Heartless Until Him.

Eyes on her

Abraham’s POV:

Abraham hadn't wanted to come to Singapore.Paris was light and art and music. Singapore was humid and strict and small. His father's business transfer felt like a punishment.

But then he walked into that classroom.A girl was banging her head on a desk, complaining about geography. Her friend rolled her eyes.

Then the girl looked up.Hurrem, they called her.She wasn't pretty in the soft, delicate way the girls in Paris had been. She was sharp — messy hair, tall height like mine,white skin, bright expressive eyes, and a smile that could light up any room,bruised knuckles, a grin that said I dare you. When she whispered "What a downgrade," his chest tightened — not with anger, but curiosity. Her casual indifference fascinated him more than any admiration ever had.

Later, he watched her during the fight.

She moved like she'd been in a hundred of them. Confident. Fast. When she pinned John to the floor and demanded he call her a girl, Abraham felt his pulse spike.

She's dangerous, he thought. In the best way.

Then she walked up to him after, chest still heaving, and asked, "So. Impressed?"

He wanted to say yes. He wanted to grab her wrist and pull her closer and tell her she was the most interesting thing he'd seen since leaving France.

Instead, he said, "You fight like someone who has something to prove."

He watched her blink. Good. Let her wonder.

Winning people over is harder, he added, then walked away before she could see how much he wanted to stay.

That night, he lay in his new bedroom and stared at the ceiling. Her face kept appearing. The way she'd looked at his hands. The way she'd said downgrade like a challenge.

Focus, he told himself. She's just a girl.

But his heart wasn't listening.

Hurrem’s Pov - Three Days Later:

For three days, Abraham had barely looked at me.He sat in the back of the class, took notes silently, and left the moment the bell rang. John tried to befriend him again. Abraham nodded politely but never stayed. Lara tried to ask him about Paris. He answered in short sentences,then excused himself.

And me?. He looked through me like I was a window. Am I invisible to him now? It was driving me insane.

"I don't get it," I said to Lara during lunch, stabbing my rice with a fork.

"He watched me fight. He said that thing about winning people over. That's basically flirting, right?" I said to Lara with a hope.

Lara chewed slowly. "That's not flirting. That's observing."

"Same thing."I shrugged In frustration

"It's really not."She said. That’s the thing I love and hate about her,she never gives me the false hope about anything even if it’s make me happy or not.

I shoved my tray away. My appetite was gone anyway — not that there was much to eat.

I'd spent my entire week's pocket money this morning on something stupid,”A puzzle box”.

I heard it somewhere that the best thing to make place in someone’s heart is to give them a GIFT.

Lara had warned me. "You don't even know him. What if he hates riddles?"

"He won't hate this riddle." I said sternly.

I pulled the small box from my bag. Inside was a handcrafted wooden puzzle — a tiny chest with a riddle carved into the lid. Solve me, and I'll open. I'd found it at a market last weekend and thought of him immediately. He was a puzzle. So he deserved a puzzle.

“It cost everything I had. I'd eaten nothing today.”My stomach growled angrily.

"You're hopeless," Lara said.

"Romantic," I corrected.

"There's a difference." She said.

I ignored her.

After class, I'll find him. I'll hand him the gift. He will be impressed by my thoughtfulness. He will smile — really smile — and ask me to sit with him. Maybe he'd even hold my hand. I imagined and smiled on my own thoughts. I had it all planned.

---

The final bell rang. Students poured out of the classroom like water from a broken dam.

Abraham was packing his bag slowly. Purposefully. Like he knew someone was waiting.

(Me. I'm someone.)

I walked up to him, heart hammering. My palms were sweaty. I wiped them on my skirt.

"Hey." I said akwardly.

He looked up. Dark eyes. No expression. "Hey."

I thrust the small box toward him. "This is for you."

Abraham didn't take it immediately. He looked at the box, then at my face, then back at the box. "Why?"

Why? Because I can't stop thinking about you. Because you have veiny hands and a stupid serious face and I want to know what makes you laugh.

"Because you're new," I said instead. "And I'm nice. Surprisingly."

A long pause. Then he took the box.

He turned it over in his hands, reading the riddle carved into the wood. His eyebrows lifted slightly — the most emotion I'd seen from him yet.

"A riddle," he said.

"Solve it, and it opens. I thought… you seem like someone who likes puzzles."

He looked at me again. This time, something flickered in his eyes. Amusement? Curiosity? I couldn't tell.

"I don't accept gifts from strangers," he said.

My face heated. "We're not strangers. We're classmates."

"Classmates who've spoken twice." He said with a stern face.

"That's not my fault. You're the one who keeps ignoring me." I said firmly.

Abraham's mouth twitched. He set the box on the desk between us. "I'm not ignoring you. I'm watching."

“Watching”.The word sent a shiver down my spine.

"So… you'll keep it?" I asked, trying not to sound desperate.

He didn't answer. Instead, he slung his bag over his shoulder and walked toward the door. Then stopped.

"Meet me after school," he said without turning around. "Behind the gymnasium. 4 o'clock."

My heart stopped."Wait — why?"

He glanced back. Just a sliver of his profile. "You'll find out."Then he was gone.

I went to Lara to share this big news because I was confused, suprised, over the moon at the time.

Lara shrieked. "HE ASKED YOU TO MEET HIM? ALONE? BEHIND THE GYM?"

"Keep your voice down!" I stopped her.

"THIS IS HUGE. He's going to confess!" I said with a proud smile.

Behind the Gymnasium- 4:00Pm

Abraham was already there. Leaning against the wall. The puzzle box in his hand.

Okay. Be cool,Hurem.

”Hey," I said

"Hey."He replied

He held up the box. "I couldn't open it."

Her heart sank. He didn't ask her here to confess. But maybe — maybe he just wanted an excuse to see her.

"Did you try the clue on the bottom?" she asked.

"I tried everything."

She took the box. Their fingers brushed. He didn't pull away.

She showed him the tiny engraving. "Press here while turning the top counterclockwise."

Abraham leaned closer. His shoulder touched hers. He smelled like cold air and something metallic — like waiting.

The box clicked open. Inside: "The best puzzles are the ones that keep you coming back."

He read it. Folded it. Pocketed it.

Then he looked at her. "Thanks for the help."

And walked away.

She stood there. Alone. Empty box in hand.

“That's it?”. I said sadly

No confession. No smile. Just thanks.

She'd spent everything. Stayed hungry. Told Lara he was going to confess.

And he used me. May be I was expecting much and expectations always hurt me like always.

She threw the box against the wall. It bounced.

"You okay?" Lara appeared from behind the building.

"No." Her voice cracked. "He just wanted the riddle."

Lara hugged her. "I'm sorry."

"I'm so stupid." Angry tears. Not sad. "He's not mysterious. He's cold." I said and walked away while Lara followed me from behind silently.