Novels by _najeeb.i

“Toothbrush?”“Check.”“Makeup kit?”“Check.”“Fishing gear?”“Check.”“Sexy lingerie?”“Check.”“Secret gift that will definitely make you the best girlfriend ever?”“Check,” I said, waving the package in front of Rachel. We were standing by the door, waiting for Ethan to pick me up so we could head to the cabin together. Storm clouds were gathered in the sky, and it was clearly going to rain soon. I was looking forward to sleeping during the drive, because I was fully exhausted. I’d stayed up all night planning an itinerary for us, as well as checking the town below the mountain to see if there were any fun activities we could do so we wouldn’t get bored. But apart from a local book club and a flea market, there was nothing else to see or do. And that was exactly what I wanted. Having Ethan all to myself was like an early Christmas gift. Finally, I wouldn’t have to deal with that awful feeling every time he had to leave, and I felt like my world was going to implode without him. I

ETHANI know I’m an asshole. Liv doesn’t deserve this. I know it as well as I know the back of my hand. But I can’t stop myself sometimes. It’s not like I’m trying to sound like a jealous piece of shit. And it’s not like I don’t trust her. I do. I trust her with my life. I know that I would move heaven and earth for her. But every time I hear that fucking Nathaniel Holloway’s name, I just feel like punching someone Why couldn’t she see him for what he was? It was obvious that he was trying to get under my skin, and he was doing it specifically by targeting her because he knew that was the perfect way to get to me. It was just like him to try something as underhanded as this. The Holloways were like a thorn in my side. They’d always been there, lingering in the shadows and causing a mess wherever they went. I still hadn’t forgotten about the Wrexham incident seventeen years ago, which was the first thing that made our father’s illness known. Everyone told me it didn’t mean anything,

I rushed into the office, thinking there was an emergency. Nate hadn’t answered my calls, and I thought something had gone seriously wrong. Even though I didn’t want to leave Ethan, he told me that he understood that I had to leave, and he even walked me to the cab. I was panicking by then, thinking the deal was about to be called off. So imagine my surprise when I walked into the conference room and find Nate sitting at the table casually, feet up on the table like he owned the fucking building, and a few faces I recognized from the party last night sitting with him and laughing at something he’d said. What the actual fuck?Nate lifted his head and noticed that I was standing right there, and a grin spread across his face as he said, “Oh, hi, Livia. Fancy meeting you here.” “What’s going on?” I asked. “Your text made it sound like something urgent was going on.”“Sorry about that,” he said. “I just needed to make sure you would get here on time. We need this deal finalized today,

Alright. I’m just going to say it. There’s nothing on earth that beats the feeling of waking up in the morning after being thoroughly dicked down the previous night. Ethan and I had gone four more rounds after the first time, and by the time I slept off, I was completely exhausted. I actually woke up with a smile on my face. And as my eyes fluttered open and I found Ethan staring back at me with a smile, my grin widened as I inched towards him and let him wrap his arm over me. “Good morning,” I whispered. “Hi Cupcake,” he replied, kissing me on the nose. “You look so pretty today.”“Don’t start,” I said, rolling my eyes. We were both completely naked under the covers, and I could feel his erection poking against my stomach. I immediately started to blush, and he must have known I was feeling awkward because he actually flicked it a few times, causing me to roll away from him. “Oh no, you don’t,” he chuckled, pulling me back and wrapping his arms around me. Where do you think you

Never in my entire life have I ever done anything as quickly as I did with finalizing the Holloway deal. To be completely honest, I was barely paying attention to anything that was said at the table. All I cared about was the yes, and once they signed the papers we'd come along with, everything was set. And now I could devote my complete attention to the hottest man I'd ever met. I was a mess as I hurried over to the elevator, barely paying attention to Rachel and Blake as they said they wanted to hang out a bit longer. When Nathaniel Holloway tried to run after me, I ducked behind a large man wearing a turban and rushed to Ethan's side. He was already standing in front of the elevator, and when he turned to face me, a shiver ran down my spine. He looked so handsome with three buttons undone, his bare chest looking so inviting. A shadow hung over his eyes, making him look so sexy that my brain couldn't properly function. I was so turned on at that moment that a part of me wanted hi

ETHANI hate parties. There might have been a time when I didn’t feel so negative towards them. But I’d come to realize that a party was just an excuse for terrible things to happen. A party was not a simple social gathering where people would exchange opinions and laugh at ridiculous jokes. Instead, they were opportunities to gossip, to spread rumours and lies and any form of scandalous information that you might want to spread. That was the simple gist of it. Something about the Holloway party only amplified this. From the moment we walked in, I knew I was going to have a miserable evening. And sure enough, as I stood there and watched Nathaniel Holloway drag my girlfriend away, I knew what sort of evening it was going to be. Thankfully, there was an open bar. I decided to have a drink, so I would sit there like a recluse and just watch him blatantly flirt with my girlfriend while rubbing it in my nose. I smiled politely at a few faces I recognized, and we talked for a little wh

SOFIAFrom the moment Adrian walked into the apartment, I started to feel self conscious. Everything looked horrible, and the longer I stared, the worse it became.There were empty pizza boxes all over, clothes strewn all over the couch and on the floor, empty soda cans lining the TV console, and a horrible stench which I hadn't noticed when I walked out earlier. I was extremely aware of how disgusting it all looked, and I imagined he would look at me like a disgusting pig who couldn't even take care of herself. But if he thought that of me, then he didn't make it obvious. He simply led me to the couch, picked up the discarded hoodie and moved it, then told me to sit down. "Where's the kitchen?" he asked. "Down the hallway to your left," I replied, feeling woozy as my head spun a bit. He headed off, then came back with a glass of water and he stood over me until I finished it. He then rolled up his sleeves and went to work. He proceeded to pick up all the clothes, empty pizza boxes

SOFIAThe sound of speeding cars woke me up. My eyes fluttered open slowly, and the next thing I knew, I was staring down at the depth of the East River, bent over the railing while someone held onto me tightly. My head spun, and I screamed as I jumped back and nearly flew straight into traffic. “For heaven’s sake, calm the fuck down!” someone yelled behind me. A pair of arms suddenly yanked me back, and I slammed into a warm chest. The strong arms wrapped around my waist, holding me back as I nearly jumped into traffic. “Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you?” he said. “Are you out of your goddamn mind?”“Let go of me!” I cried. “Let go!”“The hell I will,” he growled. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” “It’s none of your concern,” I said, desperately trying to punch or bite or kick him away, but he was too fucking strong. It felt like I was pinned to a wall, unable to move even a single muscle. And no matter how hard I tried, he just wouldn’t budge. “Only a fool would

SOFIAI don't remember most of what happened in the days after dad's funeral. I mostly just locked myself away in my bedroom, trying to make sense of the world. For days on end, I would mostly just roll out of bed and sit by the windowsill, desperately trying to get myself to move even though it wasn’t going to happen.And the worst part was having to walk past the spot where the incident happened. Even after scrubbing it with bleach for hours, after airing out the entire house and even moving things around so it would look different, it was still impossible to walk into the living room and not relive the entire incident again. I was slowly losing my mind, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. The pain, anger, sadness, loneliness and depression all wrapped up around me like a suffocating blanket, and I just couldn’t shake it off no matter what I did. It was always there, constantly breathing down my neck and holding me captive. So I stayed in my room and tried to let the darkness c

SOFIA“Miss Moretti?”I looked up slowly, blinking at the detective sitting across from me. He was staring at me in that sombre, touching way that you would look at a fragile piece of glass that was about to explode. His partner actually had to wipe a tear from her eyes as they sat across from me. Behind us, the police were still walking all around the apartment, taking pictures and talking excitedly. Hearing their voices all around the apartment made me want to throw up. My head was spinning, and I just wanted to lay down for a bit. “Miss Moretti, anything you can remember will be very useful,” he said. “I understand how difficult this must be for you, but the sooner we get this information out of your head, the better it will be. Details get muddied after some time, and we prefer to get them right after a crime has been committed.”I blinked at him silently, unable to bring myself to speak. What exactly was I supposed to say? How could I reveal the horror of what I’d witnessed ear

SOFIAMy father always said that only a stupid man would walk into a casino with the hope of winning anything. The smart ones walk in there with the hope of finding out about themselves, and they are the ones who walk out with more than they walked in. I was five years old when he taught me that. Now, I'm twenty-four, and I'm not standing in a casino but the stakes feel just as high. "You're crazy," Valentina said. "Aren't we all?" I replied, glancing over at the tall, grey-haired man who was in deep conversation with a steely-eyed woman who looked like she was bored out of her mind. "If this works, we could both make it in by next summer.""Yeah, like the admissions officer is just going to hand you an opportunity to attend the most prestigious school in America," Valentina said. "Seriously, you're going to get us in trouble.""I'm not going to ambush him," I said. "Come on. What do you take me for?""You're not?" she asked, raising a questioning eyebrow. "Then what are you going

*The drive to the beach took longer than any of them had anticipated. The weather was dry, with the heat rising to a dangerous level. Twice, they had to stop to fix a punctured tyre. "Are we there yet?" "Just a little further," he replied, wading through the traffic. "It won't be long now."They had left his uncle's house early that morning, with a picnic basket which they filled along the way. They had hoped to beat the traffic by leaving early, but even so they only managed to cover eighteen miles in an hour. By the time they finally reached the beach, it was a few minutes past noon. The sun was high up in the sky, and their shadows had disappeared underneath them. There was a small crowd gathered on the sand, which surprised him as it was a weekday. "Come," he said to her, offering his right hand while he took the basket in the other. "I know the perfect spot for us."He led her away from the crowd, keeping his hold on her tightly. He recognized the group as students from the

* Azra was a bright-eyed, polite, little eleven year old who couldn't meet anyone's eyes when she was brought to the house by Adnan. Afrah, who had been discharged three days prior, watched from her window as he drove into the house with the little girl sitting beside him. Looking at him, she still didn't know what exactly she felt. Of course she still despised what he'd done, but she didn't necessarily hate Adnan himself. Forgiving him was hard. It was probably the hardest thing she would ever learn to do. But it would be worth it if they would learn to live happily for the rest of their lives. Azra's mother had been much too happy to let her go. They had been struggling to provide for the little girl with her new husband, who was significantly less-wealthy than Adnan. Layla knew the girl would have a better future with her biological father. When she got the call from Adnan, a part of her wanted to hang up on him. But since it concerned his daughter, she'd listened to his plea a

*Carpets and curtains. She dreamt of them both, not as separate entities, but as one. Throughout her existence, Afrah had been surrounded by carpets and curtains, each lending its own unique addition to the story of her life. They were always silent, never considered but ever present. She recalled the carpets in her bedroom, how soft and flat it was. Twice a year, the carpets would be taken out so they could be washed and returned. The curtains were washed every month, and Afrah remembered sitting in the middle of her room one time when both carpets and curtains were removed, and she simply stared at the barrenness of her room. Strange how something as insignificant as carpets and curtains could change the entire appearance of her bedroom. She recalled the carpets in her father's room, the plush cream color stretching from wall to wall. His curtains were white, which she remembered complaining to her mother about once. "Why can't I have white curtains as well?" she'd asked. "Bec

*Afrah didn't know she was capable of doing it until she'd done it. Spontaneous action was never her area of expertise, knowing fully well that she was more of a reactive person than a proactive one. But the sight of Fahad falling to the floor jolted her to action. It was like a spark had awakened in her, grinding the gears in her brain. She began by lunging for the gun. Yusuf wasn't expecting her to move. Neither did he hear her move, since the carpet muffled her footsteps. He was still pointing the gun at Fahad's twitching corpse when Afrah's hands suddenly wrapped around the gun and yanked it out of his hands. He staggered back, bewildered by her action. And then she brought the gun to his chest, looking him dead in the eye. Time seemed to freeze in that moment. Neither he nor she dared to move. Between them was their hateful glare, separated by the barrel of the gun. His breathing was calm, while hers was irregular, coming in short bursts. In that moment, their roles were rev

*Every movement caused Afrah to jump; every second his eyes spent watching her made her skin crawl. She didn't sit. Instead she remained where she was standing, her arms folded in front of her. Yusuf meanwhile had leaned back into the seat, sighing comfortably. "What would you like to have?" he asked nonchalantly. "Some water, perhaps? I have some orange juice which still happens to be fresh. Or would you prefer a coke? I have some wine as well, but then knowing how close you and Adnan are, I'm sure he's taught you to stray away from fine wine. So, which would you prefer to have?""I would like to have my daughter back," Afrah replied. Yusuf studied her for a few seconds before he chuckled. "Of course," he said. "It's why you're here, is it not? As for me, I'd like a Bloody Mary."He stood up then, stretched with a slight groan before he left the room. Afrah remained where she was, awkwardly staring at the stained walls with nothing but a single wall clock hanging on them. She tho

*"I remember it like it was yesterday," Halima said. "And I know how cliché that sounds, but it really does feel like yesterday even though it was almost thirty years ago."Adnan tilted his head to the side, trying to detect a hint of deception in her words. "I was a little girl, so foolish and ignorant. I guess I've always been like that. But we can say that my ignorance and foolishness were somewhat exaggerated at that point in my life. Before I tell you how it happened however, I think you should understand the beginning of it all. I believe I was on my way to my uncle's house that day. I'm sure your father told you all about the village we grew up in.""Bakura," he replied indifferently. "Yes," Halima replied, twisting her hands. "It's a small settlement, and we grew up so close that everyone knew the name of everyone else. It was so small that it was impossible to leave home without everyone being able to give a detailed account of where you went. Your paternal grandfather and