Prologue

Title : The Forgotten Zillionaire

By : Yshanggabi D****e

There are nights that define you.

And then there are nights that destroy every version of who you thought you were.

That night… I was both the man who had everything and the man who lost it all in one breath.

I held the black velvet box tightly — the ring I’d kept for months, waiting for the perfect moment to ask Rafaela to spend forever with me. She was my calm, my reason for coming home after every endless meeting. My world.

Or so I thought.

The restaurant was glowing — soft lights, quiet music, waves kissing the shore just beyond the glass walls. Montreux Haven. My own property. Every detail I arranged myself. For her.

But when I opened the private lounge door, the world I built came crashing down.

Rafaela… was in someone else’s arms.

Her lips on another man’s mouth — deep, sure, deliberate.

My fingers loosened. The velvet box almost slipped.

I just stood there. Watching. Breathing through the ache burning in my chest.

“Rafa,” I finally said, my voice low but firm.

She froze. The man turned, shocked. The world seemed to stop — only my heartbeat echoed in my ears, heavy, violent.

“Adrian…” she stuttered, stepping back, guilt flickering in her eyes. “Please—let me explain—”

“Explain?” I let out a dry laugh. “That you got bored? Or that he kissed you first?”

“No! I—It’s not what you think,” she insisted, tears pooling. “I just— I felt… lost. You’re always busy. You’re always—”

“Building a future for us, Rafaela,” I cut her off, voice cold, controlled — CEO tone. “Everything I did, every late night, every deal… it was all for you.”

She shook her head, crying harder. “You don’t understand—”

But before she could finish, a voice came from behind me.

“Don’t waste your breath, bro.”

It was Lorenzo, my closest friend. He’d been standing there long enough to witness everything.

“She doesn’t love you,” he said, eyes hard as steel. “You think she stayed because of love? No, Adrian. She stayed because of your money. Because of your name.”

“Lorenzo, shut up!” Rafaela screamed, her voice trembling. “That’s not true!”

“Oh, it’s true,” he shot back. “I’ve seen the way you talk when he’s not around. The way you treat his staff. The way you spend like the world owes you his fortune.”

I looked at her — really looked.

And for the first time, I didn’t see the woman I loved. I saw the truth I refused to face.

“Is that true, Rafa?” I asked softly. “Was I just your golden ticket?”

Her silence was louder than any answer.

The ring in my hand felt heavy — like a joke the universe played too cruelly. I laughed bitterly, tears pricking my eyes though I fought them back.

“Funny,” I whispered, “I was supposed to ask you to be my forever tonight. I even shut down the entire restaurant… just to hear you say yes.”

“Adrian, please,” she begged, stepping closer. “Don’t do this—”

I stepped back. “Do what? Walk away from a lie?”

The silence that followed was deafening. I looked at her one last time — memorizing the face that used to mean home.

“Keep the dress,” I said quietly. “It suits you — red always did look good on betrayal.”

And with that, I turned around, leaving her standing there with her tears and her guilt. Lorenzo followed, but I stopped him at the door.

“Don’t,” I muttered. “Just… let me be alone tonight.”

I walked out. Lorenzo called after me, but I just kept walking — each step heavier than the last. The rain had started to fall when I reached my car, but I didn’t care. I drove. Fast. Reckless. Empty.

The sound of the engine roared louder than my thoughts. My hands tightened on the wheel as flashes of Rafaela’s betrayal replayed again and again.

She doesn’t love you.

She stayed for your money.

She stayed for your name.

I pressed harder on the gas. The world outside blurred. My heart raced with the speedometer. The rain hit harder, drowning the road in silver light.

And then—

A blinding flash.

A scream of tires.

The violent twist of metal against concrete.

Everything shattered — the glass, the silence, the man I was.

The last thing I saw was the diamond ring rolling on the passenger seat, glowing faintly in the dark — the ring that never reached her hand.

Then, nothing.

Darkness.

Cold.

Quiet.

That night, the world lost Adrian Zavier Montreux — the youngest zillionaire to build an empire before thirty.

They said I died in a car crash. That my body was never found. That I vanished into the sea.

But the truth?

I didn’t die.

I just… stopped being the man they once knew.

Somewhere, washed ashore between life and loss,

I began again — not as the billionaire they mourned,

but as the missing zillionaire they’ll never truly find.

CHARACTERS

Adrian Zavier Montreux

Twenty-six, heir of the powerful Montreux Conglomerate, isang multi–generational empire known for global luxury resorts and maritime industries. Tall, dangerously handsome, with deep-set eyes and a cold, commanding aura—he was raised like a prince inside private jets and glass towers. But beneath the tailored suits and silent authority is a man broken by betrayal, na ngayon ay walang maalala kundi ang pangalang nakatatak sa kanyang kwintas. Ang amnesya niya ang nagtanggal ng lahat—kapangyarihan, pagkakakilanlan, at tahanan, leaving only a wounded man washed ashore with nothing but his name: Adrian Zavier Montreux.

Rafaela Celestine Montefalco

Twenty-four, socialite, model, and heir of the Montefalco Distilleries, a wine empire known for high society galas. Blonde hair, porcelain skin, perfect posture—lahat sa kanya staged para magmukhang Diyosang nililok para sa mga camera. She fell in love with Adrian’s money long before she fell for the man. Sweet smiles, soft voice, flawless dresses—but behind every “I love you” is ambition wrapped with diamonds. She is beauty funded by privilege, and betrayal disguised as charm.

Lavender Reyes

Twenty-two, the daughter of a small island fisherman and a local seamstress, raised by waves instead of wealth. Sun-kissed skin, wavy salt-soaked hair, and eyes shaped by both kindness and hunger. Hindi siya graduate, hindi bihasa sa siyudad, at ang tanging yaman niya ay ang tibok ng pusong marunong magmahal kahit walang natitira. Pobre sa pera, mayaman sa konsensya. Tahimik, walang alam sa mundo sa labas ng isla—but she carries a kind of innocence money could never buy.