Chapter 71 — The Problem With Aurora
Keifer woke up to absolute betrayal.
Specifically—
Jay was gone.
He sat up immediately on the bed before looking around the villa with sleepy confusion. The balcony doors were open slightly, ocean wind moving through the curtains while distant laughter echoed from outside.
Keifer frowned.
Laughter?
At this hour?
He grabbed a shirt quickly before walking outside barefoot.
And immediately regretted opening his eyes.
Jay was sitting on the beach wrapped in a blanket while Aurora sat behind her braiding her hair carefully.
Very carefully.
Too carefully.
The morning sunlight reflected against the ocean while Chloe sat nearby reading peacefully. Noah and Adam were half-asleep near a dying bonfire while Matthew looked spiritually exhausted from existing.
Meanwhile Jay was aggressively eating fruit while Aurora kept fixing strands of her hair every five seconds.
"You move too much," Aurora complained.
"You braid like an angry auntie."
"You look homeless without help."
"Rude."
Aurora shoved another mango slice into Jay's mouth before she could continue talking.
Keifer stopped walking.
Sebastian walked beside him carrying coffee.
Neither of them spoke for a few seconds.
Then Keifer finally asked quietly,
"…Should we be concerned?"
Sebastian took a slow sip of coffee.
"I asked myself that four years ago."
Keifer looked at him immediately. "And?"
"I never received clarity."
Keifer stared back toward Jay and Aurora again.
Jay had now fully leaned back against Aurora while still eating fruit dramatically.
Aurora continued braiding her hair like this was the most normal thing in the world.
Meanwhile everybody else looked completely unbothered.
Noah suddenly opened one eye before noticing Keifer and Sebastian staring.
Then he sat up dramatically.
"Oh my God."
"Noah," Matthew warned immediately.
But it was already too late.
"The boyfriends are jealous again."
Jay in the background said or better.....yelled "you motherfucking asshole son of a bitch Noah , keifer is not my boyfriend , I think you inherited some virus from Per--nevermind "
"We are not jealous," Keifer replied instantly and thought what jay was going to talk about
Sebastian looked calm. "Speak for yourself."
Keifer turned slowly toward him.
"You too?!"
Sebastian looked genuinely offended. "Aurora kissed Jay's forehead for ten whole seconds yesterday."
"That was because she was stressed," Chloe replied without looking up from her book.
Keifer blinked slowly. "That's considered normal?"
"Yes," everyone except him and Sebastian answered immediately.
Jay finally looked toward them while still half laying against Aurora.
"Why are you all staring at us like traumatized Victorian men?"
Keifer crossed his arms. "You're sitting suspiciously."
Aurora raised an eyebrow. "Suspiciously?"
"Yes."
Jay looked deeply offended now. "What the fuck does that even mean?"
Sebastian sighed quietly. "You two behave like divorced soulmates."
Noah immediately screamed into the sand laughing.
Matthew pinched the bridge of his nose.
Aurora looked toward Sebastian blankly. "You're emotionally unstable."
"And you held her hand for twenty minutes during dinner."
"She was irritated."
Jay nodded seriously. "I required emotional support."
Keifer looked at Sebastian slowly.
Sebastian looked back.
And somehow both of them silently agreed: this situation was concerning.
Then Noah jumped to his feet dramatically.
"WAIT."
Everybody looked at him cautiously now.
Noah pointed toward Jay and Aurora dramatically.
"THEY EVEN MATCH."
Silence.
Keifer looked again.
White oversized shirts.
Black shorts.
Same silver jewelry.
Same irritated expressions.
"Oh my God," Keifer muttered.
"We look good," Jay defended immediately.
"You look married," Matthew corrected.
Noah collapsed onto the sand screaming again.
Aurora looked completely calm. "I don't see the issue."
"That's the issue," Sebastian replied.
Jay suddenly stood up before walking toward Keifer with narrowed eyes.
"You're being weird."
"You and Aurora are emotionally suspicious."
Jay stared at him blankly for a few seconds.
Then turned toward Aurora.
"He's stupid."
Aurora nodded immediately. "Very."
Keifer looked betrayed.
"You're enabling each other."
"That's called friendship," Chloe said softly.
"No," Noah interrupted while wiping fake tears dramatically. "That's called yearning."
Jay threw a shell directly at his head.
Noah dodged it barely.
"MURDER ATTEMPT."
"FAILED unfortunately," Jay yelled back.
Keifer watched her laugh afterward.
Actually laugh.
Bright enough that even Aurora smiled slightly watching her.
And weirdly—
That softened something in him immediately.
Because as chaotic as this entire group was…
Jay looked genuinely happy around them.
Not guarded.
Not exhausted.
Not carrying the entire weight of the world on her shoulders every second.
Just alive.
Then Aurora suddenly looked toward Keifer.
"You're staring again."
Keifer blinked once. "What?"
"You keep staring at her."
Jay nearly choked on air. "Aurora."
Keifer smirked slightly. "Maybe she's just hard not to look at."
The entire beach immediately went silent.
Noah's jaw dropped dramatically.
Matthew whispered, "Oh that was smooth."
Jay looked horrified.
Actually horrified.
Aurora narrowed her eyes at Keifer suspiciously now.
"No," she decided immediately.
Keifer laughed quietly. "No?"
"No."
"You don't even know what I was going to say."
"I don't trust your face."
Jay snorted loudly while Sebastian looked deeply entertained for the first time all morning.
"Oh this is going to become a problem," Chloe murmured softly.
And honestly?
She was absolutely right.
Because sometimes the most dangerous thing in the world isn't enemies becoming closer… it's two people slowly learning how impossible life feels without each other in it.