The world around Jay had narrowed down to a single, suffocating point.
The cheering students, the rustle of the massive banner, and the heavy scent of the roses held out toward her-it all felt like background noise.
Her entire universe was occupied by the man standing five feet away.
Jay stood paralyzed, her boots feeling like they were glued to the concrete.
Her eyes were locked onto Keifer, and for the first time in two days, she wasn't looking past him, she was looking into him.
She could see every raw, jagged emotion he was trying to hide behind that "Golden Boy" mask.
There was the familiar flash of possessive fire, yes, but beneath it, she saw a flicker of genuine hurt-a vulnerability that made her chest ache.
Panic flared in her mind as her gaze flicked to her right.
Sophia was standing there, the ultimate puppeteer, grinning with a terrifying amount of glee.
Sophia leaned in slightly, her eyes wide and demanding as she silently mouthed three words:
'SAY. YES. NOW.'
Jay's head felt like it was spinning.
She was caught in a brutal tug-of-war.
On one side was Sophia, her best friend, the girl who had uprooted her life and fought her own brother just to stand by Jay's side.
If Jay backed out now, the "guilt trip" would last for a century.
But on the other side... there was Keifer.
She looked back at him.
He was so silent, so still, yet he looked like he was screaming inside.
If she said "Yes," even as a joke, even as a part of Sophia's plan, she knew something between them might actually break.
How could I face him?
How could I live in that house knowing I had publicly stepped on his pride-and his heart?
"Jay..."
The boy on his knee called her name again, his voice pulling her back to the reality of the crowded quad.
She flinched as if she'd been struck.
"Huh?" she gasped, her voice sounding foreign to her own ears.
"Jay... I really like you," the boy repeated, his smile a little more hesitant now, sensing the strange vibration in the air.
"Will you be my girlfriend?"
Jay gulped, her throat tight. She looked at Keifer.
He was practically vibrating, his jaw so tight she feared it might snap.
Percy and Aries had stopped their antics entirely; they were standing like statues, watching the electric tension crackle between Keifer and Jay.
They looked like spectators at a car crash-unable to look away, terrified of the impact.
I can't do this. I can't say yes, and I can't say no, Jay's mind screamed.
The weight of everyone's expectations-the crowd's curiosity, Sophia's mischief, and Keifer's silent agony-was too much.
She felt like she was suffocating in the middle of an open field.
"I..." Jay started, her voice trembling.
She took a deep, shaky breath, her eyes brimming with a mix of frustration and tears she refused to let fall. "I'll... I'll tell you later."
The handsome boy's smile faltered, dropping an inch as a murmur went through the crowd.
"Oh. Okay!" he said, trying to maintain his dignity while still kneeling on the hard ground.
"It's... it's okay. I'll wait. Tell me whenever you're ready."
Jay didn't hear the rest.
She couldn't look at Sophia's shocked face or Keifer's stunned, unreadable expression.
She turned on her heel and didn't just walk away-she broke into a run.
She shoved past the curious onlookers, her bag thumping against her side, her only goal being to disappear before the tears actually started to fall.
She ran until her lungs burned, leaving behind the flowers, the banner, and the man whose gaze was still burned into her soul.
___________________________________
The gym was silent, save for the hum of the ventilation and the distant sound of a basketball hitting the court.
Keifer stood perfectly still in the center of the room, his shadow stretching long across the polished floor.
His knuckles were still white, and the air around him felt heavy, like the atmosphere before a thunderstorm.
"Hey bro... are you alright?"
Aries' voice was unusually quiet. He stepped into the gym, his eyes scanning Keifer's rigid back.
He didn't push; he knew that Keifer was currently a live wire, and one wrong move could cause a total blowout.
Keifer didn't turn around.
He just gave a single, stiff nod, his eyes locked onto a spot on the far wall with a terrifying intensity.
It was as if he were trying to burn a hole through the concrete with sheer willpower.
'I'll tell you later.' Jay's voice kept echoing in his head. Later. What did "later" mean? The thought felt like a serrated blade twisting in his gut.
"Hey, it's time for class, babies,"
Percy announced, strolling in while his eyes were glued to his phone screen.
He was scrolling through the campus forum, which was already exploding with videos of the "Sunshine Girl" and the mystery suitor.
He winced at a particularly high-quality photo of the guy on his knee, then quickly pocketed his phone before Keifer could see it.
"Are you coming?" Aries asked, his voice laced with concern.
He noticed the unnatural stiffness in Keifer's body-the way his shoulders were pulled back so tight they looked like they might snap.
Keifer didn't move. He looked like a statue carved from grief and rage.
"Go ahead," Keifer finally rasped, his voice sounding like broken glass. "I'll be there in a minute."
Aries and Percy exchanged a worried look.
"Don't be late, bro," Percy muttered, for once losing his playful tone. "The professor is a hardass today."
The silence of the gym didn't last long.
_________
Within two minutes, the heavy air was shattered by a brutal, echoing SLAM against the equipment lockers in the far corner.
Keifer had the "handsome boy" pinned against the cold metal, his fingers bunched so tightly into the fabric of the expensive coat that the stitching began to pop.
Keifer's face was inches away, his eyes dark, hollow, and terrifyingly calm.
"What do you think you were doing in the center of the campus?"
Keifer asked.
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a vibration that made the locker door rattle behind the boy's head.
"What is... it to you?!" the guy shouted back.
He tried to puff out his chest and sound dominating, but his voice betrayed him, cracking and stammering as he looked into Keifer's predatory eyes.
"I like her... so I pro... proposed to her! It's a free country, Watson!"
Keifer took a slow, deep breath, his chest expanding against the boy's frame.
He was fighting every instinct to end the conversation right then and there.
"Listen, you," Keifer whispered, releasing one hand to point a finger inches from the boy's nose.
"You shouldn't even be visible within thirty feet of her. If I see your shadow cross her path again, thirty feet will be the least of your worries."
He paused, his eyes narrowing.
He remembered Sophia's "trillion-dollar smirk" and the way she had been acting all morning.
"One thing more," Keifer growled, his grip tightening again.
"How did you even think of proposing like that? In the middle of the quad? With a banner? Who gave you the idea, huh?"
The boy's survival instinct finally kicked in, but it was far too late.
He shoved Keifer's chest with a burst of frantic energy, stumbling back a step as he shouted,
"Why would I... stay away from her, huh?! And why would someone have to tell me to do anything?"
He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, his voice rising in a desperate attempt to regain his pride.
"Keep this one thing in mind, Watson... she'll be min-"
CRACK.
The sentence died in his throat as Keifer's fist connected squarely with his jaw.
The boy's head snapped to the side, and he collapsed against the lockers, the metal groaning under his weight.
"What did you say?"
Keifer asked, his voice deathly quiet.
He stepped into the boy's personal space, his shadow looming like an omen of doom.
"I... I..." the guy stammered, his eyes wide and trembling more from pure terror than the actual pain radiating through his face. "I said... she's..."
PUNCH.
A second blow landed, swifter and harder than the first.
The boy's lip split, and he slumped further toward the floor.
Keifer didn't hesitate; he pulled his arm back, his knuckles reddened and his veins bulging, ready for a third strike that looked like it might actually break something permanent.
"Please! Don't... don't do this!" the guy shrieked, shielding his face with his arms.
"I'll... I'll stay away! I promise! I won't even look at her direction!"
Keifer paused, his fist hovering inches from the boy's temple.
He let out a cold, dark chuckle that didn't reach his eyes.
"Good. Very good. Your 'love' seems pathetic and weak, doesn't it?"
"I... I don't love her!" the guy blurted out, the truth spilling out of him in a rush of panic. "It was... it was..."
"It was?" Keifer's eyes narrowed, his grip on the boy's collar tightening until the fabric groaned.
"It was your sister! Sophia!" the boy cried out, his voice cracking.
"She told me to do this! She set the whole thing up-the flowers, the banner, everything! She said it was just a joke to mess with you!"
Keifer stood in the middle of the empty gym, the silence ringing in his ears as the "handsome soldier" scrambled away so fast he nearly tripped over his own stylish coat.
Keifer slowly raised a hand, pinching the bridge of his nose with a grip that threatened to break bone.
"Is she for real?"
he asked the ceiling, his voice echoing back in mockery.
"Is there a trophy for 'World's Most Destructive Sister'? Because I'm pretty sure she just secured the gold medal."
He groaned, both hands flying up to clutch his hair, tugging at the dark strands in pure, unadulterated exasperation.
"Soph, you just wait and I'll...
ugh, I'll what?
Mark Keifer Watson, face it, you're a loser.
What are you going to do?
Tell on her?
'Mom, Soph is playing with my marriage again!'"
He threw his hands up in despair.
"Why does the universe treat me like a side character in my own life?!"
_____________________________
Hours later, the parking lot was bathed in the golden, dramatic glow of a sunset that felt far too romantic for Keifer's current mood.
He was leaning against the hood of his car, looking every bit the brooding "Golden Boy" while frantically scrolling through his phone to hide how much his hands were shaking. He was waiting for Jay.
"Oh my god, it is you!"
A voice like a sugar-coated siren blasted into his personal space. Keifer didn't even look up.
"Closed for business," he muttered, eyes glued to a Wikipedia article about types of concrete.
The girl, wearing a dress that had clearly been chosen to win an award for 'Most Likely to Cause a Distraction,' stepped directly into his line of sight.
She did a dramatic hair flip that nearly slapped Keifer in the face.
"I'm Tiffany," she announced, as if she were introducing a new brand of luxury car.
"I've seen you in the lobby, and honestly, your aura is just so... intense. My father is the CEO of that new skyscraper downtown-you might have heard of it? Anyway, I'm a double major in Finance and Flawless, and I think we'd be a power couple. I have a 4.0 GPA and a 10.0 in aesthetic. Don't you agree?"
"I'm busy,"
Keifer said, his voice flat enough to be used as a spirit level.
He shifted his weight, desperately scanning the building exit.
Jay, please. For the love of all that is holy, walk out that door before this girl starts telling me her blood type.
"I usually don't talk to people,"
Tiffany continued, leaning so close Keifer could smell the three different layers of perfume she'd applied.
"But for you, I'd make an exception. I have a summer home in the Maldives, and I think you'd look great on my jet."
Suddenly, the glass doors swung open.
Jay walked out, looking like she'd just survived a ten-round boxing match with her textbooks.
Her eyes immediately darted across the lot-habit, perhaps-and landed straight on Keifer.
Her pace faltered.
Her eyes widened as they traveled from Keifer's face to the girl practically glued to his car door.
Keifer saw her.
He saw the way her hand tightened on her bag strap until her knuckles went white.
He saw the flicker of pure, green-eyed jealousy flash across her face before she tried to squash it under a mask of icy indifference.
Keifer's first instinct was to jump three feet away from Tiffany and shout,
"I don't know her! I'm a victim!"
but then, his father's smug wink from that morning flashed in his mind.
Charm, son. Strategy.
A slow, devious idea began to take root in his brain.
He didn't flirt back-he wasn't suicidal-but he stopped trying to escape.
Instead, he leaned back further against the car, crossing his arms and tilting his head slightly toward Tiffany.
He didn't look at Tiffany's face; he kept his eyes on his phone, but he let out a low,
"Mhm, interesting,"
just as Jay got within earshot.
"Right?!" Tiffany squealed, sensing his sudden 'interest.' "And then I told the pilot-"
The smirk that had been playing on Keifer's lips was a masterpiece of misplaced confidence.
Watching Jay march toward him had felt like a victory lap.
He had seen the way her small fingers white-knuckled the straps of her bag, and the way her eyes had ignited with a territorial fire he hadn't seen in weeks.
For one glorious, misguided moment, Keifer felt like he had finally cracked the code.
He had successfully baited his wife into breaking her silence.
His heart swelled with a mix of triumph and affection.
She's jealous, he thought, his chest puffing out just a fraction more.
My wife is actually coming to claim me.
But the universe has a cruel way of correcting a man's ego.
Jay reached a dense, chaotic cluster of students near the main entrance, her silhouette flickering like a candle flame before being swallowed by the sea of moving bodies.
Keifer straightened his back, his posture stiffening as he scanned the other side of the crowd.
He stood on his tiptoes, his eyes straining to catch that familiar shimmer of hair or the specific tilt of her head.
One second.
She should have cleared the group by now.
Two seconds.
Maybe she's just weaving through the slower walkers.
Three seconds.
The crowd thinned. The concrete pavement was bare.
Four seconds.
Jay was gone.
The air in Keifer's lungs suddenly felt thin.
"Wait... where did she go?" he whispered, the playful light in his eyes dying instantly.
"Anyway, Keifer," Monica chirped, her voice like sandpaper on his nerves as she leaned even closer, her hand grazing his arm.
"About that coffee date, I really think my father's connections-"
He didn't even look at her; he didn't care about the scene he was making or her indignant gasp.
He vaulted away from his car, his pace accelerating from a fast walk to a frantic, desperate prowl.
He dove into the crowd, his head spinning.
"Jay? Jay!"
The confidence that had filled him moments ago was replaced by a cold, suffocating dread that started in the pit of his stomach and crawled up his throat like ice.
It was a physical weight, pressing down on his ribcage.
She saw me.
She saw that girl.
She saw me acting like a fool, and then she just... vanished.
He roamed through the sea of students, his head turning so fast it ached.
"Jay, where are you?!"
he called out, his voice cracking.
He began to weave through the mass of people like a madman, his eyes darting frantically to every girl with dark hair, every familiar backpack.
"Please, please, I swear I won't do it ever again,"
he muttered under his breath, a desperate, frantic prayer to a God he only talked to when he was in trouble.
"I won't flirt, I won't play games, I'll be the most boring husband in the world, just please don't let this be the end."
His heart was no longer thumping; it was screaming.
It felt like a trapped animal trying to punch its way out of his chest.
His walk turned into a full-blown run.
He sprinted toward the campus gates, then circled back toward the fountain, his breath coming in jagged, agonizing gasps that burned his throat.
His hands were trembling so violently he nearly fumbled his phone into the dirt as he pulled it out.
He dialed her number with thumbs that wouldn't obey his brain.
Ring...
ring...
"Pick up. Jay, please, just pick up," he whimpered.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
No response.
The hollow silence of the dial tone was the most terrifying sound he had ever heard.
He felt a wave of nausea hit him.
In a moment of pure, unadulterated panic, he dialed Sophia.
His heart leaped into his throat as he waited for the connection.
"Hello? Hello, Soph! Where are you? Where is Jay?!"
he roared the moment the call connected, his voice raw with a vulnerability that stripped away every ounce of the "Golden Boy" persona.
"Hey, hey! Calm down, what happened?"
Sophia's voice was far too calm, which only made Keifer's blood boil.
"Soph, answer me! Where is Jay?!"
"I've already arrived home, Keifer. Jay told me she was heading to the library to finish some notes before the weekend. She said not to wait for her. Why are you-"
Click.
He didn't have time for Sophia's curiosity.
The library.
He spun on his heel and sprinted across the quad, his lungs feeling like they were filled with hot coals.
He reached the library's massive doors and burst through them with such force they slammed against the interior walls with a bang that echoed like a gunshot.
He didn't see the 'Quiet' signs. He didn't care about the hundreds of students who jumped in their seats or the glares from the librarians.
He was a madman in a designer jacket.
"JAY! JAY!"
he shouted, his voice echoing off the high, vaulted ceilings.
People were staring, whispering, pointing-he didn't care.
He searched every floor, tearing through the quiet study zones.
He checked every corner, every study carrel, every hidden nook behind the history section.
His hands were shaking so hard he could barely hold his phone as he dialed her again.
Ring...
Ring...
Ring...
"Keifer..."
The voice was tiny.
It was cold.
It sounded like it was coming from a different world.
Keifer felt his legs finally give out, and he slumped against a heavy mahogany bookshelf, the sudden rush of relief making him feel dizzy.
"Jay... Jay, where are you?" he asked, his voice thick and broken, nearly a sob.
"I'm at the library, I've been looking everywhere for you. Where are you?"
"At my stepfather's house."
______________
Ok buddies bye
U can scream now
Cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
Haha just kidding!
"At her stepfather's house?"
Keifer's voice was a ragged whisper that barely made it past his lips.
The blood drained from his face, leaving him a ghostly shade of white.
The relief he had felt seconds ago at hearing her voice vanished, replaced by a cold, paralyzing terror that felt like lead in his veins.
He knew that house.
He knew the shadow that lived there.
To the rest of the world, he was a respectable man, but Keifer knew the truth: her stepfather was a monster.
He didn't just run out of the library; he exploded through the doors.
His lungs were screaming, his vision tunneling as he sprinted toward the parking lot.
What is she doing? Why would she go there? The questions played on a loop in his mind, fueling a frantic, desperate energy.
He reached his car and fumbled with the keys, his hands trembling so violently he dropped them twice.
"God, please," he hissed, his voice cracking.
He finally got the engine to roar to life and tore out of the parking space, tires screeching against the asphalt.
Every red light felt like an eternity.
Every car in front of him was an enemy.
"I swear," he growled, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel,
"if he even tries to touch her, I'll kill him. I'll burn that house to the ground."
The drive was a blur of high speeds and near misses.
When the iron fence of the stepfather's finally came into view, Keifer didn't even wait for the car to come to a full stop.
He slammed it into park, practically jumped out of the moving vehicle, and sprinted through the gate.
He skidded to a halt as he reached the veranda, his chest heaving, his breath coming in jagged, painful sobs.
There, standing under the shadow of the old wooden front door, was a figure.
"Jay..." he gasped, his voice barely a breath.
She spun around.
For a second, Keifer's heart stopped.
She didn't look like the Jay who had marched across the campus with fire in her eyes.
She looked expressionless, her skin pale and her gaze hollow, like a beautiful, cold statue.
She looked like she had seen a ghost, or perhaps, was becoming one.
"Keifer..." she whispered.
He started to step forward, a thousand apologies and questions fighting to leave his throat, but she didn't let him speak.
Before he could utter a single word of the "Strategy" he'd been practicing, she moved.
She didn't scream or cry; she simply stepped into his space and slid her arms around his waist.
She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her head against his chest, clinging to him as if he were the only solid thing in a world that had suddenly turned to liquid.
The tension that had been vibrating through Keifer's body for the last hour snapped. His muscles went slack.
The questions-about the girl at the car, about her coming here, about the "Stranger" game-all died in his throat.
His eyes remained wide, shocked by the suddenness of her embrace, but his instincts took over.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her so close there wasn't an inch of air between them.
He buried his face in her hair, pressing a long, trembling kiss to the top of her head.
___________________________________
Hey buddies how are u?
I don't have more energy to write, so....bye.
And for cliffhanger, scream as much as u want, I can't do anything, I literally can't write more I can't believe myself, I wrote approx 4000 words. So...
I'll talk to u tomorrow ❤️