CHAPTER 1

》AERA SUMMER P.O.V.《

“I love you, Aera. I love you. Please, accept my proposal. I’ll be good—I swear. I’ll do anything, anything for you,” begged the man I once called my best friend.

His grip on my hands tightened, trembling with desperation.

But before I could speak, another voice cut through the moment like a blade. “No. Don’t listen to him, Aera.”

I turned just in time as he pulled my other hand toward him—Calix Devraux, the man I once loved but never dared claim.

Dalawa na silang nakahawak sa kamay ko.

“I’ll give you everything, anything—just say you’ll be mine. I’ll protect you, I’ll worship you. I’ll spend every moment proving that no one could ever love you like I do. Please... don’t walk away from me. Not now. Not when I’ve already built my world around you.” Ang boses na puno ng pagmamakaawa at lambing.

Nanigas ang buong katawan ko. Tila pati ang pag-hinga ko ay bumigat.

I never expected either of them. My childhood crush and the man who once I loved na ganito na pala ang nararamdaman sa akin.

But I knew the truth. Choosing Calix meant choosing a life that didn’t belong to me. A life of luxury that never meant to me. Many people will be disagree if we were together.

Isang may kaya lamang ako sa buhay. At si Calix? Ganitong edad pa lang niya ay may sarili na siyang Busines na sikat sa buong mundo, bawat buwan na sahod ay billion.

Binitaw ko ang kamay ko Gabriel at tumuon kay Calix. "Y-You... love me?" I whispered. I wanted to be sure.

His eyes darkened, brimming with something frightening and beautiful. “Yes,” he said without hesitation. “I’ve loved you for a long time. Please, be mine, Aera.”

Before I could speak, Gabriel’s voice turned into a hiss. “Yeah, a long time—because you were stalking her for years. Even before she entered university.”

My skin turned cold. My stomach churned. I glanced at Calix.

I want him to deny the accusation of Gabriel. But he didn't deny it.

“Yes,” he whispered, almost deep. “I watched you long before you ever saw me. I needed to know every detail you do—who you smiled at, who you talk to, who dared to stand too close. I made sure no one touched you, because they had no right. You were always mine, Aera. Long before you even knew it.”

The room tilted. My knees nearly gave way.

I’d spent nights crying to him about my stalker. The strange packages. The sudden disappearances. And a stalker who can get into my apartment.

And he had been there—pretending to protect me from... himself.

“S-So those guys... the ones who with me for group team. They vanished... were found dead. That was you, too?” I asked, my voice trembling, praying for a lie.

“Of course.” His smile was soft. Too soft. Hindi niya itinanggi na kagagawan niya ang lahat.

And then, like it meant nothing, he kissed the back of my hand. “I can't stand the idea of you being touched by anyone else. Only I should have the right to touch you. Aera.”

“You’re insane,” I breathed, backing away.

Gabriel stepped forward, voice raw with emotion.

“Choose me, Aera. I won’t lock you like a prison. I’ll give you freedom. All I ask is for a place in your world. A chance. Because if I lose you now… I might become exactly like him.”

“If you weren’t her childhood friend,” Calix said coldly, eyes sharp as ice, “you would’ve been dead long ago.”

“Hah,” Gabriel chuckled darkly. “If you weren’t her friend, I would’ve ended you before you even laid eyes on her.”

My heart dropped. The warmth I once knew in them was gone.

Vanished.

“You think I'm the only one with blood on the hands?” Calix turned to Gabriel, voice laced with venom. “You killed the girls who bullied her, didn’t you?”

I staggered backward.

What… what were they saying?

They were both murderers.

They were both monsters in disguise.

Hindi ko na sila kilala. Kusang umatras ang mga paa ko sa kanila. Natuon naman ang pansin nila sa akin. Puno ng lamig at dilim ang mga nasa mata nila, na dating laging nakangiti sa akin sa tuwing tinitignan ako ay ngayun puno ng kadiliman.

“Choose me, Aera,” they said in unison.

“Choose now,” Gabriel demanded, voice shaking with rage.

“I won't choose either of you,” I snapped, panic rising. “You’re both insane. Psychopaths. I don’t even know who you are anymore. You say you love me, but all I see are monsters wearing the faces of the man's I once trusted.”

Tears spilled down my cheeks when I felt I had nothing to step back from. I was suffocating.

“Ayokong pahirapan ka, Aera,” Gabriel whispered, his once-gentle tone now a cold threat.

“If you don’t pick, I’ll revoke your scholarship. I’ll make sure you’re kicked out and blacklisted from every university.”

“You can’t do that,” I gasped, stepping backward—but there was nowhere left to go.

Pinaghirapan kong makakuha ng scholarship sa sikat na University dahil ayoko ng maging pabigat sa papa ko.

Calix laughed, low and cruel. “That’s all you’ve got?”

“I will destroy your father’s business—every branch, every contract—gone. If I can’t have you, you’ll have nothing left. So pick. Now.” His voice was fire laced with boredom.

“You know how hard my father worked… how could you—?” But I couldn’t finish.

They stepped closer. I had nowhere left to run.

My back hit the cold concrete. My legs gave out. I collapsed to the floor, trembling.

“P-Please… stay away... help...” I whimpered, sobbing.

“No one’s coming, Aera,” Calix said with a dark smile. “I have contacts in every precinct. Even the police can’t save you.”

And he was right.

Calix was more powerful than Gabriel.

So powerful… he’d rewritten my fate.

And in that moment, I asked myself the only question that mattered—

Where did it all begin?

How did we come to this?

And why… out of everyone... why them?