Chapter 1
Monday morning. The sun was shining bright.
I stepped out of my room to grab breakfast early, so I could make it to my test on time. I took my bag, hugged my parents, and headed out.
“Mum, I’m going. Wish me good luck.”
“Good luck, sweetie.”
I ran into traffic.
Time was ticking.
Finally, I arrived at the examination center. I stepped in and sat down, ready to take my test. The teacher started calling attendance.
And then… I saw you.
You were sitting across the room.
From that moment, I knew I had seen something bright.
The test was in front of me, but I couldn’t focus. You had my full attention. While you were writing seriously, all I did was stare at you. I even forgot I had an exam going on.
Your skin was smooth and brown. Your eyes — oh my gosh — so intensely beautiful. And your smile? It took me far away from the world.
When you looked at me, I quickly looked away.
The next thing I knew, you were friends with my friend. That made everything even more adventurous.
We made silly jokes and laughed together. Before leaving the examination hall, I whispered softly:
“I wish I could see you again.”
Months passed by.
A new school year. New school. New people.
I went to see my best friend… and there you were.
I was shocked.
“Hi,” you said.
“Hi… um, you’re here? How?”
You smiled. And just like that, I stopped thinking.
Our attraction was visible to everyone — friends, teachers… even the air between us felt different.
To make it even crazier, you became close friends with my brother. You were always around — at school, at home, everywhere.
Every morning, I would leave my class and go to yours, pretending I was there to see my brother.
Maybe I was.
But really… I was there for you.
You noticed me.
And I was scared.
How could I like my brother’s best friend?
We became close as friends. But my feelings refused to stay quiet.
I remember the day you told the group you liked me.
Even my brother saw the chemistry and told me.
It was visible to the whole school.
But then… you dated a girl named Solange.
I was jealous.
And the funny thing? Solange is my mum’s name.
So whenever I felt angry at her, it felt like I was mad at my own mother.
I tried to act like I wasn’t jealous. But she had your attention. Your vibe.
Loving you was risky.
But I was ready to go head over heels for you.
Whenever you were near, I stopped functioning.
You told my brother you loved me. He told me.
But I was too scared to say, “I love you.”
Maybe some unspoken words are louder than repeated ones.
I still miss you.
But I’m glad we took the risk to love each other — even if we never fully confessed it.
Loving you was a crime… and I knew I was caught even before the chase began.
You held the key to my prison cell — my heart.
I wonder if you still remember how happy you made me.
Loving you was one of the biggest risks I ever took.
But I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Every girl was obsessed with you.
But for a moment…
You had my heart.
And I had yours.
Loving you was risky.
But I was ready to fall — even if there was no one there to catch me.
Whenever you were near, my mind forgot how to think. My heart did all the speaking. And even when we never said the words out loud, everyone could see them written in our eyes.
You told my brother you loved me.
He told me.
And I kept the words inside my chest like a secret treasure I was too afraid to open.
Maybe some feelings are too sacred to be spoken.
Maybe some love stories are meant to exist in silence.
I still miss you sometimes.
Not in a painful way.
But in a soft, quiet way — like remembering a song that once meant everything.
Loving you was a crime.
And I was guilty the moment I first looked across that examination room and saw you.
I didn’t need a judge.
I didn’t need a sentence.
My heart had already confessed.
You held the key to my prison cell — and somehow, I never wanted to escape.
Maybe we never became what we could have been.
But for a moment in time…
we were something real.
And that was enough.
