Happy Monday Folks. Guess what. Today, I’m sharing with you a tiny excerpt from my novel Camouflage.
Setting: Thailand
Cast and Characters: Asian and American
Genre: Umm, Not sure
OK, I’m not able to decide the genre of the book as it stretches from being a romantic suspense to a psychological thriller. But, one thing I can assure you, that if you love reading romance books with lots and lots of intrigue, suspense, twists, thrills, and cliffhangers, this book is for you.
Warning #1: It’s a fast-paced romance with action happening at each paragraph. Don’t blame me if it keeps you biting your nails and at the edge of your seat all the time.
Warning #2: The book has adult content and strong language. 18+
See what reviewers are saying about Camouflage
“A great combination of love and intrigue. Highly recommended to fans of romantic suspense.” ~ Annie Arcane, author of Hartbroken Series
“I’ll just say that this unusual little novel captivated me and kept me up half the night reading.” ~ Page LaRue
“Everything about this book was a page turner.” ~ J. Saman, author of Start Again series
“Hasnain weaves a complex mystery with many layers to peel away as you go. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a good mystery with a splash of romance to spice things up.” ~ Melissa Copeland, author of Solitary
I longed for her touch, her kiss, her affection and found myself slipping into a state from which I never recovered.
My heart ached as I realized Sheina was miles away from me. I never believed in love, and now I couldn’t stop myself falling in love. For a moment, I forgot all the physical trauma and mental conflicts and savored the feel of falling for a girl whom I’d known for only a couple of months.
It was nothing more than just a physical attraction and I never acknowledged her growing affection towards me. She was always there even when I behaved rudely and ignored her.
I felt ashamed and apologetic for not treating her the way she deserved to be.
“You are my princess, darling though I’m not a prince,” I mumbled under my breath.
What’s this happening to me? Why I’m feeling so drawn to her? How can I be mentally unstable and physically frail but still feeling so healthy and energetic?
Is this what is called love? If it is I’m in love. I’m in love with Sheina. I can’t imagine my life without her. I miss you Sheina, please come back to me.
Playing my favorite song – Patience from Guns’ n Roses – Shed a tear ’cause I’m missin’ you, on my cell phone, I wallowed in that sweet pain that I’d been experiencing since she had left me alone in the tranquility of her living room.
I need to tell her how much I love her, let her come and I’ll never let her go. I’ll enclose her in my arms forever and ever till the end of this world.
I groggily walked up to the closet. An M-shaped gold pendant, secured neatly through the pins onto the red velvety floor of the jewelry box, shone brightly.
This is the only lifeless object in this entire world that I can never buy, and now I want to give it to Sheina, the woman I love the most after my mom. She is the one who deserves my mom’s keepsake.
I came back to the recliner and allowed my memories to flow freely. As I put my ear buds on, relaxing on the recliner, old reminiscences flooded my mind.
It was a usual day for me. Glaring the cursor for an hour or so, I was about to type the first sentence when the penetrating sound of the doorbell hampered the flow of creative juices.
“Who the heck has come now?” I felt irritated but managed to walk down the stairs to get the door.
A Thai girl in her early twenties was standing on the doorstep. My anger and irritation faded away seeing the pretty face at my door. For a moment, I found myself lost in her distinct Siamese charms. She was smiling vibrantly displaying the spontaneity of her personality.
“Hi! I’m Sheina. I’ve moved next door. Sorry to bother you but my bathroom shower knob has got jammed. I’ve called the community plumber, but I think they’d take some time. I’ve to report to work in an hour and I was wondering if you could help me out?” She maintained eye contact with me.
An expression of nervousness on her cute, typically Asian face and the requesting glint in her slanting eyes compelled me to go with her.
“This way please.” She led me to her flat. There were heavy cartons of goods and packed furniture pieces lying on the tiled flooring of the tiny living room.
We made our way to the shower room. I tried to rotate the shower knob, but it didn’t move.
“Have you got a wrench?” I asked her.
“Oh…I’m afraid I don’t,” she replied.
“Fine, I’ll get mine.” I reached my flat and quickly located the wrench in the tool box.
A slight pressure on the wrench rotated the knob, and it started working. Drizzles of cold water started pouring on my T-shirt, and I stepped aside to avoid the droplets of water.
“Oh! It started working.” She smiled jubilantly.
I came out of the bathroom.
“Thank you so much, Mr…I didn’t ask your name.”
“Mark, Mark Statler,” I replied, walking in between the scattered cartons of packed goods.
“Thanks again Mark, see you in the evening.” Hearing my name in her sensuously soft and soothing voice compelled me to look back, and I gazed at her prettiness wearing a goodbye smile on my face.
After that, she started dropping in every now and again, most of the time in need of something, and I helped her readily, unaware that one day I would succumb to her Thai charms and would yearn for her just like the parched sands of the dessert yearn for rain.
We started spending quality time with each other. I cherished her company, and we struck the chord pretty well talking about our hobbies and interests, during which I got a chance to know more about her.
She had a deep passion for helping the orphans and that was the only reason she moved from SuanPhueng to Bangkok when she got an offer to work as a coordinator at the MalaiDek Orphanage located in the Phaya Thai district.
The charity organization had provided shelter, food, and education to more than thirteen-thousand kids from various districts of Thailand, most of them had lost their parents to the deadly hands of AIDS than to any other cause of death. Sheina was involved with the fund-raising event management program.
I was pleasantly surprised to find a friend in Sheina, one who shared her passion for helping the poor and needy with me. We were not polls apart, but our characteristics and natures were almost opposite, and I believed that’s what I liked most about her.
Want to read more, download Free sample chapters of Camouflage
Happy Reading!
~MH
