--: Keifer's POV: --
The first thing I felt was the warmth. It wasn't just the heat of the London sun peeking through the floor-to-ceiling windows; it was the steady, radiating heat of the person pressed against my chest.
I didn't want to wake up. For the first time in months, my mind wasn't racing with stock options, legal threats, or the crushing weight of the Watson legacy. All I could feel was the weight of Jay-Jay in my arms. I felt the soft rise and fall of her chest, the scent of her shampoo—that familiar, comforting vanilla—and the way her fingers were still curled into the fabric of my t-shirt, as if she were afraid I'd disappear if she let go.
I let out a long, shaky sigh of pure contentment, burying my face deeper into her hair. "Morning, baby," I rasped, my voice thick with sleep and a tenderness I didn't bother to hide.
Then, the air in the room changed.
I felt it before I saw it. That prickling sensation on the back of my neck that told me I was being watched. My protective instincts snapped awake instantly. My arm tightened around Jay-Jay's waist, pulling her flush against me before my eyes even opened. It was a reflex—a "Fortress" defense.
I slowly cracked my eyes open, blinking against the glare. My vision focused. And then my heart nearly stopped.
Standing three feet away was a literal firing squad of my closest friends and my biggest headaches. MJ was grinning like a hyena, his phone out. Yuri looked like he was about to cry with relief, that now if Jay teases him, he will tease her back. Gorya had her arms crossed, looking at me with a knowing smirk.
And then there were Mia and Noah.
I didn't move. I didn't jump. I didn't even try to fix my hair. I just looked at them with a cold, level stare that said 'If you wake her up, you're dead.'
"If any of you make a sound," I whispered, my voice a low, dangerous rumble that vibrated through Jay-Jay's frame, "I will ensure your next three generations are bankrupt by noon. MJ, put the phone down or I'm deleting your bank account from the server."
MJ slowly lowered the phone, his smirk only widening. "Too late, Boss. It's already in the F4 archive. You look... remarkably human, Keifer."
I looked down at Jay-Jay. She was starting to stir, her eyelashes fluttering against my skin. The "Ice King" persona was gone, and I didn't care who saw the wreckage. I just cared that she was still here.
--: Jay-Jay's POV: --
The world felt like a warm, soft cocoon. I was dreaming of a place where the rain didn't sting and the word "baby" belonged to me and me alone.
Then I heard a voice. A deep, gravelly rumble that I felt in my very bones. "Morning, baby."
I smiled against the fabric of his shirt, wanting to stay in this half-asleep heaven forever. But then, there was another sound. A snicker. A muffled laugh. My heart did a somersault. I realized I wasn't in the master bedroom. I was on the sofa. And I wasn't alone.
I slowly pulled back, rubbing my eyes and squinting at the light. I looked up at Keifer. His hair was a mess, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like he'd been through a war. He was looking at me with so much love it made my breath hitch.
"Morning," I whispered back, my voice tiny.
Then I looked past him. My face went from pale to bright crimson in approximately 0.5 seconds. I saw MJ. I saw Yuri. I saw the girls. I saw the "childhood friends" who had tried to dismantle my life less than twenty-four hours ago.
"Oh, god," I groaned, hiding my face in my hands, pressing my forehead back into Keifer's chest. "Please tell me the floor is going to open up and swallow me. Please tell me they aren't all standing there."
Keifer's chest shook as he let out a dry, quiet laugh. He wrapped both arms around me, pulling me back into his lap, shielding me from their gaze.
"You're not dreaming, Jay," he murmured into my ear, his voice full of a smug, beautiful warmth. "But don't worry. I've already threatened to destroy their livelihoods if they breathe too loud. You're safe."
"I told you to sleep on the couch!" I muffled into his shirt, trying to maintain some shred of dignity while being cuddled in front of an audience.
"I did," Keifer reminded me, his voice dancing with amusement. "I followed orders perfectly. But I don't recall inviting a certain 'Fortress' to join me in the midnight. It seems someone couldn't handle the silence of a king-sized bed."
"Shut up, Keifer," I muttered, finally peeking out from behind my hands.
--: Author's POV: --
The morning prep was a whirlwind of frantic energy. The atmosphere was of messy morning routines. The penthouse was filled with the sound of zippers, the smell of burnt toast, and the frantic rustle of heavy Business textbooks being shoved into backpacks.
Jay-Jay had swapped her pajamas for her usual campus attire: an oversized hoodie and black jeans. She moved through the kitchen like a ghost, pointedly ignoring Keifer as he tried to hand her a coffee. The sweetness of the sofa had been replaced by a sharp, lingering reminder of why she had been angry in the first place.
While Keifer was in the hallway arguing with MJ and MJ about who was taking which car to the university, Noah saw her opening.
--: Noah's POV: --
I watched Jay-Jay stuffing her notebook into her bag. She looked so... ordinary. Just a girl in a hoodie. I walked up to her, leaning against the kitchen counter, my voice dropping to a low, venomous whisper so the guys wouldn't hear us.
"You think this changes anything?" I asked, my voice smooth and dangerous. "Sleeping on a couch together? It's cute, Jay-Jay. Really. It's like a scene from a low-budget movie."
Jay-Jay didn't look up. "It's my life, Noah. Not a movie."
"It's a distraction," I hissed. "Keifer is a Watson. Eventually, the 'Watson' in him will wake up and realize that a girl who makes the CEO sleep on a couch is a liability, not an asset. You're studying the same Business modules, sure, but do you really think you'll ever be his equal in the real world? When the family mergers start? When the board demands a partner who can actually add value to his name?"
I leaned in closer, my eyes cold. "You're a phase, Jay-Jay. The second the pressure of the empire hits, you'll be the first thing he leaves behind to lighten the load. He's choosing comfort right now because he's stressed. Once he's back on the throne, he won't need a hoodie to hide in. He'll need a Queen. And you? You don't even know how to wear the crown."
--: Jay-Jay's POV: --
My heart was thundering against my ribs. I knew she was trying to get under my skin. I knew she was a parasite. I knew Keifer loved me with every fiber of his being—I had seen him on his knees in the mud for me.
But Noah's words were like a slow-acting poison. I was a Business student. I sat in those same lectures, I looked at the same economic models. I knew how the world worked. I knew that love didn't appear on a balance sheet.
What if I really am the reason he loses everything? I didn't say a word back to her. I couldn't. I just grabbed my bag and walked straight to the elevator.
When Keifer joined us, his shoulder brushing mine, I didn't lean in. I moved to the other side of the elevator car.
The ride to the university was a heavy, suffocating silence. Even Ci-N didn't dare crack a joke.
--: Author's POV: --
As they walked through the campus gates of the London School of Economics, the group stayed together, a tight-knit circle of elite students. Keifer walked beside Jay-Jay, his eyes constantly scanning her face for any sign of a thaw.
They reached the massive, tiered lecture hall for their Business Strategy module. This was their usual spot—the center row, where the F4 and Section E usually sat like a royal court. Keifer moved first, pulling out the chair next to his, a silent invitation he'd issued every single day.
Jay-Jay didn't even pause.
She walked right past the middle row. She didn't look at Keifer. She didn't look at the empty chair. With a determined set to her shoulders, she climbed the steep wooden stairs all the way to the very last row, tucked into the far corner of the hall. She sat down between two strangers, her hood pulled low over her eyes.
--: Keifer's POV: --
I stood there, my hand still resting on the back of the empty chair. I felt like a fool. Two hundred people were in this room, and every single one of them had seen the "Ice King" get bypassed by his own girl.
"Ouch," MJ whispered from the row behind me. "She's moved to a different zip code, Watson."
I sat down, but I couldn't hear a word the professor was saying. The space next to me felt like a black hole. I pulled out my phone, my fingers trembling slightly with a mix of frustration and fear.
💌To, My Future Mrs Watson:- (A/N: I didn't knew if i should change the name of not, so I just let it be same as before,😅)
Why are you sitting up there? Come back down. Please. I'm sorry for whatever happened this morning.
I watched her. I saw her phone buzz on the desk up in the rafters. She looked at it for a split second, her expression stone-cold, and then she flipped it face down. She didn't type. She didn't look my way.
Every time I turned around to find her in the crowd, she was staring at the board, her pen flying across her notebook. She was burying herself in the work, effectively building a wall of "Business" between us.
———
I sat there, staring at the empty wooden seat next to me. The space felt like a canyon. Every time I turned my head, hoping to see her, I was met with nothing but polished oak.
I had been distracted by MJ and the car keys in the morning, but I wasn't a fool. I had grown up around people who used words as venom, and Noah was a master at it. I could just tell by the way Jay-Jay was holding herself—stiff, distant, and tucked away in that corner—that Noah must have said something to her while my back was turned.
Whatever poison Noah dripped into her ear had done more damage than any physical blow ever could. A slap leaves a sting that fades, but this was a silent breaking of the connection we had just rebuilt on that sofa.
I looked up at the back row again, catching just the edge of her grey hoodie. My chest tightened until it actually hurt to breathe. I knew that when this class finally ended, I was going to have to fight harder than I ever had in my life. I'd have to dismantle every lie Noah told her, brick by brick, until I could bring my life back down to the center row where she belonged.
Without her next to me, I wasn't a King; I was just a guy sitting in a very cold, very empty chair.