FATE

Chapter 1: The Beach Encounter

The sun melted into the horizon, painting the sky with swirls of orange and purple as the reggae beats pulsed through the air. A bonfire roared on the beach, its flames crackling and dancing to the rhythm of the night. The salty breeze mixed with the smell of rum, smoke, and the tang of the sea. Laughter and chatter buzzed around, but Amara stood slightly apart, nursing a cold drink and watching the waves kiss the shore.

She had come with friends, but her mind was miles away. Her relationship with David, her boyfriend of two years, had grown stale—predictable. Tonight was supposed to be an escape from that suffocating routine, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that she didn’t belong, that she was a stranger even among familiar faces.

And then she saw him.

Zayne was standing on the other side of the fire, his silhouette dark against the burning light. He was tall, his frame lean but strong, and his skin glowed under the firelight. His eyes caught hers through the haze of smoke, a smirk playing on his lips. Amara felt her pulse quicken. She took another sip of her drink, trying to look away, but he was already walking over, the sand crunching under his feet.

“Wah gwaan, beautiful? Yuh look like yuh lost inna yuh thoughts,” he said, his voice smooth, with a lilt that hinted he wasn’t from around here.

Amara glanced up, raising an eyebrow. “Maybe I am. And maybe mi just a enjoy the view.”

Zayne chuckled, a low sound that rumbled through the air between them. “Mind if mi join yuh? Never seen a woman turn down a good view before.”

She smirked, feeling a spark she hadn’t felt in a long time. “Suit yourself.”

They fell into an easy rhythm, talking about everything and nothing as the sky grew darker. Zayne told her about his life back in New York, the hustle, the chaos, and how he found peace in Jamaica. Amara found herself sharing pieces of her life she hadn’t even told David—her love for the ocean, her frustrations with feeling stuck. As the night wore on, the space between them grew smaller, their voices lower, more intimate.

He moved closer, the firelight casting shadows across his sharp jawline. “Yuh ever feel like yuh meant for more than this?” he asked, his gaze piercing, like he could see through the mask she wore.

She shivered, though the night was warm. “Sometimes. But dreams don’t pay the bills.”

Zayne leaned closer, his breath mingling with hers. “Some dreams do. If yuh brave eenough fi chase dem.”

His words lingered in the air, heavy with meaning. Amara’s heart thudded in her chest as she met his eyes, feeling a pull she couldn’t explain. She was standing at a cliff’s edge, and Zayne was offering a hand to leap with him.

A shout and burst of laughter from the bonfire snapped her back to reality. Amara took a step back, trying to steady her breathing. “Mi…. Mi have a man,” she mumbled, but even she could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

Zayne didn’t look fazed. He tucked a strand of her curly hair behind her ear, his fingers grazing her cheek. “Maybe. But him deh ya now?”

Her resolve wavered. The way Zayne’s eyes searched hers, like he was looking for a reason to pull her closer, made her head spin. She wanted to resist, to remember that David was waiting for her, but the thrill of being seen, really seen, was intoxicating.

She laughed softly, a sound carried away by the breeze. “Ya trouble enuh, yuh know?”

Zayne grinned, stepping back with his hands raised in surrender. “Maybe. But sometimes trouble a wah yuh need fi wake up”

Amara watched him walk away, his figure blending into the shadows near the fire. She turned back to the ocean, but the night felt different now, charged with a new kind of electricity. As she stood there, listening to the waves, she couldn’t help but wonder if Zayne was right.

And if she was ready to find out.