Chapter 4:

“Why did you do that to me?

 Why did you make me believe you cared?

 Was I never truly important to you?

 When you said you liked me, was it all just a joke?

 I believed you—I trusted your words when you said you’d come.

 I waited for you even when it was clear you wouldn’t show up. I waited until the night grew deep.”

Kacee shook her head, trying to brush off those thoughts. Gently, she tapped both her cheeks as if to wake herself up. Why was she even rehearsing what she would say the day she finally faced that man?

Three swift weeks had passed, and now the day she had been dreading was drawing near. She would have to face him soon—and she had no idea how she was supposed to do that.

Even just seeing him from a distance was already enough to stir her emotions uncontrollably. How much harder would it be to stand in front of him? To actually speak to him?

“Should I just resign from work?” she whispered to herself, letting out a deep sigh.

“Ms. Samiano.”

She immediately turned toward the voice that called her. It was Jema and Mikay, walking toward her with bright smiles. She faced them, holding the cup of coffee she had just made in the pantry.

“Kacee! We’re going out later!” Jema said cheerfully.

“Huh? Where to?” she asked, slightly confused.

“Oh, come on, please go with us,” Mikay added, smiling as she glanced at Jema.

“Why? What is it about?” she asked them.

“Because Rodolfo invited me to hang out tonight,” Jema said, giggling with excitement.

“Rodolfo? You mean your crush from the Accounting Department?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s him.”

“Oh, and then?” she replied lifelessly.

“Well, the thing is, he asked if you could come along too.”

“What?” she asked, frowning. “What do I have to do with you and Rodolfo?”

She started walking away, but the two quickly followed her.

“Because, Kacee,” Mikay explained, “one of Rodolfo’s friends—also from Accounting—seems to like you. He wants to meet you.”

“What?” she turned to them, disbelief on her face. She noticed Jema’s expression drop, which made her sigh softly before speaking in a calm tone.

“Jema, you know I’m not into things like that, right?”

“I know, but… just this once, please, Kacee. And don’t worry, we won’t leave you alone later. Nobody’s going to flirt with you or anything—”

“No,” she cut her off firmly and continued walking toward her office.

The two still trailed after her, trying to persuade her.

“Kacee, please. It’s just this once, and it’s the only favor I’m asking from you,” Jema pleaded.

“And after Rodolfo’s friend introduces himself, you can just ignore him—like you always do whenever a guy tries to approach you,” Mikay added with a teasing laugh. “Come on, join us. It’s the weekend tomorrow anyway. It’s about time you do something other than work.”

She stayed silent and busied herself sorting the files on her desk instead.

Jema and Mikay were her only close friends at work. Before she was promoted to executive secretary to Chairman Emman Vego, the three of them had all worked together in the Administration Department. They had started as staff assistants, but later, she was assigned separately and promoted to executive secretary, while Jema and Mikay became administrative supervisors.

“Come on, Kacee. Please say yes,” Jema urged once again.

“We don’t always invite you to things like this. Just this once, okay?” Mikay added.

“Girls, if it’s just the three of us hanging out, then sure, no problem. But since there’ll be other people—especially guys—I don’t think I can go,” she said honestly.

Jema sighed in frustration. “Seriously, Kacee? Why are you so allergic to men? It’s not like they’re going to do anything bad to you. And besides, we’ll be there with you.”

“Please, Kacee. Just this once,” Mikay said softly.

Kacee paused for a moment and let out a deep sigh.

“Okay, fine,” she finally said, surprising and delighting her two friends.

“Oh my gosh! No backing out now, Kacee!” Jema exclaimed excitedly.

“On one condition,” she quickly added, making them stop and wait for what she was about to say. “We’re not sitting at their table.”

“O-okay! Sure, that’s fine—as long as you agreed to come,” Jema said, immediately nodding, with Mikay agreeing as well.

She turned away and went back to what she was doing. At last, the two left her alone and returned to their respective offices.

They rarely invited her to things like that, so she decided to give in just this once. After all, it had been days since she last had a drink. And she couldn’t exactly invite Briana to hang out and drink anymore, considering her current condition.

Time flew quickly, and soon night had fallen. She decided to leave her car at Blue Prime Hotel and ride with Mikay in Jema’s car on the way to the bar. Jema promised to drive both of them home later.

But of course, she doubted that. Knowing Jema, she would probably end up drunk, so she planned to just take a taxi home.

“Come on, girls! Rodolfo’s group is already inside,” Jema said enthusiastically. She grabbed both of them by the hand and led the way inside, while Mikay and Kacee simply followed along.

Loud music and a crowd of dancing people greeted them as soon as they entered. The flashing, colorful lights that moved with the beat made Kacee a bit dizzy. It had been a long time since she last stepped inside a place like that.

They went to the far side of the bar, away from the dance floor, where it wasn’t as noisy.

They spotted Rodolfo’s group at a nearby table, but Kaceedidn’t go with Jema when she walked over to greet them. Instead, she sat at a small table near the bar counter.

A few moments later, Mikay came back carrying their ladies’ drinks.

“Hey, I didn’t leave you for long, okay? I just said hi to our coworkers,” Mikay said as she sat down across from her.

“Whatever,” Kacee replied flatly before taking a sip of her drink.

Moments later, Jema joined them, sitting beside her with a cheerful smile as she hugged Kacee's arm.

“Thank you for coming with us tonight, Kacee,” she said sweetly.

“Okay, okay. You’ve been thanking me since earlier,” Kacee replied with a small laugh. “I just hope you and Rodolfo finally end up together. You’ve liked him for ages, haven’t you? And you’ve been talking and going out for quite some time now.”

“I think we’re getting there,” Jema said dreamily, blushing, and Kacee could only shake her head in amusement.

“Hi, good evening.”

The three of them turned toward the two men who had just approached their table—Rodolfo and another guy beside him.

Jema and Mikay greeted them, and afterward, both men turned their attention toward Kacee.

“Hi, Kacee,” he greeted her with a smile. She simply nodded in response.

“This is Jerry,” he said, referring to the man beside him.

“Hi, nice to meet you, Kacee,” Jerry greeted her politely, also smiling.

“Yeah,” was all she said in reply.

“Oh, come on, Kacee. Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to respond when someone’s introducing themselves to you?” Mikay whispered beside her.

She only shrugged at Mikay, who could do nothing but shake her head.

“I’ll buy you a drink,” Jerry offered again.

“No, thanks,” she replied flatly.

In the end, Jerry and Rodolfo returned to their table—clearly realizing they wouldn’t get anything out of her.

A few more minutes passed. Jema was already enjoying herself, drinking and moving back and forth between Rodolfo’s table and theirs. Kacee couldn’t help but wonder how Jema wasn’t drunk yet, considering how energetic she was being.

Mikay stayed by her side as they talked and drank together. A little while later, Jema returned to their table carrying another round of drinks.

“This is for you, my friend,” she said cheerfully, handing Kacee a ladies’ drink. She also gave one to Mikay before excusing herself to join Rodolfo on the dance floor.

Kacee and Mikay drank what Jema had given them. A few moments later, Mikay excused herself to use the restroom.

Just as Mikay left, Kacee suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

Weird.

She stood up, planning to follow Mikay to the restroom—but was startled when a pair of hands suddenly grabbed her.

“Are you okay?” Jerry asked her.

“I’m fine,” she said curtly, pulling her hand away from him. She hated being touched without permission. If she hadn’t been feeling so dizzy at that moment, she might have pushed him away—or even slapped him.

She stepped away from him, but he grabbed her again—this time by the arm and then by the waist. A shiver ran down her spine at his touch, and she wanted nothing more than to punch him. But with every passing second, the dizziness grew worse, making it hard for her to move.

“Got you, babe,” he whispered against her ear.

“L-let me go,” she said weakly, struggling to free herself, but he was far too strong.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you,” he murmured again. She gathered what little strength she had left and pushed him away with all her might.

“I said let me go!” she snapped, shoving him hard—only to stumble into a solid, muscular chest.

The man she had bumped into quickly caught her before she could fall to the floor.

“Didn’t you hear her? Leave her alone,” the man said in a deep, firm voice, still supporting her.

“Stay out of this,” Jerry spat back.

“You’ll walk away now—or I’ll make sure you leave with a broken face,” the stranger warned coldly.

Jerry hesitated but eventually backed off, retreating without another word.

“Are you alright, Miss?” the man asked.

She slowly lifted her gaze—and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when she saw who it was.

“Y-you?” she asked in disbelief, frowning slightly.

She quickly stepped back from him, but the sudden movement only made her dizziness worse. The room began to spin around her.

And as her vision blurred, the last thing she saw was him—Ryan—watching her intently.

Then everything went black.