Emma’s POV“My God, I’m so exhausted,” I cried out as I threw myself onto the couch. “You can’t be as exhausted as I am,” Liam responded, plopping down on the couch opposite me. “You’re kidding, right?” I scoffed, propping up my body with my shoulders, so I could have a good look at him. “I mean, I did greet a lot of people,” he shrugged his shoulders and then burst out laughing. “Don’t mind me, I’m just kidding”. “You think you’re such a comedian sometimes, don’t you?” I shook my head, then rested my head again. “I try,” he laughed. “On a serious note though, thank you for tonight. For all the effort you put towards making sure everything went according to plan. I really appreciate it for real. I mean you were on your feet for most of the being and you didn’t complain once, just went along with everything. You truly are an amazing person, Emma, and I appreciate you,” he said. His tone seemed so soft and genuine, like he was in actual awe of me. It made me melt. “Thank you,”
Emma’s POV“Are you aware that Liam’s birthday is in a week?” Samatha asked, looking up from what she was cooking. “Huh?” I couldn’t hear her over the sound of the blender crushing the ice I had just put in it. Sammy and I were currently at her place having a girls’ night in. She was cooking stir-fried spaghetti while I was making some mojitos to go with. She nudged her head toward the blender, signaling for me to turn it off, so I could hear her clearly, so I did. “What did you say?” I asked. “I said, are you aware that Liam’s birthday is in a week?” she repeated. “What? How the hell do you know that, and I don’t?” I asked, perplexed. “Ryan told me,” she shrugged her shoulders casually and continued stirring the food in the pan. “How are you being so casual about this?” I asked, pouring out the ice into the glass cups. “How do you expect me to say it, Emma?” she laughed. “He’s not my man, so I’m not bothered by anything, and he’s not exactly yours either, so don’t let it b
Emma’s POV“Hey,” I greeted Liam as I walked into the apartment. He was seated on the couch with his laptop on his lap, so I assumed he was working. He didn’t answer me but put up a finger to stop me from saying anything further. “Thank you so much, sir. I’ll revert to you on that to let you know what my people have to say on the matter. Thank you so much for your time, goodbye,” he smiled as he spoke to whoever he was on a Zoom call with.“Sorry about that,” he apologized as he shut his laptop. “That meeting was literally going on forever”. “That’s fine. It’s just 2 o’clock though, so what time would that meeting have started?” I asked, putting my stuff down on the couch next to him. “Around 9:30 I think,” he responded. “A.m.?” I asked, surprised. “Yes, Emma. 9:30 a.m.,” he laughed. “Wow. That’s crazy. So are you heading to the office today?” “Nope,” he answered, leaning into the chair. “I’m taking a break today. I actually wasn’t even supposed to be on this call this morning
Emma’s POV“I’m so sorry, Liam. I didn’t mean to put you in this mood,” I apologized.He sniffled, then let go of my hands and turned off the stove.“It’s fine,” he wiped his face, dismissing the conversation. “Let’s move on from this,” he said with a forced smile on his lips.I definitely wasn’t going to let go of it, but I decided to drop the matter for now.“Of course,” I nodded, then collected the plate of food he had dished out for me. “I’m going to head upstairs with this, so I’ll be in my room if you need me,” I said, then took my phone and charger from the couch and headed upstairs.In about fifteen minutes, I was done eating, then decided to take a bath. I wasn’t up to ten minutes into my bath when I heard Liam shouting my name from outside my bedroom door.“What is it, Liam? I’m in the bathroom!” I yelled back in response.“Okay. When you’re done, I want us to talk about something. I’ll be downstairs waiting for you!”“Sure!” I responded.What now? That’s what I thought as
Liam’s POVOver the next few days, Emma and I didn’t talk much. Not about my birthday or anything in general. I was honestly pissed off from the last conversation she and I had, so I didn’t have much to say to her. Plus, I’d spent the last two nights over at Anna’s place so I could get some space from the apartment and Emma.Now, unfortunately for me, the day I had been dreading all week had finally come. My birthday. The day I turn thirty-one. The day that marks two years since my grandfather and I celebrated my birthday together.Fuck. It’s crazy how it’s been two years now, and I can’t just seem to let go.In my defense, that man was more of a father to me than my own father ever was. He’s my mother’s father and, judging from the stories my mother and her siblings would tell me about their childhood, it was no wonder the man treated me the way he did. Can’t say the same for my father’s father though. That man was much more rigid than my father was and is. I barely spoke to him up
Liam’s POVIt was currently 7:45 p.m., meaning that in a few short hours, I’d have successfully spent my birthday the way I wanted to, alone.Emma wasn’t home yet, but I wasn’t too bothered by that because she had called a couple of hours earlier to check in on me and let me know she’d be home later. It was honestly quite cute how worried she was about me. When she called, she kept asking if I needed anything or if I wanted her to come home early, and it made me realize how far she was willing to go for the people she cared about.It’s just so crazy considering I’ve been absolute shit to her.As I sat down in front of the television contemplating what to eat for dinner, I got a call from Ryan.“Hey, man. What’s up?” I asked him as soon as I put the phone to my ear.“Birthday boy. You home?” he asked.“Yeah, I am. Why?”He didn’t say anything in response and cut the call, just at the same time he heard a loud knock on the front door.Fucking hell. “Who is it?” I grumbled, standing up
Emma’s POV“I’m here, guys,” I said in a sing-song voice as I descended the last flight of stairs.“Finally,” Ryan said, rushing to bring the boxes of pizza into the living room. “I’m starving,” he complained, rubbing his stomach as he set down the packs on the center table.“When are you never hungry?” Liam asked him, rolling his eyes.“Shut up, dude,” Ryan snapped back at him.“Sorry, babe, but I’m actually with Liam on this one. We ate about an hour before heading over here. What’s going on with you?” Samantha chirped in.“I burn my food easily. You know this,” Ryan sulked.Throughout their back and forth, I just remained quiet and watched the three of them speak in fascination. They really are a weird bunch of people.“Did you touch the ice cream that was in the freezer?” I asked Liam as I walked over to the refrigerator.“There was ice cream in there and I didn’t know?” he looked offended.“I don’t understand. Did you buy any ice cream? Why the hell are you looking hurt?”“Oh. Th
Emma’s POV“Good morning,” I greeted Liam as his eyelids fluttered open.“Morning,” he smiled at me as he cleared his eyes. “Sleep well?” he asked.“Mhm,” I responded, softly. “I slept very well,” I said, playing with his fingers.“Of course you did,” he let out a small laugh. “After last night I’m pretty sure you slept like a baby”.“Stop it,” I swatted his arm playfully and buried my head in his chest, soaking all the warmth that was emitting from his body.After Liam kissed me last night, one thing led to the other and I, of course, found myself lying naked in his bed, watching him shuffle around his room looking for a condom until he eventually found one. We made love to each other repeatedly until I eventually lost count of how many rounds we went. We did it on the bed, in the bathtub, in his walk-in closet, on his desk, you name it.It was too good.I knew very well that what was happening at that moment shouldn’t be happening, but I didn’t care much at that time. I wanted Liam
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