CHAPTER 12
1323 Words
ASHRIEL LEANED back against the leather seat of his car, with his fingers wrapped on the steering wheel and the other resting on the open window. Tinignan niya ang bar na nasa malapit at napabuntong hininga.
The memory of that night was gnawing at him again.
Dalawang linggo na ang nakalipas simula ng mangyari ‘yon at pumunta pa siya sa business trip pero pagbalik niya naalala na niya naman.
The bar. The sword blade — coated with blood — gleamed against the light.
“Ash!”
Ashriel was startled when someone tapped his shoulder from outside. Mabilis pa siyang tumingin at tinignan na lamang ng masama si Kaisen.
Kaisen chuckled. “Tara na. Don’t zone out on me. Gael’s already waiting at the lounge.”
Isang pilit na tango ang itinugon ni Ashriel kahit mabigat ang kalooban niya na muling pumasok sa nasabing bar. Ayaw niya lang ipakita sa mga kaibigan niya pero nag-aalangan siya.
He hadn’t told them — he hadn’t told anyone — what he saw that night. That woman. The calmness of her movements before she vanished into the dark.
Humugot siya ng malalim na hininga saka bumaba ng kotse at sumunod kay Kaisen.
At the lounge, drinks were poured, glasses clinking, and laughter rising around him. But Ashriel remained unusually quiet. And his two closest friends noticed.
“Kumusta, bro?” Gael asked. “Parang malayo ang iniisip mo.”
“I’m good,” Ashriel replied.
Napatitig si Ashriel sa hawak na baso na may lamang alak bago nagsalita. “Kai, wala ka bang narinig na ano tungkol sa bar na ‘to?” tanong niya.
Kaisen frowned. “Like what?”
“Killing… murder… anything,” Ashriel replied in a low voice.
Nagkatinginan si Kaisen at Gael.
“Wala naman,” sagot ni Kaisen saka umiling. His brows furrowed. “New? Police? Zero. Bakit? Did something happen?”
Ashriel’s jaw tightened, but he forced a nonchalant shrug. “Nothing. Just a thought.”
But inside, his mind spun faster.
He knew it. No one reported it. No police, no noise, and no rumors happened.
Sumimsim si Ashriel ng alak. Isa lang ang ibig sabihin — someone covered it up. Efficiently. Deliberately. And that’s not what a normal killer can do.
And that woman… he almost thought it was Nylah because they have the same figure. Sana lang hindi madulas ang dila niya kapag kaharap niya ang dalaga dahil baka mabatukan siya nito dahil pinagkamalan pa niya itong killer.
But that woman wasn’t an ordinary killer. He had seen her eyes for a brief moment, even if she was wearing a mask. She was focused, unshaken, like someone who had done this countless times before. There was no panic — even she saw him — no hesitation, only calculation.
Pero ang bumagabag sa kaniya hindi ang nangyaring ‘yon kundi ang katahimikan na sumunod.
No one came to him.
No one threatened him for witnessing it. Not a single shadow brushed his doorstep.
It was as if they knew who he was and deliberately left him untouched.
At ‘yon ang bumagabag sa kaniya.
For that woman who left him untouched after what he witnessed, something isn’t right.
HINDI MASYADONG uminom si Ashriel. The whiskey sat half-finished in his glass, untouched while Kaisen and Gael laughed over some gossip. Mukhang okay na si Gael at ng girlfriend nito. Tumatawa na ang loko, eh.
Opposite to Ashriel, he kept shifting in his seat, gaze flicking toward the shadows at the far end of the lounge. Pakiramdam niya kasi ay may mga matang nakatingin sa kaniya.
He then left earlier than usual, ignoring Kaisen’s teasing remarks about being “the boring one.”
As his car glided through the city streets, he loosened his tie, trying to shake the unease sitting heavy on his chest. But somewhere along the way, his thoughts drifted. His grip on the wheel loosened. He didn’t even realize his mind was on autopilot until the buildings around him began to look familiar.
Binagalan niya ang takbo ng sasakyan.
At nang tumigil siya, ipinarada niya ang sasakyan sa tapat ng isang apartment.
Kumunot ang nuo ni Ashriel nang makita ang apartment na nasa kaniyang harapan.
Her place.
Nylah Laurent. The coffee shop owner had with composed personality, was guarded, and had a smile that never revealed too much. The woman who, somehow, had been crossing his path more often than coincidence should allow.
Mas lalong kumunot ang kaniyang nuo habang mahinang tumitipa ang dulo ng kaniyang daliri steering wheel.
Why here? Out of all places…
Napatingin siya sa ikalawang palapag nang mapansin niyang bumukas ang pinto. Nylah stepped out and walked downstairs. Pagbaba nito, doon niya napansin ang hawak nitong maliit na trash bag.
Nylah’s hair was tied loosely, her figure wrapped in a simple shirt and joggers.
Tinungo nito ang trash bins na nasa labas.
It was an ordinary sight, but for Ashriel, it struck him as intimate, too different from the carefully composed woman behind the café counter.
Biglang napatigil si Nylah nang mapansin niya ang itim na kotse.
Ashriel saw how Nylah’s posture stiffened, and the way she looked in her direction as if she was ready to throw something that could kill him. Medyo kinabahan pa siya sa klase ng tingin sa kaniya ni Nylah kaya naman ibinaba niya ang bintana ng kotse niya. He raised his hand and made a small wave.
Nylah relaxed seeing Ashriel. Akala naman niya kung sino na. Itinapon niya ang hawak na basura sa trash bin saka naglakad patungo sa kinaroroonan ni Ashriel.
“Nylah.” Ashriel smiles.
“Mr. Rios,” Nylah replied evenly, though her voice carried a note of suspicion. “What are you doing here?”
Ashriel opened his mouth, but no real excuse came. He couldn’t say he had been lost because men like him never appeared lost. And he couldn’t admit the truth that somehow, his subconscious had driven him to her.
Ngumiti na lamang si Ashriel saka pasimpleng sumandal sa kinauupuan. “Passing by. Long day.”
Naningkit ang mata ni Nylah. She tilted her head, and her eyes scanned him as if weighing the truth behind his words.
“Strange route for someone just passing by,” Nylah said softly. Napailing siya. Alam niyang hindi lang napadaan rito ang lalaki.
Bumaba naman si Ashriel saka sumandal sa kotse.
“Uminom ka?” tanong ni Nylahn nang maamoy niya ang alak mula rito.
“Just a little,” sagot ni Ashriel.
“That’s not good for your health while driving, right? You know that.”
Tumango si Ashriel. “I know.”
“Then why are you still driving?”
“Kaya ko naman ang sarili ko,” wika ni Ashriel saka napatitig kay Nylah. Mula sa liwanag ng lamp post, kitang-kita niya ang pagkislap ng mata nito.
Ashriel suddenly found himself staring at her differently. Like he wanted to—forget it. Baka masampal siya ni Nylah kapag nalaman nito ang iniisip niya. But he’s a man, and Nylah was different from other women. There was something in her that made him look at her like she was a treasure.
“Mr. Rios?”
Napakurap si Ashriel at bumalik siya sa katawang-lupa niya. “What is it?” he asked.
Napabuntong hininga naman si Nylah saka napailing. “I said ‘goodnight’. Be careful on your way home, Mr. Rios.” She smiled.
And with that, she disappeared into the building.
Ashriel remained leaning on his car for a long minute, staring at the spot where she had stood.
Ipinikit niya ang mata saka humugot ng malalim na hininga. Kapagkuwan pumasok siya sa loob ng kotse. He sat there, gripping the wheel together.
Because at that moment, he wasn’t thinking about boardrooms, or mergers, or the empire on his shoulders.
He was thinking about her.
Nylah Laurent.
The only woman who makes him think like crazy about her.
- Writer
