Chapter 2: Loving Someone Else
459 Words
Everyone knew he was in love.
Not loudly. Not desperately. But in a way that was calm and sure—the kind of love that didn’t need to be announced.
The girl he loved didn’t chase him. She didn’t dress for attention.
She didn’t wait in corners or show up where she wasn’t invited.
She was simply there.
And that was enough for him.
She watched it all from afar.
Sa campus, she saw how he slowed down when that girl was around. How his voice softened. How his eyes stayed on her longer than necessary. He never looked that way at anyone else. Especially not at her.
She learned to recognize the difference.
When he passed by her, his face stayed blank. No reaction. No annoyance. No interest. Parang hangin lang siya. But when he saw the girl he loved, it was like the world adjusted itself for him.
That’s when she understood—
it wasn’t that he was cold.
He was just warm for someone else.
Still, she didn’t stop.
She kept showing up. Events. Parties. Clubs. She made sure she was visible without ever getting close enough to talk to him.
She didn’t dare speak. Takot siyang marinig ang katahimikan pagkatapos.
“Okay lang. Hindi ko naman kailangan kausapin. Basta makita lang niya ako,” she kept telling herself.
She changed little things—her hair, her makeup, her clothes. Anything that might catch his eye for even a second. People started noticing her more. Whispering more.
“Trying too hard.”
“Desperate.”
“Easy.”
She heard it all.
Kung alam lang nila ang totoo.
She had never been kissed the way she wanted.
Never been held the way she imagined. She wore confidence like a costume, but underneath it, she was still the same girl who froze every time he walked past.
One night, she saw him sitting across the room, talking to her. The girl he loved was smiling, leaning close. He listened like nothing else mattered.
Her chest tightened.
“Ganito pala ang pakiramdam ng magmahal mag-isa,” she thought.
He stood up, offered his hand to the girl, and left with her without looking back.
Not once did his eyes search the room.
Not once did he notice the girl who had shaped her whole life around the hope of being seen.
She went home that night wearing the same dress, the same makeup—feeling stupid, empty, and small. But even then, she knew the truth she refused to accept:
He wasn’t ignoring her because she wasn’t enough.
He was ignoring her because he already loved someone else.
And no matter how loudly she existed,
she would never be louder than the girl who already owned his heart
- Writer
