Chapter 1

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Two months ago

[Lyari Sage]

6 hours earlier

Somewhere in the Metropolis, the familiar wailing sound of police patrol could be heard circulating on the end of their graveyard shift...

The loud noise coming from her window was enough to stir Lyari up from deep slumber.

Before everything else.

The pings of multiple messages on the woman's phone underneath the blanket was like a ceremony that morning.

In a speed borne of familiarity, her hand snatched the device from under the covers then made a vehement tap on the screen.

6:00 am. Her time in at work was at 9.

With a yawn, she rose from the bed and padded to the kitchen which comprised of a single long white granite counter island and a couple of white stools. The tall grey fridge was to the right and behind the white brick wall of the kitchen lay the hall to the bathroom.

The tiny place was basically her studio with just enough space spared to accommodate her needs, located in a moderate apartment building at Paseo Heights just across Salcedo Park in Makati. She stood in the middle of it all, looking around at the corners, knickknacks and furnitures she came to call home over the past three years.

There was nothing remarkable about it, aside from the fact that it was always cluttered with books and vellums all the time. The rent may be high according to the standards of living in a bustling capital, but this was her haven, and the only place she could call hers.

Maybe it was sheer stupidity, despite knowing from a young age that choosing to live in a safer area was a priority in the Metro with all the crime rates blowing up every day.

Oh well, self preservation is fashionable anyways.

Atleast for single, goal oriented women like her who'd no real desire to go into anything risky outside of their jobs. Some may call her stiff-necked, or hardheaded. They're not wrong.

While coffee from her mother brewed in the small pot, she paid her social accounts a visit on her phone.

Her boss had posted a picture on Instagram with the mayor of Manila at a banquet hall, her office mates were out partying last night, and a friend from college was welcoming her newborn baby to the world on Facebook. Just a bunch of reminders for her to get a life of her own.

Among other extraneous messages, there was an email from the supposed client which came earlier that morning, announcing about a meeting which was to take place soon with the assigned contractor of their firm. It didn't say anything about a location, although Lyari knew Mr Chaves had the key to that piece of information.

She showered and dressed in her usual corporate attire, a tailored gray pantsuit which hugged her slim body well.

Her pale face was left bare, because she hates make up.

The leather messenger bag at the sofa was prepared next, as well as the car keys on the night stand which she grabbed before heading out the door.

26 years old, three years out of college internships and here she was already stuck in the rat race of the big cities. Lyari didn't know what otherwise means.

She would go to work; stay up later than yesterday, arguing with her co-workers, then go back to that small flat. Ironically, since she lives alone it only feels like an extension of her workplace. Sometimes she works from the sanctuary of her home, and it was fine since it kept her occupied and busy.

She liked the routine, so long as it distracted her from the hollowness within.

- one more thing. Her name (bless her mother for giving her the bane of her existence) is pronounced as Lye-Ree. Not to be mistaken for Leery, or Larry. Just Lyari.

The firm office

Not long ago, the woman with straight black hair and striking eyes to match would have tried to beat the traffic. However these days, she felt she was way past that; her only consolation was to wake up early and not get stuck during rush hour.

As she got in the elevators in the basement parking area, it was empty save for another architect who went by the name Yp Ibañez, currently leaning in the corner. Another dandy with pasty skin whom she had the misfortune of going to work with. He always thought he could charm every female clients out there.

His relaxed frame and well rested face was an indication he had taken some time off too in the holidays, and he appears to be in a particularly sunny mood today. He nodded at her and said "Sage."

"Morning," was her curt reply. She grasped her phone, trying to look busy to avoid any further conversation.

"Sick party last night, eh. Don't you think?"

"Huh?" Lyari deadpanned, throwing him a side glance.

"The major client's after-party. Every single one of us was invited as I remember. Didn't you come?"

"Guess I didn't get the memo."

"What a shame, Sage."

"Why? Not everyone wants to be there; technically I wasn't part of it anyway."

"Oh right, I should have known," he said knowingly, "you are not the type to appreciate your peers' achievements. Miss Lyari Sage, all work and no play."

She glared at him. "Please, don't pretend like you know me, Ibañez."

"Hm, not saying I do, talks around here just gives me that impression," he said, giving her the typical smirk he normally uses with the prospective females of their department.

Mentally, she was thinking of ways to wipe that smirk off.

"I think it's better if you keep your impressions to yourself," she couldn't help but mutter.

"What?"

"Didn't see you as the type to believe in gossips."

Yp shrugged. "I'm many things."

Yeah, not capable of keeping his mouth shut was one of those things.

Just then, the elevator doors opened to the main floor of the architectural firm and she was the first to get out, with Yp close behind.

"Hey, Yp. You got plans for lunch later?" Sue greeted him, seemingly to appear out of nowhere.

"Miss Ledesma, I don't think I have. Why, you planning to invite me somewhere?" Yp asked, his ridiculous voice rising just a few octaves at the sight of Sue.

Sue giggled. "Of course, why do you think I asked?"

"If that is the case then it should be on me. If you'll allow me to be the gentle man that I am for once, Miss Ledesma?"

"Mr Ibañez, I don't believe I would live long enough to hear you say that."

Their weird laughter rang out in the span of the hallways.

Lyari ignored them, but it wasn't hard to listen in when they were practically flirting behind her.

After the meeting

"Tell Miss Sage to come see me at my office at once; I should like a word and an explanation about that contract," Vladimir Chaves was saying to his secretary's desk, his formidable figure slightly hunched generally away from Lyari's direction.

He didn't see her coming towards them. Only when he straightened and was about to head for the hallway then he spotted her, a slight figure blending into the monochrome walls.

"Miss Sage," he addressed her with the telltale signs of his annoyance on his tone.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Right," he rolled his eyes, not sure if the gesture suited a middle-aged man like him, "in my office, now."

"Okay, after you," she said as politely as she could.

Vladimir led the way to the adjoining room where his office lay. The doors admitting their figures were then closed and the discussion which would eventually change her fate had begun, the reason she was taking that short road trip across the country to a not so unfamiliar destination.

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