Chapter 2

ZAKE

I had gone to the bar that night for a moment of peace—a rare break from the suffocating demands of the family business. But what happened was far more than I had bargained for.

Addie. That was the name she gave me. A girl with enough grit to demand I ruin her life, yet her brown eyes held a depth that I haven't been able to shake since. I can't get her out of my head.

She was breathtaking, yes, but it’s the mystery that’s clawing at me. Why did she cry in the middle of sex? Was it physical pain, or was it something deeper—something personal that she was trying to drown out?

"Damn it, Zake Craige," I muttered to myself, rubbing my temples.

"Stop thinking about her. She was a ghost. You'll never see her again.”

earlier that morning, when I woke up she wasn't there but yet she leave me a note, with a 100 pesos

(Thank you for last night, it was such a great comfort I ever have, Love Addie)

I let out a chuckled when I looked at the money does my worth is only 100 pesos the audacity of her?

And the letters I asks my secretary to frame it and display to my house.

Because maybe I can find her soon

A sharp knock at the door startled me.

"Come in," I barked.

The door creaked open, and my assistant stepped in tentatively. "Mr. Zake... I still haven't found the girl from last night."

I looked up, my jaw tight. "Then look harder. If you have to search every corner of Manila, do it. Just find her."

I wasn't even sure what I was thinking or why I was so obsessed with finding a girl I barely knew. I was supposed to marry Olivia Villareal—a soul-crushing arrangement orchestrated by my grandfather.

I loathed the woman she was outrageous, superficial, and entirely fake. I couldn't for the life of me understand why my grandfather was so fond of her.

Finding Addie was no longer just a curiosity—it was a necessity. I needed a way out. I refused to spend the rest of my life tied to a woman whose entire personality was built on lies.

2 days ago

Two days ago, still hindi pa rin nahanap si Addie, I was in my window viewing the city, standing as I watched the whole city, expecting. hoping. wishing that I could see her, but destiny is on my side

“Mr. Zake, your new assistant is here”.

“let her in”. my voice cold and arrogant

The door swung open slowly and his heels ticking over the marble floors

“Mr. Zake, good day”. she said, a very soft voice

The moment I heard that voice, my heart stopped. It was a sound I had replayed in my head a thousand times. Slowly, I turned around to face her.

My body froze. It was her. My lips parted to speak, but the words died in my throat.

"Mr. Zake? Is something wrong?" she asked, her voice tilting with professional curiosity.

Does she really not remember me? I wondered, searching her face. I was the man she had begged to take her that night, yet she looked at me as if I were a complete stranger.

Perhaps this was a gift from destiny—a chance to observe her without the suffocating weight of awkwardness between us.

She stepped forward and handed me a brown folder. As I reached for it, our fingers brushed.

That spark—that exact sensation—was unmistakable. It was the same touch, the same eyes, the same lips. It had to be her.

I flipped the folder open, my eyes scanning the personal information until they landed on her name.

"Adeline Villareal?" I asked, my voice a mix of a question and pure confusion.

"So, you’re a Villareal? One of the top five wealthiest families in the city?"

She didn't flinch.

"No, Sir, I’m not. I grew up in the province with my grandparents. Whoever the Villareals you're referring to are... I’m not one of them," she replied firmly

“Yeah I see”. I countered.

“You're hired”. I added

“Is that so?” she said, her lips curving into a smile. But it didn't reach her eyes. Instead of warmth, I saw a flash of cold fury buried deep within them. She wasn't happy she was vengeful.

Or maybe I was overthinking,

“you can start now! and get me a coffee over the breakroom, and I wish you can stay longer”. I said.

She's wearing a navy fitted dress, office—approved according to the dress code but when she leans forward, the top button tugs, enough to show her cleavage, barely caged in.

“The coffee taste bitter, I do not want pure black, I want black with splash of cream”

“What?” she asks dumbly

“I said—I want black coffee with splash of cream, use you ears”. I said coldly

She went back at Breakroom to make a new coffee but this time she still wearing her dress, and I don't like it because I can't focus on my works and my brains consumed by her whenever I see her cleavage.

I felt my cock twisting against my pants, as I tap the head of it

“Stop it”. I murmured to myself.

Everytime I see her, I wanted to fuck her, own her, as if she's the only woman living on earth, but I'm a CEO I need to act proffessional in order to keep my name in good records ,or I could just tease her or make her work complicated so that she may always come in front of me with fear losing her job.

Later that day, I went into my grandpa house to physically visit him, but as a usual he only talks about my marriage with Olivia and he wanted to do it right this months,

“It's time for you to forget your past grandson, don't let yourself stuck in past”

As much as I wanted to let go and forget the girl I met before, that's kinda impossible, we've ought to each other to marry soon when we grown up, I even ink her favorite blue butterfly in my chest as a reminder of her, but up until now, I haven't seen her, I've checked every corners in this City but yet her shadow still can't find.