FATE BUT FORBIDDEN

The first time I saw him, the air around me shifted—like the universe itself had inhaled and held its breath. I was no stranger to danger. My life had been shaped by it, molded into something sharp-edged and unyielding. Survival was my constant companion, but nothing had ever prepared me for him. He stood across the dimly lit street, leaning against the entrance of an underground bar, flicking a silver lighter open and shut. Click. Click. The sound echoed through the night, quiet but deliberate. A silent dare. Then his eyes found mine. Dark. Unrelenting. A storm that had long forgotten how to rest. And in that instant, something inside me tightened—a pull so fierce and impossible it curled around my ribs like an invisible chain. A cold wind cut between us, yet heat prickled along my skin. Every rational instinct screamed at me to look away, to keep walking. But something deeper, something ancient, held me in place. I didn’t believe in fate. But the moment his gaze darkened, when the very air thickened with an unspoken warning, I knew. He wasn’t a stranger. I didn’t know him. But my soul did. A ridiculous thought. And yet, the second I took a step toward him— Pain. Blinding, searing pain ripped through my chest. My breath hitched. My vision blurred. Heat exploded through my veins, fire laced with something colder than death. A strangled gasp tore from my throat. But I wasn’t the only one suffering. Across the street, his body jerked as if something had struck him too. His fingers snapped the lighter shut, his jaw tightening as he clutched his chest. And then our eyes met again— And I saw it. Fear. Not of me. Of this. Of us. I barely had time to process it before fate struck again. A screech of tires. A sharp gasp from a passerby. My pulse roared in my ears as I turned—just in time to see a car veering out of control, headlights flashing wildly. The driver yanked the wheel, but it was too late. It was coming straight for me. Instinct kicked in. I dove out of the way, hitting the pavement just as the car slammed into a streetlamp. Glass shattered, metal shrieked, and the world tilted. For a moment, there was only silence. I wasn’t dead. But I was close. A shadow loomed over me. I looked up. He was there. Watching me. His voice was quiet, but there was something raw beneath it. "You shouldn’t be near me." My hands shook as I pushed myself up. "Then why does it feel like I already belong to you?" His expression darkened—not with anger, but something worse. Resignation. "Because you do," he murmured. "And that’s the problem." The wind howled between us, but I barely felt it. My whole body still burned, my pulse thundering in my ears. I wanted to speak, to demand answers, but he was already retreating, slipping into the shadows like he had never been there. I exhaled, my breath fogging in the cold air. Nothing made sense. The pain. The pull. The way fate had almost erased me the moment I got too close. Pressing a hand against my chest, I felt the heat still smoldering beneath my skin. Who was he? And why did it feel like I had just barely survived my first meeting with destiny itself? One thing was certain. This wasn’t over. I would find him. And when I did, I would demand to know why the universe wanted us apart.