Yuri (POV)
I walked toward the quiet corridor where almost no one was around when my phone rang.
It was Ojii-san.
"Yuri-kun… Sōke-sama is here. Come to the house," he said.
"Hai... I'm on my way."
I glanced down the hallway. Everyone was busy, so I quietly slipped away and headed home.
When I arrived, everyone was already there.
"Where is your konyakusha?" Sōke-sama asked the moment I stepped inside.
"She's not coming," I said calmly. "I want to cancel the engagement, Sōke-sama."
A vase flew past me.
I barely dodged it before it shattered against the wall.
"Do you know what you are saying?" Sōke-sama shouted.
"Hai," I said, lowering my head. "I know you never approved of her because she is far below our family's standards. But she is more than that. She is someone who can light up people's souls. And she found someone she truly belongs with."
I swallowed hard.
"Even if I married her… even if she became my wife and the mother of my children… I could never be the man she truly loves."
The room fell silent.
"I have done everything you asked me to do. I know I was the one who asked for the engagement in the first place, so I will do anything you want in return."
Sōke-sama stared at me coldly.
"You know what this means, don't you?" he said. "You could be removed as the Hanamichi heir. The house, the cars, everything that belongs to you now… will be taken away."
"Hai," I answered without hesitation.
I turned around and walked out without arguing.
Strangely, I did not feel sad.
I felt proud.
For the first time in my life, it felt like something heavy had finally been lifted from my shoulders.
At least I was good at studying.
I could manage college with a scholarship.
As I was heading back to the hospital, Ojii-san called me.
"Yuri-kun… do you know what you are doing?" he asked.
"Hai," I said softly. "I'm happy. I still have friends who accept me for who I am."
There was silence on the other end before he spoke again.
"I heard Jay Jay is in the hospital."
I frowned.
Did I tell him Jay was at the hospital?
"Hai," I answered carefully. "Because of an accident. She's okay now."
"Is the CEO of the Marino Empire still there? And Kiefer and Angelo? I need to talk about the engagement."
"Iie," I said. "They had something to do. Kiefer left for London. Cole and Boss left for work."
"We fixed your engagement with Hana," he said. "Your mother begged Sōke-sama for another chance, so you are going to marry her after college."
They were not even asking me anymore.
"Hai," I said quietly.
I walked down the stairs, feeling emptier than before.
Then I saw Aries about to fall.
I quickly caught him.
That was when I found out Jay Jay was missing.
I stared at the shattered glass, the mess everywhere, unable to understand what had happened.
Then Cole explained everything.
Every single word blew my mind.
I sat down, still trying to process it all.
Kiefer (POV)
When I heard Cole and Angelo say that Yuri might have leaked the information, I walked straight down the hallway to find him.
I saw him leaning against the wall near the ICU.
Cole was calling after me, but I ignored him.
I punched Yuri straight in the face.
"What the fuck, Kiefer?" he said, holding his cheek.
"Who did you leak the information to?" I asked, grabbing him by the collar.
"What the fuck are you talking about, Kiefer?" Yuri shouted.
Edrik, Rory, Felix, Calix, and C-IN held me back and pulled me away from Yuri.
"What are you doing, Kiefer?" C-IN asked.
"This is not the time for us to fight each other," Felix said.
"That bastard told someone we were not in the hospital. That's why Jay Jay got kidnapped," I said.
Everyone turned to Yuri in shock.
"Why would I do that, Kiefer?" Yuri asked.
"Maybe because you wanted to take Jay Jay away from me," I said, struggling against the people holding me back.
Yuri punched me.
"You asshole... I loved her. Do you think I would hurt her?" he shouted.
"Yes, if I wanted her, I could still have her. That's why I asked to marry her in the first place," Yuri said, breathing heavily. "But she never loved me. If she had not chosen you, she would still be here."
His eyes burned with anger.
"She still chooses you even after everything you did to hurt her. It was never me... and I hated that. I hated that I never even got the chance to court her properly."
Yuri's eyes turned red, but he refused to cry.
He laughed bitterly.
"I canceled my fucking engagement because of you, asshole. Just because I'm backing away does not mean I stopped loving her."
No one said anything.
Even I stayed silent.
Yuri stepped closer to me.
"And just because you love her does not mean you get to stop using your brain. Get yourself together, Kiefer. She needs you."
His voice dropped.
"Control your anger before it destroys you. If you ever hurt her again, I do not care where you are... I will beat the hell out of you myself."
"Yuri, can I talk to you?" Cole asked.
Before Yuri walked away, he looked back at me for a second.
"Did you tell anyone we were not at the hospital?" Cole asked.
"My grandfather said he wanted to talk about canceling the engagement," Yuri replied. "So I told him you were not here. If you want, you can check my call records."
"Why? Is there a problem?" Yuri asked.
Cole's face stayed expressionless.
"Yes," he said quietly. "I think your grandfather may have helped someone get to Jay Jay."
Yuri froze.
I felt my chest tighten.
For a second, nobody spoke.
After hearing Yuri, I finally stopped for a second and thought.
Had I really not been thinking at all?
I was trying to hold myself together, but everything felt like it was falling apart.
Jay Jay ended up like this because of me.
I had to protect the inheritance because Mother died because of it.
I had to protect my brothers from our monster of a father.
And now, for the first time in my life, I had found someone who truly loved me. Someone who saw me for who I really was and stayed anyway.
Now she was missing.
And when I thought Yuri had betrayed me, I lost control.
Because he was not just anyone.
He was my best friend.
The thought that he might have betrayed me hurt more than I wanted to admit.
If what Yuri said was true... then maybe one day I really could hurt Jay Jay if I lost control.
But how could I ever hurt her?
I was just possessive of her.
Maybe a little obsessive.
Maybe a lot.
But I loved her.
Still... love was not supposed to make her feel trapped or afraid.
I remembered the way Jay Jay flinched when I raised my voice.
I remembered how scared she looked whenever I lost control.
If there was even a chance that my anger, jealousy, or obsession could hurt her one day, then I needed to change.
Because Jay Jay deserved to feel safe with me.
Comfortable with me.
Loved by me.
And if changing meant becoming someone better for her, then I would do it.
For Jay, I could do anything.
Therapy. Psychiatry. Anger management.
Anything.
Because I could never hurt her.
I would rather destroy myself than become the reason she cried.
If getting help was what it took to keep Jay Jay safe, then I would do it without hesitation.
Because loving her should never mean hurting her.
A voice pulled me back.
It was Cole.
"Kiefer, I need to talk to you."
I walked toward him.
"Kiefer, you need to go to London," Cole said.
"Why?" I asked.
"Your father is in London," he said.
"But Jay?" I asked quietly.
"I'll look for her," Cole said. "But you said you were going to fix everything, so make sure you keep your word."
His face stayed expressionless.
"I can help if I stay here," I said.
"Kiefer... you do not understand," Cole said. "I called you earlier, and you ignored me. You were hurting yourself without even thinking first."
I stayed silent.
"If you stay here, then who is going to protect your brothers?" Cole asked. "Isn't that the reason you hurt Jay Jay in the first place? You were trying to protect them."
He looked at me seriously.
"And now you are back at the same starting point."
I clenched my fists.
"Okay," I said quietly. "I'll go to London."
I looked toward the ICU one last time.
It felt wrong to leave while Jay Jay was still missing.
"But call me when you find her."
Jare (POV)
I was awake, but my head hurt like hell.
The smell of medicine filled the room.
The last thing I remembered was Jay Jay.
"Jay..." I shouted as I opened my eyes.
I saw Percy and Cole Kuya standing near me.
"Where is Jay? Did you find her?" I asked.
Neither of them answered.
That was when I knew.
"She still hasn't been found, right?" I asked quietly.
No one said anything.
"I should have been more careful..." I whispered. "Kuya... do you think she'll be okay?"
I tried to get out of bed.
"Let's go search for her," I said.
Kuya pushed me back onto the bed.
"You need to rest, Jare," he said. "Don't you trust me? I'm already doing everything that needs to be done. I already sent people to look for her."
"What did you find?" I asked immediately. "Kuya, tell me... I can't sit here doing nothing."
My hands shook.
"I can't stay here when I know her life is at risk," I shouted.
"We found the vehicle," Cole Kuya said quietly. "But they did not leave any traces."
My chest tightened.
"I think someone took Jay Jay out of Manila," he continued. "I searched every corner of the city, but we still have nothing."
He looked exhausted.
"We already have too many enemies. I don't know who took her."
I lowered my head.
"But give me some time," Kuya said softly. "First, you need to recover."
He looked at me seriously.
"Do you think Mom and Dad would be able to handle seeing you like this?"
Cole (POV)
Kiefer went to London.
Jare was out of danger now, but Percy stayed by his side the entire time.
It had already been one day, and I still had not found a single clue about Jay Jay.
Kiefer really found good people.
No... they were more than friends.
They were family.
They helped me search for Jay Jay, but every lead ended in a dead end.
I checked every passenger record at the airport.
Every private flight that landed in Manila.
If my guess was right, then whoever took Jay Jay had to be connected to Kiefer.
Either Clyden...
Or Kiefer's father.
If they wanted Kiefer's inheritance, then Jay Jay was his weakness.
But I still found nothing.
Kaizer was in London.
I heard there had been a shootout at one of Kiefer's properties.
And Clyden Warebots had completely disappeared.
If they really took Jay Jay, then they should have made a threatening call by now.
But none of us had received anything.
That was the part I could not understand.
Nothing made sense.
Luckily, Angelo was handling the groups and keeping everyone together.
I rubbed my face, exhausted.
"Where are you, Jay?" I whispered.