Turning toward the man at her side, Daisy raised her eyebrows. She shook her head, her mouth opening to explain herself before closing again. How was she supposed to tell him that she hadn’t meant it that way? That she hadn’t been entirely serious?
“No— Arvil, that not… what I meant,” she sighed, glancing at the floor before meeting his eyes again. Her face was soft, if entirely flustered, as was her voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you— didn’t meant it that way.”
Arvil locked eyes with her before scanning her face. He pursed his lips before sighing, looking away. What was he even doing, really? She just… always made him lose control like that. Did she even realize that?
“No, not your fault,” he shook his head. “I took it too far.”
“Arvil, really. It was fine,” Daisy assured him again, somewhat more vehemently. She took a tiny step toward him, close enough that he would have no choice but to meet her eyes or make it awkward. “Really. If— if I feel uncomfortable, then… I will let you know. Immediately. So you did not go too far. Not this time.”
Arvil met her eyes again before he nodded once, slowly.
“Okay,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “We should go now.”
Daisy let out a loose breath and stepped back. She gave him a slow nod of her own, agreeing with him.
“Yes. We should,” she sighed, starring toward the door. “The sooner the better, right?”
Nodding in agreement, the two made their way out of her apartment building and into the parking lot. He unlocked his car, then looked at Daisy.
“It’ll take us at least thirty minutes,” he informed her softly. “Twenty, if we’re lucky and there’s no traffic.”
“All right,” Daisy hummed as she slid into her seat. “I suppose we can figure out more things about the wedding, then.”
“Works for me,” Arvil hummed as he took his seat, closed the door, and buckled his seatbelt. He started the car and then drove off the parking lot. “You got your dress, right?”
“Yes, I did. And you are not allowed to see it before the ceremony…” Daisy trailed off at her own words. She frowned slightly, realizing just how close to the date of their wedding it was getting. And what she would have to do. And what her parents would expect of them almost immediately, even if he had assured her that she needed worry about that.
Arvil gave a small pout. “That’s mean,” he sighed. “That means I need to wait for fourteen more days. You’re cruel.”
Daisy hummed again, nodding a couple of times. A look at her face would show the distraction she had caused herself, the nervousness and worry causing her eyebrows to draw together and her lips to press into a tight line.
There would be so many people… so many people so see her falsely proclaim her love to him, to see her kiss him like she loved him. Already, she was feeling stressed out. Again. Would this stress ever end? Would she ever get a moment’s rest?
Arvil looked at her for a second before his eyes fell back on the road. He sighed, shook his head before speaking again.
“Daisy, don’t,” he said softly. “Don’t worry about it. It’ll be over before you know it. Everything will work out.”
“Sorry, I just— I can’t help it. It’s going to be so hard,” Daisy admitted in a whisper. She pulled one her her legs up into the seat, hugging it against herself. “I will have to be happy, so happy. And I don’t mean to offend you by any means, but… that will be hard for me to fake. And I will likely have to fake it, that happiness that overcomes everything else.”
Arvil bit down on his bottom lip. God, he knew. He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep her happy. It was a fake relationship. She didn’t love him, and he… really, really liked her. There was nothing he could do about that.
“You’re the type of a person who doesn’t exactly show how happy she is,” he finally responded. “I don’t think anyone will note the difference if you don’t try so hard to be. Besides, it’ll be a tiring day. Nobody will expect you to look glamorous and refreshed.”
Daisy just shrugged, her head drooping. She stared at her feet for a while before dragging her gaze to Arvil.
“I’m sorry. Really. I know you’ll try to keep me happy, and I will be incredibly grateful for that,” she said quietly, wishing she wasn’t hurting him with her words but knowing she must be. “But you know I had a dream, and this was not how it was supposed to go. I’m really sorry, Arvil…”
Arvil sighed, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. Her dream. Right. The perfect man, perfect wedding, perfect marriage. There had been a question plaguing him, but he didn’t dare ask. It would probably ruin the comfortable atmosphere around them.
“I understand, so don’t worry about it,” when he spoke, his voice was somewhat detached, as if what they were talking about wasn’t even remotely hurtful. “It is a fake marriage, after all. I can’t expect you to be happy.”
“I’m sorry,” Daisy sighed, hating herself for the way he sounded at that moment. She knew he was going to try to make her happy, and, like she’d said, she would be incredibly grateful for that. It would be something she would never forget. “I’ll try. I’ll try to be happy, rather than being such a pessimist. I’ll try, Arvil.” For you.
Arvil let out another sigh, wanting to close his eyes briefly, but unable to. His hands gripped the wheel tightly, and he wished they’d get to their destination quickly. He didn’t want to continue with this conversation.
“When we’re alone, we don’t need to try,” he answered somewhat calmly. “The only thing we need to fool is the media. And our parents.”
“I’m still going to try, even while we’re alone. You deserve that much, at least,” Daisy whispered, glancing back over at him. Tentatively, she reached over and set her hand on his knee, giving it a gentle squeeze before she pulled away again.
Arvil didn’t say anything. Instead, he found a place he could park his car, and turned on the indicators. Then he fixed his heated stare on her.
“You’re not going to try, Daisy,” he said, furrowing his eyebrows. “I’ll make sure your happiness is genuine, nothing to be forced for the most part. But if you keep thinking you’ll need to fake it, then yes, you will need to. Because it doesn’t work the other way.”
Daisy froze when he turned his gaze on her. The way he looked at her… She didn’t know how he could look at her like that.
At his words, she winced, knowing that she’d said all the wrong things. It seemed as if she hadn’t said one thing right, and she felt awful for it.
“I’m sorry. I— I shouldn’t have said anything,” she murmured, her cheeks bright red as she turned away to look it the window, anywhere but his face.
“No,” Arvil sighed, reaching for her hand and giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. “I’m glad you did. I want to know what goes through your mind. And I also want to calm that storm that rages through you at times like these.”
“I just… I don’t understand how you can— Why? Why are you always so patient with me? How can you possibly be so fricking patient with me, when I can’t even be that patient with myself?” Daisy asked, turning back to him with her face scrunched up.
Arvil looked at her quietly for a few seconds, unable to find words to respond. When he finally did, his voice was soft, calm.
“Because this isn’t an ideal situation for either of us, and it’s only right you feel this way,” he said. “But you need to be patient with yourself, too, Daisy. Only you know what you’re feeling. Don’t judge yourself on that.”
Daisy let out a long breath, turning away again. She rubbed at her eyes with her hands, shaking her head. This was all just such a mess, and she hated it, hated that she had to deal with it, hated her parents for doing this to her.
“I hate them for this,” she muttered, unable to meet his gaze again.
