The Downfall of a Temptress

Chapter 4

It's easy to pretend you belong in a place you don't. Especially, if you're wearing the right dress, the right heels, and the right shade of lipstick.

I stood inside the private art gallery, my heels quiet against the polished marble floor, champagne glass in hand and fake laughter at the tips of my tongue.

The light were soft but strategic. Each painting on the wall was highlighted like a confession waiting to be read. An abstract. Violent and bleeding color.

Soren Santierras' art work.

Ang ibang bisita ay puro alta. Collectors, curators, artist, business tycoons na kunwari may pakialam sa sining. I knew most of them. Some I've flirted with at other functions. But tonight, I didn't care about them.

I came for one reason. To see him.

I'd studied him for weeks. His patterns, his exhibit even his routines. Tonight was a lowkey launch of his latest series. No press, no hype just a quiet showcase.

And I made sure I was invited. Well...sort of.

I smiled sweetly at the gallery manager earlier. Konting titig, konting pahumble. Konti lang ang ginawa ko... Charm is a language I've mastered fluently.

Now I walked past one of Soren's paintings. A portrait of a woman with her face blurred, lips sewn shut with a red string.

My skin prickled.

Ngayon lang ako nakakita na babae ang tema ng kanyang painting. That's how he sees women? Or is that how he wants to silence them like my father? No wonder wala pang napapabalita na naging kasintahan niya. Nakakatakot naman kasi siyang maging boyfriend parang di ka pwedeng magkamali sa harapan niya.

Then after a minute, a voice cut through the air like a dagger.

"I didn't know you were into art, Miss de Alba."

I turn slowly.

And there he was. Soren Aldric Santierra. The devil himself.

Sharp jawline. Neatly swept dark hair, strong shoulders hidden under a black turtleneck and a charcoal blazer. He looked exactly how I remember him and yet, standing this close, he felt ten times more dangerous.

"Mr. Santierra," I greeted with a practical smile. "It's such a surprise seeing you here. I'm a big fan of your work."

He didn't smile back. Damn.

"I doubt that," he said flatly. "Last time I heard, you're more into contracts than canvases."

Ouch.

Napangiti ako kahit gusto ko ng lamunin ng sahig. Masyado siyang brutal. Walang gentleness sa kanyang boses. Bakit ba ayaw niya sa akin? Last time I checked, wala akong ginawa para mainis siya sa akin ng husto. Sa party lang kami ni Congressman Salude nagkita at nagkausap.

"Well," I replied, letting my voice soften into silk, "I believe art and business both require strategy. Don't you think, Mr. Santierra?"

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Calculating. Suspecting me.

"You've been following me."

There it was. The direct hit. Wala man lang preno. My pulse spiked but I kept my face composed. Masyado talaga siyang matalino para hindi makita ang mga ginagawa ko.

"I don't follow people, Soren," I said sweetly. "I just go where the beauty leads me."

"Then I suggest you look somewhere else. Not in my place." he said it so casually but the burn was unmistakable. Halatang hindi niya talaga ako gusto na malapit sa kanya.

Walang pakiusap sa boses niya. Hindi nanakit but the insult was there, simmering under the surface.

God, he's infuriating.

I took a slow sip of my champagne. My hands steady. My pride? Not so much. Masyado niyang inaapakan iyon.

"I must've touched a nerve," I murmured, tilting my head.

"You're touching more than that," he said, stepping closer. His voice dropped quiet and lethal. Laced with warning . "Whenever game you're playing, Miss de Alba, you better stop it."

He didn't blink or flinch. Mukhang seryoso talaga siya.

I tried to laugh it off but it came out too thin.

"I was just curious. That's not a crime, is it?"

"You're not curious," he said. "You're intrusive."

His gaze swept me from head to toe. No lust and interest, just cold observation.

"You dress like a question that already knows the answer. And I don't like being part of someone's performance."

My hand tightened on my glass. Gusto ko siyang sigawan. Kung hindi lang inutos ng aking ama, hinding hindi ko siya lalapitan.

"I wasn't performing," I said.

"No?" he leaned in, eyes boring into mine. "Then why do you smell like deception?"

I flinched inside, but outside, I just lifted my chin. Itinago ko ang aking emosyon para di niya makita na nasasaktan ako sa sinabi niya.

"You're very...poetric for a businessman."

"And you're very theatrical for someone trying to act innocent."

For a moment, no one spoke. The air between us felt like a thread stretched thin, ready to snap.

Then he turned just like that, ready to walk away. But I didn't let him.

"I know you think you've figure me out," I said, voice low and steady. "But you haven't."

He paused. Turned slightly, just enough to glance at me over his shoulder.

"I don't need to figure you out, Miss de Alba. People like you...always write your own ending." then he walked away.

Iniwan akong nakatayo sa gitna ng gallery, ang mukha ko ay perpekto pa rin na nakangiti na parang walang nangyari pero sa loob loob ko ay kumukulo ang inis ko sa kanya.

He didn't take the bait. He didn't even blink.

He saw right through me. But if he thinks I'm giving up this early, he's wrong. He may have caught me off guard tonight...

...but one day? I'll be the reason he loses control.

NAKALABAS na ako sa gallery pero hindi pa rin ako makahinga ng maayos. The cold night air kissed my skin but it didn't cool the fire inside me. Wala rin naman akong napala sa pagpunta dito kundi ang insultuhin ni Soren Santierra.

I was ready to leave. Ready to bury the night but fate is very cruel to me.

"You really don't know when to stop, do you, Miss de Alba?"

Napalingon ako.

Soren was there, standing near the shadowed edge of the building. Hands in his pockets. Face unreadable. Darkness clung to him like a second skin.

Hindi ko alam kung sinundan ba niya ako o coincidence lang ito. Pero nandito siya ngayon at kita ko sa mga mata niya na hindi pa siya tapos na insultuhin ako.

"You waited?" tanong ko, trying to sound amused. "Should I be flattered?"

"No," he said bluntly. "You should be careful."

I raised a brow. "Careful of what?"

Pinagbabantaan ba niya ako?

"Of thinking your charm works on everyone."

His voice wasn't loud but it echoed in my chest like thunder.

I laughed softly. "I wasn't trying to charm you."

"No?" he stepped forward. "Then what do you call it? The dress, the lingering stares, the sweet voice? That isn't sincerity, Miss de Alba. That's a routine."

"You sound so sure, Mr. Santierra," I said.

"I've met women like you."

"You don't know me." itinago ko ang talim sa aking boses.

Hindi dahil sinasabi niya ito sa akin ay lalayuan ko siya. Do I have a choice? Kahit ayoko 'tong ginagawa ko ay wala rin naman silbi dahil ang ama ko ang nasusunod sa lahat.

"I know enough." his tone turned colder. "I know men talk. I know what they say about you."

My smiled faded, even so slightly. Alam ko na ang tungkol sa mga sabi sabi sa akin pero masakit pala kapag galing sa kanya.

Dahil nasasaling ang pride ng mga lalaking nakakalandian ko, gumagawa sila ng kwento na naikama nila ako para hindi sila mapahiya.

"Do you believe everything you hear?"

"I believe in patterns," he said. "And yours is obvious."

I folded my arms. "Then tell me, Soren. What exactly do they say?"

He looked me in the eye. Steady and cruel.

"They say you've been in every rich man's bed. That no deal closes without you spread under the sheets. That your father sends you like a gift. A well wrapped, well practiced slut."

It hit hard. Right in my chest. Hindi man lang siya nag abalang balewalain ang aking tanong. No sugarcoating.

I didn't react. I just stared at him. Chin high and eyes blank. But deep inside...God! It hurt.

Not because it was true. It wasn't.

Not a single man had touched what I never offered. Not one. Every act, every kiss, every lie, I kept it above the surface. My body? I'd guarded it like my last weapon. But how do you explain purity to someone who already believe you're stained?

"You think I sleep my way into power," I said calmly.

"I don't need to think," he said. "It's written all over you."

I took a step closer wearing my brave face, steady voice and heart shattering.

"And if I told you no one's ever touched me?"

His jaw twitched.

I saw the flicker in his eyes. Doubt? Confusion? It was gone too fast. O hindi ko alam kung tama ba ang nakita ko sa mga mata niya.

He scoffed. "I'd say that's your best performance yet."

And there it was. Worse than a slap because he mean it.

I bitterly smiled. "You see what you want, Mr. Santierra but one day, you'll realize not everything people whisper is true."

"And maybe," I added, stepping past him, "you'll regret speaking to me like I'm already broken."

I walked away. Didn't look back. But the truth? His words are still with me. Sharp, cold, heavy. It hurts because they came from the one person I didn't care about.

Aria, dapat hindi ka na nasasaktan sa mga ganitong paratang. Just focus on your goal for Bella. Yes for Bella.