Lahat ng Kabanata ng LOVE AND LUST : Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 69

Chapter 61*Mira*Mira woke up to the sound of music pulsating through the walls of their house. She rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was still dreaming. Music? In their parlour? That was a first. Her dad's fiancée, Katie was not yet back from the market . this wasn't the vibe she’d pictured for their household. Their place was usually quiet, with the occasional murmur of her dad discussing work or the TV playing softly in the background.She threw off her covers and padded downstairs, curiosity getting the better of her.As she entered the parlour, she was greeted by a young girl with a bright smile, sitting cross-legged on the couch, headphones plugged into a phone that was blasting music from a speaker. The girl looked up, startled, as Mira marched straight to the speaker and turned off the music.Both girls said "Hi!" in unison, a bit breathlessly."Hi, I'm Lisa," the girl said, bouncing up from the couch. "Katie's daughter."Mira's eyebrows shot up. Katie's daughter? Katie, her

"MIRA"Mira didn’t panic.On the outside.Inside? Her heart was racing like she’d just sprinted down the beach again.Lisa was watching her face carefully. “What did he say?”Mira hesitated for half a second — then handed her the phone.Lisa read the message.Her face drained of color.“I didn’t tell him where we live,” she whispered. “I swear.”“I know,” Mira said quickly. “This isn’t your fault.”Lisa’s hands were shaking now.Mira stood up immediately. “We’re telling Mom. And Dad.”Lisa grabbed her wrist. “Wait.”Mira turned.“Please… just— let me explain first.”DownstairsKatie and Dennis were still in the living room when the girls came down. The TV was playing some random cooking show, but the warmth in the room shifted the moment they saw the girls’ expressions.“What happened?” Dennis asked, instantly alert.Lisa looked at her mom, and for the first time since she arrived, she didn’t look bubbly.She looked small.“There’s someone from school,” Lisa began. “My ex.”Katie stif

Chapter 66 Something was off.Mira noticed it first in the quiet.Lisa wasn’t loud anymore.She wasn’t blasting music. She wasn’t bouncing into rooms unannounced. She wasn’t flopping dramatically onto beds.She was… watching.Watching Ethan. Watching Mira. Watching the space between them.And smiling just a little too late when someone said her name.********It happened on a warm Thursday evening.The sky was turning orange, the air thick and slow, and Lisa was sitting alone in the backyard sketching half-hearted lines across her page.Max walked over, unusually serious.No exaggerated swagger. No flirty grin.Just him.“Can we talk?” he asked.Lisa looked up. “About?”“Us.”Her stomach tightened.There was no “us.”Not really.Max sat down across from her, hands clasped together.“I like you,” he said plainly. “Not just beach-day like you. Not just funny, cool sister-friend like you. I really like you.”Lisa stared at him.He looked nervous.That was new.“I know you’ve been going

Chapter 68 Max didn’t wait long.He couldn’t.The image of that notebook page was burned into his mind.The neat handwriting. The bullet points. The casual cruelty.He sat on Mira’s bed while she dried her hair from her shower, trying to steady his breathing.“You okay?” she asked, noticing his expression.“No,” he said honestly.Mira frowned. “What happened?”He locked the bedroom door quietly.Not dramatic. Not loud.Just careful.“Mira… I need you to promise me something.”Her stomach tightened. “What?”“Promise me you won’t defend her until you hear everything.”Her face shifted instantly.“Defend who?”He swallowed.“Lisa.”Silence filled the room.Mira let out a small, disbelieving laugh. “Max, if this is about her ignoring you—”“It’s not,” he interrupted.His voice was too serious.Too steady.She stopped smiling.“What are you talking about?”Max pulled out his phone.Opened the picture.And handed it to her.Mira glanced down casually at first.Then she read the title.Thin

CHAPTER 69The days after the beach felt… different.Not dramatic. Not overwhelming.Just quietly new.Lisa woke up the next morning staring at her ceiling, replaying everything.Max’s voice.His careful words.The way he had paused before reaching for her hand.It hadn’t been rushed. It hadn’t been like before.It was real.And that terrified her just as much as it excited her.Downstairs, the house was already alive with soft morning noise. Plates clinked in the kitchen. Mira’s laughter drifted through the hallway.Lisa hesitated at the top of the stairs.Before, she would’ve run down, loud and carefree, demanding attention.Now… she took a breath and walked slowly.Mira spotted her first.“Well,” she said, grinning, leaning against the counter, “someone looks like they didn’t sleep.”Lisa rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips. “I slept.”“Barely,” Mira teased.Katie glanced between them knowingly. “Should I ask, or should I pretend I don’t already know?”Lisa groaned. “Pl