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 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 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“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 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 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
Liam’s POVIt had been a little over a month since the dinner at my parent’s place had taken place. Emma and I had taken our anniversary trip to Berlin after being indecisive about where to go for days. We were away for a week honestly, it was the best week I’d had in months. With work, my dad’s sickness and everything else that life has thrown at me over the past few weeks, this getaway we had was the exact thing I needed. My problem now was that we were home, and I was back to work, and it was all just a lot. With my dad being out due to his sickness, I’ve assumed the position in the office as not just the CEO but also the COO as well, meaning that I am basically splitting myself into multiple parts now just to ensure that everything runs smoothly at the firm. “Hey, babe,” Emma greeted me as she walked into my room with two glasses of what looked like apple juice in her hands. “Hey, baby,” I greeted her back, shaking my head off the thoughts I had in mind. Today was the first da
Emma’s POVSince Liam and I had that conversation about his dad yesterday, I wasn’t feeling at ease because he just felt, I don’t know, tight. I don’t know the exact word or words to use to describe exactly how he was last night, but let’s just say he was rigid. I know that to an extent he was happy to let some things off his chest, especially considering it had to do with his dad, but still, I’m guessing, since his dad is willing to just sit back and let nature take its course, he’s just been uncomfortable and angry, and I have had no idea how to help him. I mean, it was so bad that while we were trying to sleep, as I held him in my arms, I could literally feel the rigidity he exuded. I wanted to help him so badly, but I just didn’t know how, and it hurt my heart so bad to see him in this much pain. It was currently Saturday, meaning that I didn’t have to go into the office, but Liam did because work had just been a lot ever since he took over complete responsibility of the cases h
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
Emma’s POV“Is this seriously something that you’re considering, Emma?” Sammy asked again as she let me out of her grasp. This time, her tone was filled with disappointment. “I can’t believe this”. “Are you seriously judging me right now, Sammy?” I asked in disbelief. “Yes I am,” she answered with a straight face. “If I wasn’t judging you right now, then I would be the worst friend, but that’s not me, Emma. I’ve known you for far too long to believe that getting rid of this pregnancy is something you really think is the right thing to do. Hell, I want to believe that you’ve known me for far too long to even think I’d support you wholeheartedly if you made a decision like this”. “Wow, Sammy,” I chuckled dryly. “You know what, Emma,” she hissed. “Keep up whatever act this is that you’re putting up for as long as you want, but deep down, you know that what I’m saying is the truth. This isn’t a pregnancy that came from a one-night stand that we’re talking about, Emma. This is somethi
Emma’s POV“Sweetie, are you okay?” Sammy asked me as she continuously ran her fingers through my hair while I lay down on the couch in her living room, my head on her lap, and my arms folded across my chest as I started staring blankly at the TV screen that was off. “Do you want to talk about this?” she asked again a few minutes later after not receiving a response from me following her first question. “I guess you don’t have to say anything right now,” she concluded a minute later, a deep sigh following her statement as she continued her repeated action of trying to calm me down with her fingers as they ran through my hair. While I felt bad about ignoring Sammy’s questions, I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I was too much in a state of shock, sadness, and overall worry to do so. From staring blankly at the TV, my vision eventually shifted back to the coffee table in front of me, though I had tried my best to ignore it, and act as though it wasn’t in the room with us, but I couldn’t
Emma’s POVAs we continued kissing, our lips glided so easily against each other. His lips were soft and wet; and his kisses were deep, long, passionate, and fiery. If I’m being honest, there wasn’t really any single adjective that I could pinpoint to use and describe our kiss at that moment, because this time just felt so much different. To be fair, sexual activities with Liam are usually always fiery and all, but this time, knowing how much emotion he had behind each passionate kiss he gave me, it was way different. “Come here,” he said, lifting me onto his lap in one swift motion. If anyone were to ask how that was possible, to go from lying flat on my back to straddling him in one move, I wouldn’t be able to explain it at all. “I want you,” I moaned into his mouth as our lips continued moving against each other. “You don’t have to tell me twice,” he chuckled, smiling, yet still not backing away from the kiss. A second after that, he stood, lifting me with him, but he hadn’t st
Emma's POVWell, it’s finally over. All the back and forth as regards the funeral ceremony of Mr. Samuel Henderson was finally over and all I can say is that it truly was a rollercoaster of serious emotions, both bad and good. Right now, Liam and I have just got back to our place and one would think we’re fine, but that’s not the case right now. When it was time for Liam to say ‘a few words,’ about his father, those few words weren’t exactly so few, and it was just so crazy because things started well and just spiraled into unexpected sayings. At first, he started by carefully picking his words so as not to say the wrong things, then all of a sudden, it was as though he got filled with this rage that he’d been suppressing and couldn’t hold back any longer. He started talking about the things his dad did to him when he was younger, like how he basically guilt-tripped Liam into becoming a lawyer just like him, how he and Maria didn’t make Liam necessarily feel loved even though Maria t
Emma’s POVThe long-awaited day was finally here. Today, we hold the funeral for Mr. Henderson, and let’s just say that tension so far has been high. While Liam and I got ready for the day at home, it was so clear that he was tensed up, even though he didn’t say anything about it. We barely spoke, his frame was rigid, and he just kept on doing things wrongly because his mind was obviously focused on somewhere else. For instance, he wanted to make coffee and forgot to use a coffee filter. When he eventually got that right, he proceeded to pull out a glass cup from the cupboard and pour the coffee into it, talking about how both cups were next to each other and he ‘accidentally’ picked the wrong one. Mind you, the coffee cups are kept in an entirely different cupboard. Thankfully, he realized his mistake almost immediately and poured the coffee into an actual mug, so the glass cup didn’t explode or anything. It was currently five minutes past ten in the morning, meaning we had fifty-f