Love or Fate

In the historical fiction novel Love or Fate, set in 1933 Berlin, Germany, Filipino-born and U.S. settler Eduard Trajano studies at the Berlin University of Science and Technology. He invents a groundbreaking uranium-powered battery that can last for twenty years. His life takes a dramatic turn when he is saved from bullies by Asche Von Heim, an adventurous orphan woman. Asche, needing to repair her motor tricycle, persuades Eduard to use his battery to restore its engine.

The two bond over their mechanical project, and soon embark on a thrilling journey to Hamburg, following clues from Asche's father's diary about a mysterious time-travel device. They discover the device in an abandoned laboratory by the Elbe canal, and return to Berlin to restore it, using Eduard's uranium battery to power the pocket watch-shaped contraption.

As they grow closer amid the political turmoil in Germany, they find themselves on the run after Asche's motor tricycle is reported as a stolen military vehicle. In a tragic turn of events, Asche is fatally injured in an explosion during their escape. Eduard uses the time-travel device to flee to 1923, where he alters history by eliminating a key figure responsible for Germany's political chaos.

The consequences of Eduard's actions lead to a world where the Soviet Union occupies the entire European continent under a strict isolationist policy. With Asche's death erased from history, Eduard now faces a heart-wrenching dilemma: remain in this new timeline or revert to the original one. Will Eduard choose to stay in a communist-controlled Europe, go back to the U.S., or sacrifice his memories of Asche to restore the previous timeline?

Love or Fate explores the profound impact of choices, the bonds of unexpected friendship, and the intricate dance between love and destiny against the backdrop of a world on the brink of monumental change.