Keifer's POV
The next morning felt wrong.
Not quiet—school was never quiet—but wrong in the way a battlefield feels after the smoke clears. Everyone was pretending nothing had happened, and that made it worse.
I walked through the gates with my usual composure: shoulders straight, expression unreadable, steps measured. The same Keifer they all knew. The one who never lost control.
But the whispers followed me like shadows.
"That's him."
"Did you see her car yesterday?"
"She just left him there."
"She didn't even look back."
I ignored them.
I always did.
Section E was already gathered near the corridor when I arrived. Yuri leaned against the railing, scrolling through his phone.
David stood nearby, unusually quiet. Ci-N sat on the steps, eyes puffy, pretending not to notice anyone.
Jay wasn't there.
That absence hit harder than I expected.
"She's not coming today?" Yuri asked casually, though his tone was casual but carried guilt .
"No idea," David replied. "But after yesterday… would you?"
I said nothing and walked past them into the classroom.
Her seat was empty.
Front row. Near the window.
Sunlight poured in, illuminating the desk she used to sit at—the desk she chose when she wanted to disappear into herself. I stared at it longer than I should have.
I told myself it didn't matter.
I told myself this was the plan.
Distance. Control. Detachment.
But plans weren't supposed to feel like this—like something vital had been cut out of me without anesthesia
The teacher walked in. Class began.
For the first time, I couldn't focus.
Every sound irritated me. Chalk against the board. Pages turning. Laughter from the back. My pen hovered uselessly above my notebook.
Jay would have already written half the notes by now.
She used to take notes meticulously—not because she did not cared about grades, but because studying gave her structure. Something safe. Something she could control.
I clenched my jaw.
Why was I thinking about that?
The door opened mid-lecture.
Every head turned.
Jay walked in
Not late.
Deliberate.
She didn't apologize. Didn't glance around. Didn't acknowledge anyone. Her uniform was flawless, posture calm, expression unreadable.
She took a seat.
Not her old one.
She sat alone, near the far side of the room.
Away from us.
Away from me.
Something twisted sharply in my chest.
The teacher paused for barely a second before continuing. No questions. No comments. As if even authority instinctively avoided crossing her.
Jay opened her notebook.
And started writing.
She didn't look at me once.
Not when Yuri whispered her name.
Not when Ci-N tried to catch her eye.
Not even when I shifted in my seat.
That silence was calculated.
And I hated how effective it was.
Lunch period came faster than expected.
Normally, Section E moved together—noise, jokes, arguments. Today, it fractured.
Everyone hesitated, unsure where to go.
Jay stood up first.
She walked out without waiting.
Without us.
I followed at a distance, pretending not to.
She headed straight toward the cafeteria.
That was new.
Section E Students weren't allowed there freely. Not without permission.
And yet, when she reached the entrance, the staff stepped aside.
I stopped.
Watched.
She turned slightly, lifted her phone, and made a call.
Minutes later, they arrived.
Chloe.
Sebastian—Seb.
Aurora.
Mateo—Leo.
They entered the cafeteria like they owned it.
And maybe they did.
Jay didn't smile widely. Didn't dramatize the reunion. She simply nodded, and they sat together like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Like that was her real place.
Not Section E.
Not me.
I stood there longer than I should have.
David approached quietly. "She didn't invite us."
I didn't respond.
Ci-N sniffed behind us. "She hates us now."
"No," I said before I could stop myself.
They all looked at me.
"She doesn't hate," I continued, my voice low. "She calculates."
And that terrified me.
Because Jay calculating meant she already knew something.
And she did..
I didn't know what she knew—but she did.
I felt it in the way she carried herself now. The way she no longer reacted. The way she observed instead of participated.
Like someone already several moves ahead.
The rest of the day passed in fragments.
Her silence followed me everywhere.
In the hallways.
In class.
In the empty space beside me where she used to walk.
That evening, I sat alone in my room, lights dimmed, city noise muffled behind reinforced glass.
I stared at my phone.
At her contact.
I didn't call.
I didn't text.
Because if I did—and she didn't respond—I wasn't sure what that would do to me.
Instead, I opened a secure file.
London. Two weeks.
My inheritance war loomed ahead—five generations of blood-stained power, cousins circling like vultures, brothers standing on opposite sides of the blade.
And my father.
The man who murdered my mother.
The monster who still believed he owned me.
I would face him.
I had to.
But Jay…
Jay was no longer a weakness I could control.
She was an unknown variable.
And unknown variables didn't just ruin plans.
They ended empires.
I leaned back, closing my eyes.
For the first time since I was a child, something felt out of my control.
And the worst part?
she was waiting.
.....
I want atleast 10 comments and when you will complete it, The next chapter will be uploaded. ✨️and maybe I will not post chapters for 2 to 3 days because I am finally going back to New York to live with my parents and to complete my college. 💛🌸✨️