Chapter 1- THE MAN ON BLACK
After my breakup, the world felt heavier, like every step carried the weight of a thousand memories. I thought staying with friends would numb the ache, distract me from the way his name kept replaying in my mind like a sad love song. And for a while, it worked, there were laughs, inside jokes, and new faces to meet. I even convinced myself I was doing better.
But in the quiet spaces, when the music stopped and the laughter faded, the pain returned, stubborn and unshaken. It was the kind of emptiness that followed me everywhere, even when I tried to outrun it.
That evening, as the sun began to sink behind the rooftops, I left my friend’s place and got into a cab heading home. My thoughts wandered until, suddenly, something, someone, caught my attention.
There he was.
Tall. Dark. Dressed in a perfectly fitted black corporate suit that hugged his frame like it was made for him. A pair of dark sunglasses rested on his face, yet somehow I could feel his eyes beneath them. His skin gleamed in the evening light, smooth, warm, and so flawless I thought, He must be African-American. He was smiling at someone beside him, speaking animatedly, but I barely noticed the friend. My focus was completely on him.
“Please, slow down when we get closer,” I told the driver, trying to sound casual, though my pulse had already begun to race. “I want to see him properly.”
“Okay, ma,” the driver replied with a small grin, as if he approved of my little silly request.
The cab rolled closer, the sound of the engine humming beneath the moment. The driver lowered the window, and the warm breeze carried the faint scent of cologne, crisp, masculine, intoxicating.
Then it happened. He turned.
Our eyes met.
It wasn’t just a glance; it was a pull, as though the world had paused to let that moment happen. My gaze drifted down to his lips, soft, perfectly shaped, with a pinkish glow that made me wonder how they might taste. I was so lost in the thought that I didn’t notice he had started speaking until his voice, deep, smooth, commanding yet gentle, broke through my trance.
“Please, can I get in? I’ve been standing here for hours. No cabs, no buses going my way. Could you at least drop me at the nearest bus stop?”
For a second, I forgot how to breathe. I smiled, trying to mask the wild flutter in my chest. “Sure, you can.”
He opened the door and stepped in, his presence filling the space instantly. As he sat beside me, the world outside blurred. The air conditioner was cold enough to keep anyone from sweating, yet I could feel a bead of heat running down my spine. My palms were damp, my breath uneven, my eyes darting anywhere but his face.
Still, I could sense his gaze on me. And though I didn’t know his name, at that moment, I had a strange feeling…
This ride wasn’t just going to take me home.
It was going to change everything.
