KEIFER'S POV
For a split second after I catch her—everything else disappears.
It's just her weight in my hands, the sharp intake of her breath, the way her body instinctively leans into mine before she even realizes it. My heart doesn't just beat—it hits, hard and sudden, like it caught me off guard.And I hate how natural it feels.Then she opens her mouth.
And there it is.
That attitude.That fire.That sharp, unapologetic bite I used to find insufferable.
"Wow. Still incapable of minding your own business, huh?"
And God help me—I almost smiled.Because it doesn't irritate me anymore.It doesn't push me away like it used to.
If anything—It pulls me in.
She steps back, fixing herself like nothing happened, but I notice everything.
The slight flush on her cheeks.The way her fingers adjust her sleeve a second too long.The way her eyes avoid mine just for a moment before snapping back with that same defiance.
She's changed.But she hasn't.And I don't know which version is more dangerous.
In the elevator, she talks about her hair catching fire if I stare.
Grace laughs softly beside me—but I don't.
Because I am staring.Not at her hair.At her.
At how she carries herself now—sharp edges wrapped in elegance, confidence sitting on her shoulders like it belongs there.
This isn't the messy, chaotic Jay I remember.
This is something else.Something refined and I don't like how much I notice.
The conference room shifts everything.She walks to the front—and for the first time, I stop seeing her as the girl who used to argue with me over nothing.
And start seeing her as a nature of force.
She speaks—and the room listens.Not out of politeness.Out of interest.Every design.Every concept.
Everydetail was controlled.Precise.Powerful
And I found myself leaning back, watching her not with irritation—But focus.
Because this?This is real.
This is her.
And I didn't see it before.Or maybe—I never looked properly.
My jaw tightens slightly as she continues.
Because somewhere between the way she explains structure and the way she defends her vision—Something shifts.
Not loud.Not obvious.But enough.Enough to make me aware of her in a way I wasn't before.
When she finishes, the silence says everything.And then the applause follows.
I didn't clap immediately.I didn't react the way the others do.
But I did it eventually....Because she earned it.
And I don't give that easily.
When my father announces she'll lead the collaboration—
I'm was not at all surprised.It makes sense.
She was so good.Better than I expected.Better than I want to admit and definitely better than all the other designers work we saw in the past weeks with no soul in there work....I may not know much about designing but I think clothes do represent one's outer soul.....
But then—He says I'll be supervising her.
And something in me stills.
For a second, I consider it.
The implications.The consequences.
Her.
Every day.In my space.And instead of rejecting it—
I accept it.Easily.Too easily.
"Yeah," I say, my voice calm, steady. "I'll take great care of the collaboration…"
I look at her then.
Directly.
"And of Miss Mariano as well."
Her reaction is immediate.Shock.Disbelief.Annoyance.And something else she doesn't understand yet.
Good.Because neither did I.
After the meeting ends, conversations blur around me.Board members talk.Business moves forward.
But my attention—Is elsewhere.
On her.
She's with her father first, smiling in a way that's softer than anything she showed in that room.
Proud.Relieved.Happy.
It's… different.And I don't like how long I watch.
Then she moves.Toward Jace.And him.
Jameson Hawthorne.
My jaw tightens instantly.Because I remember him.I remember the way he used to linger around her.The way she laughed with him.The way he always seemed a little too comfortable.
I never liked it then and I definitely don't like it now and also I'm not the only one.....
Jace isn't very keen of him either...He just befreinded him in pretence of buisness between Hawthorne family and Mariano Family as their families are majorly about fashion and are two prominent fashion families in all of Europe and also the other reason of him keeping and eye on James to protect Jay Jay....
—
He says something.She laughs and something sharp twists in my chest.Unfamiliar.Unwelcome.
His hand touches her shoulder and something in me snaps tight.
Because I don't like it.At all.
Jace gets called away.And now it's just them.
Talking and laughing.
Too close.
Too comfortable.
I dismiss the people around me without even realizing it.Grace says something—I don't respond.Because all I can see—
Is him standing next to her in a very close position.....
And then—
He hugs her.
HE FUCKING HUGGED HER!!!!
THAT SON OF BITCH TOUCHED HIS FILTHY BODY AGAINST AND HER AND WRAPPED HIS ARMS AROUND HER!!!
I SWEAR I'LL RIP THOSE ARMS OF HIM!!!
BASTARD!!!
But the way she melts into it for that second—
Relaxed.Unaware.Completely at ease—That's what does it.Because she's never looked like that with me.
Not once.
Something inside me was burning...somethung real slow and sharp.Spreading through my chest like it doesn't belong there—but refuses to leave.
My hands curl slightly at my sides.Because for one irrational second—I wanted to walk over there.Pull her away.Remove his hands.
Make it stop.
And that thought—That instinct—Hit me harder than anything else.
What the hell is this?
I exhale slowly, forcing my expression back into place.Cold.Controlled.Untouchable.
But it doesn't change the fact that something inside me has shifted.Because this isn't irritation.It's not annoyance.It's not habit.
It's something else.Something I don't want.
Something I didn't plan..Something I definitely didn't expect.
I looked at her one more time.Really looked and the realization lands.
"No," I mutter under my breath.
Because this?
This is a problem.Because somehow—Somewhere between catching her from falling…and watching her walk away smiling at someone else—
I've crossed a line I didn't even see coming.and I don't know how to go back.
Because I don't hate her anymore.
I—
Damn it.
I think I like her.
The thought lands heavy—too heavy—and for a second, everything around me dulls out like background noise that doesn't matter anymore.
Because this isn't supposed to happen.
Not with her.Not with Jay.And just when I'm about to shove it down—ignore it, bury it where it belongs—
My mind betrays me.
A memory resurfaced.
—
She's seventeen and completely wasted.I remember the call. The chaos. The irritation I felt walking into that bar, already annoyed before I even saw her.
And then I did.
She was sitting there, head tilted back against the couch, eyes half-lidded, laughing at something that didn't even make sense. Glass still loosely held in her hand.Underage.Drunk.Careless.
"Unbelievable," I had muttered, running a hand through my hair.Because of course it was her.Of course it had to be her.
The rest was… quiet control.Handling the manager.Slipping money where it needed to go.Making sure no names were written down.
No one found out.Not her parents.Not mine.
Because I didn't want them getting disappointed at her..So I decided to take her with me....
She could barely walked.
Half leaning on me, half dragging her feet, mumbling nonsense under her breath while I tried—unsuccessfully—to ignore her.
"You're… you're so annoying," she slurred, pointing at me like she was making a serious argument.
"okay," I replied flatly. "Now stay quiet."
She didn't.
Of course she didn't.
By the time we reached my dorm, I was already done.Done with her.Done with the situation.Done with the night.
I laid her down on my bed, pulling the blanket over her just enough so she wouldn't freeze, already turning away—Ready to leave.
And then—Her hand grabbed my wrist.
I stopped.Slowly looked back.She was barely conscious.
Eyes half-open. Breathing uneven.Completely unaware of anything real.
"Stay…" she murmured softly.
I frowned slightly. "Go to sleep, Jay."
But she didn't let go.If anything—her grip tightened.And before I could react—She pulled me in hard.
Enough to throw me off balance just slightly—Enough to bring me closer—And then—Her lips were on mine.It wasn't planned.It wasn't steady.It wasn't even fully conscious.
But it happened.Soft.Clumsy.Warm.Gone almost as quickly as it came.
I froze.Completely.Because for one second—
Just one—My mind went blank.And then reality snapped back in.I pulled away instantly, staring at her like I didn't recognize what just happened.But she was already gone.
Asleep.Like nothing happened.Like she hadn't just—taken my first kiss....
I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply.
"Unbelievable," I muttered again and then I left her in my room and slept outside and when I woke up the next day she was gone....
—
I never brought it up.Never mentioned it.Never gave it weight.Because it didn't mean anything.It couldn't.She wasn't even aware.
At least—That's what I told myself.
—
Suddenly I snapped back to reality my jaw tightens slightly, the memory fading but not leaving.Because it doesn't feel meaningless anymore.Not with the way she looked at me today.Not with the way my chest reacted when I touched her.Not with this.
My gaze lifts.Finds her again.
She's turning now, walking toward the door with Jace and Hawthorne, laughing lightly at something he says.
Like that moment never existed.Of course.My expression settles back into something neutral.
But my voice?It moves before I can stop it.
Low.Sharp enough to reach her.
"Try not to trip on your way out, Jaybird."
She pauses.Just slightly.
Shoulders stiffening for half a second before she turns her head just enough to glare at me.
"Don't worry dickhead,even if I trip,I'll manage myself just fine...." she shoots back smoothly.And then she walks away.
Like she always does.
But this time—My eyes follow her longer than they should.Because now—I know.That memory?
It wasn't nothing and whatever this is now—It's definitely not nothing either and for the first time—
I'm not sure I want to ignore it.....