Layan walked slowly through the hallway, her notebook in hand, her eyes lost in the words from the last class she barely understood.
She heard quiet footsteps behind her, but didn't look up… until a shadow stopped right beside her.
"You forgot your pen."
His voice was calm, slightly husky—like someone who wasn't used to speaking much.
She looked up… and there was Saif, holding out a pen she hadn't realized she'd dropped.
His eyes weren't cold, but they weren't warm either. They carried something old… maybe sadness. Maybe guilt.
"Thanks…"
Layan said softly, her voice almost vanishing.
He paused for a moment, then murmured,
"You like to draw? I saw your notebook. It's full of sketches."
She was surprised.
No one but Rima knew she drew.
But Saif… he noticed. And he cared.
A small shiver ran through her chest.
She smiled shyly and said,
"Yeah… I've drawn since I was little. When I can't speak, I draw."
He nodded and replied,
"I get that."
His words echoed inside her.
She didn't know why, but she felt them deeply… like he didn't just understand—he lived it too.
💔 Meanwhile,
Rima
was watching.
From the moment she saw Saif talking to Layan, something inside her tightened.
It wasn't just jealousy…
It was the kind of pain that comes when you love someone silently, deeply.
She didn't just love Layan as a friend.
She loved her.
She loved her laugh, the way she smiled at simple things.
She loved her passion for art.
She loved her gentle fear and quiet strength.
But she never said it.
She never dared.
She was afraid—
Afraid to lose her.
Afraid to hurt her.
And afraid of how Layan might look at her if she knew the truth.
🌑 Elsewhere, Saif sat alone, staring out the classroom window.
A faint laugh from across the courtyard echoed, but his mind was somewhere else.
– A year ago.
Neon lights, shouting men, smoke, and desperate screams.
He stood still, his heart cold, completing another job.
Theft, beatings, drug deals…
He was part of the gang called Black Wolves.
But he wasn't like them. He didn't feel—he just obeyed.
Until the night he betrayed them.
He ran, disappeared from the city, and buried his real name.
People now called him "Saif," but he knew better.
His true identity was buried in police files, blood, and the memory of a gang that never forgives.
Today?
He tries to live a normal life.
But the past… never forgets.
And he knows—someone like Layan is too good for someone like him.
But his heart?
It started beating again… and it beat for her.