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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Owned by the man I hated: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

17 Kabanata

Chapter 1 - Betrayal in the spotlight

Do you know what betrayal feels like? Not the small kind… like someone eating the last slice of cake you saved in the fridge. I mean the big one. The kind that steals your breath, leaves your chest heavy, and makes your stomach twist like it’s been tied in knots. That was me. That night. The hall smelled like perfume and expensive champagne. Lights flashed, music thundered, the crowd buzzed with energy. Everyone was there to celebrate music, to fall in love with voices, to cheer for their idols. And in that moment, their idol was him. He stood under the spotlight, tall and confident, sweat glistening on his forehead as his voice rolled through the speakers. The crowd screamed his name, cried his name, like he was some sort of god they’d been waiting for. And me? I stood in the shadows. My palms sweaty, my notebook digging into my hands so hard it hurt. Because every word he sang… was mine. My song. My melody. My story. But his glory. Do you know what it feels like to disapp

Chapter 2 - The return of old shadows

The party was everything it was supposed to be..... loud, glittering, full of people pretending they weren’t exhausted by the performance of it all. Glasses clinked, laughter floated in the air, perfume mixed with champagne bubbles, and the music was thumping hard enough to make the walls hum. I should’ve been at ease here. I was used to this world, used to the flashing lights, the questions, the eyes always watching. I had taught myself how to stand tall in places like this. But then… I saw him. And just like that, everything inside me stopped. It’s strange how a single look can drag you back years in a matter of seconds. My chest tightened, my throat caught, and suddenly my body remembered things I had worked so hard to forget. His jawline, the way he carried himself, the kind of smile that wasn’t really a smile at all, it all came rushing back. I hated it. I hated that after all this time, my body reacted before my brain could. And my brain, oh, it was screaming. Screaming his

Chapter 3 - The stage is silent

You know how sometimes life has a cruel sense of humor? Like, you think you’ve finally gotten over something, and then boom! it shows up right in your face, bigger and louder than ever. That was me that night. I walked back into the hall after the balcony scene, pretending like nothing had just happened. My smile was plastered on, the kind that says, I’m fine, everything’s fine, please stop looking at me. The cameras flashed, people laughed, champagne glasses clinked. On the outside, I looked like the star who had it all together. But inside? My hands were shaking, and I could barely swallow past the knot in my throat. And no matter how much I told myself not to look for him, my eyes betrayed me. They kept sliding back to one corner of the room. And there he was. He stood surrounded by people, as usual. Laughing, charming, making the whole world lean in like he was telling them a secret. And then because the universe hates me, immediately his eyes found mine. It was like the no

Chapter 4 - His move

By the time my driver dropped me off that night, I already felt drained. The party, the lights, the cameras, it was all noise I’d mastered pretending to enjoy. But what I hadn’t prepared for was him. And of course, the universe wasn’t done punishing me yet. Because as soon as we pulled up outside my building, I saw it. A black car parked across the street. Not the kind that usually sat around here, either. This one was sleek, polished, expensive car belonging to someone who didn’t wait for things, but for people. And I knew instantly who it was. My driver turned to me, concern in his eyes. “Do you want me to check?” I shook my head. My lips felt heavy when I answered, “No. I know who it is.” I stepped out of the car, heels tapping against the pavement. My gown dragged slightly, the kind of outfit that looked perfect under flashing lights but ridiculous in the quiet night air. My eyes didn’t move from the car across the street. The door opened. And there he was. He stepped ou

Chapter 5 - Dangerous sparks

The morning after, I told myself I was going to ignore him. Ignore the headlines, ignore the pictures, ignore the fact that the whole internet had suddenly turned into detectives trying to figure out if we were “back together” or “enemies-to-lovers in real life.” I laughed when I saw that last one. Enemies-to-lovers. If only they knew. But the laugh didn’t last. Because once again, the pictures were everywhere. Him stepping out of that car. Him leaning too close. Me looking like I’d been caught between a punch and a kiss. And the captions? Don’t even get me started. “Chemistry you can’t fake.” “The comeback of the century?” “When hate looks a little too much like love.” Yeah. Try drinking coffee with that shoved in your face every two seconds. I tossed my phone across the couch and muttered to myself, “God, I need a new life.” But the universe? The universe has a sick sense of humor. Because just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, the intercom buzzed. “Miss, there’s some

Chapter 6 - Whispers and headlines

I told myself I was going to ignore it.Ignore the pictures. Ignore the gossip. Ignore him.But have you ever tried ignoring the internet? Yeah. Exactly. It’s impossible. It’s like telling the sun not to rise.....it just doesn’t work.Two days after that night, my entire life had basically turned into free entertainment for millions of strangers. I couldn’t scroll through Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or even check my email without seeing my own face plastered across some dramatic headline.Clips of the kiss, the kiss I swore I’d already locked in the back of my mind where it couldn’t touch me were everywhere. People slowed it down, zoomed in, made edits with love songs, breakup songs, dramatic violin music… name it, someone had already done it.And the comments? Lord, the comments were worse than the actual videos.“She never got over him.”“Look at her eyes before she kissed him back. That’s not hate.”“Enemies-to-lovers trope but in real life.”At one point, someone even wrote: “She

Chapter 7 - Names that burn

The lights in the auditorium were too bright, too unforgiving. My palms were already sweating before I even walked up on that stage. The kind of nervous sweat that had nothing to do with fear of public speaking and everything to do with him.Because of course, of all the people in the world, I had to be paired with him for this.I tried to convince myself that it was just a coincidence, that the organizers had no idea about our history. But when I stepped into the hall and saw him standing by the podium in that tailored suit......calm, composed, and annoyingly handsome, it felt less like coincidence and more like the universe plotting against me.And then came the moment I’d been dreading.The announcer, with a voice too cheerful for the tension crackling in my chest, said into the mic,“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome… Alejandro De La Vega and Mariana Cariño!”My breath caught.It was the first time in years anyone had called me by my full name on a stage this big. Not just “Car

Chapter 8 - The slow burn

The applause had died down, but Mariana’s heart hadn’t. Even backstage, away from the lights, the sound of people clapping still echoed inside her chest like a drum.It wasn’t the presentation that left her rattled. No. She knew she had nailed that. Her slides, her delivery, every word was absolutely perfect.What rattled her was him...... Alejandro de le vegaThe host had introduced them with their full names, his sounding like thunder in the room.....Alejandro De La Vega. It carried weight, the kind that filled a space without permission. Then came hers....Mariana Cariño.She’d tried not to react, but she caught the way his head tilted ever so slightly when her name was announced, like he was hearing it for the first time. And then he did the unthinkable.He leaned closer, his mouth brushing dangerously near her ear, and whispered, “Mariana Cariño. Fits you too perfectly.”Her knees had nearly buckled. Maybe that’s why he caught her elbow so smoothly, guiding her down the steps as t

Chapter 9 - The unwanted guest

“Darling.” The word sliced through the air like a knife. Mariana froze. She had barely taken two steps into the living room when the woman’s voice coated the walls with honey too thick, too sweet to be real. Alejandro stiffened beside her. She felt it.... his whole body going rigid, like a storm had walked into the room wearing heels. The woman didn’t ask permission to sit. She sank gracefully into the armchair across from them, legs crossed, her velvet dress folding like it had been tailored to command attention. Her red lips curled into a smile that wasn’t a smile at all. Mariana’s heart thudded. Darling? Who even dared to call him that? “Luciana.” Alejandro’s voice came low, strained, the kind of voice that warned of thunder. “You weren’t invited here.” “Oh, Alejandro,” Luciana purred, waving her manicured fingers dismissively, “I don’t need an invitation. Not with you. Not ever.” And then, as if on cue, her gaze flicked to Mariana. Sharp. Unapologetic. Like Mariana was a

Chapter 10 - The weight of secrets

The silence pressed against Mariana’s chest until she could hardly breathe. Alejandro’s eyes, dark and sharp, unyielding, were locked on her as though he could pull every unspoken thought straight from her skin.“You shouldn’t be here,” he said at last. His voice wasn’t angry, but calm. Too calm. And that calmness was worse than any fury; it carried the weight of danger, of a man used to deciding who lived or died with nothing more than steady words.Mariana swallowed, her throat tight. “I wasn’t spying,” she whispered. “I just… couldn’t sleep.”Alejandro tilted his head slightly, like he was dissecting the truth in her voice. He didn’t believe her. He knew she had heard.“And yet you heard enough,” he said.That tone, flat and certain, made her stomach knot. She tried to deny it, but the words from his call still burned in her memory: She can’t know yet. Keep your end of the deal.Her voice cracked. “Who were you talking to?”Instead of answering, he stepped closer. Every movement wa

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