Why me?

Under the evening sky, among the reddish hue of the sun, a boy and a girl were sharing best moments of their life. They rode a bike and made memories to be with them for the rest of their lives.

"You don't know how much I wanted to spend such time with you," the boy said.

"I too wanted to spend some time with you like this. Just you and me in the company of this red sky," the girl mentioned.

After he heard what she had to say, he stopped the bike at the river bank to enjoy the beautiful sunset with his beloved. They were sitting side by side holding hands watching the red ball of love going in the pool of murky water.

Thinking about their future together, he said, "How beautiful it is. I wish to watch the sunset together with you in ten years of time. I want to grow old with you watching the evening sky like this."

She never expected him to propose her out of the blue. Before she knew it, she found him on his knees with a beautiful diamond ring placed on his palm.

"You are the one I wanted to tell that I need you all my life from this day till the rest of my life. I want to grow old with you. Will you marry me?" He proposed her.

She could not believe her ears. She smiled and said, "Yes. I wish to grow old with you." She accepted his proposal followed by a hug. Their lips headed towards each other until they came close enough for them to feel their breaths. As they were about to meet…

Suddenly, the thermometer the boy was holding broke as he got too excited daydreaming. He broke out of his imagination and realized he broke the thermometer he had been asked to place away.

His boss found him breaking it and began to scold him just like he always did. "What did you do? How can you be so careless, you dumb fool?"

"I am sorry, sir. I was careless," The boy said.

"I will cut your pay for the next month!"

As usual, Alex expected it. His boss wanted a reason to cut his pay and he got it every time he wanted it. When he was getting scolded, he received a call. He finally got a chance to breathe and stepped away to receive the call.

"Hello! Alex from Wilson Medical Store!" This was his go-to phrase whenever he received a call.

"Hotel El Royale, Room 300, I need a tissue and 'Hardcore Protector'," The man on the other side said.

Alex had been working since many years now but he felt shy at mention of these products. For some reason, he found the voice familiar but could not remember who it was.

"Sorry for the inconvenience. Can I delay your order? It is pouring outside, or you can order it from your nearest store," He said.

"I am from Lynn family. No one can delay my order. I want it right now!" The person replied in an angry tone and cut the call.

When the call cut, the owner asked, "Was it an order?"

"Yeah, can I delay it? As you can see," Alex hinted outside to the rain. "But he said he belonged to Lynn family…"

When he said the name, the owner got shocked and said, "He is our regular customer. You need to go."

"It would be difficult for me to deliver the order on my bicycle in this rain."

"Take my bike."

Alex realized he must be really an important customer for the owner to give his bike for the order.

"Sir, the hotel is far away and it might be dangerous to ride a bike in the rain. Can we delay it?" He asked.

"You have to deliver the order or lose your job," The owner gave his verdict and stepped away, leaving Alex in a difficult position.

He had no choice but to follow the order. He took the products and wrapped them around with polythene. Just when he was about to step out, he received a message on his phone. He saw it was from his girlfriend Sophie.

He had asked her to meet him in the evening. He had something to tell her.

'Not today. I am too busy today. Sorry babe. I will make up for it tomorrow. Just let it go this time.' This was her reply followed by tears and heart emojis.

Alex felt something was wrong. He had a gut feeling which he had never felt before. But he was the nice guy anyway.

'No issues, babe. Just focus on your work. Will see you tomorrow.' He replied followed by a kissing emoji with a heart.

He went out in the rain towards the delivery destination on the owner's bike. It took him an hour to reach Hotel El Royale and he was fascinated by the facade when he saw it. Only the privileged ones stayed there. It resembled some king's palace in a distant land.

Alex hurried inside and cleared the formalities to reach Room 300 and deliver his order. He reached there and when he knocked the door he expected a naked arrogant dude opening the door who could not help but hold his urges until he received his order.

What he expected was right… but it was someone he knew by face. It was a spoiled brat named Jack Lynn who always flaunted his Porsche in his university. The girls swooned over him for his fortune and the guys tolerated his arrogance for the same reason. He was the son of the biggest trustee of the university.

"Just where were you?" the guy said with an angered face. "I had been waiting for an hour."

"Sorry, sir. It was raining so I…" As Alex tried to give an explanation the guy shouted at him.

"To hell with your rain! My order should reach on time no matter what is happening outside."

"I am really sorry, sir. I will keep it in mind from now on."

Although Alex apologized, he wanted to punch this guy in the face. It was his unlucky day. The owner had cut his payment for breaking the thermometer, he had to deliver an order in the rain and had to receive complaints in return. He wondered what other bad omens the day had to offer. Was it the right day to propose his girlfriend for marriage? He wondered.

He never realized even in his dreams he would receive the biggest shock of his life just then.

"Just tell him to go away, Jackie." He heard a familiar woman's voice.

"Huh? Is it…" he could not believe what his eyes were witnessing.

A woman he knew too well came out of the bedroom wrapped in a blanket.

"Sophie?" It was as if land slid under his feet. "What is happening? What are you doing here?"

The blonde girl Sophie's expression did not seem to change other than a plain disgusted face.

"Oye, do you know this guy?" Jack asked Sophie.

"Know?" Alex said. "She is my girlfriend."

"What?" Jack too seemed surprised at the sudden discovery before he burst into laughter. "What a surprising turn of events."

"What are you doing here with this guy?" Alex asked Sophie with a tensed face. "Didn't you just tell me you had work to do today?"

"Of course," she said. "I lied."

Alex's palm turned into a fist when he heard it. "But why?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

"I am sick of you," Sophie dropped the bomb. "You are so broke you barely make your ends meet. Do you expect me to spend the rest of my life with someone like you?"

"But didn't you love me?" He asked in return.

"Love?" She laughed. "Don't make me laugh. You were barely a time-pass for me. I would never love someone like you."

"Whoa. Whoa. That's a bit harsh," Jack commented as he enjoyed the whole scene.

"So it was all a lie," Alex muttered. "The moments we spent together. The dreams we saw together. It was all but a lie."

"Yes." Sophie had no remorse whatsoever on her face. "Jackie here has the potential to keep me happy. Now get out of here and never show your face again." She slammed the door on his face after she said it.

Alex was left there alone to lament on his misfortune. It was truly the unluckiest day of his life. Why me? He wondered.

As he walked down each stair he remembered the moments he spent with Sophie. Those dates. Those late night phone calls. Those special nights. Tears dropped down his cheeks as he walked down the stairs. As he walked down each stair he felt thunderstorms falling on his head.

He had no one. The only string he had been holding on to was broken now. He stood in the rain to not let anyone see his tears. He had been bearing his misfortune over the years and it had become unbearable now.

"Oh God, why me!?" He shouted in the sky. "Why am I so unlucky!?"

The people waking around started rubber-necking at him, but he did not care at all now. Suddenly, he heard the notification ring of his phone.

He looked at the screen and saw a message flashing on it.

'You have passed your training. You are now eligible to inherit the family fortune.'