Chapter 69 — The People Jay Never Talked About
The island had been suspiciously peaceful for the last few days.
Jay hated peaceful things.
Peaceful things usually meant something terrible was waiting around the corner preparing to ruin her mental stability.
She was currently sitting on the kitchen counter wearing Keifer's hoodie while eating cold mango slices straight from the container. Her hair was messy from sleep, one leg swinging lazily against the cabinet while Keifer struggled in front of the coffee machine like it personally insulted his bloodline.
"You've been pressing the same button for two minutes," Jay said without looking up from her phone.
Keifer frowned at the machine. "It's blinking at me aggressively."
"It's a coffee maker, not a villain."
"You're taking its side?"
"I support women's rights and wrongs."
Keifer looked at her slowly before laughing quietly under his breath.
God.
This still felt weird sometimes.
Not bad weird.
Just unfamiliar.
Jay being calm around him.
Jay sitting near him without immediately threatening violence.
Jay stealing his clothes like she paid rent there.
It felt dangerously domestic.
And honestly?
Keifer liked it way too much.
He finally gave up on the coffee machine before walking toward her with dramatic disappointment. "Your future husband is suffering."
Jay almost choked on mango. "My future what?"
"Wow," Keifer said sadly. "No faith in us."
"There is no us."
"You kissed me yesterday."
"That was temporary insanity."
"Twice."
Jay immediately pointed at him. "Shut the fuck up."
Keifer grinned proudly while leaning against the counter beside her.
Then suddenly—
Jay froze.
It wasn't obvious.
Most people probably wouldn't notice it.
But Keifer noticed everything about her now.
The way her fingers stopped moving.
The way her expression sharpenn0d slightly.
The way her body went still.
Keifer straightened automatically. "Jay?"
She slowly looked toward the open windows facing the ocean.
Far away across the water—
Several yachts were approaching the island.
Large black ones.
And above them—
Helicopters.
Jay stared for a few seconds before dragging a hand down her face.
"No."
Keifer frowned. "No?"
"You have GOT to be FUCKING kidding me."
The helicopters got louder as they approached.
Wind moved through the trees harder now while the ocean waves crashed louder against the shore.
Keifer walked closer beside her. "Do you know them?"
Jay sighed dramatically like life had betrayed her personally.
"Unfortunately."
That answer explained absolutely nothing.
Within minutes the yachts stopped near the island.
Several people stepped out first.
Men in dark suits.
Women dressed elegantly enough to look unreal.
Everybody looked expensive.
Not just rich.
The kind of expensive that came with terrifying confidence.
Keifer narrowed his eyes slightly.
Who the hell casually arrived on helicopters to visit someone?
Then another figure stepped out from the largest yacht.
Tall.
Dark gray suit.
Cold expression.
The man removed his sunglasses before looking directly at Jay.
Then he sighed.
"There you are."
Jay looked exhausted already. "Sebastian."
Keifer blinked once.
Wait.
Sebastian?
As in Sebastian James Cavendish?
The Sebastian Cavendish?
CEO of Cavendish Capital?
Why the hell did Jay know people like THAT?
Sebastian walked toward them calmly while the others followed behind him.
"You disappeared," he said flatly.
"I wanted peace."
"You vanished for almost two weeks."
"I was healing emotionally."
"You bought an island."
Jay pointed toward Keifer immediately. "HE bought the island."
Keifer casually added, "ALL of it's under her name."
Sebastian finally looked toward Keifer properly.
And for some reason—
The atmosphere immediately became weird.
Not hostile exactly.
Just two men silently judging each other.
Jay looked between them before groaning loudly.
"Oh my God. Absolutely not."
Keifer raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"You two are doing that male staring thing."
Sebastian looked calm. "I'm observing."
"That sounds serial killer-ish."
"You're dramatic."
"Says the billionaire who arrived with helicopters."
Before Sebastian could reply, another woman walked straight toward Jay.
White outfit.
Sharp eyes.
Beautiful enough to make magazines cry.
She grabbed Jay's face suddenly.
"You lost weight."
Jay looked offended immediately. "Aurora, hello to you too."
"You disappeared."
"I was relaxing."
"You look sleep deprived."
"I AM sleep deprived."
Keifer blinked again.
Aurora?
Rosemary Aurora Sinclair?
CEO of Sinclair Luminara Corp?
Who the actual fuck were these people?
Another woman approached with a soft smile next.
"Jay."
Jay immediately pointed at her threateningly. "Chloe, if you comment on my appearance too, I'm drowning everyone."
Clara Rose Laurent laughed quietly. "I was just going to ask if you're sleeping properly."
"No."
"Expected."
More people started walking toward them after that.
A blond guy immediately hugged Jay while she almost shoved him into the sand.
"Noah," she groaned.
"We missed you."
"I was happier before hearing your voice."
Another man laughed beside him. "Still violent. Good sign."
"Adam," Jay muttered. "You're alive unfortunately."
"Emotionally hurt but yes."
A woman with dark hair crossed her arms. "You ignored ninety-three calls."
Jay shrugged. "I was mentally unavailable."
"That explains the island."
Then another man stepped forward lazily while fixing his sleeves.
Matthew Reynard Whitmore.
Keifer genuinely felt his brain malfunction slightly.
These weren't random rich friends.
These were some of the most powerful people in the world.
And somehow—
They were all casually standing around Jay like this was normal.
Jay smirked slightly at Matthew. "Hi, Leo."
Matthew looked disgusted instantly. "Don't call me that."
Noah barked loudly.
Matthew slowly turned toward him. "You're unbelievably irritating."
"It's natural talent."
Jay snorted quietly while Keifer stared at all of them like he accidentally entered another dimension.
Because none of this made sense.
Jay never talked about these people.
Never mentioned them.
Never mentioned knowing billionaires personally.
Yet here they were.
Comfortable around her.
Close to her.
Like they'd known her forever.
Aurora suddenly glanced around the island before smirking slightly. "So this is where you disappeared to."
Jay crossed her arms. "I was avoiding humanity."
"You ignored all of us."
"I ignore everyone equally."
"That's true," Chloe admitted.
Sebastian glanced toward Keifer briefly before looking back at Jay. "You could've at least sent a proper message."
Then she said looking at keifer" And you are that fucking asshole Mark Keifer Watson, who made that fucking plan and hurt jay "
"I am sorry and I am truly trying to make it up for that , even when i know never be truly able to make it up "
Aurora ignored him.
Aurora deadpanned to jay , "'Alive unfortunately' is not a proper message."
"It communicated information."
Keifer laughed quietly before stopping himself.
Everybody looked toward him suddenly.
Jay pointed aggressively. "Don't encourage them."
Too late.
Noah immediately grinned. "Ohhh. She likes this one."
Jay looked horrified. "No."
Keifer looked way too amused now.
Adam crossed his arms while staring at them carefully. "Wait… this is Keifer Watson?"
Jay immediately looked annoyed. "Unfortunately."
"That's rude," Keifer said.
"You kidnapped me."
"You kissed me after."
Jay nearly threw a shell at his face.
The group instantly burst into laughter (except Aurora and Sebastian)while Keifer looked ridiculously proud of himself and sad at the same time.
Jay stared at all of them like betrayal had entered her life personally.
"You people are disgusting."
"No," Noah replied. "We're invested."
Then suddenly—
Matthew spoke more quietly.
"The London issue resurfaced again."
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Jay's smile disappeared.
Keifer noticed it first.
Always London.
Every single time that city was mentioned, something in Jay changed.
Aurora's expression softened slightly. "We handled it before it spread."
Jay nodded once.
No jokes now.
No sarcasm.
Nothing.
Sebastian looked at her carefully. "You okay?"
"Define okay."
"That bad, huh?"
Jay looked away toward the ocean instead of answering.
And weirdly—
That hurt Keifer more than he expected.
Because for the first time…
He realized there were entire parts of Jay's life he knew absolutely nothing about.
Entire worlds.
Entire histories.
Entire pains.
And somehow the people standing around her right now understood those things without needing explanations.
Keifer looked at Jay quietly while the ocean wind moved through her hair.
And for the first time since meeting her—
He realized Jay wasn't just complicated.
She was hidden.
Some people carry secrets quietly… while others build entire worlds around them so nobody notices they're bleeding underneath.