Arranged

V

" I tremble at the thought of falling in love with a tiny part of someone and mistaking it for the whole." - Rupi Kaur

Everything around me began to close in. Kai was clearly drunk, it would be a miracle if we made it to my house safely.

After rolling down the windows, He put the car in drive, and I closed my eyes preparing myself for the worst.

"Kai?"

The car lurched. The breaks were applied with such force, I opened my eyes to make sure we didn't hit anyone.

"Kai, it's been a while, hasn't it?" The voice sounded like pure silk.

Kai didn't speak.

I looked across from him and out the driver's side window where a tall slender woman stood giving me a small smile. She seemed pleasant so I smiled back.

"Who's this?" She asked.

"My fiancé," Kai replied, his tone flat.

"Oh how lovely," she said shifting on her feet, "when did you two meet?"

Kai glared at her and sighed, "what do you want Synn?"

Synn lightly gasped, "I just wanted to chat with an old friend, is that a problem pokey?"

Pokey? Was that a pet name? Confused, I sat back and waited for Kai's response. He seemed almost fully sobered up just from Synn's presence. I judged that they must've had an eventful past for him to be acting the way he was towards her.

"There's nothing to chat about and you know that," Kai responded coldly.

She definitely broke his heart.

Synn looked at me for help, but the way I sat back against the seat let her know I wouldn't be able to to anything. Not that I wanted to. This wasn't any of my business.

She sighed quietly, "well, maybe I'll see you both around sometime," she put on another smile and continued, "congratulations, to you both. I wish you two nothing but happiness."

"Thank you," I replied smiling. Her kindness was genuine, something that Kai lacked. I almost didn't want her to leave.

As Synn walked towards the restaurant, I watched Kai's eyes follow her all the way up until she disappeared inside. I don't know why it bothered me but it did. As nice as she was, I knew he was interested and for some reason it jabbed my heart in the wrong place.

If he still had some sort of feelings for her, then why am I the one that he's with? Was she not the type his parents wanted for him? It confused me. I had to marry him, and it seemed like he had to marry me; but why if Synn is perfectly eligible? Or was she?

Kai looked over at me and sighed. It sounded almost pitiful. Could he read my mind?

"I can drive if you'd like me to," I offered, trying to change the subject in my brain.

Kai shook his head, "I'm fine."

That physically wasn't possible, but arguing with him would only make it ten times worse for me.

I gripped the seat as he pulled out of the parking lot, going at least ten over the normal speed limit.

What did I ever do to deserve this? The situations I was constantly put in made it seem like karma was constantly out to get me.

I quickly learned that night that Kai had driven drunk way too many times. Aside from the speeding,
it was bearable and I got home in a fraction of the time it took us to get to the restaurant.