VriXian AU Compilation [ Part 1 ]

ASCR 4

***

The papers felt heavier than they should have.

Christian sat at the long mahogany table inside Damian's office, his hands trembling as he clutched the divorce documents. Across from him, Damian leaned back in his leather chair, looking at him with an expression that was equal parts boredom and irritation.

"So, this is it?" Damian scoffed, picking up the papers and flipping through them lazily. "You're finally leaving?"

Christian swallowed the lump in his throat. He had imagined this moment so many times—his freedom, his escape. But now that it was here, all he felt was exhaustion.

"I should've left a long time ago." His voice was hoarse, tired. "Pero sobrang tanga ko. I thought—" His breath hitched. "I thought you would change."

Damian laughed, shaking his head. "Change? For you? Bakit ko naman gagawin 'yon, Christian?"

Christian's grip tightened around the edge of the table. "Because I was your husband."

Damian's smirk turned into a sneer. "You were a burden."

Christian flinched as if he had been slapped.

Damian leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. His eyes were cold, sharp, void of any remorse. "Alam mo kung bakit hindi kita pinansin noong nakunan ka? Kung bakit hindi ako pumunta sa ospital?" He chuckled. "Kasi hindi ko naman gustong magkaron ng anak sa'yo, Christian. Hindi ko naman gustong magkaanak ka."

Christian's breathing became shallow. His stomach twisted in agony.

Damian's voice dropped to a whisper, his words like poison. "Dapat nga magpasalamat ka pa sa'kin. If that baby had lived, imagine how miserable he would've been—being born as a mistake."

A sob caught in Christian's throat. His nails dug into his palms so hard they nearly bled.

Damian sighed, shaking his head. "Look at you. So pathetic. Kung iniwan mo na lang ako noon pa, hindi ka sana nagmukhang ganyan." He gestured at Christian's frail body, his pale skin, his sunken eyes. "But you had to be stubborn. You had to believe in 'love.'" He laughed mockingly. "Hindi kita minahal, Christian."

Christian squeezed his eyes shut, as if that could stop the pain from swallowing him whole.

"Hindi kita minahal."

The words echoed in his head like a death sentence.

His entire marriage—a lie.

His love, his sacrifices, the child he lost—meaningless.

Christian slowly opened his eyes, his gaze empty. "Sign the papers, Damian."

Damian raised a brow but didn't argue. He took the pen and, without hesitation, signed his name.

It was done.

Years of suffering, wasted time, heartbreak—reduced to ink on paper.

Damian leaned back, tossing the pen onto the table. "You should be happy. You're free now."

Christian let out a hollow laugh, his voice barely above a whisper. "Hindi ako malaya, Damian."

Damian frowned.

Christian lifted his gaze, tears pooling in his eyes but never falling. "Ikaw ang kalayaan ko noon. Ikaw ang dahilan kung bakit ako lumayo sa pamilya ko. Ikaw ang tinawag kong tahanan." His voice cracked. "Pero sinira mo ako. Sinira mo ako nang hindi mo man lang ako hinawakan."

For the first time, Damian looked... uneasy.

But Christian didn't care anymore.

He stood up, picking up the divorce papers. He didn't say another word. He didn't cry. He didn't beg.

He just walked away.

And this time, he would never look back.

A few days after the divorce was finalized, Christian found himself staring at his phone, his hands shaking as he read the headline.

"Damian Lorenz Announces Engagement to Bianca Herrera!"

He clicked on the article, and his heart shattered all over again.

There they were—Damian and Bianca—smiling, holding hands, kissing in front of flashing cameras.

Happy.

It hadn't even been a month.

Not even a few weeks.

Damian hadn't just left him. He had erased him.

Christian dropped his phone, his chest heaving. He clutched at his heart, as if trying to hold himself together.

He had given Damian everything.

And in return, Damian had given him nothing but pain.

The moment Christian stepped inside his childhood home, the familiar scent of home-cooked meals and old wood filled his senses.

But nothing felt the same.

His mother, Shang, turned around from the kitchen, her eyes widening in shock at the sight of him. "Christian?"

At the sound of her voice, all of Christian's walls crumbled.

Tears blurred his vision as he ran into her arms, sobbing like a child.

"I'm sorry," he choked out, gripping her tightly. "I'm sorry, Ma. Dapat nakinig ako sa'yo... Dapat hindi ako nagpakasal sa kanya."

Shang's face crumpled as she wrapped her arms around her son, her own tears falling freely. "Anak..."

"I lost my baby, Ma," Christian whispered brokenly, his fingers clutching her shirt. "Dalawa sila, pero wala na sila. Wala na sila, Ma..."

Shang's heart shattered.

She held Christian tighter, as if trying to piece him back together. "Hush, anak. Andito ako. Hindi kita pababayaan."

Christian sobbed harder. "Bakit, Ma? Bakit ang sakit?"

Shang kissed the top of his head, rocking him gently like she used to when he was a child. "Kasi minahal mo siya nang totoo. Pero anak, ang mga sugat, kahit gaano kasakit, gumagaling din."

Christian shook his head against her shoulder. "Hindi ko alam paano."

Shang cupped his face, looking into his tear-filled eyes. "Hahanapin natin ang paraan, anak."

And for the first time in a long time, Christian didn't feel alone.