Emma’s POV“Hey, before you go, I wanted to ask, would Anna be at the party on Saturday?” I asked Liam as he walked down the stairs.“First of all, good morning to you too,” he said, snarkily.“Good morning, Liam,” I rolled my eyes. “Is Anna going to be there or not? I’m not bothered, I just need to know because your mum and I are finalizing the guest list tonight”.“In that case, she’s not going to be there,” he replied.I know I told him I wasn’t bothered, but that was obviously a lie. I would’ve for sure been bothered if she was going to be there, but he didn’t need to know that. I didn’t realize my chest was heavy when I asked him that question because his telling me that she wasn’t going to be there made my chest come back down so quickly. The relief was crazy.“Alright,” I said, then typed something down on my laptop that was open on my lap.“Today’s Wednesday, aren’t you supposed to be at work?” he asked, looking confused, then his expression switched to one of worry. “Are you
Emma’s POV“Liam,” I called out his name as I knocked softly on his bedroom door. “Is everything alright?” U asked.No response.“Liam,” I called out again.Still no response.“Leave me alone, Emma,” he grumbles. “I want to be left alone”.I know I shouldn’t be bothered. I know I should have left him alone. I know he doesn’t deserve my worry or compassion, but shit, I just don’t know how not to be bothered by things like that. I don’t know how not to worry about people I care about until I know they’re alright, regardless of whether that person has treated me right or not.God, I hate this quality of myself so much sometimes.Ignoring his words, I slowly opened the door and slipped in quietly.“Hey,” I said, softly.He was sitting down on his bed. He had his elbows resting on his lap and his head buried in his hands. He let out a heavy sigh and sniffled, almost as though he were crying.“Liam, are you alright?” I asked, still standing by the door. “What happened?”After a few minutes
Emma’s POV“Oh, Liam,” I moaned into his mouth.What the hell are you doing, Emma? That’s the question I kept asking myself, but the problem was- I wasn’t pulling away from this kiss.“Fuck, Emma, you taste so good,” Liam moaned into my mouth.Our lips kept moving in sync for a few more minutes before his hands began roaming around my body. He started by sliding his left hand up my bare back and continued doing that for a few seconds, causing me to release more moans into his mouth. I wasn’t wearing a bra, so the warmth of his hand on my back felt all the better.After caressing my back for a while, he moved his hand to my front side and stopped just below my left breast.“Is this fine?” he whispered in between kisses.“Yes,” I replied, softly.Immediately after I said that, he cupped my breast and started massaging it gently. There were moments he’d squeeze it then release it and play with my nipples. He continued doing this interchangeably on both breasts until he eventually took o
Emma’s POV“Oh, wow. Your dress is so gorgeous,” Sammy gushed as I walked out of my closet.“Thank you,” I blushed as I admired myself in the full-length mirror by the closet.“I love the detailing so much. Did you make it yourself?” she asked, feeling up the dress.“Yes I did,” I smiled. “As soon as Maria mentioned this dinner thing, I got straight to work,” I shrugged my shoulders. “I mean, I’ve got to stand out, right?”I was wearing a strapless gold dress with a long slit in the back. It was shaped in such a way that it had a corset in the front that was basically heart-shaped. The material of the dress was designed in such a way that it appeared plain and simple at first sight but shone quite bright when under the right lighting.“Right. Well, it looks really good. You did amazing as always”.“Thanks, girly”.“So are you excited about tonight?” she asked, walking up to stand next to me in front of the mirror.Now, we were both admiring our reflections and also looking at each oth
Emma’s POV“Don’t do that, Sammy,” I shook my head and wagged my finger in her face as I stood up from the bed. “Don’t look at me that way in such a condescending manner. I know I shouldn’t have allowed it to happen again, but I did. I recognize my fault and I don’t need you aggravating it by judging me like that. You made some questionable choices with men in your past and I never judged you for them, so I’d appreciate it if you would reciprocate the same energy,” I stated.“You’re right, you’re right,” she raised her hand in surrender. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Please continue,” she urged, then fixed the look on her face.I rolled my eyes and continued speaking. “As I was saying, he had just come home from work that evening and he was angry. He came in late and was grumbling and walked straight up to his room. I was worried about him, so I followed him a few minutes later. He was being stubborn as always, but I was persistent until he eventually let me into the room. We tal
Liam’s POV“Hi, Maria,” Emma hugged my mother as we walked into the house, greeting her simultaneously. “I’m so sorry for not being here earlier. Don’t blame Liam. He’s been ready for hours now. It’s my fault,” she pleaded.“Mhm. Right. Well, the point is you’re here now and, luckily for me, you’re all dressed, so I can go get dressed now,” my mum replied.“Good evening, mama,” Ryan smiled and hugged her. “I’ve missed you,” he pecked her on the cheek.“Get away from me, Ryan. You claim to miss me but never come visit,” she said as she playfully swatted him away.“And I always apologize, don’t I?” he laughed.“Right,” she rolled her eyes in response and walked over to Sammy. “Samantha, darling, how on earth do you keep up with this boy?” she asked Samantha, sarcastically.“I make sure to scold him here and there,” Samantha giggled. “I guess it’s working,” Maria replied, shooting Ryan an annoyed glance, then continued talking to him while Samantha and Emma excused themselves from the ro
Liam’s POV“Good evening. Thank you for coming,” I smiled and greeted what must have been the one-hundredth guest of the night. The crazy thing was, I didn’t even know half of the people I had already greeted. “When do we get to stop this?” I bent down to Emma’s ear and whispered the question into her ear. “My legs are killing me. I need to sit down”. “Can you please stop whining?” she said, sharply, then greeted and fake smiled at the next guest that walked in next. “Shouldn’t you be used to these things by now? I’m the one who hasn’t hosted a single one of these in her life, yet I’m handling it better than you. Aside from that, I’m the one who’s been standing in heels for the last hour, so what exactly are you complaining about?”“Sorry,” I grumbled in response. “You know, for someone who hasn’t known my mother for a long time, you sure do act like her”. “Don’t test my patience, Liam,” she growled in response. I let out a little laugh but stopped when she gave me a look that ga
Liam’s POV“Here I am,” I responded, taking another drag of the cigarette and turning my head away from her to puff it out.She didn’t say anything after that though. She just stood and watched me as I puffed out my smoke, then looked at Ryan who quickly hid his cigarette behind him.“You smoke?” she asked, dragging out her question slowly.Clearly, she was not impressed.“Yes,” I said, tilting my head to the side trying to understand why she was asking me such an obvious question, then it clicked.I hadn’t smoked around her before.“Is this a new habit of yours or is it something you’ve always done?” she asked, looking at me skeptically.“I’ve been smoking since I was in high school, but it’s not like an addiction or anything. I only do it when I’m stressed or when I’m bored”.“Okay, so are you trying to tell me that all the while we’ve been together, you’ve not been tired or bored?” she folders her arms across her chest, maintaining a strict-looking composure.“That’s not what I’m sa
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