One Last Time (R18)

Kabanata LXXV: LEVI: THE ONE HE COULDN'T LOSE

The One He Couldn't Lose.
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ILANG ARAW na hindi nagparamdam sa kanya si Keira. The last time he saw her was that night at the bar where everything fell apart.

Being there had been pure coincidence. Ang pinsan niyang si Jarred ang nagyaya sa kanya uminom kasama ang kaibigan nito. He hadn't planned on going out that night, let alone seeing Annika. And he definitely hadn't expected to lose control!

Mariin siyang napapikit at nagtiim-bagang. Hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin niya maalis sa isip ang galit sa mga mata ni Annika habang nagpupumiglas ito mula sa pagkakahawak niya-ang matalim nitong pagtitig sa kanya na para bang hindi na nito kilala ang taong nasa harap nito.

At hindi niya ito masisisi. She had every right to despise him.
What he did was unforgivable. A vile, pathetic mistake born from jealousy, heartbreak, and desperation.

That kiss wasn't love. It was forced! At nang makita niya ang luha nito, para siyang binuhusan ng malamig na tubig. He snapped back to his senses, but it was already too late. The damage had been done. He had already crossed that line.

It wasn't only Annika who was disgusted by his actions-he was too. No apology could erase it. No explanation could justify it.

Hindi niya ipinagmamalaki ang nangyari. Not the fight. Not the jealousy. Not what he did to Annika. At lalong hindi niya ipinagmamalaki ang naging pagtrato niya kay Keira.

He still remembered the look on her face when he told her to mind her own business.
Keira was only trying to stop him from destroying himself, from clinging to a truth he refused to accept-that Annika no longer loved him. Pero sa halip na makinig, binulyawan niya ito, tinaboy at pinagsalitaan ng mga salitang hindi nito deserve marinig.

Napangiwi siya. He owed both women an apology, especially Keira. And somehow, the thought of facing her was harder. Because unlike Annika, she didn't do anything to hurt him, yet she still ended up receiving the worst version of him.

He intended to apologize to Keira the next time they met. He knew she would approach him again, just as she always did, even after he pushed her away.

Pero lumipas ang ilang araw, walang Keira'ng nagparamdam. Days passed. Then days turned into a week, and still, there was no message from her. No phone calls, no unexpected visits, no Keira barging into his space as if she owned it. Wala kahit anino.

Sa una ay hinayaan niya lang ito. Marahil ay busy lang ito, pero alam niyang magpapakita rin naman ito kalaunan. Kapag nangyari iyon, saka siya hihingi ng tawad. Besides, he liked being alone. He enjoyed silence, but as the days dragged on without a single word from her, something began to feel off... uncomfortable.

The silence he once enjoyed no longer felt peaceful. It felt too quiet... empty.

For months, Keira had been everywhere around him-talking, teasing, testing the limits of his patience. There had been countless times when he wished she would leave him alone.

Now that she was gone, the silence she left behind felt heavier than her presence ever did.

Sometimes, his eyes drifted toward his unit door, half-expecting it to burst open and reveal Keira with her bright smile he once found annoying. Other times, he'd hear a laugh that sounded like hers and instinctively turn around, only to find it wasn't really her.

And every single time, disappointment followed.

At first, he told himself it was nothing. That she'd come back when she got bored, whenever she felt like it, when she decided to annoy him again like she always did.