The sound of laughter drifted out from Maya's back garden, where lanterns hung from the trees and a long table had been set for another round of wedding planning that looked suspiciously like a small party. The air smelled faintly of roasted peppers and cut grass. It was one of those evenings that felt too calm to last.
Elena carried a tray of glasses from the kitchen, balancing them carefully while Maya rearranged flower samples for the tenth time.
"Are you sure this isn't an excuse to throw another party?" Elena asked.
Maya grinned. "What's the point of getting married if you can't celebrate the preparation?"
Before Elena could reply, a burst of bright laughter announced the arrival of a new guest. A woman with a halo of curls and a sunshine-colored dress stepped through the open gate.
"Leela!" Maya exclaimed, abandoning the flowers to hug her cousin. "You made it!"
Leela twirled once for effect. "Did you think I'd miss my favorite cousin's wedding chaos? Never."
She greeted everyone with effortless warmth—until her eyes landed on Adrian. The moment stretched half a beat longer than polite.
"Oh," she said, a smile curling slowly. "You must be the famous Adrian I've heard so much about."
Adrian inclined his head slightly, polite as ever. "I'm not sure about famous."
Leela's eyes sparkled. "Humble too. That's dangerous."
Ethan laughed. "Leela flirts with everyone. Don't take it personally."
"I never do," she said, though her gaze stayed fixed on Adrian in a way that made Maya bite back a smile.
Elena busied herself setting the glasses down, her movements a little too deliberate. Daniel caught the small stiffness in her shoulders and quietly handed her another napkin, pretending not to notice the faint change in her expression.
Dinner unfolded in waves of conversation—Maya teasing Ethan, Leela asking questions that bordered on bold, Daniel sharing light stories from work. Adrian was quieter than usual, but Leela's attention never wavered from him. She laughed at his briefest replies as if they were the wittiest things in the world.
When Maya proposed a toast to "love and patience," Leela lifted her glass. "And to the men who make patience worth the trouble," she added, her eyes flicking toward Adrian again. Everyone laughed, even Elena, though the sound felt thin in her throat.
After dinner, the group moved toward the garden's edge where strings of lights glowed softly. Leela drifted closer to Adrian as they talked about travel—her voice low, her hand brushing his arm once, lightly, as if testing what she could get away with.
From across the garden, Elena watched, pretending to listen to Daniel. Something unfamiliar tightened in her chest—nothing dramatic, just a quiet, unwelcome twist. Adrian's posture remained calm, but his gaze flicked toward her for a fraction of a second, almost unconsciously. Their eyes met. Just long enough for her to look away first.
Leela didn't notice. "So, you really never smile?" she asked him.
"Sometimes," he said.
"Then I'll take that as a challenge."
Maya's laughter cut through the moment, calling everyone back toward dessert. Adrian turned away, but the trace of that small, amused smirk stayed on his lips as he followed the group.
Elena exhaled slowly. She didn't know why she cared, or what exactly she was feeling—only that for the first time, someone else's voice had filled the space where his attention usually lived. And she hated how empty that space suddenly felt.