Jamie P.O.V

I get Lizzy to stop walking for a moment just as the sunset is at its climax. It's a truly beautiful moment, but it also means it will be dark soon. I need to do this and I need to do it fast.

"Why are we stopping? Is something wrong, Jamie?" she asks, most likely noticing how tense I am by now.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just have a question that I need to ask you," I explain, my hand already clutching the small box in my pocket.

Even when there's no actual romantic feeling behind this, it's still nerve racking. While I want her to reject this marriage proposal I also don't because I feel like it may make things odd between us. I hope that it doesn't, but there's always a possibility.

"You can ask me anything, you're my best friend," she says in a sweet voice that makes me smile.

With that, I get down on one knee and take out the ring box. I open it, revealing the breath-taking diamond inside. Elizabeth seems shocked; she would have never imagined this question coming from me. I wouldn't have either. This was her father's idea.

"Elizabeth Marie Genovese, you are my best friend and I cherish you more than life itself. You are kind and beautiful and only deserve the best. I may not be there yet, but I know that if you say yes that I will try my hardest to be the very best for you. Lizzy, will you marry me?" I ask, trying to be as truthful as possible, but still feeling a horrible, burning pain in my chest because I know that these emotions aren't real.

Lizzy just stands before me, a shocked look on her face. I'm hoping this means that she will say no, but I can never tell with her. Sometimes her answer can be the polar opposite of her reaction.

She takes my hands and pulls me up so I'm standing. I'm not entirely sure what she's doing. She hugs me rather tight, confusing me further. I need to know her response.

"Oh, Jamie... My father put you up to this, didn't he?" she asks, not really surprising me that she was able to figure out his plan.

I'm not sure what to say at first, but I decide the truth is better than any more lies. "Yes, he did. He wants us to get married because we're close and so he won't have to kill any other suitors that try to win you over. He said he would arrange the wedding and all I would have to do was propose," I explain, telling her everything.

She sighs and hugs me tighter, gripping the back of my vest and shirt with her nails. She seems upset, but I don't know if it's because of her father or if it's because of me. I would hope that it's not because of me because I still want to be friends with Lizzy, even after all this.

"Jamie, I've known you since I was three years of age. We're more like brother and sister than anything. But if my father wants us to get married then I suppose there's not much else we can do. I don't want to put a target on your back. I want you to stay safe," she tells me, showing that she cares even if she doesn't love me in that special way. 

I hug her tight and sigh. "I know. I would do anything for you, Lizzy. I want you to be happy with someone you love. I know that we love each other, just not in that way. But I know that even if we don't love each other that we'll make it work. We've been best friends for this long, we can pretend to be married for a while. We could definitely pull it off."

She lets out a small laugh and wipes her eyes. I suppose that the whole situation has made her emotional. I would be too if I were her.

'Lizzy probably wants to marry her true love, not her best friend. What if she meets the person she truly loves while we're married? I wouldn't care if she was with them, but her father certainly would. He arranged this marriage for a reason. He trusts me with his daughter. He's most likely not going to trust a random stranger with her heart. This is a major predicament.'

Lizzy breaks the hug after a few moments and sighs. "So, we really are engaged now, huh?" she says softly, looking up at me with her chocolate brown eyes that have the slightest tint of green in the light.

"I suppose so," I tell her softly.

She has a very small smile, but I can tell she's hiding some real pain behind her gorgeous eyes. This hurts her. It hurts me too, but it hurts even worse to see her pain. I would do anything to take it away, but I can't.

I put the ring on her finger as evidence that I actually proposed so her father won't jump down my throat. We both have fake smiles of happiness to make sure that this seems as legitimate as possible. We've come this far, there can't be any mistakes beyond this point.

As we walk to her porch I see her father sitting there, the knife he was sharpening earlier stuck into the wooden chair where he sat. It looked like he was preparing to use it for something, or someone in the near future. I'm just praying that he's not planning on using it for me.

"So, how was dinner?" he asks, more to Lizzy than me.

"Oh Daddy, it was great! Jamie proposed at sunset and I said yes!" Lizzy tells him happily, showing him the ring just for good measure.

He smiles and nods at me before hugging his daughter. His plan has worked, but it's trapping both his daughter and me in a marriage neither of us wants.

'I hope we can pull this off.'