With Keifer finally out the door—likely still touching his lips and grumbling about "unfair" wives all the way to the car—the house settled into a quiet hum.
Jay was finally back in her element, hunched over her laptop, focusing on the some of university files she needed to organize before the semester started.
The silence lasted exactly ten minutes.
"JAYYYYYYYY.....!"
The door didn't just open;
it practically vibrated on its hinges as Sophia marched in.
Jay didn't even bother looking up from her screen; she already knew the whirlwind that was about to hit her.
"What happened, Soph? Why are you screaming like the house is on fire?"
Jay asked, her fingers still flying across the keyboard.
Sophia stopped in the middle of the rug, wearing a sheepish, embarrassed grin.
she started scratching the back of her head, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
"Jay... the thing is... can you please, please help me?"
Jay finally paused, clicking her laptop shut and looking up with a expression.
"With what exactly?"
"Umm... cleaning my wardrobe,"
Sophia mumbled, her voice dropping an octave.
Jay raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.
"Cleaning? Your wardrobe?"
"I know, I know!"
Sophia waved her hands dismissively.
"I asked the maids, but... it's a bit personal, you know? Private stuff. I don't want them poking around."
"Okay..." Jay leaned back in her chair, a playful glint in her eyes.
"I understand the 'personal' part. I'm just wondering how you came to a life-changing decision like this.
I mean, actually doing manual labor instead of chirping around the house, scrolling through reels, or spending three hours on your makeup?"
Sophia's jaw dropped.
"Now you too, Jay?"
"Me too?" Jay asked innocently, fighting back a smile.
Sophia groaned and flopped herself face-first onto Jay's neatly made bed, her limbs splaying out in a dramatic tantrum.
"Ugh! It's Mom! She's literally forcing me. She said if I don't organize that 'disaster zone' I call a closet by tonight, she's going to confiscate my credit cards for a month!"
She rolled over onto her back, looking up at Jay with big, pleading puppy-dog eyes.
"Please, Jay. You're the only one with the 'Green' personality patience to handle my mess.
If I do it alone, I'll just end up trying on old outfits and dancing in front of the mirror for four hours."
Jay laughed, shaking her head.
She knew she couldn't say no to her bestfriend plus sister-in-law, especially when a "shopping ban" was on the line.
"Fine, fine. Let me just save this file, and I'll help you tackle the disaster zone."
"..."
The two of them stood side-by-side in front of Sophia's massive walk-in wardrobe, shoulders squared and expressions grim.
They looked like two soldiers preparing to storm a fortress.
Jay glanced at Sophia.
Sophia glanced at Jay.
They shared a silent, determined nod. It was now or never.
Sophia swallowed hard, her eyes tracking Jay's hand as it reached for the ornate gold handles.
"On the count of three?"
Sophia whispered, her voice trembling with genuine fear.
"One... two... three!"
Jay gripped the knobs and yanked the double doors wide open.
THUD.
The fortress didn't just open; it exploded.
A literal landslide of silk, denim, sequins, and stray hangers burst forward with enough force to knock them both backward.
Within seconds, the floor vanished.
Jay and Sophia were completely buried, suppressed under a colorful, fabric-heavy mountain that reached up to their waists.
Silence fell over the room for a heartbeat, broken only by the sound of a lone high-heeled shoe tumbling off the top of the pile and hitting the floor with a hollow clack.
Jay slowly pushed a stray neon-pink feather boa out of her face, her eyes wide with genuine shock.
She looked over at Sophia, who was currently wearing a tangled mess of scarves like a turban.
"Sophhhhhhh..."
Jay groaned, her voice muffled by a stray sweater.
"What the actual hell is this? Is there a floor even under here? How have you been living like this?"
Sophia poked her head out from under a pile of oversized hoodies, a sheepish, lopsided grin spreading across her face.
She looked like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"Hehe... oops?"
Sophia squeaked, shrugging her shoulders as best she could while pinned down by a winter coat.
"I might have been... uh... 'storing' things by just shoving them in and slamming the door really fast for the last one month?
It's a system, Jay! A very... gravity-based system."
Jay let out a long, dramatic sigh, picking a sequined top off her lap and tossing it back onto the pile.
"Soph, this isn't a wardrobe. This is a crime scene. If mom sees this, she won't just take your credit cards—she'll probably disown us both for being accomplices!"
Sophia let out a dramatic, high-pitched gasp.
"Exactly! That's why we have to fix it before she comes for inspection! Please, Jay! I'll do anything! I'll even stop teasing you about being left handed!"
Jay rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help the small smile tugging at her lips.
The heavy task of sorting through the "fabric mountain" continued for a while, the only sounds being the rustle of hangers and Sophia's dramatic huffs of exhaustion.
"Jay... I think we should just call the maid,"
Sophia groaned, finally giving up and flopping backward onto a soft pile of winter coats.
She stared at the ceiling, her arms spread wide.
"This is SOOOOOOO hard. My soul is leaving my body, I swear."
But Jay didn't respond.
She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, a folded sweater in her lap, but her hands had gone still.
Her gaze was fixed on a spot on the rug, her mind clearly miles away from the colorful mess surrounding them.
Sophia noticed the sudden silence.
She sat up, the teasing glint in her eyes fading as she poked Jay gently on the shoulder.
"Hey, nah... what happened? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Jay slowly looked up, her expression soft and vulnerable.
"Soph..."
Sophia straightened her back immediately.
She knew that tone.
Whenever Jay said her name like that—quiet and hesitant—it meant something emotional was coming.
"Yes, Jay? What is it? You can tell me anything."
Jay bit her lower lip, her fingers nervously twisting a stray thread on her dress.
"Keifer told me... he said you were there too. That you went with him to... to my stepfather's house. And that you read my diary."
The air in the room shifted.
Sophia's shoulders slumped and she looked down at her lap, her voice losing its usual bubbly energy.
"Jay... umm... I know.
We probably weren't supposed to see any of that.
It was private, and I..."
She looked at Jay, her eyes full of worry, expecting her to be upset or hurt by the invasion of privacy.
But Jay wasn't angry.
To Sophia's surprise, a small, peaceful smile touched Jay's lips.
"Soph, it's... it's okay,"
Jay said gently, looking down at her own hands.
"Keifer told me everything. And I think... I think that was all in the past. I've realized I don't have to carry that weight anymore. I can finally live for the future."
A single tear pricked the corner of Sophia's eye, a mix of relief and deep affection.
Without a word, she lunged forward and pulled Jay into a tight, fierce hug.
"Jay..."
Sophia's voice cracked, sounding smaller and more fragile than usual.
She pulled back just enough to look Jay in the eyes, her own shimmering with unshed tears.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me most.
Back then... when you were going through all that alone... I wish I could have never left."
Jay felt a lump form in her throat.
She could see the genuine guilt in Sophia's expression, the way her bubbly bestie was truly hurting for the version of Jay that had suffered in silence.
"Soph, it's okay," Jay whispered, her voice steady but full of emotion.
"You're here now. That's what matters."
Sophia sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand and giving Jay a fierce, watery smile.
"Yes, Jay. Exactly. That was all the past, and it can stay there.
From now on, you only have to focus on your future... and your present."
They both took a moment to wipe the stray tears from each other's cheeks, a soft, understanding smile passing between them.
The heavy secret of the diary was no longer a shadow between them; it was a bridge that had brought them even closer.
The sentimental moment lingered for a heartbeat before Sophia's classic personality came roaring back.
She blinked away the last of the moisture in her eyes and gestured broadly to the chaotic piles of clothes still covering half the floor.
"And speaking of focusing on the present,"
Sophia said, her voice turning back into a playful, childish pout as she pointed at the mess.
"Can you pay a bit more focus to this disaster?
My wardrobe isn't going to fix itself, and my credit cards are still in mortal danger!"
Jay burst out laughing, the last of the tension leaving her body.
"Fine, fine! Let's get back to work before mom does a surprise inspection."
Sophia grinned, and together they dove back into the mountain of clothes.
....
They were currently buried up to their waists in the fabric mountain, having managed to clear only about half of the wardrobe's chaotic mess when a sudden, shrill sound pierced through the room.
Trinnnnnnnn....Trinnnnnn...
Both Jay and Soph flinched at the unexpected noise, their shoulders jumping in unison.
The sound was muffled, coming from somewhere deep beneath the layers of silk and denim.
"What is it?"
Jay asked, her voice tinged with worry as she scanned the piles of clothes.
"I think it's my phone suppressed under this mess,"
Soph replied, her eyes widening as she realized her lifeline was buried.
"Ughhh Soph, you are really a disaster,"
Jay said, groaning as she began to dig through a pile of oversized hoodies.
They both started frantically searching, tossing scarves and sweaters aside to locate the source of the ringing.
Finally, Jay's fingers brushed against something hard and cold. She pulled it out—it was Soph's phone—but by the time she held it up, the ringing had already stopped.
Jay handed it over to Soph since the screen was locked.
Soph sat down heavily on the mess beside Jay, her thumb sliding over the screen to check the call log, but her brow furrowed in confusion.
"There's no missed call,"
Jay noted, peeking over Soph's shoulder at the empty notification list.
Soph scratched her head, looking equally puzzled, until she slid the notification bar down and let out a small
"Oh."
"It wasn't a call. It was an alarm,"
Soph said with a sheepish grin.
"An alarm at this hour?"
Jay asked, groaning at the absurdity of it.
"Yeah, you know, for beauty sleep,"
Soph replied nonchalantly.
Without even bothered to switch the screen off, she flopped her phone away onto a pile of coats, making Jay roll her eyes at her sister-in-law's typical behavior.
They turned back to the wardrobe and started cleaning the mess once more, but as Jay reached for a stray hanger, her eyes drifted toward Soph's phone.
The screen was still glowing brightly against the dark fabric of a jacket, and the call log was clearly visible.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a specific entry.
There was a call recorded around 1:00 AM of yesterday night—a call from Keifer.
The air in the room suddenly felt still.
Jay's movements froze, her hand hovering over a folded shirt as she stared at the timestamp.
"Soph..."
Jay said, her voice barely a whisper, while her eyes remained fixed on the glowing phone.
"Hmm...?"
Soph replied absentmindedly, her hands still busy detangling a pair of leggings from a sequined hanger.
"Why did Keifer call you last night this late?"
Jay asked, her voice laced with confusion as she picked up the phone and turned the glowing screen toward Sophia.
Her brow was furrowed, her mind racing through a dozen different worried scenarios.
"Oh... this?"
Soph glanced at the screen and then back at Jay, her expression softening.
"Don't you remember? Oh, no... of course you don't. You were unconscious, you know.
He called me because he wanted me to help you change your clothes.
That gown you were wearing was so uncomfortable, and he didn't want you sleeping in it."
Jay's mind froze for a second.
The words echoed in her head, clearing a fog she hadn't even realized was there.
"So..." Jay whispered, her voice barely audible.
"You were the one who changed my clothes?"
A wave of immense relief washed over her.
A small, genuine smile touched her lips as she realized that Keifer truly was a gentleman.
Despite his constant teasing and his rough exterior, he hadn't touched her without her consent while she was vulnerable.
He had called his sister in the middle of the night just to make sure Jay was comfortable and respected.
Soph noticed Jay staring off into space and waved her hands frantically in front of Jay's face.
"Hey! Hey, Jay! What happened? Earth to Jay! Did I say something wrong?"
Jay snapped out of her daze and looked at Sophia, her smile widening.
"Oh, nothing..." she said softly. "Nothing at all."
But then, like a lightning bolt, a memory struck her.
She remembered his low, gravelly voice from earlier that morning.
She remembered the way he had leaned into her ear, whispering with that devastating smirk:
'I saw everything.'
The realization hit her like a physical blow.
Her face went from a pale peach to a deep, pulsing crimson in a matter of seconds.
He had lied!
He had teased her all morning, watching her squirm and blush, letting her believe he had seen things he hadn't just to get a reaction out of her.
She felt embarrassed—more than hell—but underneath the embarrassment, a spark of pure, competitive fire ignited.
Jay tightened her jaw, her eyes narrowing into slits as she looked toward the bedroom door. She muttered under her breath, her voice low and determined:
"Mark Keifer Watson...Just wait until you get home"
__________________________________
Hey buddies 👋 how r u all.
I know I update a bit late and this is kinda normal chapter but a important one too ofc.
So ok bye
I'm lazy now
Bye bye 🫂 🫂 👋
Love u all 😘😘😘