Where Fate Begins
1432 Words
A week had passed since I arrived in New York.
Seven long days of searching.
Seven days of rejection.
Seven days of pretending I wasn't terrified.
The city never slowed down.
Every morning the streets overflowed with people rushing toward somewhere important, while I wandered through unfamiliar neighborhoods clutching copies of my résumé, hoping someone would give me a chance.
New York was beautiful.
Towering buildings stretched endlessly into the sky.
Yellow taxis flooded the roads.
Street performers entertained crowds on busy sidewalks while cafés overflowed with customers laughing over expensive coffee.
Everything about the city screamed opportunity.
Yet somehow...
None of those opportunities seemed to belong to me.
Thankfully, I had managed to rent a small apartment.
It wasn't luxurious.
The walls were plain, the furniture was old, and the kitchen was barely big enough for one person.
But it was clean.
Safe.
And most importantly...
It was mine.
After spending three nights in a hotel that drained nearly half of my savings, finally finding somewhere affordable felt like a miracle.
Still...
My bank account looked painfully small.
Every payment felt like another reminder that time wasn't on my side.
Rent.
Food.
Transportation.
Utilities.
Every dollar disappeared faster than I expected.
Which meant one thing.
I needed a job.
Immediately.
Yesterday, I had gone from one company to another, handing over my résumé until my feet could barely carry me anymore.
Each office looked different.
Different buildings.
Different receptionists.
Different interview rooms.
But every answer sounded exactly the same.
"We'll contact you later."
Later.
I hated that word.
It wasn't yes.
It wasn't no.
It simply left people hanging.
Maybe they truly meant it.
Maybe they didn't.
Either way...
I had no choice but to keep waiting.
This morning, I decided to buy groceries before my tiny kitchen became completely empty.
The supermarket buzzed with life.
Families pushed overflowing shopping carts.
Children begged their parents for candy.
Young couples argued playfully over what cereal to buy.
Meanwhile...
I carefully compared every price tag.
Rice.
Eggs.
Bread.
Milk.
Instant noodles.
Only the necessities.
Every item I placed inside my basket came after careful calculation.
Luxury wasn't something I could afford anymore.
By the time I reached the cashier, my shopping bags were heavier than I expected.
The walk back to my apartment felt twice as long.
The plastic handles dug painfully into my fingers, leaving red marks across my skin.
By the time I unlocked my apartment door, my arms were shaking.
I set everything on the kitchen counter before letting out a long sigh.
"I'm definitely getting a job soon," I muttered to myself.
My stomach growled immediately.
I hadn't eaten since morning.
Too busy worrying.
Too busy counting money.
Too busy planning tomorrow.
I quickly made myself a simple sandwich.
Nothing fancy.
Just enough to stop the hunger.
After eating, I collapsed onto the couch.
My body practically melted into the cushions.
Without thinking, I picked up my phone.
Scrolling had become my newest habit.
One short video after another.
Cooking videos.
Travel clips.
Funny pets.
Dance challenges.
People living lives completely different from mine.
For a while...
It distracted me.
But eventually, the screen reminded me of something else.
My contact list.
It was...
Almost empty.
Dad.
A few neighbors back home.
My former landlord.
That was it.
No best friends.
No endless group chats.
No dozens of unread messages.
Just silence.
I'd always been an introvert.
Growing up, books felt easier than conversations.
Buildings fascinated me more than parties.
Blueprints made more sense than people.
High school hadn't exactly been easy either.
Bullies existed everywhere.
But I survived.
I believed college would be different.
I believed people would judge me by my abilities instead of my background.
I was wrong.
Receiving a full architecture scholarship should have been the happiest moment of my life.
Instead...
It painted a target on my back.
Most students came from wealthy families.
Luxury cars.
Designer clothes.
Private schools.
Perfect lives.
I had none of those things.
I only had determination.
During lectures, I always asked questions.
Not because I wanted attention.
Because I genuinely wanted to learn.
Architecture wasn't just a degree.
It was my dream.
The professors noticed.
Several praised my work.
Some even used my projects as examples during class.
Unfortunately...
Not everyone appreciated that.
The whispers started quietly.
"Teacher's favorite."
"Scholarship girl."
"Trying too hard."
Soon...
The whispers became something worse.
And at the center of everything...
Was Bentley Smith.
Even now...
Just remembering her name made my chest tighten.
Bentley had everything.
Money.
Popularity.
Beauty.
Influence.
She walked through campus like she owned it.
People admired her.
Followed her.
Feared her.
I never intended to cross paths with her.
Unfortunately...
Life had other plans.
After classes, I worked as a tutor.
It helped pay for books and daily expenses.
One afternoon, I was helping a student who struggled with architecture design.
He wasn't the smartest in class.
But he genuinely wanted to improve.
So I helped him.
Patiently.
Step by step.
Unfortunately...
That student happened to be Bentley's ex-boyfriend.
She walked into the study room at exactly the wrong moment.
Her face darkened instantly.
"So this is what you've been doing?" she demanded.
I blinked in confusion.
"What?"
"You think you're clever?"
Students slowly gathered outside.
"I've seen girls like you before," she continued loudly.
"Pretending to be innocent while stealing someone else's boyfriend."
"I wasn't—"
"Stop lying!"
Her voice echoed through the hallway.
More students stopped to watch.
No matter what I said...
She refused to listen.
By the end of the day...
The entire campus believed I had been chasing her ex.
The rumors spread faster than the truth ever could.
Every hallway became unbearable.
People whispered whenever I passed.
Some laughed openly.
Others simply looked at me with disgust.
I kept my head down and focused on my studies.
I believed things would eventually settle down.
Instead...
They became even worse.
There was another student.
Adam.
He always seemed kind.
Whenever others mocked me, he defended me.
Whenever I looked overwhelmed, he offered help.
For the first time in years...
Someone made me feel seen.
Without realizing it...
I developed a small crush on him.
Nothing serious.
Just quiet admiration.
So when Adam asked me to help him study after class one afternoon...
I didn't hesitate.
I trusted him.
That was my biggest mistake.
Everything after that became a blur.
When I regained consciousness...
I felt dizzy.
Disoriented.
Wrong.
I couldn't fully remember what had happened.
Only that something terrible had.
Before I could even understand the situation...
A video appeared online.
Edited.
Manipulated.
Completely out of context.
Yet everyone believed it.
The comments were cruel.
The whispers became insults.
The insults became humiliation.
Everywhere I went...
People stared.
Pointed.
Judged.
No one cared about the truth.
Only Dad believed me.
"I know my daughter," he told me.
"You don't have to prove anything."
Later...
I discovered the truth.
Adam had been working with Bentley all along.
Everything had been planned.
Everything.
By then...
The damage was already done.
Who would believe a scholarship student over two rich, influential people?
No one.
That was why I left Los Angeles.
Not because I wanted to.
Because I couldn't breathe there anymore.
Every classroom.
Every hallway.
Every street.
Everything reminded me of the worst period of my life.
I closed my eyes tightly.
"No more," I whispered.
I wasn't going to let the past control me forever.
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my jacket and stepped outside.
The cool New York breeze greeted me immediately.
The city buzzed with life.
People hurried in every direction.
Street vendors called out to customers.
Taxi horns echoed endlessly.
For the first time all day...
I smiled.
I bought myself a vanilla milkshake and a blueberry muffin from a nearby café.
Nothing expensive.
Just a tiny reward for surviving another difficult week.
As I walked down the crowded sidewalk, I couldn't help admiring the skyscrapers surrounding me.
This city was intimidating.
But somehow...
It also felt full of possibilities.
Then—
Someone crashed into me.
My milkshake flew from my hand.
Cold liquid splashed across a man's expensive black suit.
"Oh my God!"
"I'm so sorry!"
My heart nearly stopped.
I looked up...
And completely froze.
The man standing before me was impossibly handsome.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Sharp jawline.
Perfectly tailored suit.
His cold gray eyes settled on me without a single trace of emotion.
For one impossible second...
The entire city seemed to fall silent.
I had no idea...
That this accidental collision would change my life forever.
- Writer
