'Til I Found You (COMPLETED)

16

"You're always beautiful, babes," he whispers, gently pulling her in for a kiss that tastes like a promise.

It is their company anniversary, a night of triumph for him. He had hoped his parents would be there to witness it, but their arrival was delayed by a week. As they strut into the venue, the atmosphere shifts. All eyes gravitate toward them—his friends, relatives, and business associates. Aga beams, his chest swelling with a pride that borders on worship. To him, the woman on his arm is a masterpiece, the only thing that truly matters in this room full of accolades.

But she trembles.

The last time she was in a room like this, she wasn't the guest of honor; she was the entertainment. Her eyes roam the crowd, a fixed, fragile smile on her lips, while her soul begs the universe that no ghost from her past will materialize under the chandeliers. Her movements are jagged, nearly bumping into a waiter carrying a tray of wine.

"Sorry. Sorry," she mumbles, her voice thin.

"Relax, babes. Relax. Are you alright? Nanlalamig ang kamay mo," he notes, his brow furrowing as he takes her hand.

"I'm fine, babe. Don't mind me," she lies, but the cold sweat on her palms betrays her.

"Come on. Tell me. What's wrong?"

"Babes, I'm fine. Really. Medyo kase maraming tao lang. Their eyes are on us and I... I feel uncomfortable being stared at like that."

He chuckles, a warm, rich sound. "Don't be, babes. You know why they are staring?" He leans in, his breath warm against her ear. "Because I have the most beautiful woman next to me right now."

She rolls her eyes, the familiar banter a temporary shield. "Bolero."

"I am telling the truth. Which has me thinking... shall we make them even more envious?" He lends his hand, inviting her to the dance floor.

They sway to the classic music, the melody wrapping around them like a shroud. To Aga, this is a dream realized. He remembers seeing her for the first time at that bar, and now, he holds her as if letting go would mean his own destruction. He presses his lips to her forehead, inhaling her scent, blissfully unaware of the tectonic plates of her life shifting beneath them.

"I love you," he utters, their foreheads lingering against each other.

"Do I have to answer that?" she jests, though her heart feels like it's being squeezed by a vice.

"It's up to you. Answer me or moan for me," he chuckles, and the small slap she gives his chest sends a flutter through his heart. He is head over heels, and he doesn't care who knows it. He has plans for her—for a future that is bright and untainted.

Then, his friends arrive.

Max and William wave from across the room. Aga, ever the proud partner, leads her toward them. He wants his best buddies to see the woman who finally tamed him. But as they draw closer, the blood drains from Lea's face.

"Have we met before?" Max asks, squinting at her.

"Yeah. You look familiar," William adds, his eyes scanning her features with a clinical, haunting recognition.

The memory hits her like a physical blow. Max, a former client. He had booked her several times, even brought her to high-end events as arm candy. And there was that one night—the night she had been so desperate for money that she agreed to satisfy both Max and his friend, William, in a hotel suite. The shame of that room, the smell of the sheets, and the cold transaction of it all rushes back, making her stomach turn.

Aga scoffs, oblivious. "Babe, konti na lang, maniniwala na akong you're famous. Akalain mo these two knew you as well."

She forces a bitter smile, her lips pursed so tight they ache. She wants to vanish, to dissolve into the floorboards, but the truth is already beginning to leak out.

"You really ring my bell. I just can't remember where or when... but I am pretty sure we met already eh," William says, his gaze lingering a second too long on her neckline.

"That's enough. You're making her uncomfortable," Aga intervenes, though he's still grinning. "Is the latecomer here yet?"

The arrival of Gary, the man who just landed from London, is the final nail. Gary—the only client who had ever treated her like a human being. The man she had made a desperate wedding pact with years ago before she tried to bury her past and become "Lea."

"Gary, my man! Kumusta ang London?" Aga shakes his hand.

"Okay nam—" Gary stops mid-sentence. His eyes lock with Lea's. For a heartbeat, the world stands still.

"O-okay naman ako, tol. Hindi mo naman sinabi you're married now, Ags," Gary says, his voice is carefully neutral.

"Not yet, tol, but we'll get there. Right, babes?" Aga slithers his arm around her. She nods, a ghost of a person, and excuses herself to find air.

In the garden, under the indifferent stars, Lea breaks. She collapses onto a bench, the sobs racking her body until she can barely breathe. Every effort to restart, every dream of being a "good woman" for Aga, is crumbling.

"I assume he doesn't know," a voice says from the shadows.

It's Gary. He sits beside her, his expression full of a pity that hurts worse than anger. "Aga is a good guy, Mady."

"Lea. My name is Lea. That's my real name," she whispers.

"Lea. You have a beautiful name. Do you love him so much?"

"So much that it hurts. He doesn't know yet", she wipes off her tears.

"Don't worry. Makakaasa ka. I won't say anything, but you should know, secrets are not meant to be kept forever. I can see he is madly in love with you, and you with him. Just like I told you before, Lea, you can find a man who will love you just the way you are. And here he is," Gary tells her.

His words are meant to be a lifeline, but they feel more like a weight. She wants to believe him—to sink into the comfort of that promise and believe in the magic of love—if only her heart isn't yet so tired of believing. If only every hope she ever held hadn't already been turned into a weapon against her.

He adds, "You should tell him, Lea. You don't hold his reaction but at least be honest to him. I know Aga. Ayaw niya ng nililihiman siya lalo na ikaw"

Their conversation is cut short by a violent commotion inside. They rush back to find a scene from a nightmare: Aga is pinning William against a table, his fist drawing blood.

"Aga, tama na! Tama na sabi!" Lea screams, throwing herself between them.

"Why don't you ask your girl?!" William spits, wiping blood from his lip. "Tell him, Lea. Tell him what you were to us."

"That's enough, William. Lasing ka na, tol," Gary tries to pull him away.

"I know what I am saying! Niloloko ka lang niyan, tol. Ask her about the hotel suite. Ask her how much we paid!"

The silence that follows is deafening. Aga turns to look at her. The warmth, the worship, the love—it's all gone. In its place is a cold, piercing disgust that freezes her blood.

"Madeleine," he says.

The name is a slur. It's the confirmation that he finally knows. Lea reaches for his hand, her face drenched in tears, but he flinches away as if her touch were acidic.

"Th-this is absurd," he breathes, his voice dripping with a revulsion that shatters her heart into a million jagged pieces.

He walks out without a backward glance. Gary nudges her, urging her to chase him, and she does. She runs through the venue, through the whispers of the crowd, panting and crying. But as she watches his car roar away, she realizes the truth she had always known deep down.

She is Madeleine. And in his world, Madeleine has no place. As she stands alone in the dark, she whispers to herself the only truth she has left: "I am used to being hurt and left by people whom I loved the most."