Disclaimer: The author's imagination and passion are the only sources of inspiration for this novel, which is a work of dedication. Parallels between these pages and the past or present may be apparent to some readers, but they are completely coincidental. You are free to interpret this art anyway you see fit, and it is meant for your enjoyment.

It was meant to be an easy morning. Emman, Elizien Mallari's older brother, had offered to drop her off at the BGC offices because her car was still in the shop. Emman drove a brilliant red modified sports vehicle that roared like a wounded beast as it pulled up to the curb of the Tan Holdings building. He was a gym aficionado with an even louder laugh.

Elizien responded, "Thanks for the ride, Kuya," and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

"No problem, Bunso! Tell your billionaire boyfriend if he ever makes you cry, I'll take him on in a boxing ring—private jet or no private jet," Emman said as she ruffled her hair.

She got out of the car, and Elizien waved and laughed. She didn't notice the blacked-out SUV idling twenty feet behind them. She didn't see the window roll down just an inch, or the way Zayrius Tan's grip on his steering wheel turned his knuckles into white stones.

Zayrius just saw his Elizien leaning in for a kiss, a shiny red automobile, and a muscular man in a tight t-shirt. The "Dragon" had a full-scale tactical meltdown instead of simply waking up.

10:00 AM: The Boardroom of Terror

The heated atmosphere in the boardroom had turned into a radioactive one. Like a gloomy thunder god, Zayrius, who was now formally the chairman and majority owner, sat at the head of the table. It had been twenty minutes since he had spoken. He only gazed at the quarterly estimates, as though he wanted to burn them to the ground in his mind.

The marketing director's voice faltered as he said, "T-the regional expansion in Cebu is..."

Zayrius yelled, "Trash," in a low, menacing hiss. He closed the folder firmly. In the quiet chamber, it sounded like a gunshot. "Everything in this room is trash today. The numbers are sloppy, the vision is blurred, and the coffee is cold. Why am I paying any of you?"

He turned to face the Head of Logistics. "And you. Why are the trucks in Luzon red? I hate red today. Repaint them."

"B-but sir, the branding—"

"Repaint them!" Zayrius said as he got to his feet. With his hair slightly mussed, his tie unfastened, and his eyes narrowed into obsidian slits, he appeared completely savage. "Meeting adjourned. If I see anyone in the hallway, consider yourself fired for breathing too loudly."

The directors scrambled out of the room so fast that one of them actually tripped over a chair. They didn't just leave; they fled as if the building were collapsing.

11:00 AM: The Office Encounter

Elizien walked into Zayrius' private office an hour later, blissfully unaware of the carnage he had just inflicted on the board. She was carrying a folder and a cup of his favorite coffee.

"Zayrius? Ernesto said you practically chased the board members out with a fire extinguisher. What's wrong?"

Zayrius didn't look up from his desk. He was aggressively signing papers—so hard the pen was tearing through the parchment. "Go back to your office, Ms. Mallari. I'm busy."

Elizien blinked. Ms. Mallari? She walked closer, setting the coffee down. "Wait. Are you... pouting? You're pouting. Your lower lip is literally doing that thing."

He grumbled and looked up at last. "I do not pout," he said. His frown was impressive. "I am the Chairman of a multi-billion-peso conglomerate. I am brooding. There is a difference."

With a cheeky gleam in her eyes, Elizien leaned over his desk. She extended her hand and prodded his cheek. "No, this is definitely a pout. Did the pilots miss their flight? Did someone scratch your plane?"

He yelled, "I saw him, Elizien," and dropped the pen. "The man in the red car. The one with the... the muscles. You kissed him! At the curb! In broad daylight!"

After a moment of freezing, Elizien's mind made the connection. The sterile office reverberated with her shriek of laughter. "You saw Emman? You're jealous of Emman?"

"I don't care if his name is Emman or Apollo!" Zayrius stood up, pacing like a caged tiger. "He was touching your hair. You looked happy! I've been moody all morning, and you're out there in a red car with a gym rat!"

"Zayrius," Elizien breathed heavily while gripping her abdomen. "That's my older brother! He was dropping me off because my car is in the shop!"

Zayrius halted in mid-step. His whole body stiffened. Five awkward, long seconds passed in silence.

"Your... brother?"

"Kuya Emman. The one I told you about? The one who promised to punch you if you were mean to me?" She stepped around the desk and looped her arms around his neck, teasing him. "So, Captain... did you really tell the logistics team to repaint the trucks because you were jealous of my brother?"

Zayrius' face became as red as the red automobile. His grouchy face was completely broken as he cleared his throat and glanced down. "The red was... distracting. It's a safety hazard."

She muttered, "You are such a dork," and pulled him down to kiss him.

"I am a billionaire dork," he muttered against her lips, finally relaxing. "And I still hate that car."

6:00 PM: The NAIA Arrival and the Fainting Spell

As they made their way to the Mallari family house in Quezon City, the tone changed from comedy to intense drama. After a month-long dream vacation to Paris, Elizien's parents had just arrived at NAIA, and Emman had picked them up.

Elizien's anxiety jumped when the SUV arrived at the Mallari residence's modest but immaculate gate. However, Zayrius was once again a nervous wreck, fiddling with his tie every three seconds.

She assured him, "Zayrius, they're just people."

"They are the people who made you," he said gravely in response. "This is more terrifying than a Category 5 typhoon."

They walked into the living room just as her mother, Aling Cora, was showing off a miniature Eiffel Tower souvenir to Emman. Her father, Mang Tomas, was complaining about the price of water in Europe.

"Ma! Pa! I'm home!" exclaimed Elizien.

The parents pivoted. Their gaze shifted from Elizien to the man behind her. There was no mistaking Zayrius Tan. Every newspaper at the airport featured his face. He was the "Dragon" of business and is currently involved in the nation's largest scandal.

Aling Cora's gaze widened. She glanced at Zayrius, then at Elizien, and finally back at the Eiffel Tower she was holding.

Aling Cora muttered, "Elizien... why is the man from the television in our living room?"

"Ma, this is Zayrius. My... my boyfriend."

Aling Cora reached for her heart. Her eyes rolled back a little as she took a single, trembling breath. "Tomas... I think the jet lag is making me see the Forbes list in our house..."

And she passed out directly on the couch with a gentle thud.

Elizien said, "Ma!" and hurried ahead.

8:00 PM: The Permission

The family was finally seated around the dining table after a hectic twenty minutes that included a lot of fan-waving and salt-smelling. Zayrius appeared more modest than Elizien had ever seen him, sitting on a wooden chair that seemed as if it could break beneath his body.

"So," Mang Tomas remarked, drinking his coffee and giving Zayrius a fierce look. "You are the pilot. The one who owns the planes."

"I am, sir," Zayrius stated with a perfectly straight back. "But more importantly, I am the man who loves your daughter."

There was silence in the room. To irritate Zayrius, Emman sat in the corner, flexing his arms and grinning.

"We saw the news," said Mang Tomas. "They say you are a billionaire. They say our Elizien is now a powerful woman in your company. We are simple people, Mr. Tan. We don't want our daughter to be a scandal."

Zayrius leaned forward, the sour tone gone from his voice. It had a weight that even Mang Tomas couldn't deny, and it was steady and real.

"I didn't choose her because of a scandal, sir. I chose her because she is the only person who saw me before she saw my money. I'm not here to make her a headline. I'm here to ask for your permission... to make her my wife. I want to protect her, not as a boss or a billionaire, but as her husband."

Aling Cora, who had recently recovered, started crying again, clutching a napkin. "Tomas, look at his eyes. He looks like he's about to cry, too."

Mang Tomas looked at Zayrius for a long time. Then, he looked at Elizien, who was beaming with tears in her eyes.

After saying, "You fly the planes, Mr. Tan," Mang Tomas at last extended his hand to pat Zayrius'. "But you make sure our Elizien stays on solid ground. If you can do that... then you have our blessing."

A breath that Zayrius had apparently been holding since Palawan was released. He turned to face Elizien, the "Dragon" who had at last found a permanent home.

"Thank you, sir," Zayrius said in a low voice. "I promise... she'll always be my priority flight."