The City That Didn’t Want Me
Chapter 1
The City That Didn’t Want Me
I wasn’t chasing a dream.
I was here because my mother decided that studying in the capital would be better for my future. Better university. More opportunities. Aunt Grace’s house was ready to receive me. Everything organized.
I hadn’t seen my aunt in years.
In fact, I barely remembered her face.
I knew almost nothing about my cousins.
The last time I saw Aunt Grace, I was still very young. After that, they never came to my town. She moved to the capital before her youngest son was even born.
We barely kept in touch.
I stared out the bus window as rain started to fall. The city sign flashed under the headlights, and for one second I wanted to ask the driver to turn around.
But I got off.
The bus station was chaos.
Half the lights were flickering. People arguing with employees. An entire area cordoned off because of a system problem. They said the ride apps were down, that taxis weren’t running properly.
No one explained anything clearly.
I needed to call my mother.
Aunt Grace’s address was saved on my phone. I’d never been there before. All I knew was that it was in a quiet residential neighborhood, far from downtown.
I stepped away from the main hall to find signal.
It happened fast.
A shove.
Too hard to be accidental.
My suitcase nearly tipped.
And when I looked down at my hand…
My phone was gone.
“Hey!” I yelled, but the man had already vanished into the crowd.
My heart started racing.
No phone.
No address.
No idea where to go.
Going back inside wasn’t an option. Part of the station was blocked off, and the rain outside was getting heavier by the minute.
So I started walking.
Not because I was brave.
But because standing still felt worse.
I turned a corner looking for somewhere brighter. The streets were emptier than I wanted.
That’s when I heard footsteps behind me.
“Lost?” a man asked.
I ignored him.
Another one came up from the side.
“We can help you.”
One of them grabbed my arm.
My body went cold.
“Let go.”
I wanted my voice to sound steady.
It didn’t.
Then another voice cut through the air.
“She said let go.”
Deep.
Controlled.
Effortless.
The two men turned.
So did I.
He stood a few steps behind them. Dark T-shirt soaked by the rain, hands in his pockets, gaze steady.
He didn’t look nervous.
He looked in control.
Like the kind of man no one really wanted to challenge.
Next to him, another guy ran a hand through his wet hair and checked his watch, clearly in a hurry.
The man holding my arm released me slowly.
“We were just talking.”
“You talk to people who want to talk,” he replied.
No shouting.
No fight.
Just a silence heavy enough to make both men back off.
They walked away, muttering.
And I stayed there.
He approached me.
Not fast.
Not slow.
Confident.
Close enough that I could smell rain… mixed with something darker.
Something unmistakably masculine.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded.
He took my arm gently where the other man had grabbed me.
His hand was warm.
Firm.
Not delicate.
I should’ve stepped back.
I didn’t.
“Alone?” His voice dropped slightly.
“For now.”
His gaze lingered on my face half a second longer than it should have.
Then it dipped.
Then returned.
As if he were trying to memorize me.
“You’re not from here.”
It wasn’t a question.
I shook my head.
“I just arrived.”
“And you’re already getting into trouble on your first night?”
There was a hint of reproach in his tone.
But also concern.
I swallowed.
“That wasn’t exactly the plan.”
The corner of his mouth almost smiled.
Almost.
“What’s your name?”
“Luna.”
He repeated it quietly, testing the sound.
“Luna…”
A shiver ran down my spine.
“And yours?”
“Matthew.”
His name settled between us like something final.
The silence that followed wasn’t awkward.
It was charged.
He stepped closer.
Too close.
“Do you have somewhere to go?” he asked.
I hesitated.
He noticed.
His eyes changed.
“Give me your number,” he said softly. “In case you need help… or in case I want to know you got home safe.”
My heart pounded.
I was about to answer.
About to say yes.
About to invent anything just to keep that thin thread between us.
“Matthew. We need to go. Now.”
His friend appeared behind him—firm, urgent.
Matthew didn’t look away from me right away.
As if he were deciding whether to stay.
Or leave.
His jaw tightened for a second.
“One minute, James.”
Then he ran a hand through his wet hair, pulled a few bills from his pocket, and placed them in my palm.
“Get yourself somewhere safe tonight,” he said. “And don’t walk around here alone.”
He turned and started to leave.
But just before disappearing around the corner…
He looked back.
Straight at me.
“Next time,” he said, voice low, “try not to show up in the middle of a storm like that… it makes it hard to leave.”
His eyes held mine.
“I might start believing fate just introduced me to the woman I’m supposed to fall in love with.”
And I knew.
This wasn’t over.
But how was I supposed to find that man again in a city this big… if I hadn’t even asked for his number?
The hotel was simple.
But clean.
A narrow bed. Rough sheets. A lamp that flickered like it couldn’t make up its mind.
I barely slept that night.
Not because I was scared.
The fear had passed.
What remained was something else.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that look.
Matthew.
His name slipped from my lips like I’d known him for years.
I didn’t know his last name.
I didn’t know what he’d been doing on that street.
I didn’t know if he was the kind of man who saved someone on impulse…
Or out of habit.
But I knew how he had looked at me.
And that unsettled me.
I was here for college.
New city.
New life.
Focus.
That’s what mattered.
I kept repeating it like a prayer:
University. Future. Independence.
But every moment of silence brought the same memory back.
His steady voice.
The warmth of his hands.
What kind of woman arrives in a new city determined to study…
…and spends her first night thinking about a stranger?
I turned onto my side.
Closed my eyes tight.
It was just gratitude.
Just the shock.
It had to be just that.
Because anything else…
would be far too dangerous.
In the morning, I asked the receptionist for help. I called my mother. She contacted Aunt Grace, and finally I got the address.
I took a cab.
As the car moved through calmer neighborhoods, a strange chill settled in my stomach.
Maybe it was anxiety about school.
Maybe it was something else.
The doorbell had barely finished ringing when the door opened.
Aunt Grace stood there with a wide smile, surprised and emotional at the same time.
“Luna!”
She pulled me into a warm hug that smelled like sweet perfume and home.
“Come in, sweetheart. Everyone’s in the kitchen.”
The moment I stepped past the small entryway, I realized the house wasn’t what I’d imagined. No big living room—just a long narrow hallway lined with old framed photos.
We walked through it.
At the end, another corridor opened, splitting the house.
Two doors facing each other.
But before them—
The kitchen.
That’s where the voices came from.
Laughter. Cutlery. Casual talk.
Uncle John stood up first when he saw me.
“Welcome, Luna.”
His hug was strong and warm.
Ryan stood up too—confident posture, easy smile.
“So you finally decided to show up, cousin.”
He pulled me into a quick hug.
I smiled, still trying to take everything in.
That’s when I noticed someone else sitting there.
At the far end of the table.
Almost in a corner.
In a chair slightly pulled away from everyone else.
Too relaxed to be natural.
Arms crossed.
Closed expression.
He hadn’t stood.
Hadn’t spoken.
His face was turned away, as if my arrival meant nothing.
The silence started to weigh.
And then—
Everyone looked at him.
As if waiting for a reaction.
As if expecting him to finally move.
Slowly…
He turned his head.
And the world shrank.
My stomach twisted.
No.
That couldn’t be.
It was him.
The man who had almost asked for my number.
My cousin.
