Ficorpio
Chapter 1
On my best friend’s birthday, she asked me to meet her alone. Once we were out of earshot of everyone else, she said solemnly, “I need to tell you something about your boyfriend. Just try not to freak out, okay?”
I was completely confused. I assumed Adrian had cheated on me and Vanessa had caught him.
I nodded quickly, took her hand, and urged her to tell me.
She hesitated for a long time before finally saying, awkwardly, “The person your boyfriend is really in love with… is me.”
I froze.
So did Adrian, who had been eavesdropping nearby.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Vanessa asked, frowning unhappily. “Don’t you believe me?”
I opened my mouth, but I honestly had no idea how to respond.
Vanessa was my childhood best friend, and Adrian was my boyfriend. But the two of them had only met twice in their entire lives.
They hadn’t even exchanged basic contact information.
The last time they’d seen each other was in October of the previous year, on my birthday. Adrian had flown back from overseas specifically to celebrate with me, and he’d briefly met Vanessa then.
Tonight was only their second meeting.
It was Vanessa’s birthday, and Adrian had come with me to deliver her birthday gifts.
Unless I’d miscalculated, Vanessa and Adrian had seen each other twice.
All told, they had spoken exactly five sentences to each other.
The first four had been, “Hi,” and “Goodbye.”
The fifth was the “Happy birthday” Adrian had said to Vanessa tonight.
These two people had practically no connection whatsoever.
And yet Vanessa had suddenly announced that Adrian had been in love with her all along.
How was I supposed to believe that?!
Maybe the disbelief on my face was too obvious, because Vanessa grew flustered. She grabbed my arm and cried, “It’s true!”
“Why won’t you believe me?”
How was I supposed to believe her?
They hadn’t even exchanged more than five sentences!
But Vanessa looked so serious, so completely convinced, that I hesitated before asking, “Wait.”
“I want to know exactly how you came to the conclusion that Adrian is in love with you.”
The moment I brought that up, Vanessa’s expression faltered. Then her cheeks flushed.
She grew coy, stammering and fidgeting as though she couldn’t bring herself to answer.
Watching her little performance, my heart gave a sudden lurch.
A chill spread through me.
Had Adrian really done something behind my back? Was that why Vanessa believed he was in love with her?
I had to admit, I panicked a little.
I tightened my grip on her hand and asked anxiously, “Vanessa, just tell me. How did you find out?”
Vanessa shot me a coquettish glance. In an exaggerated gesture, she brushed a hand through her hair and lowered her voice.
“It’s that thing.”
“What thing?!” Was she talking about what I thought she was?
Chapter 2
The world spun violently before my eyes. I nearly lost my balance and fell.
Fortunately, I caught hold of Vanessa’s arm and managed to stay upright.
Only after I pressed her again did Vanessa let out a smug little hum and finally say, “Didn’t I tell you last time that I’d met a remarkably accurate Pana Tarot reader?”
I nodded blankly. I vaguely remembered something like that.
Vanessa giggled and leaned close to my ear, speaking in a conspiratorial whisper.
“That Pana Tarot reader told me.”
“She said I’m your boyfriend’s destined match—the One.”
I jerked my head up and stared at Vanessa in disbelief.
“Say that again.”
My ears were ringing. For a moment, I honestly thought I must have misheard her.
Then Vanessa pursed her lips and patiently repeated herself. That was when I finally realized she wasn’t joking.
She was serious.
All because of something some so-called Pana Tarot reader had told her, Vanessa was now utterly convinced that Adrian—the man I’d been dating for more than three years—was secretly in love with her.
That was why she put on a concerned expression and said, as if she were only looking out for me, “You should break up with him before it’s too late.”
“I had the cards read specifically. You and Adrian aren’t going to end well.”
“He and I are the destined match.”
Smiling brightly, Vanessa gave my shoulder a reassuring pat.
I was still too stunned to respond, so she barreled on.
“Actually, why don’t you leave him here with me tonight? Let us spend one night together, and you’ll see how powerful romantic destiny can be.”
She clapped her hands as though the matter were settled.
“Great. Then it’s decided! You should head home early.”
She didn’t even wait for my answer before arranging the rest of my evening—and Adrian’s.
It wasn’t until she gave me a little push that I snapped out of my daze.
“You want me to leave my boyfriend at your house so the two of you can spend the night together?” I stared at her in disbelief. “Which one of us has lost her mind here?”
How had she even come up with something so absurd?
Whether that supposed Pana Tarot reader was accurate wasn’t even the point.
Adrian and I had been together for more than three years. We were already talking seriously about marriage.
Did Vanessa really expect me to hand him over just because she’d invented some ridiculous theory about the two of them being destined for each other?
I wasn’t an idiot.
“You need to calm down.”
Forcing back my anger, I decided there was no point wasting another breath on her. I turned to leave.
I had barely taken two steps when Vanessa called after me, frustration sharpening her voice.
“Claire, don’t you understand?”
“Adrian only got together with you so he could meet me!”
Chapter 3
“The moment he spends any real time with me, he’ll fall in love with me.”
“You can fight it all you want, but you can’t escape destiny!”
Vanessa hurried after me, chattering insistently in my ear. Her expression was completely earnest. She truly believed every word she was saying.
The instant she saw me glance at her, she grew even more animated.
“In the end, he’s going to fall in love with me,” she declared proudly. “Because I’m the One for him.”
“You’re just someone passing through his life.”
“You might as well let him go now while you still have a little dignity left.”
Every sentence was more outrageous than the last.
I tried to hold my temper. I really did.
But when she grabbed my hand, I finally reached my limit. I wrenched free and snapped, “If there’s something wrong with you, go get help.”
“Stop fantasizing about someone else’s boyfriend!”
Vanessa’s face twisted with anger. She stamped her foot and shouted, “The Pana Tarot cards showed me the truth!”
Pana Tarot cards. Destiny. A destined match.
How could anyone still believe this garbage in the twenty-first century?
I couldn’t be bothered to argue anymore.
“Fine,” I said. “The Pana Tarot cards told me all your money belongs to me.”
I held out my hand, my expression perfectly serious.
“So transfer every cent you have to me right now. Then I’ll believe you.”
Vanessa’s face turned scarlet.
“Are you insane?”
The words burst out before she could stop them.
So even she knew how ridiculous this sounded.
I gave a cold laugh, turned away, and left without another word.
Vanessa’s rambling had ruined what had been a perfectly good evening.
I was too irritated to stay any longer, and I certainly wasn’t in the mood to stand around while she cut her birthday cake. I called Adrian and asked him to meet me by the front door.
I hurried through the villa, but the instant I reached the entrance and saw Vanessa blocking Adrian’s path, my eyelid began to twitch.
Then Vanessa glanced up and spotted me.
She arched one eyebrow in open challenge.
A second later, she gave an exaggerated twist of her waist and pitched herself straight into Adrian’s arms.
Her body was falling, but her lips were tilted upward.
Her aim couldn’t have been clearer. She was going straight for his mouth.
My mind went blank with a deafening buzz.
How dare she?
She was deliberately throwing herself at my boyfriend right in front of me. What the hell was she thinking?
She had lost her mind.
I rushed forward, fury roaring in my ears, but there was still too much distance between us. I couldn’t move as fast as Vanessa was falling toward him.