Hospital lady

Ava's POV

"Fate is rarely what you imagine."

My mind kept replaying the hospital collision, a scene on repeat. Distracted, anxious about updates on my phone, I'd bumped into her. For a heartbeat, the sterile chaos of the hospital faded, leaving only the two of us. Her eyes, a mix of annoyance and something else…intrigue?

Now, days later, the memory felt less like a clumsy accident and more like a question mark hanging in the air. Had fate thrown us together? Or was it just a random bump in a corridor filled with them?

Then, the air in the room changed. "I have one last wish," my father croaked, his voice raspy and weak. His eyes, pleading, met mine. "I want you to marry a man."

The words hung between us, a stark acknowledgment of the chasm between his expectations and my truth. He knew I wasn't straight, yet even now, clinging to his deathbed, he couldn't let go of this ideal. Cornered, heartbroken, I agreed.

Days blurred as the specifics of his request materialized. I was marrying a man... who was already married. And the wedding was in a month. My head swam with questions, protests dying on my tongue. How could this be? A married man taking another wife? What about her?

The pressure mounted, a suffocating weight threatening to crush me between my dying father's wish and the truth of who I was.

Then, I saw her.

Hunter's voice, light and conversational, washed over me, but my focus narrowed. Across the room, she stood, and everything sharpened. As I glanced back at her, her eyes sparkled with intelligence and kindness. This wasn't just about sharing a partner; it felt like a merging of souls, a partnership steeped in understanding rather than jealousy.

Hunter's laughter boomed, but it was her smile that held me captive—warm, inviting. Could we be rivals in this arrangement?

No. Allies.

Hunter continued to speak, oblivious, but my gaze kept drifting back to her—my soon-to-be co-wife. Could we build a home from respect and camaraderie? A shared future forged from something other than obligation? And as her eyes met mine, an unexpected flutter of excitement stirred within me, a pull towards this unfamiliar path.