Chapter One

I feel like I’m being stalked. 

There’s this silhouette that I see in my peripheral vision following me whenever I go out. The only place that I feel safe is my own apartment, but I still make sure to double lock the doors. 

I have already experienced being stalked before. Working in this industry, it can’t be helped being surrounded by perverted men who can’t take no for an answer. Sometimes they’d follow me for a few hours, a few days. However, this time’s different. It has been three weeks since I felt like I’m being followed.

It has also been three weeks since the bachelor’s party happened and me seeing Kio. Seeing him after all those years ignited something inside me. Anger. The need for revenge.

I let out a sigh before changing into a fresh set of clothes, getting ready for bed. The apartment has been too quiet since Michaela moved out. We used to share a two-room apartment before, but now she’s already staying with her fiancé.

I moved to a different apartment, closer to Vivi’s college just so she no longer has to stay in the school dormitory. However, she hasn’t been coming home lately. She’s already at the right age to make her own decisions, but still I can’t help but get worried something’s wrong. She doesn’t open up to me at all.

Sighing, I took my phone out before settling on the sofa. Still, there are no messages from my sister, which is no longer a surprise.

My thumb hovered over my I*******m app, wondering whether it’s worth it to take a peek.

For the past years, I tried to stay away from social media as much as I can. Seeing old friend’s and colleagues living their best lives only makes me feel worse about myself. 

I can’t keep lying to myself. I hate the life that I live now. It used to be so different. I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, grew up getting everything that I want, and living the life I thought will forever be mine.

How did things turn downhill? I don’t even want to start.

With a final sigh, I clicked it, and the first thing that I saw was Michaela’s posts from the bachelor’s party, and other trips with her fiancé.

‘Living life,’ the caption read. She promised to land me to a job where I no longer have to worry about my own safety. I have been looking forward for that, but I know it’s not really her responsibility to fish me out of this hole. I’m just happy life’s better now for her.

There were more posts from my old friends and batchmates celebrating their wins in life. There were even numerous people who have been messaging me, asking if I am okay, just the casual things to ask. But there’s also a few who reached out to me after seeing me work. 

I didn’t bother replying to any of their messages.

I was already about to close the app when that jerk’s face popped in my mind, sparking the growing curiosity that I have been trying to deny. 

“What are you even so curious about?!” I told myself, but still went on and search for his username, which surprised me. He still hadn’t changed it. It’s still ‘kionno_24’. 24 was our anniversary and my birthday.

I felt my cheeks heating up, but I am quick to shut all unnecessary thoughts away. “Maybe he’s just too busy to change it,” I said to myself. His profile has been locked now so I cannot really see more of his page. 

However, he is in several I*******m accounts. That’s when I read that he is now the CEO of one of the biggest, if not the biggest, corporations in the country.

I raised my brows as I scan through articles of him on the internet.

So he really did inherit their business. I remember how he told he didn’t want to because it wasn’t his dream. His dream was to become a renowned chef, which apparently his business-minded family hated. I can’t help but wonder what happened for him to change his mind like that. 

He’s practically a billionaire now.

I stared at a picture of him in what seems like a conference room. He looks strict with his stoic expression, as if he hasn’t had a good day in his life.  His light brown hair has been neatly combed back, and it is longer now. Wearing a suit and a tie, he looks more matured and more serious. Even his body has matured. I can still remember the feeling of his shoulders against my hands when I saw him again that night.

I shuddered at the thought. I lightly slapped my cheek to help me get back to my senses. I haven’t even noticed that I wasn’t breathing normally while reading the articles!

Damn you, Kio!

I was about to click on an another article, talking about his rumored girlfriend when I heard a banging on the door.

My initial reaction was fear. I was quick to stand, and stare at it, thoughts about my possible stalker running in my mind. I know self defense, but I can’t help but still feel afraid.

“Open the door!” a familiar voice screamed from the other side of the door. My eyes widened when I realized it is Vivi. I quickly ran towards to door to open it, and her countenance immediately made my brows furrowed.

Her hair is disheveled, and her face is flushed. It’s obvious she has been drinking. On a weekday! She’s supposed to be studying for her finals!

She isn’t alone because there is a guy who has his arms supporting her body. I haven’t even seen the guy my entire life, which only made my brows furrow even more. 

Vivi muttered a quick thanks to this guy before pushing me to the side to enter the apartment. Whoever that guy is, he didn’t even bother saying a single word to me, and just walked away. What the heck is happening?!

“Where have you been?” I asked her as I locked the front door. 

She didn’t answer my question, and just proceeded to vomit on the carpet.

My eyes widened, feeling the tightening of my chest. “What the heck is wrong with you?! You don’t answer my calls, you barely go home, and now you go home drunk with some random guy?!” I yelled as I felt my hands shaking.

Vivi turned her head towards my direction, her face still flushed, and her brows furrowed. “Don’t nag me as if you’re mom!” she yelled before running to her room, banging the door shut behind.

I stare at her room in frustration, hands clenched. I stare back at the dirty carpet, still feeling my body shaking from the unprecedented anger that I feel. “Stop acting like a kid!” I yell at her. “Fine, you want me not meddling with your business, get out of my house and stop asking me for money!”

I grabbed my scarf, put it around me, and stormed out of the apartment. 

I didn’t look back and just continued walking to anywhere my feet lead me. My body is still shaking from anger and disappointment. Not even a second later, I felt warm tears rolling down my cheeks before I sat on an empty bench, sobbing. 

How did things go so horribly wrong?

I work hard just so I can provide for her needs. I am her older sister. Even when she’s 23 now, I just can’t leave her on her own. I don’t want her to end up like me. I want her respected. I want her successful, and I don’t even want that just so she can save me. I want her to reach her dreams for herself. 

I’m not mom, but I’m her older sister who genuinely cares for her. Why can’t she see that?

I feel like I kept this pain in my chest for a while now, I’ve been trying so hard not to entertain the sadness that it has already been consuming me from the inside. I let myself cry like a child because maybe I still am a child. 

“Why is a beautiful girl like you crying here all alone?” Out of reflex, I was quick to look at whoever said that, immediately wiping the tears off my eyes to see more clearly.

It is a middle-aged bald man who I’m not familiar with. I looked around and saw that I am in an empty children’s park, and there are no passersby around. Clenching my scarf, I stood, and was already ready to leave when he ran towards my direction and grabbed my arm tightly.

“Let go of me!” I demanded.

He let out a chuckle before grabbing my other hand and pulling me closer against his body. “Not so fast,” he said before sniffing my hair.

For me not to be able to scream, he covered my mouth before pinning me against the nearby tree. “Stop acting as if you don’t want it, you little slut,” he whispered to mg ears.

The only thing that I can do at that moment is to try to not panic. He’s way too strong for me to even slightly move, and the tree against my back hurts. Would this finally be the end of me?

I feel my tears blurring my sight as I felt him kiss my neck.

“So you’re selling yourself in the streets now?”  I turned my head to look at the guy walking towards our direction.

The guy proceeded to grab my neck to choke me. 

My eyes widened when I saw that it is Kio. He is wearing a black cap, a black hoodie, and a black pair of pants. He has a dim expression on his face as he stared deeply into my eyes. 

I looked at him with pleading eyes even if I tried not to. “Please help,” I want to tell him. The guy’s grip around my neck is tighter now, choking me even more. I can feel my sight darkening as I grasp for air, trying hard to breathe properly.

Kio is now walking closer, and the closer he walks, the tighter the guy’s choke is, the more I feel like passing out. Before my vision went completely black, I hear him say,  “Let go. She’s mine.”