Beauty of Goa woke up slowly beneath a sky painted in shades of gold and blue. The morning breeze drifted in from the Arabian Sea, carrying the scent of salt and blooming frangipani through the open balcony doors. Palm trees swayed lazily, their leaves dancing to a melody only nature could hear.
Sunlight slipped through the curtains and spilled across the room, settling gently on a sleeping figure curled beneath soft white sheets.
Adaline D'Angelo.
She looked like a scene straight out of a movie—long dark hair scattered across the pillow, lashes resting against her cheeks, her face peaceful and untouched by the chaos waiting for her beyond that room. The golden morning light wrapped around her like a spotlight, as if the sun itself had paused to admire her.
For a few precious moments, the world was perfectly still.
Then disaster struck.
The alarm exploded through the silence.
Not rang.
Not beeped.
Exploded.
The sound tore through the room like it had a personal grudge against her existence.
“Aaaaaaahhh! Why now?!” Adaline shrieked, nearly launching herself off the bed as she blindly searched for her phone.
After a frantic battle with tangled sheets and gravity, she finally grabbed it.
8:15 AM.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh no."
A pause.
"Oh no."
Another pause.
"Oh nooooo!"
Then came the final realization.
"Shit."
And just like that, the beautiful, cinematic morning transformed into complete and utter chaos.
In her desperate rush to get out of bed, Adaline managed to tangle herself in the blanket, lose her balance, and roll right off the mattress.
*THUD!*
She landed bum-first on the floor.
“Ow! My butt!” she groaned, clutching her backside. “Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. What a beautiful start to the most important day of my life.”
She sat there for a moment, glaring at the innocent-looking bed.
“Can this morning get any better? First I oversleep, then I attack the floor. Wonderful. Just wonderful.”
With a dramatic sigh, she pushed herself up.
“How do people wake up early? Is there some secret club? Some hidden talent? Because apparently I missed that class.”
She glanced at the clock again.
8:18.
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head.
Tsk,tsk,tsk,tsk...“Ada, you will never mend!”
She pointed at herself in the mirror.
“You had one job. ONE JOB. Sleep early, wake up on time, look professional. But no. You slept like a hibernating bear.”wait....why am I talking mother's line.
Rushing toward the bathroom, she continued her one-sided argument.“Honestly, if being late was an Olympic sport, I'd win gold, silver, and bronze.”
She grabbed her toothbrush and looked at her reflection.
“Doctor Adaline D'Angelo,” she announced dramatically. “Future world-famous surgeon. Saver of lives. Inspiration to millions.”( see the self confidence 😅)
She paused and looked at the clock.
“Currently losing a fight against an alarm clock.”
The clock continued ticking.
“You know what? We don't need that kind of negativity this early in the morning.”
She pointed accusingly at it.(Clock)
“Your attitude is very disappointing.”
After squeezing toothpaste onto her brush,she looked at herself in mirror caught sight of her messy hair. For a moment, she just stared.
“Wow.” Another pause.
“Somewhere out there, birds are probably looking for a nest and wondering where I disappeared to.”
She tried flattening her hair.
It immediately bounced back up.
“Excellent. Even my hair refuses to cooperate.”
Grabbing her towel, she rushed toward the shower.
“Get it together, Ada. You're a grown woman. An educated woman.” She slipped slightly at the bathroom door and caught herself at the last second.Shaking her head, she laughed at herself before stepping inside.
“One day, my family is going to replace me with a calmer daughter. If they find one, let me know.”
At twenty-six years old, Adaline D'Angelo had just completed her surgical internship at one of Goa's leading hospitals. She was intelligent, fiercely ambitious, and a certified nerd who genuinely enjoyed studying medical textbooks for fun—a fact her friends found deeply concerning.
While most people spent weekends binge-watching shows, Adaline spent hers highlighting anatomy books in six different colors and watching surgical procedures online.
Medicine wasn't just her career.
It was her passion. Her obsession. Her calling. For the last two years, she had poured every ounce of her energy into preparing for the USMLE—the United States Medical Licensing Examination. It was one of the toughest exams for international medical graduates hoping to practice medicine in the United States.
Countless sleepless nights.
Endless mock tests.
Enough coffee to keep an entire café in business.
She had sacrificed parties, vacations, and most of her social life for this one goal.
And today, the result was finally coming out.
Today would determine whether all those sacrifices had been worth it.
Because passing the USMLE wasn't just about an exam.
It was a doorway.
A golden opportunity.
A chance to train and work in some of the world's best hospitals.
A chance to become the surgeon she had always dreamed of being.
And if fate was kind to her, it would lead her to the city she had loved long before she'd ever seen it in person.
New York.
Her city.
At least, that's what she secretly called it.
Growing up, Adaline had fallen in love with New York through movies, books, photographs, and late-night documentaries. She loved the idea of a city that never stopped moving, where people arrived with impossible dreams and somehow found a way to make them real.
The towering skyline.
The glowing lights.
The chaos.
The ambition.
It felt strangely familiar.
Like the city itself understood her restless heart.
One day, she wanted to walk through those crowded streets wearing a surgeon's coat with her name stitched across it.
One day, she wanted to save lives in a world-class hospital there.
One day, she wanted to look at the Manhattan skyline and proudly say,
"I made it." And that "one day" might finally begin today.
Which was exactly why excitement had quickly turned into pure, unfiltered panic.
After stepping out of the shower, Adaline hurriedly pulled on a simple white T-shirt and blue jeans. Normally, she would have spent at least fifteen minutes deciding what to wear, but today was not a normal day nor she have enough time to waste. One glance at the clock nearly gave her a heart attack. 8:30 AM.
She was officially late.
"Perfect," she muttered. "The universe really woke up and chose violence today."
Running a hand through her still-damp hair, she rushed out of her room and headed straight for the one person she needed most.
John.
Pushing open his bedroom door, she found him exactly where she expected him to be—fast asleep, sprawled across his king-sized bed like a man who didn't have a single responsibility in the world.
Adaline stared at him.
Honestly, it was impressive.
This was the same man who managed a business empire worth billions.
The same man who owned luxury hotels, resorts, villas, and properties across India and abroad.
The same man business magazines called *the youngest billionaire in the country.*
Yet somehow, he slept like an unemployed teenager on summer vacation.
If a stranger walked into the room right now, they would never guess that John D'Souza spent most of his days attending board meetings, signing multi-crore deals, and running one of India's fastest-growing hospitality companies would be this carefree in his sleep.
A smile tugged at Adaline's lips.
John wasn't her biological brother.
But blood had never been the reason they were family. His father, Ronnie D'Souza, had been one of Goa's most respected businessmen and Amelia's closest friend.
Then tragedy struck.
When John was only nineteen years old, Ronnie died in a devastating car accident. One moment, John had a father, a guide, and a best friend.
The next, he was alone.
Far too young.
Far too broken.
Far too lost.
Everyone expected him to fail.
No nineteen-year-old should have been forced to carry the weight of an entire business empire on his shoulders.
But while the world watched from a distance, Amelia stepped forward.( Adaline's mother)
She wasn't related to him.
She didn't have to help him.
Yet she did.
She became the mother he desperately needed.
She made sure he ate when grief stole his appetite.
She sat beside him during sleepless nights.
She encouraged him when he wanted to give up.
And most importantly, she never let him feel alone.
Over time, their house stopped being a place he visited.
It became home. Amelia became his mother. And Adaline became his little sister.
Not by blood.
By choice.
And in John's eyes, that bond was stronger than anything else.
The success, the money, the business empire—it all came later.
Family came first. Always. No matter how busy he became, he never missed Amelia's birthday.
Never forgot Mother's Day.
And whenever someone referred to her as anything less than his mother, he corrected them immediately.
Because as far as John was concerned, Amelia D'Angelo wasn't like a mother to him.
She was his mother.
The same way Adaline wasn't like a sister.
She was his sister. His annoying, dramatic, chaotic little sister.
The one person he would do absolutely anything for.
John had never learned how to say no to her.
He attended every school event.
Every graduation.
Every achievement.
Every heartbreak.
If Adaline called him at three in the morning, he would answer.
If she needed help, he would drop everything.
And if anyone dared hurt her—
Well.
That person would probably need a lawyer.
A very good lawyer.
Because beneath John's calm smile lived a fiercely protective brother who loved Adaline more than life itself. Which was exactly why she needed him beside her today. Her Lucky charms-.
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