Chapter 6

The hallway earlier seemed shocked, parang nag-apocalypse.

The moment Sophie froze in front of me, the energy in the entire welcome area shifted. Students stopped walking. Others literally stepped back. Yung iba tahimik, yung iba nakanganga, and a few even took out their phones. May nakatutok na camera, may naka-video na. Lahat naghihintay kung ano ang susunod na mangyayari.

And in the eye of that storm, I stood straight. Calm. Unbothered. Composed in a way Diane-from-last-semester could never have imagined.

At the edge of my vision, I felt a presence before I even saw him.

Sevi.

He was there—quietly, steadily, like a constant heartbeat. He must have seen the commotion from afar and followed, because before I even turned, nakatayo na siya sa gilid ko, one hand casually in his pocket, his other arm brushing slightly against mine.

Not touching—just close enough to say I’m here.

Protected.

Tethered.

Safe.

“Diane,” he murmured, eyes checking my face subtly, “you okay?”

Sophie flinched at the name. I smiled slightly, never looking away from her.

“More than okay.”

Sevi didn’t smile—he stayed serious, eyes sharp, jaw clenched—but his presence alone repaired cracks inside me.

Sophie swallowed hard. “No. No, this is... this is impossible. Hindi ka si Diane. Hindi puwede. She doesn’t look like—”

“Like me?” I finished for her. “Like this?”

Her cheeks heated with frustration. “You’re lying,” she snapped, voice trembling.

I shrugged lightly. “Do I look like I need to lie?”

People murmured.

“Grabe. Ang ganda niya."

“Parang ibang tao.”

Yung galit sa mukha niya ay hindi niya maitago. Kahit anong pilit niyang ngumiti, kitang-kita sa mga mata niya. At doon ko nakita.

The fear.

The crack in her perfect facade.

“You’re not Diane,” she insisted again, voice thin. “Diane is—she’s—”

“Weak?” I raised a brow. “Pathetic? Insecure? Easy to break?”

She went silent.

But the way her breath hitched said enough. Just then, a familiar voice cut through the tension.

“Sophie? What’s happening?”

Ryan.

The crowd parted like the Red Sea as he entered—tall, confident, wearing the same jacket he wore the day he broke me. He had a lanyard around his neck, a student council VP badge, meaning he and Sophie were now partners. The golden couple. Perfect pair.

His eyes landed on Sophie first, then me—and froze.

As if struck. His confident step faltered. His brows slowly knit together, confused, stunned. He blinked hard, like he thought he was hallucinating.

And then—

“…who is she?”

A satisfying shiver ran down my spine. Because Ryan—my Ryan, the boy who once said he loved me, the boy who replaced me, broke me, humiliated me—now looked at me… and didn’t recognize me.

His breath visibly caught in his throat. Sophie noticed it. Her eyes widened, her jaw clenching, her fingers curling around her welcome kit. Because that look—the way Ryan stared at me— was the look he used to give her.

“Ryan,” she said quickly, stepping closer to him, “she’s just… a transferee. Don’t get distracted.”

I almost laughed.

Transferee?

Distracted?

I watched Ryan’s gaze wander over me again—slower this time, more stunned.

And then he whispered, “…Diane?”

The way he said it—shaky, unsure, almost reverent—silenced everyone. Students gasped. Sophie stiffened.

Sevi stepped closer to me, subtly placing his body between me and Ryan like an instinct. “Stay where you are,” Sevi murmured under his breath, his tone gentle but protective.

Ryan’s eyes snapped to him. And something darkened in his expression.

“Why are you standing so close to Diane?” Ryan demanded, brows furrowing deeply.

Sevi’s jaw flexed. “Because I’m staying with her.”

“You don’t have to,” Ryan said sharply. “She’s not in danger.”

Sevi scoffed quietly. “Isn’t she? After everything you and your girlfriend put her through?”

Ryan froze.

Students murmured louder.

“Totoo ba yun?”

“Sina Sophie pala yung nang-bully?”

“Kaya pala nag-iba siya.”

The tension rose—high, crackling, dangerous.

Sophie paled. “Ryan, don’t listen to him—”

But Sevi stepped in front of me fully now, his stance protective, grounded, unquestionably loyal.

“I was there,” he said coldly. “Nakita ko lahat. Every breakdown. Every rumor. Every humiliation she went through because of you two.”

The crowd’s whispers swelled.

Ryan opened his mouth—but no excuse came out. Sevi continued, voice low but cutting:

“You didn’t just break her heart. You crushed her whole life.”

Ryan flinched. I felt Sophie stiffen like a statue. And the campus listened—ravenous for truth. Sevi wasn’t done.

“She cried alone,” he said softly, eyes narrowing. “She avoided school because people twisted lies about her. Hindi mo man lang tinanong kung totoo ba. You didn’t protect her. You didn’t even give her a chance.”

Ryan looked stricken. Parang naubusan ng hangin. Sevi took one steady breath, then delivered the final blow.

“And while you ignored her… habang binabastos siya ng mga tao…” He looked at me, eyes gentle. “I stayed.”

The whole campus inhaled sharply. Sophie’s nails dug into her palm so hard she almost bled.

Ryan stepped forward, desperate. “Diane—”

Sevi moved instantly, blocking him with his body.

“Don’t,” he warned. “Not anymore.”

I touched Sevi’s arm lightly. “It’s okay,” I whispered.

He turned slightly toward me, his expression softening—but his body remained tense, ready to shield. I stepped forward, meeting Ryan’s gaze. And he looked… destroyed. Like he finally understood everything he lost.

Diane, the Diane he abandoned, was gone. And the one standing in front of him. This confident, reborn, unbreakable version,

was someone he no longer had the right to touch.

“Diane,” he breathed, voice cracking. “Why didn’t you tell me you were—”

“Changing?” I finished calmly. “Healing?”

He swallowed, throat bobbing. “I didn’t know you were hurting that much.”

“That’s the problem,” I replied softly. “You didn’t want to know.”

Silence.

His eyes glistened—regret, longing, confusion all mixed together.

“Diane…” he whispered. “I—”

“You don’t get to say my name like that anymore,” I said firmly.

The students around us murmured in shock. Ryan’s breath hitched.

Sophie cut in immediately, voice sharp, desperate. “Ryan, don’t let her manipulate you. She’s just—”

I turned my gaze to her. Cold. Sharp. Surgical.

“I’m not manipulating anyone,” I said. “I’m simply done being your victim.”

Her face drained.

I tilted my head slightly. “But you knew this moment was coming, didn’t you, Sophie? I told you last semester—remember?”

She blinked rapidly. “Remember… what?”

I stepped closer.

“You said I looked weak,” I said quietly. “And I said, ‘Not anymore.’”

Recognition flickered in her eyes.

Fear followed.

And just like that—her mask crumbled.

“I never meant to—” she stammered.

“Yes, you did,” I said with a chilling calmness. “And you enjoyed every second.”

Ryan stared at Sophie slowly, confused, horrified, betrayed.

“Sophie…” he whispered, disbelief in his voice. “Is that true?”

She stuttered, “W-wait—Ryan—I—”

But he didn’t look away from her. Everything she built was cracking. Breaking. Disintegrating.

I didn’t smile. I didn’t gloat. I didn’t scream. I simply stood tall, with Sevi’s steady presence beside me, while Ryan and Sophie faced the consequences of the lies they created.

Sophie backed away slowly, trembling. “No… no, Ryan, don’t look at me like that. I—”

Sevi slid an arm behind me lightly, not touching, just ready.

Ryan shook his head, still staring at Sophie like she’d lied to him for the first time.

And honestly?

She was.

I stepped back beside Sevi and whispered, “Let’s go.”

He nodded instantly. “Yeah. Let’s leave this mess.”

As we walked away together, I heard the chaos behind us, Sophie’s panicked voice, Ryan’s angry whispers, the student body erupting in whispers and theories.

But none of that mattered. For the first time since everything fell apart. I was walking away with someone who stayed. Sevi glanced at me as we exited the building, his voice quiet and sincere:

“You handled that better than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

I breathed deeply. “That was just the beginning.”

And as we walked together across the campus—side by side, steady, unafraid—people stared again. But this time, they weren’t looking at the girl who fell apart. They were looking at the girl who rose from the ruins. And at the boy who never let go of her hand, even when the world did.