Forbidden

Umuulan.

Ito ang unang bagay na napansin ni Lauren Jade Miller habang nakatayo siya sa labas ng pintuan ng Department of Architecture faculty office. The heavy evening rain hit the concrete walls of the university, producing a rhythmic, suffocating sound that echoed through the empty hallway. Inside her pocket, her fingers tightly gripped a piece of paper—isang signed withdrawal form. It was supposed to be her ticket out of the mess she created, an escape from the dangerous gravity pulling her toward a person she was never supposed to love.

Tiningnan niya ang frosted glass window ng p***o. Inside, a soft, yellow lamplight cut through the shadows of the room. Alam ni Lauren kung sino ang nandoon. It was Professor Anne Clair Montgomery.

Anne was the university’s most brilliant yet notoriously guarded asset. She was a woman who lived by strict lines, perfect angles, and unbreakable rules. She was an architect of spaces, but more than that, she was the architect of her own emotional fortress. In the eyes of the academic board, she was flawless. But to Lauren, she was the woman who had held her in the dark, whispering broken promises of a future they both knew was structurally impossible to build.

Lauren took a deep breath, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Binuksan niya ang p***o nang walang katok, breaking the silent boundary between them one more time.

The door creaked open. Anne was sitting behind her massive mahogany desk, surrounded by stacks of ungraded thesis blueprints and architectural journals. Her elegant, sharp features were highlighted by the dim light. Hair up in a perfect twist, eyeglasses resting on the bridge of her nose—she looked every bit the unreachable professor she was known to be.

But when Anne raised her eyes and met Lauren’s gaze, the professional facade cracked, even just for a split second. A flash of vulnerability, raw and agonizing, crossed Anne’s face before her expression hardened into a cold, protective mask.

"Lauren," Anne’s voice was a low, velvet whisper that sent shivers down Lauren's spine. It was the same voice that had lectured a hundred students this morning, but right now, it carried a heavy weight. "Anong ginagawa mo rito? It’s past visiting hours. Sabi ko sa 'yo, we shouldn't be seen together anymore. The rumors are getting out of hand."

Lauren didn't speak immediately. Inilakad niya ang mga paa pabalas, her damp sneakers leaving faint marks on the polished floor. She stopped right in front of the desk, placing the crumpled withdrawal form on top of a pristine blueprint.

"I’m dropping your advanced theory class, Professor," Lauren said, emphasizing the title like a bitter pill on her tongue. Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to look straight into Anne’s piercing gray eyes. "I’m erasing myself from your syllabus. Is this what you want? Ang magkunwaring walang nangyari? To pretend that those nights in your apartment, those hidden touches in the archive room, were just... errors in the design?"

Anne stared at the paper. Her hand subtly trembled as she reached out, her long fingers hovering over Lauren’s signature but never quite touching it. She closed her eyes, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"This is for your own good, Lauren," Anne whispered, her voice cracking under the weight of her authority. "You have a brilliant career ahead of you. A scholarship, an exchange program in Europe... hindi pwedeng masira 'yun nang dahil lang sa akin. I am your professor. I hold the power here, and if the board finds out about us, they won't just fire me. They will invalidate your degree. Handa ka bang mawala ang lahat ng pinaghirapan mo para lang sa... sa atin?"

"Para sa atin?" Lauren let out a dry, humorless laugh, tears finally blurring her vision. "May 'atin' ba talaga, Anne? O ako lang 'tong naniwala na may puwang ako sa buhay mo? Kasi tuwing nandoon tayo sa silid na 'to, o kapag magkaharap tayo sa klase, para mo akong estranghero. You look at me like I’m just another student asking for extra credits."

Anne abruptly stood up, the chair scraping loudly against the floor. The distance between them was barely two feet, but it felt like a massive canyon. The tension in the room was so thick it was hard to breathe. For months, they had played this dangerous game—living a double life where every smile was a code, every critique was a hidden confession, and every second apart was a slow torture.

"Do you think this is easy for me?" Anne hissed, dropping the cold persona completely. Her eyes were red, reflecting the desperation she had kept locked away for weeks. "Every single day, I have to stand at the podium and look at you sitting in the front row, knowing I can't hold your hand. I have to grade your work with absolute neutrality while my mind is screaming to protect you from the other professors who want to see you fail. I am tearing my own life apart trying to keep you safe, Lauren! So don't you dare say you're the only one hurting here."

The silence returned, heavier this time, punctuated only by the relentless downpour outside.

Lauren looked at the woman before her—the terrifying Professor Montgomery, reduced to a breathless, heartbroken soul in the middle of her own office. The anger in Lauren's chest slowly dissolved, replaced by a profound, aching sadness. They were two intelligent women who knew how to build structures that could withstand storms, yet they had no idea how to save themselves from the collapse of their own hidden world.

Lauren slowly reached out, her fingers brushing against Anne’s cold hand on the desk. This time, Anne didn't pull away. Instead, she turned her hand over, gripping Lauren’s fingers with a desperate, crushing intensity. It was a silent plea, a quiet admission of defeat.

"Ang bawal, bawal talaga, 'di ba?" Lauren whispered softly, a single tear escaping her eye. "No matter how beautiful the blueprint is, if the foundation is illegal, the building will always be demolished."

Anne looked down at their joined hands, her heart breaking into a million silent pieces. "Then maybe... we shouldn't have built it in the first place."

But it was too late for regrets. The lines had been crossed, the structural damage had been done, and the foundation was already cracked. To understand how they reached this precipice of ruin, the blueprint had to be unrolled from the very beginning—back to the first day of the semester, before the rules were broken, before the whispers started, and before Professor Anne Clair Montgomery became the only structure Lauren Jade Miller ever wanted to study.