As a Muslim girl, marriage is one of Safia's biggest dreams. All her life she kept herself pure for her faith and her future husband. Although having never had experienced love, and occasionally doubting whether she will, Safia feels herself growing impatient being single. She then sends her family to search for 'the one.' Trusting her family, she decides to say yes to the first person her family finds for her. She believes she will get married and face all her problems with her husband by her side. Is it really as simple as that? Yusuf feels a void in his heart. He tries to deny it, but he knows his mother's not proud of him. He knows she wishes he could be a little more modern like his brother. He wanted his family to find him a wife while he could focus on his deen (faith), but his idea of a wife clashes with his mother's. Seeing that his family were struggling to find him someone he likes, he decides to take matters into his own hands. But is he rushing into decisions without thinking?

"Go ahead," I said, backing up against the pink wall of the shop. "Do something other than glare at me." I waited. One, two, three seconds... and nothing. I raised my chin at him. "You're boring me, mute boy." He stepped closer. Leaned toward me as his gaze burned into mine. Then... ❀ ❀ ❀ After three months in juvenile detention, it's time for Romy Pereira to help out with her family's flower shop. And it's not all bad... until they hire Jack Michel to work beside her. He doesn't speak, communicating with glares and scowls instead of words, and seems to be more interested in literal rocks than other human beings. And with an ex-convict mother, her friends drifting away, and the flower shop falling apart, the last thing Romy wants to deal with is Jack's attitude. She'll forever praise the day he screws up big time and gets himself fired, but until that day comes, it's mostly one cold-hearted girl, her silent (but still infuriating) coworker, and a whole lot flowers. [word count: 100k] [originally written in 2014-2015; re-write completed 2020-2021] ❀ Rankings ❀ #1 in #badgirl #1 in #goodboy #1 in #flowershop #1 in #sociopath