Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Fight
The morning started wrong.
Jay couldn't pinpoint exactly when it shifted. Maybe it was the way Keifer left his coffee cup in the sink instead of the dishwasher. Again. Maybe it was the way she snapped at him about it.
"What is your problem?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"MY problem? You leaving messes everywhere like I'm your maid?"
"I forgot one cup, Jay. One cup."
"It's never ONE cup. It's always something. Every single day."
He stared at her. "Where is this coming from?"
"I don't know. Maybe from the fact that I'm tired of cleaning up after everyone. Maybe from the fact that I'm tired of—" She stopped.
"Tired of what?"
"Nothing."
"No, finish."
"I'm tired, Keifer. I'm tired and I'm overwhelmed and I feel like I'm the only one who notices when things need to be done."
"That's not fair."
"Isn't it?"
---
Keiran appeared in the doorway, Rex in hand. "Mamma? Pappa? Why are you yelling?"
Jay's face crumpled. "We're not yelling, baby."
"You were yelling."
"We're just... talking."
Keiran looked at them with those big eyes. Then at Rex. "Rex says grown-ups are complicated."
Keifer knelt. "Rex is right, buddy. Can you go play for a bit? Mamma and I need to talk."
Keiran nodded slowly. Left.
The silence after he was gone was worse than the yelling.
---
Jay turned away. "I need to go."
"Jay—"
"I need space, Keifer. I can't do this right now."
"Can't do what? Talk?"
"Can't do YOU."
The words hung in the air like a slap.
He stepped back. "You don't mean that."
"I don't know what I mean anymore."
She grabbed her bag. Walked out.
The door closed behind her.
Keifer stood there. Alone.
---
Shreya found him an hour later.
Still standing in the same spot.
"Keifer?"
He didn't respond.
"Keifer, where's Jay?"
"I don't know." His voice was hollow. "She left."
Shreya's eyes widened. "Left? What do you mean left?"
"We fought. She said she needed space. She walked out."
"For how long?"
"I don't know."
---
Akshi appeared behind Shreya. "What's happening?"
"Jay left."
"LEFT? Like, left left?"
"We don't know."
Chethan joined them. Mithun too.
The four of them stood in the kitchen, looking at Keifer's broken expression.
"What did you fight about?" Mithun asked quietly.
"Stupid stuff. A coffee cup. Messes. And then—" He stopped. "She said she couldn't do me anymore."
Silence.
Akshi grabbed Chethan's hand. "She didn't mean that."
"I don't know what she meant."
---
Jay drove.
No destination. Just... drove.
She ended up at a small café she'd never been to. Ordered coffee. Sat in the corner.
Her phone buzzed.
Shreya: Where are you?
She didn't answer.
Akshi: Jay, please. Talk to us.
Still nothing.
Keifer: I love you. Come home when you're ready.
She stared at the message.
Tears fell.
She didn't respond.
---
Hours passed.
The sun set.
Jay was still at the café.
Her phone buzzed again.
Shreya: Keiran is asking for you. What do we tell him?
Jay's heart broke.
Jay: Tell him Mamma loves him. Tell him I'll be home soon.
Shreya: When is soon?
Jay: I don't know.
---
At the mansion, Keifer sat with Keiran.
"Where's Mamma?"
"She needed some time, buddy. She'll be back."
"Why?"
"Sometimes grown-ups need space to think."
Keiran hugged Rex tighter. "Rex says Mamma is sad."
"She might be."
"Rex says we should wait for her."
Keifer pulled his son close. "Rex is right."
---
That night, Jay didn't come home.
She checked into a small hotel. Lay on the bed. Stared at the ceiling.
Her phone buzzed one last time.
Keifer: I love you. Whatever you need, I'm here. Come home when you're ready. Keiran misses you. I miss you.
She cried herself to sleep.
---
The next morning, the mansion was silent.
Shreya and Akshi sat at the kitchen table, coffee untouched.
Mithun and Chethan hovered nearby.
Keifer came down alone.
"She didn't come back."
Shreya stood. "I'm going to find her."
"She won't answer."
"She'll answer me."
---
Shreya found her at the café.
Same one. Same corner.
Jay looked up. "How did you—"
"Akshi tracked your phone. Don't be mad."
Jay sighed. "I'm not mad."
Shreya sat across from her. "What happened?"
"I don't know. Everything. Nothing. I just—" She stopped. "I snapped. At him. Over a coffee cup."
"That doesn't sound like you."
"I know. I don't know why I did it."
Shreya reached for her hand. "Come home."
"I can't. Not yet."
"When?"
"I don't know."
---
The fight wasn't over.
It was just beginning.
---
End of Chapter Eighty-Eight