Liam’s POV“It’s been six months since you and Emma got married, so I have decided that for you both to celebrate, you’re going host your first charity dinner,” my father said, finally looking up from his laptop and acknowledging my presence. I had been sitting across from him from his desk at his home office for over twenty minutes and these were the first words he spoke to me since I got there. “What? Why?” I asked, sitting up. “Because I said so,” he stated, his face devoid of any form of emotion. Because I said so. My God, he can be so childish sometimes. “Is there a problem?” he asked, closing his laptop and folding his arms on the desk. “If I’m correct, you come from a respected family in society. That aside, I recall you telling me that you had told Emma that part of the conditions of the marriage was that you both would be hosting parties and dinners and the like. So, I ask again. Is there a problem?”“No,” I grumbled. “Fix your attitude,” he warned. “Sorry,” I said, st
Liam’s POV“Hey, good morning,” I greeted Emma as I hurried down the stairs. “Morning,” she said back from the living room. She was all dressed up, so I assumed she was heading into the office today, but I had to ask to confirm. “You’re going to work today?” I asked as I passed by her and went toward the dining table. “Yeah. My break is over, sadly. If I’m being honest, I didn’t quite expect to be happy that it’s over. I guess I’ve just been cooped up in here for too long, so it feels good to know I have somewhere to go to every day again,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief. I don’t blame her. With the way I’ve been acting, I’m sure she’s overjoyed that she doesn’t have to run into me as often anymore. “Okay, that’s good for you, I guess. Well, I’ve got to head out now,” I replied, grabbing an apple and walking toward the front door. “That’s right. The trial begins today,” she looked at me. “Yeah, and I can’t be late,” I told her as I opened the door. “Right. Of course. G
Liam’s POV“Hey,” I greeted Emma as she walked up to meet me at the door of the restaurant. Serendipitously, she and I arrived at the restaurant at practically the same time. She had come in when I had already handed my key to the valet and was about to walk through the doors into the restaurant. “Hi, Liam” she greeted me back. “Are those for me?” she asked with a look of confusion plastered on her face as she pointed at the bouquet of pink roses in my right hand. “Yes they are,” I smiled as I handed them to her. “Thank you,” she said, the look of confusion still plastered on her face, as she took them out of my hand. “They’re lovely,” she mentioned as she brought them up to her nose to smell. “You’re welcome. They’re your favorite, right?” I asked as I opened the door of the restaurant to let her walk in first. “Yes they are,” she looked up at me. “How’d you know?” “Don’t worry about that,” I said, grabbing her hand in mine as we both walked up to get cleared for our reservati
Emma’s POV“Good morning, Maria,” I greeted Liam’s mum as I hugged her. “Good morning, dear,” she greeted me back. “Come in, come in,” she ushered me into the house. “Thank you,” I said as we stepped into the foyer. “How are you?” she asked as she led me into the dining room. “It’s been a while since we last spoke”. “Yes, it has,” I breathed as we sat down at the dining table. “I’m fine, thank you for asking. How are you?” I asked as u managed to muster up a small smile. “I’m great,” she answered, looking at me skeptically as though she couldn’t decide whether to believe my lie of being fine or not. To be fair, I’m far from fine, but I’ve been trying my best to hide it from everyone, including my own best friend. I just don’t want people always asking me how I am and having to lie to them, so I’d rather just put on the best possible fake ‘I’m fine’ face I can pull together, so people won’t ask me the question as much. Right now, my face was practically working overtime with Mari
Emma’s POV“Hey, before you go, I wanted to ask, would Anna be at the party on Saturday?” I asked Liam as he walked down the stairs.“First of all, good morning to you too,” he said, snarkily.“Good morning, Liam,” I rolled my eyes. “Is Anna going to be there or not? I’m not bothered, I just need to know because your mum and I are finalizing the guest list tonight”.“In that case, she’s not going to be there,” he replied.I know I told him I wasn’t bothered, but that was obviously a lie. I would’ve for sure been bothered if she was going to be there, but he didn’t need to know that. I didn’t realize my chest was heavy when I asked him that question because his telling me that she wasn’t going to be there made my chest come back down so quickly. The relief was crazy.“Alright,” I said, then typed something down on my laptop that was open on my lap.“Today’s Wednesday, aren’t you supposed to be at work?” he asked, looking confused, then his expression switched to one of worry. “Are you
Emma’s POV“Liam,” I called out his name as I knocked softly on his bedroom door. “Is everything alright?” U asked.No response.“Liam,” I called out again.Still no response.“Leave me alone, Emma,” he grumbles. “I want to be left alone”.I know I shouldn’t be bothered. I know I should have left him alone. I know he doesn’t deserve my worry or compassion, but shit, I just don’t know how not to be bothered by things like that. I don’t know how not to worry about people I care about until I know they’re alright, regardless of whether that person has treated me right or not.God, I hate this quality of myself so much sometimes.Ignoring his words, I slowly opened the door and slipped in quietly.“Hey,” I said, softly.He was sitting down on his bed. He had his elbows resting on his lap and his head buried in his hands. He let out a heavy sigh and sniffled, almost as though he were crying.“Liam, are you alright?” I asked, still standing by the door. “What happened?”After a few minutes
Emma’s POV“Oh, Liam,” I moaned into his mouth.What the hell are you doing, Emma? That’s the question I kept asking myself, but the problem was- I wasn’t pulling away from this kiss.“Fuck, Emma, you taste so good,” Liam moaned into my mouth.Our lips kept moving in sync for a few more minutes before his hands began roaming around my body. He started by sliding his left hand up my bare back and continued doing that for a few seconds, causing me to release more moans into his mouth. I wasn’t wearing a bra, so the warmth of his hand on my back felt all the better.After caressing my back for a while, he moved his hand to my front side and stopped just below my left breast.“Is this fine?” he whispered in between kisses.“Yes,” I replied, softly.Immediately after I said that, he cupped my breast and started massaging it gently. There were moments he’d squeeze it then release it and play with my nipples. He continued doing this interchangeably on both breasts until he eventually took o
Emma’s POV“Oh, wow. Your dress is so gorgeous,” Sammy gushed as I walked out of my closet.“Thank you,” I blushed as I admired myself in the full-length mirror by the closet.“I love the detailing so much. Did you make it yourself?” she asked, feeling up the dress.“Yes I did,” I smiled. “As soon as Maria mentioned this dinner thing, I got straight to work,” I shrugged my shoulders. “I mean, I’ve got to stand out, right?”I was wearing a strapless gold dress with a long slit in the back. It was shaped in such a way that it had a corset in the front that was basically heart-shaped. The material of the dress was designed in such a way that it appeared plain and simple at first sight but shone quite bright when under the right lighting.“Right. Well, it looks really good. You did amazing as always”.“Thanks, girly”.“So are you excited about tonight?” she asked, walking up to stand next to me in front of the mirror.Now, we were both admiring our reflections and also looking at each oth
Emma’s POV“What do you mean?” Liam asked me again, in a smaller tone this time. Honestly, my heart broke at how heartbroken he sounded by my words, but let’s be real, this marriage of ours isn’t an ideal one for anybody at all, and I do actually love him and want to be with him, so why not just come clean about exactly how I feel now?“Liam,” I took a deep breath and turned back around to face him, grabbing his hand in mine. “I love you and that much is real, but let’s be true to ourselves right now, this marriage isn’t real, and I need you to recognize that. Maybe it’s because I was the one who was forced into the marriage, so I recognize it all the time”. “And what makes you think that I wasn’t forced into this marriage too?” he asked, visibly upset now as he pulled his hand out of mine. “You think I wanted to have to settle down at the time that I did, let alone get married?”“Oh,” I responded in a low tone. “You really think that this marriage was on the top of my bucket list
Emma’s POV“And that right there is your baby’s bead,” my OBGYN said as she pointed out what looked like a small rock on the screen of the ultrasound machine. “Perfection,” Liam gushed. Yeah, that’s right, I told Liam everything. Three months ago, Liam and I had a lengthy talk about my being pregnant and what that meant for us. As expected, even though I had a lot of doubt in my mind, he was in full support of me, willing to ensure I was okay and that everything about the pregnancy went smoothly. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any man as excited to have a child as Liam was that night. Now, with about two ultrasounds out of the way, he and I are finally starting to see our baby take proper shape and, judging from his expression as he stared hard at the screen while the doctor spoke, I think it was safe to say that he was most definitely more excited than I was. If I’m being honest, it’s so crazy. Because this was a man who first presented himself to me as this st
Emma’s POV“Is this seriously something that you’re considering, Emma?” Sammy asked again as she let me out of her grasp. This time, her tone was filled with disappointment. “I can’t believe this”. “Are you seriously judging me right now, Sammy?” I asked in disbelief. “Yes I am,” she answered with a straight face. “If I wasn’t judging you right now, then I would be the worst friend, but that’s not me, Emma. I’ve known you for far too long to believe that getting rid of this pregnancy is something you really think is the right thing to do. Hell, I want to believe that you’ve known me for far too long to even think I’d support you wholeheartedly if you made a decision like this”. “Wow, Sammy,” I chuckled dryly. “You know what, Emma,” she hissed. “Keep up whatever act this is that you’re putting up for as long as you want, but deep down, you know that what I’m saying is the truth. This isn’t a pregnancy that came from a one-night stand that we’re talking about, Emma. This is somethi
Emma’s POV“Sweetie, are you okay?” Sammy asked me as she continuously ran her fingers through my hair while I lay down on the couch in her living room, my head on her lap, and my arms folded across my chest as I started staring blankly at the TV screen that was off. “Do you want to talk about this?” she asked again a few minutes later after not receiving a response from me following her first question. “I guess you don’t have to say anything right now,” she concluded a minute later, a deep sigh following her statement as she continued her repeated action of trying to calm me down with her fingers as they ran through my hair. While I felt bad about ignoring Sammy’s questions, I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I was too much in a state of shock, sadness, and overall worry to do so. From staring blankly at the TV, my vision eventually shifted back to the coffee table in front of me, though I had tried my best to ignore it, and act as though it wasn’t in the room with us, but I couldn’t
Emma’s POVAs we continued kissing, our lips glided so easily against each other. His lips were soft and wet; and his kisses were deep, long, passionate, and fiery. If I’m being honest, there wasn’t really any single adjective that I could pinpoint to use and describe our kiss at that moment, because this time just felt so much different. To be fair, sexual activities with Liam are usually always fiery and all, but this time, knowing how much emotion he had behind each passionate kiss he gave me, it was way different. “Come here,” he said, lifting me onto his lap in one swift motion. If anyone were to ask how that was possible, to go from lying flat on my back to straddling him in one move, I wouldn’t be able to explain it at all. “I want you,” I moaned into his mouth as our lips continued moving against each other. “You don’t have to tell me twice,” he chuckled, smiling, yet still not backing away from the kiss. A second after that, he stood, lifting me with him, but he hadn’t st
Emma's POVWell, it’s finally over. All the back and forth as regards the funeral ceremony of Mr. Samuel Henderson was finally over and all I can say is that it truly was a rollercoaster of serious emotions, both bad and good. Right now, Liam and I have just got back to our place and one would think we’re fine, but that’s not the case right now. When it was time for Liam to say ‘a few words,’ about his father, those few words weren’t exactly so few, and it was just so crazy because things started well and just spiraled into unexpected sayings. At first, he started by carefully picking his words so as not to say the wrong things, then all of a sudden, it was as though he got filled with this rage that he’d been suppressing and couldn’t hold back any longer. He started talking about the things his dad did to him when he was younger, like how he basically guilt-tripped Liam into becoming a lawyer just like him, how he and Maria didn’t make Liam necessarily feel loved even though Maria t
Emma’s POVThe long-awaited day was finally here. Today, we hold the funeral for Mr. Henderson, and let’s just say that tension so far has been high. While Liam and I got ready for the day at home, it was so clear that he was tensed up, even though he didn’t say anything about it. We barely spoke, his frame was rigid, and he just kept on doing things wrongly because his mind was obviously focused on somewhere else. For instance, he wanted to make coffee and forgot to use a coffee filter. When he eventually got that right, he proceeded to pull out a glass cup from the cupboard and pour the coffee into it, talking about how both cups were next to each other and he ‘accidentally’ picked the wrong one. Mind you, the coffee cups are kept in an entirely different cupboard. Thankfully, he realized his mistake almost immediately and poured the coffee into an actual mug, so the glass cup didn’t explode or anything. It was currently five minutes past ten in the morning, meaning we had fifty-f
Liam’s POV“Hey, mum,” I greeted my mother with a hug as Emma and I walked into the living room of the house. “How are you doing?” I asked when I let go of her. “As good as can be,” she answered with a small, sad smile. “Hi, darling,” she greeted Emma, pulling her in for a brief hug. “Hope you slept well?” she asked her with a hint of worry in her tone. “I’m fine, Maria,” Emma answered with a small smile. “Sorry I’m late. Liam wanted to come over with me, so I had to wait for him to get ready”. “Oh, that’s fine,” my mum waved off her apology. “To be honest, I didn’t even expect you to be back here so early considering you left here quite late last night. If anything, I was expecting you by afternoon. Regardless, since I have you both here, let’s all go eat breakfast, and then we’ll go round the garden to see the setup. How does that sound?”“Great,” Emma answered. “That’s fine,” I nodded. “Good,” she clasped her hands together and turned around, walking towards the dining room.
Emma’s POVTwo months had gone by since Liam’s dad died, and it was finally time for the funeral service to be held. Left to Maria, the service would’ve been held a month ago, but for some reason, Mr. Henderson specifically stated in his preliminary will that he wanted his funeral to be held two months after his passing. Liam believed he wanted the whole funeral to be big or something and ordered the two-month break to allow time for adequate preparations to be made. Weird, I know. Anyway, for the last two weeks, it’s been back-to-back planning over at the Henderson house. Maria had onboarded me on this because she liked my planning skills, so I took a break from work for three weeks, and I’ve been at the Henderson manor almost every day of that break. It’s been so crazy that I’ve even spent the last two nights sleeping here in Liam’s old room because the planning went late into the night and Maria insisted I sleep over. I didn’t have any more change of clothes at the manor, so I wa