The basketball player

Fateful Wedding Twist

12th July. The day everything changed.

Tia and I were rushing, frantically wrapping ourselves in sarees, struggling to match the Bollywood theme of Saanvi's wedding. We were late—again—and the sarees weren't exactly helping. But even with the rush, we both looked stunning, decked out in glittering fabric and golden jewelry. Tia, my best friend, had this effortless beauty about her, the kind that made people turn heads. I wasn't doing too bad myself, though. Together, we were the dynamic duo that everyone noticed—sometimes for all the wrong reasons, but today, for all the right ones.

Let me rewind a bit. We were the new girls at the bank, having only joined four months ago. Tia was a senior banking assistant, and I was still a trainee banking assistant. But despite our short time there, we'd somehow managed to become part of the cool crowd. Saanvi, on the other hand, was the veteran—she had been at the bank for over five years, knew everyone, and was the life of the party at every work event. Her wedding was no different, and half the guest list seemed to be past and present employees from our branch.

As we arrived, all dolled up and late, we instantly caught the attention of everyone at the wedding. The guys were all wide-eyed, unable to peel their gazes away, while some of the women looked like they were silently comparing their outfits to ours—and not loving the result. Tia's beauty always turned heads, and I felt like I was riding in her glow.

We greeted our colleagues, plastering smiles on our faces as we approached our manager, trying not to make it obvious that we were scanning for a place to sit. Our branch's table was packed, and the only available seats were next to our manager—the last place we wanted to be. Tia, always quick on her feet, whispered, "Follow me," and snagged a couple of seats at the next table, strategically near our friends.

As we settled in, two of our male colleagues from work suddenly stood up from their table and sat next to us. It was like we had suddenly become the main attraction, and I couldn't help but feel a little flattered by the attention. But then, amidst all the chatter, it happened.

I saw him. Just as he walked in,

Aiden.

At first, I didn't know who he was or what his connection to the bride was, but my eyes locked on him like magnets. He was tall, about 5'8, with a clean beard, perfectly styled mullet, and dressed in a blue shirt with a sharp black blazer. He had this natural swagger, a confidence that wasn't over the top, but just enough to make him stand out. My mind went, Holy crap, he's hot.

I nudged Tia and whispered, "Omg, look at him. He's so good-looking." She turned to follow my gaze and nodded, grinning, as if she had just figured out the next part of the evening's adventure. But I couldn't help myself—I had to know who he was. So, I leaned over and asked Shane, my work partner, "Who's that guy?"

Shane chuckled knowingly. "Oh, that's Aiden. Definitely your type."

I was like, wait, Aiden? The name rang a bell. I had overheard my officers talking about him before, mostly stories about how he used to cause some mischief at the branch. And I remembered his birthday, when they all called him to wish him. But the image I had in my head of Aiden was totally different from the guy standing before me. The Aiden I imagined was more average—this Aiden was a whole different level. Way hotter, with this mysterious charm that made him impossible to ignore.

As if fate was having a little fun with me, Aiden soon came and sat directly across from me and Tia, right next to Shane. My heart skipped a beat as I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, pretending to be cool, even though I was feeling anything but. It was like every time I looked up, our eyes would meet, and I'd get lost for a second, trying to play it off like I was just casually scanning the room.