Chapter 2- The Billionaire She Once Abandoned

Hindi na mabilang ni Xiara Wren kung ilang beses siyang napatingin sa orasan.

Alas-diyes ng umaga, alas-dose ng tanghali, alas-tres ng hapon, kahit ilang oras na ang lumipas, hindi pa rin niya kayang kumain.

The untouched breakfast sat on her bedside table, while her lunch remained exactly where the maid had left it. Kahit ang paborito niyang pagkain ay wala nang panlasa para sa kanya.

Paano siya makakakain kung tuwing ipipikit niya ang mga mata niya, ang mukha ng estrangherong katabi niya ang nakikita niya?

Who was that man? At higit sa lahat, paano ito nakapasok sa silid na dapat ay para lamang sa kanya?

Mariing napapikit si Xiara at napahawak sa sentido. The last thing she remembered was calling her husband's name. She had believed it was Joross who had returned to her room. She had thought that, for once, her husband had finally chosen to be with her.

But morning had destroyed that illusion. Hindi si Joross ang lalaking kasama niya. Hindi niya man lang alam ang pangalan ng estranghero hanggang sa makita niya ang mukha nito.

At ang pinakamasakit? Hindi niya alam kung paano niya haharapin ang sarili niya pagkatapos ng nangyari.

"Ma'am Xiara?"

Napadilat siya nang marinig ang katok sa p***o.

"Yes?"

"Dinalhan ko po kayo ng pagkain. Hindi pa po kayo kumakain simula kaninang umaga."

"I'm not hungry."

"Pero, Ma'am—"

"Please. Just leave it there."

Tahimik na sumunod ang maid.

Nang marinig ni Xiara ang papalayong mga yabag, saka siya napahagulhol.

"I didn't mean for this to happen..."

Hindi niya alam kung kanino siya humihingi ng tawad kung sa sarili ba niya o sa asawa niyang hindi man lang umuwi? O sa lalaking hindi niya kilala na ngayon ay naging bahagi na ng isang gabing gusto niyang burahin sa kanyang alaala?

She pressed her palms against her eyes. Hindi niya kailangang malaman kung sino ang estranghero. Ang gusto lang niya ay makalimutan ang lahat.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. At ang susunod na katok sa p***o ang tuluyang yayanig sa mundong pilit niyang pinananatiling buo.

---

"Ma'am Xiara, may bisita po kayo."

Nasa harap ng salamin si Xiara nang pumasok ang maid. Halatang nag-aalangan ito, na para bang hindi rin sigurado kung paano sasabihin ang susunod na mga salita.

"Who?"

"Isang lalaki po. Vincent Delacroix daw po ang pangalan."

Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Xiara. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.

"V-Vincent... Delacroix?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

Napaatras siya ng isang hakbang.

Hindi.

Impossible.

Maraming Vincent sa mundo. Maraming Delacroix. Hindi nangangahulugang ang lalaking naghihintay sa ibaba ay ang Vincent na minsan niyang nakilala.

Ang Vincent na minsan niyang iniwan. Ang lalaking ipinagkasundo sa kanya ng kanyang mga magulang noong siya ay nineteen. Ang lalaking hindi niya man lang nabigyan ng pagkakataong magpaalam bago siya tuluyang nawala.

Please, don't let it be him.

"Ma'am?" tawag muli ng maid.

Pinilit ni Xiara na pakalmahin ang sarili.

"How does he look?"

"Very handsome po, Ma'am. He's wearing a black suit. Mukha pong isang importanteng businessman."

Parang may malamig na kamay na humawak sa kanyang puso.

Handsome, black suit at importanteng businessman. Hindi iyon sapat para patunayang siya nga.

Pero bakit ganoon na lamang ang kaba niya?

"Tell him I'll be right there."

Pagkalabas ng maid, mabilis na inayos ni Xiara ang kanyang buhok at damit. Ilang beses niyang sinubukang ngumiti sa salamin, ngunit hindi niya maitago ang panginginig ng kanyang mga labi.

She was no longer the nineteen-year-old girl who had run away from an arranged marriage. She is a married woman now.

A woman who had made her own choices. A woman who had ruined her own life trying to love the wrong man. And somehow, the past she had abandoned was knocking at her door.

---

Huminto si Xiara sa huling baitang ng hagdan.

Nandoon ang lalaki. Nakatayo sa tabi ng malawak na sala, isang kamay ang nakasuksok sa bulsa ng mamahaling pantalon habang ang isa ay may hawak na tasa ng kape.

His black suit fit him perfectly. His broad shoulders, sharp jawline, and confident posture made him look like someone who owned every room he entered.

He wasn't merely handsome. He was intimidating.

At nang maramdaman nitong may nakatingin sa kanya, dahan-dahan itong lumingon.

Their eyes met. Biglang nanlamig ang mga daliri ni Xiara. She knew those eyes.

Kahit nagbago ang mukha nito, kahit tila ibang tao na ang lalaking nasa harapan niya, hindi niya makakalimutan ang mga matang minsan na niyang nakita.

The man from the hotel. The stranger she had woken up beside.

"No..." she whispered.

A slow smirk appeared on the man's face.

"Hello, Xiara."

"V-Vincent?” Parang may kung anong sumabog sa dibdib niya.

He tilted his head.

"Well, look at that. You do remember my name."

Hindi makapagsalita si Xiara. Pinagmasdan niya ang lalaking nakatayo sa harapan niya, desperately trying to connect the image before her to the boy buried in her memories.

The overweight, awkward boy who rarely looked anyone in the eye. The boy who wore thick glasses and seemed more comfortable with books than people.

The boy her parents had chosen for her. Nasaan na ang batang iyon? Who was this man standing before her?

Vincent chuckled at her expression.

"What happened? Cat got your tongue?"

"You..."

"Me?" He raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Mrs. Vander?"

The way he said her married name made her stomach twist. Xiara descended the remaining steps, forcing herself to stand tall despite the fear crawling beneath her skin.

"What are you doing here?"

Dahan-dahang hinigop ni Vincent ang kanyang iniinom na kape.

"Is that how you welcome an old acquaintance?"

"Don't play games with me!" Her voice cracked. "Why are you here?"

His smirk widened.

"Straight to the point. I see you haven't changed much."

"I asked you a question!"

"And I heard you."

He placed the cup on the table.

"I'm here to see your husband."

Xiara blinked. "My husband?"

"Joross Vander. Unless you've secretly married another man since I last checked."

The sarcasm in his voice stung.

She folded her arms across her chest, trying to conceal her trembling hands.

"Why would you want to see him?"

"Business."

"What business could you possibly have with Joross?"

Vincent stared at her for a moment, as though deciding whether she deserved an answer. Then he smiled. It wasn't a warm smile. It was the kind of smile that made her feel as if she were standing at the edge of a cliff without knowing what is waiting below.

"Your husband and I have reached an agreement."

Xiara's heart began to pound. "What agreement?"

"A very profitable one."

"Vincent."

Naging seryoso ang kanyang mukha.

"Careful, Xiara. You haven't called me that in years."

"Sabihin mo na lang kung ano ang gusto mo!"

Sa unang pagkakataon, nawalan ang mga ngiti sa mukha ni Vincent. Humakbang pa sya papalapit kay Xiara.

"Your husband has agreed to give me something in exchange for a ten-billion-peso project."

"Something?"Nakasimangot na tanong ni Xiara.

"Yes."

"Anong ibig Sabihin non?"

Tinignan ng diretso ni Vincent ang kanyang mga mata.

"You."

For several seconds, Xiara couldn't even process the word.

"Excuse me?"

"Narinig mo naman diba."

"That's impossible." She shook her head. "Joross would never—"

"Wouldn't he?"

Vincent reached into his jacket and pulled out a slim black folder.

He placed it on the table between them.

"Your husband wants the project. I want what's included in our agreement. Simple business transaction."

Xiara stared at the folder as though it were a ticking bomb.

"What's in there?"

"Details of the deal."

"Why would Joross involve me in his business?"

Vincent's gaze turned colder.

"Perhaps you should ask your husband."

"Nagsisinungaling ka."

"Mukha ba akong nagsisinungaling?"

"Mahal ako ni Joross!"

The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them.

For a brief moment, something unreadable flickered across Vincent's face. Then he laughed softly. Not because he found her amusing. But because he seemed genuinely astonished that she still believed those words.

"Does he?"

Xiara felt tears burning behind her eyes.

"Get out of my house."

Vincent didn't move. Instead, he leaned forward, placing both hands on the table.

"You know what's interesting, Xiara?"

She said nothing.

"You disappeared from my life without a single explanation. You left me waiting for a marriage that was never going to happen."

His voice remained calm, but there was something dangerous beneath it.

"And now, years later, I find you married to a man who apparently has no problem putting a price on his own wife."

"Stop it."

"Bakit? Does the truth hurt?"

"STOP IT!" Her shout echoed through the room.

For the first time, her composure shattered completely.

Vincent straightened. He studied her tear-filled eyes, but instead of offering comfort, he delivered the final blow.

"Ten billion pesos, Xiara."

He paused.

"That's how much your husband thinks your involvement is worth."

Her knees nearly gave way. A project worth ten billion pesos and Joross had agreed to a deal involving her without even telling her?

No.There had to be a mistake. There had to be an explanation. But as she stared at Vincent's cold expression, a terrible realization began to take shape. Perhaps she had spent two years loving a man who never saw her as a wife.

Perhaps, to Joross Vander, she had always been nothing more than a convenient source of money. And now, she might have become something far worse.

A price.

Vincent picked up his coffee again as though he hadn't just destroyed the little faith she had left in her marriage.

"Tell your husband I'll be expecting him to honor our agreement."

Paalis na SI Vincent pero bigla siyang tinawag ni Xiara.

"Vincent."

He stopped.

"What exactly did my husband promise you?" Napalunok si Xiara.

Vincent glanced over his shoulder. That familiar, infuriating smirk returned.

"Tanungin mo siya, Xiara."

Then he walked away. Leaving behind a black folder, a ten-billion-peso secret, and a woman whose entire world was beginning to collapse.

Tinitigan ni Xiara ang nakasarang p***o. Ilang taon na ang nakalipas simula ng takasan niya si Vincent Delacroix.

But now, she was beginning to fear something far more terrifying than the man she had abandoned.

Xiara thought she had already suffered the worst betrayal of her life, but she was about to discover that the man she had once abandoned held a secret that could destroy everything she had left.

Hindi dumating si Vincent para iligtas siya—dumating siya para kuhanin ang ipinangako ng asawa ni Xiara.