---
**"The Red Saree"**
Aanya glared at the crimson saree draped across her bed. The silk shimmered under the dim light of her room, mocking her reluctance. She folded her arms, frowning at the bold choice her friends had picked for her.
"I don't even want to go," she muttered under her breath, scrolling through the stream of frantic messages in her group chat. *"Hurry up, Aanya!"*... *"We're leaving in ten minutes!"*... *"You better not bail!"*
Her fingers hovered over the phone, ready to type out an excuse, but she knew better. This wasn't just any party-it was *the* party, and her friends had made it their mission to drag her out of her comfort zone.
"This is ridiculous," she grumbled, slipping on the saree with the kind of precision that only frustration could fuel. The pleats fell perfectly, and the bold red seemed to bring out a fire in her eyes she hadn't seen in a while.
Minutes later, she was rushing down the stairs, cursing her heels and the fact that her cab was late. Her phone buzzed incessantly, her friends' calls blending into the chaos of the night.
"You're late!" the message popped up
As soon as she left the house for the bus stop
"Yes, I know!" she snapped aloud, startling the man who was passing by her side
Little did Aanya know, that crimson saree and the party she didn't want to attend would mark the beginning of something she'd never forget.
---
A Chance Encounter...
As she was running late, aanya's mind at raced
-- she didn't have time for this. she had to get to the party. The cab had been stuck in traffic, and now she stood at the bus stop, watching the bus speed fast, frustration bubbled inside her. She was about to turn and storm off when, to her relief, the next bus pulled up.
Without a second thought, she squeezed through the crowded crowd, her heels clicking against the pavement as she boarded. The bus was packed, the air thick with the chatter of people heading home or to their weekend plans. Aanya pushed her way toward an empty space near the middle, trying to make herself
As small as possible, her phone still buzzing in her hand .
She was in a hurry, weaving her way through the crowded bus, the hum of conversations and the occasional squeak of brakes filling her ears. Her bag was clutched tightly to her chest, her thoughts far away from the people she brushed past.
She glanced up, only to freeze mid-step,
A familiar face she hadn't seen in like 3 years.
It was him!
Aarnik!!
Her heart skipped a bit, and her breath caught in her throat. He was sitting by the window, his profile softened by the sunlight streaming in. The slope of his nose, the faint shadow of a beard on his jaw-time had changed him, but not enough for her to mistake him.
His eyes drifted lazily over the crowd, landing on her. Recognition hit, as sharp and sudden as lightning. His expression mirrored hers-shock, disbelief, and something unspoken that passed between them like an electric current.
Time stopped. The crowded bus disappeared. And she was pulled back to the day when she accepted his quite friend request on snap...
YOU ARE READING
~ unspoken ties
Romance*Aarnik and Aanya* "They were two souls, as different as night and day. She was a dreamer with her heart in the clouds; he was a realist, grounded by logic. Yet, in the chaos of their contrasting worlds, they found an inexplicable pull toward each o...
