Chapter 1: Part 5 – The Man Who Stayed
591 Words
Savrielle’s POV
Pagkagising ko, ramdam ko agad ang lamig.
Wala si Zayden sa tabi ko—siguro nasa kusina na, o baka nasa labas kasama si Chesca. Tahimik ang buong bahay.
But inside my chest? Chaos.
I hugged my knees, staring out the guest room window.
Three years ago, I stared at this same view after Kaizen told me we needed space.
Ngayon, I’m here again. Pero ibang lalaki na ang kasama ko.
Funny how life does that. Spins you in circles until you’re too dizzy to tell what’s real anymore.
What’s love. What’s leftover.
---
“Love, kain na tayo,” Zayden’s voice came with a soft knock.
“Sunod ako,” I replied, brushing away thoughts I shouldn’t be having. Thoughts I had buried. Or tried to.
Pero paglabas ko sa dining area, andun na sila—Zayden, Mama, Papa, at... Kaizen.
At si Chesca, ang bunso nilang kapatid. Thirteen years old na siya ngayon, palangiti, at sobrang lapit kay Zayden.
Mahilig siya sa K-pop at laging may hawak na phone, nagsi-screenshot ng bias niya every hour.
Niyakap niya agad ako. “Ate Sav! Gising ka na! May t****k ako, gusto mo sumayaw tayo mamaya?”
I laughed, “Next time, ha?” She was sunshine. The only one in the room not pretending.
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Kaizen was seated across the table. Calm. Distant.
Zayden pulled a chair for me. “Upo ka na, babe.”
I sat beside him, pretending everything was okay. Pretending I didn’t feel Kaizen’s presence like a ghost pressing down on my chest.
The air was heavy. Familiar. Uncomfortable.
---
“So, ilang taon na kayo ni Sav?” tanong ni Mama habang naglalagay ng sinigang sa bowl ko.
Zayden grinned. “Two years and counting.”
I smiled too—small, polite, shallow.
Kaizen didn’t say a word. He didn’t even look at me.
But I could feel it.
His silence was screaming.
Like it always did.
---
After breakfast, Zayden went with Chesca to the nearby store. Naiwan kami ni Kaizen sa sala, awkwardly pretending to be busy on our phones.
I wanted to escape. To move. To breathe.
Pero siya ang nauna.
"Masaya ka ba?"
I looked up. His voice was quiet, almost bitter.
“What?”
“Kay Zayden. Masaya ka ba talaga?”
My throat tightened. “Don’t do this.”
“Why not?” he said, eyes finally locking into mine. “Bawal na ba akong magtanong kahit konti lang?”
The look in his eyes broke something in me I thought I’d already fixed.
---
I stood. “You left. Ikaw ang umalis. Don’t act like ikaw ang nasaktan.”
His jaw clenched. “Alam mong hindi ako umalis para takasan ka. I did it for us. For our future.”
“Well, too late. I moved on.”
“Talaga ba?” he whispered.
One second of silence. Too heavy. Too sharp.
Then Zayden’s voice echoed from the gate, “Love! Nandito na kami!”
I stepped back from Kaizen, heart pounding.
I had to smile again. Act like nothing was happening.
Because the man I now loved… was the brother of the man I never stopped loving.
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Savrielle’s Inner Monologue
Zayden was the one who stayed when Kaizen walked away.
Zayden healed what Kaizen broke.
But no matter how much I tell myself that…
Why does my heart still skip when I hear his voice?
Why does my past still echo every time I try to be happy?
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End of Chapter 1: Part 5
- Writer
