Four guys connected by family.
Four girls connected by friendship.
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"Dont give me that look." I say, trying to break the eye contact.
"Like what?" He steps closer.
"Like if I ask you to burn this world, you...
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Song: Dooriya🎶
Azlan's private island was almost offensively beautiful.
The kind of place people fantasized about in dull offices and grey cities. A place where time slowed, where water shimmered in impossible shades of turquoise, and where the air felt silkier, warmer, sweeter.
And yet, I couldn't breathe.
The sunrise stretched over the horizon like a painting I couldn't touch-warm gold bleeding into coral, sky melting into sea. Gulls circled lazily above the waves, and the breeze teased my hair into tangles as I sat barefoot in the sand.
I had been here for over an hour. Watching. Thinking.
Dreading.
In a few hours, I would be engaged to Faraz.
And this time, there was no way out.
I didn't even turn when I heard his footsteps.
The sound of him had become familiar, like a storm I could sense before it arrived. Heavy, uneven steps, like he always walked half-angry, half-exhausted.
He stopped beside me. "You planning to swim to the mainland or just sulk here until the ceremony?"
"I already tried running," I murmured, eyes on the sea. "Didn't work out so well."
He let out a sharp breath through his nose. "Tell me about it."
I didn't laugh. Neither did he.
He dropped down into the sand beside me, stretching his legs out.
The silence between us wasn't awkward. It was familiar now. A tired kind of peace.
After a while, I asked quietly, "Do you think they'd still go through with it if we just disappeared?"
He didn't even flinch. "They'd still find a way. Mail the rings to us. Host the party without us. Photoshop us in."
That earned a ghost of a smile from me.
I tilted my head toward him. "We tried everything, Faraz."
His jaw clenched. "I know."
"The ruined photoshoot, the fake fight in front of your mom, the screaming match at dinner..."
He looked over at me, brows raised. "That one wasn't fake."
I laughed, bitterly. "No, that was just us being... us."
He went quiet again.
The sun was higher now, lighting up the waves like scattered coins. I hugged my knees tighter.
"I kept thinking one of our stunts would finally make them snap," I whispered. "Make them realize this is stupid. That it's us. We're the worst combination imaginable."
