CHAPTER 1: Like Shadows in the Hallway6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGihrJfowgo
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjlCuR3HM7
Janina's POV
The silence in the Villegas mansion wasn’t peaceful. It breathed.
Every click of her heels echoed across the marble floor like an intrusion. Janina adjusted the hem of her soft gray blouse, fingers trembling as she passed the black-and-white portrait of Beatrice Villegas—still radiant even in death. Gregory’s first love. Ethan’s mother.
And now, Janina’s ghost.
She hated that photo. The way it hung above the grand piano like a crown she could never wear. People never said it out loud, but she could hear their eyes whispering:
"You’re not her."
Gregory had left early that morning, a meeting in Tagaytay, something about land negotiations. She was glad. When he was home, she had to pretend to be in love with a man twice her age. When he was gone, she only had to pretend to love herself.
She made it to the kitchen, brewed her coffee, and tried to ignore the way her hand still shook slightly.
That’s when she heard it—the piano.
Soft, careful notes drifting from the music room like hesitant confessions. Her breath caught.
Ethan.
Of course he was home. It was summer break. Pre-law student at Ateneo. Too smart, too cold, too observant. Too… dangerous.
Janina stayed still for a moment, staring at her reflection in the glass cupboard. She looked tired. Hollow in the way only women with too many secrets look. Then she moved, pulled by something she didn’t want to name.
The door to the music room was half-open.
He didn’t see her at first.
His back was to her, fingers gliding over the keys with a practiced grace. The melody was unfamiliar—melancholy, almost cruel. When he paused, she thought he felt her gaze.
“I didn’t know you were home,” she said, keeping her voice low, careful.
He didn’t turn around. “You always say that like you’re hoping I’m not.”
She stiffened.
“I didn’t mean—”
“It’s fine.” He closed the piano lid gently, the sound like a sigh. Only then did he face her. “What are you doing up this early? Gregory usually keeps you in bed until noon.”
There it was. The casual cruelty. The reminder.
“I was craving coffee,” she said, tight-lipped. “Didn’t know you were composing.”
“I wasn’t,” Ethan said. “Just playing. The silence was getting too loud.”
Janina nodded slowly. She hated when he talked like that. Not because it was poetic—but because she understood it too well.
“You look tired,” he added, walking past her. His shoulder brushed hers. Not enough to be inappropriate. Just enough to be remembered.
“I didn’t sleep well,” she replied, turning to follow him with her eyes.
“Nightmares?” he asked, pausing in the doorway.
She blinked. “How did you—?”
Ethan tilted his head. “Your eyes give it away. They always do.”
And then he left.
Just like that. No smirk. No apology. Just truth, dropped like a match in a forest of dry lies.
Janina stood in that doorway for a long time, coffee forgotten.
She didn’t know what scared her more—that Ethan saw too much…
Or that she was starting to hope he never stopped.
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