Liam’s POV“Candace,” I called out, signaling for my secretary to come into my office. “I’m not feeling too good so I’m just going to cut the day short,” I said to her as she stepped into the office. “Sorry about that, sir. Is there anything you want me to do? Should I call a doctor?” she asked. “No. It’s not that serious, don’t worry about it. It’s probably just stress, so I’m just going to head home and continue work from there,” I continued, walking over to my office door. “You’re supposed to have meetings with three of your clients today. Should I reschedule or just cancel?” she asked, following behind me. “Reschedule them for tomorrow. If I’m not able to meet up with them tomorrow, I’ll let you know then you can cancel till whenever,” I replied, stepping onto the elevator.“Alright, sir. I hope you get better soon. Goodbye,” she waved just before the elevator doors shut. Soon as I stepped off the elevator I got into my car and headed home. I was burning up and I knew I sho
Liam’s POV “So, what got you all worked up in the first place though? Work?” she inquired. “Yup. There's this murder case I'm working on right now. It’s for a high-profile client of mine so I’m trying to be at the top of my game, but it's honestly taking a toll on me. His trial is in two months and I can't wait for it to be done with,” I said. “Did he do it?” she asked, looking up at me, hopeful I'd say yes or no. “You know I can't tell you that, Emma,” I replied her, laughing. “But why?” she whined. “Because it’s a breach of my client’s confidentiality, plus it’s none of your damn business,” I said, still laughing. “Whatever,” she rolled her eyes, standing up and walking around the room. “So this is your room, huh? I’ve always wondered what it looked like in here and, honestly, this isn’t how I envisioned it at all. I expected it to be bland like downstairs but I see you took out your time to decorate up here,” she said, walking over to my collection of signed baseballs. “I me
Emma’s POVI couldn’t believe what I was hearing.What the fuck did Liam mean by Mr. Williamson is Anna’s uncle.I can’t believe I hate her this much. With just one encounter, she got me to drum up so much hate towards her, and it’s honestly so crazy.“How’s that even possible? What the hell!” I said, throwing my hands up, showing my frustration and anger. “This isn’t fair!”“Calm down, Emma. At the end of the day, if you get to know Anna, she’s not that bad a person,” Liam said, trying to convince me that that witch called Anna is an actual human being.“You’re joking, right? You’ve got to be,” I responded, laughing dryly. “Do you not remember the way she treated me that day? The way she embarrassed me? Do you not realize how humiliating that was for me?” I badgered. “And for the fact you practically took her side? Ha,” I scoffed.“I did not take her side, Emma. Don’t say that,” he said, sharply. “Don’t act like I didn’t get us out of that house immediately after she did that to you.
Emma’s POVIt’s finally the day of the fashion show and I couldn’t be more excited and relieved.I mean, it’s been all that I’ve been looking forward to and had my mind on for the past couple of weeks. Of course, something, or should I say someone else, had also been occupying space in my head for the past few days.Liam. After he told me that he and Anna were together a few days ago, it’s been practically eating me alive.I mean, why her? Why Anna? Couldn’t he have just found someone else? Of all the girls out there, she was the one he chose.Those are just a few of the questions that have been roaming through my mind since that day, and it’s low-key been driving me crazy. The fact I don’t necessarily even have the headspace to think about this, but it’s still there at the top of my mind.My goodness.Since that day, I’ve been ignoring Liam. Not on purpose, but things between us have just been so awkward. He tried to make conversation with me and all, but it’s clear he’s trying to i
Emma’s POV“Emma, you and I both know you’re not fine, so I see no reason why you’re lying to me right now,” Sammy stated with an eye roll.“What do you want me to say, Sammy?” I asked, exasperatedly.“I want you to be honest. You’re going through something right now, and I need you to be honest with me about how you feel. It’s the only way you’re going to be able to get through this, and it’s the only way that I can help you get through it. So please, be honest with me,” she said.“Fine. I feel sad, I feel unwanted, I feel undesired, and I feel stupid. Are you happy now?” I said with a broken voice while wiping away a tear that managed to escape.“Oh my poor girl,” she pulled me in for a hug, placing a kiss on the top of my head. “Don’t cry, please. He’s not worth it,” she attempted to comfort me but it wasn’t working.“I hate how this whole thing makes me feel. I hate that I started having feelings for him at all. I mean this is someone I absolutely despised in the beginning and now
Emma’s POVBe calm, Emma. I repeated this to myself in my head about three times as I tried to maintain my composure with Liam being this close to me right now.“Hey, babe,” I said, plastering on a fake smile as he spun me around to face him.“How are you?”With the way he was looking at me, it was as though his eyes were boring holes into my soul.“I’m good,” I said, my smile faltering.“I know I’m the last person you want to be holding you like this right now, but we need to, you get that right?” he said, bending down to whisper into my ears, so only I could hear what he was saying.“I know,” I whispered back, then let go of him. “I missed you,” I said, audible enough for others to hear this time.“I missed you too,” he smiled, then dipped his head down and gave me a small kiss that lingered on my lips for a few seconds.God, his lips are so soft.I would honestly kiss them all day if I could.“Hey mum,” Liam said, letting go of me and hugging his mother, finally acknowledging her
Emma’s POV “Hey, Anna,” he greeted her as she walked up to where we stood. “Hi, Liam,” she responded, smiling at him. It was honestly so funny how she completely ignored my presence. She just continued speaking to him like I wasn’t standing right there. “Hi, Anna,” I decided to speak up, interrupting their conversation. She ignored me. Liam didn’t say anything about her ignoring me either. “Hi, Anna,” I spoke up again, my voice louder this time. “Hello, Emma,” she looked at me in such a vile manner. The smile she held while talking to Liam dropped instantly as she rolled her eyes. God, she acts like such a witch. “Nice turnout tonight. I hope your designs are worth my evening,” she said with her lips drawn up into a tight smile. “Am I supposed to thank you for that statement?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest. “I don’t need your thanks,” she scoffed and faced Liam again. “So are we still on for tonight?” she asked him, her smile reappearing again. “Yes,
Liam’s POV“Thank you,” Emma responded, moving her eyes away from my gaze.“Listen, I’m sorry about earlier. I am. I was just frustrated, and I took it out on you. That was wrong and I apologize”.She scoffed, then apologized and let out a little laugh.“You’re kidding, right?” she asked, looking me in the eyes again. “The way you spoke to me was so uncalled-for, and now you’re telling me it was because you were frustrated?” she said, sharply.“Emma,” I started, but she put her hand up to stop me from talking, so I put my head down, unable to hold my gaze on her any longer because of how bad I felt.“Honestly, Liam, I thought we were past all that. I thought the relationship we’ve had with each other these last few months has meant something to you but clearly not, especially since you were able to talk to me like that and because of someone who you know doesn’t like me for shit”.I pinched the bridge of my nose and shut my eyes, trying to compose myself.I get that I was wrong to spe
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