Chapter Two: Fate

Kieran Belmonte had a lunch scheduled with his business partner in a lovely, cozy restaurant at the heart of the shopping district in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig.

It was close to the office building they rented and they both knew the owner. They could count on a table that would be exclusively reserved for them anytime they came to eat.

In spite of the infernal heat, Kieran was dressed in a smart-casual outfit of black slacks, white shirt and a green sweater. The deep, emerald green color of his sweater brought out the green flecks in his blue-gray eyes and set off his skin tone.

More than a few ladies and gents had thrown admiring looks at him as he entered the restaurant. 

The dark-haired young man took out his laptop to finish up some of his work. He ordered coffee and a sandwich when the waiter approached him. His attention was already on an open spreadsheet when the waiter walked away. 

It was quite early so he decided to work on his to-do list like answering emails, returning a voice message and checking his social media. His calm, reserved demeanor changed when his associate didn't show up at exactly 1 PM. 

When Kieran realized that he had been waiting for almost an hour, he became truly irritated.

His irritation only increased when he also realized that he didn't bring his personal mobile phone when he left the office. 

Kirean regarded it as unusual but not impossible. He clearly remembered that he left in a hurry because he was already hungry after skipping breakfast. It was also in his character that he was always punctual and hated to make anyone wait. 

In the end, he left a message to his secretary via email to tell his business partner that he will be going to his house directly.

He also ordered her to book a car for him so he could leave within the next 15 minutes from his current location. In a few seconds, he received the booking information for the car that was already en route to him.  

With a small sigh of resignation, he pushed down the top half of the laptop and found him staring again at the beautiful girl that he met four nights ago.

She was sitting at another table beside one of the large windows.

Her voluminous hair was braided into one long, dark braided rope but soft tendrils reached down to frame her face. In the warm sunshine, she glowed with rosy cheeks. He couldn’t help but notice that her eye color was quite unusual but extremely beautiful. 

It was truly the first time that he was honestly attracted to a strikingly beautiful woman.

It unnerved him. 

The young woman seemed to have sensed his gaze and glanced at him. When her gaze met his eyes, she smiled warmly.

The distance between their tables was not that far so a conversation was possible.

"Hello again," Kieran greeted her with a friendly smile. He couldn’t take his eyes off her when the sun shone behind her and created a dark halo. “Have you eaten lunch?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he wished that he thought of something more witty. She smiled with amusement at his attempt to remind her.

"It's a restaurant. What do you think I'm here for?" The dark-haired girl replied, chuckling. She heard her mobile phone ring inside her bag. "Thank you but I've already eaten lunch. I see you're here for other reasons."

Kieran blushed slightly when her eyes fell on his laptop computer. He hastily shoved it inside his briefcase. He realized that his stomach was gurgling again. That sandwich was only breakfast and he hadn’t eaten lunch.

"My lunch meeting got canceled," he said quickly. 

She looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"May I join you?" he found himself asking as she checked her phone casually.

Her smile took his breath away. "I'd love to but I'm late for my next appointment. I hope you'll have a good lunch. The food is wonderful here. It’s nice to see you again. Goodbye.”

The young woman got up from her seat and headed towards the exit of the restaurant.

He had a strange but strong urge to get up and follow her. He wanted to get to know her better over lunch. His instincts strongly encouraged him to be closer to her.

They’ve already met two times in two different locations.

It wasn’t just coincidence, right?

Fate has something to do with these strange events that led him to meet the most beautiful stranger he’d ever seen. 

In spite of his serious, no-nonsense personality, Kieran was a firm believer of fate and blessed events. He believed that only fate could bring love into his life.

In his view, he could manipulate business, money and power but not love.

Only Fate can do that. 

Kieran watched her walk away again to board a rented car that was waiting outside. He belatedly realized that he was letting her get away again without asking for her name. But before he could do anything else, the black car glided away. 

"That's another disappointment for today," he murmured to himself as he watched it go. “Tommy will pay for this.”