amika_r
Before Janice Fernandes and Ryan Mathews ever met, their families were already tied together by years of friendship.
Their mothers were college best friends.
Their fathers were college best friends.
And in a twist of fate, each pair fell in love and married - creating two families that were different, yet deeply connected. Together, they moved to the U.S.A., built one of the country's top family businesses, and stood by each other through every success and struggle.
And as the years passed, their children -
Janice and Ryan -
grew up side by side.
Janice was the bright, bubbly one - shy, beautiful, clever, and loved by everyone.
Ryan was the smart, calm, cold, handsome one - distant to the world, but warm and impossibly gentle when it came to her.
He always protected her.
He always watched over her.
And she always felt safest when he was around.
To the outside world, they were the perfect family friends.
To their parents, they were the kids who grew up together.
But between them... there was something quietly blooming. Something neither of them dared to name.
Because sometimes, the person who grows up next to you
is the one your heart was quietly choosing all along.
A soft, heart-melting, slow-burn romance about fate, family, and love that grows without ever being spoken.