chapter 1 Elio

5:45 PM.

I sighed, glancing at my watch for what felt like the hundredth time. Ryan was now forty-five minutes late.

Fifteen missed calls—dozens of unanswered texts. No response.

Was I even in the right place? Right time? I double-checked my phone.

January 15, 5 PM. The Nest.

Yeah, I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Ryan, on the other hand, was just being his usual reckless self.

Ryan was like a brother to me. He’d been there through everything—my parents' divorce, the worst academic stress of my life. He was my safe space, my ride-or-die. But sometimes, I really wanted to knock some sense into him. He was a reckless, womanizing drunk who somehow still managed to get top grades. Even the crankiest professors loved him. It was infuriating.

I hated seeing him go down the rabbit hole of alcohol, drugs, and women. I had tried talking to him so many times, but as smart as he was, he was also extremely hard-headed. Knowing him, he had probably forgotten about our meeting and gone day drinking at some random bar—again.

I leaned back in my chair, debating whether to leave or wait another ten minutes.

Then, the bell above the café door chimed.

I looked up. Finally,

Ryan strolled in—casual as ever, no trace of urgency or guilt on his face. But he wasn’t alone.

And suddenly, my brain short-circuited.

The girl beside him? Gorgeous. Like, make-me-forget-how-to-speak gorgeous.

She was tall—tall enough to reach his jaw, which was insane, considering the guy was like 6'2". She wore this flowy brown dress—don’t ask me the name, I had no clue—but I knew it was something Muslim women wore, and hijab that somehow made her look like she had just walked out of a fashion shoot. Her skin was flawless—like, unfairly flawless. And even from where I sat, I could tell her eyes were dangerous. The kind that could make a guy forget his own name.

Her lips moved before I even registered the sound. “Hey, isn’t that your friend?”

She was talking about me.

Ryan turned his head, saw me, and grinned as they approached the table.

I swallowed, forcing myself to sit up and act normal.

Be cool. Don’t be weird.

I didn’t know who she was to Ryan yet, so I had to tread carefully. But holy hell—I had never seen someone like her before. Even the way she walked was confident but effortless, like she wasn’t even trying.

Ryan slid into the seat across from me, nodding in greeting. “Sorry I’m late, bro. Yasmin needed a ride from the airport, and I thought we could make it in time, but we got stuck in traffic.”

He gestured toward her. Yasmin.

What a pretty name. It suited her.

Wait. Hold on.

Did Ryan just apologize?

The dude never apologized. last time he came three hours late to a group  project ,hungover, he sat down without saying anything and proceed to act as if nothing happened. The realization hit me like a slap, and I shot him a confused look.

Ryan didn’t seem to notice. “By the way, Yasmin, I’ll go order. Do you want something? It’s on me.” His voice was softer than usual.

My stomach twisted.

Shit. Were they together?

I tried to keep my face neutral, but internally, alarms were blaring.

“What kind of tea do they have here?” she asked.

Her voice? Yeah, that wasn’t fair either—smooth and warm, like honey drizzled over something expensive. Ryan chuckled. “They’ve got jasmine tea—your second favorite.”

Her lips curved into a soft smile. “Then I’ll have that.”

Ryan nodded and left for the counter.

And just like that, we were alone.

The air between us thickened. Yasmin shifted slightly, like she wasn’t sure if she should say something first.

I took the chance. “So, you also like jasmine tea?”

She raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Also?”

I smirked, lifting my cup and tilting it to show her the tea leaves at the bottom.

A small giggle escaped her lips.

Oh. Oh no.

I was in trouble.

Even her laugh was pretty—soft, warm, completely unforced. And now that I could see her up close, I finally caught them—her eyes.

Amber.

Like melted caramel or something straight out of a painting.

Focus. Stop fawning over her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, still smiling. “You just don’t look like someone who enjoys tea.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What do I look like I enjoy, then?”

She tilted her head slightly, pretending to think. “I don’t know. But definitely not jasmine tea.”

I chuckled, relieved she wasn’t weirded out by me staring too much.

“I’m Yasmin, by the way,” she said. “I’m from Morocco, here for my last year in architectural design.”

I leaned forward slightly, intrigued. “Architectural design? No way. Me too.”

Her smile widened. “I know. Ryan told me about you before we came here.”

right Ryan… I needed to clear something up. “talking about Ryan…  are you guys cousins or something?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

She hesitated for a second before answering, “I guess you could say that.”

My brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Before she could answer, Ryan slid back into his seat, placing two cups of jasmine tea and an iced cappuccino on the table.

“She means we’re childhood friends,” he interrupted smoothly, handing us our drinks before sitting beside her.

“Thanks for the refill, man.”

“Don’t worry, bro. It’s my apology drink.” He smiled.

I froze.

Okay, what the hell was going on?

Ryan apologizing was weird enough. But buying me a drink for it? Now I was genuinely concerned. Had he been body-snatched?

I eyed him, then her. Something about her earlier hesitation didn’t sit right with me.

"So, you guys are childhood friends?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

Yasmin smiled. "Yeah. Our moms were best friends—more like sisters, really. They even ended up pregnant at the same time and gave birth to us on the same day. So we grew up more like siblings than anything else. Eventually, people just started assuming we were cousins, and at some point, we stopped correcting them."

I didn’t miss the way Ryan tensed slightly at her words, which made me think there was more to it, but I didn't see it fit to call him out on it at the moment. I was better off waiting for the two of us to be alone.

"By the way, Elio," Ryan started, clearly changing the subject. "I forgot to tell you something."

"Yeah?" I looked at him curiously.

"Remember how we were one person short for our grad project?"

Right. The project. After seeing Yasmin, I had completely forgotten the reason for our meeting today.

"Yeah... Wait, did you actually find someone?" I asked, excitement creeping into my voice. "Who?"

I had been dreading this project for four years now, and I had been extremely stressed out recently because we were one person short. We had to find someone by next week. Thank God Ryan had taken care of it.

"Yup! I finally found our final member. See? I’m not as useless as you think."

"You most definitely aren’t," I admitted. "So, who is it?"

My smile widened with anticipation, baring my teeth.

Ryan smirked. "It’s Yasmin. Tadaaa!"

"What? Her?" I asked, confused.

Oh. Oh no. OMG. OMG. I WAS GOING TO DIE. I HAD TO SPEND THE NEXT FEW MONTHS WITH HER FOR THIS PROJECT. HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE THAT?

I lost my composure for a second and felt my face heating up.

"Is there an issue?" Yasmin asked, slightly concerned, maybe even a little offended.

"What? No! Absolutely not! I just... I just hadn’t realized. Sorry, I’m a little slow."

"Don’t worry about it," she said, smiling, but then her expression shifted. "But, um… are you okay? You’re a little red."

Crap.

"Yeah, don’t worry about that." I flashed a look at Ryan, who had been watching us in silence. Something about the way he was just sitting there, glaring at me, made me sober up in an instant.

After talking for another thirty minutes, tossing around half-baked ideas for our project, Yasmin checked the time on her phone and sighed.

“We should get going,” she said. “I still have to pick up my apartment keys and unpack a little.”

Ryan, who had been uncharacteristically focused during our discussion, immediately stood up. “Yeah, I’ll drive you.”

I wasn’t ready for the conversation to end, but I wasn’t about to say that out loud.

Yasmin gathered her things, slinging her purse over her shoulder. Before she left, she turned to me with a small smile. “It was really nice meeting you, Elio. See you soon?”

God, even the way she said my name made my heart stop. She made it sound so… melodic, effortless—like something I wouldn’t mind hearing again.

I nodded, maybe a little too fast. “Yeah, definitely. See you.”

She flashed me one last smile before stepping outside and disappearing into Ryan’s BMW.

The second the door closed behind her, Ryan exhaled sharply and turned to me. “Wait here. I need to talk to you.”

I frowned, confused. “What’s up?”

He slid his hands into his pockets, his expression unreadable. Then, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, he said, “Hey, Elio, you know you’re my friend and all, but Yasmin is my priority right now. My uncle and aunt trusted me to make sure she stayed focused and safe. That’s the only reason they agreed to let her study here, so do me a favor…”

I barely had time to process his words before his smile faded, and his tone dropped into something sharp and ice-cold.

“Pick up your jaw from the floor, will you?”

It wasn’t a request. It wasn’t even advice. It was a warning.

And for the first time in years, I didn’t recognize the guy standing in front of me.

I frowned. “You good, man? You’ve been acting a little on edge since earlier.”

Ryan exhaled sharply, hesitating for a second before shrugging. “Nah, bro, don’t worry. It’s just…” He paused, rubbing the back of his neck. “I haven’t seen Yasmin in a while, and as you probably noticed, she tends to attract a lot of unwanted attention. It makes her uncomfortable sometimes. I don’t want her to have a hard time—this is the first time she’s really getting to breathe a little. And, like she told you, she’s family to me. I wouldn’t want her to have a negative view of me.”

He patted my shoulder, his grip lingering just a second too long. ‘So would you mind keeping my bad habits a secret from her, yeah?’

I studied him for a moment, searching for something in his expression, but Ryan’s mask was flawless. Finally, I nodded. ‘Okay man I guess it makes sense I got your back

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