Arrange Hearts

CHAPTER 4

The Ellis family called us to their company today for some formalities—contract signing, they said. It was supposed to be about business, but I knew better. It wasn’t just about papers and signatures. It was about something much bigger.

Marriage.

My stomach twisted at the thought. A marriage contract. With Evan. As if things between us weren't already tense enough, now we had to formalize this arrangement.

As soon as we sat down, Evan leaned a little closer to me, his voice low enough for only me to hear. "You look so serious, Ada. Kinakabahan ka ba?"

I shot him a glare. "I’m not nervous. Just… irritated."

He chuckled, a playful grin on his face. "Irritated? Sa akin? Come on, you’re lucky to be marrying someone this charming."

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. "Charming? More like nakakainis. Do you ever take anything seriously?"

He shrugged, that infuriating smirk still plastered on his face. "What can I say? I’m just trying to lighten the mood. Besides, ang cute mo kaya pag galit ka."

"Ugh! Can you stop?" I hissed, shifting in my seat. "Hindi ko kailangan ng pang-aasar mo ngayon, Evan."

"Aw, come on. Aminin mo, mamimiss mo 'ko pag kasal na tayo." He winked, clearly enjoying every second of my irritation.

I clenched my fists under the table. "In your dreams."

Before he could say anything else, Mr. Ellis cleared his throat, pulling our attention back to the papers in front of us. I let out a frustrated sigh, trying to focus, pero hindi ko talaga maalis sa isip ko ang pagngiti ni Evan.

I could feel him glancing at me from the side, his teasing still lingering in the air. At kahit gaano pa ako nainis, I couldn’t help but wonder—was this really his way of trying to make things less awkward between us? Or was he just enjoying how much I was getting worked up? Either way, it didn’t help my mood at all.

As we started signing the papers, I barely glanced at them—honestly, I wasn't interested at all. My hand moved automatically, scribbling my signature without much thought. I just wanted to get this over with.

Evan, of course, leaned closer again and whispered, "Are you ready to live with me, babygirl?"

I shot him a death glare. "What do you mean? And for the love of everything, stop calling me ‘baby’ shits. Nakakadiri."

He just grinned, unbothered as usual. "What, ayaw mo? Akala ko sweet yun."

I rolled my eyes, feeling my patience wearing thin. "Sweet? It’s gross. Nakakainis ka talaga. Can't you just be normal for once?"

"Normal's boring," he shrugged, signing his own papers with a carefree look on his face. "Besides, sa tingin mo ba papayag ako na maging plain and boring ang fake marriage natin? Not a chance, Ada."

I groaned, resisting the urge to throw my pen at him. "You're impossible."

"And you're adorable when you're mad," he shot back with that teasing smile again, causing my irritation to flare even more.

"Ugh, just sign the damn papers and stop talking to me," I muttered, feeling like this was going to be the longest fake marriage ever. I heard him chuckled. Sa dinami daming lalaki sa mundo, dito pa ko napunta.

After signing the papers, we had a short conversation. Honestly, gusto ko na talagang umalis dito. The tension, the awkwardness—it was suffocating.

"So, kailan niyo gustong lumipat?" Mr. Ellis asked, his tone casual, but it made my stomach drop.

"Tomorrow would be great, I guess?" my mom chimed in, sounding way too enthusiastic for my liking.

My eyes narrowed. "What are you guys talking about?" I asked, feeling a sudden wave of unease wash over me.

"Didn't you read the contract?" Evan smirked, leaning back like he was enjoying every second of this. I shot him a sharp look, but the smug expression on his face didn’t falter. Wait... so we're really going to live under one roof?

Great.

I could feel the panic creeping in, but I tried to play it cool. "You're kidding, right?" I asked, my voice laced with irritation.

Evan just shrugged, his smirk growing. "Nope, welcome to your new reality. Congrats, roommate."

I groaned internally. This is going to be a disaster.

After that unsettling revelation, the awkwardness between us became unbearable. I could feel Evan’s eyes on me as everyone else continued chatting like nothing huge had just been decided.

"Okay, everything’s settled," Mr. Ellis said, shaking hands with my parents. "Looking forward to your stay."

My heart pounded, but I forced a tight smile. Live with Evan? Ugh. I could barely wrap my head around it. As soon as the conversation wrapped up, I yanked at my mom’s sleeve.

Before she could respond, Evan’s voice cut through with that annoying smirk plastered on his face. “Excited, Ada?”

I shot him a death glare. "Excited? Not even close," I snapped, doing my best to keep from walking out then and there.

Evan chuckled, clearly entertained. "Relax. I promise, masasanay ka rin. And hey, try not to fall for me too quickly, babygirl."

"Babygirl my ass," I muttered, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms. "And as if that's ever going to happen," I added, practically spitting the words at him.

“Tara na, Ma,” I said, grabbing my stuff and heading for the door.

As I walked away, I could hear him whistling behind me like he’d already won some twisted game I wasn’t even playing.

Great. This is going to be an absolute disaster.

As we arrived home, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Felix. God, he knows how to make my day better, even unintentionally.

"Hi Ada! I can't make it sa project session natin today, I have to run some errands e."

Yun lang, doon ako nalungkot.

I responded, "Hi Felix, it’s okay. Para makapagpahinga din tayo sa project."

I put my phone away and sighed, feeling a mix of disappointment and relief. The project session with Felix was something I looked forward to as a distraction from everything else. It was one of the few things that made me feel normal amidst all the chaos with the fake marriage and the new living arrangements.

My mind wandered back to the overwhelming reality of our new situation—living with Evan and navigating this fake marriage. It felt like everything was closing in, and the brief moment of connection with Felix was a small but significant escape from all that.

Lumabas ako para mag lakad lakad. I go to my favorite cafe and order my usual. As I was walking, I saw a familiar figure. It's Evan.

He's with a girl and if my vision is clear, She slap Evan in the face. HARD. Then walked away. What was that? Is it his girlfriend? Sibling? Ex? Cousin? wait, why am I overthinking it. Umuwi na lang ako at nag ayos na ng gamit.