JAY JAY POV
"Yuri, hey. Long time no see," I said, with a polite smile.
Keifer, meanwhile, was staring at him like he was mentally calculating the exact angle needed to launch Yuri into the nearest trash bin.
"Jay… hey," Yuri said, eyes lingering on me a little too long.
Keifer's hand tightened around my waist.
Yuri cleared his throat. "You look good. Really good."
Keifer's jaw flexed so hard I swear I heard it crack.
I stepped slightly closer to Keifer, hoping to prevent a homicide.
"Thanks," I said quickly. "We're just shopping for the kids."
"Kids?" Yuri repeated, eyebrows lifting.
"Our kids. Three kids," Keifer said, voice flat, sharp, and absolutely not friendly.
Then he stepped forward just a little — not enough to start a fight, but enough to make his point.
"You motherfucker. What are you doing here?" Keifer asked Yuri, his tone low and dangerous.
My eyes widened.
What is going on here?
"Keifer," I said, grabbing his arm before he could take another step.
His jaw was clenched so tight I could practically hear his teeth grinding.
Yuri didn't back up — but he definitely wasn't smiling anymore.
Yuri looked between us, then at Keifer's hand on my waist, then back at me.
"I'm… shopping," Yuri said slowly. "Didn't know I needed permission."
"After what you did to us, you have the audacity to come here?" Keifer snapped, voice rising.
"Keifer, enough," I said quickly, grabbing his arm. "What did he do?"
Keifer turned to me, eyes blazing.
"THIS FUCKING BASTARD HELPED KEIGAN EDIT THOSE PHOTOS!"
The entire store went silent.
People were staring.
My heart dropped.
"What?" I asked, confused, looking between them.
Yuri shrugged like he was talking about the weather.
"So what? I helped Keigan. You're also to blame — you believed us, Keifer. I don't see the big deal."
My stomach twisted.
"Yuri, enough," I said sharply, my voice low but firm.
He laughed — that sarcastic, bitter laugh he always used when he wanted to hurt someone.
"You're trying to stop me?" he said, mocking. "You never change, Jay. You're still taking his side after everything."
"Why is it him? Is it because he has money or—" Yuri kept going, voice rising, eyes sharp with something ugly.
"Is he really that good in bed that you already had three kids in four years?"
I froze.
My throat closed.
My eyes burned.
That one sentence hit me like a slap.
"Yuri…" I whispered, voice cracking, tears threatening. "Stop."
But he didn't.
He looked almost satisfied that he'd hurt me.
And that was the moment Keifer snapped.
"You fucking bastard—"
Keifer's fist connected with Yuri before I could even breathe.
It was just one hard, furious punch — the kind that came from years of guilt, anger, and the need to protect me.
Yuri stumbled back, shocked.
"KEIFER!" I grabbed his arm immediately, pulling him away before he could swing again.
His chest was heaving, eyes blazing, jaw clenched so tight it looked painful.
"No one," Keifer said, voice low and shaking with fury, "talks to her like that."
"Why, Keifer? I'm only saying the—" Yuri started.
He didn't even get to finish.
Keifer's fist connected with him again, sharper, angrier, fueled by every insult Yuri had thrown at me.
"KEIFER!" a woman's voice snapped through the air.
I turned, heart pounding.
Mrs. Hanamitchi.
She rushed forward, grabbing Yuri by the arm and pulling him up, her eyes wide with shock and disappointment.
"What are you doing?" she demanded, looking between Keifer and her son.
Keifer didn't flinch.
He pulled me closer to him, one arm around my waist like he was shielding me from the entire world.
"Teach your son how to speak to my wife," Keifer said, voice cold and steady.
The word wife hit the air like a bomb.
Mrs. Hanamitchi froze.
Yuri froze.
I froze.
Keifer didn't.
He stood tall, jaw tight, eyes burning with a fury I'd never seen directed at anyone except the people who hurt me.
Mrs. Hanamitchi looked at me, then at Keifer, then at Yuri — who was still holding his jaw, glaring but silent.
"Yuri, what happened?" Mrs. Hanamitchi asked, her voice sharp with worry.
"I was just saying facts, Okasan," Yuri muttered, refusing to look at her.
(Okasan = Mom.)
Keifer took one step forward — fist clenched, eyes blazing — ready to swing again.
I grabbed his arm with both hands.
"Keifer, stop— please. Let's go home," I said, my voice breaking.
He froze the moment he heard the crack in my voice.
He looked at me, eyes softening for a second, then turned back to Yuri.
"Next time I see you anywhere near her," Keifer said, voice low and deadly calm, "I will end you."
Yuri wiped the corner of his mouth, smirking like he wasn't two seconds away from being hospitalized.
"I think we're about to see each other very soon, Keifer."
The way he said it—
The tone.
The confidence.
The challenge.
It wasn't a threat.
It was a promise.
Keifer stiffened beside me, every muscle in his body pulled tight like a bowstring ready to snap.
Then he snapped.
He lunged at Yuri and punched him again, harder this time — the kind of punch that came from years of anger, guilt, and the need to protect me from anything that hurt.
"Keifer, please let him go!" Mrs. Hanamitchi begged, grabbing Yuri's arm, trying to pull him back.
But Keifer didn't stop.
He didn't even hear her.
His jaw was clenched, eyes dark, breathing sharp — he was gone, lost in that place where nothing existed except the person who hurt me.
People were staring.
My heart was pounding so loud it drowned out everything else.
I knew if I didn't stop him now, he wouldn't stop at all.
So I did the only thing I could think of.
I grabbed him by the collar—
And kissed him.
Hard.
Desperate.
A shock to his system.
Keifer froze instantly.
His fists unclenched.
His shoulders dropped.
His breath hitched against my mouth like he'd been yanked out of a nightmare.
When I pulled back, his eyes were wide, confused, still burning with leftover anger — but focused on me now, not Yuri.
"Keifer," I whispered, my forehead against his, "look at me. Not him. Me."
His breathing slowed, chest rising and falling against mine.
"Let's go home, please," I begged, my voice barely steady. "The kids are waiting for us."
That word — kids — finally cut through the rage clouding Keifer's eyes.
He looked at Yuri one last time, jaw tight, breathing hard, every muscle still coiled like he wanted to go back and finish what he started.
But he didn't.
He turned away.
He chose me.
He chose our kids.
I exhaled shakily and grabbed his wrist, pulling him with me before anything else could explode.
When we reached the end of the aisle, I pointed at the bags we'd set down earlier.
"Pick up those bags," I ordered, trying to sound firm even though my hands were still trembling.
Keifer blinked at me, the anger fading just enough for confusion to slip in.
Then he nodded.
He bent down and picked up every single bag, his shoulders still tense, his jaw still clenched, but his eyes focused only on me now.
"Jay…" he murmured softly, like he wanted to say something but didn't know where to start.
I shook my head. "Later. Let's just go."
He nodded again, shifting the bags in his hands, and walked beside me — close enough that our arms brushed, close enough that I could feel the leftover tremble in him.
Behind us, Yuri and his mother were still staring.
The moment we got into the car, I didn't even wait for him to sit properly.
I grabbed his ears and pulled.
"OWWW— Jay! Please let go!" Keifer yelped, leaning away like a scolded puppy.
"You idiot! Who picks a fight in the middle of a shopping mall?!" I yelled, still tugging.
He looked at me…
And kissed me.
Right on the mouth.
"Keifer, I'm talking to you—" I started, but he kissed me again.
"Keifer, stop—"
Another kiss.
"Kei—"
Again.
At this point he was basically using my face as a mute button.
I pushed his chest lightly, breathless and annoyed and flustered all at once.
"KEIFER!" I snapped.
He finally paused, lips still dangerously close, eyes soft and warm in that way that made it impossible to stay mad.
"You done yelling?" he asked quietly.
I glared. "No."
He leaned in.
I slapped a hand over his mouth before he could kiss me again.
"Stop using your lips as a remote control," I said, trying not to laugh.
He mumbled something against my palm.
I removed my hand.
"What?"
He smirked. "It works every time."
I groaned and hit his shoulder.
He caught my hand, lacing our fingers together, his voice dropping to something softer.
"I'm sorry, Jay. I just… lost it. When he talked about you like that."
My anger melted a little.
Just a little.
But enough for me to lean my forehead against his.
"You can't just punch people," I whispered.
"I know," he murmured. "But no one talks about you like that. Ever."
His thumb brushed my cheek, gentle, steady.
He leaned in again, eyes soft, lips already brushing mine—
But I pressed a hand to his mouth.
"Drive," I said firmly. "The kids are waiting."
Keifer blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then he groaned dramatically, dropping his head back against the seat.
"You're killing me," he muttered, muffled and pouty.
I crossed my arms. "Keifer. Car. Keys. Now."
He stared at me for a second, then sighed like I'd just asked him to sacrifice his entire soul.
"Fine," he said, starting the engine. "But just so you know, you can't kiss me like that and then tell me to drive."
"I kissed you to stop you from committing murder," I reminded him.
He smirked. "Still worked."
I rolled my eyes, but the corner of my mouth twitched.
As he pulled out of the parking lot, he reached over and took my hand, threading our fingers together without asking.
His thumb brushed my knuckles, gentle and steady.
"You okay?" he asked quietly, eyes still on the road.
I nodded. "Are you?"
He exhaled slowly. "I am now."
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FYI--Jay has no idea that Yuri helped Keigan 😭💀 She only knows Keigan was the one behind the photos — but she doesn't know Yuri was involved too 😭🔥