Chapter: The Night After Everything
(Keifer's POV)
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying every second from today.
Her collapsing in my arms.
Her crying.
Her saying she loves—
I shut my eyes.
I can still feel the way she held me when she woke up. Like I was the only stable thing in her world. Like if she let go, she'd fall apart again.
And then there's him.
Yuri.
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
My jaw tightened instantly.
I answered without speaking.
"You found out," Yuri's calm voice said on the other end.
I sat up slowly.
"So you did threaten her."
A soft chuckle. "I don't threaten without reason."
My grip on the phone tightened. "You showed her a gun."
"I showed her consequences."
Consequences.
"She fainted today," I said quietly. Dangerously quiet.
Silence.
Then, almost bored: "She's too emotional."
That was it.
I stood up so fast my chair fell behind me.
"If you ever point anything at her again—"
"You'll what?" Yuri interrupted smoothly. "Fight me? Expose me? Risk her being dragged into something worse?"
He wasn't yelling.
That's what made it worse.
"You think this is about jealousy?" he continued. "This is bigger than you, Keifer."
"Then explain it."
"You're not ready."
That phrase again.
Not ready.
Not the correct time.
Soon.
Everyone keeps talking like I'm a side character in my own life.
"You don't get to decide who she belongs to," I said through clenched teeth.
A pause.
Then his tone shifted slightly colder.
"She was promised long before you two started playing love story."
Promised?
My mind flashed to the photo. Zoya.
Kuya Angelo.
Contracts.
Percy.
Something is tangled here. Something old.
"She ran to me," I said. "Not to you."
That hit him.
I could hear the slight change in his breathing.
"Careful," he warned quietly. "The closer she stands to you… the more dangerous it becomes."
"Is that a threat?"
"It's reality."
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone.
He's hiding something.
And whatever it is—
It connects all of us.
Meanwhile – Jay's Room
(Jay's POV)
I couldn't sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw three faces.
Yuri.
Keifer.
And the girl in the photo.
Zoya.
Why does Kuya Angelo have her picture?
Why does Keifer have it too?
And why did his expression change like that when I asked?
And Percy…
My stepbrother.
Alive.
Paralyzed.
Watching.
I sat up and grabbed my phone.
No missed calls.
No messages.
Just silence.
Suddenly—
A soft knock on my window.
I froze.
My room is on the second floor.
Who—
Another knock.
Not loud.
Intentional.
My heart started racing.
I slowly stood up and walked toward the window.
And when I pulled the curtain aside—
My breath stopped.
It was him.
Not Yuri.
Not Keifer.
A boy standing near the garden wall below.
He looked older than I remembered.
Thinner.
But those eyes—
"Percy…" I whispered.
He gave a small smile and lifted a finger to his lips.
Don't scream.
I rushed downstairs without thinking.
When I opened the back door, he was already closer.
And for a second—
We just stared at each other.
"You said it wasn't the correct time," I whispered.
He looked tired.
"It's not," he said softly. "But you're in danger now."
My heart dropped.
"From Yuri?"
He didn't answer directly.
"From something bigger than him."
I swallowed. "Then tell me."
He stepped back slightly.
"I can't stay long."
"Percy—"
"Jay," he said gently, "Zoya isn't just a girl in a photo."
My stomach twisted.
"What do you mean?"
"She's the reason all of this started."
Started?
Started what?
He looked toward the house, cautious.
"Your father. Yuri's family. Kuya Angelo. The contract. The engagement."
Everything felt like it was collapsing inward.
"It's all connected to her."
My head spun.
"Is she alive?"
Percy's eyes darkened.
"Yes."
That word hit harder than anything.
"Then why does it feel like she's a ghost?"
He gave me a sad look.
"Because she disappeared."
Before I could ask more—
Headlights flashed at the end of the street.
Percy's body tensed instantly.
"I have to go."
"Wait!" I grabbed his arm. "You can't just leave like this!"
He looked at me the way someone looks when they know something terrible.
"You're stronger than you think," he said quietly. "But don't trust anyone fully."
My chest tightened.
"Not even Keifer?" I asked before I could stop myself.
He hesitated.
That hesitation scared me more than any answer.
"Just be careful," he said.
And then—
He was gone.
Vanished into the darkness like he was never there.
I stood there alone in the cold night air, my heart pounding.
Zoya is alive.
The contract started because of her.
Something bigger than Yuri is moving.
And Percy just warned me not to trust fully.
Not even—
No.
I shook my head.
I trust Keifer.
I have to.
But deep down—
For the first time—
Fear wasn't just about a gun.
It was about secrets.
And I have a feeling…
We've only uncovered the surface.