Entangled Hearts

Chapter 8

Breaking the Illusion

Zaira’s POV

A few days after our talk at the café, Kaelan and I had silently agreed to take things one step at a time. No grand gestures, no dramatic scenes, just slow and steady work on showing our families that this marriage isn’t meant to be. Masarap sa pakiramdam na sa wakas, we were on the same page, and for the first time, I didn’t feel like I was fighting this battle alone.

But pretending in front of them had become even harder now. It was like trying to breathe through a thick curtain—parang ang hirap maging totoo. Everything about this arrangement felt wrong.

Every time Kaelan and I were alone, though, there was an unspoken understanding. We were still playing our roles, pero hindi na kasing bigat ng dati. There was a slight relief knowing that at least one of us wasn’t buying into the illusion anymore.

Tonight, may malaking dinner gathering ang family namin kasama ang mga family friends, and Kaelan, of course, was expected to attend. Sobrang daming tao, and as much as I tried to smile and be polite, I could feel the suffocating weight of their expectations crashing down on me.

Kaelan arrived a little late, as usual. His hair was perfectly styled, and he was dressed in his signature crisp suit. Parang lagi siyang galing sa isang business meeting—perfect and composed, always the ideal gentleman. Nakita ko siyang naglakad papasok ng hall, his face perfectly neutral as he greeted my parents with a polite nod.

I glanced at him, catching his eye for a brief second. He gave me a slight nod, just enough to acknowledge our little plan. We were in this together now.

“Zaira, hija, napakaganda mo talaga,” my tita cooed as she grabbed my hand. Her eyes sparkled as she looked between me and Kaelan. “Kayong dalawa, bagay na bagay. Parang kayo talaga ang itinadhana.”

“Thank you po, Tita,” I replied, forcing a smile. Kaelan gave a small nod beside me, his expression unreadable.

But inside, I was screaming. Itinadhana? How could something that felt so forced be fate?

As the night dragged on, I found myself growing more restless. The small talk, the polite smiles, the endless congratulations—it was all too much. Kaelan was handling it with his usual charm, blending into the crowd effortlessly. Meanwhile, I was barely holding it together.

Finally, I excused myself and slipped out onto the balcony for some fresh air. The cool breeze was a welcome relief from the stuffy atmosphere inside. I leaned against the railing, staring out at the city lights, trying to clear my head.

“Running away again?” Kaelan’s voice broke through the quiet night.

I turned to find him standing behind me, his hands in his pockets, looking as calm and collected as ever.

I let out a small laugh. “You caught me. I just needed a break from all the… pretending.”

He walked over to stand beside me, leaning against the railing as well. “It’s exhausting, isn’t it?”

“Sobra.” I shook my head. “How do you do it? How do you keep that calm façade up all the time?”

Kaelan shrugged, his eyes distant. “I’ve had a lot of practice. When you’ve been raised to be the perfect son, the perfect businessman, the perfect everything, you learn how to keep your real feelings hidden.”

There was a hint of bitterness in his voice that I hadn’t noticed before. It was strange, but hearing him admit that made him seem more… human. Parang hindi na siya yung cold, distant guy na kilala ko.

I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest. “I hate this, Kaelan. I hate pretending that everything’s perfect when it’s not. It’s like… we’re both trapped.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, then he turned to me, his expression serious. “We don’t have to keep pretending when we’re alone, you know.”

I looked at him, surprised. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. “We can be real with each other. Walang kailangan ipakita o patunayan sa isa’t isa. Just… be ourselves. At least when we’re not around them.”

The honesty in his voice caught me off guard. For the first time, Kaelan wasn’t acting like the composed businessman or the perfect fiancé. He was just… Kaelan. A guy stuck in the same situation I was in.

I nodded slowly, feeling the tension between us ease just a little. “Okay. No more pretending when we’re alone.”

He smiled—just a small, barely-there smile, but it was enough to make me feel a bit more at ease.

---

In the following days, we started making subtle moves to show our families that maybe, just maybe, this engagement wasn’t as perfect as they thought. Hindi namin ginawa nang sobrang obvious, pero we started having more disagreements in front of them, small arguments that hinted that things weren’t going as smoothly as they hoped.

One night, habang nasa isang formal dinner party kami with his family, we had one of those “disagreements.”

“Kaelan, I’m telling you, hindi lahat ng bagay dapat laging business-minded,” I said, loud enough for everyone at the table to hear. “Minsan, kailangan din ng puso sa mga desisyon.”

He raised an eyebrow, his voice calm but with a sharp edge. “You’re being unrealistic, Zaira. Emotions cloud judgment. That’s why business is business.”

I crossed my arms, leaning back in my chair. “That’s your problem, Kaelan. Laging business. Wala kang ibang nakikita kundi trabaho. That’s not how I want to live.”

There was a brief, awkward silence at the table. Everyone’s eyes were on us now. His mom looked particularly concerned, while my parents exchanged nervous glances. It was working.

Kaelan sighed, playing his part perfectly. “Fine. Maybe we should agree to disagree.”

After dinner, my mom pulled me aside, her brow furrowed with concern. “Zaira, is everything okay between you and Kaelan? Parang ang dami niyong pinagtatalunan lately.”

I forced a sad smile, knowing this was exactly what we wanted. “We’re just… having some differences, Mama. It’s not as easy as we thought.”

She sighed, shaking her head. “I’m sure you’ll work it out, anak. Kasal na kayo in a few months. Things will fall into place.”

I nodded, but inside, I felt a small flicker of hope. Maybe things wouldn’t fall into place after all. Maybe this was our way out.

---

Later that night, Kaelan and I met up again, this time at a quiet bar near his place. He ordered us drinks, and we sat at a corner booth, both of us exhausted from the night’s performance.

“That went well,” he commented, taking a sip of his whiskey.

“Too well,” I agreed, swirling my drink in my hand. “I think we’re getting better at this.”

He chuckled, leaning back in his seat. “Who knew we’d make such a good team?”

I smiled, the tension between us easing again. In a weird way, we had started to bond over this shared goal of breaking free from the engagement. Hindi ko in-expect na magiging ganito kami ni Kaelan—na we’d actually start to understand each other.

But the more time we spent together, the more I realized that maybe Kaelan wasn’t as bad as I initially thought. Sure, he was cold and distant at first, pero underneath that, there was someone who was just as trapped as I was.

“Do you ever think about what you’d do if this all ended?” I asked, glancing at him.

He was quiet for a moment, then he sighed. “Honestly? I don’t know. I’ve been living my life according to what’s expected of me for so long, I’m not sure what I’d do if I had a choice.”

I nodded, understanding exactly how he felt. “Same.”

We sat in silence for a while after that, both of us lost in our thoughts. Maybe we didn’t have all the answers yet, but at least now, we weren’t alone in figuring it out.