Wedding Planners

Chapter 3:As Paths Cross

Chase

"How do you know Asha?" Chance asked as I asked him, "how do you know Laney?"

"Asha and I met at the grocery store in the toilet paper section last night." I explained.

"Laney and I met at some diner this morning." He told me.

"How do you think dad's gonna react?" I asked.

"Well he's not gonna take it very lightly. Let's just not tell him. We only met them last night. Besides, what is there to tell dad? Nothing actually happened." Chance scratched the back of his neck.

"You're right." I said as we pulled up to our dad's mansion. We originally had an apartment a couple streets down - well, more like a penthouse - but our dad insisted on us living in the mansion until we were married so he could keep an eye on us. Probably to make sure we don't go off and fall in love.

He'd been a loveless man ever since mom left him. I don't blame her. Chance and I don't blame her for leaving. They divorced when we were fifteen because he had become all about business and had no time for her or us. She tried gaining custody and she did. Until I started getting beat up at school and dad planted some evidence to frame her for something she didn't do. After that she went to jail until our aunt bailed her out and they moved to Paris. We still visit her on holidays but it's not the same. We tried convincing her to move back but she said she would only move back if we really needed her in an emergency or we could come live with her in an emergency.

If we really needed her.

"I have an idea as to how we can get out of the arranged marriages." I said.

"How?" Chance asked.

"Well you know how mom-"

He cut me off. "We can't go running to mom every time we have a problem. We have to be adults about this and face the fact that we're doomed to be unhappy until we die."

He had a point. A bad one, but still a point. We couldn't always go running to mom.

"There has to be a way we can get out of this." I groaned, frustrated.

"Go fall in love with our wedding planners." He joked, half serious. "Like Laney and Asha will actually want to see us outside of planning though."

"You never know. Fate may bring us together once again." I said, thinking of Asha.

"Oh man, my brother is whipped." He made a whipping noise. I pushed him off the couch.

"Shut up. I'm gonna go take a walk in the park." I said, grabbing my jacket.

"Maybe fate will put Asha there too!" My brother teased. I flipped him off as I walked to my car.

💍💍

As I was laying by the pond, I thought about Asha. I never thought love at first sight wasn't possible but then I met Asha. She looked so beautiful standing in that toilet paper aisle. I could picture myself telling our kids how I met their mother. In the toilet paper section at a grocery store. It would be a hilarious epic romance.

'Shit.' I thought, 'I'm turning into a girl.'

"Chase?" A voice brought me out of my thoughts. I turned around.

"Asha?" I asked as she sat down next to me. "What are you doing here?"

"I always come here once every month on the first Saturday." She told me.

"Me too. Helps clear my mind when I have time. Dad has me on a crazy schedule for the wedding and business and all that" I said. "Weird that we've never crossed paths."