"Ryzel!"
Rafael shook his friend roughly, trying to wake him from his drunken stupor. Ryzel was slumped over the table, his cheek pressed against the cold surface, the stench of alcohol thick around him.
"Bro… Bro!" Rafael tried again, shaking him harder.
"What?!" Ryzel snapped, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.
"Your phone's been ringing non-stop!" Rafael said, glancing at the screen. He hesitated for a moment before adding, "It's Zeus."
At that, Ryzel's bleary eyes shifted toward his phone. He squinted at the caller ID before scoffing and declining the call with a swipe of his finger.
"Hah!" he let out a bitter laugh. Zeus may have been saved in his contacts, but his high-and-mighty cousin never called him first. It was always the other way around, Ryzel or his parents were the ones reaching out. And when they did, Zeus either ignored the calls or hung up before they could even say a word.
So now he wants to call me? Ryzel thought, jaw clenching. After stealing Ceres from me?
The phone buzzed again.
"You should probably answer that," Rafael suggested. "Zeus wouldn't be calling if it wasn't important."
Ryzel scoffed. "The only reason that bastard would call me is to rub it in my face that he won. That he has Ceres now." His grip tightened around the glass in his hand before he turned to Rafael, sneering. "And you, why the hell are you so eager to please him? Do you actually think he'll accept you into his circle if you keep kissing his ass?"
Rafael's jaw tensed, clearly offended, but he said nothing.
The phone continued ringing, the insistent vibrations grating on Ryzel's already frayed nerves.
With an irritated huff, he snatched up the phone and swiped to answer.
"What the hell do you want?" Ryzel barked.
But instead of Zeus's deep, authoritative voice, a much softer one greeted him.
"R-Ryzel?"
His entire body went rigid.
That voice, he knew that voice anywhere.
He blinked rapidly as if trying to clear the drunken haze clouding his mind. For a second, he thought he was hearing things. He pulled the phone away from his ear, glancing at the screen.
It was still Zeus's number.
But the voice on the other end was unmistakable.
"C-Ceres?"
He barely got the words out, and his throat suddenly dried.
"I-Is this a bad time?" she asked, her voice quiet, almost hesitant. "I can call another time. Sorry."
"No!" Ryzel said immediately, scrambling to his feet.
Without thinking, he shoved past Rafael and stormed out of the club. The pounding bass of the music faded behind him as he pushed through the back door, stepping into the cool night air. His heart was racing, his pulse erratic.
Ceres never called him. Not since he broke up with her.
He needed to hear her clearly. He needed to make sure this wasn't some alcohol-induced hallucination.
He hurried to the fire exit stairwell, a place he knew was usually empty. The moment he reached it, he sat down on the metal steps, gripping the phone tightly.
"Why are you calling me using Zeus's phone?" he asked, his voice more cautious now.
"I can't use mine," Ceres murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "Zeus always checks my messages and call history."
Ryzel clenched his fists.
When they were together, Ceres never allowed him to do that. She had always been fiercely independent, never one to tolerate control, especially when it came to her privacy.
A suffocating silence stretched between them.
Ryzel didn't know what to say. He didn't know what he should ask.
But he needed to hear her voice again.
"Why did you call?" he finally asked.
Truthfully, he was still angry at her.
But he was more angry at himself.
Because of his own damn pride, his arrogance, he had lost the woman he loved the most.
He had let the whispers of others poison his mind. He had believed he would always be Ceres's choice, that no matter what, she would always come back to him.
He never should have tested her.
And now?
She wasn't his anymore.
And that truth alone was enough to destroy him.
"I'm sorry," Ceres choked out.
She was crying.
"I'm so, so sorry," she sobbed, her voice breaking.
"For what?" he asked cautiously, his heart hammering in his chest.
"For the things I said to you," Ceres admitted between soft gasps. "For every cruel word. I didn't mean them."
Ryzel frowned, his mind reeling.
"I had no choice but to do that to you," she added, her words hiccuping between sobs.
"I don't understand," Ryzel said, his voice rough with confusion. "And why are you crying?"
"Because I miss you," Ceres confessed. "And every word I said to you… They were daggers to my heart."
She let out a shaky breath.
"I don't know if you'll even believe me anymore. I don't know if I even deserve to ask for your forgiveness for everything I've said and done. But, Ryzel… I am sorry."
Ryzel felt lightheaded.
Was this real?
Had he finally lost his mind?
Or was this just some alcohol-induced hallucination fueled by how much he missed her?
But God, he wanted to believe it.
"If you regret it so much… then why did you do it in the first place?" he asked, his voice low.
Ceres had never been the type to cry.
She was too proud, too untouchable. She never showed her weakness to anyone, especially not to him.
"I had no choice," she whispered.
Ryzel exhaled sharply.
"What do you mean you had no choice?" he challenged. "You? Of all people? You always have a choice, Ceres."
Silence stretched between them.
"Zeus blackmailed me," she said.
Ryzel stilled. His breath hitched for a moment, processing her words.
"What?" he asked, his voice lower now, confusion laced with disbelief.
Zeus? Blackmailing Ceres?
It didn't make sense.
Ryzel knew how obsessed his cousin was with Ceres. Zeus had always wanted her, always hovered around her like a shadow, waiting, watching. Even back when she was still his, Zeus challenged him. Told him outright that one day, he would take her.
And Ryzel had been afraid.
The Falcon family was a hundred times more powerful than the Clarks. The only blood tie that connected them was through their mothers, and even that wasn't truly bound to the Falcon name.
Zeus was untouchable.
And worse?
He had never wanted something he didn't get.
Ryzel had tried to fight back when Zeus started pursuing Ceres, even when she was already his girl. But deep down, he had known.
Zeus could have ruined him. Ruined his family.
But Ceres had always had him wrapped around her finger. She played him like a puppet, knew exactly how to handle him.
So how the hell did Zeus manage to blackmail her?
Ceres wasn't the type to just take it. She would have fought back. She wasn't someone who could be easily controlled.
"How?" Ryzel pressed, his mind racing. "How could he blackmail you when you had him in the palm of your hands?"
Ceres let out a shaky breath.
"I messed up," she admitted, her voice thick with regret.
Ryzel felt his stomach twist.
"Daddy trusted me with a billion-dollar contract," she continued. "And I was too eager to prove to him that I could handle it. But… I messed up. If things had gone wrong, it would've severely affected my dad's business. And Zeus, he found out about it before anyone else did."
Ryzel clenched his jaw, already sensing where this was going.
"He offered to fix it. No questions asked. He didn't demand anything from me. No price. No conditions. Just... help. And like you, I thought I had him wrapped around my finger. I thought there was nothing to be worried about," Ceres said bitterly.
Ryzel shut his eyes.
She walked right into the trap.
"All he did was ask me to sign some papers," she continued. "He said it would make it look like the contract was a success... and I believed him. I trusted that it was nothing."
Ceres let out a quiet, bitter laugh.
"But the moment our families announced our engagement," she choked, "he showed me those papers I signed. And suddenly, I realized what I had really agreed to. If he used those documents against daddy, it would bankrupt our company. We would lose everything."
Ryzel's fingers curl into a fist.
That bastard.
It wasn't impossible. Zeus was ruthless. He manipulated everything and everyone to get what he wanted. This was exactly the kind of thing he would do.
"He gave me an ultimatum," she whispered. "And I'm sorry… I had to choose Mommy and Daddy." Her voice wavered. "I'm so sorry."
Ryzel slammed a fist against the metal railing of the fire escape, his breathing heavy.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" His voice was harsher now, frustration bleeding into every syllable. "I could have helped you!"
"Could you, really?"
Ryzel went still.
His grip loosened slightly, his rage faltering because he knew she was right.
Could he have fixed it?
Maybe.
But not as fast as Zeus.
The only way Ryzel could have helped her was after the damage had already been done, after her father's company had suffered, after the Monteverdes had already fallen.
And if there was one undeniable truth about Ceres Monteverde, it was she would burn before she let anything happen to her parents.
"I didn't call to make you feel guilty," Ceres said softly from the other end of the line. Her voice was raw, her words laced with exhaustion.
"I was the one who messed up. I was too confident... too arrogant," she admitted bitterly. "I deserve to suffer for my mistakes. And honestly… I didn't react when you broke up with me because, in a way, it was a blessing in disguise."
"I didn't know how to break things off with you," she continued, her voice trembling. "And the truth is… I knew you were only using Ciena to make me jealous. I knew you were never going to marry her… so I did nothing."
Ryzel's heart was pounding against his ribs.
"But Zeus… he doubted me."
Ceres's voice cracked, and Ryzel could hear her trying to steady her breathing.
"He thought I was trying to trick him," she confessed. "And he warned me… that if I dared to do anything against him, if I tried to fight back, he wouldn't hesitate to destroy Daddy's business. And the Clarks' too."
A sharp pang of anger twisted inside Ryzel's chest.
"That's when I started acting like myself again," Ceres continued, her voice hollow. "Like a spoiled brat who didn't get her way. I let everyone think I was just being petty... that I sabotaged your wedding because I could not accept the fact that I was discarded."
She let out a bitter, shaky laugh.
"I was hoping it would throw him off guard," she admitted. "That if I could convince him that I didn't care about you anymore, I could control him again. That I could turn the tables on him and make him believe I was his to own."
Her next words were choked with regret.
"But I was wrong."
Her breath hitched as she fought against another sob.
"I was so wrong, Ryzel."
She broke.
Ryzel could hear it, the way she finally let go, her quiet cries spilling through the receiver.
He had never heard her cry like this before.
"Ceres…" he whispered, his throat tightening.
"I thought I had him back in the palm of my hand," she whispered shakily. "When he started acting so in love with me again, I thought I had won."
A fresh wave of tears wracked her voice.
"But they planned it all along."
Ryzel's entire body went cold.
"They?" he repeated, his confusion growing. "Who?"
There was a long pause.
Then, Ceres exhaled shakily before finally admitting,
"Ciena and Zeus."
The weight of her words sent ice straight through Ryzel's veins.
"I heard them talking," she confessed, her voice laced with betrayal. "I thought Zeus hated her. I thought he couldn't stand her presence. But I overheard them… and Ciena, she was hysterical. She was screaming at him."
Ryzel could barely breathe.
"She was accusing Zeus of not doing his part of the plan."
His grip on the phone tightened to the point of pain.
"What plan?" he gritted out.
"That Zeus would have me… and that Ciena would have you."
Ryzel's stomach twisted.
"That was their plan all along," Ceres whispered.
His entire body tensed.
"But Zeus…" she continued. "He never had any real intention of helping Ciena. I heard him say it myself."
She swallowed hard.
"He said he had already done his part. That it wasn't his fault if Ciena couldn't keep you. That it wasn't his problem anymore. And that, in fact, it was better this way."
Ryzel's entire body locked in place.
"Because now, we wouldn't have any reason to see each other anymore," Ceres whispered. "Especially now that you've canceled your wedding."
Ryzel clenched his jaw.
His own cousin had been orchestrating this all along.
All this time, he had believed Ciena was just a pawn in his own game, to make Ceres jealous, to push her into choosing him.
But now, he realized the truth.
She had never been his ally.
She had been Zeus's.
"I have to end the call now," Ceres said softly. "Zeus might come back soon. And once again… I'm sorry for everything I said and did to you. I'm sorry that this time… I can't choose you."
Silence.
"I love you."
Her voice was so full of honesty that it cut through him like a blade.
But in reality, inside Ceres's bedroom, Zeus sat on the edge of her bed, his brows furrowed in mild amusement as she straddled him, her delicate fingers massaging the deep crease between his brows.
Her words weren't meant for Ryzel, who was still listening on the other end of the call.
They were meant for Zeus.
Without waiting for a response, Ceres ended the call.
And then, she leaned down, capturing Zeus's lips in a slow, lingering kiss. His arms tightened around her waist, pulling her even closer as he deepened the kiss.
When they finally pulled apart, Zeus let out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head.
"Really?" he mused, amusement flickering in his golden eyes. "You're unbelievable, love."
Ceres merely arched a brow in response, her gaze shifting toward Ciena, who sat frozen, completely dumbfounded by everything she had just witnessed.
"You better get yourself really pregnant once you get married," Ceres said coolly, her voice dripping with calculated indifference.
Ciena snapped her gaze back to her. "You think he actually believed that?" she asked, still shaken.
If she hadn't seen Ceres in front of her right now, she would have never doubted the sincerity in her voice during the call. Every word, every sob, it had all been flawless.
"But even if he did," Ciena continued, swallowing hard. "How can you be sure he'll go through with the wedding? You just threw me under the bus!"
Before Ceres could answer, Ciena's phone suddenly rang.
It was Ryzel.
Ciena hesitated.
"Answer it," Ceres ordered.
With trembling fingers, Ciena swiped to accept the call and brought the phone to her ear.
"We're going through with the wedding. As planned."
That was all Ryzel said before abruptly ending the call, not even waiting for her response.
Ceres smirked.
Then, turning back to Zeus, she kissed the tip of his nose before whispering against his skin,
"Hook. Line. And sinker."
Zeus let out a deep, amused laugh. "You're terrifying," he mused. "And I love it."