Chapter 1
1468 Words
"Congratulations, my love. I hope you can come home soon so we can celebrate your success together. You deserve to be happy after all your hard work and determination to achieve your dreams," my husband said from the other end of the line.
As time went by, I missed him even more. It’s been nearly two years since we were last together.
Ezeckiel and I were on a video call. We talk every single day—morning and night. Not a day goes by without us seeing each other on screen.
I missed him so much. So after celebrating my achievement here in America, I planned to fly back to the Philippines to be with the man I love most.
After our call ended and I had said goodbye, I began preparing to leave. I waited outside my house for my friend Kiera—a flamboyant gay best friend I made here in America.
I grabbed my phone from my bag and dialed his number. It rang only once before he answered.
"Oh my God, Kiera! Where are you now?" I asked impatiently. I get annoyed when I’m kept waiting for too long.
"On the way! Just give me two minutes," he replied.
I hung up as I saw his car approaching. When he stopped, I opened the door and got in—slamming it shut behind me.
"Oh, are you mad, sis?"
"Isn’t it obvious?"
"Geez, I got stuck in traffic, that’s why I was late."
"Just admit it—you were fooling around with your 'fafa' again."
"Okay, fine. Fafa Kali gave me one last sweet bite before I left."
"More like fafa Kali-bugan!"
"At least I’m getting some. You, on the other hand? No action, no satisfaction. That’s why you’re always bitter."
I hit Kiera on the head for his shameless comment. The teasing continued until we arrived at the bar, still bickering like kids.
"You’re so mean! Just go home already and get laid by your husband."
"Say that again and I’ll crack your skull."
"Okay, okay. Quiet mode: activated, boss."
We entered the bar and were immediately greeted by our coworkers.
"Hey, congrats!" Miles said.
"Thank you, Miles."
"Enjoy your night."
"You too." I smiled.
Everyone we passed congratulated me. Kiera and I sat at a table while waiting for our wine.
"Stay here, friend. I just need to check something real quick."
"Seriously, you’re such a flirt. You already have fafa Kali, now you're after another guy?"
"Haha! Well, fafa Bugan is hotter than Kali these days."
"Ugh."
He just laughed at my sarcasm. I could never win against him—he was too energetic.
Is that how people become once they’ve had a real-life hotdog? I suddenly wondered why I never even had the chance to sleep with my husband before I flew to America.
"Hey, Celestine, you're here? What are you doing in a place like this? Does your husband even know you're here?"
I was shocked to see Eloisa.
"That’s what I should be asking you. What are you doing here? And don’t act like you know me—everything I do, my husband knows about it," I said sharply.
"Oh really... okay, can I join your table?"
I didn’t want to be rude, so I agreed.
"Fine. You can sit."
She sat across from me and took out a cigarette. She’s been smoking since our college days—it was a habit she never outgrew.
Eloisa and I were never close. We’d been rivals ever since university. She met Ezeckiel first, but he courted me—and we ended up together.
Since then, Eloisa and I could never get along.
She once confessed that she loved Ezeckiel, but I loved him too. She tried to destroy my reputation, spreading rumors just to turn Ezeckiel against me—but I was grateful that he never believed her. When he and I got married, Eloisa pretended to be fine with it, even said she had forgiven me.
A waiter brought a glass of wine and placed it in front of me. Eloisa stared at me.
"Let’s have a drink, Celestine."
"You go ahead, Eloisa."
"Why not? One glass of wine won’t get you drunk. Right?"
"Fine. Just one."
We clinked glasses, and I downed the wine in one go. At first, I felt fine. But after a while, I started to feel dizzy. I looked around for Kiera—but he was nowhere in sight.
Suddenly, everything went black.
---
The next morning, I woke up with a throbbing headache, holding my pounding head. I looked around—and realized I wasn’t in my room. The place was unfamiliar.
And beside me... was a man.
A very handsome man—with striking green eyes—who had just woken up as well.
"Who are you? Where am I?" I panicked as I noticed I had no clothes on—only a black lace panty.
"Good morning, sweetie. Did you enjoy last night?"
"What happened last night?! I don’t remember anything! Did something happen between us?" I cried.
He nodded.
"No... no, this can’t be happening," I whispered, repeating it again and again.
But I didn’t feel any pain or soreness down there, so it seemed impossible…
I stood up, grabbed a blanket to cover my naked body, and picked up my scattered clothes on the floor. I rushed to the bathroom and got dressed, trying to calm my trembling hands.
I just wanted to get out of there. My conscience couldn’t take it. What if my husband found out?
"Where are you going?" he asked coldly.
"Don’t talk to me, you i***t!" I snapped.
"I’m going home, okay? And don’t you dare ask me anything!"
He stood up too, wearing nothing but boxers. I swallowed hard at the sight of his chiseled, Adonis-like body—only making me feel more guilty about what happened.
"Okay, leave if you want. I’m sorry for what happened."
"Yeah, just wait—I’ll leave this hellhole right now!" I shouted, slamming the door behind me.
I could barely walk. My legs felt like lead. I immediately tried calling my husband—but his phone was off. I called his office, and his secretary said he was busy.
Then I dialed Kiera’s number. It rang.
He didn’t answer the first time, but on the second ring, he finally picked up.
"Hey, girl! Where have you been?! I was looking for you everywhere last night! Your husband even called me and asked why your phone was off. I had to make up an excuse and said it ran out of battery. He also asked if you had already gone home."
"My God, friend, I had to lie so much last night! Are you still there? Why are you so quiet? Hello?"
I was crying as I listened to every word Kiera said.
"I’m still here, friend... and I don’t know what happened to me last night," I whispered.
"What?! Are you serious? Okay, where are you? I’ll come get you. Just wait for me—I’ll get dressed and be right there."
He hung up.
I texted him my location and waited at a nearby coffee shop close to the hotel where I had woken up. I tried calling my husband again—but his phone was still off. I called his office again. His secretary told me he had left early after a morning meeting.
I started to worry.
Ezeckiel had never missed a call—not even once. No matter how busy he was, he always made time to talk to me.
This was not like him at all.
An hour passed. I was on my second cup of coffee when Kiera finally arrived and sat beside me.
As soon as I saw him, I burst into tears.
"Shh… friend, calm down. What happened to you? Why did you disappear last night? I came back to our table, but you were gone."
I couldn’t even begin to explain the mess I’d gotten myself into.
"Friend… something happened to me. I don’t remember anything from last night. I woke up in a strange room… next to a man… and we were both naked."
"What?! Are you serious? Oh my God, Celestine—what are you going to do if your husband finds out about this? Who the hell could've done this to you?" Kiera asked angrily.
"The only person I was with last night was Eloisa. Someone handed me a glass of wine, and I drank it in one gulp," I replied.
"And after that, you blacked out—because you didn’t know that the drink had something mixed in it. Damn it, Celestine! You weren’t careful!" Kiera said in frustration.
"That witch Eloisa! All she ever does is deceive you and ruin your life."
- Writer
