Jay's pov :
Keifer guided me through the crowd, past broken glasses and spilled drinks, until we reached a quiet alley behind King Ground. The chaos faded behind us—the shouting, the mess, the adrenaline—but the tension between us only grew. He stopped and turned to face me, eyes dark and serious.
"You alright?" he asked, voice low but controlled, cutting through the lingering noise.
I shook my head slightly, my chest tight, my heart still racing from everything that had just happened. I looked up at him, frustration and hurt burning in my chest, and finally spoke, my voice sharp and raw.
"Stop making me believe I'm important to you!" I said, my hands clenching at my sides. "You already played with my feelings. I was a fool… and I believed you."
For a moment, Keifer didn't move, his eyes widening slightly, and I felt a pang of… something. Guilt? Regret? Anger? It was impossible to tell. His jaw tightened, and he stepped closer, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from him, the tension coiling in the air like a storm about to break.
"I—" he started, but I cut him off, words tumbling out faster now, my emotions raw and unfiltered. "All those times, all the moments, all the things you said… were they even real? Or was it just another game to you?"
Keifer's expression hardened, but there was an undeniable edge of pain in his eyes. "It wasn't a game," he said, voice low, dangerous, but controlled. "You think I wanted this? You think I wanted it to hurt you? I don't—"
"Then why?" I whispered, almost breaking now, the vulnerability I tried to hide slipping through. "Why make me care if none of it mattered?"
He didn't answer immediately. He stepped even closer, close enough that his presence pressed against me, protective, overwhelming, and undeniable. "Because I didn't want anyone else touching you," he admitted finally, the words rough, but sincere. "And I don't regret… any of it, not the fights, not the chaos… not you."
I swallowed hard, my chest tightening, my mind spinning with confusion, anger, and something I didn't want to admit. But even in the middle of my pain, I felt the tension—the electricity—between us, undeniable and magnetic.
For a long moment, we just stood there, the alley quiet around us, the chaos of King Ground behind us, and the truth hung between us like a fragile thread: something raw, something intense, something neither of us could ignore"It's over between us," I said finally, my voice trembling but sharp, cutting through the quiet alley like a knife. "It's done. Believing you… trusting you… thinking you actually cared—it was the biggest mistake I've ever made."
I swallowed hard, trying to steady the storm in my chest, but the anger, heartbreak, and confusion wouldn't let me calm down. "I chose you," I continued, voice raw, unfiltered, every word burning with the weight of my pain. "I chose you, even though I was engaged to Yuri. I let myself fall for you, every word, every touch, every moment we shared… and it was all just a lie. You played with me. You played with my heart, and I was too foolish to see it until now."
My hands trembled at my sides, fists clenching and unclenching as I struggled to breathe through the mix of rage and sorrow. "Do you even know what that feels like?" I asked, voice breaking slightly, though I tried to hold it steady. "To trust someone with everything you are… to give them your heart, your time, your soul… only to realize it meant nothing? Every time I thought you cared, every time I believed in you, it wasn't real. Not a single thing. And I… I was a fool. A fool who thought love could be enough to keep us together."
My eyes burned, and a single tear threatened to fall, but I refused to let it drop. "I believed in us. I believed that we had something real, that maybe—just maybe—you felt something too. But all of it… all of it was false. And it's not just heartbreak, Keifer. It's betrayal. It's the kind of betrayal that makes you question every choice, every feeling, every memory you thought mattered. Every moment we shared, every laugh, every fight, every touch, it's all tainted now, and I can't… I can't pretend it wasn't."
I looked away, shaking slightly, the alley feeling colder, the quiet pressing in around us. "I thought love was supposed to make you feel alive, not hollow. I thought it was supposed to make you feel safe, not used. And you… you made me feel foolish for thinking it could be anything real at all. You made me a fool, Keifer. And I… I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for giving you my heart when it was never yours to take."
The weight of my words hung between us like smoke, thick and suffocating, the distant noise of King Ground fading into nothing. I could feel the tension pressing on my chest, the emptiness of my own voice echoing back at me. And finally, with a shaky breath, I added, almost to myself, almost as a warning, "It's over. And you… you'll never have this again."Keifer stood frozen for a moment, his chest rising and falling rapidly, the sharp edge in his eyes softening only slightly as he processed my words. "Jay…" he started, voice low, controlled but with a raw undertone that made my chest tighten. "You… you think I wanted any of this?"
I shook my head, my arms crossed tightly, trying to seem defiant even though every nerve in my body screamed at me to run into his arms, to demand the truth. "Then why?" I demanded, voice sharp. "Why let me believe you cared? Why let me fall for you if it was all just a game? Why make me think… us… was real?"
His jaw tightened, and his eyes darkened, stormy and intense. "Because I never wanted anyone else to touch you," he said finally, voice low but dangerous, every word heavy with truth and unspoken pain. "Because I… I don't know how to be any other way with you. You think this was easy for me? You think I wanted to hurt you? I wanted to protect you. I wanted to keep you safe. Even if it meant making choices that made me feel like the worst person alive."
I felt my stomach twist, the raw honesty in his voice cutting through the anger and grief I'd been holding onto. "Safe?" I whispered, my voice trembling, a single tear threatening to fall. "Is this your version of safe? Watching me fall for you… giving me hope… and then leaving me to realize it was all a lie?"
Keifer's shoulders tensed, his hands balling into fists at his sides. He took a step closer, his presence overwhelming, his heat pressing against me even without touching me. "I never lied to you about my feelings," he said, voice barely above a growl, dangerous and sincere all at once. "I wanted to… I wanted to, but I couldn't. I had rules, responsibilities I couldn't escape. And seeing you here, in danger, after everything… I couldn't let anyone else do to you what I almost did."
My heart thudded painfully in my chest, the truth of his words colliding with my own heartbreak and anger. I wanted to scream at him, push him away, but I couldn't. The tension between us was thick, electric, and undeniable.
He softened slightly, but only enough to let me see the raw honesty behind the storm of his gaze. "I can't change the past, Jay," he admitted, voice low, almost regretful. "But I can protect you now. And I will. Even if you hate me, even if you think I'm a fool… I'm not letting anyone hurt you again. Not like this. Not ever."
The alley was silent except for our breathing, the distant chaos of King Ground completely gone. And in that silence, the truth hung heavy, raw and unyielding between us: that despite everything, neither of us could ignore the bond, the tension, or the unspoken connection that refused to break."I got it, Keifer," I said, my voice low but firm, trembling slightly with the weight of everything I had kept inside. "I get it now. You never loved me. Not once. And maybe you never will. And that's… that's fine. I understand. I don't need you to care about me anymore. I don't need your protection. I can live my life without you hovering over me, deciding who can or can't come near me, who can or can't touch me. I'm done letting you dictate what's safe for me or not. You had your chance, and you chose… whatever it is you chose, and I believed in you. I trusted you with everything I had, and maybe that was my mistake, but I can't keep letting it define me. I can't keep letting it control me."
My hands trembled as I gestured vaguely, frustrated, heart hammering against my chest, a storm of emotions I couldn't untangle. "You don't have to worry about me anymore," I continued, voice rising slightly, heated and raw. "If a guy comes close to me, if someone tries to talk to me or get near me, it's my choice what happens next. Not yours. I can handle myself. I've survived so much already—so much heartbreak, so much betrayal—and I'll survive whatever comes next. So you don't have to… you don't have to step in, or protect me, or fight anyone for me. I'm not your responsibility anymore. I'm not something you own or control. I'm not something you get to claim because you decided I mattered at some point. You had your chance, and I lived, I felt, I cried… and now I get to live for me. Not for you. Not for anyone."
I took a shaky breath, the alley feeling smaller, tighter, almost suffocating with the weight of my words and the electricity of our proximity. "I'm telling you this not to hurt you, Keifer. I'm telling you this because I need you to understand that I'm not fragile. I'm not someone who can be protected or claimed or… contained. I've been through enough to know my own strength. I can decide who gets close to me, what I let happen, and how I let myself feel. And you… you don't get to decide anymore. You lost that right the moment you let me believe you loved me. You lost it the moment you let me fall."
My voice softened slightly, though the fire behind my words didn't die. "I'm not saying I don't care… I do. I care about what I feel, about my own life, about myself. And now I have to live it without you holding the reins, without you making the rules, without you pretending that everything you do is for me. You don't get to carry that weight anymore, Keifer. I can carry it myself."
I looked at him finally, letting my eyes meet his, the anger and hurt raw and open, and for the first time, I felt a strange relief mixed with fear. Relief that I was saying it, relief that I was taking control, and fear because even saying it didn't erase the pull I still felt toward him, the tension that refused to break no matter how much I tried. "So… just let me live my life, Keifer," I whispered, my voice fierce but trembling. "Let me make my choices, let me make my mistakes, let me fall… without you watching, without you trying to fix it, without you deciding it's too dangerous. I can survive this. I've survived worse. And I'm going to keep surviving. So… just stay out of it."I tried to step back, to put some space between us, but Keifer moved with me, closing the distance again until I could feel the heat of him just inches away. My chest pounded, my hands trembling, and yet I couldn't look away from those stormy eyes that seemed to pierce straight through me.
"You don't get it," he growled, voice low and dangerous, the kind that made my pulse spike uncontrollably. "I don't give a damn who tries to come near you. Not a single fucking soul is touching you. And that includes me… even if it kills me to admit how much I want to."
My breath caught, and a shiver ran down my spine. I wanted to tell him to stop, to leave me be, but my own heart betrayed me, hammering in my chest. "Keifer… I—" I started, voice barely a whisper, but he pressed a finger gently to my lips, stopping me.
"Shh," he murmured, so close I could feel his breath, rough against my skin. "I don't give a fuck what you say. I don't give a fuck what you think. You're not walking away from this alone."
The words, the intensity, the closeness—they wrapped around me like a storm I couldn't escape. My hands twitched at my sides, wanting to push him away, wanting to pull him closer, and yet I stayed frozen, caught between fear, anger, and something else… something I couldn't name.
Then, slowly, almost impossibly, his hand brushed against my waist, protective, firm, holding me in place without letting go, as if I were fragile and yet unbreakable at the same time. My heart slammed against my ribs. My breath hitched. I wanted to pull away, but I couldn't move.
"I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you," he whispered, voice rough with tension and something deeper, something that made my chest ache. "Even if you hate my guts for it… even if you think I'm overstepping… you're my fucking responsibility."
A tear slid down my cheek, unbidden, and I didn't wipe it away. For the first time in a long time, I let myself feel everything—pain, fear, relief, and the maddening pull toward him. "Keifer…" I breathed, voice trembling, heart exposed. "I… I can't—"
"You don't have to," he interrupted, his forehead leaning close to mine, the heat of him overwhelming, suffocating, irresistible. "Just stay. Just trust me, even if only for a moment. I won't let go."
And in that moment, in the quiet of the alley, away from King Ground, away from everyone else, I realized something terrifying and undeniable: no matter how much I had tried to protect myself, no matter how much I had sworn to stay strong and independent, I wanted him there. I wanted him close. I wanted him to fight for me, even if it broke both of us.I stormed through the chaos of King Ground, fists clenched, heart racing, swearing under my breath. "This whole fucking place is insane! And all these assholes… ugh!"
Keifer didn't say a word at first, just tightened his hands around my waist, holding me steady as if I'd fall apart without him. My body reacted immediately—heat flaring, heart hammering—but I refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much I felt it.
"You… you think this is a joke?" I snapped, struggling slightly against his firm grip. "I don't need you—"
"Profanity," he said, voice low and dangerous, and before I could even react, his lips brushed mine, a teasing, scorching kiss that left my body trembling. His hands didn't move—they stayed at my waist, steady, unyielding, claiming me without letting go. My chest heaved, and I couldn't look away from those stormy eyes that seemed to burn straight through me.
I gasped, trying to push him away, though my hands barely touched his chest. "Keifer! I'm not… I'm not like this! Stop—"
He smirked, pressing his forehead to mine, his voice a rough whisper against my lips. "Stop what? Feeling? Swearing? Losing control? You cursed, Jay… I'm claiming my fucking reward."
My body shivered, heart pounding like crazy. "You're insane," I muttered, voice trembling, frustrated, but also betrayed by the ache of wanting him even as I hated him for it.
"And you love it," he said, pressing closer, his hands firm at my waist, pulling me just enough that I felt the full weight of him against me. "Every profanity, every curse, every single word of frustration—it's mine. You can fight me all you want, curse all you want… but I'm not letting go."
I cursed again under my breath, a small, bitter sound, and his lips brushed mine again, just enough to make my knees weaken, my heart thump in impossible rhythms, but he didn't release me. His hands stayed firm, holding me in place, claiming me silently, dangerously.
"You don't get to just hold me like this!" I whispered, though my voice was shaking, torn between anger and something hotter, more dangerous.
"I do," he said simply, voice rough, low, unyielding. "Because you're mine, Jay. Mine. And I'm not letting anyone touch you. Not a single fucking soul. Not now, not ever."
My chest heaved. My hands trembled at his sides, but I didn't try to move away. Deep down, I didn't want to. I was furious, frustrated, conflicted… but the heat of him, the strength of him, the dangerous obsession in his eyes—it made everything else fade away.
I cursed again under my breath, almost involuntarily, and he whispered right against my lips, "Profanity…" before pressing his lips to mine again, slower this time, more intense, more claiming. My body responded instantly, shivering, heart exploding, and I realized—terrifying, maddening, undeniable—that no matter how much I tried to fight him, no matter how much I cursed or yelled or tried to push him away… I wanted him, needed him, and he was never letting me go.