The morning light in the penthouse was brutal, slicing through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the BGC high-rise with clinical precision. It reflected off the polished steel and glass surfaces, highlighting the stark, masculine emptiness of the space.
Cheska woke up slowly, the silk sheets feeling like a cool caress against her skin. For a moment, she forgot where she was—until the scent of expensive, dark-roasted coffee and a faint hint of sandalwood hit her. She sat up, clutching the duvet to her chest, her eyes scanning the room.
Matthew was sitting by the window in nothing but black joggers. His back was a map of old scars and hard muscle, hunched slightly over a laptop. He looked like a dark prince surveying a kingdom that didn't deserve him. On the nightstand, tucked behind a crystal carafe of water, was a small, silver-framed photo.
Cheska leaned in, her heart stuttering. It was a younger Matthew, looking uncharacteristically relaxed, his arm slung around a girl with sharp, intelligent eyes and a surgical mask hanging around her neck.
Joie. The realization hit Cheska like a physical blow. This was the "med student" Alliana had been pining over for months. The one with the "intense" family that owned half of Makati.
"You're Joie's cousin," Cheska said, her voice dry and thick with sleep. "Or brother? Alliana didn't specify the branch, she just said the Tenorio bloodline was... a lot to handle."
Matt didn't look up immediately. He finished a keystroke, closed the laptop with a definitive click, and turned. A slow, predatory smirk tugged at his lips, one that didn't reach his cold, observant eyes.
"Cousin," he corrected, his voice a low rumble. "Though in this family, the labels matter less than the loyalty. And you're the best friend. The marketing prodigy with the loud laugh. Small world, isn't it, Cheska?"
The use of her name made her skin prickle. "Is that why you approached me? Was last night just a security check? An interrogation wrapped in a one-night stand?"
Matt stood up, the sheer scale of him making the room feel suddenly very small. He walked toward the bed, looming over her until the air felt thin. "I saw your photo in Timothy's files weeks ago. I thought you were pretty then. Seeing you at the club was simply an opportunity I wasn't going to waste. As for the rest... my family is complicated. We value privacy above all else. Joie is the same way, as I'm sure Alliana has discovered."
"Complicated is an understatement," Cheska muttered, but as Matt leaned down, his lips ghosting over the sensitive skin of her throat, her resolve began to fray. "Alliana says your family owns the skyline. What do you actually do, Matt? Beyond brooding in penthouses?"
"I'm a logistics consultant," Matt lied, his breath warm against her skin. "I move things from point A to point B. It's boring, administrative, and entirely legal. Let's talk about something else."
He pulled the sheets away, and for a few hours, the questions were drowned out by the heat.