THE LOVE BETWEEN US

PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE

"They say first love is unforgettable.
Maybe that's true.
Because no matter how hard I tried... my heart always found its way back to him."

Hindi dahil siya ang makakatuluyan mo.

Kundi dahil siya ang unang taong nagturo sa'yo kung paano magmahal... at kung paano masaktan.

I was only ten years old when I realized I liked him.

Hindi dahil gwapo siya.

Hindi dahil sikat siya.

Hindi rin dahil marami siyang nagkakagusto.

I liked him because he was Marco Villanueva-my childhood best friend.

The boy who used to save the last piece of chocolate for me.

The boy who never forgot my birthday.

The boy who promised we'd stay together no matter what happened.

Back then, everything felt so easy.

Simple lang ang mundo namin.

School.

Bahay.

Tambay sa park.

Asaran.

Tawanan.

Hanggang sa unti-unti kaming lumaki.

At kasabay ng paglaki namin...

Nagbago rin siya.

The smile that I used to see every day slowly disappeared. The cheerful boy I knew became someone cold.

Someone distant.

Someone who hid everything behind a fake smile and careless laughter.

Hanggang isang araw...

Naging Marco Villanueva na lang siya.

The campus' most wanted playboy. Girls lined up just to get his attention. He flirted like it meant nothing. He broke hearts as if they were made to be broken.

And somehow...

Mine was one of them.

Hindi niya alam. Hindi niya kailanman nalaman. Because I chose to keep everything to myself. I stayed. As his best friend. As the girl who silently watched him love everyone... Except me.

People always asked me why I never gave up on him. The answer was simple. Because I wasn't waiting for the playboy everyone knew. I was waiting for the little boy who once told me-

"Kapag lumaki tayo, ako pa rin ang magiging best friend mo."

Maybe...

Just maybe...

He was still somewhere inside the Marco I used to know.

So I waited.

Days became months.

Months became years.

Until someone unexpectedly entered my life. Someone completely different from Marco.

He wasn't loud.

He wasn't popular.

He didn't know how to make girls scream his name.

But somehow...

He knew how to make my heart feel safe. He loved me in ways Marco never did.

He chose me...

Even when I couldn't choose him. I thought love was supposed to be easy once I finally found the right person.

I was wrong. Because just when I was ready to let go of my first love... I discovered a secret.

A secret that changed everything.

Marco...

...wasn't the only Villanueva in my story.

And the boy I was slowly falling for... was his half-brother.

Sometimes...

The hardest part of loving someone isn't letting them go.

It's choosing who deserves the love you've been holding onto all these years.

"Some stories begin with friendship.
Some begin with heartbreak.
Ours began with both."