Chapter 3 - Chapter 3 - Spark in the Open

On Friday morning, the city was slowly waking up to the sounds of vendors and the smell of coffee. But in University Square, the scene was completely different. A group of students gathered around a heated standoff between two young men—one wearing a smart suit and sporting a defiant look, the other responding with blazing anger in his eyes. "Rayan Al-Asi, do you want to brag about your name here as if you own the place?" "And you, Samer Al-Hashemi, should know your limits before speaking to me like that." Voices rose, and the argument nearly turned into a brawl, had the guard not intervened. Amid the chaos, Layan stood frozen, watching the scene with a pale face. She never imagined that her brother would clash with Rayan—the young man whose face still haunted her since the rainy day. When their eyes met for a moment in the crowd, a strange shiver ran through her body, a mixture of fear and longing that she still didn't understand. As for him, he smiled faintly, as if the conflict was only the beginning of a game bigger than anyone could imagine.