The Burning Sands of Palawan

Seia Carmilla Novadezma arrives in El Nido not as a tourist, but as a woman who has built her escape piece by piece - from the sterile corridors of a Manila hospital to a self-made life in Palawan. She has land, a coastal home, two laboratories, and a boat. More than that, she has the fierce independence forged by years of being overlooked, the eldest daughter who learned early never to ask for help.

Jeremiah Eleazar Orvalo returns to Palawan after university finals, escaping the noise of a life lived under his father's immaculate public image. In the city, he is the perfect son; on the waters, he is simply Jeo - a man seeking a life unmeasured by comparisons.

When a shifting current pulls Seia farther from shore than planned, Jeo crosses her path in his Stabicraft. She insists she's fine, but his steady hand and quiet words suggest otherwise. What begins as a rescue is also an unspoken recognition - two people equally stubborn, equally restless, meeting in waters that refuse to be tamed.

Set against the raw beauty of Palawan's limestone cliffs, glassy coves, and unpredictable tides, this is about pride, survival, and the strange timing of connection. It's about learning when to fight the current - and when to let someone else share the pull.

The tide doesn't care who you are. But sometimes, it carries you exactly where you need to be.