Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Back to when Matin, Mazid and Sofiah were 10 years old.

 

“What are you doing in my room?!!!” Matin shouted out loud when he saw a little girl in his room.

 

Not an ordinary little girl but someone he hated since they were younger.

 

It happened out of the blue and she was completely taken aback by his loud shout. She couldn't help but tremble at his glare and she accidentally threw the toys in her hand.

 

“And who gave you permission to touch my toys?!!!!!!”

 

The shout was loud enough to hurt her eardrums. It was hard for her to form a word as he scared the hell out of her.

 

“I-I-I'm sorry. I-I-I thought this is Mazid's room,” she stuttered, a tremble in her voice.

 

Matin looked like a tiger pouncing on its prey.

 

“Get out!!!” He widened his eyes at her while chasing her out of his room.

 

Without wasting time, she quickly walked out of his room with teary eyes.

 

It’s hard to understand the reasons why he hated her so much. Maybe because she chose to spend more time with his twin brother over him which made him distance himself from her. He just couldn’t stand looking at her walking around his house with his twin brother.

 

“Why are you crying?” Mazid approached Sofiah, who was sobbing beside the pool alone.

 

He then took a seat beside her.

 

She quickly wiped her tears and gave a forced smile to him, “No-nothing.”

He let out a lowly chuckled and said, “You're a bad liar. I heard his shouting just now. Did you accidentally walk into his room again, right?”

 

She just nodded her head without looking at him.

 

He cupped her face and wiped the remaining tears on her cheeks.

 

“Stop crying. Even pretty girls will get ugly when crying.” He grinned at her.

 

Her tears suddenly stopped and she widened her eyes at him.

 

“Just kidding. Hehe.” He giggled.

 

“Here.” He handed her something.

 

She took it and asked in confusion, “What is this?”

 

“You can play with my toys. I have all the toys same as Matin. So, you don't have to play with his toys. Just take mine, okay?” He smiled widely to calm her down.

The smile finally returned to her lips.

 

“You're a nice person, Mazid. Thank you.”

 

“You’re most welcome. Best friend?” He stuck out his hand for a handshake.

 

“Best friend forever.” She accepted his handshake.

 

❤❤❤

 

Back to when Matin, Mazid and Sofiah were 15 years old.

 

“Ouch!”

 

“Are you blind?! Can't you see me here?!” Matin was boiling with anger as Sofiah accidentally pushed him from behind, causing him to stumble.

 

She clenched her teeth in annoyance as she just realised that it was him.

 

“Why were you standing in the middle of the lane?! This lane is for walking, not for a statue,” she replied harshly with an angry gaze.

 

“There is no instruction saying that I can't stop here. You're the one who was walking without eyes,” he talked back to her.

 

They both didn’t realise that they stood very close as they were staring at each other with angry eyes.

 

“Fine! I don't have time to argue with a stupid person!” She harshly pushed him away, causing him to slightly stumble again.

 

But before she could walk away from him, he tightly grabbed her hand.

 

“What?! Stupid? Did you just call me stupid?!!!” He widened his eyes with an angry snort.

 

Slightly terrified, Sofiah tried to push his hand away, but no success.

 

“So what?!” She looked up at him with a challenging face.

 

“Take your words back!” he said, tightening his grip on her hand.

 

She slightly flinched in pain but she managed to endure it.

 

“I don’t want to! You're wasting my time!”

 

He was glaring at her while clenching his teeth. When he finally realised that they were in the middle of the public, he loosened his grip on her as she successfully pulled her hand from him and quickly ran away.

 

“You wait and see!” he shouted at her.

 

“I'm not scared! Get lost!” Sofiah shouted back and stuck out her tongue in a teasing way.

 

❤❤❤

 

“What is she doing here, Mazid?” Matin was annoyed by the arrival of Sofiah and her family.

 

Mazid was confused at his brother's behaviour and replied, “Come on, bro. Have you forgotten that she's our second cousin? Her whole family always comes to the palace as usual.”

 

“I'm not pleased to see her right now.” Matin let out a big sigh.

 

“Please bear with it. Plus, today is Eid al Fitr. This is the best time to forgive each other.” Mazid raised his eyebrows while smiling widely at him.

 

He hoped that his brother and Sofiah could get along with each other.

 

“She's the one who has a lot of sins towards me. She needs to apologise, not me.” Matin rolled his eyes in annoyance.

 

“Whatever, bro. I'm going to greet them.” Mazid left his brother alone and walked towards Sofiah's family.

“My lovely Fiya! Happy Eid! I would like to apologise if I’ve hurt you,” Mazid greeted Sofiah with a big smile.

 

“Bestie! Happy Eid! I forgive you even though you never hurt me. Please forgive me too if I’ve ever hurt you,” she replied with a wide smile.

 

“You also never hurt me. Now, let's eat. There are a lot of your favourite foods!” Mazid grabbed her hand and led her towards the dining table.

 

Both of them kept talking to each other and Matin was left alone.

 

When Mazid excused himself to go to the toilet, only Matin and Sofiah were left at the dining table.

 

“Since today is Eid al Fitr, I have something to say to you,” she said, breaking the silence between them.

 

“Oh! I know you would like to apologise. Confess your sins towards me right now. I'm listening.” He had a big grin on his face.

 

“Umm...I'm sorry for calling you stupid. I thought you’re used to that nickname of yours.” Sofiah showed a nonchalant face.

 

For once, his big grin was missing. He clenched his teeth and fists with steam coming out of his ears.

 

“You know what? You’re not only having an ugly face, but you also have an ugly heart! There won't be any guys who will like you and you will be single forever!” he said through clenched teeth.

 

It sounded like he’s cursing her. But she just smiled at him as she knew she successfully annoyed him.

 

“Thank you for your concern. I don’t mind being single forever. As long as I don’t get someone like you,” she replied with a wink.

 

❤❤❤

 

Back to when Matin, Mazid and Sofiah were 19 years old.

 

Sofiah was going to pursue her study in medicine in Ireland. One day before her departure, her family held a ceremony for her.

 

“Fiya, I'm going to miss you so badly. Please take care of yourself. Don't skip a meal. I'm just a call away if you need me, okay?” Mazid said, looking slightly sad.

 

“You worry too much. I'll take care of myself. Promise me that you'll visit me when you're in London. Promise?” Sofiah replied, sticking out her pinky finger to him.

 

“Promise.” He took her pinky finger with his.

 

Matin spotted Sofiah was alone beside the pool and a naughty grin was getting bigger on his face. He took a seat beside her, causing her to slightly jump from her seat in shock.

 

“You know what? For the first time in my life, I'm very happy that I won't see your ugly face anymore.” Matin gave her a cheeky smile.

 

But Sofiah didn't take his words into her heart. She already built a wall to protect herself from his attack.

“Oh! Actually, I would like to say the same thing to you. But you said it first. Our feelings are mutual,” she replied, winking at him.

 

And the smile faded away from his face.