Emma’s POV“Hey, are you ready?” Liam asked from behind my bedroom door. “Ryan just called and said he and Sammy got stuck in some traffic, but they’re almost at the airport, so they advised we leave now to avoid missing the flight”.“Okay. I’m almost ready. I’ll be out in five minutes!” I yelled back.“Alright, I’ll be downstairs. Do you want some coffee for the road?”“Yes, please,” I responded.“Okay,” he said, then the next thing I heard was the retracting sound of his footsteps.It was almost 6 a.m., so I knew we needed to leave the house immediately if we wanted to beat any traffic because without traffic, our apartment is about an hour and thirty minutes from the airport, but it’s definitely going to be more than that with traffic, and we needed to get to the airport by 8:30 a.m. latest.I used the next five minutes to organize the last of my things, then dragged my suitcase out of my room when I was done. I got to the top of the stairs and realized there was no way I was going
Emma’s POV“Guys, can I come in?” I asked as I knocked on Sammy and Ryan’s room door.“Hold on a second,” Ryan responded, then came over to open the door and let me in. “Hey, what’s up?” he asked.“Not much,” I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m just bored”.“Where’s Liam?” Ryan asked.“I don’t know. Probably in his room or something,” I answered as I made my way over to their bed where Sammy was lying down. “Hi,” I purred as I got under the covers and tried to force my way into her arms.“Hi,” she laughed, then wrapped her arms around me. “How are you?”“Full,” I responded. “I just finished snacking on some Doritos and Cheetos.“Girl, if you were hungry why didn’t you just say so, so we could get something to eat?” she asked, looking down at me.“I wasn’t hungry,” I responded.“Of course, you weren’t,” she rolled her eyes.“Anyway, what’s the plan for today? I’ve rested, and now I’m ready to be active,” I said, looking between her and Ryan.“If you had looked through the itinerary I sent yo
Emma’s POV“Can I borrow some sunscreen?” Sammy asked as we pulled out our beach towels to lay down on the sand. “I forgot mine back at the hotel”. “Sure thing,” I responded, then pulled out the sunscreen from my bag and handed it to her. “Thank you”. “You’re welcome,” I replied. She applied the sunscreen, then I applied it after her, and then we laid down next to each other while Ryan laid down next to her. “Why was it that Liam said he wasn’t going to be able to join us?” she asked as she looked over to me. “He’s working,” I responded as I pulled out my novel from my bag. “Really? You’re going to read right now?” she asked, eyeing me. “Why not?” I shrugged my shoulders. “Anyway, why’s Liam working today? Isn’t today Saturday or do I have my days mixed up?” she asked. “Oh no, it’s Saturday alright. He said something about the caliber of people he works with, that he has to make himself available for meetings based on their schedules, and blah blah. I wasn’t really intereste
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
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