Lahat ng Kabanata ng Obsessive Lust: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

“Arf! Arf!” A dog’s bark woke me up. “Hmm.” I whined when I heard it. I could still feel my body aching, like I’d been hit. It ached and refused to move. “Arf! Arf!” The barking didn’t stop. My eyelids were still heavy and refused to open. I used all my strength last night, and now, I couldn’t even open my eyes. I felt the space beside me in bed was empty. Then I saw Liam’s blanket on the floor. It was already folded but there was no sign of him. I looked toward the window, his usual spot in the morning with his glass of wine. But he wasn’t there. Maybe he woke up early. Earlier than usual. But where could he be right now? Even though my body was still screaming in pain, I did my best to get up and used whatever strength I had left. I followed the dog, King. “Hey! Wait up!” I shouted as he continued running. I couldn’t catch up. “Ah!” I screamed as I nearly slipped. But someone caught me, and it was Harold, Liam’s friend and also his personal assistant. “Careful,” he said as

Everyone fell silent. No one moved and no one dared to speak..... not even me. It was like the entire room forgot how to breathe because even the air felt different thicker, and heavier like time had paused and was waiting, daring someone to break the stillness. But we didn’t. We couldn’t. We just watched. Then, without warning, Liam’s hand flew across Hana’s face. The sharp sound of the slap cracked through the air in the room. Hana stumbled sideways then her cheek already flushing red from the impact. Gasps erupted in the room but mine caught in my throat. And before I could even process what just happened, he grabbed her. His hand wrapped around her neck tight. Too tight that she can barely breathe. Then I froze from my position, seeing Liam like this. The rage in his eyes was something I had never seen before in Liam. It wasn’t just anger because it is something more terrifying. His jaw was clenched so hard that I thought his teeth might crack. His nostrils flared with

We crept slowly across the hospital parking lot, late afternoon sunlight casting stretched shadows on the cracked pavement. Stillness clung to the air, too quiet, interrupted only by the quiet crunch of gravel beneath feet. My gait faltered when we reached the third block of the lot. That's when I saw him. Liam sat there, resting against his car as if he had waited for hours. He was flipping a small rock onto the concrete, over and over again, with the impatient irritation of a boy who'd waited too long to be patient anymore. There was something strangely poignant about the picture—something uncooked. He resembled someone waiting for something, or someone, that was never going to arrive. "Hey," I said, softly. His head jerked in my direction, and the moment our eyes clung together, the tension in his face vanished. A grin spread across his lips—spontaneous, radiant, as if it had been waiting for someone to give permission. Without hesitation, he moved toward me with arms wide open,

"Z-Zeph…" I muttered that I almost whisper. I couldn't talk because I was shocked by what I had just witnessed. "Both of you. Leave." Zeph ordered. We didn't protest. We silently retreated out of the room, the door closing softly behind us. Hana and I just sat on the metal seats along the wall and there's an oppressive silence between us. "See what you do when you're around, Valerie?" Hana's voice hit through me. "You're the reason why he got stabbed." Her words left me speechless. Why couldn't I see that he was stabbed? Why was I so blind? "I-I didn't know…" I stuttered while my voice were shaking. "I didn't know that he—" "Don't lie, Valerie," she interrupted as her voice blame me. "Or… perhaps it was you who stabbed him. That's why you didn't say anything to the doctors. You wanted him to bleed to death. So he wouldn't be saved." "What?" I caught my breath. "You weren't even there, Hana. How are you accusing me of something you didn't see?" "Oh, certainly not," she snarled

“Jerome?” I echoed, my brows furrowing as the name settled in my mind. “But he’s—”“Dead.” Zeph’s voice cut me off, soft yet final.My heart skipped. Dead? No, that couldn’t be. He’s just in the States, making a life for himself. That’s what I’ve been told.“I’m sorry, Valerie, for bringing up your dead cousin. But I… I loved him. I don’t think I can ever love anyone more than I loved him.” Zeph’s lips quivered, though she tried to mask it with a smile. “After Liam, he was my next priority. And I always put myself last. If only I hadn’t called him that night, if only I didn’t tell him I wanted a rich man… he wouldn’t have gotten into that car accident.”Car accident? So, that was the reason he flew to the States? To prove himself, to make money?“You… you want to see him?” I asked, unsure why those words left my mouth.Zeph laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. “Valerie, how can I see someone who’s dead?” Her laugh was hollow, desperate, the sound of someone who wanted to believe ot