01

Chapter 01

"Victor, dude, you're in the newspaper again! Congrats! Mukhang malapit mo na din makuha ang best actor award. I heard you're on the list," said Kiel Norman, Victor Difabio's best friend, a well-known band leader at kababata ni Victor.

"Thanks! I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get it this time. Our last drama with Peregrine has reached other countries and it's been a huge hit," Victor replied, swirling the glass in his hand. It was filled with expensive liquor, and he was grinning at his friends.

"Who would’ve thought I’d get it before I turn 26?" Victor said, taking a sip of his drink.

Victor Diafabio was everything the world adored—a celebrated actor with a face that graced magazine covers and a charm that left everyone spellbound. Handsome, charming, and endlessly admired, he moved through life like a man used to being the center of attention. His perfect smile and polished demeanor won over fans and friends alike, making him a golden figure in the public eye.

"But is it okay that you’re not talking about your real relationship with Peregrine? Madami sa fans na naniniwalang may something sa inyo ni Peregrine. The whole world knows that Peregrine is the one you married, and to make it worse, you guys are now being invited to a Hollywood drama in another country. Ayos lang ba iyon sa asawa mo?" tanong ni Kiel. Victor waved his hand, saying he was sure Phinea didn’t care.

"Arrange lang naman ang meron sa amin ni Phinea. I still support her and as for me and Peregrine, there’s nothing special between us, and my conscience is clear on that," Victor replied, bored na sagot ni Victor at umirap.

When his family arranged his marriage, it felt like just another meticulously crafted moment in his glamorous life—a match meant to complete the perfect image he portrayed to the world. But beneath the surface, Victor’s heart was elsewhere, tangled in the demands of fame, with little regard for the woman quietly standing in his shadow.

"Hindi siya umuwi ulit," Phinea whispered as she sat by the window of their apartment, gazing at the massive billboard kung saan nakikita niya ang mukha ng asawa, Victor Difabio, sa tabi niya ang twin sister ni Phinea, Peregrine Lawson.

Phinea Lawson had always lived on the fringes, overlooked and unheard. A gentle spirit with a kind heart, she was the girl who faded into the background, overshadowed by the more vibrant personalities surrounding her. Her family, never recognizing her true strength, married her off to Victor, thrusting her into a life filled with bright lights and glittering façades. Yet, Phinea didn’t belong in Victor’s world of glamour and attention. Shy, uncertain, and lacking the poise of those around him, she struggled to find her place in his life. As Victor’s fame soared, so did the chasm between them, leaving Phinea isolated in a marriage where love was buried beneath the weight of public adoration.

"Maybe your conscience is clear, and you don’t see Peregrine in that light, but— sigurado ka ba na iyon din ang iniisip ng asawa mo? The whole world admires the relationship you have with Peregrine. What about your wife’s feelings?" Robin Lazaro chimed in. Frustrated, Victor shot them a look, wondering what their point was.

"Why is Phinea suddenly part of our conversation?" Victor asked, turning irritably toward the bar counter.

"Nakakainis kayo kausap."

Victor downed the drink in his glass and hindi na ulit tiningnan ang kaibigan, who exchanged glances.

"As your friend, Victor, when you get home—look at your wife and talk to her," Kiel said, putting an arm around Victor's shoulder at nagsalin ng alak sa baso ni Victor ng walang laman.

"Before it’s too late."

Victor didn’t realize it, but a chill ran down his spine at his friend’s words, though he quickly brushed it off, jokingly nudging Kiel.

"What do you guys know about relationships? You’re all single!" Victor laughed, natawa na lang din ang mga kaibigan ni Victor at hindi sumagot.

He soon forgot the strange feeling and his friends' advice as the next day he got busy with work—commercials, taping, and a world tour with Peregrine.

Two months later, after the world tour and having won the best actor award, his friends picked him up from the airport.

"Bakit hindi ka 'man lang sumagot sa mga tawag namin?!"

That was how his friends greeted him, clearly anxious, with all their bodyguards present to keep people from approaching Victor.

"What’s going on? Why are you all here?"

None of Victor’s friends spoke; they suddenly pulled him away from the airport, along with some staff, preventing Kiel from taking him, as he had a meeting with directors scheduled for that day.

"Kiel, alam mo na busy ako. I’ll make it up to you guys after the meeting," Victor said, at inalis ang braso niya sa pagkakahawak ni Kiel bago pa siya maisakay sa van.

Lahat nagulat ng suntukin siya ni Kiel sa mukha. Victor fell to the floor, and cameras began flashing.

"Victor!" Peregrine shouted when she saw this and rushed to Victor, her face showing shock.

"Didn’t I tell you? Talk to Phinea!"

Victor froze when Kiel mentioned his wife’s name. He looked up to see disappointment in his friends' eyes.

"I told you you’d regret it, pero hindi ka nakinig," Kiel said, turning away and getting into the van.

"While you’re on the way, think about what’s important to you—your contract or your wife," Robin added, bago sumakay sa van with some of his other friends.

Victor could only curse under his breath as he stood there, confused about what just happened and why his friends reacted that way.

He would talk to her when he got home. As usual, he brushed off his friends' words and headed straight to the company to accept the next drama contract with Peregrine.

Sa mga sumunod na araw umuwi na si Victor sa apartment nila ni Phinea. Napatigil siya noong makita na lock iyon.

He rang the doorbell pero walang sumasagot. Nagtataka si Victor because if Phinea was inside, she would have opened the door after just one ring.

He realized he had lost his belongings while in Italy, including the duplicate key to their apartment. Scratching his head, Victor took out his phone.

He planned to call Phinea but remembered that it was a new phone and he didn’t have her number memorized.

"Oh right, she might be at the mansion with Mom. Maybe they picked her up while I was gone," Victor thought and called the Difabio mansion.

"Sir? Sino kayo at ano ginagawa niyo dito?"

Napatigil si Victor at napalingon. He saw an eight-year-old girl.

He smiled and knelt down to her level. She think Phinea seemed to have fallen asleep, not opening the door.

The little girl froze, tears streaming down her face as she started to cry. Victor panicked and knelt beside her at tinanong bakit ito umiiyak.

"Kate!"

A woman who looked like the girl’s mother approached and scooped her up.

"Sorry, she just started crying," Victor said, standing up, hiding his face in his hood.

"Ate Phine! Huhu.."

Napatigil si Victor noong narinig ang pangalan ng asawa niya. He asked the girl if she knew his wife.

Napatigil ang babae at napalingon, asking if this was Phinea’s husband.

"Don’t tell me hindi mo alam ang nangyari sa kaniya?"

Victor felt a cold wave wash over him, his knees buckling as he gripped the door, pleading with the woman not to joke like that. Sinabi ng babae na wala na magbubukas ng pinto kay Victor dahil wala doon si Phinea. Wala na ito.

"Why would I joke about something like that?!" the woman shouted, holding her daughter tightly.

"We saw Phinea’s body in that room five days ago—she was lifeless! My daughter saw it too!"

Victor was terrified, remaining outside their apartment door, umaasa na bubuksan iyon ni Phinea at pinagtitripan lang siya ng mag-ina.

Despite what he heard, Victor’s mind stayed closed as he couldn’t accept that information. Noong kumagat na ang dilim, he called the Difabio mansion again.

"Who is this?" a woman’s voice answered, sounding hoarse as if she had just been crying.

"Ma-mom."

The woman on the other end paused. She screamed in anger.

"Come home, Victor, and see Phinea! Look at what happened to her!"

Victor gripped the phone tightly, trembling as he asked where Phinea was.

That day, while on the road, he prayed it was just a prank and not true until the driver took him to a funeral home.

The driver opened the door for Victor. Shaking, he stepped out and walked in with heavy feet.

He saw his parents and Phinea’s parents there. Peregrine was also there, umiiyak habang katabi ang parents niya.

Before Victor could reach the coffin at the end of the hallway, bigla lumapit ang ama niya at sinuntok si Victor.

"Vincent!" Victor’s mother screamed. The old man tackled him, punching Victor in the face. Peregrine quickly stood up to stop him.

The old man shoved her, causing the Lawson couple to stand and ask why he had to push Peregrine.

"Why do you ask why? Are we the only ones who care about the child in that box being mourned?!" the old man shouted, glaring at the Lawson couple.

"Mr. Difabio, that’s our child. Why are you speaking like that?" tanong ng ginang habang umiiyak.

"I don’t know where you get the nerve to claim Phinea is your child after you set aside what happened to her for Peregrine’s career," the old man said darkly.

"We’re not just thinking about our child! We’re also thinking about Victor! Phinea wouldn’t want to ruin anyone’s life because of her mistakes; she’s a good person—"

Victor’s mother slapped the woman. The old Mrs. Lawson was taken aback by Victor's mother’s action.

"How dare you! How dare you! How can you say that was a mistake, and even in this situation, you’re still thinking of others? What about Phinea?!"

Victor couldn’t focus on the chaos happening in his family because his attention remained on the white box at the end of the hallway. It was surrounded by flowers and candles.

There was also a photo of Phinea, which he hadn’t seen in months. Victor held his head in his hands as tears began to fall.

"No, what happened? Why did this happen? This can’t be true."

"Arggh! This can’t be true! Phinea!"

Victor knelt and approached the coffin, trying to open it. His friends quickly stopped him, telling him to stop.

"She shouldn’t be lying there! Let me go! Uuwi na kami ni Phinea!"

Victor was thrashing around, desperately trying to break free from his friends. When he finally lost all strength, he collapsed on the floor, staring at his hands.

He was in shock, questioning what had happened while he was away.

Victor learned that Phinea had committed suicide, confirmed by the police. She had taken many pills, found in their room.

"Bakit iyon gagawin ni Phinea?" Victor stood up and grabbed Kiel.

"She wouldn’t do that! There’s no reason for Phinea to do that! Binibigay ko sa kanya lahat, and I never fought with her! We never fought—"

Kiel bitterly asked Victor if their conversation had lasted even three minutes since they got married.

"Victor, umuuwi ka ba at tinatanong if she's okay?"

Kiel pushed Victor’s hand away. Victor staggered back, holding his head. He couldn’t remember anything at hindi niya alam.

All he could think about was his work. He couldn’t even recall what Phinea looked like during their years of marriage.

"I told you to talk to her and check on her pero hindi ka nakinig," Kiel whispered. That’s when Victor realized Phinea had been struggling with depression, which Kiel mentioned after nila makita si Phinea sa convenience store. She hadn’t looked well and seemed out of it.

To make matters worse, nalaman ni Victor buntis si Phinea.

"No, what have I done?" Victor trembled, clutching the wedding ring he wore around his neck.

"This can’t be happening!"