Crossing Paths

Chapter 1

It was the first day of college, and just like all freshies, Jessabelle was quite excited to meet new people, learn new things, and begin her new life. However, she had no idea what was waiting for her ahead. She was in for a long exhausting ride.

Picking out her favorite jeans, she paired them up with her pink backless top. “Is it showing too much? Well, who cares. Let them see what they want to do. Jessabelle Jones, it's your first day. Gear up, woman!” she looked in the mirror and talked to herself. She felt incredibly proud of herself. Getting into Columbia University was one of her biggest dreams, and now she was just a mere moment away from living that.

She put on her accessories and left her hostel room. As soon as she got out, she was amazed by the most beautiful sunny day she had ever seen. “Woah, New York, slow down. I don’t wanna die in the heat just yet,” she spoke to herself again. Living in Florida for almost all her life, she had no idea that the sun could feel this good on her golden skin. Back in her hometown, she was constantly bullied for having a pale white tone but here, it glowed like a bright diamond in the daylight. She felt a sudden sense of confidence rush through her veins. She was lost in her thoughts when she hit a hard wall. Well, it was a human wall with a broad chest, tall height, and blonde hair.

Her books went flying, and she started to fall when a strong arm gripped her tightly from the waist. She could feel his long hard fingers in the dip of her waist that molded perfectly into his strong hands.

“I am so sorry I didn’t see you. I guess I was too lost in my thoughts. You see, it's my first day, and I always dreamt of getting into an IVY league, and now I am finally here, and that’s why maybe I was lost in my thoughts. I am just too excited to even….” She kept blabbering when the guy stopped her.

“Hey hey hey! No worries, it’s all good.”

That’s when Jessabelle built up the courage to look at him, and the moment she locked her eyes with his, she couldn’t stop. She kept gawking at him like a fool. She had never seen a man this good-looking in her entire life. His jaw was so square she could slice her breakfast sandwiches. With dark brown eyes, a perfectly squared beard covering half of his face, and the most beautiful hair she had ever seen. He had roughly styled his hair with hard gel, it was quite obvious. “I can see drool coming out of your mouth,” she heard him say. This was the moment she wished she was dead.

“f**k f**k f**k f**k, really?” she asked.

“Hahaha, no. I was just joking,” he said with a cocky smile. “If I could just kiss those lips,” Jessabelle thought to herself. “Well, you can if you want to,” He replied with that smug smile back on his face.

“Did I say that out loud?”

“I guess so.”

His smile was intoxicating, and they both knew it. Jessabelle had to get out there, and that was the moment when she noticed that she was still in his arms. She could still feel his strong fingers again. She tried getting out of that strong grip, but he had other plans. “I am Alberto, but you can call me Abs,” he said in a sexy voice. He was flirting with her, and Jessabelle was not dumb, she could sense it pretty clearly. “J- Jessabelle,” she stuttered, got out of his grip, and rushed toward her campus. She felt like she would faint any moment. Her breathing was completely distorted, and she could feel the blood pumping through her body. She needed to get to the restroom as soon as possible, or she would surely faint right there. She stormed toward the restroom, pushing away any thoughts about that hot shot she had just met.

The day went by pretty quickly, and all Jessabelle wanted was to hit her bed and sleep. She was so hypnotized by the incident with Alberto that she didn’t talk to a single person throughout the day. This was a first for her as she was always super jolly and vibrant, and she had that magical aura that attracted people toward her like a magnet. But today was different. Today, she kept quiet the entire day, lost in her thoughts, and didn’t even make eye contact with any single person.

As she was walking toward her hostel, she felt someone following her. As it was late evening, she got a bit worried and pulled out the pepper spray that her mother forcefully asked her to carry from her bag. She was about to turn and spray the f**k out of the person following him when the same strong smell of Alberto’s cologne hit her nose. His scent was too strong to forget. She turned with hope in her heart, and the moment she saw him, her heart was filled with emotions she couldn’t comprehend. “Hey! We meet again,” he said with the sexiest voice possible. Jessabelle stared into his eyes and asked, “Are you seriously following me? Because if you are, I don’t mind?” There she was, back with her flirting.

“Hahahaha…” he laughed, and it made Jessabelle’s heart stop for a moment. She took a deep breath and introduced herself, “I am Jessabelle, by the way.”

“I know,” his reply shocked Jessabelle. Was he a stalker? She thought.

Seeing her confused expression, he continued, “Well, you were too oblivious to notice that I was in your world history class today while you were struggling to write your name on the paper. I was standing right behind you.”

Jessabelle smiled sheepishly and asked, “Are you a freshie too?” “No, I am in my third year, but I have been in World History quite a few times there. That’s why I was there,” he said while putting his hand in his hair, ruffling then a bit.

Jessabelle kept staring at his face and blurted without thinking, “I can teach you. I have always scored an A+ when it comes to history. And before coming here, I already studied the entire syllabus of World History.”

“What are you? Albert Einstein?” he said with his eyes popping out.

“I like to be smart,” she shrugged her shoulders.

Jessabelle and Alberto had gotten pretty confident in the past few months. They passed World History together and now were on the path to creating their own story. Jessabelle was madly in love with him, there were no doubts about that, but there were still doubts about Alberto’s feelings. She didn’t know if he had the same feelings for her or not. The anticipation was killing her. She just wanted to be with Alberto all the time, maybe marry him and have a peaceful life with him.

Rain was pattering down onto the ground and sliding down the window- the same window that Alberto and Jessabelle had been poised at, watching the rain. Alberto’s hands were clenched in his pockets- one pocket being the one that held a small, velvety ring box. Now was the perfect time to give her the promise ring- he knew that he’d seen it all the time in those romance stories. But how did someone go about doing that? Did they just pull out the ring and go, “Will you be my girlfriend?” or wait for the other person to talk first? There were so many questions left unanswered for Alberto, all of which left his heart hammering in his chest, but the biggest unanswered question for him was, would she even say yes? He decided to hold Jessabelle’s hands for reassurance.

Jessabelle was lost in her thoughts and the rain when she felt Alberto’s hand on her shoulder. The moment she lifted her eyes, she saw Alberto with a confused look on his face. He whipped the ring box out of his pocket so fast that Jessabelle couldn't make out what it was and rapidly changed his position from standing dumbfoundedly to kneeling on the floor with the box in his hands. Jessabelle 's eyes widened, and her mouth gaped as Alberto sputtered, "I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you be my girlfriend?"

She thought she was dreaming, but when she felt Alberto’s soft hands squeeze hers a bit, she realized it wasn’t a dream.

Jessabelle had her hand cupped over her mouth to try and hide her shock, but Alberto could see from her eyes that she was smiling. Slowly, her head bobbed up and down in a nod, and she kneeled, pushed the ring box down a bit, and kissed her now-boyfriend, waiting for him to slide the ring onto her finger. He slid the ring into her soft slender fingers when she said, “I love you so much, Alberto, and yes, I would love to be your girlfriend.” He grabbed her tightly from the waist and locked her in his infamous bear hug. Jessabelle’s heart was full of emotions, with little tears sliding down her rosy cheeks. After staying in his arms for a few minutes, she pulled out and looked at him sheepishly when the heavy sounds of lightning distracted her from her current state. Nothing was more beautiful than the winter rain, and they both were all set to enjoy their first rain together as a couple.

The two love birds had been dating for nine months now. Her life was going just as she had planned. She was acing her college with flying colors, had the most handsome boyfriend, and was all set to graduate in two months. Things were going pretty smoothly for her and Alberto, as their nine months of dating were full of joy, surprises, s*x, and whatnot. She felt like she had everything she ever prayed for, and now the only thing she prayed for from God was to marry Alberto.

Even though Alberto had known Jessabelle for almost four years, he felt as if the time wasn’t right to ask her to be his wife. With that said, he waited nine months. Nine long months of their relationship. He noticed Jessabelle sending him little hints; Alberto knew what she wanted, but he wanted to be prepared. He wanted to be ready. Each day, for hours, Alberto was no stranger to the past. He contemplated why he loved her, asking himself all the basic questions and the not-so-basic ones.

On that fateful Sunday morning, Alberto decided that it was time. He was finally ready to take the leap of faith and marry the woman of his dreams. He even found the perfect place— outside her campus where they first met. Everything looked beautiful. He had his friends help him plant yellow flowers next to a bench, where he’d propose. Nothing could be wrong, Alberto thought, nothing at all. At ten o’clock sharp, Alberto took Jessabelle to the campus. When they got there, it was a disaster. Right before his eyes, Alberto saw what he feared the most. All the hard work that he and his friends had done vanished. The flowers were scattered all over the ground without order, the bench was graffitied on, and it was pouring rain. Not the romantic evening he had hoped for, that’s for sure.

The couple stayed in the car.

“What are we doing here, Alberto?” Jessabelle said curiously. “Jessabelle, I wanted everything to be perfect. I wanted the flowers to be blooming, the birds to be chirping, and the sun to be high in the sky. But nothing is going my way. I’m sorry, but I can’t… I can’t….”

“You can’t what?”

Alberto looked over at Jessabelle. For some reason, the words were at the tip of his tongue, refusing to exit his mouth. “Never mind,” he said instead, then lowered his head.

Both their nerves were high. Jessabelle stared out the window in silence, confused by the moment. And Alberto, well… he kept tugging at his shirt collar, sweating like a sauna. He tried to say something twice, but nothing came out. He stuttered every time like a never-ending nightmare.

“Are you trying to propose?” Jessabelle said, returning her gaze to the man she loved so dearly.

Alberto nodded, but barely. He nearly became a statue from the fear of Jessabelle disapproving of the scenery. The intense moment grew longer, it seemed. No one said a word. Their eyes remained glued to one another, waiting for the other person to speak first.

“Where is it?” Jessabelle finally spoke up.

Alberto pulled the ring out from the glove department. “Jessabelle,” Alberto began, “Remember when we met the first time? You were coming out of your room in a hurry, and I slammed into you with all of my stuff.”

“That was four years ago. Why does that matter?”

“It matters because that day, I knew you would one day be my wife. After hanging out with you, I ran home and told my mom that I had found the one. She said, ‘Good for you, now go clean your room.'”

Jessabelle laughed.

“It’s true. She didn’t even believe me. I mean, teenagers have crushes and puppy love, but no one knows if it will ever work out. Do you know what she said to me the day she died?”

Jessabelle shook her head.

She said, “Son if you don’t marry that woman, I’m coming back from my grave to haunt you.” Alberto chuckled. “I told her I will but not until I’m ready. That was two months ago. And now, after thinking about it long and hard, I realize I can’t imagine a life without you, Jessabelle Jones. You complete me… it’s like you’re my other half.”

Alberto took off his seat belt, got out of the car, ran around to the passenger’s side, opened the door, and got on one knee. With the rain pouring down on him and all, Alberto could care less; he wanted Jessabelle to see how much he loved her. Jessabelle began to cry. She covered her mouth with one hand and allowed the tears to fall. They became one with the rain. Alberto pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to her, though it was wet. This made Jessabelle laugh. The world seemed to vanish, and they couldn’t look away from one another.

Sometimes, we may truly believe that we are on the right path in life. We see our futures set out in front of us like looking through the end of a telescope. And we believe deeply in our hearts that this path is where life is going to take us. But then, sometimes, it turns out that everything we once believed is wrong. Certain experiences need to happen to lead you somewhere else, to where you were truly meant to be. But those moments in your life were not mistakes – they were simply stepping stones that needed to happen to lead you to where you are now. You may not understand at the time that it is happening, but later, you will look back and understand. As Jessabelle’s mother always said, everything happens for a reason. Sometimes you experience tragedy and heartbreak, but farther down the line, later in life, you realize that things needed to happen to bring you somewhere else.

Jessabelle’s marriage was going pretty smoothly until Alberto started forcing her for kids. They had been fighting over the same issue for months now. Despite making it clear to Alberto that she didn’t want to have kids, Jessabelle was still not getting anywhere with these fights. She was sitting on their couch and waiting for Alberto to come home when she received a call from the hospital. “Mrs. Alberto, we need you to come down to the Campbell hospital immediately. There has been an emergency,” the guy on the line said.

Jessabelle felt as if her heart would stop at any moment. No matter how much they fought, she still loved Alberto with all her heart. She took her bag and rushed to the hospital.

“Where is my husband? How is he? What happened?” she started bombarding the nurse as soon as she entered.

“Please be patient, ma’am. Your husband is in an emergency right now. Please wait here, and the doctor will come to you to update you about his condition,” the nurse said with a calming tone.

She was waiting in the lobby when the doctor approached her, a bloodless, brown-skinned face with eyes full of determination. She notified her that there had been some damage to her husband’s genital parts, and they would require Jessabelle’s blood samples from her genital parts as well. This confused Jessabelle, but she still agreed. As she was sitting in the operation theatre, there was an unusual cluster of surgeons, medical cadets, and nurses, around

She thought the whole thing was done with tenderness and done well, but the current situation in the room got her nervous, and she called out to one of the nurses. “What is happening here?” she asked the nurse.

“Ma’am, we need everything to be perfect for Intracytoplasmic sperm injection. There can’t be any risks. I am new here, and all of this is stressing me out and….”

Jessabelle didn’t hear anything after the sperm injection thing. She couldn’t believe Alberto would deceive her like this. Was he that desperate for children? She thought to herself. She instantly picked herself up and left the room with tears in her eyes. She could hear them calling out, but she couldn’t care less; all of them lied. Alberto was standing right outside the hospital. She wanted to punch him in the face and never see his lying self ever again. “Get the hell away from me,” she screamed at his face. Her hands were shaking, and she felt like she couldn’t stand a moment longer in his presence, so she stomped outside the hospital, sat in her car, and drove off. Alberto didn’t miss a second and drove behind her. A large fight was awaiting them, but little did they know that one lie was going to be the end of their beautiful journey together.

Jessabelle entered the house and went straight to the kitchen. She needed some wine to keep up with this situation, or she was sure she would either kill him or herself. “Jessabelle, at least listen to me first. Please baby, please,” Alberto came after her.

“STAY AWAY FROM ME,” she screamed. She could feel her throat tearing up when she said those words.

“At least listen to me first. I know that was not right. But you got to listen to me for once at least,” Alberto said while picking up a knife that was lying on the floor. He was afraid that she might hurt herself.

“Don’t you dare come anywhere near my family or me, or I swear to God I’ll burn your ashes and make a f*****g soup out of them,” she screamed her heart out as she ran from this growling man coming straight toward her with a knife in his hands. Well, it was a butter knife, but a woman got to protect herself, no?

“Stop exaggerating, Jessabelle! You know I would never deliberately hurt you. Do you think I would ever stoop that low?” He tried raising his voice at me again.

“If you can force me for a child and take me to a f*****g gynecologist just so you can inject your filth inside of me, you can surely try to murder me as well. How can you even think that I would trust an animal like you,” she replied with an even louder voice. He just stared at Jessabelle like she had grown a pair of wings overnight. His eyes were about to shed tears, but she didn’t care. His lies and forcing had gotten the best of her, and she was not ready to be a part of his game anymore. “How could he even think of injecting his sperm into me without letting me know? He knew how much I hated kids. He knew I had never wanted to be a mother, yet he decided to force me into it,” she thought to herself

It's not like she didn’t tell him about this before marriage. He knew everything even before they got engaged. Still, he decided to make her fall in love with him and marry him, all the while keeping his hopes alive. How could he do this to me? The thoughts were rushing vigorously in her mind when she felt something hot touch my hips. She couldn’t comprehend what it was. “Was Alberto burning me with that knife? Did he put a fire in my clothes? Or is it a matchstick?” All these thoughts were running inside her head when she heard him screaming, “JESSABELLE!! Are you even listening to me? Get the hell away from the stove. The pot is still boiling.”

His words brought her back to life, away from her disheartening thoughts. “I am fine! Just get away from me, please. I cannot live with a man who deceives me, my emotions, my choices, and this f*****g marriage,” she screamed again. She couldn’t even recognize him anymore as he was not the same man she had fallen in love with.

The harsh reality of life is that not everyone gets a happy ending. Alberto and Jessabelle didn’t get one either. They never even got to their beginnings. Some people come into your life, and sometimes, those people don’t stay around forever. But it's not about how long they were there for, but rather, the impact they had on your life, how they ultimately shaped you as a person.

Tragedy and death surround us every day. But all of these things are an integral part of life. They are there to help us guide and teach us lessons. Do not look at Jessabelle’s fate as a tragedy, for even though she and Alberto could not end up together, they still experience more love than people do in their entire lifetime. Jessabelle Jones learned a lot that year. She learned to stop blaming the world and everyone around her for all of her problems. She learned to develop a relationship with her mother and brother. She learned to have an open mind, venture out and try new things, and be willing and open to new beginnings. She learned a lot about herself as a person, who she is, and what she wants from life. She learned to take each day as it comes and to never regret a single moment, for one day, in the blink of an eye, it could all be gone.

Jessabelle may not have realized her place in this world, but she still had her whole life ahead of her. The most important thing was that she discovered who she was and what made her heart full. She learned that the love you give is just as important as the one you receive. And last, of all, she learned that sometimes the best things in life are the ones you don’t see coming. Alberto entered her world, played his part, and changed the course of her life.