KEIFER POV
Sorry, Jay, I thought, the words staying locked behind my teeth. The only way to save you from my relatives and my monster of a father is only pushing you away.
I knew the people in my family. I knew my father. To them, love wasn't a gift; it was a leverage point. It was a weakness to be exploited. If they realized that Jasper Jean was the air in my lungs, they would cut her throat just to see me gasp for breath.
Trust me, I've thought of every possible way to keep you safe. I've stayed up until dawn running through scenarios, but if I tell you the real reason—if I let you in on the darkness—then you would want to help. You're too brave for your own good. You'd try to fight my battles, and they will only take that as an advantage. They'd lure you into their traps and use your kindness to destroy us both.
I promise you, Jay. I will keep you safe from them.
And most importantly... from me.
I looked at my own hands, shaking with a mix of fury and desire. I had to control my anger and the jealousy that burned like acid whenever you were near anyone else. I knew my love was a toxic thing—a demon love that wanted to lock you away where no one could ever touch you.
Fuck. I've Never felt like this. Not for Freya and not for Ella. With them, it was just a game of ego. It was only jealousy and anger with them, a shallow competition.
But with you, Jay... it's different. It's love. A true, terrifying, demon love that makes me want to burn the whole world down just to keep you warm.
So, I'll be the villain.. I'll be the asshole who broke your heart and pushed you away
Better you hate me and live, than love me and die.
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SKIP TO THE TIME SHE WAS IN KING'S GROUND
We were standing in the school courtyard when Edrix ran up, out of breath.
"Keifer, Jay is at King's Ground," Edrix panted.
My heart hammered. The guys stopped talking and stared.
"What?" I snapped.
"You still care about her?" one of them sneered.
I felt the blood rush to my face, but I froze my expression. Keep it together. Don't show them.
"Let's go," I said, my voice ice-cold despite the panic clawing at my throat.
She was so unpredictable. Most girls avoided the dangerous parts but my Jay Jay found trouble like it was her hobby.
"Move," I growled, walking toward the parking lot.
If she got hurt because she was being reckless again, I didn't know if I'd be able to keep the "asshole" act up anymore. I had to get to her. Now.
The moment I stepped into King's Ground, the air felt too thin. I saw her—a flash of red and defiance—standing in the middle of a circle of losers.
I watched, frozen, as she took them down. One jaw-crack, one stomach-shot. My heart swelled with a pride that terrified me. That's my girl. But then, someone caught her. She hit the ground, and for a split second, I nearly broke my cover and tore the room apart.
When I finally reached her, she was hanging off Ben like he was her lifeline. My vision blurred red. Jealousy, raw and demonic, surged through me. I didn't think; I just acted, yanking her away from him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I yelled. It was the only way I knew how to hide the fact that I wanted to pull her into a corner and never let her go.
Then, she snapped.
She grabbed my collar, her knuckles white, her breath smelling of the poison she'd drunk. Every word she screamed was a knife to my chest.
"You used me to get revenge on my brother!""Why does it hurt so much?""Do I not deserve love?"
I stood there, paralyzed. My eyes burned—a heat I hadn't felt in years. I wanted to scream it back at her. I love you! I'm doing this because I love you! I'm the villain so you can stay an angel! I wanted to wrap my arms around her, kiss the tears off her face, and tell her that she was the only thing in this world that mattered to me.
But I couldn't.
If I told her, she'd stay. If she stayed, my father would find a way to break her just to spite me. I had to let her believe I was the monster. I had to let her believe she was unlovable because the alternative was her being dead.
When she mentioned her body—when that broken whisper about people wanting her for the wrong reasons hit the air—the room went cold. I felt the guilt swallow me whole. I knew what she was referring to. I knew the trauma she carried, and here I was, adding another layer of pain to it.
I watched Percy pull her away. She looked so small, so shattered.
As Percy prepared to take her out, I reached out and grabbed his wrist. It wasn't the grip of a King; it was the grip of a man drowning.
"Take care of her," I said, my voice barely a whisper.
I watched them walk away, and for the first time in my life, I felt completely powerless. I had the money, the name, and the throne, but I couldn't even hold the woman I loved while she cried.
I'm sorry, Jay-Jay, I thought, staring at the empty space where she had just been. I'm the mother-fucker who's going to save you, even if you hate me for the rest of your life.
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The doors to Section E swung open, and for a second, the entire room stopped breathing.
It wasn't the broken, sobbing girl from last night. It was her. The Sharp-Tongued Queen. She'd cut her hair—curtain bangs that framed her face perfectly—and she was wearing an outfit that made every guy in the room sit up straighter.
My heart hammered against my ribs. Damn, she's beautiful. I wanted to stand up, grab her, and tell her she looked incredible. But I stayed in my seat, my face a mask of cold boredom.
Then she walked straight to Edrix.
When she slammed that phone down and demanded to know what the app was, I felt a drop of cold sweat down my back. Edrix looked at me, eyes wide with panic. I gave him a slight nod. There was no point in lying anymore. Not when she looked like she was ready to burn the building down.
"Yes. Keifer's," Edrix finally confessed.
The silence that followed was heavy. Jay turned to me, her eyes flashing with a white-hot fury that made my skin prickle.
"Wow," she spat, her voice trembling with hate. "You and the whole section would do anything to make sure your plan goes right, huh?"
I felt a pang of agony in my chest. It wasn't a plan to hurt you, Jay. It was the only way I could find you if my father's men got to you first. But I couldn't say that. I couldn't let her see the fear in my eyes.
So, I did the only thing I could. I looked her dead in the eye and rolled my eyes.
Crash.
The phone shattered against the wall right next to my head. I didn't even flinch, though the sound echoed the breaking of my own heart. I wanted to reach out, to catch her hands, to tell her I was sorry—but Ben was already there.
Seeing Ben's arms around her waist, holding her tight, made the "true demon" inside me roar. I wanted to lung across the desk and tear him away from her. My jaw tightened so hard I thought my teeth might break.
"Let her go," Yuri barked.
"Back. Off," Ben snapped back.
I watched as Ben lifted her up, carrying her out of the room like she was his to protect. She was screaming, kicking, calling me every name in the book.
As the door slammed shut behind them, the room stayed silent. I looked at the shattered pieces of her phone on the floor.
I had protected her. I knew where she was every second of every day. I kept the predators away. But in doing so, I had become the very monster she hated most.
"She's definitely back," someone muttered.
Yeah, I thought, looking at my trembling hands under the desk. She's back. And I've never been more in love with her—or more hated by her—in my entire life.
I needed her to be free. Even if being free meant she was running as far away from me as possible.
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I met Percy that night at King's Ground.
"What do you want, Keifer?" he asked the moment he saw me.
"Nothing. I just want Jay‑Jay's number," I said.
Percy raised an eyebrow at me.
"And why would I give it to you?" he asked, teasing.
Asshole.
"Either you give it to me, or I'll find another way to get it," I told him.
"Okay, chill. Here—this is her number," Percy said, handing it over.
A moment passed before his whole vibe shifted. His voice dropped, serious.
"I don't know why you're doing this, Keifer… but my sister better not cry again."
"After I come back from London, she won't cry. At least not because of me," I said.
"I hope so," Percy replied.
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KEIFER POV
I watched from my desk as Ci-n broke down. Seeing that kid cry—the one who was always the loudest and the most cheerful—made the guilt in the room feel heavy enough to choke on.
Out of all of us, he was the closest to her. Not in the way I wanted to be, but in a way that I was still bitterly jealous of. He had her trust. He had her laughs. He had her constant "oppa" energy, and I had been the one to force him to help me break that bond.
I didn't know. The thought kept screaming in my head.
But that was the problem. I had pushed her so far away that I didn't even know she was hurting.
I saw her look at me
Her eyes weren't just angry; they were hollow.
I couldn't stop myself. My hand went into my pocket, pulling out the burner phone. My heart was thumping against my ribs so hard it was almost painful.
I bought a new phone and new phone number so she won't know it was me
But that was the problem. I had pushed her so far away that I didn't even know she was hurting.
I saw her look at me before she left the room. Her eyes weren't just angry; they were hollow.
I couldn't stop myself. My hand went into my pocket, pulling out the burner phone. My heart was thumping against my ribs so hard it was almost painful. I renamed her contact on this phone, a secret little rebellion against the reality of our situation.
Contact: Future Mrs. Watson
I typed out a message, my thumbs trembling.
To FutureMrs.Watson: My life.
It was the truth. She was the only thing keeping my heart beating, even if I was the one stabbing hers.
I watched her through the glass of the classroom door as she checked her phone. I saw the confusion on her face. Then she typed back.
From FutureMrs.Watson: Wong number
A Ghost of a smirk touched my lips despite the misery. Even when she's been run over and her arm is in a cast, she still can't spell when she's annoyed.
To FutureMrs.Watson:Wrong number
I corrected her, because I knew it would drive her crazy. I needed her to feel something—anything—other than that hollow sadness.
From FutureMrs.Watson: Who the hell are you?
I leaned my head back against the wall, closing my eyes. I wanted to tell her. I wanted to say, 'It's the man who would burn the world down to keep you safe, the one who kissed you and hated himself for it, the one who is currently losing his mind because you're in pain.'
Instead, I typed the only truth I had left.
To FutureMrs.Watson:Your my everything
Then Alvin called her name. I watched her pull her coat tighter
KEIFER POV
When the lunch bell rang and she realized her snacks were gone, her frustration finally boiled over. She started cussing—loud, beautiful, and angry. Every "fucking" and "asshole" that left her lips was like music to my ears.
Keep cussing, my Queen. I'm counting them. Each one is a debt you'll have to pay back to me.
When I stood up to confront her, I didn't actually want to fight. I just wanted her to look at me. I wanted to provoke that fire back into her eyes because the sadness I'd seen earlier was killing me. I enjoy this fight with her; it's the only time I feel like she's truly seeing me, even if it's through a lens of pure hatred.
I wasn't planning to kiss her—not here, not in front of everyone. But as we stood chest-to-chest, breathing the same air, her lips were too close to ignore. They looked so soft, so defiant, and so damn good that I lost control.
I kissed her.
For a heartbeat, she didn't fight. She was confused, her mind trying to process the fact that I'd actually dared to do it in the middle of Section E. The taste of her was better than anything I'd imagined, a mix of fire and sweetness that I never wanted to let go of.
But then reality crashed back in. She shoved me, screaming, punching my chest with everything she had. I took every hit, almost welcoming the pain because it meant she was touching me.
Then Yuri happened.
The second Yuri lifted her and she let out that high-pitched, agonizing "Ow!", my blood turned to ice.
My heart stopped. I stared at her, my eyes tracing the line of her arm where the jacket had slipped. A cast. She had a cast. What the hell happened? My mind started racing through a thousand dark scenarios.
I wanted to run to her. I wanted to shove Yuri and David aside, pull her into my arms, and demand to know who touched her. I wanted to ask her everything—when it happened, how much it hurt, and why she didn't come to me.
But as I looked at her tear-stained, angry face, I realized I had no right. I was the one who had been pushing her away. I was the one who just shoved her and forced a kiss on her without knowing she was already in pain. I was the "asshole" she was running from.
I watched her stumble out of the room, her small frame looking so fragile yet so fierce. The silence in Section E was deafening, but the roar in my head was louder.
I will figure out who did this to you, my Queen.
I don't care if I have to hack every camera in the city or beat the truth out of every lowlife in Manila. Someone dared to lay a hand on my Jasper Jean. Someone made her bleed.
I clinched my fists until my knuckles turned white. Whoever it is, I'm going to find them. And I'm going to give them a piece of my mind—and then I'm going to give them a piece of hell.
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😭🔥 GUYS WHO'S HERE AFTER SECTION E EP 9 🔥😭 Because SAME… I'm literally crying on the floor right now.
I have NO WORDS for that episode 😭💀 June feels so far away I might actually evaporate before the next part drops 😭🔥
But I'm READY for PERCY tho 😭💙 He's gonna be the light in the dark side, I just KNOW it ✨🔥
ANDDDDDDDDD— The actors?? BRO THEY SLAYED SO HARD 😭🔥 Ashtine didn't get crowned QUEEN for nothing 👑💙
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Ep 9 destroyed all of us, so I hope this chapter helped even a little 😭💙🔥