Chapter OneTahamik kong pinagmasdan mula sa bintana ng saksakyan ang matalahib na gilid ng dinaraanan naming daan. Simula kanina ay bilang lang ang mga sasakyan na nakasalubong namin at tila wala yatang katapusan ang daan sa unahan, hindi nakikita kung saan ito patutungo. Ang ganitong klaseng lugar ang gusto ko, malayo sa maalikabok na hangin ng Maynila. Tahimik at talagang nakakagaan ng pakiramdam.  Ramdam ko ang malamig na simoy ng hangin na tumama sa aking balat  kahit pa tanghali na at tirik na tirik ang araw. Siguro ay dahil ito sa dami ng mga puno na nakapalibot sa lugar. A typical scene in an isolated place. Ito ang kailangan ko ngayon, malayo sa nakaka-stress kong pamilya at malayo sa mga mapanuri at mapanghusgang mata ng mga tao. “We’ll stop at some local store to buy food,” sabi ni Sebastian. Tumango ako sa sinabi niya nang hindi siya tinitingnan. Tahimik lang akong nakatanaw

Chapter Three Nakatulala ako na nakatingin sa kawalan habang inikot-ikot ang hawak na ballpen. Kanina pa ako wala sa sarili dahil paulit-ulit na nagre-replay sa utak ko ang mga nangyari kanina sa bahay habang naghahanda ako ng almusal. As usual, ay nasa isang out-of-town business na naman ang asawa ko at sa isang linggo pa ito uuwi. Being the wife of the CEO of one of the wealthiest companies, I expected to experience all of it. Wala namang problema sa akin kung palaging busy ang asawa ko dahil sa negosyo, naiintindihan ko ‘yun, and I had my own business kaya hindi ako masyadong nababagot. I was always left in the house alone with the maids and I was fine with it until yesterday. Sebastian suddenly appeared at our doorstep yesterday night, grinning like a Chesire cat, and said he’ll be staying here for how long we know and Niu can’t do anything about it.  They were

Chapter Five     Tinitigan ko ang kamay ni Sebastian na nakahawak sa maliit na baywang ni Stanford, and for the first time I felt a slight pain at something that was not even hurtful for me. This was so new to me and I hated the feeling, alam ko kasi kung ano ito, I feel jealous of her. Hindi naman kasi ako dapat magkaganito sa kapatid ni Niu, because he was basically considered my brother, too.   Iniwas ko ang tingin doon at binaling sa mukha ni Stanford, ngayon ko lang yata naramdaman ng pagkainis sa babaeng ito. She’s one of our best clients because she was obsessed with fine jewelry. I like her because we have the same intersest, and that is the love for jewelry. Pero ngayon ay gusto kong bawiin na gusto ko siya, I hated her now that Seb's arms were around her. Ningitian ko siya at binati pero hindi ko pinansin si Sebastian, I don’t want to look at his face and be distracted again. Kung puwede ko lang siyang irapan ay kanina

 Tumikhim ako at umayos ng upo at itinuloy ko ang pag-scan ng ibang catalogue, but I got conscious with how his hand caressed my waist, he’s making tiny circles in the fabric of my dress, and I can’t help but compare how it felt when Sebastion touched me, I didn’t feel the same kind of electrical surge when Sebastian caressed my lips. Nakakakiliti ang bawat haplos niya at malaki ang epekto nu’n sa katawan ko. Just remembering those times when his body accidentally touched mine, I felt my body burn with need. Hindi ko maintindihan pero alam ng utak ko kung bakit ganito ang nararamdaman ko kay Seb. I am completely attracted to him. My body sent me signals but my mind refused to accept that fact. The norms in our society condemned this kind of situation. It’s taboo. “Hey, are you okay?” tanong ni Niu. He leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear. I didn’t feel anything when his lips

Sebastian’s I got out of the car as soon as I parked it. Binigay ko sa valet ang susi at tuloy-tuloy na pumasok sa entrance ng bar. The bouncers knew me already since I’m a regular and the owner is a friend of mine. Tinanguan ko lang si Greg, one of Andrei’s bouncers at pumasok na ako. I was greeted with the loud beat of the music. Madilim ang paligid at ang mga umiikot na disco lights lang ang nagsisilbing liwanag sa buong paligid. The fresh scent of cigarette and alcohol mixed, the typical scent of a bar. The dancefloor is crowded, bodies of men and women swaying and bouncing to the beat of the sounds. They were dancing wildly. Wala pang hating-gabi pero punong-puno na ang lugar. I made my way to the second floor where the VIP area was located, alam kong nandoon silang lahat, and if not, I’m sure nasa VIP rooms ang mga gago. I just have to check first. I made my way to the spiral staircase avoid