Emma’s POV“What do you mean I’m getting married, dad?” I question my dad, tears running down my face fast and hard. I haven’t ugly cried like this in years but right now, I didn’t care how ugly I looked. All I cared to understand was what my dad meant by I was to get married in two months.“I realize how sudden and unexpected this news comes, sweetie, but it’s what needs to be done,” he replies me, taking gentle strides towards me.I step back. Usually I like the comfort of being in my father’s arms, but not today. Maybe not ever again. Not with what he’s saying to me right now. “This is so unfair!” I shriek really loudly as I begin to pace round the living room where my mum, dad and I stood as they broke the news to me.At this point I was livid. I don’t think I’d ever been this angry before in my life, and especially towards my parents, but today I was. I was upset, confused, and especially furious at them.“How could you let this happen, mum?” I stopped pacing and faced my mum wit
Emma’s POVIt was him. Liam Henderson. My soon-to-be husband.He was the one on the other end of the phone call.“Hello, Liam,” I said in a sharp voice to show my distaste for the fact he just called me ‘love’. Usually, I like pet names. But him calling me ‘love’ in this instance irritated me to my core.“What do you want?” I asked. At this point, my parents had stepped out of the living room to give me some privacy to talk to him.“Is that any way to talk to your future husband, Emma?” He asked with such a deep, dominant voice that made my body tingle for a second.“Anyway,” he continued without giving me a chance to answer his question. “I want you to come to my office tomorrow. We have things to discuss concerning this marriage.”I was shocked. I was taken aback.There was no way he just spoke to me like that. Who does this man think he is?“I have things to do tomorrow. I can’t make it,” I replied sassily, making sure he was able to sense the attitude I was trying to pass across.
Liam’s POVIt’s been a few weeks since my dad mentioned that I had to get married to Emma Livingston.I was honestly fine with the idea of getting married, it’s not like it was going to stop me from doing the things I do on a regular. I just had to be more careful.What I didn’t understand was why my father thought it necessary to use this marriage as a debt collection method. It was crazy.“Dad, this marriage is unnecessary. He owes us money. He should pay,” I said to my father with my arms folded across my chest, sitting across from him in his home office.“We don’t need that money. You, on the other hand, need a wife. You’re beginning to attract a lot of public attention and it’s not positive. You know this and it needs to be fixed. I won’t allow your terrible public image to become an actual threat to this business,” he says pointedly.One thing about my father is that he’s always going to look out for the company first. It’s how he’s always been. He grew up poor and struggled to
Emma’s POVThe words sounded so venomous to me. Like they were filled with hate and spite.Is this man okay? I thought to myself, trying to comprehend why he was having such an attitude with me. We’ve never spoken before for Christ’s sake. So why on earth was he talking to me like we were fighting? Like I was a slave and he’s my master.There wasn’t anything that didn’t go through my head for the next couple of seconds as I tried to gather words to explain why I was late.Yes, I acknowledged the fact that I was late. But he should have acknowledged and appreciated the fact that I showed up.“Sit down,” he gestures towards the chair I was sitting on before for me to take a seat again.He walks past me to take a seat opposite me and watches me as I sit down. I don’t look at him, but I feel his eyes on me, watching my every move.“Hello, Liam,” I say to him, finally meeting his eyes. Of course, his gaze was already fixated on me.“Hello, Emma. You look lovely today,” he replied to me wit
Emma’s POVOne month down, one more month to go.It's a month until my arranged wedding, and I’m anything but calm.Considering Liam’s parents are doing this for the public eye, a lot has been going on concerning the preparations. According to his father, ‘nothing must go wrong’.Honestly, I’m surprised his parents are involving me in the planning at all. Considering the circumstances surrounding this wedding, I thought I was just expected to show up to the venue in my white dress and repeat ‘I do’ after the priest then move into Liam’s place.To be fair, it’s Liam’s mum that has been carrying me along in everything. She’s a sweet person and, for some reason, she treats me like her own daughter. I guess it’s because she doesn’t have a daughter of her own.Her face literally lights up when discussing the wedding plans with me, and it does make me smile, even though I’m not in the least bit excited about getting married to her son.It’s been three weeks since Liam last spoke to me. Every
Emma’s POV“I’m so sorry,” I repeated, stepping back a bit.He doesn’t look like the type to hit a lady, but I wasn’t taking any chances.He looked pissed, very pissed, and I honestly couldn’t blame him. I had just made him pour coffee all over what looked like a four-thousand-dollar suit.“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he growled at me, his eyes piercing into mine. “Are you blind?” he continued his questioning. “Weren’t you taught not to use your phone while walking?”That last question hurt a little. He was speaking to me like I was a kid, raising his voice a little higher after each word, and it made me feel so little and helpless.Yes, I was wrong to have bumped into him and drenched him in coffee, but he had no right to be speaking to me in such a manner.“I said I was sorry,” I retorted.Snapping at him was unintentional but it was needed.He seemed taken aback by my response but growled back. That’s right, he growled at me like a dog. Honestly, I found the whole situation f
Emma’s POV“Is anything the matter, dear?” Mrs. Henderson asked, looking concerned at my reaction.I quickly comported myself and told her everything was fine.“No wonder a lot of cooking was going on in the kitchen. I was beginning to think you all ate for a hundred in this household,” I said with a laugh to shift the conversation from the fact that I had to attend this dinner with Liam.“Oh don’t be silly, Emma. We’re not animals,” she replied, laughing. “Considering the plans for this dinner are last minute, do you have something to wear or would you rather my stylist got you something?” she asked, bringing us back to the conversation I was avoiding.It was a last-minute thing, but I did have something to wear, fortunately for me.“I have a dress at home I could wear, thank you,” I offered her a smile.“You’re welcome, darling. Also, feel free to invite a guest of your choice. I reached out to your parents, but they said they couldn’t make it,” she said. “Something about them not b
Liam’s POV “Shit,” I winced, stepping back a bit. “Sorry,” she paused, looking up at me with sincerity in her eyes. “It’s fine. Continue,” I muttered back. Her hands felt so soft against my skin. The warmth of her touch was sending chills up my spine, but she didn’t need to know that. She didn’t need to know the effect she was having on me, so I kept my face as straight as possible. She was short. Not too short, but the type of short I’d like my woman to be. Her head fell directly below my chin and, for some reason, all I could think of was pulling her closer to myself, so my chin could rest on the top of her head. Considering our proximity, I could practically hear her heart thumping so fast as though it was about to fall out of her chest, and the thought of the effect I was having on her made me smirk a little. She had shiny black hair that had hints of brown in it like it had been highlighted, and it smelled of a mixture of lavender and honey. Looking down at her, I could see
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
Emma’s POV“Emma,” I heard Liam’s voice call out to me from downstairs. “Are you home?” he yelled out, the sound of his keys clanging as they collided with the glass dining table. “Upstairs,” I yelled in response, hopeful that he had heard me. “Okay,” he yelled back, his footsteps loud, as he made his way up the stairs. “Hi!” he greeted me with a big grin on his face as he burst into my room. “Uhm, manners?” I asked, chuckling as I sat up from where I lay on my bed. “Huh?” he asked with an expression of confusion as he shut the door and began making his way over to me. “You didn’t knock, Liam,” I laughed. “What happened to knocking?”“Oh. That,” he laughed. “Don’t you think we’re way past that?”“We’re way past knocking on each other’s doors before stepping into the room. Really?” I asked him with an eyebrow raised. “Boy please,” I scoffed. “Fine,” he rolled his eyes dramatically as he threw himself down on the spot next to me on my bed. “I’m sorry”. “Yeah, whatever”. “I misse