Liam’s POV“Hey, man,” I greeted Ryan as he let me into his room. “What’s up, dude?” he asked as he dabbed me up. “You’ve been in your room for the longest. I was beginning to think you had infused with the room or something”. I took a deep breath as I sat down on the couch next to his bed. “Today’s just been so hectic, man. Jumping from meeting to meeting on a fucking Saturday. As much as I love being a lawyer, some of my clients can be the biggest pricks. Like, how does it even make sense to draw up meetings on the damn weekend? They act like they own the world and if I don’t comply then I’ve got to face my father’s music,” I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. “I’m just tired, man”. “I feel you. Sorry about that. Tomorrow’s Sunday though, so I suggest you just shut yourself off from the work world. Disconnect. If anyone calls, don’t pick it up and let them know the next day that you were having trouble connecting. Simple,” Ryan suggested. “Yeah, I get that. That’s definite
Liam’s POV“Emma, can I come in?” I asked her as I knocked on her bedroom door. “What do you want, Liam?” she asked through the door. “I’ve had a long day and I just want to go to bed. We can talk tomorrow,” she said. “Please, Emma,” I said, softly. “I want to get this off my chest now. Please,” I pleaded.She heard her let out a deep sigh followed by the sound of the door being unlocked. “What do you want, Liam? It’s past midnight. You realize that, right?” she said with an annoyed expression on her face. “I know, and I’m sorry, but I’ve got to say this tonight and I won’t take your time. Please”. “What is it?” she asked, leaning against the door with her arms folded across her chest.“Can we go inside and talk?” I asked. “Is there a problem with out here? You did say you were not going to take my time”. “Please, Emma,” I said with a more frustrated tone. “Please”.“Fine,” she rolled her eyes. “Come in,” she said, then opened the door wider. “Thank you,” I sighed as I walked i
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
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
Emma’s POV“Hey,” I finally breathed out after minutes of us staring at each other while I stood out there in the doorway. “Hi,” he responded, then shook his head as if he had just been overcome with a sense of realization. “Come in,” he gestured for me to come into the house. “Sorry about that. I didn’t realize I had kept you standing there”. “It’s fine,” I dismissed it with a small smile. “I was lost in thought too, anyway”. “Right,” he replied, his lips drawn up into a tight smile. “Here,” he gestured to my bag that was still slung over my shoulder. “Let me get that for you”. “Oh. Thank you,” I said as I handed the bag to him. “No problem,” he replied, walking over to place the bag down on the couch while I took a seat on one of the stools surrounding the kitchen island. “So,” he started as he came back into the kitchen and took a seat on the opposite side of me. “How’d it go over there at Maywood?” he continued, his eyes focused on mine as he eagerly awaited what I had to s
Emma’s POVIt was now Sunday, so it was time for me to head back home. As I packed up the last of my toiletries, my mind wandered back to the events of the past few days. The emotional rollercoaster I'd been on since my trip to the cabin with Liam, followed by the heart-wrenching conversation with Tony, left me feeling both drained and oddly liberated.I zipped up my bag and took one last look around the hotel room that had been my sanctuary for the night. After leaving Tony's apartment yesterday evening, I couldn't bear the thought of going back to the home I shared with Liam. Although Liam and I were in a good place, it just felt unfair to me to immediately run back into his arms after what had just gone down with Tony. So, I needed time to process everything, and to gather my thoughts before facing him.As I wheeled my suitcase towards the door, my phone buzzed with a text from Sammy - ‘Hey, girl. What’s going on over there? Call me when you can’I smiled, grateful for her constant
Emma’s POVHis words hit me hard, even though I knew he was probably right. “Tony, I—”He held up a hand, cutting me off gently. “It's okay, Emma. I'm not angry with you. Hurt, yes, but not angry. You can't help how you feel”.I felt a fresh wave of tears spill over. “You're too good, Tony. You deserve someone who can love you wholly, without any doubt or confusion”. A sad smile played at the corners of his mouth. “Maybe. But I fell for you, Emma. All of you, complications and all”. We sat in silence for a while, the weight of unspoken words hanging between us. Finally, Tony spoke again. “So, what are you going to do about Liam? You want to be with him, right?”I hesitated for a moment, thinking about my answer, until I eventually nodded my head. “Yes I do,” I sighed. “You know, this is honestly the first time since that day that I’m actually saying it out loud that I want to be with Liam, and it’s so crazy because even after running to Sammy’s house the moment we got back home, I s
Emma’s POV“Oh,” he said, suddenly sounding dejected. “We need to talk,” he repeated after me. “That can never be a good thing,” he chuckled bitterly as he loosened his grip on my waist until he eventually let me go completely.“Can we sit?” I asked, still looking up at him.“Of course,” he smiled slightly. “After you,” he said, pointing to a couch behind us for us to sit on.“Thank you,” I said as I sat down, my eyes still trained on him, watching his every move.“Mhm,” he nodded as he walked over to the couch, sitting down on the spot not too far away from me.“So,” he clasped his hands together after heaving out a deep breath. “What's going on, Emma?”I was silent. Not because I didn’t know what I wanted to say, but I was trying to figure out the best way to say it such that I would seem like a person and not a completely horrible one.I sighed, letting out a deep breath as my shoulders fell further than they already had.“Okay,” Tony chuckled, bitterly too, if I might add. “What’s
Emma's POVSaturday had finally come, meaning that it was time for me to go to Maywood to see Tony. Luckily for me, Maywood from Los Angeles wasn’t far at all, so I didn’t have to leave home early or anything. As I packed my overnight bag, stuffing my charger into it, it dawned on me properly that I hadn’t actually been to Maywood to see Tony before. Since he and I started talking, the only times we’d seen each other here in L.A. was when he’d come over here for business. Obviously, it worked for us, and so we’d meet up, but that has happened just two or three times now. So, thinking about all of this, it was quite sad that the reason I was going to Maywood to see him now was to let him know of my situation with Liam. Stepping out of my room, I bumped into Liam who was on his way back into his room. “Oh. Hey. Good morning,” I greeted him, a bit startled by his presence. “Morning. How was your night?” he responded, sounding rather chipper. “It was good, thank you. And yours?” I ask
Emma's POV“Hey,” I greeted Liam as I walked into the apartment. “Oh, hey. I didn’t hear you come in,” he said, standing up from his spot on the couch, as he walked over to me. “Yeah, I’m not surprised. The volume of the TV is quite loud,” I chuckled softly. “Right. Sorry,” he snapped his fingers and rushed back to the living room to turn the TV off. “Alright,” he clasped his hands as he walked back over to me. “Hey,” he hugged me. “You good?” he asked as he released me from his embrace. “Yeah,” I nodded, then sighed. “Just tired”. “Sorry,” he said with a pitiful look on his face. “So, did you get to see what it was that caused the traffic?”“Yeah actually. It was an accident. Nothing too serious though. I mean, I wouldn’t actually know, but from what I saw, it didn’t seem like there were any casualties or anything”. “Okay. Well, that’s good,” he nodded. “Mhm,” I said, making my way into the living room, as I dropped my keys on the dining table. “What was it that you stopped
Emma’s POVFollowing my whole issue with Liam last night and our awkward encounter with each other at breakfast this morning, I think it was safe to say that I’ve been rather uncomfortable throughout my time at work so far today. With the way the air is between us right now, I just feel weird and uneasy. Sadly, this is how I feel anytime he and I have a disagreement or a fight or whatever. The man just has too much of a hold over me and it’s very annoying sometimes – like now. Trying to get work in this moment is mad difficult because I simply cannot get him off my mind. During my lunch break, I contemplated giving him a call so we could work things out, but I decided against doing that for two main reasons. The first and most important reason was that if I did that, even though he would deny it, I would most certainly come off as desperate and probably even clingy. The second reason was that, at the end of the day, he and I would still meet each other at home, and it would be far be
Emma’s POV“Well?” Liam chuckled as he looked at me expectantly. “Are you going to tell me what it is or what?” he asked. I let out a deep breath because I knew the next words that were going to come out of my mouth weren’t going to be pleasing for him to hear. “I’ll be going to Maywood this weekend,” I gulped. “Maywood?” he asked with furrowed brows. “What’s in Maywood?”“Tony,” I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. “What? I didn’t get that?” he asked with a look of clear confusion on his face. I sighed. “Tony,” I said, my voice still low but audible enough for him to hear me this time. “Oh,” he responded, his jaw tightening. “And why exactly are you going over there?”Uhm, okay. I definitely did not expect that kind of attitude. “Uh first of all, could you please fix your attitude?” I asked. I mean, I didn’t expect him to be jolly when I mentioned this, but I didn’t exactly expect him to give me a dirty-ass attitude either. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Why are you going to se