San Roque was the kind of town that clung to its past like old lace—frayed at the edges, but stubbornly elegant. Its streets bore the echo of Spanish cobblestones, and its sea, the secrets of centuries. Locals said the fog rolled in not just to cool the air, but to protect the living from things that should’ve stayed buried.On her first day in town, Celestine Navarro didn’t believe in any of that.Fresh from Manila and exhausted from a life of noise, she only wanted peace. She rented the old Zamora house, a creaking structure near the cliffs, long abandoned by its lineage. The neighbors whispered about its history—curses, deaths, a bride who drowned herself during the war—but Celestine tuned them out. Ghost stories, she thought. Every province had one.But the house had its own way of speaking.It started with a portrait in the attic. A woman in a sepia-toned frame, dressed in a baro’t saya, eyes calm and proud. Her face was Celestine’s. Not similar—identical.Then came the dreams.A ballroom lit by candlelight. A hand reached out. Fire in the distance. Salt in the air. A voice that whispered her name like a prayer and a warning all at once.Celestine began waking with her heart racing, her pillow damp with tears she couldn’t explain. And outside her window, every dawn, the fog lingered longer than it should have—thick and watching.In the heart of San Roque, time did not pass cleanly.And when the fog lifted, the past always found its way back.

Prologue It’s the first day of classes at St. Maria del Cielo College, and even though the sun seems to be roasting the entire town of Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, the nervousness in Helliara’s chest is still hotter as she sits at the back of the room—pretending to be chill, even though she’s clearly not.First year. Accountancy. She doesn’t know anyone yet. She has no idea how college life works. But there’s one thing she’s sure of: she found a reason to never skip class, even if it starts at 7 AM.She saw them.Miguel Santiago. Third year, Electrical Engineering. Quiet, always serious, and always with his old, but expensive-looking earphones. Campus crush material, not just because of his looks, but because of his presence—like, even when he doesn’t speak, you can feel it when he walks by.And he’s always with his twin brother Gabriel. Gabriel’s more approachable, talkative, and smiles a lot. But it’s Miguel who stays in Helliara’s mind.Miguel, who always seems to be in his own world.They haven’t spoken. Not once. But they often cross paths in the student lounge or while heading up the building. And every time their eyes meet—even for just a split second—it feels like there’s a spark.Or maybe it’s just her imagination.But it’s intense. Every time their gazes connect, Helliara’s the first to look away. Sometimes pretending to check her phone, sometimes acting like she’s talking to someone. But truth be told, her soul is shaking inside.“Calm down, girl. You’re not the main character in his story,” that’s what her mind tells her.But her heart?It’s fighting back.She doesn’t know what this is. Is it just a crush? Or some fantasy that’s going nowhere?She has no idea where all these simple glances and subtle smiles will take her. But one thing’s for sure—This is the start of something she won’t be able to ignore.Something dangerously beautiful