Falling for my Best Friend’s Brother

Chapter 1

Sonia’s POV

If someone asked me who I was, I’d probably start with the obvious: Sonia Brown, only child of Victor and Rosemary Brown, born on a rainy Tuesday in early spring. But that’s not the whole story. My life isn’t just mine, it’s stitched together with the lives of the people I’ve loved for as long as I can remember.

My parents weren’t just my parents; they were my anchors. My mother had a way of making every room warmer the moment she stepped into it, even if all she did was set down a cup of tea and smile. My father was steady in the way mountains are steady, dependable, unshakable, always there when I needed him. Being their only child didn’t mean I was spoiled; it meant I was surrounded. Surrounded by their attention, their patience, and their belief that I could be anything.

And then, there was Molly Lim.

Molly wasn’t just my best friend, she was my other half. We met before either of us could spell each other’s names. Our mothers had been inseparable since university, and by default, so were we. Every milestone in my life has her in the background somewhere, school projects, sleepovers, scraped knees, our first heartbreaks. I can’t remember a version of my life that didn’t have Molly in it.

Her parents, Clara and Lewis Lim, never made me feel like an outsider. The Lim estate was practically my second home, its long marble hallways and manicured gardens as familiar to me as my own bedroom. Clara had this elegance about her, the kind you can’t teach, but she could also be fiercely protective. She called me her “second daughter” so often that sometimes I forgot it wasn’t true. Lewis was quieter, more reserved, but his presence had a weight to it, like he could see straight through any pretenses you tried to put up.

And then there was Alexander.

Molly’s older brother. The boy I’d been hopelessly, pathetically in love with since I was old enough to understand what love was.

Alexander Lim was… impossible. Impossible to ignore, impossible to reach, impossible to forget. As children, he was the one I followed around like a shadow, trailing behind him and Molly as they climbed trees or raced bikes down the long driveway. He was already everything I wasn’t, fearless, magnetic, always the center of attention without even trying.

Somewhere along the way, he became every girl’s dream. By the time he was in college, he had that kind of presence that made people turn in a room. Tall, broad-shouldered, dark hair always falling just so, and eyes that could be both lazy and sharp at the same time. And the smile… God, the smile…. the one he threw at the world like it was a dare.

Of course, he always had someone on his arm. Different girls, different types, but always beautiful. There was one, though, who lasted longer than the rest, Hayley. She was the only one I ever thought might keep him. She was poised, sophisticated, the kind of woman who looked like she belonged in the glossy magazines his mother read. I hated her on sight, though I’d never admit it out loud. Then one day, Hayley was gone, and Alexander went back to being… Alexander.

Now, Molly and I are in our final year of college, both of us at the same university, the same way we’ve always been, side by side. Alexander graduated years ago and, true to Lim family tradition, was handed the reins of his father’s company almost immediately. Not just handed, Lewis made it clear he trusted Alexander enough to let him lead. And he did, with the same effortless confidence he carried into everything else.

That afternoon, Molly and I were sprawled across her bed in the estate’s guest wing, textbooks scattered between us. She was chewing on a pencil, pretending to study.

“You’re staring at the ceiling like it’s going to give you the answers,” she teased without looking at me.

I sighed, flipping a page without reading it. “I’m just thinking.”

“About?” She smirked knowingly. “Let me guess. Starts with an ‘A’ and ends with a giant ego.”

I threw a pillow at her, but she dodged easily. “I’m not…”

“You are. You’ve had that same dreamy face since he came back from that business trip last week. You think I don’t notice?”

Before I could argue, the door creaked open and the man himself walked in. Alexander, in a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, tie loosened just enough to look like he wasn’t trying. He leaned against the doorway, one brow raised.

“You two still pretending to study?” His voice was deep, warm, with just enough teasing to make my stomach flip.

Molly groaned. “We were, until you interrupted. Don’t you have important CEO things to do?”

He smirked. “I do. But I also heard someone’s been avoiding me.” His eyes flicked to mine, and my pulse did its usual stupid sprint.

“I haven’t been avoiding you,” I lied.

He tilted his head, like he was deciding whether to call me out. “Sure, Brown.” And then he was gone, his footsteps fading down the hall.

Molly grinned. “Yep. Totally not avoiding him.”

I shoved another pillow at her.

By the time evening rolled around, I’d gone back to my parents’ house for dinner. The Browns’ dining table was smaller than the Lims’, but it was mine, warm, filled with the smell of my mother’s cooking and the low hum of my father’s voice telling me about his day.

“You’re quiet tonight, sweetheart,” my mother said, reaching across to touch my hand.

“Just tired,” I said. And maybe a little distracted by the way Alexander had looked at me earlier.

After dinner, they told me they had a gala to attend, one of those endless charity events the Lims were always hosting or sponsoring. I kissed them both goodbye at the door, watching my father help my mother into her coat, their movements so familiar it almost hurt.

“Don’t stay up too late,” my father called as they left.

“I won’t,” I promised.

Hours later, I was in bed, the soft glow of my phone lighting up my face as I scrolled aimlessly. The first call didn’t register, I thought it was a wrong number. The second one made me sit up. It was Molly.

Her voice was shaking when I answered. “Sonia… it’s your parents. There’s been an accident.”

The world tilted, and the phone nearly slipped from my hand.