Emma’s POV“You have got to be kidding me!” I yelled at the movie I was watching on the TV.“I don’t think it’s ever that serious, Emma,” Liam said, laughing, as he walked down the stairs and into the living room where I was.“Good morning,” he said, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a glass of water.“Good morning,” I responded, glancing at him briefly.It’s been about three weeks of me living in the same house as Liam Henderson, a bit over a month since he and I got married, and two weeks since I started my new job at the Williamson Fashion House.If I was to be honest, life was going surprisingly smoothly. I mean, it’s not where I expected to see myself right now, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought things would be, especially considering my current situation.Living with Liam wasn’t entirely that bad. With the way we moved around, we were more like housemates who shared the same apartment. He respected my space and I respected his. The only thing was there have been days that we
Emma’s POV“Ryan? As in Liam’s best friend, Ryan?” I asked slowly.“Yes, Liam’s best friend, Ryan,” she said laughing to break the awkwardness that was growing between us.“How? When? Why?” I asked.“Is there a problem, Emma? Is there something about him that you know and I don’t? Because I honestly don’t understand why you’re reacting this way. Don’t you like that I’m happy?” she asked, getting agitated.“You’re happy?” I probed.“Shouldn’t I be?” she asked, getting up from the chair, growing more angry.“Calm down, Samantha. I’m not trying to rain on your parade. I guess it’s just that I don’t really know anything about Ryan and I just find it weird that you’re dating my husband’s best friend and you’re just now telling me about it,” I said, standing up as well.“First of all,” she said, holding a finger up, “Ryan and I aren’t dating. We’ve been on two dates and that’s it. We’re still figuring things out. Second of all, he’s your fake husband. Liam is your fake husband,” she correct
Liam’s POV“Well?” I asked, urging her to speak. “Do you have a problem with my friends coming over?” I asked again. “I don’t have any issues with your friends coming over, Liam,” she said, grabbing a piece of bacon and munching on it. “It’s just that earlier, you mentioned it was just Ryan who was coming over. Now, you’re saying two other people are coming as well,” she said, looking between me and the bacon in her hand. “Okay, so?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “Forget about it, Liam,” she said, rolling her eyes at me in a dismissive manner then standing up. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she continued, walking over to the kitchen door. “Emma,” I called out her name, grabbing her hand, and stopping her in her tracks. “I don’t appreciate your attitude. Fix it,” I warned. “No way you just said that to me,” she replied, scoffing. “I’m serious, Emma. I expect you to respect me,” I said, letting go of her arm.“First of all, don’t ever grab me like that again, and secondly, what’s
Liam’s POV“Hey, man. Come on in,” I said, dapping up Ryan, Tim, and Louis. “Samantha, these are my friends. You already know Ryan, but that’s Tim, and that’s Louis,” I said, pointing at Tim and Louis, respectively.“Hi,” she responded, waving at them. “Hi, Ryan,” she said to Ryan, her cheeks turning visibly red. “Hey, Sammy,” Ryan responded, walking over to her and grabbing her hand in his. “Uhm, what's going on?” I asked, looking between the both of them. “Well,” Ryan started, scratching the back of his head. “Sammy and I have kind of been seeing each other since the day of the wedding,” he continued, looking guilty. I was taken aback. “You’re kidding right?” I asked. “How? I didn’t even see you guys talking that day”. “We spoke later in the evening, man. I told you. Don't you remember? When you and Emma took that walk in the garden or wherever it was that you both wandered off to. I was looking for you, so I asked her if she knew where you guys were and she told me, then we
Emma’s POV“Why’s it so bright already,” I groaned as I struggled to get out of bed. I checked the time and saw it was 11:03 am. I got in at past midnight, so seeing the time made me realize this was the longest I’d slept in a while. It’s been three weeks since the day Sammy and Liam’s friends were over at the apartment, meaning it’s been three weeks since Liam and I last spoke to each other. It’s honestly been so funny and crazy. We haven’t had a reason to be out publicly together in that time, so we’ve been able to take that time off from our pretense. Considering there’s been no reason to make any public appearances with Liam, I’ve been working later hours at the Fashion House because of the upcoming fashion show the company is hosting in three weeks, but I know within myself that the real reason I’ve been working late is so I can easily avoid Liam without having to make it seem like I’m purposely doing it. He hurt me, but I don’t need him knowing that he hurt me. It makes me lo
Emma’s POV“We need to talk about us. This thing we’re doing. I realized we haven’t sat down together to have an actual conversation to talk about the best way to go about this whole marriage thing so it works out for us until it’s over,” he started. I nodded, turned my body to face his, and took another sip of my coffee. “First off, I want to apologize for what happened that day when Ryan and the guys came over. I get now why you were upset and I’m sorry about it. Literally, everyone that day kept repeating the same thing to me, even though I didn’t want to hear it, but they were all right and I’m accepting that now. We live together now and I understand that we’re going to have our differences on some things, so I’m willing to compromise if you are,” he continued. I wasn’t sure if he was done talking so I just nodded again and kept looking at him. “Aside from this discussion of what we can do in the house to make it conducive for both of us, I feel we should also talk about what
Emma’s POV“So what’s up with you and Liam?” Sammy asked as we lay on my bed together. It was my day off and a few days till the fashion show, so Sammy had come over to keep me company while I worked on some last-minute designs. “We’re good actually,” I said, looking up from what I was sketching out. “Since the day we spoke about everything, everything’s been going smoothly with us. We’re able to have proper conversations here and there and living together isn’t as annoying or uncomfortable anymore”. “That’s good,” she said, clapping her hands together excitedly. “On that positive note, I’m happy to announce that Ryan and I are thinking of going on a trip next weekend and we would love it if you and Liam came along. It'll be like a group trip or whatever. I’d have my best friend with me and Ryan would have his. What do you think?” she asked. “Oh,” I said, putting down my sketch pad. “You guys have been together for what, two months tops, and you’re thinking of going on a trip toget
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
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