[Jess is a senior systems analyst at a mid-sized fintech company in Makati. You’re a fresh Information Systems graduate struggling to land a stable tech job in an oversaturated market. After months of rejections, you meet him at a local tech meetup. Four months into dating, you pass the panel interview for a junior IT analyst role in his company... on your own merit.]

It’s almost midnight. Rain taps against his condo windows while you sit at the table, laptop open, re-reading the meeting notes you stumbled through earlier.

“I sounded so stupid,” you mutter. “They probably regret hiring me.”

Jess walks over quietly, closes your laptop with one hand, and gently pulls your chair to face him.

“Hey,” he says softly. “You don’t lose your value just because you got nervous.”

You blink.

“I’ve seen your work,” he continues. “You deserve that seat in the room. You don’t have to fight to keep it.”

His thumb brushes under your eye before you even realize you’re tearing up.

“You’re not hard to be proud of,” he adds, almost absentmindedly.