Chapter 20 | Favor When I was younger, I was prone to letting things slip. It was simple for me to disregard things, no matter how wrong they seemed, because no one ever spoke out against it in our household. They claimed it was a form of discipline, and most family households had inherited it as well... but even as a child, I sensed deep down that violence wasn't right. I couldn't recall everything, but the emotion I experienced every time my mother yelled furiously at us lingered in my soul like a deep untreated scar. The only thing I hoped for before was for it to end as quickly as possible. I didn't pay attention to her statements, and I couldn't digest anything anyway since fear consumed my system. My sister definitely had it worse. Unlike me, she experienced physical harm and it would always happen whenever

Chapter 22 | Hanap As we entered the rooftop garden, we were greeted by the cold December wind. The wind was definitely different from the cold felt in Manila; the temperature here in Tagaytay, despite being chilly, was comforting. As I slowly approached the rails, I happily embraced the coldness of the night. The rooftop was home to a variety of plants that I was unfamiliar with, as well as bright lights hung above us. I unconsciously gripped the bars, causing my hands to shiver; it was freezing! Because my skin couldn't endure the coolness, I opted not to touch it again. As an alternative, I let my elbows rest on the bars. I squeezed myself as I leaned forward to take in the night view of Tagaytay. The city resembled a parallel of the sky with all of the establishments lit up like stars. When I looked up, I not

Chapter 24 | NotificationMabuti na lamang at hindi na ako muling kinausap ng sinoman sa aking pamilya tungkol kay Marcus sa mga sumunod na araw. Wala rin naman akong masasabi sa kanila dahil totoo namang walang namamagitan sa aming dalawa. Ni hindi ko nga matukoy kung magkaibigan ba kami ngayon o ano, kahit ako ay hindi rin sigurado kung ano ba kami sa isa’t isa… ngunit ang alam ko lang sa aking sarili ay komportable ako tuwing kasama siya.Wala namang kaso sa akin kung dadalas ang aming pag-uusap at pagkikita, tanging ang mga mapanghusgang mga tao lamang na nakabantay sa amin ang lagi kong inaalala na nagiging dahilan din upang mas lumayo ako kay Marcus. Hindi ko rin maintindihan ang sarili ko kung bakit tila sobrang apektado ako sa iniisip ng iba tungkol sa akin. Hindi mapakali ang damdamin ko tuwing iniisip ang mga bagay na ito at hindi ko rin

Chapter 26 | RatI literally did exactly what I said.I didn't go home on Saturday, and I asked Marcus yesterday if he was going to be busy today. When I told him I wanted to spend my Saturday with him, he was both confused and surprised. He had always been the one to ask me out before, so me making the first move was like a cultural reset for him. He was so taken with what I did that he called last night to plan our activities for today.We went to bed around two o'clock in the evening and planned to go out after lunch. Despite the time we ended our call, I hoped he got his eight hours of sleep. In my case, I had a wonderful sleep, presumably because I was looking forward to today. I couldn't express how happy I was just to be able to spend Saturday with him. We had a lot of activities planned for today, so I decid

Chapter 28 | LostMarcus said we'd talk about it after breakfast, but I wasn't in the mood to eat breakfast with him, and even more so this morning. I was in such a bad mood that I couldn't even bear listening to him speak to me. He tried everything to lighten my mood, but nothing worked. With a cold stomach, I ate my breakfast and waited for him to join me in the living room. I'd already done what he wanted, so I was hoping he'd finally openly admit to me now.“Aren’t you going to get ready first?” Marcus asked when he came near me.I swayed my head. “Hindi ako papasok hangga’t hindi natin ‘to napag-uusapan.”He sighed. “Don’t be stubborn, Ian.”“Stubborn?&rdq