Lahat ng Kabanata ng Forgive Me Father: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

CHAPTER 31EZRABy Saturday, I wasn’t even human anymore.I was a machine.A very tired, over-caffeinated, note-munching machine.Lily FaceTimed me at 7 a.m., waving her flashcards. “You alive?”“Barely,” I muttered, holding up my own pile of notes. “If I stare at one more theorem, my eyes are going to bleed.”“That’s dramatic,” she said.“It’s true,” I argued.Jordan leaned into Lily’s camera view. “Don’t let him fool you. He loves this. He gets off on suffering.”I glared. “I do not.”“You kinda do,” Lily said, giggling.I groaned and dropped my head onto the desk. “Why do I have friends?”“Because we make you laugh,” Jordan said smoothly. “Now, study.”I had my books spread across the dining table, highlighters everywhere, laptop open with three tabs of practice questions.Genevieve passed by at one point, pausing in the doorway. “Ezra.”I didn’t look up. “Yes?”“Eat.”“I did,” I mumbled.“Properly.”“I will.”She sighed but didn’t push further. She never did during exam season. It

CHAPTER 33EZRAI woke up with my face glued to my notes. Literally glued. My cheek had that weird imprint from the spiral binding of my math notebook. Attractive.I blinked at the clock. My heart stopped.7:40 p.m.Choir practice.“Oh, crap.” I shot upright, grabbing my hoodie and my bag. My legs were jelly from sitting too long but I still bolted out the door like someone had set fire to my ass.Why hadn’t Genevieve woken me? She always reminded me, always hovered about “discipline” and “church duties.” But today? Nothing. Not even a knock.I muttered under my breath as I half-jogged toward the church. “Of course, the one time I actually need her nagging—poof, she vanishes. Typical.”The church doors were locked.Empty.My stomach dropped.“Great. Fantastic. Perfect timing, Ezra Vale, you’re officially useless.”I pressed my forehead against the wooden door. It was still warm from the sun that had set hours ago. But no voices inside. No hymns. Just silence.The worst part? I had no

CHAPTER 35EZRAI swear Lily has a radar for my shame.She yanked my sleeve in the library like she owned my arm. “Ezra, sit. We’re debriefing.”“Debriefing what?” I asked, voice thin. My notes were spread like a crime scene across the table. My brain was still sticky from last night’s exam nap and the rain and everything that followed.“That weirdness,” she said bluntly. “You’ve been a walking storm cloud. I need the receipts.” She plonked her bag down and readied her best serious face. “Speak.”Jordan slid into the third corner of our little triangle, eyes already amused. “I’ll take notes. This is good content.”“Shut up,” Lily told her with mock violence. Then she turned to me. “Okay, Ezra. Spill.”I sighed so loud I probably made the table vibrate. “There is nothing to spill. I’m fine.”“No,” Lily said. “You are not fine. You are dramatic. You are pale. You sigh like a Victorian poet.” She wagged a finger. “We will not have this.”Jordan pushed her glasses up her nose and gave me

CHAPTER 37EZRAThe exam hall smelled like paper and sweat. My pen shook as I scribbled answers, the clock ticking loud enough to make my pulse trip over itself. One more page. One more theorem.I muttered under my breath, “Please, God. Just let me pass.”When the bell rang, I dropped my pen like it was on fire.Lily leaned over from her row, whispering, “Dead?”“Dead,” I whispered back, dragging myself out.Jordan appeared by the door. “Library. Now. Both of you.”We went, like we always did during exam week. Hours hunched over books, screens glowing, the quiet buzz of highlighters. At some point, Lily started humming, Jordan muttered about an equation, and my head hit the table.And then—darkness.Father Nico’s voice in my dream, soft and wrong. Hands gripping my shoulders too hard. My throat caught as he whispered, “Don’t resist, Ezra. A hug isn’t sinful…” His grip turned iron. I couldn’t breathe. I pushed but he didn’t let go.I jerked awake, gasping, chest heaving. My heart slamm

CHAPTER 39EZRAThe air froze between us. I could feel him stiffen beneath me, his breath jagged.“What did you just say?” he asked, voice low, dangerous.I swallowed hard. “You… you heard me.”His eyes searched mine, dark and wild. “Ezra, don’t play with fire.”“I’m already burning,” I whispered. My fingers curled in his shirt. “You lit it.”He cursed under his breath. “Fuck.”The next second, his mouth crashed into mine again. Rough. Desperate. Like he wanted to eat me alive.I gasped against his lips, clutching his shoulders, while his hand slid down—lower, lower—until it wrapped around me.I almost screamed.“Dorian!” My hips jerked, betraying me.“Shh,” he growled. “Relax. Let me take care of you.”“You can’t—”“I can,” he cut me off, stroking once, firm, slow. “And I will.”My brain short-circuited. Words dissolved into broken sounds as his hand worked me. He was too good, too confident, like he knew exactly how to ruin me.“God—”“Not God,” he muttered against my neck, biting t