When she disappeared, Arvil growled loudly to himself. What the hell was he even doing? He didn’t understand himself. Why was he always making her uncomfortable? Why was she always acting cold toward him? This was so confusing.
After five or so minutes, Arvil decided to head home. He should sleep before he passed out.
Daisy would be lying if she said she hadn’t watched his car through the blinds before he finally pulled out of the driveway. Why had he waited so long? It wasn’t like he was waiting for her to go inside, since he was already there.
[TIME SKIP: A FEW DAYS]
Arvil really didn’t know what he was doing. After that day, he’d stopped flirting with Daisy. He didn’t really have a choice. She hated the contact he made. The shameless flirting, the constant touches—she felt uncomfortable by it. So he stopped altogether. He kept his distance when they talked. He moved when they almost touched. He stopped the flirting.
Arvil had been done with his work by now—a few sleepless nights filled with coffee helps—so he was merely going over the plans for next month when there was a knock on the door.
“Yes?” His eyes lifted up. “Come in.”
It had been a hard few days. Daisy had seen Arvil a few times since their date thing, and he just didn’t seem like himself. He didn’t flirt, didn’t try to touch her even within her boundaries. It was weird. And it made her very concerned.
Had she done something wrong? How had she upset him? Was it something from their dinner? Even when she ran through the night in her mind, she couldn’t think of anything that would make him upset with her.
And now she was standing in front of his door again, bags of food in hand as she waited for him to let her him. After she knocked, he called for her to enter, and she stepped through the door.
“Hey. I brought lunch,” she greeted him, closing the door behind her and making her way over to him.
Arvil looked up briefly, but his gaze didn't last long at her face. Instead, he dropped it to her hands, which carried the food bags.
"Daisy," he set aside the plans, shutting his laptop. "I wasn't expecting you today."
“I bring lunch at this time every week,” Daisy reminded him quietly as she set the bags down on the desk. “It’s shawarma today.”
"Oh, it's Thursday," Arvil murmured, having the sudden realization. Finally, he looked up at her—and froze. Why were her eyes bloodshot? Had she been—"You were crying. Why were you crying, Daisy?"
Daisy froze, blinking at him. “I— What? Nothing happened. I’m fine,” she said, looking down and pulling food out of the bag.
Arvil looked at her worriedly, furrowing his eyebrows before he sighed, quirking one eyebrow. "Your eyes beg to differ," he snorted. "What's wrong, Daisy? Why were you crying?"
“I’m fine, Arvil,” Daisy muttered, still avoiding his gaze. She rubbed at an eye with a sigh, setting the last box on his desk.
Arvil stared at her with an exasperated look on his face, but it wasn't like he was expecting anything different. His worry meant nothing to her. "Of course," he muttered under his breath. "Why would you even want to tell me?"
Daisy sighed heavily and shook her head. “Whatever, Arvil. Look, I don’t know what I did to upset you, but I didn’t mean to,” she declared, stepping back from his desk. “We should eat this before it gets cold.”
Arvil narrowed his eyes. What was her problem? Why was she acting like this? Wasn't she satisfied enough? "Right. I get it, all right?" he exhaled harshly. "I get the fact that everything between us is a lie, so you don't have to constantly remind me. I get it."
“Everything is a lie… Right,” Daisy muttered, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. She turned away, still facing him but looking a different direction. “I seem to forget that more than I should. Sometimes it’s a little hard to remember, but I think I will after this. And I think I have, now, so thank you for that.”
Arvil was completely, utterly lost. What in the world did she mean by that? What did she mean by 'hard to remember' when she constantly slapped that fact in his face? Every time they were together… her body language, the way they talked… Arvil had no idea what was running through her mind. "Excuse me?" he raised an eyebrow at her again, this time with mild annoyance. "Mind telling me what on Earth I did to receive such bitter treatment?"
Daisy’s gaze shot back to him before she huffed and rolled her eyes, looking away again. “Yeah, like you don’t know… Oh, except you don’t, do you?”
Because you’re so painfully oblivious to the simplest of things.
"You know what?" Arvil breathed, finally getting tired of her attitude. What had he done this time? He kept his distance. He stopped the flirting. What did she want now? "I really don't understand you. Everything I do ends up bothering you, doesn't it? No matter what I do, you're never satisfied with it. And you never tell me what I did wrong so I can correct it."
Daisy flushed darkly, getting her teeth as she took a step around the desk, closer to him. “Yeah? Well, I don’t understand you, either, so I guess that works out, huh?” she nearly shouted, taking a deep breath to calm herself. It worked, but just barely. She only managed to lower her voice a little. “Gosh, I don’t understand why you’re still willing to marry me if you feel this way! I know I’m difficult, okay? But I’ve had my heart set in a marriage of love my whole life, not one of advantage. I had everything planned out. Everything. Colors, decor, music, guests, even a few tentative venues. And now… Now I’m marrying a man who doesn’t even love me just to get out of another marriage painfully similar to this. But at least you’re not trying to stifle me and stuff me in a box for the rest of my life…”
"I'm trying, all right?" Arvil took a deep breath through his gritted teeth, standing up from his seat to walk to the other side to Daisy. "I'm trying to give you a marriage that you'll enjoy! Do you think I want to see you unhappy? Well, newsflash, Daisy Riley, that's the one thing I'm trying to avoid. I'm trying with everything in my power to make you comfortable with the fact that you're marrying a man you know next to nothing about—a man you regard as a friend and nothing more. Everything I've done, it's to make sure you were comfortable. Constantly asking you about the wedding? That was me trying to give you a day you don't look back and regret. We may not be doing this out of love, darling, but I sure as hell don't want to put half the effort and look back and think of how upset you looked on this day! But you know what? Fine. Do what you want."
Daisy was near trembling at this point. Whether it was from anger, or because Arvil’s words had felt like a slap to the face, she didn’t know. All she knew was that his words hurt… And that was because he was so right. Why did he have to be so right all the time? It was infuriating.
“I hate you,” she breathed, her voice shaking as she glared up at him. “I hate you.”
I don’t hate you. I don’t. I’m sorry…
Arvil clenched his jaw, taking in a harsh breath. She hated him. Of course she did. He was taking away her freedom. He was locking her up. chaining her to his name, shackling her to the life of constant watching—the media. Why wouldn't she hate him?
It didn't make anything feel better, though. Having the girl you like to tell you she didn't just dislike you, but that she hated you…
Arvil let out a bitter laugh. "Do you, now?" he shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Tell me something I don't know, love. For instance… if you hate me so much, why are you here? If you hate me like you claim you do, why the hell are you still here—with me?"
Daisy flinched at his words. He really thought she hated him… Of course he did. She had never given him any reason to believe she didn’t. She was always cold and harsh toward him, so why wouldn’t he think she hated him?
But why couldn’t she just tell him already? Why couldn’t she just tell him what she really felt? Why couldn’t she just say she liked him? That she didn’t really hate him? Why?
“Whatever, Arvil,” she muttered, stuffing her hands in her pockets and brushing past him to get to the door.
Arvil’s eyes flashed when she brushed past him to leave. Leave like she always did whenever this happened. Every time they clashed, she’d turn her back and leave. Arvil wasn’t going to allow that. Not this time.
So he quickly snatched her wrist—controlling his frustration so it was more of a gentle touch rather than a harsh one—and pressed her against the wall. He locked his burning eyes with her own, keeping her caged between himself and the wall.
“No, not this time, Daisy,” he breathed harshly. “I am not letting you leave before you tell me what in the freaking world did I do this time to deserve this cold treatment.”
Daisy gasped when she was pressed against the wall, staring up at him with lips parted in shock. Out of all the thins he had done, of all the things that had happened between them, she had not thought he would do this. They were in such a compromising position, and the way he was looking at her wasn’t helping. Yes, she was upset with him, but that didn’t make him any less attractive. Yes, he was upset with her, but that, if anything, just searched to make him look even hotter than before.
“You gave up on me,” she whispered hoarsely, meeting his gaze with her own. Whether it looked more broken or angry was difficult to say, but they were definitely both there.
It didn’t matter whether she was angry or happy, she never failed to look beautiful for him. When her eyes burned, it always felt like she was setting his soul on fire. And then her words… those words that she spoke lit a spark inside of him.
“I never gave up on you,” he rasped out, trying to keep his gaze from falling to her lips. How was it possible for her to hate him yet still keep a tight leash on him? “Goddamn it, how can I ever give up on you?”