DESTINY BY MY CHOICE

Prologue – Fractures of Choice

They say time is a straight line.

One road. One destiny. One life.

But what if that is a lie?

Every decision we make—big or small—splits the path.

A yes becomes one world.

A no becomes another.

Even silence creates its own echo.

Somewhere, another version of you lives a life you never chose.

They laugh when you cry. They fail when you succeed. They love when you walk away.

And sometimes… the boundaries between these lives blur.

Rajesh never believed in such things.

To him, life was simple: study, work, love, survive.

Until the night when everything broke.

Until the moment he realized—

his choices were not only his own… but the birth of many worlds.

Chapter 1 – The Fall

The room stank of alcohol. Empty bottles scattered across the floor like silent witnesses to my failure. In my trembling hand, the termination letter burned hotter than the whiskey sliding down my throat.

"Effective immediately, your services are no longer required."

One sentence. Just one. Enough to erase ten years of sweat, late nights, and sacrifices.

My chest tightened. I laughed bitterly, staring at the crumpled paper. So this is how it ends.

The phone buzzed on the table. Her name flashed on the screen—my wife.

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. What would I say? That I’d lost everything? That I wasn’t the man she thought she married? Or that maybe… she was never mine to begin with?

I grabbed the bottle again, the glass slick against my sweaty palm.

“One more sip,” I muttered. “One last step.”

The bridge was colder than I remembered. The city lights blurred, dancing across the river like ghosts mocking me. My heart pounded as the letter slipped from my hand, carried away by the wind.

“Goodbye,” I whispered.

And I jumped.

The water swallowed me whole. Darkness. Silence. A pull so heavy it felt like the world itself wanted me gone.

But then—

“Wake up, idiot!”

Ice-cold water splashed across my face. I gasped, choking, thrashing—only to open my eyes to blinding daylight.

I wasn’t drowning. I wasn’t dying. I was in… a hostel room.

Wooden bunks. Posters peeling off the wall. Laughter echoing in the corridor. And above me, my roommate holding an empty bucket, grinning.

“First day of college, Rajesh. Don’t start it by oversleeping.”

I sat up, my heart hammering. My hands were empty—no bottle, no letter. Just shaking fingers and a head full of questions.

Was I alive? Or had I already crossed into something else?

Chapter 2 – The Meeting Hall

The lecture hall buzzed with restless chatter. I sat slouched in the last row, notebook open but blank. Words floated past me — theories, formulas, the professor’s voice echoing like a distant hum. None of it reached me.

My eyelids grew heavy.

Just for a second, I told myself. Just a blink.

Darkness.

And then — applause.

I snapped awake. Except I wasn’t in class anymore.

Rows of suited men and women filled a grand corporate meeting hall. The air smelled of expensive cologne and polished wood. A long table stretched before me, papers and screens glowing with charts and graphs I didn’t recognize.

And at the head of the table—me.

Not a student. Not a confused boy. A man in his thirties, dressed sharp, every eye on him. On me.

My mouth went dry.

“Rajesh, we’re waiting for your decision.”

The voice came from my right. A woman, calm but firm, her eyes sharp as if she’d known me for years.

Decision? About what?

I glanced at the documents in front of me—numbers, contracts, signatures. It felt important, as if my answer would tip the balance of something greater.

I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.

“Sir?” another voice pressed.

I stood, hands trembling, heart hammering. I wanted to scream—this isn’t real, I don’t belong here!

And yet… a strange familiarity pulsed in my chest, like I’d been here before. Like this was me—a version of me I’d forgotten.

The room blurred. My pulse roared in my ears.

And just as I tried to speak—

“Rajesh! Wake up!”

I jerked upright. Back in the classroom. My notebook still blank. My friend snickering beside me.

“Bro, you were nodding like crazy. Dreaming of being a CEO or what?”

I forced a laugh, wiping sweat from my brow. But deep inside, I couldn’t shake the question.

Was that just a dream? Or did I glimpse another life—another universe?

Chapter 3 – The Empty House

That night, I lay on my hostel bed staring at the ceiling fan. Sleep came fast, heavier than usual, like my body had no strength to resist it.

And then—silence.

When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in the hostel anymore.

I was standing in the doorway of a small house, the air thick with the smell of stale food and dust. The living room looked lifeless, curtains half-drawn, empty cups scattered across the table. A faint glow of the TV lit up the walls, but no one sat watching.

“Hello?” I called out.

No answer.

Something pressed against my chest, an unease I couldn’t name. My feet carried me deeper inside, through rooms that felt both strange and familiar.

On the bedroom table, I saw it—

A letter, folded but left open.

“I can’t do this anymore. You don’t trust me. You don’t believe in me. Maybe it’s better if we live separate lives.”

The handwriting was hers. My wife’s.

Except—I wasn’t even married yet. Not in my real life. Not here in the hostel.

Still, the words cut deep.

I heard a faint sound—a sob, muffled through the bathroom door. My hand reached for the handle, but it wouldn’t turn. Locked.

“Please… don’t,” I whispered, not even sure why.

And then—darkness again.

When I opened my eyes, I was back in my hostel bed. My heart racing, my shirt damp with sweat.

Was it another dream? Or was it Universe B—a life where love had already shattered, where trust had turned into poison?

Continue.