(Ok guys, before reading this chapter and hating our poor Keif, you guys need to know that he is a polite guy here, who doesn't get that mad so quickly—except when someone is interrupting his time with his Jay đź¤. Don't hate him, ok?)
Jayjay'sPOV
Liam and I had finally wrapped up our project two days ago. Thank goodness, because if I had to spend another minute with him, I might have actually lost it. I even ended up getting into a huge fight with him on our very last day because that absolute idiot was openly flirting with a high school girl right in the middle of campus. He is such a hopeless, shameless flirt.
As for Keifer? Well, his situation was completely different. Ayla had ended up getting sick, which threw off their entire schedule. Because of that, they were left scrambling and were still stuck completing their project today.
Knowing how stressed he must be, I decided to do something sweet. I grabbed a warm cup of coffee, holding it carefully as I walked down the quiet university hallway toward the library to surprise him.
But the moment I reached the entrance, my footsteps completely froze.
I stood right in the doorway, the warmth of the coffee cup suddenly feeling freezing cold in my hands. There they were. Ayla was leaning in incredibly close to Keifer, her hands reaching up to fix his shirt collar. Keifer was completely frozen, just staring at her like a deer in headlights, totally paralyzed by his own awkward politeness.
"Done," Ayla said softly, a small smile on her face as she finally let go of his shirt and stepped back.
The exact second she let go, Keifer's eyes darted toward the doorway and locked onto me. The color instantly drained from his face when he saw the expression on mine. I just stared at him, slowly shaking my head in utter disbelief. How could he let her get that close?
"Jay..." Keifer stammered, his voice laced with panic as he immediately stood up from his chair.
But before he could even take a single step toward me, I snapped out of my trance. I didn't say a word. I didn't yell. I just blindly set the coffee cup down on the nearest table beside me, turned on my heel, and walked out.
"Jay! Wait!"
I could hear his desperate voice echoing behind me through the quiet library, followed by the sound of his hurried footsteps, but I completely ignored it. I quickened my pace, walking straight out of the building and toward the parking lot.
My chest felt incredibly tight as I unlocked my car. Mama had given me the keys to the new mansion that my family and Keifer's family had jointly bought for the two of us. For the last three days, Keifer and I had actually been living there because everyone agreed that since we will be living there after marriage, we needed to start getting used to the house.
Right now, it was the only place I wanted to go—away from the university, away from Ayla, and far away from him. I started the engine, threw the car into drive, and sped away toward the empty mansion.
The moment I unlocked the front door, the massive, quiet mansion felt suffocating. I ran straight up the stairs to my bedroom, slamming the door shut behind me. Needing to wash away the vivid image of Ayla leaning over him, I stripped out of my clothes and stepped under a steaming hot shower. I let the water cascade over my face, desperately trying to clear my mind and stop my hands from shaking.
Once I was dressed in comfortable clothes, I headed downstairs to the kitchen. Whenever my emotions get too overwhelming, cooking helps relieve my stress and grounds me. I pulled out the ingredients and began whipping up a batch of cupcakes, focusing all my energy into measuring the flour and mixing the batter.
Suddenly, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I felt a familiar presence right behind me. Turning around, I saw Keifer standing in the kitchen doorway, looking at me with a mixture of intense guilt and anxiety. I didn't say a word. I just rolled my eyes dramatically, turned my back to him, and went right back to lining the baking tray.
"Jay... are you mad?" he asked, his voice incredibly soft and tentative.
"No," I lied flatly, keeping my eyes fixed on the tray as I carefully slid the cupcakes into the preheated oven and shut the door with a loud thud.
"Look, I can explain—"
"Explain what?" I cut him off sharply, spinning around to face him. The anger I'd been trying to bake away completely boiled over. "What is there to explain, Keifer? That you let her get that close to you? She is absolutely nothing to you, yet there she was, practically in your lap fixing your collar while you just sat there completely frozen! I saw everything with my own two eyes. You don't have to explain a single thing to me."
I turned away from him again, my chest heaving as I gripped the edge of the kitchen counter.
"Look, I was just so confused about what to do," Keifer pleaded, taking a step closer, his hands out as if begging me to understand. "She just came out of nowhere and leaned close, and my mind completely blanked. I couldn't think of what to do in that split second."
"What to do?" I repeated, letting out a bitter, sarcastic laugh as I whirled back around. "You should have pushed her away! But no... you're just so polite, right? Mr. Polite Gentleman can't possibly offend anyone, even if it means letting another girl touch him!"
Tears of frustration pricked at the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall in front of him. Utterly exhausted and hurt, I pushed past him, storming out of the kitchen and heading straight back up to the safety of my room.
The heavy wooden door of my bedroom slammed shut with a deafening thud that echoed through the empty hallway, and I immediately twisted the lock until it clicked securely. I pressed my back against the cold surface, closing my eyes as my breathing came out in ragged, uneven shallow gasps. Within seconds, heavy, hurried footsteps thundered up the staircase, stopping right outside my room. The door handle rattled aggressively, but the lock held firm.
"Jay! Please, just open the door for a second," Keifer's voice pleaded from the other side, sounding completely breathless and desperate.
I didn't answer. I refused to give him the satisfaction of hearing how shaken up I actually was. I walked away from the door, climbed onto my bed, and pulled a soft pink rose blanket tightly around my shoulders.
"Jayjay, listen to me," he called out, his voice dropping to a softer, aching tone as he realized I wasn't going to open up. I could hear the faint sound of him leaning his forehead against the wooden panel outside. "I swear to you, nothing happened. Ayla just noticed my collar was flipped inside out because I was rushing to finish the project. Before I could even realize what she was doing, she just reached out to fix it. I didn't freeze because I wanted her close, Jay. I froze because I was incredibly uncomfortable and my mind completely blanked out on how to react politely without making a scene in the university library. You know me. You know I only have eyes for you."
He kept talking, pouring his heart out, desperately trying to tear down the wall of silence I had built between us. He explained the project timeline, he explained his confusion, and he begged for forgiveness over and over again.
But I stayed completely silent. I didn't yell back, I didn't cry out, and I didn't utter a single syllable. Instead, I grabbed my headphones, slipped them over my ears, and turned the volume up until his pleading voice was entirely drowned out by the music. He could keep talking all he wanted, but until my anger cooled down, Mr. Polite Gentleman was just going to have to speak to an empty hallway.
Keifer's POV
I was sitting at the library table, staring intensely at my phone screen as I searched on Google for extra research material to finally finish this corporate shares project. I just wanted to get this over with so I could go back to my Jay.
Suddenly, Ayla's voice broke the silence. "Umm, Keifer... your collar is upside down."
Before I could even put my phone down on the table or register what she was saying, she abruptly leaned across the space between us. Her hands reached out and she started fixing my collar. My entire body locked up. Before my brain could even process what was happening or tell me to push her away, she let go and stepped back.
"Done," she said, flashing me a sweet smile.
I opened my mouth, irritation bubbling up inside me as I prepared to tell her never to touch me again, but my eyes unexpectedly drifted toward the library doorway. My heart instantly dropped into my stomach.
Jayjay was standing right there. She was holding a warm cup of coffee, staring at us. The look of pure hurt and disbelief on her face completely shattered me. She slowly shook her head, and the silence between us felt deafening.
"Jay..." I stammered, panic instantly seizing my chest. I pushed my chair back, about to walk straight to her, but before I could take a step, she blindly set the coffee cup down on a nearby table and walked away at lightning speed.
"Jay! Wait!" I yelled, completely forgetting that we were in a quiet library. I went to pursue her, but then I stopped and whirled back around to face Ayla. I was absolutely furious. "You're gonna pay for this," I hissed, my voice deadly low.
"What did I do?" Ayla asked, widening her eyes and playing completely dumbfounded.
"What did you do? Don't you dare ever get close to me again," I snapped harshly. I didn't care if I was being rude. I grabbed my bag and stormed out of the library. By the time I reached the parking lot, I was just in time to see Jay's car speeding away, leaving a cloud of dust behind.
I practically threw myself into my own car and drove like a maniac to our new mansion. But the moment I got there, she completely ignored me. I spent what felt like hours standing right outside her locked bedroom door, pouring my heart out and explaining every single detail of what had actually happened. But there was no sound from inside. Maybe she didn't even listen to a single word.
I ran my hands through my hair in pure frustration, leaning my head against the wood. What on earth have I gotten myself into?
I knocked on her door again and again, my knuckles aching. "Jay, please," I begged, but she didn't open it.
After some time, the door finally clicked open. My heart leaped with hope, but Jayjay didn't even look at me. She walked past me like I was an invisible ghost, heading straight down to the kitchen. I followed her like a lost puppy. She silently walked over to the oven and took the batch of freshly baked cupcakes out, the sweet aroma filling the tense room.
"Jay, did you listen to me?" I asked quietly, hoping against hope that my explanations through the door had softened her heart.
She didn't answer. She didn't even blink. Instead, she picked up a piping bag and calmly started decorating the cupcakes, treating me like a complete stranger.
"Jayjay," I called out again, my voice cracking slightly. I took a desperate step toward her, reaching out, but she expertly stepped aside to grab the sprinkles, completely dodging my touch. My hands fell uselessly to my sides. "Jayjay, I'm sorry na... baby, please look at me," I pleaded over and over again, using every sweet nickname I could think of. But she just kept ignoring me, her silence torturing my mind.
"Can you shut up?" she finally snapped, her voice sharp as ice.
Before I could even reply, she grabbed a plate of the finished cupcakes, turned on her heel, and marched straight back up to her room, locking the door behind her once again.
The heavy silence returned to the kitchen. I let out a long, defeated sigh, staring at the counter. Feeling completely helpless, I mindlessly picked up one of the remaining cupcakes and took a bite. It tasted amazing, but I could barely swallow it through the lump of anxiety in my throat.
What should I do now? How do I fix this?
I was pacing around the living room, desperately trying to figure out how to make it up to Jay. I thought about cooking; we have maids in this new mansion, but I've been doing the cooking myself since Jay doesn't like the food the new maids make. I immediately put on an apron and headed for the kitchen. It took me almost two and a half hours to finish everything, but Jay hadn't stepped out of her room once.
I walked upstairs and knocked firmly. "Jay, dinner is ready," I said, waiting for a response, but the door remained shut. I walked back downstairs and waited, but when she never came, I gave up and went to my own room, dropping myself onto the bed in defeat. What have I done?
Suddenly, I heard the clinking of plates from the kitchen. I rushed down and saw Jay stuffing food into her mouth aggressively. She saw me and immediately stood up to leave with her plate, but I reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Please, can we eat together?" I asked. She glared at me, her eyes cold, but eventually, she sat back down. I sat beside her and started eating, though the food felt like ash in my mouth.
Jayjay's POV.Â
I don't know why this guy has such a hold on me. Why can't I just say "no" to him?
"Jay, are you still mad?" he asked softly.
No, I'm cooked on you! I thought, but I chose not to answer him.
"Jayjay, please," he pleaded, reaching out to grab my hand. I immediately jerked my hand away from his touch.
"Jayjay, it's not my fault, it's her fault. My phone was in my hand when she told me about the collar, and before I could even put it down, she started fixing it, and when..." he kept rambling, but I wasn't listening.
My mind started wandering to random, violent places. If I kicked Keifer right now, would he pass through this wall? What if he did? There would be a huge hole in the wall, right? And what if he didn't? His back would probably break. What if I just kicked the leg of his chair—would he fall? If he did, his back would hurt, and his head would hit the floor. What if he didn't fall and stood up like they do in those dramatic movies? Well, I don't think he has those kind of reflexes.
"You know, I could kick you," I said suddenly, cutting him off.
He stopped mid-explanation, looking stunned. "What?"
"You think you can hurt me, say sorry, and I'll just give up?" I looked him straight in the eye. I stood up and marched to my room, locking the door and throwing myself onto the bed.
As I lay there, my Kuya Angelo's words echoed in my head from the night before our sleepover at the Watsons.
Flashback:
After returning home, we were all tired and went to our rooms, but sleep just wouldn't find me. I went into the garden and found Kuya sitting on a bench. I walked over and playfully placed my hands over his eyes.
"Jay," he said with a smile, and I chuckled as I sat beside him.
"Kuya, why are you up this late?" I asked.
"I should be asking you the same thing," he laughed. Then, his expression grew serious. "Two times," he said suddenly.
I looked at him, confused. "What two times?"
"You have cried because of Keifer," he said. I looked down at my hands. "Let's make a deal," he added.
"What deal?"
"If you cry five times because of Keifer, I will take you away from him," he said, and my eyes widened. "You've cried twice already. There are only three left."
"Kuya, are you serious?" I asked in disbelief.
"Dead serious."
"Okay, deal done," I said. We shook hands violently like two children, then laughed at how ridiculous we were being.
End Of The Flashback.Â
While I was locked in my room earlier, I had cried, and I accidentally called Kuya Angelo, so now he knows I've cried three times because of Keifer. It's not that I wanted to cry, but the frustration just became too much, and I had accidentally dialed his number instead of Percy's.
He warned me: two more times, and I'll be gone from Keifer's life. Well, it's Keifer's fault, too! First, he let Claire be close to him, then this Ayla. Can't he say something the moment they take the first step? No, Mr. Polite Gentleman doesn't want to be rude to girls, but he makes me cry out of frustration instead.
Thinking about it, I drifted off to sleep.
The End 🌸.
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