KEIFER POV
I watched him like a hawk. Every time his hands touched her skin—checking her pulse, her breathing, her temperature—I felt a vein throb in my temple. That should be me. I should be the one holding her, the one ensuring she's still tethered to this world. Instead, I had to stand back and let this idiot Zade play the hero.
He sprinkled some water on her face, his movements practiced and calm. It made my blood boil.
"Zade..." she murmured, her eyelashes fluttering before her eyes finally drifted open.
"Get up," he said softly, reaching out to support her back.
"What happened?" He asked, his voice confused as he helped her sit up on the examination table.
I looked at her, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I wanted to shove him aside. I wanted to be the one helping her sit, the one wiping the stray droplets of water from her forehead. But I stayed frozen, my hands clenched into fists at my sides, watching her try to regain her bearings.
"I don't know," she explained, rubbing her temples as if trying to physically push the pain away. "I was talking to Ci-N and Keifer, then suddenly... voices came inside my head."
Voices.
My gaze sharpened. Those weren't just voices, Jay. Those were us. That was Section E calling you back from the void.
I stepped closer, my shadow falling over her, forcing Zade to acknowledge my presence. I didn't care about the medical protocol or the fact that I was technically a "patient." I only cared about the girl sitting in front of me who looked like she'd just survived a war.
Tell me, Jay. Do you remember me?
I searched her eyes, looking for even the smallest flicker of the girl who used to challenge me at every turn. I was begging the universe for a sign. Just one spark. One moment where she'd look at me and realize that we aren't strangers—that we are two halves of a story that was cut short.
Say yes. Please, Jay... just say yes.
"Luna, the accident that happened seven years ago might be the effect," Zade explained, his voice professional and calm, which only made me want to hit him more. "I don't think I have to explain this to you, but let's go—your brain is trying to remember your past while you don't want it to. That's likely the reason for the dizziness. Don't think too hard, okay?"
He reached out and squeezed her hand. I felt a vein throb in my temple. That touch should be mine. I should be the one steadying her, the one telling her she's safe.
Then, she smiled at him.
It wasn't a doctor-to-doctor smile. It was warm. Trusting. The kind of smile she used to give Section E when we were all being idiots. Seeing it directed at him made the possessive monster in my chest growl.
"I'm calling Luan and telling him," Zade said, reaching for his phone.
"Hell to the no!" Jay snapped, practically jumping off the table.
That was her.
Even with a fractured brain, she was still the headstrong girl who didn't want anyone especially her overprotective Kuya bossing her around.
Zade didn't back down; instead, he pulled a chocolate from his pocket and handed it to her. "Eat. It might help."
She took it, her eyes lighting up for a split second before she pointed a finger at him. "Don't tell Kuya," she warned, her voice dropping into a desperate plea. "He will take me back to the U.S. if he finds out I'm having spells again."
My grip tightened on the edge of the desk. To the U.S.?
"I'm sorry, Keifer," she said, her voice soft, pulling me back from the ledge of my own rage.
I turned back to look at her. She was sitting there, looking smaller than usual, clutching that chocolate like a lifeline. Her eyes were filled with a genuine, polite regret that twisted the knife in my chest even deeper.
"You can come tomorrow," she added, offering me a small, tired smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I will check you completely."
Check me completely?
Tss.
If she only knew. If she checked me completely, she'd find a heart that only beats for her. She'd find a mind filled with memories of a girl who used to steal my snacks and yell at me for being too bossy. She'd find a man who is one second away from burning this entire hospital down just to keep her from stepping onto a plane.
"Tomorrow," I repeated, the word sounding like a vow.
At least I have a reason to be back here again tomorrow. That's a score. Dealing with Jay-jay's memory loss is a battlefield, but as long as I have an invitation into her office, I have a chance to breach her defenses.
But as much as I wanted to stay in that hallway and wait until she finished her shift, I had a meeting to attend. A meeting that was already getting on my nerves.
King's Ground.
I headed to the outskirts of town, the atmosphere shifting from the sterile, hopeful scent of the hospital to the gritty, suffocating tension of the underground. I parked my car several blocks away from the actual location.
Tss. That place is notorious for thefts. I've lost almost twenty cars in the past year alone. Even with the Watson name, the rats in this area are bold enough to strip a luxury vehicle in minutes if you leave it unattended.
I adjusted my jacket, felt the weighted coldness of the world I had built, and walked into the dim, smoke-filled interior of the club. The bass was a low thrum in the floorboards, matching the restless rhythm of my own heart.
The only reason I ever started coming to this hellhole was because, back then, I thought it would give me the power to save Jay-jay. I thought that by becoming a king in the dark, I could protect her in the light. Apparently not. I gained the world, but I still lost her to that pavement seven years ago.
Now, that power is just a tool. A weapon I use to keep the wolves from the door.
"Keifer," Tiger greeted me, nodding as I approached the VIP area.
Tiger. One of the men who thrived in this filth. I didn't bother with a smile; I didn't have the energy to play the polite businessman today. My mind was still back in that office, focused on a girl with brown hair
The meeting finally kicked off. I was sitting next to Angelo, our shoulders practically brushing. The tension between us was thick enough to choke on. Earlier, I had been forced to spill everything I knew about Jay-jay—her location, her new name, her life as a doctor. Angelo hadn't asked nicely; he had practically held a metaphorical gun to my head, threatening to end me right then and there if I kept a single detail from him.
"Alright, everyone," Tiger announced, his voice booming over the low chatter of the room. "Today, I want to introduce someone new coming into our world. Please welcome Luan Val."
My heart didn't just stop; it turned into a block of lead.
Luan Val.
The name hit the room like a grenade. I felt Angelo stiffen beside me, his entire body coiling like a predator ready to strike
The heavy doors at the back of the room swung open.
I leaned back, my eyes narrowing into slits as a man stepped into the light. He carried himself with an effortless, cold authority—the kind of presence that didn't just ask for respect, it demanded surrender.
The meeting dragged on, the air in the room thick with smoke and the silent, lethal promises Angelo and I were making with our eyes. Luan Val sat there, perfectly composed, playing the part of the sophisticated newcomer.
When the session finally ended, Angelo didn't waste a second. He stood up, his tall frame cutting a path through the exiting crowd straight toward Luan. I followed right behind him, my hands shoved deep into my pockets, my fingers curled into tight fists.
"Angelo Fernandez and Mark Keifer Watson," Luan said, his voice smooth and untroubled as he looked us over. A thin, mocking smile played on his lips. "What a pleasant surprise?"
"Cut the act," Angelo snapped, his voice vibrating with a rage he was barely containing stepped into Luan's personal space, his eyes flashing. "What the hell are you doing with my sister?"
Luan didn't even flinch. He adjusted his cufflink, looking entirely too bored for a man being confronted by the head of the Fernandez clan. "You mean my sister," he corrected calmly.
That was it. The thread of my patience snapped.
"For fuck's sake, explain what really happened!" I growled, stepping up beside Angelo. My voice was a low, dangerous rumble that made a few of the lingering guards look over. "We've spent seven years thinking she was dead. We want the truth. She is our lives, Val. Don't test us."
Luan looked at the two of us—the broken billionaire and the grieving brother—and for a second, his expression shifted. The mockery faded, replaced by something cold and weary. He leaned back against the table and started talking.
He told us everything. He told us how he had been speeding that day, how his car had connected with her in a sickening thud, and how the panic had nearly swallowed him. He told us how he saw the swarm of students—us—bursting out of the gates and how he knew he couldn't stay.
"I didn't know who she was," Luan said, his gaze fixed on some point in the distance. "I just saw a girl who looked exactly like my late sister, Luna. I took her. I brought her to the best doctors money could buy. When she woke up and didn't remember a single thing... I didn't see an opportunity to steal a life. I saw a chance to save one."
He looked us dead in the eye, his voice hard. "She was a mess, Keifer. Her records were a battlefield. She was engaged to a man she hated and caught in a war between families. As Luna, she had a fresh start. She had a brother who adored her and a future where she wasn't a pawn."
"You had no right!" Angelo roared.
"I gave her a life!" Luan shot back, his mask finally cracking. "She's a surgeon now. She's happy. She has no nightmares of Section E or the accident. If you go to her now and force those memories back, you're not saving her you're destroying the only peace she's ever known."
I stood there, my heart heavy. He raised her. He protected her. He did everything I promised I would do but failed at. But he also lied. He let us rot in a graveyard for nearly a decade.
"She's coming back to us, Val," I said, my voice like iron. "Memory or no memory, she belongs with her family. With us."
Luan just looked at me, a dark pity in his eyes. "Try it, Watson. But if you break her, I'll be the one to pick up the pieces—and this time, I'll make sure you never find her again."
The air in King's Ground was so thick with tension I could practically taste it.
"So you're giving us a chance?" I asked, my voice dropping into that low, flat tone that signaled I was one second away from snapping.
"Chance or not, we will fucking meet my sister with or without your consent," Angelo growled beside me. He didn't care about chances.
Luan let out a long, weary sigh, adjusting his coat.
"I'm giving a chance," he said, his gaze shifting between the two of us. "Don't make me regret it. If she gets hurt again because of you guys I'm taking her back, and you'll never see the shadow of her again."
Tss. Like hell you will.
Angelo didn't back down. He stepped forward, his eyes locked onto Luan's. He wasn't asking anymore; he was stating terms.
"There is a wedding coming up," Angelo said, his voice cold and aristocratic. "Between my brother Aries and his fiancée, Ella. I would like you... well, I don't care if you come or not, but I want Jay there."
Luan tilted his head, a calculating look crossing his face. He knew exactly what Angelo was doing. He knew that putting Jay in a room full of her past was like throwing a match into a gasoline tank.
"Aries' wedding," Luan murmured, the name clearly familiar from the research he'd done on her life. "She's his sister. It would be... suspicious, wouldn't it? If the Val family didn't attend such a prestigious event."
He looked back at us, his jaw tightening. "Fine. We'll be there. But remember the deal. You don't force her. You don't scream at her. You let her discover the world at her own pace."
I nodded because it was for Jay Jay
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Guys!!
For my next book I was thinking about Jay's career, and honestly… I want something normal and simple for her ✨🌿
Nothing too deep, nothing too dramatic — just a cute, everyday job that fits her sunshine personality.
I'm still deciding, so if you have any suggestions, drop them!!💗💗