He Said He’d Marry Her, So I Married Someone Else Chapter 19

He Said He’d Marry Her, So I Married Someone Else Chapter 19

Daniel was clearly flustered.

He was a true gentleman, impeccably raised.

But he was obviously not very good at comforting a crying girl.

He wiped my tears with his pocket square, his movements so clumsy they were almost endearing.

I cried and laughed at the same time.

“Daniel, you’re going to ruin my makeup…”

“You’re wearing makeup?”

“It’s this obvious. You can’t tell?”

Daniel said, with perfect solemnity, “I thought you were just naturally this beautiful.”

I’ll admit, I can be vain and shallow sometimes.

With that one sentence, he managed to soothe me more than anything else could have.

“Daniel, you’re so good at this. Have you had a lot of girlfriends?”

“Does kindergarten count?”

My eyes widened.

“You haven’t dated since you grew up?”

“That would be a lie.”

“I had a girlfriend when I was at Columbia.”

“After we got together, we realized we weren’t a good fit, and we broke up amicably.”

“Did you like anyone after that?”

Daniel paused for a few seconds.

“Yes.”

“It was just…bad timing. She didn’t like me.”

I understood.

So that was it.

He had probably given up on relationships after the person he liked fell for someone else, and that’s why he had agreed to this arrangement.

For some reason, a thin thread of disappointment coiled in my heart.

But I quickly pushed it away.

This was fine.

At least I wouldn’t have to feel so guilty.

That day, as I was leaving the Harrington estate, Daniel said to me,

“Ava, I hope you’ll start to see me as your future husband.”

“I know you’re independent and capable.”

“But if you decided to depend on me once in a while, I would be very happy.”

It felt like a door in my heart had just been nudged open.

“Daniel,” I said. “I will.”

I gave Daniel a pair of cufflinks and a tie clip first.

They weren’t particularly expensive.

But I had designed them myself on a whim a while ago.

This gift felt clean.

Because when I had designed them, I hadn’t been thinking of Ethan.

I had simply been missing my parents.

And I had poured all of that longing into the lines I drew.