KEIFER'S POV
It doesn't register at first.
"She has brain cancer."
The words don't land like sound—they hit like silence, like something inside my head just… stops, like the world loses meaning in a single breath and I'm standing there trying to understand something my mind refuses to accept.
"…that's not—" my voice comes out wrong, broken, unfamiliar, my eyes flicking back to Percy like maybe—maybe he'll take it back, maybe this is some twisted misunderstanding, "that's not true… right?"
He looks at me then and there's no anger left in his eyes now.
Just something colder.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" his voice comes out low, exhausted, shaking with everything he's been holding in. "She's in there fighting for her life—fighting everything that you and the Fernandez family left her with—and you think I'd lie about something like this?"
That's it.
That's what breaks me.
My knees give out before I can stop them, my back hitting the wall as I slide down, the cold tile beneath me grounding nothing, fixing nothing, because all I can hear is that one word echoing over and over again—
Cancer.Her.
My Jay Jay....
She suffered all alone without me by her side...
My hands come up to my head, gripping hard like I can force the reality out, like I can undo the last three months, like I can go back and fix every single thing I thought I was protecting her from.
A broken sound leaves my chest.
I don't even recognize it as mine.
"I wasn't there…" I whisper, my voice cracking completely now, tears falling without control, without pride, without anything left to hold them back. "She needed me and I wasn't there…"
Rory and Edrix drop beside me, one on each side, their presence heavy, silent, both of them trying to hold themselves together just as badly.
"Keifer…" Rory murmurs, his voice thick.
But there's nothing to say.
Because what do you say when everything that matters is already falling apart?
Time passes or maybe it doesn't.I don't know anymore.Until the doors open again.
Dr. Harrison steps out, his expression calmer this time, but still serious, still controlled.
"She's stabilized," he says, looking between us. "She's asleep now. Her vitals are steady."
My chest tightens.
"She won't wake up for a few hours," he continues. "After that, if everything remains stable, she can be discharged."
Relief doesn't come not fully because she's still hurting,because she collapsed because of me,because she's been fighting something this big—and I didn't even know.
I'm on my feet before I realize it.
"I need to see her."
My voice is steady now.Like if I let anything slip, I won't be able to stand at all.
I start walking toward the door—and Percy steps in front of me.
"No."
My jaw tightens. "Move."
"You're not going in there."
"I said move, Percy."
His eyes harden. "And I said no. You've done enough already."
Something sharp rises in my chest, anger mixing with grief, desperation clawing its way out. "She's in there because I didn't know—because I wasn't there—I'm not standing out here while she—"
"You don't get to decide that anymore!" he snaps, stepping closer, his voice rising. "You lost that right when you broke her!"
"I need to see her," I repeat, my voice breaking now, raw, unfiltered. "Just once—please—"
He doesn't move.
So Rory does.
"Percy—just let him—"
"No."
Edrix steps in too, trying to pull Percy back slightly. "He needs this—"
"And what about her?!" Percy fires back, struggling against them. "What if she wakes up and sees him like this? You think she can handle that right now?!"
The tension snaps.Hands push.Voices rise and I don't wait anymore.
I move past them.My fingers are inches from the door handle—
When—A hand grips my shoulder and before I can react—I'm spun around.
The punch lands straight across my jaw, sending me stumbling back, the impact sharp, grounding, deserved.
"Stay the fuck away from my daughter, you bastard."
I look up and there he is.
Mr. Jashfer Mariano.
Her father.
His eyes are burning.
Not with anger.
With something worse.
Hatred.
"You think you can just walk back into her life after what you did?" he continues, stepping forward, his presence suffocating. "After breaking her? After everything she's been through because of you and your people?"
"I didn't—" my voice cracks. "I didn't know—"
"I don't care what you knew!" he cuts me off sharply. "You hurt her. That's all that matters."
"I love her," I say, the words coming out raw, desperate, stripped of everything but truth.
"Then you should've protected her properly," he shoots back coldly. "Not destroyed her in the process."
"Leave," he says finally, his voice dropping into something deadly calm. "She doesn't need you. She never did."
Something inside me refuses.
"I'm not leaving without seeing her."
His expression darkens. "You don't get a choice—"
"ENOUGH!"
Percy's voice cuts through everything.
We all turn.
He steps forward, breathing hard, his gaze moving between us before settling on me.
"I won't let you near her like this,If it were upto me you would have been in a coffin six feet down the ground" he says, his tone firm, controlled again—but there's something else there too. Something… conflicted.
A pause.
Then—
"But it's not my decision to make."
Silence.
"It's hers," he continues quietly. "For once—she gets to choose what she wants. Not you. Not Angelo. Not anyone."
My chest tightens.
"I'll give you one chance," he says. "One meeting and whatever she decides will go through.."
I nod instantly. "That's all I need thank you...."
Hours feel like lifetimes.Until finally—
"The patient is awake."
Everything in me stops.I look at Percy.
He looks back.Then he steps aside.
"Go."
The room is quiet when I walk in.Too quiet.
She's sitting up on the bed, pale, fragile, her eyes half-lidded like she's still somewhere between sleep and reality.
And for a second—
I can't move because she looks smaller.Weaker.
But still her.Always her.
"Jay…" my voice comes out softer than I've ever spoken.
She flinches.
It's small.
Barely noticeable.
But it destroys me.
I step closer slowly, like approaching something sacred, something I don't deserve to touch anymore, sitting down beside her carefully, my hands trembling.
She doesn't look at me immediately.
Just stares ahead.
"Jay…" I try again, my voice breaking now. "I—"
"Keifer."
She cuts me off.
I go still.
She turns her head slowly then, her eyes meeting mine—and there's no anger this time.
No fire.Just exhaustion.
And that?
That hurts more.
"Before you say anything," she whispers, her voice weak but steady, "before you said you'd do anything I asked, right?"
I nod immediately. "Anything you ask Jay ,I won't hold back."
Her gaze holds mine for a second longer.
Then—
"Then leave my life."
The words are quiet but they hit harder than anything she's ever said.
"Jay—" I shake my head instantly, panic rising. "No—don't say that—I can fix this—I can stay—I can help you through this—"
"I can't do this anymore, Keifer," she interrupts, her voice still calm, but breaking underneath. "I don't have the strength to fight you… and everything else at the same time."
My chest tightens painfully.
"I love you," I say, the words falling out like a confession, like a plea. "I never stopped—"
"I know," she whispers.
That stops me.
"And that's why this is harder," she continues, her eyes softening just slightly, tears gathering slowly. "Because I loved you too… more than I should have."
My vision blurs.
"But I'm tired," she admits, her voice trembling now. "I'm so tired, Keifer… and loving you shouldn't feel like this."
"Please Jay,ask me something else I can't live without you...please..." I cried my heart out for the first time I was so vulnerable...
"Keifer , don't make this hard ,if you truly love me or loved me please leave my life,I beg you.."
I close my eyes for a second, forcing myself to breathe, to hold together something that's already falling apart.
"Fine, if that's what you want then…okay," I whisper.
The word tastes like defeat.
Like losing something I can't ever replace.
"I'll go," I say, my voice breaking despite everything. "But not because I'm giving up on you."
She doesn't respond.
Just looks away.
"I'm leaving your life… for now," I continue softly. "But I won't stop trying..never..."
Still nothing.
Just silence and one tear slipping down her cheek.
"But Jay can I…" my voice falters, barely holding together. "Can I kiss you? One last time?"
She looks at me then.Doesn't nod.Doesn't speak.Just… lets the tears fall.
That's enough.
I lean in slowly, my hand coming up to cup her face gently, like she might disappear if I'm not careful, and when my lips meet hers—
It's not rushed.Not desperate.Just… soft.
Lingering.
Like I'm trying to memorize her.Like I'm trying to leave a piece of me with her that won't fade.
Her tears mix with mine and for a second—
The world feels still again.Then she pulls back.
And it's over.
—
I stand up slowly, every part of me heavier than before, my eyes taking her in one last time.
"I love you,Jay untill scientists find the end of the universe...."
My voice barely holds.
Then I turn and I walk out.
Goodbye My love.....Mahal ni kita Mrs.Watson...
The parking lot is empty.I sit in my car and for the first time since all of this started—
I break completely and her name falling from my lips like something I'll never stop saying.
"My Jay Jay...…"
JAY'S POV —
The door closes behind him, and this time—it doesn't echo.
It just… settles.
Like something final has quietly taken its place in my life without asking me if I was ready for it.
I sit there for a moment, staring at the space he left behind, my chest tight, my fingers still curled into the sheets like I'm holding onto something that isn't there anymore.
And maybe… I am.
Because letting him go doesn't feel like strength.
It feels like loss.
—
My breath trembles as I press my lips together, trying—failing—to keep it in, because the moment I let it slip, I know I won't be able to stop and I couldn't....
A broken sob leaves me before I can hold it back, my shoulders shaking as everything I buried—every feeling, every memory, every version of him I loved—comes crashing down all at once.
It hurts deep… the kind that lingers, the kind that stays.
The door opens again, softer this time.
"Jay…"
I don't even look up.
I just reach.
And Percy is there instantly, his arms wrapping around me like he already knows, like he felt it the moment it broke inside me.
"I told him to leave…" I whisper, my voice shaking against his chest. "I told him to go and he did…"
My fingers clutch his shirt tighter, like if I let go, I'll fall apart all over again.
"Then why does it still feel like this?" I choke out. "Why does it still hurt so much…"
Percy doesn't rush to answer.
He just holds me.Like he's not going anywhere.
"I love him," I say softly after a moment, the words barely there but heavier than anything I've ever said. "I really do…"
My voice cracks again, but this time—I don't try to fix it.
"I think whole part of me always will but I just can't....percy...."
There's no denial.
—
I close my eyes, letting the tears fall freely now, my head resting against Percy as I finally stop trying to be strong for everyone else because maybe this is what strength actually looks like.
Not holding on.
But letting go… even when it breaks you.
And as I sit there, held together by someone who chose to stay—
I realize something quietly, painfully, but clearly.
Some people become your forever and some people…become the reason you learn how to survive..and lucky he is my both.....
Goodbye my king of ulopongs.....
Mahal ni kita Keifer.... We'll meet soon...
Maybe....