Vega Estate, Tagaytay
Malamig ang gabi pero mas malamig ang tingin niya.
Aurelion Sade Vega stood at the edge of the crowd, his wine untouched, his patience running thin. Nasa gitna sila ng napakagarbong birthday party ng ina niya—isang piling event para lang sa mga taong may pangalan at pera.
And he hated every second of it.
Walang bago. Same crowd. Same fake smiles. Same boring speeches.
Hanggang sa pumasok siya.
She wasn't wearing red or gold like the other women. She wore black silk, elegant and unbothered—kasing tahimik ng gabing iyon, pero kasing tapang ng kidlat sa malayo.
Selene Caelum Argenta.
Hindi niya kilala ang pangalan sa una. Pero tumigil ang mundo nang tumama ang mata nito sa kanya—isang iglap lang, isang iglap na parang binaril siya nang walang bala.
She didn’t smile.
She didn’t flirt.
She just... looked at him. At lumingon sa iba.
What the hell was that?
“She’s with the caterers, I think,” bulong ng isang guest.
“Or maybe one of the event designers,” sabi ng isa.
Hindi mahalaga kung ano siya.
Ang mahalaga, hindi siya tulad ng iba.
Habang ang ibang babae ay kumakapit sa braso niya para magpapansin, siya ay abala sa pagtingin sa mga ilaw, sa setting ng table, at minsan—sa buwan.
Ang una nilang pag-uusap ay simple lang.
“Are you enjoying the party?” tanong niya, kahit ayaw naman talaga niyang magsimula ng small talk.
Selene turned to him, her eyes sharp, unreadable.
> “It’s tolerable. For a rich person’s party.”
Napangisi siya. “And what makes you think I’m rich?”
“You smell like money and misery.”
Boom.
Right then and there, he was hooked.
Hindi siya sinuyo. Hindi siya sinayawan. Pero naalala niya ang boses nito habang naglalakad papalayo.
“You’re used to being wanted, Mr. Vega. I can tell.
Too bad I’m not interested.”
And just like that... she was gone.
The next day, she vanished—no name, no contact, no trace. Parang multo na dumaan sa buhay niya para lang guluhin ito habambuhay.
And for eight years… he remembered.
Every smile she gave to others.
Every stare she never gave him.
She wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the world.
But she was the first who made him feel helpless.
And Aurelion Vega?
He never forgot what helpless felt like.
Not then.
Not now.
And definitely not when he saw her again.