Mariano Headquarters
New York City
(Jay-jay's POV)
The morning started normally.
Which, in the Mariano Empire, meant controlled chaos.
Assistants rushed through hallways.
Phones rang nonstop.
Stock updates flashed across giant monitors in the lobby of Mariano Enterprises.
I stepped out of the elevator wearing a black blazer Percy insisted made me look "intimidating and expensive."
It probably did.
"Morning, boss," Percy said dramatically as he walked beside me.
"Don't call me that."
"You literally run half the company now."
"Not half."
"Forty-two percent."
I sighed.
"Percy."
"Yes?"
"You calculated that?"
"I was bored."
Of course he was.
We entered the executive conference room where Jaspfher Mariano was already waiting.
Several executives sat around the long glass table.
But something about the atmosphere felt… strange.
Too tense.
My father slid a document across the table toward me.
"Read it."
I opened the folder.
At the top of the page was a company name I hadn't expected to see today.
Watson Enterprises.
My stomach tightened.
Percy leaned over my shoulder.
"Oh."
His voice turned dramatic immediately.
"Oh wow."
I kept reading.
Then I looked up slowly.
"You're joking."
My father remained calm.
"No."
I read the line again.
Official Strategic Meeting Request
Between Watson Enterprises and Mariano Enterprises
Location: New York.
Date: Five days from now.
Percy leaned back in his chair like someone watching a soap opera unfold.
"Well," he said.
"This just became interesting."
I closed the file.
"Why do they want a meeting?"
One of the executives answered.
"They're expanding global shipping and technology investments."
Another added carefully,
"And they specifically requested negotiations with the Mariano leadership."
Meaning me.
Meaning my father.
And possibly…
Someone else.
I exhaled slowly.
"Who is representing Watson Enterprises?"
Silence fell across the room.
My father answered.
"Keifer Watson."
My heart stopped for half a second.
Percy slowly turned toward me.
"Wow," he whispered.
"This is going to be emotionally catastrophic."
London
(Keifer's POV)
Four years ago.
That's how long it had been since the cliff accident.
Four years since Percy Mariano supposedly died.
Four years since everything between us broke.
And now…
I stood inside the boardroom of Watson Enterprises reviewing international expansion plans.
My advisors were speaking.
I barely heard them.
One of them slid a folder toward me.
"Sir, the negotiation request has been approved."
I opened it.
Across the top:
Mariano Enterprises.
Location: New York City.
My fingers paused on the paper.
Jay-jay.
I hadn't seen her since that day in Section E.
The day I told her I used her.
The day I watched her walk away.
And now fate was dragging us into the same room again.
One advisor spoke carefully.
"Sir, should we delay the meeting?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Because whether I liked it or not…
Some wars couldn't stay unfinished forever.
Mariano Penthouse
(Percy's POV)
That night the penthouse was quiet.
Too quiet.
Jay-jay sat by the window looking at the city lights of New York.
Thinking.
Probably about him.
I walked over and dropped dramatically onto the couch.
"So."
She didn't look at me.
"So."
"The universe clearly loves chaos."
Still no reaction.
I leaned forward.
"You're going to see Keifer Watson again."
She finally spoke.
"I know."
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
"You're not nervous?" I asked.
She looked out at the skyline.
"I'm not the same girl he left behind."
Fair.
Very fair.
Then she asked quietly,
"Percy."
"Yeah?"
"You were in that accident with them."
I stiffened slightly.
She already knew the story.
Everyone did.
The cliff.
The car.
The fall.
The death that wasn't actually a death.
But she asked something different this time.
"What really happened that night?"
I looked at her carefully.
"You know what happened."
"No," she said quietly.
"I know what people believe happened."
Smart girl.
Very smart.
I leaned back against the couch.
"Well…"
I stared at the ceiling.
"Let's just say the truth about that night would destroy a few friendships."
Jay-jay crossed her arms.
"They're already destroyed."
She wasn't wrong.
Then she asked the one question I'd been avoiding.
"Did Yuri really freeze?"
I didn't answer immediately.
Instead I looked at the city lights.
Because the truth was…
Yuri freezing wasn't the worst part of that night.
Not even close.
Final Scene — Unknown Location
A dark office.
A man watched the news on a tablet.
The screen displayed a business headline.
WATSON ENTERPRISES AND MARIANO ENTERPRISES ANNOUNCE HISTORIC MEETING
The man smiled slightly.
On the screen appeared two names:
Keifer Watson.
Jay-jay Mariano.
He whispered softly.
"Perfect."
Then he turned off the screen.
And in the reflection of the glass window…
His face appeared.
Yuri Hanamitchi.
Mariano Headquarters
New York City
(Jay-jay's POV)
The lobby of Mariano Enterprises had never felt this tense.
Executives stood near the glass entrance.
Assistants whispered to each other.
Security guards were posted everywhere.
Percy leaned beside me near the elevator, lazily sipping iced coffee.
"Wow," Percy Mariano said.
"This feels like a mafia meeting."
"It's a business meeting."
"Same thing but with better suits."
I ignored him.
My father, Jaspfher Mariano, checked his watch calmly.
"They'll arrive in two minutes."
Two minutes.
That was all the time left before I saw him again.
Four years since the cliff accident.
One year since everything exploded in Section E.
Then the glass doors opened.
The entire room went silent.
The Watson delegation walked in.
Lawyers.
Executives.
Assistants.
And at the center of them—
Keifer Watson.
He looked different.
Taller.
Sharper.
Colder.
His dark suit fit perfectly.
The confident heir of Watson Enterprises.
But the moment his eyes met mine…
Something flickered in them.
Recognition.
Regret.
Maybe both.
Percy leaned toward my ear.
"Oh wow."
"Stop."
"No seriously," he whispered.
"This is peak drama."
Keifer stepped closer to the table.
His expression returned to calm professionalism.
"Mr. Mariano."
My father nodded.
"Mr. Watson."
They shook hands.
Power meeting power.
But then something happened.
Keifer's eyes moved slightly.
Past me.
Toward the couch near the window.
Where Percy was casually sitting.
Still drinking his iced coffee.
For a second—
Keifer froze.
Completely.
His hand slowly dropped from the handshake.
His gaze sharpened.
He stared at Percy like someone seeing a ghost.
Keifer's POV
Impossible.
My heart stopped.
The room disappeared.
All I could see was the boy sitting near the window.
Messy hair.
Relaxed posture.
Annoyingly confident smirk.
It couldn't be.
But it was.
Percy Mariano.
Alive.
Four years ago I watched that car fall into the ocean.
Four years ago I believed he died.
Four years of guilt.
And now he was sitting here in New York like nothing happened.
Percy noticed my stare.
He slowly lowered his coffee cup.
Then he grinned.
The same stupid grin from years ago.
"Well," he said casually.
"This is awkward."
My voice came out rough.
"…Percy?"
The room instantly fell silent.
Executives exchanged confused looks.
Jay-jay turned between us.
"You two know each other?"
Percy stood up slowly.
"Yeah."
He stretched slightly.
"Old friends."
I stepped forward without thinking.
"You died."
Percy shrugged.
"Rumors are exaggerated."
Anger and disbelief collided inside me.
"You were in that car."
"Correct."
"It fell off the cliff."
"Also correct."
"Then how are you standing here?"
Percy tilted his head.
"Swimming lessons."
No one laughed.
Jay-jay crossed her arms slowly.
"Percy…"
Her voice dropped.
"You told me you survived the accident."
"Yes."
"You didn't say they thought you were dead."
He looked slightly guilty.
"Well…"
"That detail slipped my mind."
Jay-jay's POV
The room was silent again.
But now the tension had completely changed.
Keifer was staring at Percy like the world had just rewritten itself.
Which, technically, it had.
Four years of grief.
Four years of blame.
All shattered in ten seconds.
My father cleared his throat.
"Perhaps we should move this discussion to the conference room."
No one argued.
The Boardroom
Everyone took their seats.
But the meeting was already ruined.
Keifer hadn't stopped staring at Percy.
And Percy looked annoyingly relaxed.
Finally Keifer spoke again.
"You let us believe you died."
Percy leaned back in his chair.
"You assumed."
"That car fell into the ocean."
"Yes."
"And you never came back."
Percy's smile faded slightly.
"For reasons."
Keifer's voice hardened.
"You have any idea what that night did to us?"
Silence.
Then Percy said quietly—
"I know exactly what it did."
Something in his tone changed.
Serious.
Heavy.
Jay-jay noticed it too.
"Percy," she said slowly.
"You told me Yuri froze that night."
Percy didn't answer immediately.
He looked at Keifer.
Then at the window.
Then back at us.
"Well," he said.
"That's the story everyone believes."
Keifer frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Percy leaned forward.
And the joking expression disappeared completely.
"It means the cliff accident didn't happen the way you think."
The room went completely silent.
Jay-jay's eyes narrowed.
"You're saying someone lied."
Percy exhaled slowly.
"Let's just say…"
"…someone remembers that night very differently."
Outside mariano tower
A black car was parked across the street.
Inside sat a man watching the building.
On his phone screen was a photo.
Four boys standing together years ago.
Keifer Watson
Yuri Hanamitchi
Aries
Percy Mariano
The man smiled slightly.
"Interesting."
Then he whispered quietly.
"So the ghost finally returned."
And drove away.