All Chapters of Forbidden: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The morning sun hit the glass facade of the University’s College of Architecture building, rendering a sharp, geometric reflection that felt almost too bright for a Monday morning. For Lauren Jade Miller, today wasn't just any regular start of a semester. It was her senior year. This was the final stretch, the ultimate testing ground before she could finally step into the real world and make a name for herself. "Lauren! Hintay!" Napatigil si Lauren sa paglalakad malapit sa main lobby nang marinig ang pamilyar na boses ni Zelyth, ang kanyang matalik na kaibigan at blockmate. Zelyth was running toward her, holding a large drafting tube in one hand and a half-empty iced americano in the other. "Grabe, bakit ba ang aga mo palagi maglakad? Ang haba pa naman ng biyahe ko," reklamo ni Zelyth habang naghahabol ng hininga nang marati ang pwesto ni Lauren. Lauren offered a small, teasing smile, adjusting the strap of her heavy leather backpack. "Kasi kung hindi ko bibilisan, male-late tayo.

Ang tatlong araw na ibinigay ni Professor Montgomery ay naging isang walang katapusang cycle ng kape, math formulas, at stress-test simulations. Lauren barely slept. Sa tuwing ipipikit niya ang kanyang mga mata, ang nakikita niya ay ang matatalim na gray eyes ni Anne at ang malamig, mapanghamong boses nito na nagsasabing, “Architecture is not poetry for the blind.” Nang sumunod na Huwebes, bago magsimula ang Advanced Theory class, pumasok si Lauren sa Room 304 at diretso niyang inilapag ang kanyang re-written paper sa ibabaw ng podium ni Anne. Kasama nito ang limang pahina ng structural computation at isang printed 3D stress simulation graphic na nagpapatunay na ang kanyang diagonal load distribution ay perfectly stable. Nang pumasok si Anne sa room, napansin niya agad ang folder. She didn’t say anything. She simply picked it up, glided her fingers over the cover, and placed it inside her briefcase. Throughout the two-hour lecture, Lauren sat in the front row, waiting for

The Grand Ballroom of the university’s heritage hall was a sea of crystal chandeliers, smooth classical music, and the low, sophisticated hum of elite donors and faculty members. For the College of Architecture, tonight was the biggest fundraising event of the year. Every professor was expected to attend, and a select few honor students were invited to act as student ambassadors. "Hindi ko talaga alam kung bakit ako pumayag na sumama sa 'yo rito," bulong ni Zelyth habang inaayos ang dulo ng kanyang asul na gown sa gilid ng isang malaking haligi. "Pakiramdam ko, anytime, hihingan ako ng mga matatandang 'to ng architectural layout ng sementeryo nila." Lauren laughed softly, sipping from her glass of sparkling water. "Zelyth, mag-enjoy ka na lang. Masarap ang catering, at bihira nating makitang hindi mukhang haggard ang mga tao sa department." Lauren herself was wearing a sleek, minimalist emerald green evening dress. It wasn't overly grand, but the clean lines of the fabric accentuate

The storm from last week had passed, but the aftermath left the third-floor studio suffocatingly humid. It was nearly 11:00 PM on a Friday, and the university campus had emptied. Only a few scattered yellow lights remained illuminated in the courtyard below. Lauren was sitting at her drafting table, staring at a massive sheet of translucent tracing paper. Her physical model for the upcoming gallery exhibition was halfway complete, but she was stuck. No matter how many times she adjusted her compass and scale ruler, the clean, curved line of the transitional partition wasn't aligning perfectly with the structural columns. Click. Click. The sound of elegant heels against the linoleum floor broke the silence. Lauren turned her head and saw Anne walking into the studio. Her blazer was gone, leaving her in a tailored white silk shirt, sleeves loosely rolled to her forearms. Her hair, usually trapped in that perfect, rigid chignon, had a few stray tendrils framing the elegant slope of

The forced distance was a slow, systematic torture. For two weeks, Lauren and Anne followed their new blueprint to the letter. During office hours, the heavy mahogany door of Room 312 remained wide open, inviting the passing glances of faculty members and students alike. They spoke only in the cold, detached language of scale models, floor plans, and curatorial grids. Anne was strictly Professor Montgomery, and Lauren was strictly Miss Miller. But the tension between them didn't dissolve; it compressed. Like a structural column bearing an immense, uncalculated load, the unsaid words and stolen glances accumulated weight until the atmosphere between them was constantly on the verge of a catastrophic collapse. It was exactly midnight. Lauren was inside her off-campus studio apartment—a small, cluttered rented space a few blocks away from the university. The room was lit only by a single amber floor lamp and the bright glare of her laptop screen. Blueprints were scattered across the flo