Maya has lived her life in the planning of other people’s "forever."
As a premier wedding planner, she spent her days purchasing rings and managing the logistics of joining two hearts as one. But in all this, her heart was the opposite of what her career portrayed - a quiet, dusty room filled with the charred remains of her broken heart. For the past two years, she felt like a discarded draft of a love story.
Most mornings, before work, she'll stand in front of her mirror longer than necessary, staring at the beauty carrying the emptiness within. Music hardly played in her apartment. To her, silence made her pain easier.
She tricked her mind hard enough to believe that by burying herself in work, she would find solace in silk ribbons and perfect lighting. Or maybe in the love story of her clients.
Until one Tuesday, a man named Jack walked into her office. He was different. Different from many grooms she has ever seen. Other clients usually walked in as a couple, but he was alone, yet he had this aura from his calmness, to that steady gaze that seemed to see right through the clutter of her office. His plan was just a simple wedding for the following autumn. When she asked his bride, he explained with a faint, enigmatic smile that his bride was currently abroad and couldn't attend the meetings.
The explanation was odd considering how brides were more hyped about weddings than the groom. But it was too smooth not to believe. Maya noticed, but in her line of work, she had learned that it was better not to pry.
Maya watched him closely as he left her office. Then she took a deep breath and got to work, picking up her pen and drafting her plans. For this wedding, she felt something sweet within her. Jack had explained just her dream wedding and she was prepared to help him build another monument to a love she no longer believed she could possess.
Also, Jack was unlike any client Maya had ever encountered. While most grooms were preoccupied with the bar tab or the guest list, Jack was different, he cared more about the atmosphere.
"It should feel like a love secret whispered in a cathedral," he had said during their subsequent meetings.
That line caught her, and she quickly penned it down. It read like a line from a romance novel.
He didn't stop there; the way he spoke of the bride with so much reverence made Maya’s chest ache. The fire in his eyes. The love in his voice. The smile was etched on his face. He precision with which he described her preference
"A ceremony held at the precise moment the sun dipped below the horizon, and a playlist consisting entirely of Johnny Drilled" he described. He made sure to leave no details untouched, and coincidentally, it was just like Maya had written in her jotter, which she had tucked away after her last heartbreak.
She watched him closely with a smile on her face and fantasies floating in her mind. Her throat tightened. Her eyes dimmed. She held her breath, trying so much not to faint, pressing her feet firmly against the floor.
It felt like the universe had intentionally brought Jack to her. Maybe to remind her of what she was losing with love. Maybe to reignite that fire within her. But why did it seem like that strong force was pushing her back to love with the heartthrob of another woman? She told herself it was professional curiosity, but the way her pulse quickened when he entered the room suggested a more dangerous truth.
The planning sessions stretched into months longer than she had imagined. They visited bakeries and florists, and with every choice, the coincidence grew more profound. The connection felt stronger. Their preferences are the same. They reached for the colour of clothes, rings, and even loved the same cake.
She laughed when he talked. Melted when her hands brushed his. And when their eyes caught, the world outside ceased to exist.
Sometimes they will stand eyes locked. Neither of them moved. Neither of them spoke. As soon as they were memorizing faces for a future they were yet to be inked.
But what scared her the most was something in his expression, ok his eyes. It had certainty written on it, not just desire.
Was she falling for him or him for her? She asked herself several times. And every time a wave of guilt crashes over her. She was falling for a man who was devoted to a woman halfway across the globe.
That night she slapped her head many times as if it would get the thoughts of him off her mind.
At dusk, they visited the venue, a secluded garden overlooking a mirrored lake. The air was cool, carrying the scent of damp earth and nature. They walked beside each other, their bodies almost brushing against each other.
She avoided his gaze. She didn't like how it made her feel.
"She would love this," Maya whispered, her voice thick with a sadness she couldn't quite hide. She was sad another woman was taking such a gentle young man away. "You know the way the light hits the water... it's just... perfect." Elias stopped walking and turned to face her. The sun above them flickered to life, making his face glow
He tried to speak but shut his mouth. "This is just what I want. A place where time stops," he said softly. "A place where you only think of the person standing before you."
Maya looked away, unable to bear the intensity of his gaze. What was he talking about? Is he aware that they were the only ones there? She folded her arms, as if it would make her look uninterested.
She felt like a spectator in her own dream. Like the ghost of her dream wedding was haunting her. She felt her guilt drop to her stomach, a reminder that she was longing for the man standing before her yet unable to reach him.
"Maya," he began again, his voice shaking and barely a whisper. "Do you believe in faith?"
Maya looked at him; she didn't understand where he was heading with that question. "I like to believe in schedules, Mr Jack. I don't believe in things that aren't possible."
Jack smiled and moved a bit closer. "What if there is a possibility right here?" he asked, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
Maya stepped back a bit, she couldn't look him in the eye. She trembled. Her knees felt weak. "You have a bride. You are getting married in a few days to a life waiting for you. I’m just your wedding planner. Whatever we feel isn't supposed to be."
She watched his face. Her words had hurt him as much as it hurt her. Quickly, she turned and ran to her car, leaving him standing alone in the fading sun.
That night, Maya returned to her lonely apartment and immediately dropped to the floor, weeping. Weeping at how the universe had brought together two strangers who perfectly aligned?
She had spent years helping couples find their "happily ever after," yet here she was, pining for a client. Her eyes caught the blueprints for Elias’s wedding spread across her dining table. And every choice laid out there was a reflection of her own wedding. Like the universe was making her watch someone else live her life.
She felt dirty.
Dirty for fantasizing over another's property. Dirty for crying over another woman's groom. A bride with the same preference as her. She wondered if the bride knew how lucky she was to have a man who was willing to devote his life to make her happy.
She fell asleep thinking about the answers to her questions. To worsen it all she still had a last day to plan with Jack tomorrow. At that point, she just wanted to finish the job and then walk away. She couldn't continue to play a supporting role in a story where she was the one who felt the lead's emotions.
She forced herself to finish the preparations. And when she was done, she avoided Jack. She just waited for the big day to finish it all and not see him ever again.
But just a day to the wedding, as heavy rain pounded against Maya’s windows. She stayed in bed, the curtains drawn, trying so hard to erase the memory of Jack and his touch.
The doorbell rang. She ignored it at first, because she wasn't expecting a guest. But after a third time, she threw on a robe and opened the door. On the other side was Jack soaked to the bone, his shirt clinging to his chest. She wondered why he had come in the rain without an umbrella.
"Mr Jack, what are you doing here" she wanted to let him in. But she wasn't going to fall for the pleasures her flash craved at that hour.
"I couldn't let it go on any longer," he said, his breath high.
"Let what go?" Maya stared at him. "Your wedding is tomorrow, you should be with your bride."
He paused. "There is no other woman, Maya," he said, his voice steady now. "There never was a bride in another country."
Maya's jaw dropped. The world tilted.
"What? The meetings... the phone calls... the music... You told me it—" her voice cracked.
He let his eyes fall. "I might sound stupid, but all these were a challenge. A 'faith challenge,' After a sermon in church, my pastor talked about faith. And after a series of heartbreak. I decided to take up the challenge. From the very day I stepped into your office the world felt different. I never took it seriously but as we worked together, it all fell into place. it."
He swallowed. Hard.
He looked at her, his eyes shining. "I didn't think I'd actually find you. I was planning a ghost's wedding until you started filling in the blanks with your own heart."
Maya felt the breath leave her lungs. The guilt that had been a stone in her chest dissolved into a radiant, terrifying joy, a relief. Relief that he wasn't trying to cheat on anyone with her. Relief that she wasn't trying to step on another woman's man. All that she thought was "coincidence" was just the fantasies of two people who spoke the same fantasies.
"You're crazy," she whispered, a laugh bubbling up through her tears. She wiped her face with the back of her hand, unashamed.
"I know," Elias replied more relaxed now, reaching out to take her hands in his. "But I'm crazy about you."
"So?" She asked. "What happens now?"
He pulled her into an embrace, "Let's get married tomorrow." He let her go and brought out a ring from his pocket. Then, he bent to one knee. "Marry me, Maya."
Maya finally let the shutters of her heart fly open. "Yes. Yes, I will." She fell into his arms almost instantly, waiting for him to brace for impact.
She couldn't believe it. The wedding she had spent months planning wouldn't be for a stranger anymore.
It was hers.
