Liam’s POV“Hey, man. Are you home?” I asked Ryan as soon as he picked up the call.“Liam? What’s going on?” he asked.“Are you home? I’m about ten minutes away from your place, but I want to know if I should keep heading over or just reroute myself right now. So, are you home?”“Yeah, I’m home,” he sighed.“Samantha isn’t there, right?” I inquired.“Nah. I dropped her off about an hour ago,” he replied.“Alright, cool. I’ll see you soon,” I said, then hung up the call.Since Anna decided to kick me out, and I wasn’t ready to be in the same space as Emma, I decided to head over to Ryan’s place and spend the night there.I arrived in less than ten minutes, parked my car, and went up to his front door.“Liam, if you break my door I swear I’ll break you,” Ryan threatened from behind the door as I repeatedly pounded on it.“You’re the one who was taking so long to answer,” I replied as he opened the door with a look of annoyance plastered on his face. “Fix your face,” I said as I pushed h
Liam’s POV“What do you mean ‘what trip’?” Ryan asked, turning to face me. “Emma didn’t tell you?”“If she had told me, I wouldn’t be asking you about it, now would I?” I responded, rolling my eyes at the silliness of his question.“Whatever, man,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes as well. “Anyway, Sammy has been really stressed out at work recently, so I opted to take her to Bora Bora for a week, and we plan to leave this Saturday. She asked if we could make it a group thing with you and Emma and I didn’t mind, so she told Emma, then she told me that Emma said she was going to tell you and see if you were up for it”.I sat in silence, baffled.Why wouldn’t Emma tell me about this?Did she not want me there or something?“She really didn’t mention it? That’s crazy. I mean I wanted to be the one to let you in on it, but Sammy said Emma was going to handle it. That’s why I didn’t bother”.“I don’t get why she wouldn’t tell me,” I said, placing the controller on the coffee table in front of
Emma’s POVHe let out a sigh of exasperation and rolled his eyes at me.“Now look who’s rolling their eyes at whom,” I said, pointing a finger at him.“Whatever, Emma,” he said, putting his hands on his face and then running them through his silky, beautiful hair.One thing I admire about Liam is how his hair always manages to look so good. I mean, he could literally wake up from a rough sleep and his hair would still look as good as it did at the start of the day. He could go a whole day with the hair, and it wouldn’t frizz or anything. It just always looks perfect for some reason.“I’m not with Anna right now because she kicked me out of her place. There. I said it. Are you happy now?” he asked, shifting his gaze from my face.It was almost as though he was ashamed of what he had just said.“Why though? Why did she kick you out?”Honestly, I was genuinely curious. I mean, earlier tonight she couldn’t stop cheesing when she was talking to him, and now he’s telling me she kicked him o
Emma’s POV“Alright, look, I get where you’re coming from, but honestly, I want to go, and I want to go with you. We may not be together, but I still really like you as a person and God knows I need a vacation even though I’d still be working half the time. Point is, I just need a change of scenery, so I want us to go,” he responded, then smiled at me. “Can we go?” he asked, his eyes filled with hope that I’d say yes, and of course I did. “Yes we can,” I responded, chuckling lightly. “Don’t you have that murder case though, the one you said involves a public figure or so to work on?” I asked. “Yeah, for sure, but his trial isn’t due for the next few weeks, so I’m good. Besides, I could have my assistant put me through any calls I would need to take then I’d take them from over there”. He responded. “Alright then,” I nodded. “And Anna?” I asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. I know it seems as though I am trying to bring up her name all the time, but that’s honestly far fr
Emma’s POV“Emma, we have to go!” Liam yelled from the bottom of the stairs.“I’m coming!” I yelled back in response from my bedroom.After Liam left my room for me to finish up packing, I did most of my packing, then got distracted and eventually slept off.Big mistake, of course, because I still had so much left to do. I woke up by past 4 and started rushing all the packing. At this point, I’m pretty sure I didn’t pack the second pair of one of my shoes, but I didn’t have time to check for that.I believed I would have woken up by 3 because I knew I set an alarm, but that didn’t work, so this is my life now.“Emma!” he yelled again.“My God. Is this how angsty you get when you take trips? Jesus Christ!” I exclaimed as I walked out of my room, pushing my suitcase in front of me.“I’m not angsty,” he huffed. “You’re just slow,” he rolled his eyes.“Screw you, Liam”.“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Do you need help?” he asked, walking up the stairs to meet me.“Does it not look like I do?” I as
Emma’s POV“Wake up, sleepy head,” I heard Liam whisper into my ear.“Go away. I’m not done sleeping yet,” I whined.I opened my eyes to see him crouched down by my head. His eyes and mine instantly locked the moment I opened them, so I was staring into his beautiful orbs.“I can see that,” he laughed. “But you have to get up, Emma. We’re about to descend, so you need to sit up and buckle up. Thank you”.I turned my face the other way so I wouldn’t get lost in his eyes, then hugged a breath of annoyance.“How many minutes till we descend?” I asked.“About two hours,” he said, standing up and walking over to his seat.“So why the hell did you wake me up now?” I shrieked, turning my head back to face him.“I was bored,” he answered, staring down at me.I honestly hate this man so much sometimes. I grumbled and tossed around the blanket that was on my body, then eventually sat upright. I cleared my eyes and noticed that Sammy and Ryan weren’t anywhere to be found.“They’re in the bedroo
Emma’s POV“Don’t you think it’s time you went and woke Ryan and Sammy up?” I asked as I looked at the time on my phone.“Yeah you’re right,” he said, standing up. “By the way, you look as red as a tomato right now,” he laughed, then went to knock on the bedroom door.I couldn’t blame him for that last statement to be honest, because my face was still red from laughter because of one of the stories of his childhood that he had just shared. It was one where he had begged his parents to go to a fair when he was about eight years old. He was so excited when he got there that he started eating all things sugar and eventually had a sugar rush. He later got on a Ferris wheel while still high from the sugar rush and attempted to jump off the wheel because he thought he was Superman. Of course, he couldn’t fly, so when he attempted to, his nanny at that time held him back, which caused his pants to go low, exposing his bum to everyone on the wheel and those on the ground as well.“Hey hey hey
Emma’s POV“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said under my breath as I followed into the room.As if it wasn’t bad enough that Liam and I had to share a room, we had to share a bed as well.“This day really can’t get any better,” I said, sarcastically.“No need to worry,” Liam said as he put his boxes down. “You can have the bed, and I’ll take the floor or that couch over there,” he said, jerking his head toward the couch by the big window.“You’re kidding, right?” I scoffed as I put my bags down as well. “There’s no way I’m going to let you sleep on the floor, Liam. Plus, it’s clear that you’re like two times the length of that couch, so I’m not going to let you sleep there either. Not for the next seven nights. I’m not a monster, you know,” I stated.Honestly, I was a bit offended by the fact that he’d suggested such a thing. Did he really expect me to agree to that?Wow.“It’s fine, Emma,” he let out a small laugh. “I’ll manage”.“There’s no need for that, Liam. Besides, this bed is
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