"Echoes of Unseen Fate"

Chapter 17

Alexander POV

If someone had told me a month ago that I'd be consumed by thoughts of a 5'5" woman with those captivating brown eyes that seemed to glimmer every time she smiled, I would've scoffed. Maybe even laughed out loud. But now, every little detail about her—her warm, contagious laughter, the way she absentmindedly tucks her hair behind her ear when she's deep in thought—was lodged in my mind, impossible to shake.

And if you had told me a year ago I'd be stuck in a group chat called "The Jugglers," I'd have you escorted out of my office. Yet here I was, trapped in this circus, thanks to Aaron. The members? Myself, Amaya, Amelia, Grayson, Aaron, and Bridget. How I ended up in a group chat with Amaya—the very woman I couldn't stop thinking about—and the rest of this chaotic bunch, I still wasn't sure. But here we were.

The chat itself was chaos. Take Aaron, for example. His chaotic energy knew no bounds—he'd send memes at ungodly hours or spam us with random trivia no one asked for. It was like he thrived on throwing everyone off balance. Amelia, was no better. Her messages were either a whirlwind of adrenaline or completely unhinged. Just last week she sent a video of her dancing with a skeleton in the ER, claiming it was "a slow night." I didn't bother responding.

Then there was Grayson, the ignorant jerk with the face that got him further than it should. He mostly used the chat to complain about things that could easily be solved if he spent five minutes thinking—like the time he couldn't figure out how to send a document. Instead, he grumbled, sent us a selfie, and called it a day. The fact that people still put up with him was a mystery.

Bridget, on the other hand, was usually the calm one. She only spoke when absolutely necessary—until she didn't. When she snapped, it was like watching a peaceful river turn into a waterfall, and it usually ended with a threat to block Aaron. It never lasted, though.

And then, of course, there was Amaya. Amaya, the cute, sunshine-filled architect who lit up every conversation with an absurd number of exclamation points and positivity. She'd start the day with "Good morning everyone!!!" as if we were all happy to be awake. It was borderline annoying, but somehow, I found myself waiting for it.

Me? I didn't participate much. The others could talk for hours about nonsense, but I preferred to observe. My replies were efficient—short and to the point. They didn't need to hear more from me, and frankly, I didn't have much to say. And yet, despite all the chaos, I found myself staying in this ridiculous chat.

Because... well, because of Amaya. Her presence was the only thing that made the chaos tolerable.

I stayed in the group chat for two reasons. The second was Aaron, my assistant and, unfortunately, best friend. He was relentless. If I left, I'd hear about it for weeks—no, months.

The day was winding down as I stared at my phone, lost in thought. I knew I was probably overthinking things, but it was hard not to. Unlike the past few days since the group chat was created, Amaya hadn't sent her usual good morning texts. Throughout the day, she would check in on all of us, asking if we'd eaten and if we were alright. Even at the end of the day, she'd make sure we were okay. But today, the group had been unusually quiet, and I hadn't heard a word from her. For some reason, that unsettled me.

I tried to focus on the emails piling up in my inbox, but my mind kept drifting back to Amaya. I scrolled through the group chat, hoping to find some sign of her—anything that would reassure me she was okay. Instead, it was just Aaron, making jokes, and Grayson arguing with Amelia about who was the better doctor.

It wasn't like Amaya to go quiet. The more I thought about it, the more it gnawed at me. Was she still upset? Had something happened? I didn't like the idea of her being alone, especially if whatever was bothering her hadn't gone away.