After I woke up from my nap, I was bored, so I decided to text Tony to see if he wanted to hang out or something. Sure enough, he was up for it, so he suggested we go to this little café his mum had told him about a while ago. It was currently 4:24 p.m., so we had been here for a little over an hour or so. “Am I excited? Hmm. I wouldn’t say I’m not, but then again, I wouldn’t exactly say I am either. I’m turning twenty-five tomorrow and, based on the plan I had for myself, I should’ve been en route to getting married to the love of my life, living in my own house, and working at an amazing job. Right now, the only one of those I’ve managed to achieve is the great job part. I mean, yeah, where I’m working at right now really only came about based on my affiliation with Liam’s family, but still, it’s just not generally where I saw my life being at twenty-five. I’m not complaining or a
Emma’s POV“Happy birthday, my sweet girl,” my mum said to me over the phone. “Happy birthday, Emma bear,” my dad chirped up from beside her. “My little girl is twenty-five. Wow. You’ve grown up so fast, my love. Happy birthday. I wish you all the best in life,” he said with a huge grin on his face. Greece is about ten hours in time difference ahead of California, so my parents monitored the time and FaceTimed me once it clocked midnight over here in Mykonos. “Right? My baby girl is all grown up,” my mum said with teary eyes. “I remember when you used to run around in your diapers, avoiding wearing clothes, and now look at you. You’re done with your masters, gotten a great job, and made a good living for yourself. I’m super proud of you, sweetheart. Now and always”. “Thanks, mum,” I said, sniffling. “Thanks, dad. I love you guys”.“We love you too,” they said at the same time. “So what’s the plan for the day” my dad asked. “Anything exciting?”“Honestly, I have no idea. Sammy’s h
Emma’s POV“Happy birthday, tiny,” Ryan said to me as he hugged me. “Twenty-five years old. Wow. The young really shall grow,” he laughed. “Oh, please,” I rolled my eyes playfully as I hugged him back. “Thanks, Ryan”. “You’re welcome,” he said, placing a kiss on my head and letting me go. “This is for you. It’s custom-made,” he said, stretching out a big bag towards me. “Oh wow. I thought this trip was my gift, Ryan. You really shouldn’t have,” I said as I took the bag from him. Damn, it was heavy. “Oh, please,” he scoffed. You really thought this was going to be it? Wow. You really don’t know me, Emma,” he shook his head, feigning a disappointed look. “Go ahead open it,” he smiled, jerking his head toward the bag. “Okay, okay,” I said excitedly, then went on to unbox the contents of the bag. After taking out the decorative paper that was inside, I came face to face with a Hermes box and a Louis Vuitton box. Inside the Hermes box was this beautiful gold bracelet that had the wor
Emma’s POV“Spa date!” Sammy shrieked in a sing-song as she came up to meet me where I was sitting in the hotel lobby. “Hi, girly”. “Hey,” I laughed while looking at her weirdly. “How’s it that you’re way more excited about this birthday than I am. I mean with the way you’ve been so jolly all morning, one would actually think today’s your birthday and not mine”. “First of all, I’d like to think that as your best friend in the whole world, today is actually both our birthdays. Aside from that, you’re the one who’s choosing to act all grumpy because Liam hasn’t wished you a happy birthday yet, so that’s really on you,” she said. “You really didn’t have to bring up his name, you know. Like was that even necessary?” I asked her, rolling my eyes. “Besides, I actually don’t care that he hasn’t spoken to me yet. It’s his business, not mine,” I grumbled, folding my arms across my chest. “Mhm right. So if I told you I knew why he hasn't left his room all morning you wouldn’t want to know?”
Emma’s POVAbout an hour and thirty minutes into the spa session, Sammy and I had gotten mud baths, gotten waxed, had hot coal treatments, did some weird seaweed wrap, and done our manicures. Right now, we are getting our toes done while sipping on champagne. “Are you enjoying your day so far?” Sammy asked me as she took a sip of her drink. “Yeah, it’s alright,” I shrugged my shoulders. “Just alright? Seriously?” she put her drink down. “Well that’s disappointing,” she said with a sad face. “I thought starting the day with a spa date would get you in the groove. I guess I thought wrong”. “Oh no no no. That’s not at all how I meant it to come out, Sammy,” I said, sitting up. “I appreciate your planning and everything, it’s just that I’ve not been so amped up about today since last night. I mean you know how I usually get around my birthday period, don’t you? Throughout the year, I’m usually pumped up for it, then at the last few weeks leading up to the actual day, I’m not as inter
Emma’s POV“I’m really glad you’re here, Tony. Thanks for coming,” I smiled as I looked at him. “Thanks again for the gift”. “You’re welcome,” he smiled back. Tony got me a light brown Birkin bag. A freaking Birkin! What I really wanted to know was how he was able to get by a Birkin so quickly, but who am I to question a gift?“So what’s your plan for the year?” Tony asked. “What do you mean?” I asked him with furrowed brows. “Like in this year of you being twenty-five, what do you want to do or achieve? What do you want to do that you haven’t done up until now?” he asked, clarifying his question. Hm. That’s a good question. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything. It’s just, that question is something my mum has made a habit of asking my siblings and me whenever we celebrate a birthday. She asks what we hope to achieve in the new year of our lives and tries to see if there’s anything she or my dad or both of them can do to help make it happen. It’s somethin
Emma’s POVAfter a while of eating, drinking, dancing, and talking, it was finally time to get off the yacht. We had just gotten back to the dock when Ryan announced the restaurant we were going to be eating at for dinner. Since Tony had his own car, I decided to head to the restaurant with him while Ryan and Sammy went together in Ryan’s car. The restaurant wasn’t far from where we were. It was about a fifteen-minute drive or so. At least that’s what I thought. To me, it felt like the car flew most of the way there because, not gonna lie, I was a tad bit more than tipsy. From the champagne I had used to kick off my drinking for the day which I had at the spa, to the countless number of glasses of wine I had on the yacht, I think it’s safe to say I’ve had a good day so far. Once we got to the restaurant, Ryan got us in based on the reservation he’d made and within a few minutes, we were sitting with our menus in hand. “This place is pretty,” I told Sammy, looking around and soaking
Emma's POVAbout ten minutes after Maria and I got into our feelings with each other, Liam and his father returned to the dining room. Mr. Henderson looked fresh again in his change of clothes, but Liam, on the other hand, looked tired and stressed out. Clearly, the entire situation that had just unfolded in front of him stressed him out, but he didn’t say anything about it for the entire time the lunch went on. From one o’clock or so, till five minutes past three o’clock, the four of us ate lunch and made small conversations about anything else but the elephant in the room. While I found it a bit weird that everyone chose not to say anything about what happened, I obviously couldn’t comment on anything because, at the end of the day, I don’t have much of a say in what’s going on. It’s not like Mr. Henderson is my husband, neither is he my father, so yeah, I couldn’t exactly say much. Once we were done eating and had spent the extra hour at their place for our food to digest, Liam a
Emma’s POVTo cut the whole story short, Liam spoke. A lot. He said far much more than I could even remember, and what’s crazy is he just said these things a few minutes ago. He took his father’s go-ahead for him to say what was on his mind quite literally, and when I say literally, I mean literally. Unexpected to all of us, Liam started addressing issues from far before I came into his life. Issues he’s had with his father, and his mother, from when he was a little boy, actually. There was also him talking about how he felt closer to his grandfather than anyone else before his passing and how his passing really affected him because he knew that he wasn’t ever going to feel that type of pure love again from a father figure, let alone his father. He talked about how he always felt unloved by his parents because, while his father drowned himself in work most of the time, his mother drowned herself in work and societal events and gatherings, so it felt like she was even more absent. The
Emma’s POV“Okay,” Liam spoke up. “We’re listening. Why’d you call us over here today?” he asked. “First of all,” Mrs. Henderson cleared her throat. “Your father and I want to wish you both a happy anniversary”. Oh, so she remembered. “You remembered?” I squeaked out. “Are you kidding me, dear?” she asked with a small smile on her lips. “How could I forget? I mean after all the planning that went into that wedding and how invested I was, not just in the wedding but in your hopeful love story. With all that in mind, there was absolutely no way I could forget the day you got married to Liam; fake wedding or not. I was personally very happy that day because I liked you, so nothing was going to make me forget it”. “Oh…” I was speechless. “Thank you, Maria”.At the mention of her name, her smile instantly grew. I knew she hated me calling her Mrs. Henderson and I hated calling her that just as much because I believed we had formed a bond that went beyond me calling her that. So, while
Emma’s POVAs we pulled into the driveway of the Henderson house, I could see Liam visibly tense up already. From the way his fingers tightened on the steering wheel, to the way his jaw began to clench, it was clear he wanted to be anywhere but here right now. “Are you good?” I asked him, placing my hand on his that was still gripping the steering wheel even after he had parked the car. At the feel of my hand on his, the hold he had on the steering wheel instantly loosened, and I could thankfully feel the tension ease from his body under my touch. “I’m better now,” he said, mustering up a weak smile, as he held my hand and brought it up to his lips to place a kiss on it. “Thank you”. “Hey,” I rubbed the back of his neck. “Everything’s going to be alright. Besides, I have a feeling that we’re here to receive some good news. Nothing that’s going to spoil either of our moods. Okay?”“Okay,” he nodded, then turned off the car. As he started to open his door, I held him back again for
Emma’s POV“Happy anniversary, baby,” Liam said, cheesing from ear to ear, as he walked into my room with a tray filled with waffles, bacon, eggs, an assortment of fruits, and two glasses of orange juice.“For me?” I smiled as I looked up from my phone. “Yes, ma’am,” he nodded, placing the tray on the nightstand next to me. “Happy anniversary, my love,” he said again, as he bent down to hug me. “I love you,” he pecked my cheek. “Happy anniversary, Liam,” I cooed in response, hugging him tightly, making sure to sniff him in the process. “How early did you wake up for you to have taken a shower and made me breakfast?” I asked, genuinely wondering. “Early enough,” he shrugged his shoulders, hopping into the bed and squeezing closely next to me. “I see that,” I turned my head to face him. “Did you sleep in here with me though? Because I don’t even remember sleeping off. I had planned to come over to yours after taking a bath, but I guess I must have fallen asleep after doing that”. “
Emma’s POV“So, talk to me. What’s going on in that big head of yours?” I joked. “Rude,” he scoffed, feigning a hurt look. “Whatever,” I chuckled, unwrapping my hands from his waist. “This seems like serious talk, so let’s go over to the living room please”. “Alright,” he nodded, pushing himself off the counter that he was resting on and following behind me until we got to the living room and sat comfortably on the couch. “Now,” I moved a bit closer to him. “Talk to me”. “Okay,” he cleared his throat, evidently nervous. “I don’t know if you know… but tomorrow is our first anniversary,” he stated, then averted his gaze from me. “Is that it?” I chuckled. “What do you mean?” he asked with furrowed brows. “I mean, is that all that’s bothering you?”“Yes, it is. Now can you please stop laughing,” he grumbled. “Sorry,” I stifled a laugh. “Listen,” I grabbed hold of his hands. Can I be honest with you?”“Sure,” he nodded, fiddling with my hands. “I know”. “Seriously?” he looked of
Emma’s POVIt had been a long day at the office, but thankfully, it was finally over. As I packed up my sketches that I planned to work on over the weekend, my phone buzzed on the table, but I didn’t pick it up immediately because if it was something important, I’d have assumed the person would call me. After about ten minutes of putting my stuff together, I was done packing up for the day and finally picked up my phone to check the time. The time wasn’t what caught my eye though. It was my notification; specifically, the one that came ten minutes ago which I ignored. It was a notification from my Reminders app, reminding me of what tomorrow is – Liam and I’s first anniversary. Shit. How the hell could I have forgotten? And especially now that Liam and I are actually in true love with each other, and we’ve been so good with each other these past couple of weeks too, fuck!As I walked out of the office, I began brainstorming the excuse I was going to give Liam for forgetting about t
Liam’s POVWhen Ryan and I were done eating, we immediately began our journey back home. “So, have you decided what you’re going to do yet?”“About what?” I asked, optimistic that the meaning behind that question wasn’t the same as when he asked me this same question ten minutes ago. “About you and Emma, silly,” he scoffed, looking at me like I was dumb. “No, Ryan. I have not decided what to do, just like I hadn’t decided ten minutes ago when you asked me the same damn question,” I said, tightening my fingers on the steering wheel momentarily, before letting out a deep breath in annoyance and releasing my grip on the wheel. “My bad,” he rolled his eyes. “I’m just trying to be helpful,” he murmured. “Then be helpful by suggesting what I should do!” I raised my tone slightly and kissed my teeth. “You being helpful isn’t you asking me the same question repetitively at ten-minute intervals hoping that my response would be different? Helping would be you trying to help me brainstorm o
Liam’s POVIt had been a week since Emma had made her choice to be with me and for this last week, I’ve probably been the happiest man on this earth. Now, our first anniversary was in three days, and I had no idea what to do. Before we got married, I remember while I was having one of the pre-wedding discussions with my mother, she said she would love for Emma and me to throw a party or a ball or something in that regard to commemorate the milestone, while also making sure we appear as a happily married couple in the public light. However, with how things are going in the family right now, with my dad’s sickness and the rift between Emma and my parents, that party that my mother would have wanted us to have just doesn’t seem probable. And to be honest, I haven’t even had a talk with Emma about this anniversary of ours, so God knows if she actually remembers that it’s even coming up or not. “Liam! Where are you!?” Ryan yelled, pulling me out of my thoughts as he stepped into the apa