Chapter 4

Tamad na napatingala si Avern sa digital clock ng opisina. Nag-inat siya at niligpit ang mga gamit. Walang katapusang trabaho pero mabuti ay hindi na niya nakita ang boss. Aware siya na nagmukhang bastos ang ginawa. 

She could care less. Iiwasan niya si Cairo kahit anong mangyari. Binitbit niya ang bag at planong maglakad pabalik sa apartment ni Helia. Hindi na alintana ang layo dahil sanay na siya sa probinsya. 

"Ms. Dela Cruz." Halos mabangga siya sa pader nang may biglang nagsalita sa likod. Sinamaan niya ito ng tingin. Maligno pero pasalamat gwapo. 

"Anong kailangan mo, Sir? Pati ba naman dito tatawagin niyo pa ako? Dis oras na po ng gabi may I remind you." 

"Exactly why I insist you to get in the car. It's dangerous at night. Mahirap na mag commute ganitong oras baka mapaano ka sa daan." 

Mas mabuti ng harapin niya kung anong bubungad sa daan kaysa makasama ang hayop na boss. Baka nagpapakabait lang dahil may bagong iuutos. 

"Huwag na, Sir. Baka maabala ka at magalit ang naghihintay sayo." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Sir, sa gwapo mong yan malabo pa sa ilog Pasig kung sabihin mong wala kang babae. It's 2025 kaya kung may uutuin ka baka nasa kabilang kanto kaya tantanan mo na ako." 

"You will get in or I will drag you in." 

Inismiran niya ito. 

"Sayang sa Gasolina." 

"It's my money." 

"Oo na ikaw na ang rich." 

"Now get in." Binuksan nito ang pintuan at inalalayan siya. 

"Hindi po ako disabled, Sir. Kaya ko pong mag self service." 

The moment she sat inside Cairo’s car, Avern regretted it.

Not because it was wrong.

Not because it was inappropriate.

But because the interior smelled like him.

Warm. Clean. Masculine.

Avern buckled the seatbelt with shaking fingertips, refusing to look at him. But he was already watching her. Delulu lang. 

Not smirking.

Not teasing.

Just… watching.

“Comfortable?” he asked, voice low.

"Hindi. Tingin mo may magiging komportable kung kanina ka pa nakamasid?" 

His lips twitched. "Honest. I like that."

His hand reached across me—slow, deliberate—and for a terrifying second, she thought he was going to touch her. 

Instead, he tugged the seatbelt strap gently, sliding it across my collarbone to adjust it properly.

His knuckles brushed the base of her throat.

A soft, accidental touch.

But it felt like a strike of heat.

“You should wear it higher,” Cairo murmured, his breath ghosting against her cheek. “Wouldn’t want anything to hurt you.”

“You smell like jasmine and stress.”

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Sarcastic na tanong niya. 

“Avern,” he said softly, “your pulse is racing.”

Avern snapped her gaze to him. “Stop noticing things.”

“I can’t.”

His answer came quick, unfiltered, almost frustrated.

The car hummed to life, but the real danger was already inside.

Cairo kept both hands on the wheel.

It wasn’t self-discipline. It was survival. One woman keeps running in his mind. Kahit nakapikit siya pa rin ang nakikita. Avern Dela Cruz. 

If her touched her now—her waist, her knee, even her hand—it would change everything.

And she wasn’t ready.

Hell, he wasn’t ready.

So he drove carefully, keeping every muscle locked and every instinct chained.

Her breathing was unsteady.

He could hear it.

He could feel it in the air between us.

“Long day?” He asked.

She nodded, staring out the window. “Very.”

“Let me make tomorrow easier.”

Taas kilay na nilingon siya. “What does that mean?”

“It means I see how hard you work,” Cairo said simply. “And maybe I want to do something about it.”

Her fingers tightened around her bag.

“You don’t owe me anything,” Mahinang bulong ni Avern. 

“I know,” He answered. He meant it.

That was the problem.

He didn’t want her because she owed me.

He wanted her because resisting her felt like torture.

“Are you always this… intense with your employees?” 

“No.”

“Then why—”

“Because you keep running,” I cut in. “And I keep wanting to follow.”

Biglang natigilan ang dalaga. 

Cairo shouldn’t have said that. But he's past pretending.

She finally looked at me—really looked. Not with fear. Not with annoyance.

With a kind of terrified curiosity.

God, it almost undid him. 

He gripped the wheel tighter.

“Stop looking at me like that,” He said quietly.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re asking me to ruin your self-control.”

Hindi makapaniwalang napatingin si Avern sa kanya. 

The light turned green. He forced his gaze back to the road.

One more second and he would’ve leaned in.

Nang huminto ang sasakyan sa harap ng aming munting apartment, halos matisod siya sa paglabas.

But Cairo stepped out too.

“Sir—”

“Avern.”

Napahinto siya.

“Salamat sa paghatid. " 

“Is someone home to watch you?” 

"Pinsan ko lang ang kasama ko." 

“Good.” A slow breath. “I won’t leave until you’re inside.”

"Hindi na kailangan." 

“It’s not negotiable.”

Instead, she walked toward the gate.

The whole time, she felt his gaze on he back—warm, heavy, protective.

When she reached the door of our unit, she turned.

He was still there. Leaning against his car. Hands in pockets. Watching Avern like she was something precious he wasn’t allowed to touch.

“Goodnight, Avern.”

The way he said it—

Low.

Warm.

A promise.

Avern gripped the doorknob, whispering back. 

“Goodnight… Cairo.”

His inhale was sharp.

Like the sound of a man losing ground.

Padabog na sinara ni Avern ang pinto at agad niyakap ang unan. 

Cairo waited until I heard her lock the door.

Only then did he finally exhale.

He leaned against his car, head tipped back.

The Manila night was thick and warm, but she was hotter than the air.

She didn’t know what she did to him. 

Hell, he didn’t know what she was doing to him. 

But he drove away with her scent still in his lungs and her voice replaying in his head—

Goodnight… Cairo.

If she said his name like that again. He wasn’t sure he would be able to keep the promise he made to himself. 

To go slow.

To be careful.

To not cross her boundaries.

But tonight…

she almost broke mine.