1. Asher had never been his parents' first choice. Not for the course he took. Not for the life he wanted. And never for the person he actually was. But he learned to live with it-to stay in the middle, to be enough, to not ask for more than what was given. And then Lior entered his world. Serious, cold at first glance, almost unwelcoming. Someone Asher never thought he would grow close to. Someone he never expected to matter. But slowly-quietly-Lior did. He became the one Asher looked for, the one he trusted without meaning to, the one whose presence steadied him in ways he couldn't explain. Akala niya iyon na. Akala niya, safe na siya. Akala niya, kayang-kaya niya. Until the day his family saw Lior. And loved him. Loved his discipline. Loved his future in medicine. Loved the version of a son they always wanted... just not him. And just like that, something inside Asher cracked. He thought he could ignore it. He thought he could swallow the jealousy. He thought he could pretend it didn't hurt that his parents admired Lior more than they ever admired him. Pero habang tumatagal, mas lumalalim ang sakit. Mas lumalakas ang tanong. Mas bumibigat ang inggit na pilit niyang tinatago. Akala niya kaya pa. Akala niya maiintindihan niya. Pero hindi na pala. Hindi na niya kayang ngumiti habang unti-unti nang nawawala ang tiwala niya sa sarili niya. Hindi na niya kayang tingnan si Lior nang hindi aaalala ang ngiting binibigay ng pamilya niya sa lalaking mahal niya. Pilit siyang kumapit, pero dumating ang oras na kahit siya ay napagod na. Dumating ang sandaling hindi na niya alam paano magmahal nang hindi nasasaktan. Dumating ang puntong kahit mahal niya pa si Lior, siya na mismo ang humihila sa sarili palayo sa lalaking unang tumanggap sa kaniya. And for the first time, Asher chose himself... even if choosing himself meant risking the boy he loved.