PROLOGUE

ELOWEN GARCIA'S POV

An invitation arrived at midnight.

Walang pangalan, at kahit kaonting detalye man lang na magtuturo ng pinanggalingan nito ay wala kang mahahanap.

Ang tanging naroon lamang ay ang pangalan ng isang sikat na bar

Ang Velour Noire.

A bar whispered in hushed tones. Exclusive and Untouchable. A place people like me didn’t belong to unless we were invited.

I should have ignored it.

But that night, my heart was already bruised… and I was tired of being told who I was allowed to be.

“You need me,” my fiancé had said earlier, his voice sharp with certainty. “You wouldn’t last a week on your own. No one would want you without me.”

The words still burned as I stared at my reflection, adjusting the fabric over my skin. I had tried to leave him. Ilang beses ko ng sinabi sa kanya na makikipag-hiwalay na ako, pero hindi siya pumapayag. Paulit-ulit niyang sinasabi sa akin na wala akong silbi kung wala siya, that I shouldn't leave him because he paid for my family's dept and saved us from shame.

Bagay na hindi ko hiniling sa kanya.

Ayaw niya akong pakawalan. Hindi pa kami kasal, pero kung tratuhin niya ako ay daig ko pa ang nakatali sa kanya.

And I wanted to do something about it. I have to prove to him that he's wrong... that I'll be more good without him.

So I went.

Velour Noire glowed like a secret behind velvet curtains and golden light. The moment I stepped inside, I felt it.... the weight of unseen eyes, the hum of quiet power, the kind of atmosphere that promised ruin if you stayed too long.

I checked my phone again.

"Table reserved. Drink waiting. Enjoy the night."

Ilan lamang ito sa mga salitang naroon sa invitation card.

My pulse raced as I approached the bar. The bartender didn’t ask my name. He simply nodded and slid a glass toward me.

“From the gentleman watching you,” kalmado nitong saad na siyang ikinalukot ng aking noo.

I stiffened. “Where?”

His gaze flicked to the shadows.

And that’s when I felt it.

The pair of eyes, that had been staring at me the moment I stepped foot on this place.

I turned—and everything inside me froze.

I saw him. He sat alone, relaxed in a way only powerful men could be. His presence didn’t demand attention… it owned it. His eyes held mine without hesitation, dark and knowing, as if he’d been waiting for this exact moment.

That he's been waiting for me to arrive.

Napalunok ako at halos maminge dahil sa lakas ng pintig ng puso ko. Para bang ilang segundo na lang ay lalabas na ito mula sa katawan ko.

One corner of his mouth curved, not because he smiled, but because of something far more dangerous.

Against every instinct, I moved closer to him.

“Do you always accept invitations from strangers?” he asked, his voice low, smooth and intimate.

“I wanted to prove something,” wlaang pag-aalinlangan kong tugon.

Itinaas niyang muli ang hawak niyang baso nang hindi pa din inaalis sa akin ang tingin.

"Prove something to whom?" kaswal niyang tanong na para bang kilalang-kilala niya ako.

“My fiancé." I said and aomething shifted in his expression, something dark and unreadable.

Bumuntong-hininga siya at pagkatapos ay inilapag niya ang hawak niyang baso.

“Does he know you’re here?” tanong niya ng maibalik na sa akin ang tingin.

Bumaba ang tingin ko sa sahig dahil sa tensyon na bumabalot sa paligid ko. Mariin kong ikinuyom ang aking kamao.

"Hindi," tanging tugon ko at narinig ko ang malutong niyang pagmura.

“He wouldn’t approve,” the man said softly.

I let out a deep breath before I lifted my gaze on him. "I didn’t ask for his permission.”

And that earned a quiet breath of amusement.

“Good,” he murmured. “You shouldn’t.”

At nang natamaan ng ilaw ang kanyang mukha ay agad na nanlamig ang pakiramdam ko. I know him. I saw him in my fiance's family pictures. I heard his name a couple of times with their family conversation.

At hindi ako puwedeng magkamali.

My chest tightened.

“You’re…” My voice faltered. "Jocob Aldeguire..."

Lalong lumalim ang titig niya sa akin. Halos hindi na siya kumukurap na para bang mawawala ako sa paningin niya kapag ginawa niya iyon.

“Yes. I am Jacob Aldeguire, You're fiance's uncle." Aniya at mas lalong bumilis ang tibok ng puso ko.

He's seven years older than me. A dangerous and forbidden man.

“I invited you,” he continued calmly. “Because I wanted to meet the woman my nephew is so desperate to keep.”

Pakiramdam ko ay parang mapupugto ang hininga ko dahil sa titig niya sa akin.

“At bakit mo naman iyon gagawin? Marami kang puwedeng imbitahan kaya bakit ako pa ang napili m--"

“Because he doesn’t deserve you,” he said, enough to make my knees tremble.

He leaned closer, his presence closing in, voice dropping to something meant only for me.

“And I’ve been wanting for you… far longer than I should.”

In that moment, I understood the truth far too late.

At sa mga oras na iyon ay nagkaroon na ng sagot ang mga katanungan na naghahari sa isipan ko.

Hindi nagkataon lang ang pagkaka-imbita sa akin dito. Lahat ng 'to ay pinagplanuhan niya.

"I know... that time comes you'll do this, Elowen." Usal niya at kahit ang paraan ng pagkakabigkas niya ng aking pangalan ay nakakapanindig balahibo.

"He doesn't deserve you, but you won't regret it. If you risk everything and play with me."

I didn’t walk into Jacob Aldeguire’s world by mistake.

I walked into it knowing that once I crossed the line, there would be no turning back.

TO BE CONTINUED....