Keifer's phone buzzed in his pocket as he walked into the living room, and he sighed softly.
"It's just a work call," he muttered, answering it without looking at her.
Jay's eyes narrowed. She didn't need a reason — she wanted one.
"Again?" she snapped. "You're always on the phone. Don't you ever—"
"Jay," Keifer said carefully, his voice calm but edged with weariness. "It's a short call. It won't take long."
"Short?" Her voice rose, just a notch. "You've been saying that every single day this week! And where does that leave me, huh? Just waiting around?"
Keifer ran a hand through his hair. He was tired, but he stayed seated on the couch, keeping his composure. "You know I don't do this to ignore you. I just…"
"You just what?" Jay cut him off, her frustration spilling over. "You just choose everyone else over me!"
Keifer closed his eyes for a moment, taking a slow breath. "Jay, that's not true. You know that's not true."
"Then why does it feel like I'm invisible in my own home?" she shot back.
The call ended. Keifer glanced at her, finally meeting her eyes. "Jay… I was just finishing up something important. I didn't mean to upset you."
"Everything you do upsets me!" she yelled, standing abruptly, hands on her hips. "I can't even tell if you see me anymore!"
Keifer didn't respond immediately. He only watched her, heart tightening. He wanted to reach out, to hold her and tell her the truth — that she was everything to him. But he knew she wouldn't let him, not now, not in the middle of her storm.
Jay, feeling that pause, scowled even harder. "Why do I even bother? You're always so perfect, so patient… but you never care about what I feel!"
Keifer finally spoke, voice gentle, almost pleading: "Jay… I care more than anything. You know that. Always have."
Jay's chest tightened at those words, though she refused to soften. "Then why does it feel like you don't?"
And with that, the room fell silent — thick, tense, but humming with the unspoken truth: their love had never gone anywhere. It was just buried under anger, stubbornness, and the fights Jay insisted on starting.