### Chapter 1

The day before Diwali was shining bright, and Lily was excitedly preparing for the celebration with her best friend, Molly. Molly’s birthday was on November 13, the same day as Diwali, and the girls were eager to make the most of the occasion. They had a week to get ready, so Molly asked Lily’s parents for permission for a sleepover. Her mother agreed, as Molly had been a close friend for years, ever since middle school.

Molly frequently visited Lily’s house, and they often had sleepovers at each other’s homes. Molly even introduced her boyfriend to Lily, and the two girls always shared secrets and helped each other through problems. After getting permission for the sleepover, Molly and Lily returned to Lily's room.

"Hey Lily, I want to ask you something," Molly said.

"What is it?" Lily replied, curious.

"You’ve mentioned a few times that you’d like to have a boyfriend, right?" Molly continued.

### Page 2

"Yeah, but why are you bringing this up now?" Lily asked.

Molly smiled, "Well, since tomorrow is my birthday, I want you to meet my cousin, Abhi. He’s single, kind, and I think you two would hit it off."

Lily grinned, "Sure, I’d love to meet him!"

"Great, goodnight!" Molly said, giving Lily a quick hug.

"Goodnight," Lily replied, feeling excited about what tomorrow might bring.

The next day, Diwali, Lily spent the evening with her family, lighting diyas and watching fireworks. Later, Molly came to pick her up for the birthday party. The party was fun, filled with laughter, food, and dancing. During the celebration, Lily met Abhi. She liked him immediately, and without knowing him very well, she agreed to go on a date with him.

Soon, Lily and Abhi began texting and calling each other regularly. Whenever Abhi visited Molly’s house, Molly invited Lily along so they could spend more time together. Molly encouraged Lily to be a good girlfriend, partly because she cared about her, but also because she wanted her best friend to have a relationship like hers.

### Page 3

One day, Lily invited Molly and their friend Rosie for a girls’ night. They bought snacks and spent the evening talking about their lives, promising that no matter what happened, they would always be there for each other. Afterward, they decided to go for a walk.

As they walked, Molly mentioned, "Lily, did you know that Abhi and I are taking the same art class?"

Rosie, confused, asked, "Who’s Abhi? Are you hiding something from me?"

Lily looked nervous, "Ah, no, nothing like that, Rosie."

Molly nudged her, "Come on, Lily. Rosie’s one of us. Tell her."

After explaining the whole story, Rosie got upset but calmed down quickly. "Honestly, Lily, joining that art class sounds like a good idea. It could be fun," she said.

Molly chimed in, "Let’s convince your parents to let you join the class so you can spend more time with Abhi."

Lily smiled, "Okay, let’s do it."

### Page 4

A few days later, Molly came over and encouraged Lily to join her in the art class. After getting permission from her parents, Lily was excited to start the following Sunday. However, on the first day of class, she was disappointed when Abhi told her he couldn’t attend due to family issues.

"I'm sorry, Lily. You're joining just as I’m leaving, but I promise we’ll meet again soon," Abhi said.

"It’s okay, Abhi. I’ll wait," Lily replied with a smile.

After a while, as Lily settled into her new routine of school and art classes, she found herself thinking less and less about Abhi. The gap in their meetings, along with new friends she made in the art class, caused their connection to fade. Molly also grew distant as she made new friends in school. Eventually, Lily found herself drawn to a senior in the art

### Page 5

The senior was tall, with black hair and eyes, and a distinctive bowl cut that bounced as he hurried to class. Lily found his style and personality captivating, and she often caught herself staring at him. Molly had already left the art class by then, so she didn’t witness Lily's new crush. However, Abhi heard from a friend that Lily liked another boy.

One day, Molly invited Lily over, saying that Abhi wanted to talk to her. When Lily arrived, she realized she no longer had feelings for Abhi, so she decided to be honest with him.

"Hey, Abhi. Molly said you wanted to talk?" Lily asked, feeling nervous.

"What happened, Lily? Why did you pull away after I left the class? Why aren’t we talking anymore?" Abhi asked, looking hurt.

"I’m sorry, Abhi. I just… lost track of everything. I’m really sorry," Lily admitted, feeling guilty.

Abhi, afraid of losing Lily, had been anxious since hearing she liked someone else. But hearing her apology calmed him down, even though he still felt uneasy.

"I know you love painting, but I want you to quit the art class, Lily. Please," Abhi asked.

Lily frowned, "No, I’m not going to do that. I’m sorry." With that, she left.

### Page 6

After that, Lily avoided Abhi, feeling that if she stayed in contact, he would pressure her to leave something she loved. Molly, however, didn’t like how things had changed between her and Lily. She pushed Abhi to kiss Lily, hoping it would reignite their relationship.

One week later, Molly invited Lily over again, but Lily had already decided to end things with Abhi for good. She felt guilty for neglecting her friend, but she knew she had to be honest. On the walk to Molly’s house, Molly brought up the idea of Lily sharing her first kiss with Abhi.

Lily, uncomfortable, quickly came up with an excuse, "Oh no, Molly! My sister Luna is coming back from abroad this week. If she finds out about this, she’ll be furious."

...****************...

### Page 7

Molly, a bit gullible, fell for it. "Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?" she asked, concerned.

"What are we going to do now?" Lily feigned panic.

"Don’t worry. Let’s just go see what Abhi wants to talk about," Molly suggested.

When they arrived at Molly’s house, Abhi was nervous. He believed that if he kissed Lily, it might bring them closer and make her forget about the other boy.

After an hour of small talk, Abhi finally mustered the courage to ask, "Lily, can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Lily replied.

"### Can I kiss you?" Abhi asked, his heart racing.

### Page 8

Lily froze. "No, I can’t do that," she said.

"Why not?" Abhi pressed.

"I’m just not ready for that," Lily explained.

"That’s okay. We can do it quickly," Abhi suggested, but Lily shook her head.

"I’m sorry, Abhi, but I have to go," Lily said firmly, leaving Molly's house.

Molly tried to stop her, but Lily hurried out, ignoring Molly’s tray of strawberry cake and orange juice. After that day, Lily avoided Molly's house altogether and stopped answering Abhi’s texts and calls. She realized she no longer had feelings for him and told Molly to let him know. Molly agreed, and the two friends drifted apart.

### Page 9

When Molly told Abhi that Lily no longer had feelings for him, he already suspected it, but it still hurt. Determined to win her back, Abhi rejoined the art class, trying to impress Lily with his drawings and hoping to get her attention. But Lily had already moved on.

Lily confided in her friends Sofie and Dolly, telling them about Abhi and her feelings for the senior boy. They promised to support her and even spoke to the art teacher, arranging for Lily to leave class early for safety reasons. Dolly, whose sister knew the senior, confirmed that he was a good guy, further reassuring Lily.

Eventually, AHI gave up and left the art class, though his feelings for Lily remained. However, by then, Lily had moved on and was focusing on her future.

Page 10

It was December 5, Lily’s 18th birthday. She had invited her classmates and, of course, her best friends, Dolly and Sofie. Her parents insisted she invite Molly too, as they had grown up together and spent so much time along.

good friend they grow up together and spend alot of time together when they are in middle school. This year lily turned 18 she and her friends enjoy the party and opening the gifts she got. during the party molly said to lily that she wanted to talk with lily alone and they come out side from the house molly said when lily invite molly to her birthday abhi give a letter to her to give lily and hand over the letter to lily then lily read the latter. On the letter abhi try to confrence Lily to come back to his life and tell her how much he loves her and he can't live without her. After reading the letter lily got angry at molly

And Lily run inside the house and show the letter to dolly and Sofie and they warning her if she did this again Lily gonna tell her parents and her big sister luna about her. Molly get scared and left Lily's house after she reached her house molly

Clearly said to AHI that she can't do anything for him now. Before AHI understand everything molly go to her room. Then AHI left molly house

...****************...