CHAPTER 1

I wake up to the sound of my phone calling the Adhan; I can't believe it's morning already. I get up to observe Fajr (morning) prayers and go back to sleep. I wake up a few hours later, dress up and go to the gym. I can't wait for this year to be over; I am finally going to be done with university. I am in my final year of studying software engineering at California State University, Fullerton.

I am done working out; I walk back to my room, to wake up my roommate to get ready for school. I have a lovely roommate who is a good friend of mine. We met three years ago when we both arrived at the university, and ever since then, we have been friends and roommates.

"Hey! Wake up" I say tapping her 

"Do I have to go to school?" Khloe says still trying to get comfortable on her bed. 

Khloe is a beautiful brunette with green eyes. She is the same height as me; we are both 5'6 feet tall. She has a light skin tone while I am dark-skinned with dark brown eyes. I have an oval face while she has a heart-shaped face. I am a Nigerian; I was born and raised there. She is American.

"Yes, you do, so get your lazy ass out of that bed and into the bathroom." 

"Sometimes I hate you," She says getting up from the bed

"I love you too and don't waste time in the bathroom. I have an early morning class today. I can't be late."

"Fine I won't give birth in the bathroom like you always say I do," She says walking into the bathroom

"Thank you," I say chuckling at my joke

A few minutes after she finishes from the bathroom, I also take a bath and drive us both to school. I drive a black Mercedes Benz AMG GLE. We stop by a cafe to get coffee before going to school. I get an iced coffee for myself and white coffee for Khloe. I am about to take a sip of my coffee while walking out of the cafe, but it's not only a sip that comes out of the cup. Someone rudely hits my elbow, causing my coffee to spill all over me. 

"Excuse me!" I say to the person who caused my coffee to spill and is also walking past me like nothing happened.  

The person turns his feet from walking out the door and walks back to me. I am trying to clean the coffee stain off my shirt, so I don't know who this rude person is just yet. I lift my head to see who it is, and that is when I understand why the person did not care to say sorry.

"What!" Ethan says in his all too familiar deep rude voice. Ethan has pitch-black hair, is 6 feet tall, has a solid build with deep grey eyes that are glaring at me right now, and a sharp jawline that I am sure can cut through anything.

 "You hit me, which caused my coffee to spill all over me," I say, pointing out the obvious.

"So, what do you want me to do about it," He speaks like he has done nothing wrong

"You are supposed to say sorry," I say in a duh tone

"And why should I."

"Because that is what people with manners do."

"I know that, but you don't deserve sorry from me."

"Wow, really, and why is that."

"Because black bitches like you don't deserve it."

"I have told you times without number to stop calling me that," I say getting angry with his insults

"Make me," Ethan says, taking a dangerous step closer to me. I don't say anything, but hiss and walk past him. I don't know why I even expected him to say anything better. It is Ethan, after all.

I walk back to the car and drive home to change before going to school. I pray I don't see Ethan again today, but I know that won't be happening because we go to the same university and we study the same course. Ethan and I have disliked each other for the past three years going to four for only reasons Ethan knows.

I have never met someone like him in my entire life. This guy hates me so much that sometimes I wonder if I killed him in our past lives or something. The truth is that I could not even like him to begin with when we first met. I still remember our first encounter. I asked him to lift his bag from the only seat available in class so I could sit down. He said he does not want to sit beside a beast, so I should sit on the floor. I was so shocked and confused when he said that and had no clue why he behaved like that to me. The fact that it was our first time meeting made it more confusing. I tried confronting him and asking him if I did something wrong to him without knowing so I could apologise, but Ethan never wanted to settle. He always spoke rudely to me when I tried talking to him. So after I tried three times like Islam advice, I gave up and showed him who the real nasty, rude, ruthless woman I am. If he spoke rudely to me, I spoke back with the same tone. If he tried any nonsense with me, I gave it back to him head-on. I never wanted to dislike him, but he made me dislike him.

I get to class a bit late because I had to go back home to change. I step inside, and I see Ethan sitting down in all his glory, feeling like he is the most important person in the world right now. I look around for where to sit, and because I am late, all the good chairs are taken. The only seat available is the seat right in front of Ethan. I walk towards the chair, feeling his burning gaze following me. I am about to sit down when Ethan prevents me from sitting down.

"You can't sit here," Ethan says 

"And why is that?" 

"Because I don't want you to sit in front of me."

"Because you don't want me to," I hiss, and step forward to sit down, but Ethan gets up from his seat and blocks my path.

"You are not sitting down here," Ethan says glaring at me with so much anger 

"Ethan, you are being childish right now, move so I can sit down," I don’t understand why he is always behaving like this. Ethan is about to speak, but Mr. Jacob, our professor, talks and cuts him short. 

"Mr. Johnson, please could you take your seat. The class is about to begin" Mr. Jacob says

Ethan slowly takes his seat while still glaring at me. I follow suit and sit down in front of him. 

If not that this was the only seat left in class, I swear to God I would never sit here. Ethan's dark glares did not allow me to concentrate in class today. The angry dark aura coming off him was too much for me to handle. I was so close to standing up to leave, but I stayed because I can't let his problem of hating me affect my studies. 

We are done with class for today, and we were given an assignment to be submitted by the end of next month. I walk from my seat over to the professor's desk to find out who my partner is. I am going to be doing the assignment with someone. I pray it's someone easy to work with and not lazy. While walking, someone roughly walks past me. I am not surprised about it once I see who it is. I don't understand why he can't just see me and not look for a way to annoy me.

"Sometimes I wonder if those two things you call eyes ever work because I doubt they do," I say voicing out my irritation for what he just did

"What did you just say?" Ethan says stopping dead on his tracks

"You heard me right, or do I need to repeat myself? Do your ears have a problem too." 

 "What are you trying to say? Are you saying I am blind and deaf?"

"I never said so, but if that's what you think is wrong with you, that's fine because a normal human being won't do what you did a few seconds ago."

"Dirt like you are meant to be pushed out of the way so; I did what every normal human being would do."

 "What did you just say?" I say getting angry 

"You heard me right because I am sure your ears do work, Beast," Ethan says, whispering in my ears before walking away.

God, I can't believe he called me dirt. Sometimes I wish I could beat Ethan up, but I know I can't. I just move the thought away and continue walking to the professor's desk.

"Good day sir," I say standing in front of the professor's desk

"Good day Miss Ibrahim, your partner is going to be Mr. Johnson," Mr. Jacob says, reading from a paper in his hands

"What! Please could you change it, sir?" I say in so much disbelief that among all the people in this class, Ethan had to be my partner.

"Sorry I can't do that." 

"Why sir, please I am begging you, put me with anyone but him," I say pleading like my life depends on it

"I am sorry, Miss Ibrahim; you either work with Mr. Johnson or expect a zero for your assignment."

"Wow, alright sir, thank you," I say and walk out of the classroom. I can't believe I have to be partners with Ethan. I can already see my failure waving at me because there is no way on earth we are going to be able to work on an assignment together.

I spend the rest of my day going for different lectures before later driving back home. I walk into the living room and fall on the couch, hugging it like my life depends on it. 

"Hello to you there," Khloe says, walking out of her bedroom.

"Hi, how was your day?" 

"It was fine, and I can tell from the way you are hugging the couch yours was eventful."

"Yes, it was, and you won't believe what happened today."

"Tell me I am all ears."

"Out of all the people in my class, like literally out of everyone I have the same programming class with. Ethan had to be picked as my partner for my assignment today."

"Wow, I can already feel world war three about to happen because of that" Khloe says chuckling 

"Why are you laughing? This is a serious matter" I say getting up to sit down 

"I am laughing because I am imagining the two of you trying to work together, but end up tearing each other apart," Khloe says laughing

"I don't even see it working in any way. There is no way Ethan and I can be partners. I just have to find a way to make Mr. Jacob change my partner."

"I pray he does because there is no way you guys are going to get that assignment done with the bad blood between both of you."

"I know, but anyways how is your car. Are they done fixing it?" 

"Yeah it's all fixed, that's why you did not have to pick me up today."

"Oh, alright, that's good, and please excuse me while I go and take a shower and observe my prayers after."

"Alright, and while you are praying, make sure to pray about your assignment."

"Trust me I will," I say walking into the bathroom