Tessa Harper

The epiphany hit Felix like a lightning strike -- sudden, electric, and utterly transformative.

"So, what's your story?" Tessa asked, leaning forward across the small café table, her honey-blonde hair falling in that perfectly imperfect way that seemed both accidental and meticulously planned. "You've barely said a word since we sat down."

Felix stared at Tessa -- the vibrant woman he’d met on a plane three months ago who’d tracked him down. But he didn’t just see Tessa; he saw Kate’s caution, Jennifer’s skepticism, Sophie’s passion, Celeste’s precision, Emma’s regret.

“I just realized,” he said, finding unexpected calm, “you’re chapters of the same book.”

Tessa blinked. “Come again?”

“All the women I’ve met lately aren’t random. They’re my what-ifs, my missed chances in human form.”

Her eyes glinted. “Profound -- or the weirdest pickup line ever.”

He laughed. “No line. I’ve spent my life full of regrets. Now they’re circling back.”

“And I’m one of them?”

“You’re the latest -- the woman I was too shy to ask for her number on that flight.”

Something shifted in him: not panic, but purpose. These weren’t hallucinations -- they were opportunities to break his old patterns.

“I need to know why this is happening,” he murmured.

Tessa lifted an eyebrow. “You mean meeting again? I found you on LinkedIn after spotting your company on your laptop. No cosmic forces needed.”

He shook his head with a small smile. “It’s more complicated. Let’s just say I’ve been having unusual experiences.”

She sipped her latte, foam leaving a tiny mustache she wiped away. “Best kind. I chase them -- that’s why I’m a travel photographer.”

Felix studied her -- the woman who’d appeared twice now, perhaps not a regret but a chance at something new.

"I think the universe is teaching me about missed connections and second chances," he said.

"And what have you learned?" she asked, curious.

"I've been observing life instead of living it," Felix admitted. "Every woman I've seen represents a path I was afraid to take."

"So what path do I represent?" Tessa inquired.

"Spontaneity. Adventure. The road not taken."

"That road is still open," she said, touching his hand.

Her touch anchored him. Felix intertwined their fingers. "I need to find the pattern, the reason behind all this."

"Maybe it's simple," Tessa suggested. "Stop overthinking and start living."

Felix felt a shift, a new certainty replacing his confusion. He wouldn't be a passive observer anymore. He would decode the message and connect the encounters with these women.

"Would you like to help me?" he asked, surprising himself.

"A mysterious quest with cosmic second chances? Count me in," Tessa replied, smiling.