chapter 11: Friends

Diva's clothes seemed wrinkled, which was a sign that they were wet but had now dried. Blaze slowly walked towards her and asked, "Where were you?"
Glaring at him, Diva bitterly answered, "It doesn't concern you."
Blaze could already tell that she had gone to see her best friend in the poor weather, but she wasn't willing to tell him. So, he further asked, "How is your best friend?"
That was the last straw. Glancing at him in disbelief, she let out, "After so many requests, you didn't drive me to the hospital. My best friend could've died! And you have the audacity to ask me how she is? Why do you want to know, huh?"
All of a sudden, Diva pointed her index finger at Blaze, making him stumble back a little at her sudden movement. She continued, "I wanted a ride, which you wouldn��t give. I told you I couldn't drive. And, you closed the door in my face. What if I got hurt?"
He wanted to explain himself, but he had nothing to say. He knew he was wrong. Besides, interrupting Diva would cause more havoc.
In the meantime, Diva was feeling weak, yet she didn't stop. "I had to walk to the hospital in the rain. What if lightning struck me, or the wind blew me away? The umbrella I used was useless. It couldn't even protect my head. I forgot to wear a raincoat, so I was drenched from head to toe when I reached the hospital."
She felt her vision slowly blurring, causing her to pause for a beat. Thinking she was done speaking, Blaze asked, "Are you done?"
As soon as Diva heard him ask that, she threw daggers at him with her grey eyes. "What do you mean am I done?" she said sternly. "Does this sound like a speech? Am I giving you a speech, Blaze Hudson?!"
He opened his mouth to speak, but seeing the look on Diva��s, he knew that he had unknowingly made another mistake. The disadvantage of being an introvert was that he didn't know how to continue a conversation with a person. So, he sealed his lips once again.
"I am so frustrated and angry! I feel like choking you to death, Blaze. But unfortunately, you are my h��" Diva's vision went black all of a sudden. She plopped down, thankfully landing on the couch next to her.
Blaze tried to catch her, but she stopped him with her hand. She took a deep breath, while Blaze took his water bottle and handed it to Diva.
"Drink it. You will feel better."
She narrowed her eyes but nevertheless, took the bottle and gulped it all in one go. Blaze placed his hand on her forehead, only to feel it was burning. She had a fever, and it was all because he didn't give her a ride.
"I don't need your fake concern!" She pushed his hand away.
Rolling his eyes, Blaze said, "That was called humanity."
Handing him the bottle, Diva stood on the sofa. "What is your problem, Blaze? Did you ever realize that I was forced into this wedding as well?"
"Get down," he mumbled, getting slightly annoyed with her dirtying the couch once again.
Avoiding his request, she continued, "I know it's hard for you to accept me��a complete stranger - as your wife. But think about me. It's not easy for me either. I am facing the same problems you are. You were a stranger to me when I said 'I do'. Every girl desires their wonderful dream wedding. Even I did. I never expected to get married at a mass wedding, let alone basing my husband on a token number. It all just happened so suddenly."
Blaze grew quiet because Diva was right. She too was a victim. He never thought about her point of view. He never thought about how she was feeling.
"Do you think I am doing all this because I am accustomed to being friendly?" She got down and sat on the couch. "I am trying to make everything work, Blaze. Whether we agree or not, we are married and that is the truth. I cannot escape anymore because I am Mrs. Blaze Hudson in front of the whole world. You cannot let me go either because I know the truth about Vyan. According to Vyan, it's either he kills me, or I stay with you. And I would rather stay with you than be killed. I don't want to die��not yet. My grandma will die if I am dead. I am all she has, and she is all I have."
A tear slid through her eye, as she poured all of her emotions out.
Meanwhile, Blaze understood that being an extrovert didn't mean they spoke whatever they were thinking. Extroverts hide their emotions better than introverts and they would express themselves only when everything went downhill or they had enough.
He underestimated Diva. She was not just a walking chatterbox. She could feel different feelings too.
Feeling ashamed of his rude behavior, he sat next to Diva and handed her a tissue. Diva took it without a second thought and wiped her tears.
"I have no choice but to make this marriage work, Blaze. You should do the same," she told him. "I know you are not a bad person��which is the first reason I decided to stay with you. You know, I am thankful to God that I am married to you. You don't abuse me and let me be myself. At least I got lucky in this case."
Diva was sad about Blaze's behavior. He never tried to understand how she felt about the whole thing. However, she was glad that she didn't get married to a bad person. Even the thought of being married to an abusive person or a criminal was scary. And Blaze was neither. Rather he was a well-known person with a clean background.
Diva is thankful? How can she be so optimistic? he wondered.
"You should be thankful too, Blaze. Don't be a pessimist. Think about it. What if you got married to an old woman who was searching for her soulmate based on the token number?"
Instantly, his head snapped in her direction. The thought of marrying an old woman who could barely walk was indeed scary.
Yup, I am thankful, he informed himself.
Still feeling guilty, he wanted to fix the damage he caused. As he had no experience in apologizing, he was clueless about what to say.
"So, how do I make it up to you?" he asked Diva.
She narrowed her eyes.
Why is he using so short-cut? she thought. Is he feeling guilty? Indeed, he is. Obviously, he doesn't know how to apologize properly or what to say. But no worries. This is the first step in making this a proper marriage.
"Well, treat me like your friend. Don't treat me like the trash you forgot to take outside," she answered.
"But, I don't have friends, and my servants take out the trash for me."
Instantly, Diva facepalmed herself. When she saw Blaze arching an eyebrow, she said, "Well now you have one friend. So, let's make it official."
"Official?" he inquired.
Diva extended a hand towards him, wanting to shake hands. "So, friends?"
Blaze looked at her hand hanging in the air for a while before he extended his hand as well. As they shook hands, he mumbled, "Friends."
He was already feeling a weird sensation��probably because he had never had any friends. He used to occupy himself with his laptop since childhood��refusing to interact with his peers.
"Friends," muttered Diva.
A grin was plastered onto her face. She was happy to be on good terms with her husband. One step at a time, she informed herself. She had plenty of friends, but Lina was the only one she could count on. Now, she had another friend, one whom she could count on in the future.
Poor Blaze didn't know what he was signing up for.
After their handshake, they called it a night. Before going to their respective rooms, Blaze called out, "Diva."
"Yes?" she turned to look at him, a smile still on her face.
Looking at her beautiful face one more time, he said before sauntering away, "Don't forget to take some medicine."