Love's Final Destination

Chapter 6 - The Incident where Everything started

It had been a year since I last heard from Jeremy, and, surprisingly, I was okay. Life had a funny way of moving on, even when you thought you'd never get past something. Jeremy had a family now a wife and a kid, or so I heard through social media. I didn't know when it all happened, and honestly, I didn't care. Maybe it was God's way of sparing me from becoming a young mother with someone who didn't deserve me, or maybe it was karma doing its thing. Either way, it was over, and I was finally starting to see that I was better off.

Looking back, it all seemed so obvious Jeremy wasn't sincere with me, or with any of the other women in his past. He was a smooth talker, a sweet charmer with a hidden agenda. His real goal was always the same: to have a taste of every woman who fell for his lies. He played the role of a devoted man but never intended to stick around. Now, seeing him settle down, I couldn't help but feel a strange satisfaction, knowing karma had finally caught up with him.

One Saturday, as I was scrolling through my phone, Annika called me out of nowhere.

"Hey, you want to grab some lomi? I'm craving something warm," I said, already thinking about what else I could eat.

"Sure!" Annika replied with enthusiasm. "But your treat, right?"

I laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Let's go. I'll meet you outside."

We headed to this little spot we both loved, chatting about random things and laughing along the way. As we were about to enter the store, I noticed a guy standing right in front of the door, blocking the entrance. He was tall, pale, and skinny kind of like a ghost who didn't get enough sun.

I sidestepped to the right, thinking he'd let me pass, but he moved in the same direction, blocking me again. I tried to move left, and he mirrored my movement once more. This ridiculous back-and-forth went on for what felt like an eternity. I was getting more and more frustrated by the second.

"Excuse me," I muttered, trying to sound polite but clearly annoyed.

He just smirked, as if we were playing some kind of joke. My patience snapped, and I pushed him aside, only to be surprised when he pushed me right back. I shot him an annoyed glare but said nothing, and walked past him, shaking my head.

Behind me, I could hear Annika laughing uncontrollably. "Oh my gosh, that was hilarious!" she said, still giggling.

"Who was that?" I asked, still irritated as I looked over my shoulder at the guy.

"That," she said between chuckles, "was Daniel Park, young lady. He's my churchmate."

"Park? Is he Korean or something?" I raised an eyebrow, still confused and a bit annoyed by the encounter.

"Nope, just his family name," she said with a grin. "Why, do you have a thing for Koreans?"

I rolled my eyes. "Please, no. I'm still recovering from Jeremy, remember? The last thing I need is some random guy blocking my way. But..." I paused, thinking back to the weird encounter. "He did smell good."

Annika burst into laughter again. "You know what? You guys actually look alike! Like, seriously, now that I think about it, you could be siblings!"

I shot her a look of disbelief. "What?! That's the last thing I want to hear! What is wrong with you today?"

She just shrugged, clearly enjoying teasing me. Before I could say anything else, she snatched my phone right out of my hand.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, trying to grab it back.

"Relax," she said, her eyes glued to my screen. "Just adding someone."

"Adding who?" I asked suspiciously.