Chapter 1

• Fall in love... burn yourself for the one.
• If it's not love, it will be a lesson.
• ARLET
• Some events in life are so unpredictable that they leave a person speechless. When my once-happy family met with a devastating accident, it plunged me into a sea of loneliness and took my parents away. As if that weren’t enough, the tragedy also left me with an injured vocal cord, robbing me of my ability to speak.
• At first, I tried to communicate, but nothing I said seemed to matter. Nobody could truly understand my condition, so I chose to retreat into silence.
• It’s not that I can’t talk, but by the time my weak nerves manage to form a single word, the other person has usually lost their patience. So I made my peace with it:
• It’s better not to speak when no one is willing to listen.
• It’s been five years since I lost my parents. Under social pressure, my uncle and aunt, William and Debbie Amor, adopted me. They run a successful textile business and pride themselves on their public image.
• But everything comes with a price, especially when love isn’t part of the deal.
• They never fail to remind me of the favor they’ve done by providing me with basic needs, including my tuition fees. In return, I’m expected to do all the household chores and quietly endure their constant criticism.
• My cousin, Reile Amor, is an aspiring model who could be the reincarnation of Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters: pompous, scornful, and utterly self-absorbed. Not that I think of myself as Cinderella—there’s no charming prince waiting to rescue me. In fact, it often feels like no one even knows I exist.
• Well, except for Oliver.
• Reile’s younger brother, the mischievous yet kind-hearted Oliver, is the only one in this house who treats me like a human being. I still remember how he snuck into my basement room last week with a cupcake, knowing I’d be celebrating my birthday alone, watching old videos of my parents.
• Yet, despite all the challenges, my heart finds solace in my best friend, Milo Efrain.
• Milo is more than I can ever put into words. We’ve been inseparable since childhood, thanks to our mothers, who were best friends. They passed down their bond to us like an unspoken legacy. Milo, now a successful event manager, is the kind of man who can light up a room with his presence.
• But even his companionship can’t overshadow the one name that consumes my thoughts every single day:
• Ruben Rodriguez.
• The very sight of him makes my heart stop and the world fades away.
• I don’t know when it started—maybe when I was twelve or even earlier. All I know is that I’ve loved him for as long as I can remember. He’s my moon, captivating me with his light, teasing my every emotion, even though he remains hopelessly out of reach.
• How could someone like him—surrounded by the country’s most dazzling divas—ever notice someone like me? A girl whose voice can barely form a word, let alone reach him.
• He was my senior in school, and the rest, as they say, is history. I never had the courage to approach him, let alone show myself. Like a timid feline, I stayed hidden, content to admire him from afar. Now, he had become one of the youngest entrepreneurs and a rising icon in the hotel industry.
• Social media made it easy to follow his life from a distance. Forgive me, God, but there were nights I forgot to pray yet never failed to wish for his happiness. Call it the foolishness of my heart, but Ruben Rodriguez had become my silent anchor, my secret solace whenever sorrow closed in around me.
• "Arlet, where the heck is my stiletto?"
• The shrill voice startled me, dragging me back to reality. I heard the sound of Reile’s stomping footsteps as she descended the stairs.
• “Mumma!” she screeched.
• “Yes, my baby,” Debbie cooed, her tone dripping with affection, though the glare she shot at me was sharp enough to pierce steel.
• “Did you take it?” Reile asked, narrowing her eyes at me.
• I shook my head. Why would I touch her shoes, of all things?
• “Then where is it?”
• I silently pointed toward the cabinet.
• Debbie marched over, retrieved the stiletto, and placed it in front of her daughter like it was a crown jewel.
• “Mumma, I’m going out on a date.”
• It didn’t bother me whom she decided to share her ice cream with, but my heart clenched knowing she had been spotted twice with Ruben. In this entire world of eligible men, why did it have to be him?
• Would you call me selfish if I prayed they wouldn’t get along?
• It wasn’t just jealousy. I genuinely believed Reile was incapable of giving true love, while Ruben—he carried the kind of reputation that spoke of loyalty and trustworthiness.
• “What are you looking at?” Reile snapped, breaking my train of thought.
• “Ugh, I don’t want to see your ugly face before heading out. Move!” she said, pushing me aside.
• I bit my lip to suppress the retort brewing inside me. All I could do was hope that one day Ruben would see her true colors.
• “You need to mow the garden,” Debbie said, thrusting a pair of gloves into my hands.
• I lowered my gaze, accepting whatever life had to offer without complaint.
• Three hours later, I was done with the chore, itching from stray grass clinging to my skin. Eager for a shower, I headed upstairs but paused when I heard strange noises from the living room. Something was playing on the television.
• Curiosity got the better of me, and I tiptoed down the stairs.
• The scene unfolding before me felt like a punch to the gut.
• Reile stood in the center of the room, her hands clasped over her mouth, tears of joy brimming in her eyes.
• “Look who proposed to your sister!” William exclaimed, patting me on the back as if this news was supposed to make me happy.
• He nudged me forward, forcing me to step closer.
• There, on the screen, was Ruben Rodriguez. He was kneeling with a Tiffany & Co. box in his hand, the unmistakable sparkle of a diamond ring catching the light as he proposed to Reile.
• Did he just…?
• Something shattered inside me, a pain so profound it left me hollow. All the dreams I had nurtured in the quiet confines of the basement—my small, imagined escapes—crumbled in an instant, reduced to ash.
• "Look, Mumma! Look at the diamond!" Reile squealed, her eyes crinkling with delight as she flaunted the sparkling jewel before Debbie.
• The diamond was magnificent, no doubt, but it paled in comparison to the pieces of my broken heart, strewn across the floor of my soul.
• As large as the diamond, fat tears began to well up in my eyes, threatening to spill over.
• "Isn't it beautiful? Listen to his words!" Reile said, pointing at the television screen, her voice brimming with excitement.
• On the screen, the man of my dreams—Ruben Rodriguez—had never looked more radiant. He knelt, vulnerability etched across his handsome face, and poured his heart out in words that cut through me like a knife.
• "Reile Amor, you deserve the very best. Someone who will back you up without limits, let you grow without borders, and love you without end. I want to be that man. You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. You are my home, my rock. Will you give me the honor of sharing your life with me?"
• It wasn’t just his words—it was the sincerity in his voice, the depth of emotion in his gaze. Everything I had ever craved from him—love, devotion, belonging—was now offered freely, but not to me. To her.
• Reile’s face softened as tears welled up in her eyes, and she nodded, cupping her face in disbelief. Was I wrong to think she was incapable of giving true love?
• As Ruben slid the diamond ring onto her finger, I bit my lip so hard it almost bled. The cries of my ruptured heart remained trapped, muted as they had always been. Even my tears had learned to retreat, to hide their presence when someone was watching.
• "Look!" Reile extended her hand toward me, showing off the ring.
• "Why are you crying?" she asked, her voice tinged with curiosity rather than concern.
• Why was I crying? Because she had taken away my moon, leaving me to fumble in the darkness of my solitude.
• I pressed my hand to my chest, forming a heart sign with my fingers.
• "You’re happy?" she asked, her brows furrowing in disbelief.
• I nodded, my tears falling silently down my cheeks.
• And then, for the first time in five years, she hugged me.
• "Me too," she whispered.