3. He Wasn’t Supposed to Be Here
924 Words
Enya's Point of View
I thought I’d outsmarted fate.
I thought choosing Western University instead of Queen’s meant I had escaped Raphael forever.
But fate had been waiting for me all along.
It was already September. My high school life was finally over, and today marked the first day of my college life.
I'd achieved impressive results in my final exams, just like in my past life. So getting into my top-choice university hadn't been difficult. I'd even secured the same scholarship.
But this time, there was one major difference:
I'd enrolled in Western University instead of Queen's University.
Things at home were no better. Mom refused to break up with Raphael’s father, no matter how many times I told her the truth. Our arguments had become a daily ritual, one I was already too tired to fight. But I am not going to give up!
**************************
I spotted my best friend, Rose, at the university entrance. The moment she saw me, she sprinted over and crushed me in a hug. She'd been so excited when I'd chosen Western University, the same as her. We'd been inseparable since primary school, but in my past life, I'd gone to Queen's while she'd come here. We'd tried to stay close, but after meeting Raphael and the chaos that followed, I'd been too distracted to be a good friend. But this time, I am going to correct my mistakes!
"I can't believe we're going to be together at the university too!" Rose grinned as we walked through the gates. "You always wanted Queen's. Why'd you change your mind?"
"I wanted to be with you," I said, nudging her shoulder.
"Good reason!" She laughed, without pressing further.
Just then, my phone buzzed. To my pleasant surprise, it was a message from the unknown number. After sending me those sneakers months ago, I haven't heard from them again. I'd assumed their deal with me was over, but apparently, I was wrong. And strangely, I was happy.
"Good luck on your first day of college."
I smiled like an i***t. My own mother hadn't wished me luck, but this stranger had.
"Who texted you?" Rose eyed me suspiciously.
"Just Mom. She wasn't home when I left, so she sent me a text."
God, I'm getting too good at lying after my rebirth.
Rose didn't press further. I quickly replied:
"Thank you :)"
As Rose and I headed toward the auditorium, a strange déjà vu gripped me.
Different campus, different path, yet it felt the same. The same trees, the same stone benches, the same atmosphere.
Enough to drag me back to that first day of college in my past life… When I first saw Raphael.
On that fated day, he had been standing under a tree near the walking path, talking to two of his friends. Under different circumstances, they might have been just random three guys, left unnoticed by me.
But I was fated to see him on that very day. The girls who were walking ahead of me suddenly gasped, drawing my attention.
"Oh my God! That's Raphael!"
"It really is him in flesh and blood! "
"He looks even better in person!"
At that time, I had no idea who Raphael was. I knew no one bearing that name, not even a celebrity.
However, even without knowing who Raphael was, when I followed their gazes, I understood instantly which one he was.
Raphael was, without a doubt, the most striking of those three guys.
He was not just handsome. There was this aura about him, something magnetic, something that demanded attention even from a distance.
I had never seen a man like him who could look so cold yet devastatingly handsome at the same time.
For a fleeting moment, our eyes met as his gaze swept over the walking path. Then he looked away, failing to notice that he had just locked eyes with a girl who had fallen in love with him.
Yes, just seeing him from a distance, just by a mere second of looking into his eyes, I fell in love.
Love at first sight.
Or should I call it the beginning of all my troubles?
"Why are you sighing? Regretting not going to Queens," Rose asked, drawing me back to the present. She is still doubtful about my decision.
"Helll no!" I laughed. I am so glad I didn't go there.
We soon arrived at the auditorium and took our seats. Minutes later, the ceremony began. Everything went on just fine, nothing abnormal, just the ordinary stuff in an inauguration ceremony until....
Until a professor introduced the set of peer mentors who are going to help us, the freshmen. Twenty students from the second year batch were called to the stage to be introduced. And....
Then I saw him.
Six feet of unbearable familiarity, broad shoulders, sharp green eyes, and a face I could recognise among millions.
Raphael.
My heart stopped for a moment. He wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be at Queen's, far away from me.
But somehow fate had dragged him right back to me.
And then.... He looked at me. Yes, among hundreds of pairs of eyes, our eyes locked.
The cold indifference I remembered so well... was gone.
Those green eyes were instead filled with warmth, longing and... Possession.
And then... He smiled... The most breathtaking smile I have ever seen.
I forgot even to breathe.
Because that smile didn't belong to the Raphael I knew.
It belonged to a man who is obsessed.
- Writer
