Jay's pov
Kief: "err.. jay? W-who were you with the other day you didn't come to our house? Were you with your boyfriend?"
I froze. Boyfriend? What the actual- and then I remembered the voice in the background calling me baby. That was Percy. Well the online version of him as he's currently in a whole different country. And kiefer thought I had a boyfriend? It was so absurd it almost made me laugh.
Almost.
Because the look on his face wasn't teasing. He looked genuinely pissed off. Or maybe it's just his default face. Who knows with this guy. But something about the way he asked it almost as if- no.
For once jay, stop overthinking. Think about food. That's the only purpose of my existence I'm still sure of. The other purposes are temporary. Food is a permanent solution. To everything.
Jay: "oh you mean that person's voice you heard? That was Jare. He calls me baby sister sometimes- annoying honestly. He's only like 10 seconds elder than me." It was Percy obviously, not Jare. But Percy had told me that Kiefer was his best friend and also that to him- Percy was dead. And for now- we had to keep it that way. Getting involved with any of the Mariano's now was way too risky. Especially as we turn 18 next year and can claim the company publicly. "People" are getting desperate to get rid of us.
Kiefer, for some reason looked genuinely relieved.
Wierd. Why does he even care?
Kiefer: "oh. That's nice."
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[Timeline skips to when jay follows Kiefer, David, ci n, Felix, to the fight with kiko and gets kidnapped by Ram]
[For those who haven't read the real book or forgot, here's a rundown:
Ulupongs steal Jay's food so jay wants to cook in class with the utensils and stove there.
She gets to know it belongs to eman and he's going to drop out from school because he's handling the restaurant alone.
She volunteers to help him and section e joins in helping them.
Aries, Freya, Ella and gang comes to embarrass them (let me know if you want a bonus chapter on that scene. I am planning on making one so don't get confused or say this happens before the kidnapping.)
Kiko asking to court her and going around saying she agreed (she didn't) so David and kiko argues.]
I couldn't quite help it. I know they told me to stay out of the way especially that king of assholes. But honestly, I might not have even followed them if they didn't tell me not to. It's like when they tell you not to think about something- you only end up wanting to do it more.
I had aldready told Jare to head home early. Told him I had to finalise a merger. Technically- I wasn't lying. I did have a merger to finalise. That just wasn't the exact reason I was staying back.
Hehe. Sorry kuya.
To be honest- the ulupongs should be the ones feeling guilty. I was even skipping my evening ice cream for this. What a waste. They owe me. I'm sacrificing my ice cream for them. And I'm hungry.
Damn it jay. Can't you stop meddling for once? Maybe then you can enjoy your food peacefully.
It's not my fault anyway. They could have just left without saying anything. Instead they had to act all mysterious and smug about it.
I was following them at a distance weaving in and out of crowds and ducking behind cars. I even had to pass through a restaurant from which I could smell the pizza from a mile away. I NEED it. I shook my head quickly.
Focus jay.
But food.
Don't become crazy because of food.
I'm talking to myself. I'm aldready crazy. Food can't hurt.
I quickly calmed my stomach. That was a bit hard. As for the following without getting caught- that was no problem.I had done this thousands of times while following criminals. I was a stealth. Those idiots I usually targeted- well, arrested- never see it coming.
But Kiefer- somehow, impossibly- he sensed it. He turned around a few times scanning the street and I had to hide behind a trash can.
Classic jay. Great hiding spot.
But even I had to admit- I was impressed. How was he able to notice I was following? I mean I guess he is super rich and involved in a lot of gang fights- even though he doesn't exactly have a gang. This was common news among literally everyone. I guess that makes him a target, so he might have had experience with stalking- following.
Bad usage of vocubalary jay.
Still. Impressive.
Just as they entered a shady looking building and I was about to follow, a hand clamped my mouth and tied up my hands- pulling me into the same building through the back entrance.
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A/N: hey guyzzz! I made sure to post a long chapter to make up for lost time. Comment if you want to see that bonus chapter I mentioned (I'll write it after the kidnapping scene- that is- the next chapter)
Any idea who the "people" who's trying to get rid of the mariono siblings is? 🫣
Drop the guesses. Cause even I don't know at this point. 😝
Love reading all your comments. No target because I'm truly sorry for taking so long to post but please do comment something. 🫶🥹🥰