I SAW YOU FIRST
∘∘∘ ???????? ?????? ᭄ # ᥫ᭡
Some people believe that love can drive a person insane. Others believe that it is insanity that makes someone call it love.
No one truly knows where the line between the two lies. Until someone disappears. Then someone dies.
And the secrets that have been buried for years begin to surface, one by one.
Everyone searches for the culprit. Everyone searches for the monster.
They point fingers at those who seem suspicious. They accuse those who appear different. They believe monsters are always easy to recognize.
But reality is nothing like that. Because the most dangerous monsters are the ones who look the most ordinary. They smile. They laugh.
They live their lives like everyone else. Then one day, Available on the Wattpad app Available on the Wattpad app Available on the Wattpad app Available on the Wattpad app Available on the Wattpad app Available on the Wattpad app Available on the Wattpad app Available on the Wattpad app Available on the Wattpad app Available on the Wattpad app Available on the Wattpad app Available on the Wattpad appwhen it's already too late to stop them, people finally realize that the monster has been standing among them all along.
Watching. Waiting. And loving in all the wrong ways.
?
"Her name is carved into my heart, as deeply as the wound I left behind that night."
— MR. V
CHAPTER 01
Rain had been falling since late afternoon, with no sign of stopping.
The sky was a deep shade of gray, as if it were holding something heavier than rain itself. The streets were covered in puddles that reflected the glow of passing headlights, creating faint shadows that drifted with the night.
Amid the crowd, someone was watching a woman.
Not by chance.
Not out of curiosity.
He had come to watch her.
Just as he always did.
Zarcio stood beneath the awning of an old building across the street. The shoulders of his tailored black suit were slightly damp from the rain.
Both hands rested in his pockets as his gaze remained fixed on the same spot for nearly an hour.
A bus stop.
There, a young woman waited for the rain to ease.
Laura.
Her long hair fell past her shoulders, a few strands clinging to her cheeks in the humid air. She wore a light-colored jacket that made her easy to recognize, even from a distance.
Zarcio noticed every movement she made.
The way she occasionally checked her phone.
The way she shifted her weight when the cold began to bother her.
The quiet sigh that escaped her lips whenever the rain grew heavier.
The kind of little things no one else would ever notice.
But Zarcio noticed them.
Always.
Far more than he ever should have.
It had been almost two years.
Two years since he first saw Laura walking out of a bookstore on an ordinary afternoon.
Two years since something he could never explain began growing inside him.
At first, it was simple.
He only wanted to see her again.
Then he wanted to know her name.
Then where she studied.
Where she lived.
Her daily routine.
And eventually...
Everything.
Without realizing it, curiosity had become something much larger.
Something that could no longer be called ordinary attraction.
Laura finally left the bus stop as the rain began to fade.
She slipped her phone into her bag and stepped out from beneath the shelter.
An older woman who had been standing nearby smiled.
"The rain's been going on forever, hasn't it?"
Laura returned the smile politely.
"Yeah. I thought it'd get even heavier."
"Luckily it's calming down now."
Laura nodded before continuing on her way.
Zarcio waited a few seconds before following behind.
Not too close.
Not too far.
The perfect distance.
A distance he had memorized long ago.
Laura walked calmly along the sidewalk.
A man passing by glanced at her twice.
Zarcio saw it.
His expression turned cold.
He hated it when people looked at Laura for too long.
The feeling always came back.
An irrational ache.
A tightness in his chest.
As though someone was taking something away from him.
Even though Laura belonged to no one.
They barely even knew each other.
But logic doesn't always win.
Especially once obsession takes over.
Laura stopped in front of a convenience store and walked inside.
"Good evening," the cashier greeted warmly.
"Evening."
She picked up a bottle of water, a few snacks, then paused in front of the candy shelf.
"Strawberry candy again?" the cashier asked with a grin.
Laura laughed softly.
"Is it that obvious?"
"You buy it all the time."
She smiled.
"Maybe I just need something sweet."
Zarcio remained outside.
Waiting.
A few minutes later, Laura stepped out carrying a small plastic bag.
Water.
Snacks.
Strawberry candy.
He glanced at the contents.
Then committed them to memory.
Laura always bought strawberry candy whenever she was stressed.
He had noticed the pattern long ago.
Laura didn't know it.
But Zarcio did.
In fact, he knew more about her than most of the people around her.
Night had fully settled by the time Laura arrived home.
A quiet two-story house stood waiting for her.
The porch light was on.
Several upstairs windows were still glowing.
She unlocked the gate.
Walked inside.
Then disappeared behind the front door.
Zarcio stopped at the end of the street, silently watching the house.
As though confirming something.
Moments later, Laura's bedroom light came on upstairs.
Only then did he turn away.
As if his task for the night had finally been completed.
Zarcio's apartment wasn't far from downtown.
Small.
Barely enough for one person.
Yet it held something no one else would ever be allowed to see.
Once the front door closed behind him, he walked toward a room that was always locked.
He opened it.
Darkness.
Silence.
And photographs.
Photos of Laura covered the walls, the desk, shelves, folders...
Everywhere.
Hundreds of them.
Some taken from afar.
Others captured while Laura had no idea she was being watched.
Laura laughing with friends.
Laura reading a book.
Waiting at a traffic light.
Sitting alone in a park.
Ordinary moments.
Moments that meant nothing to anyone else.
But to Zarcio...
They were priceless.
He placed his camera on the desk.
Then opened a thick notebook.
Every page was filled with neat handwriting.
Dates.
Times.
Locations.
Activities.
Everything about Laura.
He added a new entry.
Today's date.
The exact time.
Everything she had done.
Everything she had bought.
How long she had waited at the bus stop.
Every detail.
After finishing, he closed the notebook slowly.
His eyes settled on a photograph standing in front of him.
Laura smiling.
A smile that wasn't meant for him.
Yet somehow...
It always felt as though she were smiling back.
Night grew quieter.
His mind did not.
One thing had been bothering him all day.
A man.
The same man who had been around Laura several times over the past few days.
Too often.
Smiling at her.
Making her laugh.
Zarcio hated him.
He didn't even know who the man was.
But his existence had become an irritation.
Like a tiny stain on white paper.
Perhaps insignificant.
Perhaps harmless.
But enough to make someone want to erase it.
And Zarcio despised interruptions.
The next morning, sunlight finally returned.
The air remained cool after the night's rain.
Laura walked out of the university gates carrying several books.
She looked exhausted.
Maybe from assignments.
Maybe from lack of sleep.
"Laura!"
Someone called from behind.
She turned.
The same man.
The one Zarcio couldn't stand.
"Just finished class?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"You look tired."
"I am."
He chuckled.
"You're brutally honest."
"I don't have enough energy to lie."
Their laughter sounded light.
Ordinary.
Nothing special.
Yet Zarcio hated hearing it.
He followed them to a café.
Watched them sit by the window.
Watched the man smile at Laura.
Watched Laura smile back.
For the first time in months...
Zarcio felt anger.
Not ordinary anger.
Something quieter.
Something deeper.
Something dangerous.
Because he never showed his emotions.
He buried them.
Let them pile up.
Until one day...
Everything would explode.
That night, Zarcio didn't go home immediately.
He sat inside his parked car.
His eyes fixed on the screen of his laptop.
The man's social media profile filled the display.
Finding it hadn't been difficult.
Zarcio was good at gathering information.
Names.
Workplace.
Address.
Close friends.
Everything.
All it took was patience.
He scrolled through old photos.
Read comments.
Checked every detail.
Eventually...
He discovered one thing.
The man wasn't Laura's boyfriend.
Not yet.
But he was clearly trying to become one.
That information should have relieved him.
Strangely...
It didn't.
Instead, it confirmed that the threat was real.
The man wanted something.
Something Zarcio believed no one deserved to have.
He slowly closed the laptop.
Silence filled the car once more.
He remained motionless.
Thinking.
Calculating.
While somewhere else...
Laura lived her evening as usual.
Completely unaware that someone had spent hours thinking about her.
Unaware that every step she took was being watched.
Every habit recorded.
Every person who came close to her carefully observed.
And perhaps...
That was the most terrifying part.
Because the greatest dangers are rarely the ones we can see.
They are the ones hiding where we never think to look.
Close to midnight, Zarcio returned to Laura's house.
The street was empty.
His phone vibrated.
Vesper flashed across the screen.
He answered.
"What?"
"Damn. You're always so friendly."
"What do you want?"
"Where are you?"
"Out."
"Out where?"
Zarcio said nothing.
A long sigh came from the other end.
"You're following that girl again, aren't you?"
Silence.
"Zar?"
"Stay out of it."
"One day, this obsession of yours is going to cause trouble."
The call ended.
Most of the lights inside the house had gone out.
Only Laura's bedroom remained lit.
Zarcio stood beneath the shadow of a large tree.
Watching the second-floor window.
Five minutes.
Maybe thirty.
Time always felt different when he was watching Laura.
Then...
The bedroom light went out.
Darkness swallowed the window.
Laura had gone to sleep.
Zarcio stayed there a little longer before finally turning away.
But just as he took another step...
Something caught his eye.
A shadow.
Quick.
Almost impossible to notice.
As though someone had been standing behind the curtain before disappearing.
Zarcio stopped walking.
His eyes remained fixed on the dark window.
Maybe he was imagining things.
Maybe it was only exhaustion.
Or maybe...
Not.
For the first time that night, an unfamiliar feeling crept into his chest.
The unsettling sensation that someone...
Had been watching him back.
His heartbeat quickened ever so slightly.
Without realizing that he wasn't the only one carrying a secret home that night.
Because behind the darkened window...
Someone was still awake.
Standing in silence.
Watching the empty street.
Watching the very place where Zarcio had been standing.
Then...
Slowly...
The curtain closed.
And a faint smile appeared.
❀
"Some glances last for a moment. Others become an obsession. This story begins with the latter." — MR. V
The sky was a deep shade of gray, as if it were holding something heavier than rain itself. The streets were covered in puddles that reflected the glow of passing headlights, creating faint shadows that drifted with the night.
Amid the crowd, someone was watching a woman.
Not by chance.
Not out of curiosity.
He had come to watch her.
Just as he always did.
Zarcio stood beneath the awning of an old building across the street. The shoulders of his tailored black suit were slightly damp from the rain.
Both hands rested in his pockets as his gaze remained fixed on the same spot for nearly an hour.
A bus stop.
There, a young woman waited for the rain to ease.
Laura.
Her long hair fell past her shoulders, a few strands clinging to her cheeks in the humid air. She wore a light-colored jacket that made her easy to recognize, even from a distance.
Zarcio noticed every movement she made.
The way she occasionally checked her phone.
The way she shifted her weight when the cold began to bother her.
The quiet sigh that escaped her lips whenever the rain grew heavier.
The kind of little things no one else would ever notice.
But Zarcio noticed them.
Always.
Far more than he ever should have.
It had been almost two years.
Two years since he first saw Laura walking out of a bookstore on an ordinary afternoon.
Two years since something he could never explain began growing inside him.
At first, it was simple.
He only wanted to see her again.
Then he wanted to know her name.
Then where she studied.
Where she lived.
Her daily routine.
And eventually...
Everything.
Without realizing it, curiosity had become something much larger.
Something that could no longer be called ordinary attraction.
Laura finally left the bus stop as the rain began to fade.
She slipped her phone into her bag and stepped out from beneath the shelter.
An older woman who had been standing nearby smiled.
"The rain's been going on forever, hasn't it?"
Laura returned the smile politely.
"Yeah. I thought it'd get even heavier."
"Luckily it's calming down now."
Laura nodded before continuing on her way.
Zarcio waited a few seconds before following behind.
Not too close.
Not too far.
The perfect distance.
A distance he had memorized long ago.
Laura walked calmly along the sidewalk.
A man passing by glanced at her twice.
Zarcio saw it.
His expression turned cold.
He hated it when people looked at Laura for too long.
The feeling always came back.
An irrational ache.
A tightness in his chest.
As though someone was taking something away from him.
Even though Laura belonged to no one.
They barely even knew each other.
But logic doesn't always win.
Especially once obsession takes over.
Laura stopped in front of a convenience store and walked inside.
"Good evening," the cashier greeted warmly.
"Evening."
She picked up a bottle of water, a few snacks, then paused in front of the candy shelf.
"Strawberry candy again?" the cashier asked with a grin.
Laura laughed softly.
"Is it that obvious?"
"You buy it all the time."
She smiled.
"Maybe I just need something sweet."
Zarcio remained outside.
Waiting.
A few minutes later, Laura stepped out carrying a small plastic bag.
Water.
Snacks.
Strawberry candy.
He glanced at the contents.
Then committed them to memory.
Laura always bought strawberry candy whenever she was stressed.
He had noticed the pattern long ago.
Laura didn't know it.
But Zarcio did.
In fact, he knew more about her than most of the people around her.
Night had fully settled by the time Laura arrived home.
A quiet two-story house stood waiting for her.
The porch light was on.
Several upstairs windows were still glowing.
She unlocked the gate.
Walked inside.
Then disappeared behind the front door.
Zarcio stopped at the end of the street, silently watching the house.
As though confirming something.
Moments later, Laura's bedroom light came on upstairs.
Only then did he turn away.
As if his task for the night had finally been completed.
Zarcio's apartment wasn't far from downtown.
Small.
Barely enough for one person.
Yet it held something no one else would ever be allowed to see.
Once the front door closed behind him, he walked toward a room that was always locked.
He opened it.
Darkness.
Silence.
And photographs.
Photos of Laura covered the walls, the desk, shelves, folders...
Everywhere.
Hundreds of them.
Some taken from afar.
Others captured while Laura had no idea she was being watched.
Laura laughing with friends.
Laura reading a book.
Waiting at a traffic light.
Sitting alone in a park.
Ordinary moments.
Moments that meant nothing to anyone else.
But to Zarcio...
They were priceless.
He placed his camera on the desk.
Then opened a thick notebook.
Every page was filled with neat handwriting.
Dates.
Times.
Locations.
Activities.
Everything about Laura.
He added a new entry.
Today's date.
The exact time.
Everything she had done.
Everything she had bought.
How long she had waited at the bus stop.
Every detail.
After finishing, he closed the notebook slowly.
His eyes settled on a photograph standing in front of him.
Laura smiling.
A smile that wasn't meant for him.
Yet somehow...
It always felt as though she were smiling back.
Night grew quieter.
His mind did not.
One thing had been bothering him all day.
A man.
The same man who had been around Laura several times over the past few days.
Too often.
Smiling at her.
Making her laugh.
Zarcio hated him.
He didn't even know who the man was.
But his existence had become an irritation.
Like a tiny stain on white paper.
Perhaps insignificant.
Perhaps harmless.
But enough to make someone want to erase it.
And Zarcio despised interruptions.
The next morning, sunlight finally returned.
The air remained cool after the night's rain.
Laura walked out of the university gates carrying several books.
She looked exhausted.
Maybe from assignments.
Maybe from lack of sleep.
"Laura!"
Someone called from behind.
She turned.
The same man.
The one Zarcio couldn't stand.
"Just finished class?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"You look tired."
"I am."
He chuckled.
"You're brutally honest."
"I don't have enough energy to lie."
Their laughter sounded light.
Ordinary.
Nothing special.
Yet Zarcio hated hearing it.
He followed them to a café.
Watched them sit by the window.
Watched the man smile at Laura.
Watched Laura smile back.
For the first time in months...
Zarcio felt anger.
Not ordinary anger.
Something quieter.
Something deeper.
Something dangerous.
Because he never showed his emotions.
He buried them.
Let them pile up.
Until one day...
Everything would explode.
That night, Zarcio didn't go home immediately.
He sat inside his parked car.
His eyes fixed on the screen of his laptop.
The man's social media profile filled the display.
Finding it hadn't been difficult.
Zarcio was good at gathering information.
Names.
Workplace.
Address.
Close friends.
Everything.
All it took was patience.
He scrolled through old photos.
Read comments.
Checked every detail.
Eventually...
He discovered one thing.
The man wasn't Laura's boyfriend.
Not yet.
But he was clearly trying to become one.
That information should have relieved him.
Strangely...
It didn't.
Instead, it confirmed that the threat was real.
The man wanted something.
Something Zarcio believed no one deserved to have.
He slowly closed the laptop.
Silence filled the car once more.
He remained motionless.
Thinking.
Calculating.
While somewhere else...
Laura lived her evening as usual.
Completely unaware that someone had spent hours thinking about her.
Unaware that every step she took was being watched.
Every habit recorded.
Every person who came close to her carefully observed.
And perhaps...
That was the most terrifying part.
Because the greatest dangers are rarely the ones we can see.
They are the ones hiding where we never think to look.
Close to midnight, Zarcio returned to Laura's house.
The street was empty.
His phone vibrated.
Vesper flashed across the screen.
He answered.
"What?"
"Damn. You're always so friendly."
"What do you want?"
"Where are you?"
"Out."
"Out where?"
Zarcio said nothing.
A long sigh came from the other end.
"You're following that girl again, aren't you?"
Silence.
"Zar?"
"Stay out of it."
"One day, this obsession of yours is going to cause trouble."
The call ended.
Most of the lights inside the house had gone out.
Only Laura's bedroom remained lit.
Zarcio stood beneath the shadow of a large tree.
Watching the second-floor window.
Five minutes.
Maybe thirty.
Time always felt different when he was watching Laura.
Then...
The bedroom light went out.
Darkness swallowed the window.
Laura had gone to sleep.
Zarcio stayed there a little longer before finally turning away.
But just as he took another step...
Something caught his eye.
A shadow.
Quick.
Almost impossible to notice.
As though someone had been standing behind the curtain before disappearing.
Zarcio stopped walking.
His eyes remained fixed on the dark window.
Maybe he was imagining things.
Maybe it was only exhaustion.
Or maybe...
Not.
For the first time that night, an unfamiliar feeling crept into his chest.
The unsettling sensation that someone...
Had been watching him back.
His heartbeat quickened ever so slightly.
Without realizing that he wasn't the only one carrying a secret home that night.
Because behind the darkened window...
Someone was still awake.
Standing in silence.
Watching the empty street.
Watching the very place where Zarcio had been standing.
Then...
Slowly...
The curtain closed.
And a faint smile appeared.
❀
"Some glances last for a moment. Others become an obsession. This story begins with the latter." — MR. V
Chapter 1
— CHAPTER 01