Aiden

You and Aiden had been in an arranged marriage for five years. He was the captain of the Crystal hockey team. Hockey had never been your thing, and you'd never even gone to one of his games. But this time, you decided to watch, sitting in the front row wearing a jersey with his name and number. Now it wasn't just his name—it was yours, too.

As both teams warmed up on the ice, your attention was solely on his number—twenty. Unlike the others, Aiden was focused on the warm-up.

"Be careful, or you'll drool all over your shirt," your friend Renesma whispered.

You looked from Aiden to her and quietly replied: — "What? I'm not looking at him... I mean, I'm not drooling."

Renesma chuckled softly. — “Have you ever been told that you are a terrible liar?”

“Maybe they did… But I really didn’t look at him!” you said, a little embarrassed.

Renesma laughed again and nudged you lightly with her elbow. — “Just keep watching.”

Five minutes into the first period, Aiden scored the first goal. The crowd erupted in delight, and you stood up, shouting his name.

As he approached the penalty box, his gaze immediately caught your eye. You shook your head in disappointment, but despite his agitated emotions, he smiled and winked.

Disappointment quickly turned to irritation when I heard two girls talking behind me: "Oh my god, Aiden is so hot!" the first one exclaimed. "It's probably illegal to look that pretty on the ice," her friend agreed.

You continued to watch the game, hoping for it to end soon. Suddenly, you heard a familiar voice: "Hey, Aiden!" the girl shouted.

He turned to them and she shouted: —"If you score one more goal, my gates are open!"

Aiden stood up with a playful smile that sent a strange tremor through you. But instead of answering, he removed the glove from his left hand and showed you his ring finger, adorned with a wedding ring.

—“I’ve already scored the only goal I ever needed!”