Yet fate cannot be cheated.
Best friends Emily and Sophie had known each other since childhood, growing up in the same quiet village where everyone swore their bond was unbreakable. Both were pretty—though Emily had a gentle, serene air about her, while Sophie burned bright, fierce and quick-tempered.
By secondary school, everyone knew Daniel pined for Emily, though she dismissed his longing glances. Still, it flattered her—the way he shadowed her steps, brought her wildflowers, begged her to walk with him, even whispered his love. Emily only smiled at the sweet but bashful Daniel. And perhaps things might have worked between them—had it not been for arrogant Michael, who wanted every pretty girl in town.
Dark-haired and sharp-eyed, Michael swaggered through the school corridors, leaving a trail of lovestruck girls in his wake. Both friends fell for him, laughing at first—
“Imagine, Em! Some lucky girl’s going to end up married to that handsome devil,” Sophie had teased.
Michael, sensing their rivalry, played them like a fiddle. Alternating weeks between them, stoking their jealousy—and loving every second of it.
Then one day, their friendship shattered over him.
Emily met Michael alone. “Mike… I’m pregnant. What do we do?”
His brow furrowed. “Seriously? Well… suppose we’d better marry, then. A child needs a father.”
Fate had chosen for them.
At their school prom, the girls reconciled—or so Emily thought. Sophie’s smile didn’t reach her eyes.
The wedding was lively, the village buzzing. They settled into married life—quiet, steady. Their son, Jamie, was born. They lived in Emily’s grandmother’s cottage, which Michael fixed up himself—skilled with his hands, though he worked as a tractor driver.
Then hard times hit. The farm cut jobs. Emily, once an accountant, was laid off. Michael was furloughed.
“Mike, Jamie’s outgrown everything. School starts soon—his shoes are falling apart. And winter’s coming…”
A chance came. The tax office in town needed a secretary.
Emily hurried there, heart pounding.
A sharp-suited woman glanced up—and Emily’s breath caught.
“Sophie?!”
A cool smile. “Emily. Applying for the job, are you?”
“Yes!”
“How will you commute daily from the village?”
“I’ll manage. Buses run often—”
“Michael’s wife with a child at home? No. We need someone… flexible.”
Emily’s hope died.
At home, Michael was furious. “She turned you down? I’ll talk to her!”
He returned subdued. “She’s right. The other candidate’s better qualified.”
Then—post office work. A reprieve.
But Michael… always “helping at the farm.”
Until Daniel, still unmarried, stopped her.
“Em… Michael hasn’t been at the workshops. Not once.”
That evening, she confronted him.
“Where do you go?”
A quiet admission. “To Sophie. I never stopped loving her.”
“Get out.”
And just like that—years turned to ash.
Months later, Daniel found her.
“Your fence is falling. Let me fix it.”
She agreed.
He worked; she hung laundry.
“You’re beautiful, Em.”
She snapped. “Think I’ll throw myself at you now?”
Regret gnawed at her after.
Then—an August evening. Crisp air, drifting cobwebs.
“Smiling at last,” Daniel murmured. “Can I hold your hand?”
She laughed—and then they were in each other’s arms.
Rumours later said Michael and Sophie failed. But Emily, expecting Daniel’s child, didn’t care.
Fate had corrected itself.
