"How's your face?" Dashylle set a cup of coffee in front of Kyle and Yvienna. They were at the table, ready to eat breakfast.
"You did it?!" Kyle raised a brow. Dashylle hurriedly raised his hands in surrender.
"I-It's just an acciden—"
Dashylle stopped when Kyle's phone rang. He pointed two fingers at his eyes toward Dashylle before walking away to answer. Dashylle smirked and glanced at Yvienna, who kept playing with her spoon and fork — not eating anything.
"Are you okay?" he asked, but she didn't seem to hear. He snapped his fingers in front of her. She blinked, dragged back to the present, and looked at him.
"Mind telling me what's bothering you?" His voice was full of concern. Yvienna gave a small smile. "I'm okay, Dashylle. Let's eat," she said.
Footsteps approaching drew their attention — it was Kyle. He grabbed the key to his car from the table and left without glancing at her.
"H-hey, are you okay?!" Yvienna hurried after him, Dashylle close behind.
Kyle, sweating, jumped into his car; he didn't look back despite their loud voices. Dashylle sighed and pulled Yvienna back inside the house.
"Why is he acting like that?" Yvienna paced, making Dashylle dizzy.
"Maybe there's an emergency. Don't stress yourself."
"But it's so easy to tell me — why ignore me?"
Dashylle walked up and stopped her from pacing. "Put yourself in his shoes. If something urgent happened, wouldn't you panic first?"
Yvienna's eyes fell as she tried to imagine herself in his place. "Instead of spending all your time thinking about him, let's use it for our training…" he added.
Defeated, Yvienna went to her room and changed for training. Her heart pounded as she thought about Kyle. She messaged him several times, but there was no reply.
"Focus, Yvienna! You'll be dead right now if I were the real enemy!" Dashylle barked as he coached her in the backyard. Panting, she forced herself to focus; she pushed thoughts of Kyle aside.
Her punch aimed for Dashylle; he dodged, and her eyes hardened. She swung her leg, trying to hook his foot. He turned quickly and lost his balance. Dashylle's eyes widened as a punch flew toward his face — he closed his eyes, bracing for impact, but it landed on the grass beside him.
"Whoa! You got me there!"
Yvienna helped him up. "Keep it up, cousin. I can feel he'll explain himself later," Dashylle said, tapping her shoulder.
A few hours passed. Yvienna had just finished her bath and was getting ready for bed when her phone beeped. Her heart leapt when she saw his name. She opened the message, and her phone slipped from her hand. She dashed to her closet and, in a blur, grabbed a hoodie.
She was sweating as she ran downstairs, searching for the car keys. "Where are you going, Señorita?" her bodyguard asked, breathless. She didn't want to argue. "Please drive me to Everest Hospital," she pleaded.
"Drive faster!" A tear slid down her cheek as they sped to the hospital. She didn't wait for the bodyguards at the entrance; she ran inside.
"Is there a patient, Zamora?" she panted at the nurse's counter. The nurse told her a room number, and she bolted for the elevator.
"Shi*t," she muttered when the elevator was full of people. She had no choice — she took the stairs, sprinting to the tenth floor.
At the top, she grabbed her knees for a moment, breathless. Then she froze. A familiar back hunched over, shoulders shaking. She walked slowly toward him.
"I—I'm here," she said. Kyle looked up; tears streamed down his face. He was a mess, and Yvienna felt strangely captivated by him. "Y-Yvienna?"
He hugged her hard. "Sssh, I'm here. Everything will be alright," she murmured, holding him.
A continuous beeping sound caught their attention. Kyle suddenly stood and ran toward a room. Yvienna followed; a nurse was checking a patient's monitor. "W-what happened?! M-mother, are you okay?!" Kyle panicked as the nurse pressed the code button.
They were rushed into the operating room. Beatrice's hand touched Kyle's; he clutched it. "M-mom?!"
"You can't enter," the doctor said as they were held back. Yvienna felt hollow, so she hugged Kyle to comfort him.
"She just held my hand," he sobbed into her shoulder. "She'll be fine, right?"
Yvienna's heart thudded. She nodded, forcing steady words. "Everything will be alright, okay?"
An hour passed before footsteps approached. Kyle ran to the doctor. "H-how's my mother, Doc?" he asked.
The doctor looked down, unable to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry. We did our best."
"N-no! Please tell me she's fine!" Kyle lunged, clutching the doctor's collar.
"I'm sorry." The doctor tried to stay firm. Kyle couldn't feel anything — the body on the bed was covered with a blanket. "M-mom, wake up…"
Yvienna muffled sobs into her hands. She reached for the room, but someone grabbed her.
"What are you doing here?!" An old man's baritone voice seized her arm. Her eyes widened; she tried to place him.
"You're not welcome here! Leave!" he barked before storming into the operating room.
"B-Beatrice!" The shout caught Kyle's attention. Everything happened so fast. Kyle grabbed the man outside and punched him in the face.
"This is all your fault! If you'd treated her right, she wouldn't be dead!" Kyle's anger exploded. "From now on, I will forget that you're my father!"
Greg — Kyle's father — looked furious. He turned to Yvienna. "You're the reason he's like this?!" he accused.
Kyle held Yvienna. "Please go home. This man is crazy," he muttered.
Then a crying child ran toward them — the twins. Yvienna's guard called her name, panting as they approached.
Time blurred. Yvienna returned home feeling out of place. Days went by; she couldn't attend the funeral because Kyle's father was openly hostile toward her.
"Hey, everything will be alright," Dashylle said as he entered her room. He had been her confidant during those bleak days.
"What do you mean that old hag shouted at you?!" Meg thundered as she burst in. Yvienna sighed — she had told her guards not to mention it to her mother, but they'd betrayed her.
"Calm down, Mothe—"
"I'm not calming down! I'll kill that old man!" Meg ground her teeth as she remembered Greg's face.
"Mom, calm down! Tomorrow is my birthday," a sudden thought calmed Meg.
"All right. What do you wish for?" Meg asked.
"I—I want to visit Kyle," Yvienna answered.
Some time later, she was scrolling through an app while eating when a message request popped up. Curiosity pulled her thumb; she gasped when she saw a photo.
It was a picture from the funeral: Kyle beside Cassandra, who was hugging him. Yvienna's heart shattered as if stabbed. She forced herself to rationalize — maybe there was a misunderstanding. Kyle wouldn't do that.
She messaged him, 'How are you?' then searched Cassandra's profile with a throwaway account. A recent story was up: a bar, Cassandra with friends. When the camera panned, a familiar back made Yvienna freeze.
"No, this can't be," she thought as a message from Kyle flashed on her screen: 'I'm fine, my Luna. How about you?'
She typed, almost automatically, 'I'm fine. Are you home?'
'At my condo, my Luna,' he replied.
Her confusion deepened as Cassandra uploaded another story — and this time his face was clear.
"Overthinking, eh?" Dashylle jumped in beside her. "Just ask him tomorrow what really happened. I can feel that b*tch is delusional," he said, pointing to Cassandra's profile.
Maybe he was right. She would ask him tomorrow — she was planning to celebrate her birthday with him.
The next morning, the house erupted. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" her parents, cousin, guards, and maids shouted.
"Blow the cake, old woman!" Dashylle teased. Holding a cake.
"Hey! You're older than me, old man!" she shot back.
Humming, Yvienna rode with Dashylle to Kyle's condo. "Why is the birthday girl the one surprising her boyfriend?" he mocked.
"Oh, just shut up! Don't come up to his condo. Stay at the coffee shop!" she snapped.
"What are you planning?" he smirked — and earned a punch.
At the elevator, she rehearsed what she would say to comfort him about his mother's death. Her steps slowed as she reached his door. It was slightly open.
"What a silly man," she chuckled.
She pushed it gently—then froze.
Cassandra's bare upper body faced her as she clung to his nape, lips pressed to his. Clothes were scattered across the floor. Yvienna's gaze dropped to Cassandra's black brassiere, and her blood boiled.
"You f*cking cheater!"
She wanted to scream more. To slap him. To drag Cassandra away by her hair. She was fierce—she never backed down from a fight—so why weren't her legs moving now? Why did she feel so weak?
Those promises, those sweet moments… were they all a lie? She feels like a fool — betrayed all over again. She swore she wouldn't cry for a mere man ever again, but here she is. Where is the so-called Ms. Bratty now? Where is that fearless, loud-mouthed version of her?
Tears spilled as she forced a smile.
"What a wonderful birthday gift," she whispered, voice cracking.