Chapter 6
1867 Words
Late afternoon.
The Ybañez Tower conference room was empty — except for Stine and Alaric.
They had just wrapped up a joint partnership pitch, but tension still hung in the air like static.
Stine stood by the window, arms crossed, trying to keep her voice steady.
“You think you know everything about me.”
Alaric, seated behind the desk, barely glanced up.
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you think it.”
He sighed. “Stine—”
“No,” she cut him off, turning to face him fully. “Let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about how you look at me like I’m some kind of... flirty little drama queen with zero direction in life.”
Alaric finally looked up. “Wala akong sinabing ganyan.”
“But you act like it!” Her voice cracked slightly. “From day one, you judged me. Just because I hang out with guys, just because I smile too much, just because I don’t walk around with a stick up my ass like you.”
A flicker of guilt flashed in his eyes.
“Do you even know why I’m close to them?” she continued. “Theo, Jace, Ram? They were there when I lost my best friend in high school. They were there when my mom got hospitalized for anxiety. They’re not just friends, Alaric. They’re family. Hindi ko sila kailangan i-explain sayo. But here I am.”
Alaric stood, slowly.
“Stine…”
“Don’t.” She raised a hand. “You keep making me feel like I have to defend who I am. Like I’m something dirty just because I don’t fit your perfect image of what a woman should be.”
His jaw clenched.
“That’s not what I think.”
“Then what do you think?” she whispered, voice shaking. “You judged me for being with guys. But you? You’ve slept around more than I can count. Yet you act like ikaw yung naagrabyado nang may nangyari sa’tin sa New York.”
Silence.
Heavy. Bitter.
“I never said I regretted that night,” he muttered.
“But you act like you do,” she said quietly. “Like I’m just another number. Another notch on your bedpost.”
“I didn’t know,” he said, eyes suddenly raw. “That you were…”
She looked away.
“Yeah. Well. You never asked.”
The silence stretched long.
Then Stine took a breath, blinking fast.
“I’m tired of trying to prove I’m more than what you see.”
She turned to leave.
But before she could open the door, Alaric spoke again — softer, unsure.
“You are.”
She paused.
“What?”
“You are more,” he said, barely above a whisper. “Than what I let myself see.”
Hindi siya lumingon.
Walang imik.
Basta lumakad palayo.
At sa unang pagkakataon matapos ang matagal na panahon, may naramdaman si Alaric—isang bagay na labis niyang kinamumuhian.
Regret.
Hindi pa rin nawawala ang tensyon mula sa huli nilang pagtatalo.
Sa totoo lang, lalo lang itong lumala.
May brunch meeting sila sa isa sa mga hotel ng Ybañez — para i-check ang bagong spa design layout.
Pero pagpasok pa lang ni Stine, habang tumatawa sa kausap sa phone — si Ram — agad nang uminit ang ulo ni Alaric.
Umupo si Stine sa booth sa tapat niya, dala pa rin ang ngiti sa labi.
“Sorry, traffic. Ram was giving me an update about the wellness campaign.”
“You couldn’t have messaged?” Alaric said flatly.
She blinked. “What’s your problem now?”
Alaric closed the tablet in front of him and looked her dead in the eyes.
“Stop hanging out with your boys.”
Silence.
Tinitigan siya ni Stine ng limang segundo bago tumawa — maikli, matalim, at hindi makapaniwala.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” he said, voice low. “Theo. Jace. Ram. I’m sick of seeing you with them every single day.”
She leaned back, arms crossed. “Wow. So now you’re managing my calendar?”
Alaric’s jaw clenched. “You know what people say when they see you with them?”
“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes. “Like I care what people say. Or you, for that matter.”
“I’m trying to protect you,” he snapped. “The image you’re giving off—”
“And who made you in charge of my image?” she interrupted. “Since when do you get to tell me who I should or shouldn’t be seen with?”
He stood up, frustrated. “You don’t get it, Stine—”
“No, you don’t get it, Alaric!” she fired back in a controlled voice, standing up to match him. “I’m not your girlfriend. I’m not your wife. You don’t get to control me just because we had s*x one night in New York!”
A beat of silence.
“You’re jealous,” she accused, eyes sharp. “And instead of admitting it, you make it look like I’m the problem.”
“I’m not jealous,” he muttered.
“Bullshit,” she said without blinking. “You think I don’t see it? Every time one of them puts their arm around me, every time I laugh too hard, or smile too wide—you burn.”
Alaric stepped closer, voice tight. “Maybe I wouldn’t burn if you didn’t flirt with them every chance you get.”
Stine blinked, stunned. Then her lips curled into a cold smile.
“Oh, so I’m a flirt now?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“No, no, say it,” she said, voice icy. “Let’s go all the way. Slut-shame me to my face, Alaric. Do it.”
His expression faltered.
“Stine…”
She shook her head, stepping back.
“You know what hurts the most?” she said quietly. “I actually thought… for a second… maybe you were different. But you’re just like the rest. Controlling. Judgmental. Self-righteous.”
“Stine, I’m not—”
“You are,” she said. “And the worst part? You still don’t even know me.”
She turned around, grabbed her bag, and walked out.
This time, Alaric didn’t follow.
But his heart did.
The next day, hindi pa rin maayos ang tensyon sa pagitan nila.
They were both in a marketing alignment meeting — same table, different ends — with their parents’ company execs.
Professional mask: on.
But the moment the meeting ended, at the rooftop garden of Navarro Spa HQ, Alaric cornered her.
“Stine, we need to talk.”
She didn’t even turn around. “Do we really?”
“Yes,” he insisted, stepping closer. “About yesterday.”
She sighed, finally facing him. “What now? You gonna accuse me again of being too friendly with my best friends?”
“You know what I meant.”
“I know exactly what you meant,” she snapped. “And I’m done pretending it’s okay.”
Alaric’s brows pulled together. “I just said I didn’t like how close you are with them—”
“And I told you,” she cut him off sharply, “they’ve been there for me more than you ever were.”
Silence.
“Ram was the one who drove me to the hospital when my mom collapsed. Jace was with me nung pinahiya ako ng una kong kaibigang babae in front of our batch. Theo—” her voice wavered, “—Theo stayed up all night on a sidewalk with me when I broke down after my first failed business pitch.”
Alaric’s expression was unreadable.
“You?” she continued, her voice rising, “You weren’t there for anything, Alaric. Not one damn thing. And yet you have the audacity to judge them just because they’re guys?”
“They’re too close,” he muttered, jaw clenched. “And I hate how they look at you.”
“They look at me with love and respect, which is more than I can say for you.”
Oof.
That landed.
He looked away for a moment, guilt flickering across his face. “I just… I don’t want to see you with them.”
“And I didn’t want to lose my virginity to someone who can’t even admit he cares about me!” she blurted.
Katahimikan.
Sobrang tahimik na parang pati hangin tumigil.
Nanganganib nang pumatak ang mga luha sa mata niya, pero mabilis niya itong pinigilan sa isang kisap.
“I keep defending you. To my friends. To myself. Even when you treat me like some girl who doesn’t deserve loyalty or kindness just because I laugh too loud and hang out with boys.”
“Stine, that’s not what I—”
“I’m not done,” she said firmly, holding up a finger.
“I am not gonna cut off the people who actually showed up for me, just because your fragile ego can’t handle it.”
Tiningnan siya ni Alaric — this time, ng totoong tingin.
Hindi bilang flirt. Hindi bilang wild na babae. Hindi bilang problema.
Kundi si… Stine lang.
Matatag. Tapat. Sugatan.
Napalunok siya nang madiin.
“You’re right,” he said quietly. “You’re right, Stine. I wanted to be just there for you."
She froze.
Alaric’s voice was quiet… but firm. May bigat. May tinatago.
Stine slowly turned around, her brows furrowing.
“What… did you just say?”
He stepped forward, eyes locked on hers.
“I didn’t want to just be your friend, Stine,” he said, voice low, steady. “Hindi ko alam paano i-handle 'to noon. Laging gulo, laging bangayan. Pero every time I saw you… kasama sila… tumatawa ka… I wasn’t just annoyed. I was jealous. And scared.”
“Scared of what?” she whispered.
“Scared that I’m too late,” he admitted. “Na maybe someone already meant more to you than I ever could.”
Her eyes softened for half a second—but she caught herself, blinking fast.
“You think that erases everything?” she asked. “The judging, the jealousy, the way you made me feel small for trusting you that night?”
“I never meant to hurt you,” he said, stepping even closer. “That night… it wasn’t just s*x to me.”
Stine’s chest rose and fell.
“You never said that before.”
“Because I was a coward,” he said honestly. “But I’m not lying now.”
Tiningnan din niya ito — ‘yung totoong tingin.
At sa isang iglap, muntik nang mabasag ang pader na matagal na niyang itinayo.
Muntik na.
Pero may paraan talaga ang sakit… mas tumatagal kaysa sa katotohanan.
“Then prove it,” she said quietly. “Start by respecting the people I love. Because if you can’t even do that… you don’t deserve me.”
Then she walked away.
This time, Alaric didn’t stop her.
But something inside him told him this wasn’t the end — this was his chance to begin.
- Writer
