Chapter 6

Linden scrambled to her feet, accidentally dumping a disgruntled Winston onto the rug. "Evren? I mean—Sir Evren. Ano'ng ginagawa ninyo dito? Wala pang 6 pm. May emergency ba sa mansyon?"

"No. You're the emergency, Linden. I couldn't spend another fucking day reading your notes without claiming what's mine."

Linden froze, her entire body locking into place as his words reverberated through her core. The sheer physical scale of him up close was terrifyingly overwhelming. He was still in his white chef's uniform. It was pristine, yet radiating a chaotic, raw heat that felt completely foreign to the sterile, minimalist living room. His hands, large and calloused from years of handling heavy steel knives and open flames, tightened around her waist, anchoring her flush against his solid chest.

Claiming what's mine.

Ang utak ni Linden, na madalas ay punong-puno ng mga definition at theory mula sa kanyang mga textbook, ay biglang nag-blanko. High-order cognitive functioning completely collapsed, na-replace ito ng isang primitive, primal alarm.

"Evren..." she breathed out, her hands instinctively coming up to press against his broad chest to create even an inch of distance. But her fingers only sank into his uniform, feeling the rapid, heavy thud of his heartbeat. "You're crossing a boundary. In psychological terms, this is an extreme violation of professional space."

How could a fine man be like this toward her? Hindi pa rin maisip ni Linden kung bakit ganito sa kaniya si Evren, ang boss niyang mukhang pwedeng umorder ng babae dahil sa awra nito.

Evren let out a low and rough chuckle that vibrated directly against her collarbone. He didn't let go. Instead, his grip shifted, one large hand sliding down to the small of her back to press her even closer, while his other hand came up to cup her jaw, his thumb dragging deliberately across her lower lip.

"I don't give a damn about your psychological terms right now, Linden," he murmured. His eyes were dark, dilated, and intensely focused on her mouth. "I’ve been stuck on a floating fortress in the middle of the Pacific, recalling the words in that logbook of a woman who treats my house like a lab and my cats like patients. You’ve been playing with fire through that notebook, Doctor. Did you really think I wouldn't come back to see who was pulling the strings?"

In her head, Linden admitted that she enjoyed writing back on the logbook na hinaluan niya ng kaunting kapilyahan.

"I was just doing my job!" tanggol niya sa sarili, bagamat ang boses niya ay wala nang kapangyarihan. Mukha siyang timang. She was a twenty-six-year-old woman, independent and sharp-tongued, yet she was currently trembling in the arms of her billionaire employer like a cliché romance trope. "The contract said to manage their behavioral issues. Sabi mo pa nga sa notes, nakatulong sa'yo!"

"It did," Evren whispered, his gaze flicking up to lock into hers, his expression softening into something dangerously predatory. "But every time I read your sharp little comebacks, every time you told me how to use a firm, dominant touch... I wasn't thinking about Siam, Linden. I was thinking about you."

Before she could process the sheer audacity of his confession, Evren tilted her head back. He didn't kiss her—not yet. He merely leaned down, his nose brushing against the soft skin of her neck, inhaling deeply.

Linden let out a soft, involuntary gasp as his warm breath hit her skin.

"You're wearing it," Evren growled, a dark, satisfied smirk spreading against her neck. "The French lavender oil I left for you in the pool house. I knew it would smell like absolute sin on you."

Huli na naman.

Umakyat ang matinding hiya at init sa mukha ni Linden. She had actually used the oil he left two days ago, thinking she could get away with it since he wasn't supposed to be home for another week. Feeling his mouth trace the sensitive line of her jaw, a sudden, intense ache blossomed deep in her lower abdomen, heavy and demanding. Her defense mechanisms were completely failing. The professional barrier she had painstakingly built over the past month was melting under the relentless, suffocating heat of his presence.

"Bakit ka kasi nag-iiwan ng mabango sa banyo?" asik ni Linden habang namumula ang mga tainga.

"So, it's my fault?" Evren raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just kidding. Kaunti lang naman ginamit ko. Hindi ko alam na sobrang kapit pala ng amoy." Linden shyly smiled. Hindi niya kakayaning makipagtalo kay Evren. Parang anytime, manghihina lang ang mga tuhod niya.

Evren grinned. "You're pretty silly, Linden."

"Evren, please... may klase pa ako mamayang ala sais," pakiusap niya, her voice dropping into a breathless whisper as his thumb lightly pressed against the pulse point on her neck, feeling her heart racing like a trapped bird. "Advanced statistics. Finals are coming up. I can't afford to fail."

Evren paused, his lips resting just a millimeter away from hers. The heavy grandfather clock in the hallway chimed once and it was 4 pm. He looked down at her, his eyes searching her face, taking in the fierce blush on her cheeks, her blown-out pupils, and the desperate way her fingers were clutching his white uniform.

Slowly, with an agonizing reluctance, his hands loosed their tight grip around her waist. He didn't completely step back, but he gave her enough room to breathe.

"1 hour," Evren muttered, his voice rough and laced with frustration as he reached down to pick up her fallen backpack from the floor. He shoved it into her hands, his fingers brushing against hers, leaving behind a lingering trace of static electricity. "You have 1 hour before your shift officially ends. I won't ruin your career, Linden. I know how hard you've worked to get back into that university."

Linden blinked, surprised by the sudden transition from predatory alpha to an oddly considerate employer. "Paano mo nalaman na—"

"Harrison gives me full reports, remember?" Evren cut her off, turning his back to her as he walked over to the kitchen island, loosening his unbuttoned chef's collar even further. He looked exhausted, the lines of his broad shoulders slightly tense from thirty-six hours of sleepless travel, but his energy was still completely dominant. "I know you've been pulling twelve-hour shifts before this job. I know you're paying off your family's debts. I respect the hustle, Doctor. That's why I'm letting you go right now."

He turned around, leaning his hip against the marble counter, holding a fresh glass of water. A wicked, devastating smile cut through his fatigue. "But tomorrow morning? At exactly nine o'clock? You're mine, Linden. No more notes. No more hiding behind that pool house. Tomorrow, we start our own experiment."

The commute to the university felt surreal, like she was floating in a sensory vacuum. Linden sat near the window of the crowded bus, her eyes staring blankly at the neon lights of the city passing by, but her skin still felt hyper-sensitive, as if the phantom imprint of Evren’s large hands was permanently burned into her waist.

Ano'ng nangyayari sa buhay ko? tanong niya sa sarili, sabay hilamos ng kamay sa sariling mukha. Linden could feel it. Evren likes her. There's no other explanation about his actions toward her. But why?

"Nagustuhan niya ba ako dahil nakita niya akong naka-undies lang?" impit na reklamo niya sa sarili. "Or is he toying me?"

She was just a temporary employee. Pera lang ang dapat na habol niya rito para maka-graduate. Ang sahod lang ang dapat na focus niya, ang perang mag-aahon sa kanya sa utang at magbibigay sa kanya ng diploma. Pero ang dambuhalang chef na may hawak ng kontrata niya ay kakabalik lang mula sa dagat, at malinaw na hindi lang simpleng cat-sitting ang inaasahan nito mula sa kanya.

Nang pumasok siya sa classroom para sa kanyang Advanced Behavioral Statistics lecture, ang ingay ng mga kaklase niya at ang boses ng professor ay parang naging background noise na lang.

Linden opened her notebook, not the leather-bound logbook from the mansion, but her standard university binder. She tried to focus on the professor's lecture about regression analysis and predictability models, pero bawat guhit ng ballpen niya sa papel ay nagpapaalala sa kanya ng makapal, bold, at agresibong sulat-kamay ni Evren.

Predictability model, isip niya, habang nakatitig sa whiteboard. There is zero predictability when it comes to Evren. He disrupted the entire timeline. He was supposed to be gone for another week.

"Miss Linden? Are you with us?"

The sharp, clinical voice of Professor Reyes snapped her out of her trance. Linden blinked, realizing the entire class was looking at her.

"Yes, Ma'am," Linden quickly cleared her throat, sitting up straight.

Leche, Evren. You're ruining my focus! she thought to herself.

"Can you explain how an environmental disruptor affects an established behavioral pattern?" the professor asked, adjusting her glasses.

Linden swallowed hard, her mind instantly flashing back to the pool-house suite, the smell of sandalwood, and the terrifyingly electric touch of Evren’s fingers on her skin.

"An environmental disruptor... breaks the subject's habituation, Ma'am," Linden answered, her voice steadying as her psychology training automatically took over, though the underlying meaning was entirely personal. "Kapag pumasok ang isang malakas na stimulus na hindi inaasahan, ang established pattern ng subject ay tuluyang nasisira. The subject enters a state of hyper-arousal, making it impossible to return to the baseline behavior until the stimulus is fully addressed or removed."

Professor Reyes gave a rare, satisfied nod. "Excellent explanation, Miss Linden. Very precise."

Precise, my foot, Linden thought, her face heating up as she looked down at her hands. She wasn't just describing a textbook theory, she was literally describing her own current state of existence. Evren was the environmental disruptor, and she was currently in a severe state of hyper-arousal.

Nang matapos ang klase sa gabi, Linden walked out of the campus into the cool evening air. Her body was exhausted, her mind strained from the intense lecture, but as she checked her phone, a sudden notification made her heart skip a beat.

It was a bank transfer notification from Grandview Estate Management. Her bi-weekly salary had just cleared, along with an additional lump sum labeled: Operational Hazard Bonus.

Linden stared at the amount. It was more than enough to cover her remaining graduation fees and her father's imported medicine for the next three months. Accompanying the bank alert was a short, unbranded text message from an unknown encrypted number.

Evren: Get some sleep, Doctor. You're going to need all your energy for your daytime shift tomorrow.

Linden clutched her phone tightly against her chest, a mixture of intense relief and dangerous anticipation washing over her. The financial security she had been drowning to achieve was finally in her hands, but it was tied entirely to a man who was currently waiting for her in a silent, luxury mansion, ready to break every single rule she had ever set for herself.

Linden then suddenly typed something in her phone habang naglalakad sa labas ng school. "Jo, sa'n ka? I need to discuss something," panimula niya. "What if my boss likes me? Kailangan ko ba mag-ready ng condom?"

Surprisingly, Joline replied fast. "Kung mayaman, mabango, at maganda ang lahi, kahit hindi na."

Mas lalo lang nawindang si Linden sa reply ng kaibigan.