Emma’s POVI was honestly shocked by the statement. “Except you’re not single, and I just overstepped my boundaries,” he said, laughing in a way that indicated he was embarrassed. It actually took me a minute to understand why he even had to ask that in the first place, then I realized I had left my wedding ring back at my hotel room. I didn’t want to wear it near the water in the fear of losing it, so I took it off as I changed. I looked down at my empty ring finger for a few seconds, deciding whether I wanted to tell this fine man in front of me that I was actually married, even though the marriage wasn’t real. Of course, I couldn’t tell him that part and I didn’t want to chase him away either by being vague and simply saying, ‘I’m married,’ so I just decided against telling him in general. “I’m single,” I smiled. “And I’d love to go out to dinner with you tonight,” I added. “Amazing,” he grinned. “Where are you staying at? I’m over there,” he pointed to the hotel that was righ
Emma’s POV“Emma, open up,” Sammy called out from behind my room door. “Hold on,” I said as I slipped on my bra and then went over to open the door. “You’re getting ready already? So soon?” she asked as we walked into the room together.“It’s 7:04 p.m., Sammy,” I replied to her with a straight face. “What’s so early about that?” I asked. “Sorry, you’re right,” she said, raising her hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean to offend you or anything”. I let out a deep sigh.“You didn’t offend me, Sammy. It’s that boyfriend of yours that’s getting on my nerves. I just don’t get why he has to act that way towards Tony. The poor guy didn’t deserve that. He did nothing wrong”. “You’re right. I get you and trust me; I already spoke to Ryan about his behavior, so be expecting an apology from him soon. However, looking at things from Ryan’s perspective,” she said, then paused.She paused because I shot her a look. “Relax. I’m not saying he was right, but there’s no denying the fact that he onl
Emma’s POV“Wow,” Tony breathed out. “Gorgeous,” he smiled. “Thank you,” I said, blushing. “You’re welcome. These are for you,” he said, then brought his hand out from behind him.He had a bouquet of pink roses in his hand and not a small bouquet, but a big one. Gosh. This man!“Oh my God. I don’t know what to say,” I said in astonishment as I walked closer to him and took the bouquet out of his hand. “They’re amazing”. I took them up to my nose and sniffed them. They smelt amazing. “My goodness. They smell even better than they look. How’s that even possible?”“The lady at the flower shop said they were scented. I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but I’m glad you like them,” he smiled. “You do like them, right?”“I love them. Trust me. Pink roses are my favorite flowers. How did you know to get these?” I asked. “I don’t know,” he shrugged his shoulders. “When I got to the shop I was just inclined to get these, and I’m happy I did”. “Thank you so much. You’re a darling,” I s
Emma’s POV“You’re what?” Tony asked, nearly spitting his water back into his cup.“I’m married,” I repeated. His smile dropped. It was the first time since this evening, since we met on the beach, actually since I wasn’t seeing his pretty set of teeth. Damn. I’ve really messed up. “I don’t understand, though. You’re not even wearing a ring”. Well, that was expected. “Yeah I know,” I said, nervously. “So let me explain,” I continued, my voice trailing off. “I’m listening,” he replied, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms across his chest, revealing his bulging muscles through the semi-tight dress shirt he was wearing. I ripped my eyes away from the sight and took a deep breath while closing my eyes. I opened my eyes again and noticed Tony staring at me meticulously, trying to figure me out without me saying anything. Honestly, the way he stared at me made me feel quite uneasy, so I began shifting in my seat, and he clearly noticed because he mumbled a ‘sorry,’ befor
Emma’s POVI took a deep breath and then faced him.“Okay. Can you promise not to interrupt though? Not until I’m completely done talking and I ask you to speak. It’ll make things easier for me,” I said.“Fine,” he nodded. “No problem”.“Alright. So, here it goes. As you already observed, I may not be wearing my wedding ring right now,” I started and held my left hand to show my empty ring finger, then put it back down. “But that doesn’t dispute the fact that I’m married. His name’s Liam and he’s actually on this trip with Sammy, Ryan, and I”.“He’s here?!” Tony exclaimed.I sighed.“Please, Tony,” I pleaded.“Sorry,” he sighed. “Continue”.“Thanks. So as I was saying, yes, Liam is here on this trip with us. Remember I said this trip is basically only happening because of my birthday on Monday. Well, that’s exactly why Liam is here. I initially didn’t want him to come along, but Ryan convinced me to let him come. Now, the thing with Liam and I’s marriage is that it’s not the conventio
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
Liam’s POVIt was currently Friday, meaning Emma has officially been back to work for a full week now. On the other hand, it also means that it had been six days of me asking her to remarry me and her telling me that she needed to think about it. I wasn’t about to pressure her more than she already was, so I tried to distract myself from it by immersing myself in work this weekend while at home with her. At the same time, I wanted her to also feel relaxed, so I sent Amelia away with my mother for the day to give Emma room to catch a breath this weekend. “Hey, are you up?” Emma’s voice spoke up from behind my bedroom door following a knock. I didn’t want to stress my voice by shouting a response, so I stood up from my desk and went over to the door. “Good morning,” I greeted her with a small smile as I opened my door. “How are you?” I asked, leaning on the door frame with my arms folded across my chest. “I’m good,” she nodded, unable to maintain eye contact with me. “You?”“I’m fin
Emma’s POVAfter hours of work that were mixed with hours of contemplation following me and Liam’s conversation from that morning, the work day was finally over, and it was time for me to go home. I knew that if I went home, I would have to confront the situation at hand between Liam and me, which I was not prepared to do, at least not before talking to Sammy first, and since I felt this was a conversation that I had to have with her face to face, I did the same thing of calling Liam ahead to let him know I’d be coming home late. “Hey,” his raspy, tired voice spoke up as he picked up the call. “How are you?”“I’m good, how are you?”“I’m okay”.“Are you sure,” I asked, worried. “You sound tired and stressed out. Are you still at the office?”“Yeah, I am. I’m tired, but I have a case I’m working on right now and want to try and make some progress with it before leaving here”. “Hm. Alright then. Just take it easy please”. “Yeah, I will,” he said. I could practically hear the smile i
Emma’s POVThroughout my drive to the office, all I could think about were Liam’s last words to me before he left the house. Considering how shocked I was by everything he had said, it goes without saying that I had no adequate response to give him at that moment. All I could muster at that point was, “I’ll think about it”. Shit. One thing for sure was that I know I definitely didn’t even say those words in a reassuring tone or anything, because the way his face fell once the words left my mouth was enough to let me know that he was disappointed. In my defense though, it was all too sudden. I felt cornered and just didn’t know what to do.“Emma! Hi!” my coworker, Dina, startled me out of my reverie as she knocked on my window. “Hey, Dina,” I rolled down my window and smiled at her. “You startled me”. “I’m sorry,” she laughed. “One of the janitors mentioned he saw you pull in a few minutes ago and, since you hadn’t come in yet, I decided to come down and check on you”. When she sa
Emma’s POVIt had been a bit over four months since I gave birth to Amelia, and it was finally time for me to go back to work. Normally, I should’ve resumed last month, but the management of the Fashion House asked me to stay back a while longer because they didn’t want to stress me out and all that. I definitely wasn’t going to argue with them, so I obliged, but I kept it down to a month extra because, truth be told, while I’ve been having the time of my life caring for my daughter, it’s been very exhausting and I need a break. I need to get some normalcy back in my life and the only way I can achieve that is by going back to work. Thankfully, today was finally the day. “Emma!” my mum’s voice called out to me from behind the front door after she had knocked. “Coming!” I responded, placing Amelia down on one of the chairs in the living room and rushing to open the door for my mum. “Hey, mum,” I hugged her. “Thanks for coming,” I said, stepping aside for her to walk in. “No need to
Emma’s POVAfter close to forty-three hours of labour, my baby was finally here. “I was told you were unaware of what the baby’s gender was before now, so it’s my pleasure to tell you that you’ve just delivered a beautiful baby girl,” the doctors said to me, her voice overlapping my baby’s cries, as she handed me my child. “Hi, there,” I cooed, poking her nose a bit as I looked back up to the doctor with a smile on my face. “Thank you, Dr. Bailey,” I said to her. “You’re most welcome, dear,” she smiled back. “Alright, I’ve got to go now. The nurses will help get you cleaned up, then I’ll see you again in a few hours, okay?”“Okay, I nodded. Please can you help call in Liam on your way out?”“Of course. Take care now,” she said and walked out of the room. “Baby!” Liam said as he rushed into the room, pausing when he saw our daughter in my arms. “She’s beautiful,” he breathed. “Yeah, she is,” I smiled at her. “Shame on you for not being in here for the birth,” I smacked his hand.
Liam’s POVIt has been nearly nine months of Emma’s pregnancy and God knows that these past two months of it have been hell. Not just for her, but for me as well. Unlike at the start of her pregnancy, over the past two months have been when Emma has been experiencing terrible morning sickness and all the pains that come with being pregnant. For some reason, the first six months were a breeze for her. She barely showed, she barely felt pain, and she was rarely sick. Now though, where do I even start?At about four months in, her bump began to appear and with how well-rounded it looked, there was no way we could lie and say she was merely gaining weight. So, Emma and I decided it was finally time to expand the number of people who knew about the pregnancy from Ryan and Sammy to her parents, my mother, and all our friends and colleagues who cared to know. As expected, both our parents were ecstatic about the pregnancy; my mother was more than her parents, of course. Considering I am all
Liam’s POVIt had been days – nearly a week actually – since Emma and I had held a proper conversation with each other. To be specific, following that little bicker we had during our last hospital visit which lasted until we got home later that day, she and I had yet to talk to each other. We were taking this thing so far between ourselves such that she hadn’t slept in my room since that evening, and we hadn’t shared a meal since then either. What was funny was that appointment of hers was last Saturday. It was currently Thursday morning and I had only gone to work one day this week, and she has not at all, meaning that we were spending much more time in the house at the same times during the day, but we just weren’t spending them together. If I was upstairs, even though it was in my room, Emma would be downstairs. Then, if I was downstairs, she would be upstairs. Obviously, it was clear that she was behaving in this petty manner that she was, because she wanted me to give in first
Emma’s POV“What do you mean?” Liam asked me again, in a smaller tone this time. Honestly, my heart broke at how heartbroken he sounded by my words, but let’s be real, this marriage of ours isn’t an ideal one for anybody at all, and I do actually love him and want to be with him, so why not just come clean about exactly how I feel now?“Liam,” I took a deep breath and turned back around to face him, grabbing his hand in mine. “I love you and that much is real, but let’s be true to ourselves right now, this marriage isn’t real, and I need you to recognize that. Maybe it’s because I was the one who was forced into the marriage, so I recognize it all the time”. “And what makes you think that I wasn’t forced into this marriage too?” he asked, visibly upset now as he pulled his hand out of mine. “You think I wanted to have to settle down at the time that I did, let alone get married?”“Oh,” I responded in a low tone. “You really think that this marriage was on the top of my bucket list
Emma’s POV“And that right there is your baby’s bead,” my OBGYN said as she pointed out what looked like a small rock on the screen of the ultrasound machine. “Perfection,” Liam gushed. Yeah, that’s right, I told Liam everything. Three months ago, Liam and I had a lengthy talk about my being pregnant and what that meant for us. As expected, even though I had a lot of doubt in my mind, he was in full support of me, willing to ensure I was okay and that everything about the pregnancy went smoothly. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any man as excited to have a child as Liam was that night. Now, with about two ultrasounds out of the way, he and I are finally starting to see our baby take proper shape and, judging from his expression as he stared hard at the screen while the doctor spoke, I think it was safe to say that he was most definitely more excited than I was. If I’m being honest, it’s so crazy. Because this was a man who first presented himself to me as this st