Tug of Fate | When Stars Align Book one

Plan

Liam

London, Same day

That voice. I cannot get over it. She was so furious.

But she was all melody and harmony and a roar altogether.

What the fuck Liam. Brown eyes and now the voice!? What the fuck .... you are not looking for your own harem. Just find your brown eyes. And cool your tits.

I don't even have tits.

And why the fuck am I arguing with this imaginary voice in my head?

I shake my head to come back to reality. I don't know what it was about her voice. But the way she spoke my name. She has a bedroom voice. Or maybe it is my imagination. But man. Fuck.

I realize it's been 45 minutes since the call and Logan should have spoken to Cathy by now. This lapse is not done. I can only imagine that if an event of this magnitude was happening here in two months and I didn't know about it, I would be losing my shit over it. She was way more poised and controlled about it. The artist is supposed to go to Australia next month, then USA in November and then India in December, with them coming back home and performing here in the UK in January. I can only hope that Ananya manages it well.

Ananya. What a beautiful name. I frown. Where the fuck did that come from? I just shoved Katie off me this morning and now I'm panting over someone I've never met?

The voice in my head can be quite irritatingly wise at times.

I seriously cannot understand myself. I look at my phone and dial Logan.

He picks up on the third ring.

"Tell me you spoke to her already." I bark

"Yes, I did. Though a lot of fat good it did. She was rambling some random BS." He tells me

"Are we gonna have to complain to the HR?"

"I already did. Though I did tell them that her track record apart from this has been impeccable."

I find rage boiling within me. "You are making excuses for someone who you know made things so difficult that Ananya and her team will be scrambling for it! Are you fucking insane?"

I hear his silence as loud as my angry breaths.

"You feel it too, don't you?" he asks me quietly.

"Feel what? The rage? Hell yes. Do you know how unprofessional it is that Cathy did this!?"

"Yes the rage. But I think you are wrong about why. I think you are angry because Ananya is upset and you didn't know how to help her."

I scoff. I open my mouth to tell him that is absolutely absurd. "Yeah you are right." 

What. The. Fuck??

And then it strikes me. I had been in a mood ever since we had that con-call. And Logan is right. It is not Cathy. It is HER.

"What do you mean I feel it too? You felt something as well?" I ask him.

I hear his sigh. "Remember how I always dream of war, and bloodshed?"

"Yeah?" I wonder where he's going with this.

"And remember I always hear a voice, a voice calling me back? Before I give myself in to the bloodlust in my dream?"

"Yes. What does it have to do with this Lo?" I ask him and hope he can hear the agitation in my voice.

"Ananya has the same voice." He says quietly.

Time seems to stop for me. What the hell?

"What are you saying?" My voice trembles. I don't even know why.

"I cannot be sure. But... Fuck... I think it's her voice. I feel it. I know I won't be able to find out more until I literally hear her voice in person. But it is close."

"Lo, that is great news man!" I tell him but it feels haunted to me.

"Ever since Angel passed away two years ago, I haven't felt a connection to anyone, except you. And then I heard her voice. And Liam, I swear, it anchored me. Like I have known her my whole life. I lost my shit with Cathy. But I never lose my shit with anybody. You know that don't you?"

"Yeah, I know." I feel it too. That familiarity. That anchoring.

"At the moment, I don't even know how I was able to control my rage. She is suffering because of something that my team did. And that doesn't sit right with me. And as weird as this sounds, I know that you feel it too." He speaks softly.

I feel a vice-like grip around my heart. I don't even know why. But then I realize that Logan and I always had each other's backs. We have similar likes and dislikes. And on more than one occasion we had sworn that if we both fell for the same woman then we will either share or one of us will back off. And there is no way that this is the same woman. I mean. I am waiting for my brown eyes, am I not? With that I realize that I've got nothing to be afraid of.

"I know what you mean brother. I am angry too. I want her to be able to pull this off effortlessly, hopefully without hating us. Anyways. Let's ensure that she is able to pull this through... yeah?"

"Hmm...."

"Okay. I will call you later brother."

"Hey Liam..."

"Yeah?"

"If both of us fall for the same woman –"

"It is not going to happen. We know that Ananya is the voice. Your Nightingale. And even though I feel this familiarity too, you know I am following my brown eyes. So nothing is going to happen. Relax." I say with a laugh.

So why does it feel like my insides are twisting.

"No. I mean, yes. You are following your brown eyes, and I am following the voice. But in case it is the same girl, I want us to be partners in that brother. We have lost way too much in our lives and I am not going to allow either of us to lose another person. Whether it is short term or eternal... okay?"

I don't know what to say. I have never been an exclusive kind of guy. Especially when I know how much heartache losing someone can cause.

"Are you sure? And what even makes you sure that that woman will be happy with a polyamorous relationship? Assuming your Nightingale and My brown eyes are the same woman." I ask him.

"I have a feeling.. There has got to be a reason that we've both been dreaming of fragments. Fragments that belong to the same girl, right? I don't know. Call it a gut feeling or intuition. So, are we in agreement?"

I take a moment to think. All the while, the brown eyes are fluttering in my mind. A smile makes its way to my lips. "Yeah yeah we are in agreement. If it comes to that." I say with a smile in my heart.

"Cool. Talk later brother." I could hear the smile in his voice too

We disconnect.

Yes it is highly unlikely that it will be the same person. But if it is, then the thought that I am not going to be in competition with Logan feels right and I feel lighter.