Lahat ng Kabanata ng AGE GAP SERIES #1: HIS SECRET OBSESSION : Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 8

ELOWEN GARCIA'S POV An invitation arrived at midnight. Walang pangalan, at kahit kaonting detalye man lang na magtuturo ng pinanggalingan nito ay wala kang mahahanap. Ang tanging naroon lamang ay ang pangalan ng isang sikat na bar Ang Velour Noire. A bar whispered in hushed tones. Exclusive and Untouchable. A place people like me didn’t belong to unless we were invited. I should have ignored it. But that night, my heart was already bruised… and I was tired of being told who I was allowed to be. “You need me,” my fiancé had said earlier, his voice sharp with certainty. “You wouldn’t last a week on your own. No one would want you without me.” The words still burned as I stared at my reflection, adjusting the fabric over my skin. I had tried to leave him. Ilang beses ko ng sinabi sa kanya na makikipag-hiwalay na ako, pero hindi siya pumapayag. Paulit-ulit niyang sinasabi sa akin na wala akong silbi kung wala siya, that I shouldn't leave him because he paid for my famil

Elowen Garcia’s POV The living room was alive with chatter, laughter, and clinking glasses, yet I felt like I was floating in a bubble of silence. Every sound felt muted, every movement slowed, because I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Jacob was leaning against the doorway, half-hidden in the shadows, as if he had no interest in joining the crowd... but he was watching me and sometimes I caught him. Ilang segundo kaming magtitigan at bigla ay iniiwas niya ang kanyang tingin. Itutuon iyon sa ibang direksyon na para bang sinusuyod niya ng tingin ang bawat gusali nitong bahay. Nang maramdaman ko ang paggalaw ni Xavier sa tabi ko ay natauhan ko. At agad na binitawan ang hininga na hindi ko namalayang kanina ko pa pinipigilang pakawalan. Xavier's hand rested casually on the arm of the sofa where I sat, but his harp and controlling gaze, was on me. “Do you even know how to relax?” asik niya sa mababang boses. “Of course, anong tingin mo sa 'kin?,” I whispered, barely audible.

JACOB ALDEGUIRE'S POV From across the room, I watch them. The way Xavier’s hand closed around Elowen’s elbow. Not the grip of a concerned fiancé, but of someone reminding her who owned the leash. What unsettled me most wasn’t his roughness. It was her reaction. Dahil parang wala lang sa kanya ang ginawa ni Xavier. Ni gulat at bakas na nasasaktan siya ay wala akong nakita. At para bang sanay na sanay na siya sa inaasal ng b*bo kong pamangkin. All she did was to stand there, in front of him as if it was normal. As if she’d learned long ago that resistance was pointless. Then, they stopped walking near the hallway. Xavier leaned closer to her, his face hovering near her neck. I couldn’t hear what he said, but I saw what he did next. He inhaled. Slowly and deeply. After that his expression changed. It wasn’t anger. It wasn’t jealousy. And that's when I moved. I walked toward them calmly, unhurried, like I was merely passing by. No urgency. No confrontation writt

ELOWEN’S POV Makalipas ang dalawang oras mula nang umalis sa lamesa si Jacob, at kasama ang babae niya ay nakapagdesisyon na rin kaming umuwi ni Xavier. Ngayon ay bumibyahe pa kami pauwi, pero magmula kanina na sumakay ako sa kotse niya ay tahimik lang talaga ako. Maging siya ay gano'n din at tanging ugong lang ng makina at ang paulit-ulit na pagdampi ng gulong sa aspalto ang siyang gumagawa ng ingay sa pandinig ko. Nakatingin ako sa labas ng bintana, pinagmamasdan ang mga bawat puno na aming nilalampasan. Ngunit kahit anong pilit kong itinuon doon ang aking isipan, ay paulit-ulit ko pa ding naaalala ang nangyari kanina. Lalong-lalo na kung papaano niyang hinawakan at hinalikan ang babaeng iyon... na nakatingin sa akin nang diretsyo ang kanyang mga mata. Animo'y may nais siyang iparating sa akin. Parang gusto niyang magyabang na hindi ko alam, o baka pinagti-tripan niya lang talaga ako at kating-kati siya na makita ang magiging reaksyon ko. “Fix your face.” Bigla akong