Fate does not allow deceit.
Everyone has their own fate. Fate is a strange thingsometimes it plunges you headfirst into darkness until you can barely breathe. Other times, it offers such joy and happiness that the air leaves your lungs all the same.
Daisy was still young, with little life experience, yet her fate had already been written. On that frost-laced morning, she stood by her grandmothers grave as the cold earth swallowed the last of her. There was nothing left inside Daisy but numb pain, the kind that comes from losing the one person who truly mattered. Her grandmother, Edith, had raised her since she was ten, after her parents had passed.
A thin snow drifted down, but Daisy barely noticed. The few mourners had already trailed out of the cemetery. Only a handful remained when her cousin, Oliver, approached. They had never spoken muchhe had never visited Edith, for his mother, the eldest daughter, had been estranged from her for years.
Oliver leaned in, his voice low.
“You wont be staying in Grans house. Pack your things and leave today. I have as much right to it as you do. And dont even think of arguing.”
He didnt ask for her agreement. He simply declared it, as if it were law. Daisy had no strength left to resist. These past months, Edith had been bedridden, and Daisy had cared for her until the end. There was no point arguing with Oliverhed force her out regardless. Besides, grief still filled every corner of her mind.
The wake was held in a small café. Oliver didnt even show. Few came. When Daisy returned home, her bags were already by the door.
“Check if I missed anything,” he said flatly. “Then go.”
Daisy stepped outside with her two suitcases, unsure where to go. But then her neighbor, Vera, peeked out from her gate and called her over.
“Come inside, love,” she said gently.
Daisy set her bags down, sank onto the nearest chair, and weptgreat, heaving sobs of loss, anger, and something else she couldnt name. Vera brought her water.
“Stay with us for now. Well sort it out. Rest firstthings always look clearer in the morning.”
Two days later, Daisy returned to her shifts at the hospital. She was a nurse, kind and gentle, her eyes once bright with warmth. Now they were clouded with sorrow.
Everyone at the hospital knew about Ediths passing. They adored Daisy, patients and staff alike. Many remarked on her smile, how it could chase away pain.
“Daisy, darling, just seeing you makes me forget my aches,” joked old Mr. Thompson, one of her regulars. “And youve got the lightest touch. Ah, if only I were seventeen again…”
She smiled faintly at such praise. She loved her work, loved helping people. The head nurse, Eleanor Whitmore, offered her the use of her cottagea bit far, but the bus ran regularlyonce she learned Daisy had nowhere to go.
“Its only used in summer,” Eleanor said. “But you can heat it well enough for winter. Something will turn up by then.”
Daisy was about to accept when Dr. James, the handsome new physician, approached. Hed arrived from another city not long ago, confident and charming at thirty. His offer stunned her.
“Daisy, I heard about your situation. My grandmother raised me tooparents divorced when I was young, passed me off like an unwanted parcel. I noticed you the moment I arrived here. Your eyes… like something miraculous hidden in these hospital walls.” He smiled, and Daisy flushed. “Anyway, I like you. Id like you to come live with me.”
Daisy stiffened. “But… what about Dr. Charlotte? Everyone says youre together. Youre not free, and yet youre asking me this?”
James laughed. “Bloody gossip. Dont listen to it. Charlotte and I went to med school togetherof course we talk. Were friends, nothing more. And stop calling me ‘sir,’ for heavens sake. Im not your granddad.”
Dr. Charlotte Hart, the anesthetist, was strikingsharp features, a commanding presence. Daisy had always admired her, though there was something predatory in her gaze.
She couldnt believe someone like James would look her way, let alone invite her to live with him.
“I cant agree just like that,” she murmured. “What will people say? And living alone with you… its not proper.”
“I understand,” he said gently. “But my flats largeyoull have your own room. I wont pressure you. I want you to see how I feel. And I dont live alone. My grandmother, Margaret, is there. Lovely woman. Shell adore you. Keeps nagging me to bring a girl home.”
Daisy didnt resist long. She agreed, with one condition:
“Lets say you hired me to care for her. For now.”
James grinned. “Youre a marvel. Of course.”
She was relievedproper living conditions, a handsome man who fancied her, fate finally smiling upon her.
When she moved in, the hospital believed the cover story. And Margaret was everything James had promisedkind, warm. Hearing Daisys plight, she wept and embraced her.
“My dear, Im so glad James found you. Life sorts itself out, and Im glad hes finally settled. Time flies, and hes got neither wife nor sweetheart.”
Days passed. Daisy grew close to Margaret. James was often gone, their shifts rarely aligning. When they met, hed smile, hug her, whisper how glad he was shed come. He hoped, he said, theyd grow closer. But Margaret eventually questioned it.
“Forgive an old womans curiosity, dear. But why do you and James sleep apart? Young people these days share beds straightaway. Yet he calls you his fiancée.”
Daisy blushed. “I like him. But I cant… jump into that. Not yet.”
Life was good. Daisy rushed home from work to Margaret, whod become family. Theyd chat like she once had with Edith.
“Im so happy James chose you,” Margaret said one evening. “I told him long agothis flats his if he marries, and I approve of his wife. And you, my dear, are exactly what he needs. Modest, kind, caring.”
Then one evening, James took Daisy for a walk.
“Grans very ill,” he said gravely. “Cancer. She doesnt knowI dont want her worrying. But she forgets her meds. I need you to ensure she takes them. Shell insist shes fine, but the diagnosis is certain. If she misses them… I dread to think.” His voice cracked. “I dont know how Ill live without her.”
“Of course,” Daisy murmured.
He pulled her close, kissed her deeplyonce, twicebefore she pushed him away. They were in public.
Something felt off. Later, she examined the pills hed handed herstrong, for terminal cases. Yet Margaret was active, cheerful, even cooking and cleaning despite Daisys protests.
“Margaret, rest! Ill handle things when Im back.”
“Nonsense, dear. You work so hard. Let me help while I can.”
The next night, Daisy overheard James on the phone, his back to the door. She recorded it.
“Can you believe it, Charlie? She bought it. Of course she didnaïve little thing. Our plans working. Once shes dosing her regularly… By our wedding day, the old batll be gone.” A pause. “I miss you too. Not long now. And dont worryseparate rooms. Shes not my type, and Ive no interest.”
Daisy barely kept hold of her phone. Tears blurred her vision.
“So thats his game.”
The next morning, she confronted Margaret, who was perfectly healthy. That evening, Margaret handed James a thick envelope.
“Take this money and leave. I know what you planned. Or Ill take Daisys recording to the authorities.”
James vanished, never returning to the hospital. Daisy stayed with Margaret. And who knows? Perhaps one day, the flat will be hers.
