Fate's Design

Chapter 29

Nick's POV

"Why did you leave without saying anything?" Sam whispered, her voice tinged with hurt. Her eyes, usually so bright and lively, now reflected a depth of pain that twisted my gut.

"Huh! What do you mean, Sam?" I replied, utterly confused. The look on her face was unsettling, and I hated seeing her like this.

"You just... disappeared, Nick. After everything we shared, you vanished without a word. I thought..." Her voice trailed off, and she looked down, trying to compose herself.

I was at a complete loss. What was she talking about? I hadn't left anywhere, at least not intentionally. "Sam, I don't know what you're talking about. I never meant to leave you or anyone else behind. Please, tell me what happened."

But Sam didn't seem to hear my words. Instead, she just shook her head, the hurt in her eyes intensifying. "How could you leave like that, Nick? I waited..."

She pulled away from me, stepping back towards the door. "I need to go," she said abruptly, turning away before I could react.

"Sam, wait! Please, just talk to me!" I called out, but she was already heading out the door. I could hear the emotion in her voice, and it made my chest tighten with guilt and frustration. Whatever this was, it was important, and I needed to understand it.

But before I could stop her, she was gone.

I stood there for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. My mind was spinning, trying to piece together the puzzle, but nothing made sense. Why was she so hurt? What had I done-or not done?

Just then, James walked into the room, his expression puzzled. "What's going on, Nick? Why did Sam leave so suddenly?"

I shook my head, running a hand through my hair in frustration. "I don't know, man. She said something about me leaving without saying anything, but I have no idea what she's talking about."

I felt a wave of unease wash over me as she went. I could tell she was hurt, but I had no idea why. I needed to clear my head, so I headed to the bathroom to freshen up. The cold water on my face didn't do much to calm my racing thoughts, but I had to try and figure out what just happened.

I walked back into the living room where James was sitting, scrolling through his phone. He looked up when he saw me.

"Hey, Nick, everything alright?" James asked, concern in his voice.

"Yeah... just, I don't know. I think I messed up with Sam. I will talk to her later, now she might need some space" I replied, sitting down across from him.

James raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

I sighed. "I'm not entirely sure. She said something about me leaving without saying anything, but I don't know what she meant."

James nodded slowly. "You know, I've noticed you two seems close. How do you know Sam, anyway?"

"She's my neighbour, and..." I hesitated, trying to find the right words. "I've got feelings for her, James. Real feelings."

James looked a little surprised well which makes sense as this happened for the first time. "wait what??? For real. My baby not single anymore"

I shook my head at this drama, well I kinda missed it though

"Congratulations dude... finally you found someone" he said pulling me into hug

I patted his back saying "yeah jam"

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"Uhm james there's something that's been bugging me for a while now." I paused, unsure how to bring it up. "Do you still have the pictures from your trip to India a few years back? You know, the ones you sent me?"

James looked puzzled but nodded. "Yeah, I should have them somewhere. Why?"

"just wanted to see them," I admitted. "I mean you said you were in her house that time so you know I want to know more."

James stared at me for a moment before pulling out his phone. "Let me find them."

He scrolled through his gallery until he found the photos from his trip. He handed me the phone, and I started going through the images. Most of them were familiar-people performing poojas, kids playing in the streets, colorful markets. Then I saw her, the girl in the yellow dress, her back to the camera.

"That's the one," I muttered, zooming in on the photo. My heart skipped a beat as I noticed the same pendant Sam always wore, the one she never took off.

James leaned over to see what I was looking at. "Oh, that's Sam and her friends. We went out in that picture. It was really fun, you should have been there"

"My Sam," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Did you said something" James asked confused which I signalled no.

We continued our talks and suddenly James brought up about their insta accounts and started showing me and one id catched my eye, it seems too familiar to ignore
Sam likes Shinchan too and that online girl name is sam, I never got a chance to ask her before.

Without thinking much I just asked James "this.. who is this account"

"Sam's" james replied, his one word made everything upside for a moment
Everything was starting to make sense now. The connection I felt with Sam, the sense of familiarity-it was all because we had met before, even if only online.

I handed the phone back to James, feeling a mix of relief and anxiety. "I need to explain this to her, James. She must've thought I left her back then when my account stopped working. She has every right to be upset."

James gave me confused look and nodded saying "i don't understand but whatever it is, just know I am here and do everything with calm mind and make things right"

"I will," I promised, already planning how I was going to make things right. Sam deserved the truth, and I was going to make sure she got it.