“I’m so glad you could make it today, Y/N,” Samantha, Brian’s cousin, said upon your arrival at the bridal boutique.

Smiling brightly and reaching out for the friendly hug she offered, you nodded. “I’m honoured you’d want me here for your final dress fitting.”

“Of course, we do. You’re basically part of the family now, dear,” Brian’s mother mentioned, her fellow family members all nodding in unison.

It was moments like these that left you conflicted. You were well into the second month of your arrangement with Brian, and things were getting serious. Your feelings towards Brian and his family equally. When all this was said and done, you wouldn’t just be losing Brian.

But his entire family.

Swallowing down the guilt you began to feel, you tried to continue smiling instead. “So how about we see this dress, huh?”

Samantha was going to make a beautiful bride. She shone in her dress, her smile so stunning that it hurt. You were incredibly happy for Brian’s cousin to be getting married for love. Yet, you couldn’t help but wish for the same situation for yourself. You wanted to be surrounded by the same joy and love as Samantha was by her family.

You’re not going to marry Brian, though, now are you.

Sometimes, your brain would remind you of the agreement you held with Brian at the most inopportune moments, your emotions hard to maintain after the fitting. On the outside, you were bubbly and light as the rest of the bridal party, but on the inside, you felt like a complete fraud.

Once seated in an uptown eatery with the ladies, you felt Brian’s mother’s gaze on yours. “You alright, dear?”

“Absolutely!”

“We’ve been talking,” Samantha said a moment later, and you turned your attention to the bride to be. She grinned at you. “Brian’s a part of the ceremony. And whilst it’s not been long since we’ve known you Y/N, I’d like to extend the offer to you as his official date to be a part of it too.”

“I’m sorry?”

Brian’s mother chuckled. “Dear, she’s wanting you to be part of the family on the day instead of sitting back with the other guests.”

“Wow,” you breathed, your heart swelling with acceptance. You smiled genuinely, your head nodding along with your hopeful response. “This is so kind of you.”

“Nonsense. You’ll just be returning the favour when you walk down the aisle towards my cousin, right?”

Speechless, you couldn’t respond. Her grandmother did, however. “Y/N, you’ve made my grandson very happy. I hope he’s doing the same for you.”

“He does,” you replied softly, blinking several times and focusing on the meal that was placed down in front of you.

Your appetite was diminishing, though.

Could you really make Brian happy? Arrangement aside, you were unsure if someone like yourself could fulfil Brian like that. You knew without a doubt that you could happily marry Brian. He was the love of your life thus far. From your side, you were willing to put everything into a future with him.

There was no way you could be sure Brian felt the same.

---

 

You were exhausted from the conflicting emotions you felt as you farewelled the family members and headed back across town to your apartment. Stopping off at the local grocery store, you tried to focus on the list you produced from your bag, but your thoughts kept slipping away.

“Strange looking apples you’ve just crossed off.”

Blinking away from your thoughts, you glanced in the direction of the voice. Jae shot you his signature lopsided grin and pointed at the grapefruit you had placed in the trolley. You gasped, reaching to take out the fruit and grabbed the bag of apples next to it. “Sorry, I’m not thinking straight.”

“Maybe I ought to help you with that list in case you get something far worse, like cat litter when you don’t own a cat.”

“That would be handy,” you agreed with a chuckle and then fell into step with your neighbour. “How are you and your boxes doing?”

“I’m sad to announce that the boxes and I have parted ways,” Jae proclaimed solemnly, and you lifted a hand to your chest to play along. Jae nodded glumly. “I left them at the recycling centre two weeks ago.”

“Wow, you’ve been living next door that long already?” you asked with surprise, and Jae smirked.

“Almost a month now. What’s been keeping you so busy to notice the time going by? You should have popped over beforehand and said your farewells.”

“I should have. How inconsiderate of me,” you replied before you both broke into laughter. Your thoughts lightened, and as you made your way around the grocery store together, your expression lifted, your smile permanently etched across your lips as you paid for your things.

“Are you making pasta for dinner?” Jae inquired as he helped you with some of your bags, the pair of you walking back to your apartment complex.

You nodded. “And you’re invited!”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. You helped me avoid any cat litter ending up in these bags.”

“True, that I did.” Jae swung his arms more freely, his grin forming again. “Are you any good in the kitchen?”

“You’ll have to find out.”

“That’s a risk. What if you’re not that great, and I have to, as the neighbourly code states, pretend you’re okay before making up some excuse to go home and find some real food?”

“You mean order in Taco Bell.”

“Hey! I’m deeply offended that you haven’t noticed how often I have pizza too,” Jae retorted, and you snorted.

“Well, I can’t top quesadillas or cheesy thick crusts, but I can cook decently. It’s up to you if you are game enough to find out.”

Jae nodded eagerly as he pushed the button to the front door of your complex. “You’re on.”

---

 

Dinner had gone down well, and when Jae found you had a gaming setup in your living room, he praised you to the heavens. “Pasta and video games? Are you trying to fulfil all my desires?”

You quirked an eyebrow at his statement. “What kind of desires are you talking about?”

“The neighbourly ones. No longer will I have to eat dinner and play alone. I can just come over here.”

“Oh, I see how it is,” you commented, folding your arms over your chest as you approached the taller man. “It’s all about what I can offer, huh?”

Jae sat down before nodding. “It’s a fair trade, Y/N. I just did all those dishes for you without complaint.”

“That you did,” you agreed with a laugh, plonking down on the couch. You then grinned at Jae. “And you’ll have to do a whole lot more too.”

“Oh?”

“I have this console here for when I have my nephew over. Unless you want to play The Sims, I’m not well-versed in video games now as an adult.”

Jae gasped noisily. “A crime it is to have such a good gaming setup that you’re not even using to the best of its abilities. Don’t worry, Y/N. I’ve got all night to teach you how to play.”

Sharing a grin with your neighbour, you picked up the second remote controller and prepared to play the game with him. Allowing Jae to run through the tutorial with you, you waited until your first match before expertly hitting the buttons.

“Wait!” he cried mid-match, darting his focus between you and the screen. Sliding his glasses quickly up the bridge of his nose, he groaned loudly. “You know how to play!”

“That’ll teach you for doubting my cooking skills,” you responded, and Jae laughed heartily, holding up his fist for you to pump. Knocking your knuckles into his, you both got caught up in gaming for several hours.

You didn’t even realise the time slip by with how much fun you had with Jae. Nor did you notice the messages Brian had sent you to hook up with him.

It was the first time since your agreement that you hadn’t given your full attention to your fake date.