Chapter 32 night when water witnessed everything.
??R18+ (slight)??
;)
It's been a few hours...
The numbers on my phone screen glowed harshly in the dark, mocking me. I stared at them until my eyes burned, then let the device slip from my trembling fingers, landing softly against the cold, wet tiles beside me.
A few hours of worries.
A few hours of waiting, and overthinking.
It's been a few hours since she sent that text, and kanina pa ako nag aantay dito—staring blackly at the water. This situation shattered every bit of excitement I had been building all afternoon.
I let out a bitter, choked laugh that sounded more like a sob, echoing softly against the quiet hum of the night.
Soon. She said she'd be home soon. That was hours ago.
since I stood by the front door with my car keys in hand, ready to drive to her office and pick her up like I promised.
since I rushed my own appointments just so I could spend the whole evening with her.
I shifted my gaze toward the round table set up just a few feet away by the pool edge. My chest tightened painfully, a familiar heavy weight settling right in the center of my heart.
Lahat ng plano ko para saamin ngayong gabi, it all didn't work out.
I pulled my knees tighter against my chest, wrapping my arms around them as if trying to hold myself together before I completely shattered.
I was sitting barefoot on the cold tiles, the dampness seeping through my thin cotton shorts, chilling my skin right to the bone.
My hair was pulled up in a messy, loose bun that was already half falling apart, strands sticking to my damp forehead and neck.
I wasn't wearing any makeup, just the faint trace of the mascara that had run hours ago when the tears first started falling.
I looked down at the oversized white shirt I was wearing.
It was hers. One of her old button-downs she left here months ago.
It still smelled faintly of her perfume, expensive jasmine and something sharp and distinct that was purely Iris.
I buried my face against the fabric for a second, inhaling deeply, trying to draw some comfort from it, but it only made the ache worse.
Ang sakit lang isipin. It hurts so much just by thinking about it. the waiting turned into torture.
I've been calling her, kanina pa talaga. Ni isa sa mga tawag ko ay hindi niya sinasagot. Hindi ko alam kung naka off ba ang cellphone niya, or if she was really ignoring me.
I wrapped my arms around myself tighter, shivering as the night breeze blew harder, rustling the palm leaves above me and rippling the blue water of the pool. The moon was high above, casting long shadows across the grass, na parang sinasamahan akong masaktan dito.
"Please... Iris..." I sobbed quietly, my head falling onto my knees. "Umuwi ka na. Please lang... umuwi ka na sa akin." I whispered to myself as my tears slowly falling from my eyes. Come home already. Just please... come home to me. Umuwi ka lang ng ligtas at ako parin ang mahal mo. Please...
I didn't know if I was begging the stars... or begging her. I just knew that if she didn't show up soon... I wasn't sure how much more of this breaking I could take.
And then... suddenly... cutting through the silence... I heard it.
The loud, familiar sound of an engine pulling into my driveway. Headlights swept across the garden, blindingly bright, illuminating every corner of the dark yard.
My breath hitched. My whole body froze.
Someone is here. She is here.
But as the car engine died down and the headlights cut off, replaced by the sound of a car door slamming shut... a terrifying thought crossed my mind.
She's here.
But in what state is she coming back to me?
I can hear her heels slowly approaching towards my direction. Every step felt like a heavy hammer striking right against my chest.
Hindi ko agad itinaas ang ulo ko. I couldn't. Even with my eyes cast down, ramdam na ramdam ko pa rin ang presensya niya. Her energy, her scent, the familiar weight of her that used to feel exactly like home... but tonight... parang sandata na nakatutok mismo sa puso ko.
Huminto siya ilang feet lang ang layo, lingering in the dark shadows cast by the tall palm trees. When finally, pilit kong iniangat ang tingin ko sa kanya. I bit the inside of my cheek, just to stop myself from breaking down completely all over again.
Iris looked terrible.
The Atty. Chiara Iris Valenti everyone feared and admired, perfect, polished, untouchable.
..was gone. Standing in front of me was a stranger.
Her usually sleek, jet black hair was loose and wild, strands sticking to her forehead and neck like she'd been running her hands through it for hours.
Her signature sharp winged liner was smudged, dark streaks of dried tears tracing paths down her pale cheeks.
Yung coat na suot niya kanina, the first few buttons was off, exposing her shoulder.
Her silk blouse was wrinkled like she'd been tugging at it the whole night.
She looked exhausted. She looked guilty. But worst of all... she looked like she was trying so hard not to care.
Slowly, she walked forward. But instead of coming to me, instead of talking to me like I'd imagined a hundred times while waiting... she walked past me.
She removed her heels, at tinaas niya ang kaniyang trouser pants.
Tumabi siya saakin sa gilid ng pool, but there's a gap.
Leavinv a dangerous, painful distance between us.
She pulled her knees close together, wrapped her arms tight around herself, and stared blankly at the rippling water of the pool, refusing to meet my eyes.
The silence stretched, thick and suffocating. The crickets chirped loudly, the water lapped against the tiles, and somewhere far away, a dog barked. But between us? It was dead quiet. It was the kind of silence that screamed louder than any shout ever could.
I waited. I gave her a chance. I wanted her to explain.
Inantay ko lang siyang magsalita para maintindihan ko, dahil gusto ko siyang intindihin kahit minsan ang labo talaga.
I wanted her to say "Sorry I'm late, baby, traffic was terrible" or "Work dragged on forever.
" Just... anything to make those hours valid.
At first, I almost believed her e. But who goes on a private meeting with client late at night, and the meeting took up almost her entire night
But she said nothing. She just sat there, shivering slightly in the cold night air, acting as if she hadn't just left me here drowning in worry and pain.
That cold indifference was the spark that lit the fire inside me.
I straightened my back, wiping the remaining tears off my cheeks with the back of my hand, my movements sharp and rough. My voice, when I finally spoke, was low, flat, and terrifyingly calm. Nothing like the sobbing mess I'd been minutes ago.
"Where have you been?" Pinilit kong magsalita ng maayos, but my voice cut through the air like a blade.
I saw her flinch. Her shoulders tensed, but she still didn't look at me. She stared harder at the water, her fingers picking nervously at a loose thread on her slacks.
"...Busy."
One word. Just one word. Spoken so softly, so dismissively, like I was asking where she bought her coffee instead of demanding to know where the love of my life had been for half the night.
A dry, bitter laugh bubbled up my throat, escaping before I could stop it. I shook my head, staring at her like she had lost her mind.
"Busy." I repeated, dragging the word out, lacing it with every ounce of pain and anger I held back. "nang ilang oras, Iris? That is one very long meeting you had."
I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, eyes locked onto her profile, refusing to let her hide anymore.
"I am here, panicking, thinking something happened to you." My voice cracked, just for a second, before I steeled it again. "And now you come back... looking like that... tignan mo nga yung sitwasyon mo, and all you can say is you were busy?"
She finally turned her head to look at me. Her eyes were glistening, dark and stormy, but her jaw was set in that stubborn, defensive line I knew too well.
"May mga bagay na kailangan kong asikasuhin, Zarya. You know how my job is—"
"BULLSHIT!"
I exploded, jumping up from my seat so fast the bench scraped loudly against the concrete. I couldn't take it anymore. The lies. The excuses. The way she tried to reduce my agony to just "work things."
"Don't you dare use work as an excuse with me!
" I shouted, tears spilling over again, hot and angry this time.
"I am a doctor, remember? I know what an emergency case looks like.
I know what overtime means. And this?" I gestured wildly up and down her body.
"This isn't work stress, Iris. And I think alam ko kung sino ang kasama mo.
I think I know exactly who you were with. "
Her face paled instantly. The color drained right out of her lips. She froze, her breath hitching audibly in her throat. And that reaction alone... was all the answer I needed.
My heart sank right into the pit of my stomach, heavy and broken.
"Sino kasama mo?" I whispered, my voice trembling, the anger shifting into pure, raw terror. "Tell me, Iris. Sino ang kasama mo buong gabi?"
She looked away again, her lower lip quivering. She couldn't say it. She was too much of a coward to say it to my face.
"Ryan."
It wasn't even a question anymore. It was a verdict.
"You were with Ryan." I said the name like it tasted like poison. Like it was a curse.
She nodded slowly, barely visible, but I saw it. "...Yes."
The world tilted. The ground beneath my feet felt unsteady. I gripped the back of the bench to keep from collapsing.
I knew it. My heart knew it all along. But hearing her say it... hearing her confirm it... it was a thousand times worse than I imagined.
Hindi niya alam gaano ako nag alala, hindi niya alam anong pwedeng mangyari kapag nahuli sila ni tito Bernard.
"Ryan." I repeated, hollow and numb. "So all this time... while I was here going crazy... crying over you... you were with him?"
"Zarya, let me explain—" She started, reaching a hand out toward me, but I stepped back, flinching away from her touch like she had burned me.
"Oh sige, explain mo saakin. That you forgot about me the second he picked you up?
That you prefer his company over mine?!" I screamed, my chest heaving.
"Iris akala ko ba wala lang lahat sa inyo?
then ganito ang mangyayari? Alam ko naman na you can't say no to him lalo na at boyfriend mo parin siya sa paningin niya.
I even thought that you would end things with him sooner—"
"I did! I am ending it! But tonight—"
"Tonight what?! Tonight was special?!" I cut her off, laughing hysterically through my tears. "What happened tonight, huh? Did he take you to a fancy dinner? Did he buy you expensive things? Ano?! Tell me! What did he do that was so important you had to shut me out completely?!"
I was yelling now, I didn't care about anything but the pain tearing me apart.
Iris stood up too now. She looked just as wrecked as I felt. Her hands were shaking violently as she clasped them together in front of her chest. Her eyes were wide and terrified, staring at me like she knew the words she was about to say would destroy me.
She looked me straight in the eye, and whispered the sentence that shattered my entire world into dust.
"He... Ryan... He asked me to run away with him.He proposed to me tonight, Zarya."
Time seems to stop.
The air left my lungs. My ears started ringing so loud I couldn't hear the crickets anymore. I stared at her, my brain refusing to process the words. I waited for her to laugh, to say "Just kidding." or "See how scared you got?"
But she didn't laugh. She just stood there, crying.
"...Proposed?" I mouthed the word, soundless at first, before my voice came out as a broken shriek. "and what?" my knees buckling until I slid down the wall, sitting hard on the tiles. "Ano ang sagot mo, Iris?! What did you say?!"
Tanong na halos ayaw kong sagutin niya, I am scared for her to say "yes" kasi bakit naman hindi?He has everything to offer. Money, power, status, a normal life. I'm just the complication. We are just the secret we both try to hide in the dark.
"Did you say yes?!" I cried, looking up at her through blurry vision, feeling like my soul was being ripped out of my body. "Did you accept his ring?! Did you agree to marry him?!"
"yun nalang ba yun?" I sobbed.
I buried my face in my hands, letting out a wail of pure agony. "I lost you again... I lost you to him..."
"NO! ZARYA, STOP!" Bigla na lang lumuhod si Iris sa harap ko. She grabbed my wrists roughly, yanking my hands away from my face, sobrang higpit at desperado ang hawak niya, parang takot na takot siyang mawala ako kahit isang saglit lang.
Mas malakas pa siyang umiyak kaysa sa akin ngayon.
Her nose was running, her usually sharp, fierce eyes red, puffy and swollen.
Wala na kahit kaunting bakas ng matapang at seryosong Atty.
Valenti that everyone knows. The cold, unbothered, composed mask she wore so perfectly?
It shattered into absolutely nothing right before my eyes, leaving only the broken, terrified woman.
"LOOK AT ME! Makinig ka sa akin! Listen to me, please!" She begged, shaking me slightly, forcing me to focus on her.
Her eyes bore into mine, wild and fierce and full of a love I almost didn't believe existed anymore.
"I said NO, Zarya! hindi ako pumayag." She shouted the words at the top of her lungs, echoing across the quiet place.
"I rejected him, I left him there on his knees all alone" She pressed her forehead against mine, her hands moving to cup my wet cheeks, holding me like I was the only thing keeping her alive.
"He tricked me, zar. Ang sabi niya it's all about you.
That's the only reason I went with him. He took me to a his private beach, set up candles and roses.
.. and he asked me to marry him. But..." She choked on a sob desperately.
"But the moment he asked... the only person in my mind. .. the only face I saw... was you."
My breath caught. The panic, the absolute devastation gripping my chest... started to loosen, thread by thread.
"You... you said no?" I whispered, disbelieving, my voice trembling. "You didn't say yes?"
"NEVER." Iris swore fiercely, shaking her head, her thumbs wiping my tears away. "There is only one person I would ever say 'Yes' to, Zarya. Only one person I would ever want to build a life with. And that person is you. Ikaw yun, It has always been you. Ikaw lang."
For a long moment, we just stayed there, on the cold grass, holding onto each other like lifelines, crying into each other's necks. The relief washing over me was so strong I felt lightheaded.
She didn't say yes. She didn't choose him. She chose me.
But just as my heart started to calm down, I started to believe we were finally okay... bigla kong naramdaman ang paninigas ng buong katawan niya sa yakap ko.
Her body went completely rigid, parang biglang nilamig ang buong paligid sa isang iglap.
She pulled back slowly, dahan dahan siyang lumayo nang kaunti sa akin, her expression shifting so fast..
.from the softest, warmest love I'd ever seen.
.. straight to pure, unadulterated fear.
Yung takot na nakita ko sa mga mata niya?
Hindi lang basta kaba... it was the kind that chills you right down to your very bones.
She looked at me with eyes full of warning, parang sinusubukan niyang iparating sa akin nang walang salita na mas masama, mas mabigat pa ang darating kaysa sa inaakala ko.
"But Zarya..." She whispered, sobrang hina at pagod ng boses niya na parang takot siyang marinig ng hangin ang mga sasabihin niya, her voice dropping to a grave, terrified tone...yung tono na hindi ko pa narinig mula sa kanya kahit kailan.
"You have to understand... I ended things with him tonight." She swallowed hard, glancing around the dark garden as if she was afraid someone was listening.
"Iris, listen to me... kilala ko si Ryan.
I know him very well." I started, shaking my head slowly.
"He is a good man, yes. Alam kong mabuti siyang tao.
.. but he is not the type of man who gives up easily.
Hindi siya yung klase ng lalaki na basta na lang susuko kapag hindi nakuha ang gusto niya. "
I swallowed hard, remembering the way Ryan used to fight for what he wanted back when we were younger, stubborn, relentless, obsessive almost.
"Earlier... you said he was ready to leave everything behind just to marry you.
Kaya pala... If he is capable of throwing away his family, his fortune, and his whole future.
.. just for you..." My grip on her jaw tightened slightly, emphasizing my point.
"...Then do you honestly think he will just let you walk away?
Sa tingin mo ba hahayaan ka lang niyang umalis nang ganun ganun na lang?
He won't, Iris. Hahabulin ka niya. He will come after you.
.. he will chase you... and he will do absolutely everything in his power just to get you back. "
Biglang inilayo ni Iris ang mukha niya mula sa mga kamay ko, her eyes instantly flashing with that familiar, fiery defianc. She crossed her arms over her chest, looked sharp and proud just like always.
"Let him come." She spat out, her voice cold and sharp as a blade. "If he comes after me... kahit magmakaawa pa siya, or kneel again. Kahit ibigay pa niya ang buong mundo sa akin... I will push him farther. Mas itataboy ko pa siya."
She stepped closer to me again, jabbing a finger against her own chest with so much force it looked painful.
"He thinks he knows me? If he tries to force his way back into my life... I will make sure he regrets ever meeting me."
A sad, weary sigh escaped my lips. I reached out and pulled her back into my embrace, wrapping my arms tight around her waist until there was no space left between us. I rested my chin on top of her head, shaking it slowly against her hair.
"Not as easy as that, Iris." I whispered softly, but the warning in my tone was clear as day.
"Hindi ganoon lang kadali." I continued, my voice heavy with worry. "Ryan isn't just going to fight you with words or grand romantic gestures. Hindi lang flowers or flattering words ang gagamitin niya."
I pulled back just enough to look at her face again, staring deep into those stormy grey eyes.
"So please... pakiusap lang, Iris." I begged, taking her hands and pressing desperate kisses to her knuckles. "Let's be smart about this. Let's be careful. Maging maingat tayo, para sa isa't isa."
My gaze turned pleading, serious and intense.
"Do not let anyone know about us. Walang dapat makaalam. Not your secretary, not your fellow lawyers, not tita Clara... especially Ryan." I stressed, my tone firm. "Just for the meantime. Sandali lang 'to... hangga't hindi pa okay saakin ang lahat."
Silence hung between us for a few seconds. Iris stared at me, her bottom lip trembling, tears welling up in her eyes again. She pulled her hands from mine and wrapped her arms around herself, looking suddenly so small and exhausted.
"...How long?" She whispered, her voice cracking. "Gaano katagal pa, Zarya?"
She looked up at me, pain etched into every line of her face.
"How long do we have to keep hiding?" Her voice broke completely.
My heart shattered hearing her pain, but I knew I had to stay strong for both of us. I stepped forward and cupped her face again, wiping away the fresh tears spilling down her cheeks with my thumbs. I looked at her with all the determination and love I had in my soul.
"Just a little while longer, my love. Kaunti na lang...I promise."
I took a deep breath, preparing to tell her the plan that had been sitting in the back of my mind for months, the whole reason I took that huge project in Italy in the first place.
"Just let me finish the land bidding in Italy.
" I said slowly, watching her eyes widen slightly.
"You know the land I'm talking about, right?
That massive estate by the coast that my father has been eyeing for years?
Ang lupang iyon... iyon ang pinaka-importanteng bagay na hinahangad ng kumpanya namin. "
I nodded, a confident, sharp glint entering my eyes.
"I am leading the bid. And... sigurado ako... mananalo ako." I promised fiercely. "I will secure that land for him. I will hand it over to him on a silver platter... but it will come with a very high price."
I leaned closer, resting my forehead against hers, my voice dropping to a whisper that held the weight of my entire future.
"Once I give him what he wants... hihingin ko naman ang gusto ko kapalit noon."
"He gets the land... and in exchange...I demand freedom"
Iris held her breath, hanging onto every single word.
"I will tell him he can keep his company, his legacy, his empire... but he cannot control me anymore. Hindi na siya makakapagdesisyon para sa akin. Hindi na niya ako mapipilit sa mga bagay na ayaw ko."
I pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her lips, pouring every ounce of my soul into it.
"And once I am free from his chains... kapag hawak ko na ang buhay ko nang buo..." I pulled back just enough to look her in the eye, my expression deadly serious and full of promise.
"...I will come back here, Iris. I will stand right in the middle of the city, in front of everyone... and I will claim you. Ipagsisigawan ko sa buong mundo kung ano ang meron tayo."
"We won't have to hide anymore. Wala nang pagtatago. Wala nang kasinungalingan." I vowed, my voice thick with emotion. "No more secrets. No more fear. Just... us."
I hugged her tight against my chest, rocking her gently as she cried happy tears this time, clutching my shirt like it was her anchor.
"Just wait a little longer for me, Atty. Valenti...." I whispered against her hair.
Hindi na kami nakapagsalita pa. Words were useless now. After all the crying, the shouting, the confessions, and the terrifying promises... there was only one way left to prove how much I needed her, how much she belonged to me and me alone.
I stepped forward, my hands shooting out to grip her waist tight, pulling her body flush against mine until there was absolutely no space left between us.
Parang natunaw siya sa hawak ko, her defiant, sharp demeanor crumbling instantly the moment our bodies collided.
Before she could even gasp or say a single word, I crashed my lips onto hers. ..rough, desperate, and starving.
This wasn't the soft, gentle kiss of comfort.
This was claiming. This was me marking her, reminding her, reminding us both, that no threat, no war, no powerful family in this world could ever change the fact that she was mine.
Ang halik ko ay puno ng lahat ng takot, galit, at pagmamahal na kinikimkim ko buong gabi.
I kissed her like I was drowning and she was my only air, biting gently on her lower lip until she moaned, a low, vibrating sound that shot straight down to my core.
Her hands flew up, tangling roughly into my hair, tugging at the strands hard enough to sting, and I loved every second of it. "Zarya..." She whimpered against my mouth, her voice already breathless and wrecked.
"Mine." I growled against her lips, I am claiming every bit of you..Iris. My hands sliding down her back, gripping her hips possessively as I ground her closer to me. "You are mine, Iris."
Slowly, deliberately, I trailed my hot, open mouthed kisses away from her wet lips, down the sharp line of her jaw, and right onto the sensitive skin of her neck.
Nanginig ang buong katawan niya, while I am craving for it more and more, her head falling back to give me better access, exposing the long, elegant column of her throat to my mercy.
I licked, sucked, and bit at the soft flesh, leaving wet, burning traces of my love all over her skin. "Do you feel this?" I whispered darkly against her pulse point, feeling it hammering wildly beneath my lips, matching the frantic beat of my own heart. "This is yours."
I moved lower, reaching the sensitive slope of her nape, that one spot I knew drove her absolutely crazy.
"AH... Z-Zarya..." She cried out, her fingers digging painfully into my shoulders, her body arching shamelessly against mine.
Her legs trembled so hard I had to hold her up, my arms locking around her like steel bars.
"You like that, baby?" I teased lowly, my breath hot against her damp skin. "Dito ka ba mahina? Hmm?" I nipped at the skin there, hard enough to leave a mark, a mark only I knew how to find, a mark that serves as my property.
The last time we were like this, she took control and satisfied her own hunger first... but tonight? Ako naman muna, Iris. Tonight, I'm going to worship every inch of you until you forget your own name.
I spun us around, itinulak siya paatras hanggang sa nadiin ang likod niya sa wall ng pool area. The contrast between the freezing cold stone and our burning, heated bodies sent sharp electric shocks running straight through our veins. Parang kuryenteng dumaloy sa aming dalawa.
My knee pushed between her legs, dahan-dahang pinaghiwalay ang mga ito. That scalding heat I could feel radiating off her, strong enough to burn me even through the thick layers of our clothes. Ramdam na ramdam ko ang init na iyon, even with her think layer of coat.
Her eyes were half lidded, dark and hazy with lust, her lipstick smeared, cheeks flushed a deep, delicious shade of pink. She looked wrecked. She looked perfect. She looked exactly like mine.
She's about to get out of her sanity . Para siyang nawala sa sarili dahil sa akin. She looked absolutely wrecked...Pero sa paningin ko? She has never looked more perfect.
And as I stared at her disheveled, breathless, falling apart just from my touch... a dark, possessive satisfaction flooded my chest.
Sa itsura niya ngayon...every kisses, bawat tingin niya... bawat hininga niya... She looked exactly, undeniably... MINE.
"Zarya...let's get inside...hmm" She whispered pleadingly, her hips instinctively grinding against my thigh, her chest heaving. "Please... hindi ko na kaya..."
I smirked, a wicked, hungry expression crossing my face as I leaned down to capture her mouth again deeper, harder, more consuming than before.
My hands wandered everywhere, touching, caressing, claiming every inch of her I could reach, my fingers slipping under the hem of her coat to touch the warm, smooth skin of her waist.
"Then beg me, attorney." I murmured against her lips, my voice thick with desire.
She opened her mouth to answer, her eyes shining with love and absolute surrender...
And just as her breath hitched, just as her lips were about to form the words I was dying to hear...
We were plunged into complete, suffocating darkness, leaving only the sound of our ragged breathing, pounding hearts... and the dangerous, burning promise of everything that was about to happen next.
She is mine, and only mine.
I fought the whole world once to leave her, and now? I will burn the whole world down just to keep her.