His Perfect Lie

His Perfect Lie
By the time Pearly reached Manila, he no longer knew whether he was running away from Jaden Gabe… or from the truth itself.

He stayed at Judas’ condo.

His childhood friend had given him the spare key years ago, probably never expecting Pearly to actually use it like this. But Judas would not get angry. Pearly knew that much. Even if his friend was away, he would still leave the place open for him without questions.

That somehow made the loneliness hurt worse.

He dragged his suitcase into Judas’ room, then stood quietly in the kitchen while his stomach twisted painfully from the long trip from Dalisay to Manila.

The refrigerator was full.
The cupboards too.

Normally, Judas stocked food like he was feeding an entire family.

But Pearly stared at everything without appetite.

His chest felt too heavy for hunger.

In the end, he only made himself a glass of milk before returning to the bedroom.

The moment he lay down, exhaustion crashed over him all at once.

Not just physical exhaustion.

The kind that settled deep inside the bones after crying too much.

He curled into himself on the bed while silent tears kept slipping down his face. He did not even bother wiping them away anymore.

Eventually, his eyes began to close.

But before sleep could fully take him, a strange feeling crawled over his skin.

Like someone was watching him.

Pearly woke up close to eleven in the morning.

For several seconds, he simply stared at the ceiling, disoriented and hollow.

Then reality returned.

Ate Ana.
Jaden Gabe.
The confession.
The betrayal.

His chest tightened so fast it almost hurt to breathe.

Slowly, he sat up and rubbed both hands over his face.

He had dreamed about Aunt Pat and Sister Ana.

They had both been smiling at him.

Not sad.
Not angry.

Happy.

The memory unsettled him more than it comforted him.

Why were they smiling?

Was it because he finally learned the truth behind their deaths?

Or was his mind simply trying to survive everything that happened?

Pearly swallowed hard and forced himself out of bed.

That feeling returned again.

Subtle.
Persistent.

Like eyes quietly following him around the condo.

He tried ignoring it as he walked into the kitchen and started preparing food. Even without appetite, he knew he needed to eat something.

So he made stew.
Fried eggs.
Hotdogs.

Simple food.

But the entire time he cooked, warmth prickled at the back of his neck.

Someone was there.

Watching.

Pearly tightened his grip around the spatula but said nothing.

Maybe he was imagining things.

Maybe paranoia was finally catching up to him.

After eating, he cleaned the kitchen, took a shower, then spent the next few hours trying to distract himself.

Television.
Books.
Random channels.

Nothing worked.

His thoughts kept circling back to Jaden Gabe.

To his voice.
His eyes.
The way he looked shattered while Pearly walked away.

Pearly hated himself for remembering that part.

By evening, the uncomfortable feeling had become impossible to ignore.

The curtains in the living room shifted slightly.

A shadow seemed to move with them.

His pulse jumped.

Immediately, Pearly entered the bedroom and locked the door behind him.

But even there, the feeling remained.

Heavy.
Near.

Then suddenly,

A familiar scent reached him.

Pearly froze.

His breathing turned uneven almost instantly.

No.

Shivering, he got off the bed and stepped onto the terrace.

Darkness covered most of the city outside.

At first, he saw nothing.

Then,

“Get out!” Pearly shouted.

A tall figure slowly stepped forward from the shadows.

“What are you doing here?!” Pearly’s voice cracked violently. “Why did you follow me?!”

Little by little, the city lights revealed Jaden Gabe’s face.

And those green eyes that used to make Pearly feel safe.

Now they only made his chest ache.

“I just wanted to know where you went,” Jaden Gabe said quietly. “I needed to know you were safe.”

His voice sounded rough.
Careful.

Like he was terrified of saying the wrong thing.

“I didn’t come here to cause trouble.”

Pearly laughed bitterly through his tears.

“And what do you call this?” he shot back. “You followed me all the way here!”

“I was worried about you.”

“I’m safe because I’m no longer under your control!”

Pain flickered across Jaden Gabe’s face.

“Pearly, please listen to me, ”

“No.”

Pearly shook his head hard enough to hurt.

“Believe me,” Jaden Gabe continued softly. “I just needed to make sure you were okay.”

“Don’t you get it?” Pearly cried. “I’m safer when I’m away from you!”

The words hit harder than he intended.

Jaden Gabe visibly stiffened.

But Pearly no longer cared.

“I know you’re angry,” Jaden Gabe said hoarsely. “I know you hate me. I know I hurt you, ”

“It’s good that you know,” Pearly cut in sharply. Tears streamed freely down his face now. “Because I hate you for lying to me.”

His breathing became ragged.

“And to think…” His voice broke. “I even gave myself to you.”

Jaden Gabe looked like the words physically wounded him.

But Pearly’s chest hurt too much to stop.

“I want you to know,” Jaden Gabe said carefully, “that my feelings for you had nothing to do with your cousin’s death.”

Pearly stared at him in disbelief.

Then slowly shook his head.

“No matter what you say,” he whispered painfully, “you can’t erase what you did to Ate Ana.”

Jaden Gabe went pale.

“You took me in because your conscience was eating you alive.” Pearly wiped angrily at his tears. “Sometimes I still wonder if you even have one.”

His voice trembled harder now.

“How could you look at me every day… tell me you loved me… while knowing you destroyed my family first?”

“When I first saw you…” Jaden Gabe said quietly, his eyes locked on Pearly’s tear-streaked face, “I already loved you.”

Pearly immediately shook his head.

“Please go away.” His voice cracked under the weight of everything he was trying not to feel. “I don’t want to talk to you anymore. That’s enough.”

But Jaden Gabe kept looking at him like walking away was physically impossible.

“I loved you long before I understood what I was feeling,” he continued softly. “At first, I thought it was concern. Guilt. Conscience.” A bitter smile touched his lips for only a second. “But it was always you.”

Pearly’s chest tightened painfully.

“Even if you don’t believe me, ”

“I don’t.” Pearly cut him off immediately. “I’m tired of your lies, Jaden Gabe.”

The words landed hard.

Still, Jaden Gabe did not move.

“Even after you left me,” he said quietly, “I still waited for you.”

Pearly’s breathing faltered.

“You promised you would stay.” Jaden Gabe’s voice lowered further, roughened by emotion. “No matter what happened. No matter what you found out.”

The memory hit Pearly so suddenly it almost made him dizzy.

Remember, Pearly?
You promised not to leave me.

His heart slammed violently against his ribs.

“Even if you hate me now,” Jaden Gabe whispered, “even if you want to erase me from your life completely… I still can’t stop loving you.”

The pain in his voice made Pearly’s eyes burn harder.

So Pearly stepped back.

Because if he stayed still, he might break.

Jaden Gabe instinctively stepped closer.

Pearly swallowed against the tightness in his throat.

“Go away,” he whispered shakily. Then louder this time: “Go away, Jaden Gabe!”

His tears kept falling no matter how hard he tried to stop them.

“I don’t love you anymore,” he forced out. “I can’t love a monster.”

Jaden Gabe went completely still.

For one terrible second, Pearly almost wished he would argue back.

Instead, Jaden Gabe only smiled faintly.

A small, broken smile that somehow hurt worse.

“Damn,” he murmured hoarsely. “That one hurt.”

Pearly looked away immediately because his chest suddenly felt too tight.

“I regret loving you,” he whispered.

Silence stretched between them.

Heavy.
Painful.

Then Jaden Gabe nodded slowly, like he was accepting a punishment he already believed he deserved.

“I’ll still stay around,” he said quietly. “Whether you want me to or not.”

Pearly’s eyes snapped back to him.

“You don’t need to be afraid,” Jaden Gabe continued gently. “I won’t bother you anymore. I won’t go near you. I won’t even let you see me.”

There was something unbearably lonely in his voice now.

“But let me protect you from afar.”

Pearly’s vision blurred completely.

His tears fell faster.

And when he blinked,

Jaden Gabe was gone.

Only the cold night remained.

“Jaden Gabe…”

The emptiness around Pearly suddenly felt enormous.

A trembling breath escaped him as cold wind wrapped around his body. Slowly, he hugged himself tighter and sank against the terrace wall, crying quietly in the middle of the night.

Pearly’s tears stayed inside Jaden Gabe’s head long after he left the condo.

The hatred in Pearly’s eyes had carved into him deeper than any wound ever could.

But even then, leaving Pearly completely had never crossed his mind.

He would still protect him.

Even from a distance.

Even if Pearly never forgave him.

Jaden Gabe only planned to stay hidden better next time.

Careful enough that Pearly would never sense him nearby again.

But before he could return to the condo area, the urgent pull from his siblings suddenly hit him.

Sharp.
Insistent.

Lander and Criss had been trying to contact him repeatedly through the bond.

Something was wrong.

So Jaden Gabe returned to the villa immediately.

The moment he stepped inside the mansion, however, he stopped cold.

A woman was sitting in the living room.

Slender.

Beautiful.

Her brunette skin looked smooth beneath the chandelier lights. Long black wavy hair spilled over her shoulders, framing bright eyes lined by thick lashes.

For a second, genuine surprise crossed his face.

Then he laughed softly in disbelief.

“What the hell is going on here?”

At his voice, the woman slowly looked up.

And behind her,

Lander and Criss appeared from the hallway wearing identical dark expressions.

Neither of his twins looked happy at all.

“Hi! Are you Helios’ siblings?”

The woman smiled brightly at the three of them, completely unaware of the suffocating tension filling the mansion.

“I’m Ria, by the way.”

Something about her cheerful voice made the entire situation feel even more disturbing.

Jaden Gabe exchanged a glance with Criss.

Then,

A soft clicking sound echoed from the staircase upstairs.

Ria immediately froze.

Not naturally.

Not like someone distracted or startled.

Everything inside her simply… stopped.

The smile remained on her lips, but her eyes turned empty in an instant.

Like a doll whose strings had suddenly been pulled tight.

Jaden Gabe’s jaw clenched.

Slow footsteps descended from the staircase.

Helios appeared.

And the second he reached the bottom,

Ria came back to life again.

Her expression softened immediately as she looked around in confusion.

Helios walked toward them calmly, as though nothing about the situation was wrong.

“She doesn’t remember anything,” he said casually. “As far as she knows, she’s my girlfriend.”

The silence that followed felt dangerous.

Jaden Gabe stared at him.

Helios did not even look guilty.

“I’ve been erasing her memories for years,” Helios continued. “To protect her.”

Criss let out a sharp, humorless laugh.

“How many years exactly?” she asked bitterly.

Helios shrugged lightly.

“You’re going to lose your mind when he finds out,” Criss muttered under her breath.

Ria blinked again, smiling brightly at them.

“You’re really siblings?” she asked happily. “You all look alike.”

Jaden Gabe felt sick listening to her.

Every word sounded genuine.

That was the horrifying part.

“Where did you two meet?” Criss asked carefully, studying her.

“Ah…” Ria smiled as she tried to remember. “In Manila first.”

She paused.

Then frowned slightly.

“No… wait. Europe.” She laughed awkwardly. “I used to work there as an OFW.”

Her answer shifted too fast.

Like pieces of a story stitched together badly.

Lander crossed his arms tightly.

“How long have you been together?”

Ria’s entire face brightened instantly.

“Next week is our first anniversary.”

The happiness in her voice nearly made Jaden Gabe look away.

Because she truly believed it.

She had no idea her memories were being rewritten.

No idea her entire reality had been manipulated for years.

Slowly, Ria turned toward Helios.

“Baby?”

Helios immediately walked to her side and wrapped an arm around her waist naturally.

“Yes, baby?”

“Where did you go?” she asked softly. “Why did you suddenly disappear?”

The confusion in her eyes looked real now.

Helios stared directly at her.

“We’re together tonight,” he said smoothly.

The second his eyes locked onto hers, Jaden Gabe felt the shift in the air.