Something Like Fate

Prologue

For generations, the women in my family have foreseen their true loves.

That probably sounds bizarre and frankly a tad creepy, but let me explain: I come from a long line of talented Chinese fortune tellers on my mom’s side. After coming to America in the early 1900s, the Zhao women began blending ancient methods with Western psychic practices to appeal to more customers. And while Westernizing was hotly contested by my great-aunt, who rightfully feared diluting tradition, a unique power developed—the ability to foresee our soulmates (before ever meeting them).

You might be wondering how this actually works in practice. Can we cross paths on any given gum-pocked street corner and just know? Could we identify them among thousands of sweaty, inebriated souls at a music festival? Like most things in this life, it’s complicated. In fact, it works differently for everyone.

Take my late grandmother. At only ten years old, the face of my grandfather, a total stranger, came to her mid–math test. His features, particularly his single left dimple, were so clear, it was as though he was standing right in front of her. Personally, I wouldn’t take kindly to some stranger’s face haunting me at random. But his lopsided smile blanketed her with comfort, like the first ray of sunlight kissing your skin after a harsh northern winter.

My grandfather’s face imprinted in her memory so vividly, she instantly recognized him a decade later—in an elevator, of all places. The moment they made eye contact, she emitted a croak reminiscent of an ailing seagull and collapsed face-first into his chest. My grandfather never missed an opportunity to say he “swept her off her feet.” They married three months later and the rest is history.

The generations are filled with butterfly-inducing, squeal-into-your-pillow, swoon-worthy love stories that could make even the mushiest romantics skeptical enough to question their authenticity. And it doesn’t stop there. In addition to predicting one’s soulmate, my relatives have used their abilities to help countless people find themselves, giving them hope, comfort, and direction.

Now, you might be wondering about me. How did I find The One? My Forever? I’d love to dazzle you with a heart-stopping fairy tale woven with sunshine, rainbows, and glittery unicorns. But it would be bullshit.

I haven’t foreseen My True Love. I haven’t foreseen anything at all, for that matter. Because I’m me, Lo Zhao-Jensen—the extraordinarily ordinary. The only Zhao woman in recorded history with zero—and I mean Zero—psychic abilities whatsoever.

Until now.