JAY'S POV
The air doesn't just go still this time—it tightens, like something invisible is wrapping around my throat, squeezing slow, deliberate, unforgiving.
He says my name—and everything I've been holding together for months cracks just enough to hurt.
"Jay…"
"Don't."
My voice comes out sharper this time, louder, trembling at the edges but refusing to break completely, and his steps halt like I've drawn a line he can't cross.
"Don't say my name like you didn't tear it apart when it mattered."
Silence slams into us, but it doesn't stay quiet for long—because this time, I don't swallow it down.
This time—I let it burn.
His eyes flicker, something raw breaking through that controlled exterior, and he takes a step anyway, like instinct is stronger than restraint.
"I've been trying to find you—"
"And you did," I cut in, a bitter laugh slipping out, sharp and broken. "Congratulations, Keifer. You tracked me down. Again."
That lands.
Harder than anything else.
His brows pull together, confusion slipping into something defensive. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means,you tracking my movements,my records,my personal stuff" I step forward now, anger finally catching up to the pain, "and all those fucking times..when you come near my life and me—something followed."
My chest rises, breath uneven but words relentless.
"People watching me. Cars trailing me. Those men—those damn thugs trying to grab me in broad daylight—just to think I was your girlfriend or someone close to you..." my voice cracks for a second but I don't stop, "you think I didn't connect it back to you? To your world? To Section E?"
His jaw tightens. "I was trying to keep you safe."
Something in me snaps.
"By lying to me, Keifer?!"
The sound echoes louder than I expect, my hands shaking now but my voice rising anyway, raw and unfiltered.
"You knew—YOU KNEW—the one thing that destroys me more than anything else is being lied to!"
He flinches.
And I don't stop.
"From the day I was born—everyone lied to me!" My voice breaks, but it only gets louder. "People around me who I considered family never told me the truth about my father,I grew up without a fucking father's love ,then my own mother's husbands used to hit me like I was nothing—and then no one told me why I had those scars which I clearly didn't remember back then!!!"
My throat burns, but the words keep coming, unstoppable now.
"I stabbed my own brother, Keifer! You did know this too...didn't you!?" I shout, my chest heaving. "I stabbed Aries—and I didn't even remember it for years!"
His expression shifts—shock, pain, something deeper—but I don't care.
"I found out later on my own because once again no one thought I deserved the truth!that all I deserved was hatered and disgust..."
Tears blur my vision now, but I don't wipe them away.
"Do you know what it feels like to live with that guilt?" I whisper, voice dropping for a second before rising again. "To know he hates me—has been hating me for years—because he thinks I took everything from him?"
My laugh comes out hollow. "While he got a happy life—with Tita Gemma, with Angelo—"
My hands clench into fists.
"I was getting beaten in silence."
The café isn't quiet anymore.People are watching.I don't care.
"And then YOU show up," I continue, voice shaking with everything I've buried, "you and your perfect-chotic little Section E—"
My gaze locks onto his, sharp and unforgiving.
"Just to lie to me again."
His voice cuts in, strained now. "I didn't lie to hurt you—I was protecting you from my family—"
"Really Keifer is that what you tell yourself and the others!??what about your pathetic excuse of using Aries by breaking my heart?" I laugh bitterly, stepping closer, anger burning through every word. "Protecting me from the Watsons is just a subsidiary excuse for what you did Keifer..Alteast be Man enough to own up to it.."
I shake my head, tears falling freely now.
"And In case you forgot—I'm a Mariano," I say, my voice dropping, dangerous, steady. "And I was a Fernandez once."
That hits.
I see it.
"And don't pretend you didn't know what that meant," I continue. "Angelo wasn't some innocent cousin—I saw him shoot a man when I was a kid."
His eyes widen slightly.
"Do you know what that does to a child?" I whisper. "To watch someone you're supposed to trust pull a trigger like it's nothing?And all those people lurking around the house just for one chance to take him down!?"
My voice hardens again.
"That's why I was scared of him. That's why I was scared of all of you."
A beat.
"And then I met you and I decided to trust you anyway."
My voice cracks completely now.
"And then you proved me right to be scared."
The words hang there.
"Jay…" his voice breaks now, completely stripped of control, and before I can step back—he moves.
Fast.Too fast.His hands grab my arms, pulling me toward him.
"Don't—don't say that like I didn't love you—"
The contact sends something violent through me before I even think—My hand swings.The slap echoes.
His face turns slightly with the impact, but he doesn't let go.
"Let go of me!" I shout, pushing against him.
"I can't!" he snaps back, voice breaking now, desperate in a way I've never heard before. "I can't lose you again!"
My chest tightens painfully.
"You already did!"
The words rip out of me, raw and unforgiving.
"Leave me and my life Keifer Watson," I choke out, stepping back, my entire body shaking now. "Leave and don't ever come back"
My voice drops, deadly quiet.
"And tell your entire friend group the same thing."
Tears stream down my face, but I don't wipe them.
"I will never forgive any of you."
Silence crashes over everything.
Then—He moves.Keifer drops to his knees in front of me.The sight shocks something deep in my chest—but before I can react—His arms wrap around my waist.
"Please…" his voice cracks completely, muffled against me, shaking. "Jay, please don't do this."
My breath stutters.
"I can't live without you," he chokes out. "I swear I'll fix everything—I'll tell you everything—I won't lie again, I promise—just don't leave me like this—please…I can't loose you Jay...."
"You lost me the day you decided to protect me like a hidden trophy by lying to it,the day you decided to keep me in the dark just so you wouldn't have a liability and the day you declared that I wasn't worthy to stand beside you and sharpen the blade for you to fight...for us."
Behind him—I see them.Rory.Edrix.
Both standing there.Silent.Tears in their eyes.
And for a second—For one horrible, weak second—My heart wavers.
I close my eyes.Take a breath.
And then—I force it to stop.I push him.
He falls back, unprepared, hitting the ground as I step away like his touch burns.My hands clench into fists so tight they hurt.
"I hate you."
The words come out steady.
"I hate you, Mark Keifer Watson."
His face breaks completely.
"I truly loved you," I continue, my voice trembling but unrelenting. "There was a time where I would've done anything to be yours."
A tear slips down.
"But now?"
My lips curl slightly—not in anger but in disgust.
"You disgust me."
I turn and I walk away.Each step feels heavier than the last—but I don't stop.
I don't turn back.Not again.Not this time.My breath was unsteady and tears were rolling down all at once but I couldn't stop because staying meant breaking more.... something I couldn't possibly do anymore
But halfway through—My breathing falters.
My chest tightens painfully, like something is crushing it from the inside.
"No…" I whisper, my vision blurring.
I can't get enough air.My hands tremble, reaching out for something—anything—but there's nothing.The world tilts.Voices blur.
"Jay—?"
"JAY!"
The last thing I hear—Is both of them.
Percy and Keifer.Calling my name.At the same time.
And then—Everything goes dark.