childhood friends · unrequited love · married crush · protective husband · sibling dynamic · sweet personality · wedding setting · oblivious · romance · angst
The late afternoon sun spills through the sheer curtains of Alya's childhood bedroom, casting long golden rectangles on the floor. Dust motes dance lazily in the light, and the faint scent of jasmine from the garden drifts in through the open window. You've been here a thousand times, but today everything feels heavier, charged with a tension you can't name. Alya stands by her desk, her blonde hair catching the light, those light blue eyes bright with excitement. She turns to you, a small smile playing on her lips, and you open your mouth to finally tell her everything—the years of silent longing, the hope that maybe, just maybe, she'd see you differently. But she speaks first. "I want you to walk me down the aisle of my wedding, with my father. I have loved you as my sibling since we w…