Chapter 4: The Fiancé

Inside Lucas Madrigal’s black SUV

7:42 PM — Rain tapping lightly on the windows

The silence between them was deafening, even with the soft hum of the car engine.

Moon sat still, her hands clenched on her lap, eyes locked on the windshield as streetlights painted gold streaks across the glass. She didn’t dare look at Lucas not when her heart was racing like hell, not when her mind was screaming with a thousand why’s.

Lucas gripped the steering wheel tighter than necessary.

“M-Moon...” his voice finally broke the silence.

She didn’t respond.

He glanced sideways, only to see her jaw tighten. She was clearly holding it in the questions, the anger, the pain.

“You’re quiet,” he said.

Moon let out a sarcastic laugh, bitter, short, painful. “What do you want me to say? ‘Thanks for the ride, boss’?”

Lucas sighed. “Stop calling me boss.”

“Why not? That’s what you are now, right?” she snapped, finally turning to him. Her eyes shimmered not from tears, but from suppressed fury. “You’re not the same Lucas I used to know.”

“I never changed.”

“No,” she interrupted, her voice cracking. “You just disappeared.”

He looked away. “Moon, I had to—”

“Don’t. Don’t give me another excuse. Alam mo ba kung gaano katagal akong naghintay ng sagot?” she shot back, her voice rising. “One day we were everything… then poof, wala ka na lang. No goodbye, no explanation. Hindi ko alam kung namatay ka or you just stopped caring.”

The air in the car grew heavy. Lucas opened his mouth, but closed it again defeated.

Moon chuckled bitterly. “And now? After all these years, ikaw pa ‘yung naging boss ko. Anong klaseng plot twist ‘to, ha? Para saan? Closure?”

Lucas finally turned to her, his eyes intense. “No. Hindi para sa closure. Para makabawi.”

Moon froze.

“I ghosted you, yes,” he confessed, his voice low but firm. “And I regret it every f\*cking day. Hindi ako tumigil kakaisip sa’yo, Moon. I was young, scared, and stupid. My family sent me abroad without warning and I was pressured, Moon. I couldn’t drag you into that mess.”

“You didn’t even try,” she whispered.

“I know. And I’m sorry,” he said, voice breaking a little. “Pero ngayon na nandito na tayo… I want to fix this. If you’ll let me.”

Moon looked at him, really looked at him. Same face. Same eyes. But there was something new in them. Guilt. Longing. Pain. Sincerity.

“Lucas...” she whispered. “Do you really think saying sorry can undo everything?”

“No,” he said immediately. “But it’s the only place I can start.”

Moon inhaled sharply, turning her gaze back to the window.

A moment passed.

Then another.

Lucas parked the car in front of her apartment.

She didn’t move to open the door.

Instead, she whispered, “I’m not ready to forgive you.”

He nodded slowly. “I’ll wait.”

Moon finally opened the door, stepping out into the drizzle without looking back.

But just before she shut the car door, she said almost inaudibly

“Don’t ghost me again.”

The door clicked shut.

And Lucas... smiled a little through the sting in his chest.

“I won’t.”

--

8:03 AM — Madrigal Industries, 25th Floor

Moon’s POV

"Good morning, Miss De Vera."

"Good morning din po," Moon replied mechanically, holding tight to her coffee cup like it was some kind of emotional support device. Her stilettos clicked across the marble floor, but her heart felt heavier than her heels.

Her mind was still stuck in last night’s car ride the apology, the regret in his voice, the look in his eyes.

"Don’t ghost me again," she had said.

She never imagined she’d say it. But now that it was out there, hanging between them like an unfinished sentence, she didn’t know what to do next.

She reached her desk. The familiar view of Lucas' office greeted her.

The glass walls, the blinds all too transparent.

Too close.

Too him.

Moon took a deep breath and started her morning routine: laptop, calendar, to-do list, pretend like nothing happened. Standard secretary survival kit.

But the universe clearly hated her, because before she could even sip her coffee...

"Moon, in my office. Now.”

Her entire body froze.

His voice.

Lucas.

She stood, walked toward the lion’s den, the office and opened the door.

He was there, seated behind his desk, wearing a crisp navy blue suit, one hand on his pen, the other on his temple. He looked like sin in human form. The kind you regret... but only after the high.

“Close the door,” he said.

She obeyed, trying to stay professional even though her brain screamed, Awts, don’t fall again, girl.

"You okay?" he asked gently.

"I'm fine," she replied, sitting on the leather chair across him.

He paused. Then "You sure?"

She rolled her eyes. “Why? Magkausap lang tayo kagabi, bigla ka na naman magche-check in?”

“I just don’t want things to be awkward.”

She laughed under her breath. “Too late for that.”

Lucas leaned forward. “Moon... we still work together. I’m your boss. But I don’t want that to stop me from doing the right thing.”

“And ano ‘yung right thing, Lucas?” she asked, crossing her legs. “Getting back what you threw away?”

“I never threw you away.”

“Oh really? Kasi sa pagkakatanda ko, one day, we were planning prom. The next day, you vanished like a damn N*****x show na walang second season.”

Lucas clenched his jaw. “I told you, I was forced to leave.”

“You could’ve texted,” she snapped. “One word. One message. Pero wala. You ghosted me, Lucas. And now here you are acting like we can just... pick up where we left off.”

“I don’t expect you to forgive me now,” he said. “But I’m not going anywhere.”

Moon stood, tired of the back-and-forth. “Let’s just focus on work, Mr. Madrigal.”

The use of his last name stung.

He nodded slowly. “If that’s what you want.”

She turned, opened the door and bumped straight into a tall, gorgeous woman in a white blazer and red lips.

“Oh, I’m sorry—” Moon said.

The woman smirked. “You must be the secretary.”

Moon froze.

Lucas suddenly stood behind her. “Daniella.”

Daniella turned to him with a grin. “Long time no see love”

Fiancé?!

Moon’s heart stopped.

Lucas’s eyes went wide. “Daniella, what the hell are you doing here?”

“I’m back,” Daniella said sweetly, eyes darting between Moon and Lucas. “And I missed you.”

Moon didn’t say a word. She just walked past both of them fast.

But as soon as she reached the elevator and the doors closed, she whispered to herself:

“Fiancé pala, ha. Good job, Moon. You almost fell for the same ghost, again.”