THREE YEARS EARLIER
Cabanatuan City, October 2022
The coffee shop was packed with students from the nearby university, the air thick with the smell of brewed coffee and fresh ensaymada. Andre sat at a corner table, his laptop open in front of him as he typed away at a scholarship application. He'd been working toward this for months – a chance to study engineering at a top school in Manila, the only way he could see to build a better life for himself and his younger sister, Liza.
A sudden commotion made him look up just as a young woman in a yellow dress stumbled backward, knocking over his laptop and spilling a large cup of hot chocolate all over the keyboard.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" she gasped, frantically pulling napkins from the dispenser. "I wasn't looking where I was going – my friend just texted me about something and I got distracted—"
"It's okay, really." Andre stood up, helping her clean up the mess. But when he tried to turn on his laptop, the screen remained dark. The damage was bad – the keyboard was completely soaked, and he knew there was no way to save the files stored on it.
All his scholarship application documents. His research papers. The only copy of his sister's medical records he'd compiled for her upcoming surgery.
He felt his hands shake with frustration, but when he looked at the woman's face – pale with worry and guilt – he forced himself to smile. "It's alright. I… I can rewrite everything."
But he couldn't. The application deadline was in two days, and he'd already taken every extra shift he could at the convenience store to save up for the application fee. There was no time left to start over.
The woman – Rose – insisted on paying for a new laptop. When she learned why the files were so important to him, she spent the next two days helping him rewrite his application, using her own laptop and even calling in favors from her professor father to get the deadline extended by a week.
They worked side by side every day, and as they did, Andre found himself drawn to her kindness, her laugh, the way her eyes lit up when she talked about her passion for teaching. By the time he submitted his application, they were already inseparable.
What Andre never told her was that the scholarship committee had actually already approved him a week before the coffee shop incident. He'd received the email while working his shift, but when he'd gone to check his bank account, he'd seen that nearly all his savings were gone – stolen by a man he'd trusted to help him invest for Liza's surgery.
Terrified of telling Rose he'd lost all their money, terrified she'd think he was careless or foolish, he'd let her believe the laptop accident had ruined his chances. He'd made up stories about the investment scam later, let her think his bad luck was putting her in danger – anything to keep her from finding out the real reason he'd pulled away.
Because the truth was far more painful than any lie he could tell: the man who'd stolen his money was Rose's older brother, Marcus – someone she'd spoken of with such pride, who'd moved to Manila years ago and rarely came home.
Andre had discovered the truth when he'd gone to confront the scammer. When he'd seen Marcus's photo on the wall of his Manila office, surrounded by pictures of him and his family – including a young Rose, grinning beside him – he'd frozen. He couldn't tell her that the person who'd destroyed his chance at a scholarship, who'd put his sister's life at risk, was the brother she adored.
So he'd made the only choice he thought he had: he'd created a web of lies about bad luck and danger, convinced himself that leaving her was the only way to protect her from the pain of the truth.
PRESENT DAY – October 2025
Rose stood outside a small auto repair shop on the edge of Gapan City, her hands trembling as she read the sign above the door: "ANDRE'S MOTORCYCLE & AUTO REPAIR – QUALITY SERVICE YOU CAN TRUST"
She'd found him. After three years of searching, of holding onto hope, she'd finally tracked him down.
As she pushed open the door, the sound of tools clanking and a radio playing filled the air. Andre stood at the back of the shop, his back to her as he worked on a motorcycle engine. He was bigger now, his shoulders broader, his hair shorter than she remembered.
"Hello, Andre," she said softly.
He froze, his hands still on the engine. For a long moment, he didn't turn around. Then, slowly, he faced her. His eyes widened when he saw her, and she could see the same pain she'd seen three years ago – but now there was something else there too. Resignation.
"Rose." His voice was quiet, rough with disuse. "I… I didn't think I'd ever see you again."
"I've been looking for you," she said, stepping closer. "For three years. I needed to know why you really left."
Andre looked away, wiping his hands on a rag. "I told you why. I was putting you in danger—"
"Lies." The word came out sharper than she intended, but she'd held it in for too long. "I know about the scholarship, Andre. Your old professor contacted me last month. He said you'd already been approved three days before we even met at the coffee shop."
His face paled. "How did you—"
"I also know about the money that was stolen from you." She took a deep breath, her heart pounding. "I know who took it."
Andre's hands clenched into fists. "Don't. Please, Rose, don't say his name."
"Marcus." She said it anyway, watching as he flinched. "I found out last year. He was arrested in Manila for running multiple investment scams. He confessed to everything – including stealing from you."
Tears finally streamed down Andre's face as he sank onto a nearby stool. "I couldn't tell you," he whispered. "I couldn't make you choose between me and your brother. You loved him so much, and I… I was just some guy you'd met in a coffee shop."
"You were never 'just some guy' to me," Rose said, sitting beside him. "You were the man I loved. The man I still love. And Marcus… he made his choices. I don't excuse what he did – to you, to all those people. But you should have let me decide how to handle it. We could have faced it together."
"I was so scared," Andre admitted, looking at her for the first time. "Scared you'd hate me for telling you, scared you'd choose him over me, scared I'd lose you anyway. So I thought if I left, if I made you think it was my fault, you'd be able to move on easier."
Rose reached out and took his hand, lacing their fingers together. "I never moved on, Andre. I couldn't. Because love isn't about running away when things get hard. It's about facing the truth together – even when it hurts."
As he squeezed her hand, a sound from the front of the shop made them look up. A young girl with Andre's same brown eyes stood in the doorway, holding a lunch box.
"Kuya?" she said, looking at Rose curiously. "Who's this?"
Andre stood up, pulling the girl close. "Rose, this is Liza – my sister. She just moved here to start high school." He looked at Liza, then back at Rose. "Her surgery was successful, thanks to some people who heard about her story and helped pay for it. I've been saving up ever since, working to build a good life for her… for us, if you'll have me back."
Rose stood up and pulled both of them into a hug, tears streaming down her face. "There's nothing I want more."