Love Arranged (#1)

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One: Maggie

It's currently 3:00 PM, we had just finished eating and my mom dropped by to see how Evan was doing and if I was doing fine myself, and went ahead to talk to Tiffany outside of the room to let Evan and me catch up on our own personal matters.

"Haven't you grown bored of me yet? You can do a lot with your time than keep an eye on me, you know." Evan said after quite some time as we watched a movie on the hospital's TV.

I looked up at him from my position on the side of the bed, sitting on a chair while I prompted my head against my knuckles, looking sideways to get a better view of the screen.

I raised an eyebrow "Tired of me already?"

Panic immediately swept over his features as he shook his head "No, no! I love your company! Your company is the best!" I snickered, turning away as I resumed watching.

"I just feel bad that you spent almost half of your time staying here when you could be hanging out with Jess and Ashley, or doing anything else, for that matter," he told me.

I shrugged my shoulders "They still have classes and they said they'll be visiting here anyways. Plus, it's not like I have anyone else to hang out with."

I don't know why but I could feel Evan's intense stare burning holes at the back of my head as I said that "So... you mean to tell me you haven't resolved things with Beth and Emily?"

The mention of their names didn't fail to dampen my mood, immediately catching my attention as I lost all focus from the film and swiveled around to look at Evan as he sat there, gazing at me expectantly.

"No, I haven't," I said, my jaw clenched "And I don't think I'll be able to."

"Don't you miss them?"

"I do, it's just-"

"Do you really wanna drop them out of your life?"

"Why are we even talking about this?" I snapped "Why does it even matter-"

"Maggie," he said firmly, cutting me off "Listen to me."

Something about the authoritative tone in his voice stopped me from talking as I complied with his demand and listened, sitting there stunned as I've never seen him be this serious before.

Every time he asserts his opinions and stands his ground he never goes out of his way to force them onto me this much, so to see him act this grievously is quite surprising, to be honest.

"I don't wanna have to see you lose your friends over something you had no control over. I was partially the reason why they walked out of your life, so if I can do something to help you reconcile with them again, I'll gladly do it," he affirmed, voice laced with guilt.

I shook my head "Evan, you don't need to do such a thing because you think it was your fault when it isn't. This arranged marriage wasn't planned by either one of us, but even so, we have to keep it confidential. Even if it means going to such great lengths to keep it a secret, it was for the better."

"Plus," I added, feeling my throat tighten "In a way, what happened kind of encouraged them to show their true colors. I don't tolerate deceit as much as the next guy."

"You know they did it because they had no other choice, at the end of the day they still came back to you."

"Yeah, only just because they saw you practically dying on my lap in a deserted parking lot!" I exclaimed, standing up from my seat out of agitation "Friends don't do that!"