MasukIT WAS SATURDAY AFTERNOON and the whole place around Tori was dead silent.Hajie wasn’t there because Taj’s mom and sisters took her child to Hong Kong.It was past 9PM but Tori was still curled up on her bed. She wasn’t sleepy even though she hadn’t had proper sleep in days. She just didn’t feel like moving. She wasn’t answering Ember’s calls either.Tori played with the bedspread with her fingers while staring blankly at the cream-colored wall of her room. So many thoughts were running through her mind.She thought that if she hadn’t gone to Guimaras for vacation five years ago, she wouldn’t have met Taj.If she hadn’t let herself fall for her ex-husband, she wouldn’t have been hurt so badly that it almost ruined her life.If she hadn’t married Taj, maybe everything wouldn’t have been so hard for her.If her Mom and Sid hadn’t interfered, maybe she and Taj wouldn’t have separated.If Taj hadn’t cheated on her, maybe they wouldn’t have ended up getting divorced. She wished they wer
CONSUNJI REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION COMPANY ORTIGAS CENTER, MANILA“GOOD MORNING, MISS KARA,” Taj’s secretary greeted Kara, who she ran into coming out of her cubicle.Kara just nodded in reply before continuing to walk toward Taj’s office door.“Ah, Miss Kara,” the secretary called, like she remembered something.Kara stopped and turned around, frowning. “Yes?” she asked, one eyebrow raised.The secretary smiled awkwardly before speaking. “Sir Sebastian is with someone. He left instructions not to be disturbed. Please wait for him in the lounge,” the woman said politely, bowing slightly.Kara’s frown deepened. “Business?” she asked the secretary.The secretary paused for a moment. Hesitation was clear on her face, but when she saw Kara’s brows furrow, she immediately answered.“Ah, I don’t know who it is, because the appointment was direct with Sir, but I overheard it’s about the case of the attempted hit-and-run on Sir’s child.”Kara froze and stared at the secretary without thi
TAJ'S FACE was hard, and his jaw was clenched as he glanced at Tori, who sat quietly on the passenger seat. They were currently at St. Joseph Memorial Plaza because today was Wanji’s burial.Taj’s grip on his car’s steering wheel tightened too, especially when he noticed tears were slowly rolling from both corners of Tori’s eyes. He knew that even if she didn’t tell him, he could feel the heavy emotion she was trying to keep inside. He could see in her eyes earlier how much her heart was hurting, and the pain she was carrying because of Wanji’s loss. It hurt him too, because he knew his ex-wife wasn’t his anymore.He hoped she still loved him, but seeing her now made him snap back to reality.Yes, it was over for the two of them. He was the one who ended it. Still, he couldn’t help but feel hurt for Tori. It was painful to know she loved someone else, but it was even more painful to see her hurting because of Wanji's death.“Are you sure you don’t want us to go closer?” Taj as
[MEANWHILE, for our showbiz news, here’s Laila Delgado, live from New York. Laila?]Lorie and Oxygen looked at each other. They were currently in the lobby of San Lorenzo Medical Center, waiting for clearance for Wanji’s remains, which were in the morgue.Even Taj, who’d been standing for a while, turned his attention to the big TV mounted on the wall. The others in the lobby at that moment also looked at the TV.[Good morning to our fellow Filipinos back in the Philippines. If you can see my background, I’m here at Grey Pebbles Plaza, where the famous Infinite Star, Tori Herrera, held her concert. It was her last set, and everyone was excited because her fans were expecting that 'Move' would be the last song she’d sing.]Taj’s fists clenched as he kept his eyes on the big TV screen. He was worried about his ex-wife.[But contrary to what her fans expected, an emotional Tori Herrera came back on stage after about fifteen minutes. And according to the information we gathe
JUST AS TORI was walking up to the stage, she was greeted by nonstop screaming from her fans who couldn’t get enough of her. They were expecting that the popstar’s last song would be 'Move', one of the songs that brought Tori to fame. It was also one of the songs the Infinite Star performed at her kick-off concert at Polaris Stadium. It was, after all, everyone’s favorite.“Something is off,” a fan immediately noticed when she saw Tori’s strange behavior. She even nudged the person beside her to get their attention.“And she’s not gonna sing 'Move',” another one said, eyes on the guitar the Infinite Star was holding.The Tori standing in front of them now was different from the Tori who performed earlier. It was like she suddenly became a different person. Maybe because they could see the popstar didn’t look good.“Why do I feel like the whole place suddenly got gloomy?” another one commented, hugging herself.Earlier, when Tori was walking up to the stage, everyone was lively and e
GREY PEBBLES PLAZA, MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NEW YORK“Last set,” one of Tori’s team staff said.They were currently at Grey Pebbles Plaza in New York for her comeback tour. After this, they’d head to Los Angeles for the last stop of the tour, before going back to the Philippines for the homecoming concert.Tori already changed. She was just wearing a simple loose black shirt and denim shorts, paired with black ankle boots. The hair her stylist curled earlier she’d just tie back.“Are you okay?” Ember asked her talent.She’d noticed for a while now that Tori seemed down, so she was worried.With back-to-back concerts, rehearsals, guestings on radio and TV stations for promotion, plus nonstop travels, Ember was sure Tori’s exhaustion was at its limit.Tori wasn’t a complainer though, even back then when she was at the peak of her fame five years ago. And now that she was back on stage after being gone for so long, Ember was sure Tori would do everything to make it up to her fans.Tori n







