The Doomed Destiny

Under the starry night sky, a forlorn female silhouette stood erect on the rooftop of the highest building in the Z city. The cold night breeze fluttered her long ink-black hair, sending chills all over her body as she watched the yellow city lights illuminating the entire place.

She raised her head and immersed herself in the picturesque view of the winter night.

"Sasha,"

A deep masculine voice broke the tranquillity of the night and tenderly wrapped her into a warm embrace, resting his head on the nook of her shoulder, inhaling her sweet fragrance.

The corners of her lips curled into a charming smile as she turned to face the man.

His perfectly chiselled face glowed under the faint night lights, and a pair of dark obsidian orbs stared back at her with intense passion,

The strong arms that wrapped around her waist effortlessly lifted her from the ground. He gently placed her on the cold railing of the building, facing him.

Under his intense stare, she opened her mouth to articulate the words which have been ringing in her mind,

"I..love-"

Even before she could complete, her mouth got forcefully shut by a blazing kiss. His hot breath laced with an intoxicating scent attacked her senses all at once.

Her amber eyes sparkled like stars as she melted under the sweetness offered by his lips.

He was like a voracious wolf that devoured on her velvety lips with an uncontrollable hunger,

Her mind fell into absolute chaos when he suffocated her with his overbearing kisses, just like a predator attacking the prey under its most vulnerable state.

Her slender arms pounded onto his broad chest, like a vague plea to give her a moment of breath.

He grabbed her rebellious arms and slowly pulled his ferocious fangs buried on her plump red lips.

While panting for breath, she tried to focus her gaze on the devilishly handsome man in front of her eyes.

This devil almost choked her to death with his brazen actions,

Yet she was delighted...

She was so happy that her heart thumped inside her rib cage as if it wants to break free and jump out.

"Sorry," An apology escaped his mouth as he traced her soft cheeks with his burning fingers, painting it in a pretty hue of scarlet red.

His impatient fingers slowly travelled down her chin, gradually find their way to her rhythmically rising bosom,

It was cold as a winter night, yet he lit her mind and body on fire with his tantalizing touches,

"You deserved to die," He chimed in a magnetic voice,

The dark orbs in his ocean-deep eyes replaced with burning red spheres and an evil grin spreading over his exquisite face,

She gawked at him with incredulous disbelief.

"Goodbye, Miss Sasha Amber Reagan,"

Even before she could comprehend his words, his strong palm pushed her down, plunging her into the depths of hell,

Noooo!!!!!

Sasha woke up from her sleep, yelling at the top of her lungs. Her heart frantically beats under the thick woollen sweater drenched in sweat as if she has run a marathon.

She squinted her eyes and swept a glance across the scattered documents on her table,

Neatly stacked bundles of papers and books resting on the shelves of her minimalist looking study room gave her a sense of familiarity and assured her that it is her apartment,

"Phew...It was a nightmare!!!!" She let out a sigh of relief and tilted her head towards the digital clock kept on the table.

4.00 am

Did she fall asleep while working?

Sasha tapped on the keyboard of her laptop and the document she was editing became visible to her eyes.

Thanks to the auto-save, otherwise her hard work for the last one hour must have gone in vain.

While letting out a yawn she flexed her knuckles and closed the laptop after saving the documents.

She groggily dragged her body to the bedroom and climbed onto the soft bed after removing the sweater, letting her tensed body cool down before falling into sleep.

While hugging onto the giant teddy bear on the bed, her mind wandered around the shreds of the dream she had a while ago,

It was the same nightmare that has been haunting her for the past week.

A nightmare where she found herself at death's door.

"But who is he, that man who is ardently trying to kill her, every single time?"

December 24, Z city

Evening: 5 pm

Sasha stared at the flickering lights of the Christmas tree resting on the corner of the room.

It's Christmas eve. Like every other place in the Z city, this psychotherapy clinic was also decorated with a Christmas tree and fairy lights.

"Sasha," The receptionist called out for her, "You can go in,"

Sasha rose from her seat, thanking the receptionist with a faint smile and headed towards the consultation room in steady steps.

Natalia Stevens aka Lia, the consulting doctor sat on the chair with an amicable smile while she waited for the last patient of the day.

It is Christmas eve and she also wished to leave work early.

When her gaze fell on the person who entered the room, Lia's almond-shaped eyes widened in surprise,

"Sasha," She acknowledged her presence with a welcoming smile.

"Good evening, doctor" The mellow voice greeted, "I am sorry for the last minute appointment. But doctor, can you prescribe me something like sleeping pills?" Sasha made a quick request.

Lia fixed her glasses and scanned the skinny girl sitting across her with a worried face. The dark circles under her eyes indicated the lack of sleep.

"I am having a hard time falling asleep,"

"You are already taking enough medicine. It is not good to take the sleeping pills with it," Lia advised,

It hasn't been more than three months ever since this girl started to visit the clinic for therapy sessions.

The first time Sasha showed up for the consultation, her exquisite countenance left everyone speechless.

A girl who could give a tough competition to the leading female celebrities came to meet a psychiatrist- it was unbelievable. But under the beautiful facade, Sasha failed to hide her melancholic heart.

Sasha Reagan, age: 24

Diagnosed with Clinical depression from an early age,

A head injury followed by memory loss.

A prolonged period of medication for anxiety and depression.

Her stunning looks and her mental health contrasted each other.

"Do you stay awake reading books all night?" Lia asked her.

During their first meeting, Sasha has mentioned that she is working as a freelance copy editor.

Being an extreme introvert, she found a job that allows her to hide from the outer world.

"No. Even if I am tired to death, I cannot fall asleep. If I somehow manage to fall asleep, I will wake up in the middle of the night due to nightmares." She said in a dispirited voice.

"Can you explain more, like what do you see in nightmares?" Lia leaned forward and asked her.

They say dreams represent the things that trouble our subconscious mind.

In the last few sessions, Sasha's condition has improved a lot and as a doctor, Lia didn't want her patient to go back to the previous state of suffering, so she probed further.

"Most of the time, it is the same dream." Sasha sighed and continued, "I am falling from the building,"

"Hmm," Lia listened carefully as Sasha continued to describe her nightmares.

"But nowadays, I have started to see a man in my dreams,"

"A man?" Lia's dark eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"It seems like we are in love," Sasha's mellow voice had a tinge of self-mockery as if she couldn't believe the feelings associated with her dreams,

"But the funny part of the dream is that I remember everything else in detail, but not his face,"

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Lia repeated the question which she has been asking from their first session,

And Sasha responded with the same answer she has been saying since their first session.

"No. Not in the last ten years." Sasha denied strongly and pursed her lips for a moment,

She is twenty-five right years old now and if she subtracts ten years from it... it means that she used to be single even from her school days.

"I have never been in a relationship," She confessed,

She is a person who doesn't even leave the safe zone of her home unless there is an unavoidable necessity. To minimize as much human interaction, she even does her grocery shopping online. How will she have a boyfriend?

"Are you interested-" Lia tried to suggest to the woman who was successfully wasting her twenties, locked up in the four walls of her apartment.

"Doctor, I barely live upon medicines and-" Sasha retorted immediately as if she heard something vile.

"Sasha, it has been two years since your accident and you recollected almost every memory you have lost. We human beings are social animals. Friends, family... someone to call your own-"

Lia tried to explain to the girl who held her guard up against any kind of social gathering.

"I don't have any friends in this place," Sasha interrupted and stopped for a moment, "nor family,"

"Your parents?"

"Both of them, lives with their own families," She chimed,

"You don't visit them?"

"No," Sasha's charming face lacked any endearing emotions as she stated.

"How about a change? Why don't you visit-? Lia tried to suggest, however, her words were cut off by Sasha's monotonous denial.

"They will not be at home during the Christmas holidays."

Lia took a deep breath,

"How about you come to my house? She recommended, "It's Christmas, and you will have a lot of fun."

Listening to her doctor's words, Sasha's lips curled into a gentle smile,

"I am accustomed to this loneliness, doctor. I don't even celebrate my birthdays, why do I care about someone else's birthday?"

Her nonchalant words left Lia dumbfounded for a moment.

After living alone for all these years, it is not easy for a person like Sasha to open up to others. It is a miracle that she decided to seek medical help to get over her depression.

As part of the treatment, a doctor can suggest but cannot force the patient to get closer to others.

After contemplating for a while, Lia decided to discontinue the awkward conversation and get back to her professional mode,

"Ah okay. Let's discuss your nightmares. Can you get into the details?"

Sasha took a deep breath while repositioning herself in a comfortable posture and tossed out the contents of her nightmares,

"The contents of the dreams are almost the same. Only the locations change. We will be on a date...sometimes the location will be a mountain or a beach. We always talk...we talk too much, but no matter how much I try, I never get a chance to confess my feelings." She concluded and waited for Lia's reply.

"That's it?"

Sasha hid the fact that she censored the R-rated scenes from her dreams and nodded in agreement.

"Are you sure that he is a stranger?" Lia narrowed her eyes in doubt, "Normally, we don't see any strangers in our dreams. Those people who appear in the dreams, we might've come across them in real life. Since you are repeatedly seeing him in your dreams, he must be someone who spent quite a lot of time with you."

"I don't remember spending time with anyone." Sasha's eyes were drenched in sorrow when she tried to think about her life.

Two years ago, she fell from the college building and had a head injury that wiped all of her memories.

Even though she could recollect most of her memories over time, some of the doors to her memory lane remained locked.

"You don't have to remember it right now." Lia warmly smiled and suggested,

"How about you visit the places you have seen in your dreams, and what if they ring a bell? You are young, and it is completely alright to start afresh." Her voice had an affectionate tone as she continued. "God has given you a second chance at life, and why don't you enjoy it?"

"But I have no plans to date. All I want is to have a proper sleep once in a while."

"You have never been in a relationship, So isn't it good to have a boyfriend at least in your dreams?"

"Yes, it was a good dream, until he pushed me from the top of a building, killing me" Humor rippling in her face as she spits out the words,

Lia didn't expect such a turn of events,

"I wish to restart my life, doctor," Sasha hesitantly spoke her mind, "But I need some more time and perhaps, some sleeping pills,"

A sombre silence lingered in the room was broken by the buzzing sound of the cell phone kept on the table.

Lia reached out for it and silenced the cellphone after giving a glance at the screen.

Hzzzzz hzzzz, the phone rang again and she tried to cut it again,

"Doctor, please attend the call, it might be some emergency," Sasha asserted,

"Excuse me then," Lia took the phone call, her voice softening as she began to speak,

"Baby, mommy will be coming in a while. Did you get ready? Yes, yes Queen Elsa, don't turn mommy into ice...yes bye,"

She ended her conversation with a low chuckle and looked at Sasha with an apologetic face, "My daughter is too excited to attend a Christmas party...I am sorry."

"I am the one who is supposed to apologize...I took your time for something trivial." Sasha said sheepishly,

"For now, let me prescribe something," Lia quickly scribbled down something on the note and gave it to Sasha.

" However, try to avoid sleeping pills and use some natural remedies like drinking milk or exercising,"

"Oh, thank you and Merry Christmas, doctor," Sasha thanked her with a warm smile and stood up from her seat, picking up her woollen cardigan and tote bag,

"Are you sure you don't want to come to the Christmas party?" Lia removed her glasses and asked,

"It's hosted by my mother-in-law. She was too excited and invited the entire neighbourhood. It would be nice if you join,"

"Can I politely decline?" Her gorgeous face managed to break her typical deadpan expression with a soft smile.

"Hahaha, you can...but if you feel like joining us, give me a call or..wait a minute," Lia took the notepad and scribbled her address in neat handwriting,

"My daughter's birthday is on the 26th, so if you are okay with it, feel free to visit us,"

"Ahhh, convey my birthday wishes to your queen Elsa," Sasha said while reaching out for the address and slightly bowed her head to show her gratitude before leaving the consulting room.

Social gatherings? sorry, not my cup of tea,

Sasha aimlessly walked along the bustling streets of the heart of Soul city like a marching ant,

lost in the crowd, she found herself reaching the square where a giant Christmas tree was erected.

She halted her steps and gazed at the tree for a moment, the thick flocked fir tree was decorated with illumination lights and various coloured ornaments and ribbons.

Numerous families with children and couples were posing for photographs in the beautiful background of the tree.

They were creating memories that could last forever,

Looking at their cheerful faces, a pang of pain raised from her heart.

These kinds of little moments of joy were never meant for her.

In her twenty-five years of life, Sasha never celebrated Christmas, not even when her parents lived under the same roof.

Zach Reagan, the heir of one of the largest business conglomerates in Z country and Selene Coleman, the beauty pageant winner and a budding model, never meant to spend their lives with each other.

But they were forced to live under the same roof due to their mistake on a drunken party night.

It was a one-night stand, but due to Selene's ignorance, she ended up getting pregnant with the most eligible bachelor's child. Getting married and settling as the daughter in law of the Reagan family was not her priority.

Her dreams were always filled with glam and beauty. Hailing from an average household, she dreamt of walking through the top runways all across the world and having a child at the starting of her career was nothing but a burden for her.

She was planning to get rid of the child, however, sitting on the cold corridor in front of the gynaecologist, Selene was picked by the butler of Reagan's household.

If it wasn't for madam Ambrosia Reagan, Sasha wouldn't have existed today.

Her paternal grandmother who thought highly of their family line proposed a fair deal with her mother.

Let the Reagan family have their grandchild and they will make sure to protect Selene Robert's secret without leaving any stains on her career.

Sasha was born and her mother went back to the fashion world.

For the sake of little Sasha, Selene lived in the Peony mansion, the Reagan family's home for five years.

Not as their daughter in law, but as a woman who is the mother of Young master Zach's child.

As a child who was unwanted by those who have given birth to her, the chances to make memories with her parents were practically zero for Sasha. Though she had Williams' family's surname, apart from her grandmother no one treated her as a part of the family.

Festivals, parties, family dinners, all those social gatherings where people arrive as a happy family was nothing but torture for her.

She never bothered to celebrate any occasion, especially birthdays.

She hated birthdays to a point where Christmas was nothing but a normal day for her.

However, surprisingly enough, an image of a small Christmas tree illuminated with fairy lights and decorated with colourful balls and wreaths shone brightly in her memory, as if she saw it yesterday,

No matter how many times Sasha tried, she couldn't remember anything apart from that Christmas tree.

Her memories were left in disarray after the accident which almost killed her.

"Try visiting the places which appeared in your dreams," Lia's words rang in her mind.

"Should I try it once?" Even before her mind comes up with a rejection, Sasha immediately gets onto the bus which goes to the coastal side of the City.

Conchester Beach, Soul city

Evening- 10 pm.

Sarah sat alone on the white and shiny dunes of the beach, watching the waves crashing on the shoreline with an expressionless face.

It was the least crowded beach which is located on the outskirts of soul city.

Not so far from the seashore, in an open beach restaurant, a group of men were celebrating Christmas Eve with loud peppy music and dancing.

The entire world was celebrating and she sat alone, counting the waves like a fool.

On the way to the East seaside, Sasha conjectured that she might be able to remember something after visiting the beach.

However, after reaching here, the only thing Sasha got reminded of was how lonely she is.

Once her grandmother passed away, she severed her ties with the Reagan family and left the peony mansion at the age of eighteen years,

Though her grandma left a huge bank balance for her, Sasha chose to live like a commoner, but with no family,

She had no one to call her own, no family or friends.

She was all alone.

Her life and personality were bleak like a blank white paper.

But as she grew up Sarah tried to change, tried to fit into the colourful world.

She changed the houses, even left the country- but failed to find the colours of her life.

While Sasha was immersed in her thoughts, the loud peppy music played in the restaurant stopped all at once and a soulful masculine voice began to hear, along with guitar strings.

"I know where the rainbow has fallen,

she said and promised to come with me,

She held my hand and smiled like an angel,

In her smile, I got anchored and days passed like that,

She left without a word leaving me in a bleak world,

I still hope, one day we will meet again,

As she promised we will search for the fallen rainbow,

and bring back the colours of our life,"

For a moment Sasha was taken aback by the song, especially the lyrics and the soulful rendition of the singer.

Even though the woman left without fulfilling her promise, he was willing to wait for her.

"That kind of commitment for a woman? It would be nice to have some of it,"

She snorts at the thought of commitments in a relationship.

How dare she have such a horrendous thought?

Thanks to the gluttonous depression which is eating her alive, Sasha doesn't have any commitments to her life. She lives her life, like a dead fish in the sea, going with the flow.

However, the flow of her life got obstructed by a stupid nightmare.

For the past week, her days became torturous like hell. Every single night, she woke up from sleep due to nightmares.

Nightmares in which she ends her life by jumping from high raised buildings.

What is the meaning of this dream? Is it indicating that she should end everything? Should she quit this life and put an end to her agony?

As she stared at the giant waves, her mind wandered into the darkest truths of her life.

These whopping waves, are they calling her?

Is it time for her to give up?

Sasha stood up and walked towards the roaring sea as if she was bewitched by the spells of a maleficent witch.

"Come and seek your oblivion," Her mind unwittingly chanted,

"Hey, don't go there," A soulful voice pulled her back to her senses,

Sasha woke up from her trance state and looked around. She was in the seawater which reached till her waist, floating like a boat in the water along with the waves.

A man swam towards her and dragged her towards the shore,

"Are you hurt?" He asked with an agitated voice while scanning her up and down, for any possible injuries.

She stared at him blankly,

"Are you hurt?" He repeated his question while pressing her shoulders with great force,

"I want to go," Sasha squinted her eyes and tried to break free from his strong grasp, "Want to go, want to go,"

looking at her pitiful face, he released his arms from the girl.

"Where do you want to go?"

Sasha ignored his question and tried to walk past him, in staggering steps, her mind was muddled with numerous questions.

Did she try to end her life by drowning in the sea?

She came to recollect her memories, not to give up on her life.

Sasha felt that the ground under her feet was still swaying and before she plops down somewhere, she wished to get home as soon as possible.

She wore her sneakers and picked up her cardigan and tote bag before walking away.

"There will not be any buses from this place in the night,"

The man who was silently watched her actions notified in an honest tone,

When his deep husky voice reached her ears, Sasha stopped in her tracks and tilted her head to take a look at the man who is walking beside her,

Even though there were only faint lights on the beach, Sarah could figure out the exceptional good looks of the stranger.

He was handsome,

Not just Handsome, devilishly handsome- straight out of fashion magazines,

"How about I give you a ride?" He suggested,

Listening to his deep husky voice, Sarah's eyebrows creased in doubt,

"Why does he sound so familiar?"

"Do I know you?" Her amber eyes narrowed as she interrogated him.

"Are you scared that I might hurt you? Hahaha It's Christmas eve and I don't do any bad deeds," His words were laced with a touch of gentle sarcasm.

However he was abruptly interrupted by the woman who was on the verge of breaking down,

"Do I know you?" Sasha's voice was trembling in a wave of unknown anger and fear,

For some reasons this man was giving off an eerie feeling to her,

He remained silent to Sasha's queries and continued to stare at her with his dark obsidian eyes which resembled daggers that could pierce one's soul.