Twisted Obsession (Twisted Series #3)

Chapter Two

Valeria

Sa lahat ng posibleng client na puwedeng ibigay sa amin, bakit kailangang si Aiden Cruz pa?

I slammed the folder onto my desk, not even caring if my assistant outside heard it. Kahit gaano ko subukang i-compose ang sarili ko, I could still feel the heat crawling under my skin. My heart wouldn't calm down. Hindi ko alam kung dahil sa galit, inis, o 'yung panic na pilit kong itinatago sa likod ng professionalism.

I thought I buried him already.
I thought I buried us.

Pero hindi pala gano’n kadali 'pag first love ang nilibing mo—lalo na kung hindi mo man lang na-closure.

“Val?” Tumigil ako sa pag-ikot ng pen nang marinig ko ang boses ni Claire, my best friend and creative director. Nakatayo siya sa pinto, holding her laptop and coffee like a concerned therapist. “Okay ka lang?”

“Define okay,” I muttered.

She closed the door gently and sat across me. “Gusto mo ba talaga 'tong project na 'to? Kasi kung hindi, I can talk to the board—”

“No,” I cut in. “We’re keeping CruzTech.”

Claire raised a brow. “Sigurado ka? 'Cause I saw the way you looked at him kanina. Para kang sinampal ng multo.”

I exhaled, pressing my palms against my temples. “Hindi na siya dapat bumalik, Claire.”

“Pero bumalik siya,” she said softly. “And halatang hindi siya simpleng ex.”

“He’s not,” I whispered. “He’s the boy who promised he’d never leave… then left like it meant nothing.”

Claire stayed quiet, just listening. Alam niyang hindi ako madaling magsalita tungkol sa past ko. Lalo na pagdating kay Aiden. Halos hindi ko na nga binabanggit ang pangalan niya in the last few years.

“He was my best friend,” I admitted. “We grew up together. Same school, same barkada. He saw me at my lowest—nung iniwan ako ng dad ko, nung nawala si Mama sa sakit. He was there through everything.”

“Until he wasn’t,” Claire said gently.

I nodded. “He disappeared, Claire. No text. No call. One day he was there, the next... gone. Parang wala kaming pinagsamahan.”

“Maybe he thought he was doing the right thing.”

“Maybe,” I said. “But he broke something in me. And now he’s back like nothing happened.”

Claire reached over and squeezed my hand. “So anong balak mo?”

“Do my job,” I said. “That’s it. Nothing more. Wala nang personalan.”

Pero kahit ilang ulit kong sabihin 'yan sa sarili ko, I knew I was lying.

---

Later that week – CruzTech Office

I walked into the CruzTech boardroom like I owned the place. Dressed in a sharp navy suit, heels clicking against the marble floor, every inch of me screamed confidence.

Even if deep down, I was barely holding it together.

Aiden was already there, talking to his team. The moment our eyes met, tahimik ang buong paligid ko. Parang pinatay 'yung mundo.

He stood as I entered, eyes unreadable again.

“Miss Navarro,” he greeted formally.

I nodded once. “Mr. Cruz.”

Para kaming strangers in front of everyone. And maybe that was the only way we could survive this—by pretending we weren’t once everything to each other.

The presentation went well, but every time he spoke, I felt it—the pull. That damn magnetic force between us na kahit ilang taon ko nang tinatakbuhan, nandiyan pa rin. Lurking beneath the surface.

After the meeting, habang nag-aayos ako ng laptop, he approached me.

“Can we talk?” he asked, voice low.

I didn’t look at him. “We already did. Sa rooftop.”

“Not enough.”

I finally turned to him. “Wala na tayong kailangang pag-usapan, Aiden.”

“You’re angry.”

“Wouldn’t you be?”

“I am. At myself,” he said.

“Good,” I said, stepping back. “At least you’re finally feeling something.”

---

Flashback – Six Years Ago

“You really think we’ll make it?” tanong niya habang nakahiga kami sa damuhan sa likod ng luma naming school.

“Make what?” I asked, turning to him.

“Life. Success. You and me. Everything we dream of.”

I smiled. “Basta magkasama tayo, kaya natin.”

He grinned. “Then promise me something.”

“What?”

“No matter what happens, we don’t leave each other behind.”

I laughed. “Aiden, drama mo. Of course not.”

“I mean it, Val. Promise me.”

“Okay, okay. I promise.”

But he broke it.

---

Back to Present – Valeria

I looked at him now, standing in a glass tower that proved he did make it.

He had everything.

Money. Power. Status.

But he lost me.

And I was no longer the girl who needed saving.
I became the woman who saved herself.