CHAPTER 6:

ELARA'S POV: 

Rain was pouring heavily when I woke up that morning.

I stood by the window for a moment, feeling the chill in the air as I stared at the thick clouds covering the sky. Everything outside looked dark and gloomy, almost as if morning had forgotten to arrive.

Getting to the café was going to be difficult again.

A weather alert from the NDRRMC had already appeared on my phone, warning everyone about an approaching typhoon.

I sighed. It was always the same story. Flooding here. Flooding there. Sometimes, I didn’t even know whether to blame nature or corrupt officials who somehow managed to make every disaster worse.

Either way, ordinary people suffered. Animals suffered, homes were destroyed and livelihoods disappeared.

And somewhere, another family was probably wondering how they would rebuild everything after the storm had passed.

“Para po!” I called, waving at the jeepney driver.

The jeep stopped in front of the café, and I quickly climbed down.

As usual, Elite Café was on the opposite side of the road, so I still had to cross. This time, however, I checked both directions carefully. I had absolutely no intention of repeating the incident where I almost got run over.

Holding my umbrella tightly, I hurried across the street. It barely helped. The wind was so strong that the umbrella kept pulling against my grip, and the rain hit my skin like tiny needles.

Working in weather like this was miserable. But I didn’t have much of a choice. No work meant no salary. And honestly, being exhausted after a long day felt a lot better than having no money while a pile of bills waited for you at home. That was the kind of exhaustion that truly broke a person.

“Good morning!” I greeted everyone cheerfully when I finally stepped inside the café.

“Good morning, Elara!” my co-workers replied almost in unison.

I headed straight to the locker room, changed into my work shoes, put on my apron and hairnet, then pinned my name tag into place.

“It’s the kind of weather that makes you want to stay in bed, but since we’re slaves to money, here we are,” Clarie said while preparing a drink.

I laughed.

She raised the finished cup. “One cold Spanish latte for Ms. Vivienne!”

A woman stood from the far end of the café.

She was tall, probably around five-seven, and dressed in a fitted red dress that looked expensive even from a distance. Her stiletto heels clicked against the floor with every step, carrying the kind of confidence that made people look twice.

A black Hermès bag hung from her arm.

Her straight blonde hair looked freshly styled from a high-end salon, and everything about her appearance seemed polished and deliberate.

She was fair-skinned, petite, and undeniably beautiful. Sweet-looking, but somehow still intimidating.

“Here’s my payment for the Spanish latte,” she said in a high-pitched voice with a slight English accent.

Clarie swiped her credit card and handed it back along with the receipt. “Here’s your receipt, Ma’am. Thank you for coming to Elite Café. Enjoy your drink!”

The woman smiled sweetly. Too sweetly, perhaps.

“Thank you. You’ll definitely be seeing my face here often.” then she turned and walked away.

Clarie immediately nudged me with her elbow.

“Why do you think she said that?” she whispered. “Your girl is making me curious.”

I shrugged. “Maybe because she likes the ambiance.”

“She seems nice though,” Clarie said. “And in fairness, she’s really pretty and sexy.”

“True! At least she doesn’t look like the snobbish type.”

As the hours passed, the rain only became heavier.

Beyond the glass wall of the café, trees bent violently beneath the wind. Leaves spun through the air as though nature itself had decided to throw a tantrum.

“Theo’s definitely going to be absent later,” I said while checking the pastries. “He probably decided he was too lazy to come in. You know how it is when you’re rich.”

“For sure,” Clarie replied, laughing. “If I were rich, I wouldn’t have come in today either.”

I laughed with her. Honestly, she had a point.

— — —

By the time my shift ended, it was already night. The rain had not improved. If anything, transportation has become worse. Hardly any jeepneys were passing by.

I stood beneath the waiting shed, holding my soaked umbrella and staring at the road. I really didn’t want to take a tricycle. The fare was more expensive. So I waited and waited.

Then a black Toyota suddenly pulled over in front of me.

I frowned.

Who is that? Maybe someone’s getting out.

The car suddenly honked.

I jumped.

“Holy horse!” I blurted out.

The window slowly rolled down. A familiar face appeared. Its Lennox.

“What are you staring at? Get in, Elara!” he shouted, sticking his head slightly out of the window so I could hear him over the rain.

I hurried toward the car and climbed inside.

“What are you doing here, Lennox?” I asked, unable to hide my surprise.

He stared at me. “You can be so rude sometimes, you know that?”

Then he laughed. “Can you at least hug me first before you start interrogating me?”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

“Fine,” I leaned over and gave him a quick hug before pulling away. “So... why are you really here?”

“Well,” he said, grinning, “I asked Tita where you worked. I had nothing better to do, and I figured I’d pick you up.”

He glanced at the rain outside. “Knowing you, you’d probably still be standing here for an hour from now looking for a jeep. So yes, your knight in shining armor has arrived.”

He even raised both eyebrows dramatically.

I gave him a suspicious look. “Wow! How sweet… What do you need from me?”

He placed a hand over his chest in mock offense. “That hurts! Can’t I just be sweet without wanting something?”

“Enough, drama king. Let’s go. I want to get home.”

“Copy, ma’am.” he grinned before driving off.

For most of the ride, we stayed quiet while rain hammered against the windows. 

At every corner, people hurried through the streets, some running, some holding umbrellas that looked ready to collapse, others taking shelter beneath whatever roof they could find.

Watching them made me realize how lucky I was, at least in some ways.

I had a friend like Lennox. Someone who showed up when I needed him.

“Thanks for taking me home,” I said when we finally arrived.

“You’re welcome.” he winked.

I shook my head and laughed. If I hadn’t known Lennox since we were children, I might have mistaken his behavior for flirting.

He was naturally a gentleman. Maybe that was why so many women liked him. 

I was probably the only one immune to it. Or maybe I had simply gotten so used to his presence that it no longer affected me.

The moment I stepped inside, Mama greeted us. “Lennox! Stay for dinner.”

He walked over and respectfully took her hand to his forehead. “Mano po, Tita. I’d love to, but we have a family dinner tonight. Maybe next time.”

“Oh, is that so? All right. Give my regards to Lennah and Nox.”

“Yes, Tita. I will. Good night,” he turned toward me. “Bye, Elara.”

“Bye, Lennox. Drive safely.”

I smiled as he finally left.

After dinner, I went straight to my room and followed my usual nighttime routine. I took a quick half-bath before climbing into bed. But as I lay there staring at the ceiling, my mind betrayed me again.

Rhett Alaric.

Those cold eyes.

That expression he wore the last time I saw him. The strange nervousness returned to my chest.

Why was it like this every time I thought of him? There was always a hint of fear but admiration came with it.

Rhett wasn’t gentle or sweet like Lennox.

He was grumpy. Intimidating. Mysterious.

And yet there was something about him that pulled at my curiosity. Every look he gave seemed to contain words he refused to say. His expressions were difficult to read.

And beneath that cold exterior, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a story he kept buried inside himself.

A secret desperate to be heard, even if he had chosen silence instead.

Rhett Alaric.

Who are you, really?

And no matter how hard I try not to think about you, you always find your way back into my mind.