Makati was glowing in the warm gold of sunrise, and Suoton International Business School (SIBS) stood like a jewel in the heart of the city. Towering glass buildings reflected the skies, and the scent of freshly brewed coffee from campus cafés mingled with the brisk air. This was a school built for the rich, the elite, and the powerful-offering medicine, aviation, engineering, business, and more.
Among those enrolled was Xyra Ramirez.
24 years old on her senior year taking Bachelor of Science in Aviation Communication, major in Flight Operation. Quiet. Too soft for the world she was born into.
Hindi niya gustong kunin ang kursong ito. Medicine ang first choice niya-gusto niyang maging doktor tulad ng namayapang ina niya. Pero ang kanyang ama, si Rodrigo, ay mariing tumutol. "Anything but medicine," he had declared. And just like that, her dream was clipped before it even took flight.
That morning, a strange quiet settled over the Ramirez mansion. The sun was barely up, and yet Ethan and his friends-Riley, Ashton, Jedrick, and Hendrix-were already seated in the garden lounge just beyond the dining area. Books open, voices hushed, mugs in hand.
Xyra came downstairs, yawning and barefoot, her hair still messy from sleep. She rubbed her eyes, surprised to find all of them dressed like they were about to present a thesis.
Ethan?Reading Book? Seriously?
Ethan never reads book or don't do school works in the house ever before. Xyra finds it off ,out of curiosity she wants to find where the odd lies early in the morning.
"Ang aga n'yo ata ngayon," Xyra said, stepping into the garden lounge.
"Since when did you all become early risers?"
Ethan stood up quickly, blocking her path to the center table. "Xy, you should go back inside-"
Before Riley could react Xyra took his mug from his hands.
She took a gulp, her face immediately contorting.
"UGH! Anong klaseng kape 'to?! Lasang alak!"
Riley's eyes widened. "Oh my God. You actually drank it."
"That's whiskey, Xy," Jedrick said, looking half amused.
"Seriously? At 7 a.m.? You're all med students!" she snapped, coughing. "Ano kayo, insane?!"
Then came the coldest voice in the group.
"You shouldn't drink on an empty stomach."
Xyra turned and found herself face-to-face with Hendrix Montefalco. Calm. Stoic. Dangerous.
"Alcohol dehydrates you and messes with your blood sugar," he added. "Bad combination, lalo na kung wala kang kinain."
"Why do you even care?" Xyra shot back, rubbing her lips with the back of her hand.
"You don't know me well enough to ask that."
"Exactly."
Ethan tried to break the tension. "We were just reviewing, promise. We didn't expect you to take a sip."
"Right," Xyra muttered, shooting all of them a glare before storming back into the house.
At breakfast, she barely touched her food. The mix of garlic rice, eggs, and tocino smelled good, but her stomach churned. Elena noticed.
"Hindi mo naubos ang ulam mo, anak," her stepmother Elena said gently.
"Had a taste of Riley's whiskey earlier," Xyra muttered. "By accident."
Elena laughed. "Oh my. Ethan talaga. I'll talk to him."
Elisia, her stepsister, looked up from her phone. "You look pale, Xyra. Dapat yata kumain ka talaga."
Xyra rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the concern."
Rodrigo, seated at the head of the table, folded his newspaper. "Your midterms are next week. Focus on your aviation drills. I don't want any distractions."
"Yes, Papa," she said, voice tight.
"You're lucky," Elena added, her tone warm but empty. "You study in Suoton. Not everyone gets that chance."
Lucky.
The word bounced around her head like a curse.
Later that day, Xyra sat by the aviators' wing, watching planes take off from the simulator towers. Her professor waved from afar. She waved back, forcing a smile.
"Why aviation?" Mia once asked her.
"Because medicine wasn't allowed."
"Why not fight for it?"
"Because I already lost."
Even in a school filled with wealth, she felt trapped.
After her last class, Xyra stopped by the library to return a book. She lingered near the aviation section, her fingers grazing the spines of books about aircraft communication and flight theory.
Then she paused by the medical section.
She stared at a book titled Human Anatomy and Physiology, her fingers trembling as she pulled it off the shelf.
"Kukunin mo ba 'yan?" a voice asked behind her.
She turned. Hendrix.
"What are you doing here?"
"Looking for something I already found," he said coolly, his eyes glancing at the medical book in her hand.
Xyra tucked it behind her. "It's just curiosity."
He didn't say anything. But his gaze lingered.
"You should stop pretending you're okay with your course," he said.
"Excuse me?"
"You walk like a pilot, talk like a pilot-but your heart is somewhere else."
"I don't need you to psychoanalyze me, Hendrix."
"I'm not. I'm just saying... maybe you deserve better than what you were forced into."
She blinked. "Why do you care?"
But Hendrix had already turned and walked away.
Across campus, Ethan and his friends were seated in the library. Hendrix stared at a file on his phone.
"Project Butterfly?" he murmured.
Riley leaned in. "Don't open that. Confidential."
Hendrix clicked anyway.
Name: Xyra Ramirez
Age: 24
Status: Unaware
Placement: Confirmed
"What the hell is this?" Hendrix muttered.
"They listed her," Ashton said. "Marriage market. It was Elena and Rodrigo's idea."
"She doesn't even know," Hendrix said.
"That's the point."
"Not anymore," Hendrix stood, his jaw clenched.
At sunset, Xyra received a text from Ethan.
"Meet me at the rooftop. Now."
She climbed the old staircase to the top of the academic building. When she pushed the door open, it wasn't Ethan who was waiting.
It was Hendrix.
"Seriously?" she said. "What now?"
"You need to know something," Hendrix said.
"I don't need drama right now-"
"You're in the marriage market, Xyra. Your name. Your profile. Your details. They signed you up."
Her heart thudded. "That's a sick joke."
"I'm not joking." He showed her his phone.
She read it.
Name: Xyra Ramirez. Age: 24. Status: Unaware. Confirmed Entry.
"What the hell is this?" she whispered.
"I bought your profile. To stop someone worse from getting you."
"You BOUGHT me?!"
"Better me than someone you don't know," he said quietly.
"You're insane," she hissed.
"You're being lied to," he said. "And it's time you start asking why."
And in that moment, everything Xyra thought she knew about her life began to unravel.