Chapter 4 After Midnight

Zane’s POV

The bass of the music echoed across the dark walls of Bachelor’s Hub Bar habang nakaupo ako sa pinakadulong bahagi ng VIP section, hawak ang isang baso ng whiskey na ilang beses ko nang pinaikot pero hindi pa rin inuubos.

Sa ibaba, nagkakagulo ang mga tao sa dance floor.

Bodies pressed together.

Women laughing.

Liquor flowing like water.

And yet none of it was enough to drown the noise inside my head.

"Tangina, pre. Dalawang oras ka nang ganyan," sambit ni Damon habang umuupo sa tapat ko. "Kung ayaw mo talagang magpakasal, dapat sinabi mo na lang diretso sa pamilya mo."

Napailing ako bago tuluyang ininom ang laman ng baso.

"I already did."

The first engagement party.

The one I walked out from.

The one everyone would probably talk about tomorrow.

"Nasaan si Veronica?" tanong ni Damon.

I scoffed.

"Probably pretending she wasn’t humiliated tonight."

Tahimik siyang napatingin sa akin.

"You don’t love her."

"No."

Mabilis ang sagot ko.

Too quick.

Too certain.

Because the truth is, I never even tried.

Veronica Delos Reyes was perfect on paper.

Beautiful.

Elegant.

Educated.

Exactly the kind of woman my family wanted beside me.

A woman fit for the Villanueva name.

But every time I looked at her, I felt nothing.

No excitement.

No peace.

Nothing.

Just obligation.

And I was already suffocating from it.

"Tito Luciano’s furious," dagdag ni Damon habang umiinom. "Hindi raw normal na iwanan mo engagement party mo para pumunta sa bar."

Napangisi ako nang malamig.

"Then maybe they should stop treating my life like a business contract."

Because that’s exactly what this engagement was.A deal.

Connections.

Partnership.

Money.

Everything except love.

Napabuntong-hininga ako bago ibinaba ang baso.

Mula sa second floor ng VIP area, tanaw ko ang buong bar. Ilang babae na rin ang nagtangkang lumapit sa akin simula nang dumating ako pero wala akong pinansin.

I wasn’t here for pleasure.

I was here to escape.

Escape the suffocating ballroom.

Escape the cameras.

Escape the expectations chained around my neck since birth.

"You know," ani Damon, "kung gusto mo talaga tumakas, dapat umalis ka ng bansa."

"Hindi ko kailangang tumakas."

"Really? Because that’s exactly what you’re doing."

Hindi ako agad sumagot.

Maybe he was right.

Maybe this whole thing was just another form of running away.

Muli kong pinaikot ang whiskey sa baso ko bago napatingin sa dance floor.

Then I saw her.

Black dress.

Long dark hair falling against her bare shoulders.

And eyes that looked painfully lost despite the flashing lights around her.

She was sitting at the bar counter habang hawak ang shot glass niya na parang gusto niyang lunurin ang sarili sa alak.

There was something about her.

Hindi ko agad maipaliwanag.

Maybe it was the way she stared blankly at nothing.

Or the way she tried so hard to look okay even when she obviously wasn’t.

"Damn," sambit ni Damon nang sundan niya ang tingin ko. "She’s pretty."

I ignored him.

Because for some reason, hindi sa mukha niya ako nakatingin.

Kundi sa lungkot.

The kind of sadness you only see from someone who just lost something important.

Or someone.

"Go talk to her," ani Damon.

Napailing ako.

"I’m not interested."

Tumawa siya.

"Bullshit. Hindi ka nga makaalis tingin diyan."

Napairap ako at muling uminom.

But even after that, my eyes still found her.

Maya-maya ay may lumapit na babae sa akin.

Tall.

Blonde.

Probably a model.

"Buy me a drink?" nakangiti nitong tanong habang hinahaplos ang braso ko.

Normally, I would entertain this.

A few years ago, maybe even a few months ago.

But tonight?

Everything felt exhausting.

"No."

Nawala agad ang ngiti niya.

"Excuse me?"

"I said no."

She walked away irritated while Damon laughed beside me.

"Grabe. Himala yata ‘to ah."

Hindi ko siya pinansin.

Because my attention was still on the woman downstairs.

Then someone sat beside her.

A man.

I frowned.

The guy leaned closer to her, probably flirting.

She smiled politely but there was discomfort in her face.

I don’t know why that irritated me.

Wala naman akong pakialam dapat.

Hindi ko siya kilala.

But when the guy touched her thigh, something inside me snapped.

"Excuse me," malamig kong sambit bago tumayo.

Narinig ko pang tumawa si Damon habang pababa ako ng stairs.

"Ayaw mo pa raw makipag-usap, ha?"

Ignoring him, dire-diretso akong naglakad papunta sa bar counter.

Mas malinaw ko na siyang nakita habang papalapit.

She looked soft.

Too soft for a place like this.

The stranger beside her leaned closer again.

"Come on, baby. Isa lang—"

"She’s with me."

Pareho silang napatingin sa akin.

The guy frowned. "Who the hell are you?"

"The one telling you to back off."

Tense agad ang atmosphere.

Pero umatras rin ang lalaki nang makita siguro ang expression ko.

He cursed under his breath before walking away.

Tahimik kaming dalawa pagkatapos noon.

She stared at me for a few seconds.

Close enough for me to notice her slightly swollen eyes.

She’d been crying.

"You didn’t have to do that," mahina niyang sambit.

"I know."

"Then why did you?"

Napahawak ako sa baso ng whiskey ko.

Good question.

Why did I?

Hindi ko rin alam.

Maybe because she looked like she was one wrong touch away from breaking.

And somehow… I understood that feeling tonight.

"Rough night?" tanong ko.

Napatawa siya nang mahina pero walang saya.

"Something like that."

There it was again.

That sadness.

That emptiness.

Parang may parte sa sarili niya na naiwan kung saan man siya nanggaling.

"Then drink with me," sabi ko.

She looked at me carefully.

Parang pinag-iisipan kung dapat ba niya akong pagkatiwalaan.

Smart.

Because men in places like this were dangerous.

Hell, maybe even I was dangerous.

"What if I say no?" tanong niya.

Napangisi ako nang bahagya.

"Then I’ll drink alone."

For the first time that night, I saw a real smile form on her lips.

Small.

Fragile.

But real.

And somehow, seeing that smile felt more intoxicating than every bottle inside this damn bar.

Kundi iyong presensya nito.

Mabigat.

Dangerous.

Parang klase ng babaeng may dinadalang sakit na pilit niyang tinatago.

“Heartbroken?” diretsong tanong niya.

Napangiti nang mapait ang babae.

“Halata ba?”

“Yes.”

Simple lang ang sagot niya pero nakita niyang bahagyang natigilan ito.

Parang hindi sanay may direktang nagsasabi ng totoo rito.

“He cheated,” mahina nitong sambit habang nakatitig sa dance floor. “Saw him with another woman earlier.”

Tahimik lang si Zane.

Listening.

Watching.

“At stupid enough… mahal ko pa rin yata.”

Napatawa ito nang mahina pero halatang pilit iyon.

Hindi niya maintindihan kung bakit may kung anong kumirot sa dibdib niya habang pinagmamasdan ang babae.

Maybe because she looked too broken.

And somehow… familiar.

“Men are trash,” sambit nito.

“Not all.”

“Really?”

Ngayon ay direkta na itong tumingin sa kaniya.

Napangisi siya nang bahagya.

“Some are worse.”

Unexpectedly, natawa ito.

A real laugh.

At sa unang pagkakataon buong gabi, pakiramdam ni Zane may totoong bagay siyang narinig.

“See?” sambit niya. “You look better laughing.”

Bahagyang natigilan ang babae.

Then she looked away.

Cute.

Dangerously cute.

“Oo nga pala,” sambit niya habang sinisindihan ang sigarilyo. “What’s your name?”

“Mich.”

“And your full name?”

Saglit itong nagdalawang-isip.

Parang may tinatago.

“Mich Fernandez.”

Mich Fernandez.

He silently repeated the name inside his head.

“Zane,” sagot niya.

“Zane what?”

Napangisi siya bago sumandal sa stool.

“Just Zane.”

Hindi niya ugaling ipakilala agad ang buong pangalan niya.

Especially in places like this.

Especially to strangers.

Pero habang nakaupo ang babaeng ito sa tabi niya, pakiramdam niya… ayaw niyang matapos agad ang gabing ito.

Habang tumatagal ang usapan nila, mas lalo niyang napapansin ang maliliit na bagay tungkol dito.

The way she played with her glass when nervous.

The way her lips trembled slightly whenever she mentioned pain.

The sadness hiding behind her eyes.

At lalong delikado roon?

Gusto niyang malaman lahat tungkol sa kaniya.

Which was stupid.

Because people like him ruined women like her.

“Another drink?” tanong niya.

The moment their fingers accidentally touched while reaching for the same glass, something shifted.

Hindi niya maipaliwanag.

Pero sa unang pagkakataon matapos niyang takasan ang engagement party niya, pakiramdam niya… may dahilan kung bakit siya napunta rito.

And maybe meeting her would become the biggest mistake of his life.

Or the best thing that ever happened to him.