Emma’s POV“Anna?” Liam paused and asked the lady who had called out his name from behind us. “What are you doing here?” he probed.“Won’t I get a hug first at least?” she asked sultrily.“Uhm, right,” Liam responded, letting go of my hand and wrapping his arms around her.With the kind of tension that was in the air, it was clear that Liam and Anna had something in the past.Undeniably, she was a very pretty woman. She had long, slim legs, similar to those of a model, and her very long hair, which was a beautiful color mix of light brown and ginger, was done into a neat low ponytail that went so well with her fair silky skin. She was practically perfect.“It’s been what, three years?” she asked Liam as they released each other from their minute-long hug. “I’ve missed you, Liam,” she continued, looking into his eyes and not letting go of his hands.“Can't say the same,” he responded with a tight-lipped smile.I could tell that he was uncomfortable, but he was trying his best not to sh
Emma’s POV “Oh my God, I am so sorry, Anna. I honestly didn’t see you there,” I said, grabbing paper towels to try and dry her out. “Do not touch me,” she warned, swatting my hand away. “Are you blind, or are you just dense?” she asked. “Calm down, Anna, please,” I pleaded. “It was a mistake,” I continued. “God, I wonder what Liam sees in you,” she said with her voice raised. “What’s going on here?” Liam asked as he approached us. Luckily, there weren’t a lot of people around where we were, so not too many people were looking at us. “Why don’t you ask this fiancée of yours,” she said to Liam, glaring at me. “Look at what she did to me,” she said, gesturing towards her drenched outfit. “Do you know how much this dress cost? My goodness!” she exclaimed. “Calm down, Anna, you’re causing a scene,” Liam said, standing between us. “I’m sure it was a mistake, right Emma?” he said. “Of course, it was a mistake,” I said, rolling my eyes. “What? You think I’d just bump into her
Emma’s POV“Here we go,” Liam said exasperatedly as he plastered a fake smile on his face. “Just smile. I’ll do all the talking,” he whispered in my ear.“Okay,” I said, nodding my head and looking up at him thankfully.Truth is, I’ve always been a very shy person, especially when all attention is on me at once. If I had to speak right now, I had no idea what I would say. Aside from that, Liam and I never really talked about our ‘origin story’. I know he wouldn’t just want people to think we got engaged out of the blue, he’d want us to have a background story as to how we got engaged and we hadn’t sat down to discuss what that story would be yet, so I was quite thankful he was willing to speak for both of us.“Thank you, mother, for that wonderful introduction,” Liam began with a hint of sarcasm, looking toward his parents. “We appreciate it,” he said, grabbing my hand and intertwining our fingers together then planting a kiss on the back of my palm.“To you all, thank you for acknowl
Emma’s POV“6:30 am,” I read the time on my alarm clock.It was two weeks to the wedding and I was still feeling very indifferent about everything.I took a bath and got myself a cup of coffee before picking up my phone to check my messages. I saw that I had gotten one from Samantha and I was very ready to ignore it until I say the preview of the text and I had to respond.Samantha: ‘Hey, Emma. I’m so so sorry I wasn’t able to make it to the dinner on Friday. I really wanted to but work got the best of me and I just couldn’t make it. I know you’ll probably not want to answer my text right now, but let me just tell you that the reason I haven’t been able to talk to you all weekend is because my mum was in the hospital. I tried calling you last night and I’m pretty sure you were ignoring me and I don’t blame you. I love you, Emma. Please call me back’I called her immediately I saw the oft about her mum and instantly stared bombarding her with questions about her mum.“She’s okay, Emma,
Liam’s POV“What day is it today?” I asked my secretary, trying to confirm today’s date. “It’s Tuesday the 19th, sir,” she responded. “Okay, thank you,” I said, dismissing her. “Shit,” I muttered to myself, putting down what I was reading. It had just dawned on me that it was a few days to D-day and I was not ready. It was four days to be exact. Four days till I get married, for the next three years at least. I do not want to get married. Emma may be a sweet girl, but deep down, she and I, as well as everyone else in my life, know that I’m not ready for this type of commitment. I’m Liam Henderson. I don’t do this type of thing.Everyone has always known me as a playboy who doesn’t stay with one person for a long time. It’s so bad that what I had with Anna was the longest situationship I’ve had with anyone. That was because I for some reason liked her, even though I realize my stupidity now. “Hey dude,” Ryan said, walking into my office, pulling me out of my thought bubble. “Wha
Liam’s POVIn about twenty minutes, we got to the tailor’s shop. “Are you fine with this, Mr. Henderson,” my tailor, Clarke, asked. “I’m not sure. What do you think, Ryan?” I asked, looking back to face Ryan.“I like it,” he said, taking a sip of the champagne in his hand. “The color fits your skin tone for sure,” “Are you sure?” I asked. “That’s the other option I was thinking of going with over there,” I said, pointing toward the burgundy-colored suit hanging on the rack behind him. “Hell no,” he laughed. “That’s an ugly ass color, dude. What’s wrong with you?” he asked, still laughing. “Alright, alright. I get it,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “Okay, Clarke. This is the one,” I said, turning back to face Clarke. “Alright then, Mr. Henderson,” he responded. “You can take it off now while I do the finishing touches,” he continued. I nodded then went back to the dressing room to take off the suit and give it back to Clarke. “Alright, Clarke, thanks for everything,” I said as E
Emma’s POV “Saturday, 11th March,” I said to myself repeatedly as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. “Emma? Are you okay?” Sammy asked as she walked back into my dressing room. “I get married today, Sammy,” I responded, breaking out of my cycle. “I get married today,” I said again, my voice trailing off. I felt dizzy, so I went over to the couch to sit down. She came up to me and engulfed me in a hug. “I know this wasn’t what we planned, but everything’s going to be okay. I promise,” she said, rubbing smooth circles on my back in an attempt to calm me down. “Please don’t cry,” she beckoned as she released me from the hug, noticing tears starting to form at the corners of my eyes. You’re looking way too beautiful to cry, Emma. Please don’t cry,” she pleaded, pulling me back in for another hug. My hair and makeup were done so I understood why she didn’t want me to cry, but it was hard. Very hard. A few tears dropped, but not enough that it ruined my makeup. She releas
Emma’s POVThe setup was beautiful. I was in genuine awe of how everything turned out and how the event planners were able to put all these things together. The guests looked ravishing and the decorations made it seem as though I was getting married into royalty. To be fair, with how rich the Hendersons are, I most likely am. The ceremony was taking place at the back of the Henderson residence and initially, I was concerned that it wouldn’t look nice but I was so wrong. I had finally put on my dress and left the dressing room. Now, I was standing at the beginning of the aisle, my dad standing beside me, his left hand intertwined with my right hand at our elbows. All the guests stood up as they saw me and the pianist began playing the opening music. All of a sudden I was feeling very nervous and I just wanted to drop the bouquet in my hands and take to my heels, but I knew couldn’t do that. I had committed myself to this and I had to see it through, for the sake of myself and my p
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