The Night Fate Chose You

1: The E

mall room she shares with her stepbrother's muddle. Her blanket, light and overwashed clung to her legs as if it knew letting go

at ten. Another one

faded paint, a daily ritual that bought her a few m

Her blonde hair was a mess of waves falling stubbornly as she made her way to the mirror perched above the dresser.

her gaze fro

d- silent, chill, and calculated. Her stepmother, Evelyn, barely endured her presence. And

od already sullen as she heard

rted before ten," he said, not lo

" Ivy replied striding past him to the fridge to g

tyled as always with his jaw contracted, his dark pants crinkled, his sh

ur years now?" he asked, taking a sip of his c

an necessary. "The end goal is to not

lips, but it never reached h

him most wh

p as if she were still gracing the front page of a Vogue magazine

u eaten

le softened

cou

saying a word, keys in hand and a bag slung over her shoulder. The door slammed

into view. She had thought college would provide her with a way out, her ladder to a better future. But now, four years later,

aded away with her

reminder: "Interview -

g was vague: assistant-level, full-time, with benefits inclu

n two skyscrapers. She checked her reflection in the doors - a clean blue blou

t. A woman at the front desk nodde

de up

truck by the deep silen

ist's desk, "Hi, I'm Ivy H

eplied without looking up. "Som

d time seem

er her knees and checked the t

f footsteps down the hall, appro

e door sw

everything aro

re a tailored navy suit. His hair was slicked back, and he had a chiseled jawline, with intense gray

rosty, and strangely familiar-

was

m that nigh

name, but she could

s if trying to p

his voice smooth and a

rve on edge, the hallway b

ce, one thought burned loude

ll is he do