KEIFER'S POV —
I didn't sleep.
Not one minute.
Not after seeing Jay walk out of that club with some guy none of us knew — laughing, hair messy, cheeks flushed, like she belonged in a life I wasn't part of.
The second she disappeared from that parking lot, leaving nothing but dust… I knew something was wrong.
Jay has secrets.
But that night, she felt like a stranger.
A dangerous one.
--- THE NEXT MORNING
I came to school earlier than usual.
Not because of classes.
Because of her.
I needed to see her, confirm she'd gotten home safe, confirm that guy didn't touch her in a way that would make me break his face, confirm—
…confirm she was still Jay.
Section E came in noisy, but the moment Jay walked through the hallway, everything dropped into silence.
She looked…Off.
Not sad.
Not angry.
Just… distant. Pulled back into herself.
She didn't meet my eyes.
Didn't greet anyone.
Didn't even look at the building.
Cin whispered, "She's avoiding you, man."
Yeah. I knew.
I kept my face blank.
But inside, every instinct in my body was clawing to reach her.
--- AFTER SCHOOL — IN THE PARKING LOT
She was waiting alone near the gates.
I pulled up just as Angelo called me.
He asked me to take her because Aries had work.
Jay hesitated.
Not because she didn't trust me.
But because she didn't want to be in a closed space with me.
When she got in… she didn't look at me once.
Not even when I asked if she'd eaten.
Not even when I tried to joke lightly.
Her silence wasn't cold.
It was painful.
Like she was holding something heavy behind her ribs and didn't want me to see.
--- THE PARTY ANNOUNCEMENT
At home, I checked my phone.
Section E GC was exploding:
"EVERYONE COME PRE-PROM PARTY TONIGHT!"
"Big hotel, huge event, let's go!!"
"Jay, come with us!"
Jay didn't reply.
I didn't expect her to.
I ignored the messages — until Cin sent:
"JAY SAID SHE'S COMING."
My entire body tensed.
Coming?
Tonight?
In that mood?
My heartbeat kicked up so hard I had to put my phone down.
Jay doesn't dress up for parties.
Jay doesn't enjoy crowds.
Jay doesn't go unless someone forces her.
So why was she coming now?
Who convinced her?
And why did I feel a knot forming in my stomach?
--- GETTING READY — KEIFER'S POV
I wasn't the type to "get ready."
I usually threw on a jacket and left.
But tonight…
tonight I found myself standing in front of my closet longer than I wanted to admit.
Black shirt — fitted.
Rolled sleeves — she always looked at my hands.
Necklace — simple, silver, the one she once teased me about.
Watch — the one she once adored in the mall
Jacket — black leather, sharp shoulders, clean cut.
I looked at myself in the mirror.
I didn't care about the others.
I only cared about what she would see.
And I hated that I cared.
But I still did.
Because Jay showing up meant something.
Something she wasn't saying.
Something she didn't trust me with.
Yet.
The moment I stepped into that hotel, I felt it.
A shift in the air.
Eyes turning.
Whispers peeling through the room.
A ripple of attention that had nothing to do with Section E or me.
I followed the direction of every stare.
And then I froze.
She stood at the top of the staircase.
Jay.
But not the Jay I knew.
This version…
This was the kind of woman men start wars over.
Black velvet hugging her like sin.
Slit riding high enough to kill someone.
Back bare, smooth, a line of skin that made my jaw clench.
Neck shimmering under the lights.
Hair like a blade, straight and sleek.
A face carved with deadly calm.
She didn't walk down those stairs.
She owned them.
Every guy in that room forgot how to breathe.
And I—
I stopped breathing entirely.
For a second, my mind went blank.
Then something primal snapped awake inside my chest.
Sharp.
Possessive.
Dark.
Like a wolf recognizing the one thing he'd tear the world apart for.
All the noise in the club dimmed into a single thought:
Mine.
It was irrational.Hypocritical.Dangerous.
But I felt it anyway.
Some bastard near the bar actually muttered, "Holy sh*t—Is that Jay the section e girl?"
I didn't realize how hard my fists had curled until I felt my rings bite into my palm.
Section E didn't even dare speak.
Rory looked like he'd swallowed his tongue.
Cin's eyes went wide.
Eren whispered, "Keif… don't… kill anyone."
But I barely heard them.
Jay kept descending the stairs, each step calculated, hips moving slow, deliberate, like she was built to be stared at.
And every stare around me made my blood run hotter.
A girl like her shouldn't walk like that in public.
Not with people like me in the world.
Not with eyes like theirs watching her.
Not with that dress that made every man around swallow hard.
My jaw ticked.
Every part of me—
The fighter, the criminal, the leader, the man who's buried bodies and walked out clean—
Every part screamed to drag her out of that spotlight.
Lock her somewhere safe.
Somewhere only I could see her like this.
Only me.
My pulse hammered at my throat.
Because I knew one thing with absolute clarity:
If anyone touched her—
If anyone even reached out—
I'd break their hand without hesitation.
And if she belonged to someone else—
…God help him.
Because I wouldn't.
Not tonight.
Not now.
Not after seeing her like that.
She finally reached the bottom of the stairs…
And then she lifted her chin—
and looked straight at me.
Cold.
Beautiful.
Untouchable.
And I felt my entire self, all the control I pride myself on---fracture.
She reached the last step.
My breath stilled.
All she had to do was walk toward me.
One step.
Just one.
And I would've taken her hand, pulled her close, claimed her in front of every bastard staring.
But instead—
She moved her eyes away.
Her gaze slid past me like I was just another shadow in the room.
And then she walked—
straight to David.
My vision snapped.
He didn't even hesitate—
the bastard wrapped an arm around her waist like it was natural.
Like he had the right.
Like she was his.
Heat slammed into my skull so fast everything went white for a second.
David?
DAVID?
He knew.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
And Jay—
She leaned into him.
Smiling.
Like I wasn't standing ten feet away, burning alive.
Cin whispered under his breath, "Oh, f*ck…"
Eren muttered, "Keifer, don't—don't do anything stupid—"
Too late.
My blood was already a storm.
Jay looked up at David, her voice soft, sweet, deadly:
"Let's go."
Not Keifer.
Not even Section E.
David.
"Wait—what about us?" Rory asked, still staring at them.
Jay turned her head slightly, the faintest smirk playing on her lips.
"We're on a date."
A date.
A DATE?
Something inside my chest cracked so hard it echoed in my ears.
David froze for a second, like he didn't expect her to say it either—but he played along, tightening his hold on her waist as if to drive the knife deeper.
The entire club went silent.
People watched.
Whispered.
And Jay…
She didn't even look at me.Not once.
She walked away with him, her dress swaying, slit offering sinful flashes of thigh that made half the room stare—
and every stare made me want to put someone through a wall.
My jaw locked so tight I tasted blood.
Cin whispered, "Dude, you're gonna explode."
I didn't answer.
I was still watching her.Watching him touch her.Watching her let him.
A storm roared under my skin—
a mix of jealousy, fury, and something more desperate, more dangerous.
Because the girl I crossed an ocean for—
the one I bled for,
the one whose scream I still hear at night—
was walking away with someone else.
Acting like I didn't exist.
Acting like I hadn't come back for her.
Acting like she wasn't mine — not even a little.
And the worst part?
She knew.
She knew exactly what she was doing.
And that smile she gave David…
It wasn't happiness.
It was war.
A message aimed straight at my chest:
"If you think you can break me and walk back into my life—watch me break you first."
And God help me—
I'd let her.
I'd burn for her.
I'd bleed for her.
But tonight?
Tonight I watched the girl I love—
walk away with another man.
And for the first time in years—
I felt fear.
Because losing her in a battlefield was one thing.
Losing her to someone she chose?
That was a death I wasn't ready for.
Not now. Not ever..