Page 1 of Is It Wrong to Escape My Fate? (Dealing With Fate #1)

The first thing I saw was the chandelier lights.

I was pretty sure my cheap studio apartment didn’t come with high-end lighting.

Blinking my eyes clear, my brain tried to catch up. Didn’t think I was in some kind of hotel because I couldn’t afford that. Why would I even be in a hotel? What other place would have a chandelier? A restaurant? Why would I wake up in a —

Ah, crap. Memories flooded in. Hung out at a bar a city away from where I lived. I might have gotten drunk and shacked up with the first cute guy I met.

But I also remembered he had brought me somewhere that was definitely not a hotel; more like a seedy motel with flashing neon lights for a welcome sign.

The rooms had dim lighting, and with my drunken state, it took me a good while to find his cock and shove it inside me.

He wasn’t very helpful; the guy I couldn’t even remember the name of.

After a couple of okay-ish orgasms, I left.

So where the hell am I?

The second thing I saw was a cute lady in a French maid cosplay.

“Good morning, Miss Bea!” she chirped as she pulled open the fancy-looking curtains, letting in the sunlight through the fancy-looking windows. It illuminated the room with bright, natural lighting that had me squeezing my eyes shut.

This headache was killing me. Probably had a hangover from all the beer. The brightness made it worse.

How did this lady know me? I didn’t know her. Did I sign up for some stupid shit while I was drunk? This was some very elaborate prank if the Victorian-era costumes and the stage setting were anything to go by.

When I opened my eyes again, she was right in my face with the same cheerful smile. It nearly gave me a heart attack! Christ. “Do you have a color preference for today, Miss?”

Skeptical, I wanted to ask, “What do you mean ‘color preference’?” but I choked and coughed instead. God, the headache was getting worse.

As if she really cared about my health, she panicked. “You’re sick! Oh no. Miss Bea!” She wrung her hands before she steeled herself. “Let me call Master Derrick to check up on you. I’ll be right back.”

Master Derrick? Who the hell was he? What was going on?

It was amusing at first, but it was quickly losing its appeal. And my fucking head! I clutched it with both hands like that would help ease the pain.

When the maid reappeared, a handsome man with long brown hair, old-time clothes complete with a vest and a monocle, had followed her inside the room.

He pulled the lens from his breast pocket and set it on his left eye before looking me over.

Picking up my hand, he checked my heartbeat through my wrist.

I was so stunned by the weirdness of it all that instead of snatching my hand away like I normally did, I let this stranger touch me.

Master Derrick was the family physician; he wasn’t a stranger at all.

What?

A sudden pain shot through my skull, and I cringed, surprising both the maid and the supposed physician.

“Her temperature and heartbeat are normal,” the doctor observed, gently placing my hand back on the bed where I was apparently laying on. “This may not be a regular cold. Stand aside, Mia.”

The maid, Mia, stepped away from the bed, still concerned as she watched the doctor raise his arms over my prone body. What was he doing?

“Sorry for the intrusion,” he smiled before he started murmuring low. As I kept my eyes on him, all I could think was how utterly fucked up this was. I had no idea what was happening! Where the hell was I? How did I know he was the family physician? Why was he so handsome? God!

And then bright, glowing lights spawned from his hands and all over my body. Some kind of advanced lighting effects?

The third thing I saw was the mirror next to Mia, and the me looking at the mirror wasn’t me at all.

Before my brain could properly register what it saw, the glowing lights vanished. “She has a strange form of headache, but thankfully it can be healed. How are you feeling, Miss Bea?”

I didn’t know what to feel, but he was right; the headache disappeared. Wait … did he just say healed ? For a headache?

“I feel fine.” Holy shit, that was not my voice! What the fuck?

The complete absurdity of this whole situation was finally settling in, and I had half a mind to get up and grab Derrick or Mia by their collars to demand answers.

Mia was a sweet girl though; she had always been by my side. We grew up together, and she protected me from bullies. How could I even consider manhandling her?

She was a stranger!

One of my closest friends.

My hands flew to my head again, mind reeling.

Derrick’s sigh soon followed. “Her body needs to recover from healing magic. Mia, please watch over her. I’ll inform the Lord and Lady of Miss Bea’s situation.”

Despite my hazy vision, I watched him leave, the word magic ringing in my head.

This was such a terrible dream.