Don’t Tempt Fate
With the wisdom of her years, Grace has come to believe—no, to *know*—that nothing in life happens by chance. Every meeting, every connection, is written in the stars long before it unfolds.
“Call it coincidence if you like, but you’d be wrong,” she insists firmly. “Some say you can cheat fate or rewrite your destiny, but no one’s ever managed it. Everyone’s got their secrets—buried deep where they belong. Best keep them there.” Grace sighs, glancing out the window at the wild apple tree in full bloom. “I’ve got mine too, of course. But some things are better left unsaid.”
The sight of the blossoms takes her back to another May, decades ago, when the air was thick with the scent of lilac. She and Lily were walking home from school, both in their final year. Inseparable since childhood, they lived just streets apart, shared every class, every secret. Lily was the shy one, cheeks perpetually flushed like rose petals, soft-spoken and gentle. Grace? Bold as brass, always ready to leap to her friend’s defence.
“Lil, you’ve got to stand up for yourself! Just whack that Tommy Baker over the head with your textbook once, and he’ll stop tying your plait to the chair,” Grace would scold.
Tommy, the class mischief-maker, sat directly behind Lily. He’d loop her long plait around the chair leg so subtly she never noticed—until she stood up and landed right back in her seat, much to the class’s amusement. No one guessed it was his clumsy way of flirting. Lily barely spared him a glance—too rough, too loud, not her type at all.
“I can’t, Grace. I’d feel awful, even if he deserves it,” Lily would murmur.
“Suit yourself. Next time, *I’ll* deal with him,” Grace promised.
After school, they enrolled in college together, training to be retail buyers. Grace started dating Jack from another class, sneaking off to meet him while Lily stayed home.
“Come on, Lil! Jack’s mate Pete’s a laugh—always cracking jokes. He even asked if I knew anyone for him. We could double-date!” Grace nudged her.
Lily shook her head. “I’d rather wait. When it’s real, I’ll know.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “Sitting around waiting for Prince Charming, are we? Fine. But you’re coming to the cinema with us tomorrow.”
Lily hated intruding—third wheels never ended well. She trusted fate would bring her someone when the time was right.
Then one day, Grace stormed in, fuming.
“Jack’s done. We went to the pictures, and the moment he spots these two girls, he’s off chatting them up, leaving me standing there like some spare part. Ten minutes later, he *finally* remembers I exist. Spent the whole film craning his neck to gawk at them. So I told him exactly what I thought.”
“And?” Lily pressed.
“He told me to sod off, said he was bored of me. Well, I told him where to shove it. Over. Done.”
Jack never came crawling back. Grace shrugged it off soon enough.
Weeks later, as spring warmed the air, the girls strolled through the park, Lily clutching a novel. A tall stranger brushed past, knocking the book from her hands. He scooped it up with an apologetic grin.
“Sorry about that—completely my fault.” His eyes, bright blue beneath a fringe of wavy hair, lingered on Lily’s face.
“No harm done,” Grace said airily, but Lily just smiled, flushing.
Something passed between them—instant, magnetic.
“Oliver. Ollie, really,” he said, still looking at Lily.
“Grace,” she cut in, thrusting out a hand. “This is Lily.”
“Pleasure. You two in a hurry?”
“Just walking,” Grace said.
Ollie’s gaze never left Lily. “Mind if I join you?”
Grace chattered nonstop as they wandered, but Ollie’s attention stayed fixed on Lily, who barely spoke, her cheeks pink.
“You’re quiet,” he remarked.
“Just listening,” she murmured.
Grace noticed. *He likes her. Well, she’ll step aside—she always does.*
But Ollie wasn’t Jack. He was steady, interesting. By the time he walked them home, Grace was smitten.
“Till tomorrow, then? Cinema?” He winked at Lily and was gone.
Grace tossed in bed that night, Ollie’s face imprinted behind her eyelids. *Proper bloke, not like that twit Jack.*
Lily lay awake too, heart racing. *Could it really happen this fast?*
At the cinema, Ollie sat between them. Halfway through, his fingers brushed Lily’s, then held tight. She didn’t pull away. Her pulse hammered so loudly she feared Grace would hear.
After, Grace prattled on, oblivious to the silent thread weaving between her friend and Ollie. At their doorstep, he hesitated.
“Lily—can we talk?”
Grace stiffened. “Should I go?”
“Sorry, Grace. Need a word with Lily.”
She spun on her heel and slammed the door behind her, seething. *That sly little mouse. And him—falling for* her*? Well, we’ll see.*
Ollie and Lily talked for hours, certain they’d found something rare. Grace grilled Lily later, who confessed everything, too guileless to hide it.
Days passed. Grace, hopelessly in love, schemed. She cornered Ollie after work.
“Ollie, you’re making a mistake. Lily’s not who you think. She’s been with half the lads in town—tosses them aside like old socks. She’ll wreck your life.”
He listened, then asked quietly, “Why tell me this? She’s your best friend.”
“Because I love you,” Grace blurted.
Ollie stared, then walked away without a word.
Two days later, Lily burst in, radiant. “We’re engaged! Wedding’s in a month!”
Grace forced a smile. *He didn’t believe me.* She skipped the wedding, claiming illness.
Three days after, a letter arrived in her mailbox—Ollie’s neat script:
*”Don’t tempt fate. You’ll only hurt yourself.”*
Now, years later, Grace remembers those words often. Was it destiny’s plan all along? Or had fate swung back like a boomerang, repaying the harm she’d tried to deal?
She never found happiness. Two failed marriages, no children, just empty rooms and quiet regrets. Grace knows better than anyone: fate won’t be cheated.
