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Chapter 5

It was evening.

The night was cold as Vermont casually sipped his drink on the terrace of his condominium. The entire city stretched before him,

glowing beneath the darkness of the night.

Everything around him was dim and quiet.

From his seat, he casually watched the colorful lights of the city below. The endless traffic, illuminated buildings, and tiny

movements of people in the distance had always been his favorite view.

Suddenly, Vermont heard his cellphone beep.

He reached for it and glanced at the screen. It was a message from Alex.

Vermont opened it.

Alex had sent him the details and information he had gathered about the nun named Therese Marshal.

For a moment, Vermont simply stared at her name on the screen.

He checked his email, where Alex had sent the files containing all the details and information he had gathered about Therese.

Vermont opened the first file.

Then the next.

He studied them one by one, carefully going through everything that had happened in Therese's life since the day they had been

separated.

What he discovered surprised him.

After their separation, Therese and her mother had moved to a remote place in the Philippines. Therese had been only twelve years

old at the time.

A few months after they settled there, her mother divorced her father.

Therese was enrolled in a local school, where she continued her education. She finished high school and eventually completed

college in the Philippines.

Over the years, she had adapted completely to the Filipino way of life.

Vermont leaned back in his chair.

So that's why I encountered her in Encarnacion.

The realization made sense.

Therese had spent most of her life in the Philippines. It was no coincidence that their paths had crossed there after twenty years.

He continued reading.

Therese had completed a nursing degree.

But instead of pursuing a conventional career, she had joined a missionary movement shortly after graduating.

For more than five years, she traveled from one country to another, dedicating herself to missionary work and helping communities

in need.

Vermont's eyes remained fixed on the screen.

Then he reached the next section.

Therese had met a man during one of her missions.

His name was Charles Go.

Vermont's jaw tightened.

He continued reading.

Charles was also a missionary. According to the information Alex had gathered, the two had eventually become engaged.

Vermont stopped scrolling.

Engaged?

His fingers remained motionless on the keyboard.

He stared at the name for several seconds before continuing.

The engagement, however, had eventually ended.

There was no further information explaining why.

Vermont frowned.

Vermont immediately reached for his phone and called Alex.

The call was answered after a few rings.

"Yes, sir?"

"The information you gathered is lacking."

There was a brief silence on the other end.

"I'm sorry, sir?"

Vermont's expression hardened as he stared at the files on his screen.

"I want you to dig deeper. Find out everything you can about Therese Marshal's broken engagement with Charles Go."

"Sir, I've already checked the available records—"

"Then check again."

His voice became colder.

"I don't care what it takes, Alex. Talk to people. Search through old records. Find anyone who might know what happened

between them."

Alex fell silent.

"I want to know why that engagement ended."

Vermont paused before adding,

"I need the information by tomorrow."

"Understood, sir."

The call ended.

Vermont slowly lowered his phone.

For a moment, he remained silent.

Then his eyes returned to the information on his laptop.

A bitter thought suddenly crossed his mind.

How dare she commit herself to another man?

After everything they had shared, how could Therese give her heart to someone else and leave him behind as though he had never

mattered?

His jaw tightened.

But he forced himself to continue reading.

Shortly after her engagement with Charles ended, Therese had made a decision that would completely change the course of her life.

She joined the clergy.

For nearly three years, she underwent intensive religious formation. She devoted herself to prayer, studied catechism, and learned

everything required of someone preparing to become a nun.

Vermont slowly scrolled through the information.

Therese had given herself entirely to her faith.

According to the records, she had remained a virgin and had demonstrated a deep devotion to her religious calling throughout her

formation.

Because of her character, faith, and commitment, she was eventually accepted into the nunnery.

Vermont stared at the screen.

The woman he had once known as the girl who laughed beside him had become someone entirely different.

A missionary.

A woman of faith.

And eventually, a nun.

Vermont remained still, his eyes fixed on Therese's name glowing on the screen.

For several moments, he said nothing.

Then a question suddenly surfaced in his mind.

What was happening to him?

Why was he thinking about her this much?

Why did the thought of her engagement bother him?

Why did the idea of Therese giving herself to another man stir something he had believed was long dead?

He slowly leaned back in his chair.

Did she still matter to him?

Vermont stared into the darkness beyond the terrace.

The question lingered.

But he quickly dismissed it.

No.

She didn't matter.

All he wanted was an explanation.

He wanted to know what had happened twenty years ago. He wanted to understand why Therese had disappeared from his life and

why she had never looked back.

That was all.

Nothing more.

He took another sip of his drink and turned his attention back to the city lights.

"That's all I want," he murmured to himself. "To know what happened back then. Nothing less."

Vermont tried searching for Therese on social media.

He expected the search to lead nowhere.

But he wasn't disappointed.

He found her.

Her social media account contained only a few photographs, but they were public enough for him to see.

Vermont slowly scrolled through her profile.

Most of her posts were simple—nothing extravagant, nothing that revealed much about her personal life. There were photographs

from her missionary work, pictures with religious communities, and occasional glimpses of the places she had visited.

Then he noticed something from a few days earlier.

The Feast of St. Sebastian.

Vermont opened the post.

There was a photograph of Therese standing together with several other nuns and priests during the celebration. She looked peaceful,

surrounded by people who shared the same faith and purpose she had devoted her life to.

He stared at the photograph for a moment before continuing to scroll.

Then he stopped.

There she was.

A solo photograph of Therese.

Vermont's finger remained motionless on the screen.

He couldn't help but stare at her.

She looked different from the girl he remembered, yet somehow, she was unmistakably the same Therese.

Her face had matured, her features had become more refined, and there was a quiet serenity in her expression that he had never seen

before.

Vermont leaned closer to the screen.

For a moment, he forgot about the city lights outside.

He forgot about his drink.

Even the music playing softly in the background seemed to disappear.

All he could see was her.

Therese.

Vermont continued staring at Therese's photograph on the screen.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then, as though she were actually sitting in front of him, he spoke to the image.

"You're always beautiful. Why do you always have this effect on me?"

He gave a bitter, almost disbelieving laugh.

"Even though you're a nun, you still can't atone for what you did to me. You left me with nothing."

He reached for his beer and took another long drink.

His eyes never left her photograph.

A few seconds passed before he spoke again, his voice carrying a mixture of irritation and jealousy.

"How dare you find another man?"

His jaw tightened.

"And how dare you try to commit yourself to him?"

He leaned closer to the screen, studying her face.

Then a faint, irritated smirk crossed his lips.

"Is he more handsome than me?"

Vermont suddenly laughed—a low, unsettling laugh that echoed across the dark terrace.

He stared at Therese's photograph for a long moment, his expression twisting into something darker.

"Maybe that Charles wasn't good enough for you. Because if he were, I'm sure you wouldn't have been able to preserve your

virginity."

He laughed then paused.

His eyes remained fixed on her face on the screen.

For a very long moment, he simply stared.

Then his expression hardened.

"I hate you."

His fingers tightened around the glass in his hand.

"I hate you so much that I want to crush you in the palm of my hand."

He took another drink, his gaze never leaving her photograph.

"I don't care if you're a nun. I will have my revenge."

A cold smile slowly appeared on his lips.

"You better start praying every second from now on, because the moment I reach you again, I will tear you apart piece by

piece."

The music continued playing softly behind him.

But the peacefulness of the night was gone.

Vermont's phone suddenly rang.

The sound broke through the quiet atmosphere of the terrace.

He glanced at the screen.

Alex.

Vermont answered the call.

"Yes?"

Alex's voice came through the other end.

"Sir, I found something."

Vermont's expression immediately became attentive.

"Go on."

Alex hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"I found out why Therese and Charles Go broke off their engagement."

Vermont's eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

"Charles had been secretly seeing someone else while he was still engaged to Therese."

Vermont remained silent.

"She wasn't a missionary, sir. According to the information I gathered, Charles had been seeing her behind Therese's back

for some time."

Vermont's grip on his phone tightened.

"And?"

Alex took a breath.

"The woman eventually became pregnant."

A slow, sinister smile appeared on Vermont's lips.

"So Charles cheated on her."

"Yes, sir."

Vermont leaned back in his chair, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

The pieces were finally beginning to fall into place.

"That's good to hear"

Alex continued speaking.

"There's more, sir."

Vermont's eyes remained fixed on the city lights.

"Charles Go is now a public university teacher. He's married now, and according to what I found, he's living a happy life

with his family."

Vermont's expression remained unreadable.

Alex continued.

"Therese apparently loved him deeply. That's why the betrayal affected her so badly."

Vermont's fingers tightened slightly around his glass.

"After the engagement ended, she became devastated. She didn't want to pursue another relationship anymore."

There was a brief silence.

"Instead, she decided to enter the clergy and dedicate the rest of her life to her faith."

Vermont slowly lowered his glass.

So that was it.

Therese had loved Charles enough to have her heart completely shattered when she discovered his betrayal.

Vermont felt a deep bitterness settle inside him.

He couldn't believe it.

Therese had loved another man that much.

The thought alone was enough to make something inside him explode.

He tightened his grip around his glass, his jaw clenched as he stared at the city lights.

All those years, he had carried the memory of Therese with him. And now he had learned that she had once given her heart

completely to someone else.

Charles.

Just thinking about the name made his blood boil.

He imagined Therese loving Charles, trusting him, planning a future with him.

A future Vermont had once imagined for himself.

His breathing grew heavier.

"You loved him that much?"

With a sudden movement, he hurled the glass toward the screen.

CRASH!

The glass struck the screen and shattered on impact. Fragments scattered across the floor as the screen flickered before going dark.

Vermont remained motionless.

His chest rose and fell heavily as he stared at the broken pieces around him.

The image of Therese was gone.

But the thought of her loving Charles remained.

And somehow, that hurt far more than the broken screen.

Alex heard the sudden crashing sound through the phone.

His voice immediately became concerned.

"Sir? What happened?"

Vermont didn't answer.

For several seconds, Alex could hear nothing but his heavy breathing on the other end of the line.

"Sir?"

Still, Vermont remained silent.

His eyes were fixed on the shattered screen, his expression dark with rage.

When he finally spoke, his voice was frighteningly calm.

"Alex."

"Yes, sir?"

"I want you to find a way to remove a nun from her position."

Alex fell silent.

"Sir... a nun?"

"Therese Marshal."

Vermont's jaw tightened.

"I want you to find everything you can. Every weakness. Every mistake. Every secret that could be used against her."

Alex hesitated.

"What exactly do you want me to do with the information?"

Vermont's voice dropped lower.

"Whatever it takes."

He paused.

"If there's a scandal that can destroy her reputation, find it. If there's something that can force the clergy to remove her,

uncover it."

Alex remained silent.

Vermont continued, his voice cold and deliberate.

"I don't care how difficult it is. I don't care how long it takes. Find a way to get her out."

His eyes shifted toward the broken screen.

"I want her out of that life."

A bitter smile crossed his lips.

"No matter what it takes."

Alex swallowed hard.

"Understood, sir."

Vermont ended the call.

The terrace fell silent again.

"I will do whatever it takes to get you out of that life, Therese. I will definitely destroy you like what you did to me. I will tear

down every wall standing between us, piece by piece, until there is nowhere left for you to hide."

He paused, his eyes narrowing.

"And when I finally stand in front of you, you will tell me everything. Every reason. Every truth you kept from me twenty

years ago."

His jaw tightened.

"But you'd better make sure your explanation is something I can accept."

A bitter smile crossed his lips.

"Because if it isn't..."

He let the silence linger.

"You will regret the day our paths ever crossed again."