The only comfort Mara found during her hurried escape had been in people who didn’t know her name. Among them was Elijah Ramos—the bread truck driver who stopped by the guesthouse every dawn to deliver warm pan de sal to the kitchen.
The first time they met, he had noticed her standing alone under the bougainvillea tree and offered her a paper bag filled with bread too fresh to refuse.
“The first bite is always the best,” he said with a shy grin.
He didn’t ask who she was.
He didn’t ask why she always looked like she was listening for footsteps behind her.
Every morning after, he lingered a little longer—helping repair a loose gate hinge, bringing extra pastries he claimed were “mistakes” from the bakery, or telling stories about the med students from his barangay who kept fainting during their volunteer shifts at the rural clinic.
He didn’t know she was Mara Isabela Adriano, the only daughter of Luciano Adriano, one of the richest tycoons in Southeast Asia.
He didn’t know she was hiding from the people who wanted to use her as leverage against her own father.
He didn’t know she’d run because she refused to watch innocent employees threaten violence just to get to her.
And he didn’t know she was falling for the way he spoke—slow and sincere, like he wasn’t afraid of silence.
Later that afternoon, Elijah found her packing.
His brows creased. “Going somewhere?”
“I need to leave tonight,” Mara whispered. “Someone dangerous found me.”
Elijah’s jaw tightened. “You’re scared. That’s enough reason for me to help.”
“You don’t understand.”
“You’re right,” he said gently. “I don’t. But I know danger when I see it. And I know you don’t deserve to face it alone.”
Her chest ached. She wanted to tell him everything—but she had learned the cost of trusting the wrong person.
Outside, thunder rolled across the ridge, though the sky was barely gray. A storm was forming fast.
“Come with me,” he said. “My tita owns a place down in Batangas. It’s safer there.”
“I can’t drag you into this.”
“Then let me decide what’s too dangerous for me.”
She looked at him—really looked at him.
Not a rescuer.
Not a stranger.
Just someone who refused to leave when she needed someone most.
She nodded.
The rain fell hard as they drove along the winding road descending toward Ligaya Drive. Lightning fractured the sky above Taal Volcano, and the windshield wipers struggled to keep up.
“Do you trust me?” Elijah asked.
“Yes,” Mara said before she could stop herself.
He didn’t smile, but there was a fierce calm in his eyes.
Halfway down the road, a black SUV appeared in the mirror—headlights cutting through rain like knives.
Mara froze. “It’s them.”
Elijah pressed the accelerator. The van followed.
Branches whipped across the road. The mountain curve was sharp—too sharp—but Elijah took it with precision, breathing hard but steady.
“They won’t hurt you,” he said. “Not while I’m here.”
The SUV drew closer.
A jolt—something slammed against the truck’s bumper.
Mara trembled. “Please—don’t let them take me.”
Elijah gritted his teeth. “Over my dead body.”
He veered toward a side road so narrow it barely fit one vehicle. Mud splashed. The truck shook violently—but the SUV skidded trying to follow and spun sideways, stuck across the curve.
Elijah exhaled shakily. “We bought time. Not much.”
“Why are you helping me?” Mara asked, voice trembling.
“Because no one deserves to be hunted,” he said quietly. “And because… you matter to me.”
Her breath caught.
The world outside was chaos—rain, thunder, danger—but inside that truck, something warm broke through the fear.
They reached a small beachside house in San Luis, waves roaring against the breakwall.
Inside, Elijah handed her a dry towel. “You’re safe here.”
But safety, she realized, demanded truth.
“My real name is Mara Adriano,” she whispered. “I’m the daughter of a billionaire.”
Elijah blinked. “…Wait, the Adriano? The conglomerate one?”
“Yes. Men working for a rival group want to use me to force my father to sign over his stakes. They already tracked me once. And now again. I’m… I’m sorry you got dragged into this.”
Elijah sat down slowly, letting the words settle.
Then he said simply: “Even if you were nobody, or the richest heiress alive, I’d still protect you.”
Tears blurred her vision.
No one had ever loved her without a motive.
Lightning struck again—closer this time.
Before she could respond, the door shook violently.
They had found them.
Elijah grabbed her hand. “We hide through the back. Come on.”
But as they moved, the front door burst open.
Three men entered—dark clothes, weapons drawn.
“Mara Adriano,” one of them said. “Your father sends his apologies. He refuses to cooperate. So you’re coming with us.”
Her blood ran cold.
Behind them, another figure stepped in—umbrella, expensive shoes, calm under pressure.
A man she recognized instantly.
Her father’s head of personal security—Renato Cruz.
“Stand down,” Renato ordered. “She’s under my protection.”
The armed men turned in confusion.
Elijah whispered, “He’s on your side?”
“Yes. My father sent him—he must’ve used a decoy signal to mislead them.”
Renato lifted his badge. “Gentlemen, if you value your freedom, drop the weapons.”
Sirens screamed from outside—the police had arrived.
Within seconds, the intruders were disarmed and pushed to their knees.
Mara collapsed onto Elijah’s chest, trembling with relief.
“You’re safe now,” he whispered.
For the first time since she fled, she believed it.
Two days later, the storm clouds had cleared.
Sunlight danced across the waters of Laiya Beach, where Mara now stood barefoot in the sand.
Elijah approached, carrying two cups of halo-halo.
“You look like someone who finally slept,” he teased.
“I did,” she smiled. “Knowing I’m not running anymore.”
He handed her a cup. “So what happens next, heiress?”
She laughed softly. “Next… I stop letting money decide my life. And I stop pushing away people who make me feel alive.”
She stepped closer, heart pounding.
“Elijah… would you stay? Not as a protector but as someone who—who matters to me?”
He held her gaze, gentle but unshakably sure.
“I wasn’t planning to go anywhere.”
The breeze picked up, warm and salty, as she leaned into him—no fear, no secrets, just the honest joy of choosing something for herself.
Above them, the sky opened into the kind of blue that promised new beginnings.
And for the first time in a long time, Mara believed she deserved one.