Mira Zayan was not the kind of girl people remembered in crowds, but she left her mark in silence. She carried within her the softness of petals and the sorrow of seasons — a soul stitched together by survival. At twenty-two, Mira was a final-year pharmacy student at Al Noor Medical University, tucked far from her family, twelve hours away in the quiet hills of Amaan. Her life was books, lectures, and lonely nights. But it was hers. It was honest.
Until Sofia.
Sofia was everything Mira thought she needed. Bright, bold, and intoxicating in the way wildfires are. They met in their second year — classmates first, then something more than friendship but less than definition. Mira, still healing from her past, saw in Sofia a light she mistook for warmth.
Their bond was instant. Sofia helped her with studies, guided her through hospital rounds, messaged her day and night — but never allowed room to breathe. Her affection came wrapped in control, and Mira, desperate to be loved without being hurt, tried to ignore the signs.
She didn't see the cracks until she fell through them.