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Daisy hummed, refraining from snatching his hand. She crossed her arms over her chests and hugged herself tightly. "See you later, Arvil."
Pretending Hearts (O/O CLOSED)
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Arvil blew her a kiss before getting into his car, pulling on his seatbelt. He then paused before looking at her, lowering the car window.
“I haven’t had an affair with any woman,” he said to her, mostly to clear suspicions. “I’ve dated, but it’s been more than a year since I fooled around with one. Thought you should know in case someone mentioned it. See ya~”
He the drove off.
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Daisy blinked a couple of times. She certainly hadn't expected that to come from him, and she hadn't expected that information, either. He really hadn't been with anyone in over a year? Now that was something she had never thought would be said by Arvil Davis.
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[TIME SKIP: A Few Days]
Arvil, at this point, had no idea where he was going with this pretend engagement. How long till the media figured it out? How long till his father heard about it?
He looked across at Daisy. They’d decided to meet up again to discuss their plans, and Arvil hoped nothing would go wrong. It would be a mess to clean up afterward.
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Daisy took a sip of her water and glanced around the room. How much longer would they have to do this? It was soft of awkward being engaged to someone with as much influence as he had.
Her gaze drifted back to Arvil, and she blinked when she noticed his eyes already on her. She raised an eyebrow and set her glass down, giving him a curious look.
“Yes, Arvil? Is there something you wanted to say?” she asked.
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“If my father finds out about this, it’s going to be an even bigger mess,” he said bluntly. “He’s coming back from business either today or tomorrow.”
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Daisy blinked a couple of times before sighing and looking away again. “Because that’s just what we need… More people getting on our tails about this.”
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“That day when you picked me,” Arvil set his cheek on his palm, “Did you not think of the consequences? Had I been an abuser, what would you have done then?”
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Daisy groaned and set her head on the table. “I wasn’t thinking of consequences, Arvil. Heck, I wasn’t thinking at all. All I was thinking was, ‘I do not want to go out with this man, much less marry him.’ And then I thought he would be easier to get rid of if he thought I was already seeing someone else, so I lied. Had I known who you were, I probably would have chosen someone else.”
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“Well, you should still be grateful you picked me. I’m an excellent lover,” Arvil winked, taking a small bite out of his cake. “Anyway, is there—“
“When Noah told me you had given up your shameful ways, I didn’t believe him. Good thing I didn’t.”
Arvil’s blood froze at the voice. The only thing that came to his mind was, ”I’m ruined,” as he turned around. He came face-to-face with the older version of himself.
“Father,” Arvil barely managed to conceal his wince with a polite smile. “What a surprise. I thought you wouldn’t come back until the evening?”
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Daisy had scoffed and rolled her eyes at his statement, but that was quickly shut down by the appearance of someone else. Someone who looked so much like her “fiancé” that it was impossible not to see the family resemblance.
And then he greeted him as his father. Gosh, this day was just going wonderfully, wasn’t it? What next? Would Gavril show up, too?
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Arvil stood up, offering his father his seat. The older man refused, choosing to stand. So Arvil stood as well.
“I wanted to come back to see how my son was faring with the company,” his father said. “You’re doing a good job. I wish what Noah said about your habits was true, though.”
Arvil laughed. “It isn’t what you think it is.”
His father gave Daisy a look. “Certainly not,” his eyes crinkled in amusement. Then his eyes fell on the ring on her finger. He looked at Arvil, surprise on his features. “Please tell me my son isn’t having an affair with an engaged woman.”
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Daisy slowly rose to her feet, offering her hand to Arvil’s father along with a carefully placed smile. “Mr. Davis. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Daisy Riley, and I happen to be your son’s fiancée,” she introduced herself with a calm and subtle danger hiding behind the words. She was not a woman to be trifled with.
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Arvil could only think of curses to say. This wasn’t good. He meant to keep this whole thing a secret from his father because—
“Daisy Riley,” Rowan tested the name on his tongue, taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze before he pulled back. “Fiancée.”
Arvil opened his mouth to respond, but his father continued.
“That comes as a surprise to me,” Rowan offered a calm shrug of his shoulders. “Though I’m not displeased with this not reaching my ears sooner.”
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Daisy nodded and glanced at Arvil. “We wanted to keep our relationship hidden for a while, at least until we figured some things out. And we still would like to keep it from the news. Right, love?”
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“Agreed,” Arvil responded with a nod of his head. “You know how it is in the company, and the media. There’s a lot of things that need to be handled before we can announce that I’m engaged.”
Rowan nodded, though there was still doubt on his features.
“Then we’ll talk about this in our free time. Away from the public eye.”
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“It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Davis,” Daisy said, the polite smile ever-present on her lips. He’d spoken to his son, so now he could leave. They could go back to planning.
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“I’ll see you back at the company, son,” Rowan turned to Arvil and smiled. His son smiled back. “Enjoy your date.”
It was when Rowan left that Arvil sank in his chair, for once an exasperated look on his features.
“This is bad,” he groaned. “This is very, very bad.”
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Daisy sat across from him and buried her face in her hands. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this,” she muttered after a moment of silence. “You can back out if you want to…”
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“You do know that’s not possible now, don’t you?” He looked at her in disbelief. “I’m in the mess as deep as you are.”
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“You could dump me. Easily. The only people we’ve revealed it to are my parents and your father. All we would have to say was that it wasn’t working out. I was too standoffish,” Daisy murmured without removing her hands from her face. “In fact, we should. We should do that, before we dig ourselves a deeper hole.”
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“And leave you to marry a pig like Gavril?” Arvil quirked an eyebrow. “I told you I would help you. What good would my help be if I backed out before it’s guaranteed you aren’t pushed into marriage with him?”
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Daisy tore her eyes up to meet his gaze, curiousity dancing in them. “Why? What good does it do you? Why help a woman you barely know with something hat isn’t your business? Yes, I dragged you into this, but I’m not keeping you here. You’re free to leave whenever you please. But I don’t understand why you’re choosing to stay.”
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“Because you’re a good woman and I can tell you’re not one to have your wings cut off,” Arvil responded casually. “You don’t want to be tied down. Staying with me might be a similar situation, but at least you’d be free. In a way, I guess. And maybe there might be some benefit for me, too. If I’m engaged to you, it would clear my image. Somewhat, I guess.”
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Daisy regarded him for a moment longer, then sighed and took a sip of her water. “All right… Well, then, thank you, I guess,” she murmured.
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“Though I’m sure it’s the last thing either of us want, but I think we should make our engagement public,” Arvil continued, taking another bite of his cake. “The more in public we appear, the more people will likely to believe.”
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Daisy nodded slowly, staring down at her glass. “Yes, that’s true… I guess you’re right, though I’d rather not do so…”
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Arvil returned her nod with one of his own. “Visit me often at the company,” he said to her. “People will more likely believe if you will.”
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“I’ll need the address. I’m not going to Internet-stalk you to find it,” Daisy half-joked with a tiny smile. “Text it to me. You already have my number, anyway.”
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Arvil laughed. “All right, fair enough. I’ll send it to you.”
He took out his phone and shared his company’s location with her.
“When you come over, tell them you’re my fiancée. They’ll most likely not believe you, so you can give me a call,” he shrugged. “I feel like I’m a part of a movie.”