ARIES POV
Everyone was gathered in the living room. Kuya Angelo, Jeana, mama, grandma… and even section E was there.
And the only reason everyone was here was Jay Jay.
Kuya said she was coming home soon. But I still didn't understand why the hell she ran out of school… and why her whole section came here.
Something felt wrong.
Soon the door opened.
She walked in.
She looked like she had fought a hurricane. Her hair was messy, her uniform crooked, and her eyes were swollen.
Her face clearly said something was terribly wrong.
AFTER SECTION E LEFT
I was still in shock.
The way she talked to section E clearly showed they had done something terrible to her. She never talked to them like that before.
And now she was looking at them like they were her enemies.
Then suddenly she asked—
"Am I an illegitimate child?"
What the hell?
How did she know?
Who told her?
Oh god… this is going to be terrible.
Every word she said felt like a knife stabbing into my chest. She was struggling so much… and we didn't even realize it.
All this time we thought we were protecting her.
But we weren't.
Damn it.
I didn't even stop her when she left the house.
I failed as a brother.
I should have been there for her when she needed me the most. Instead I was being selfish… holding grudges from the past and blaming her.
Kuya was right.
It wasn't her fault.
She wasn't even in her senses back then.
I should have forgiven her long ago.
But here I am… realizing everything too late.
I'm a terrible brother.
Really terrible.
I need to talk to her.
I can't just give up like this.
Tomorrow when she comes to school… I'll talk to her.
But before that I need to talk to kuya.
I need to know why she was angry at section E.
And I know he knows something.
So I walked to his room and knocked.
He opened the door and looked at me.
"What happened? Why are you here?"
"I want to talk about Jay Jay."
He sighed and stepped aside.
"Fine. Come in."
We both sat on the bed.
"Why was she angry at section E? And how did she suddenly get partnership from investors? Tell me… I know you know something."
He stayed silent for a moment before speaking.
"She's angry because of the plan Keifer and the rest of section E made against her."
My brows furrowed.
"What plan?"
"They wanted revenge on you. So they decided to use her."
My fists slowly clenched.
"Keifer planned to make her fall in love with him… and then break her heart."
For a moment I couldn't even breathe.
"And you knew about this?"
My voice was shaking now.
"Then why didn't you tell me? And why didn't you tell her?"
"I beat him the moment I found out about the plan."
That surprised me.
"He begged me not to tell her. He said he would confess everything himself and apologize."
He rubbed his forehead.
"But I didn't know things would turn out this bad."
My anger exploded.
"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!"
"How dare he use her like that?!"
"What did she even do to deserve this?!"
He grabbed my shoulder.
"Calm down."
Then he said something that froze my whole body.
"There's something else… Percy is alive."
For a moment I thought I heard him wrong.
"H… he… is alive?"
"Yes."
"And today she went to meet him."
My heart started beating fast.
"He's the one who told her that she's an illegitimate child."
My mind was spinning.
"Then why didn't he show up? What the hell is happening?"
"I don't know. You'll have to ask him yourself."
That was enough for me.
"I'm going."
Then I left the room.
My head was full of thoughts.
Percy is alive.
He met her.
And section E used her.
All this time I was blamed for Percy's death… for nothing.
That jerk is alive.
And when I see him… I swear I'll send him back to his coffin.
And Keifer…
He won't escape either.
NEXT DAY
The next morning I stormed into the section E building.
I walked straight to Keifer.
The moment I saw him, I punched him hard.
"You son of a bitch!"
"How dare you use her?! Are you out of your mind?"
He wiped the blood from his lip and glared at me.
"And you're the one saying this?"
"Didn't you say in front of our section that you didn't care about her?"
My jaw tightened.
"That's between me and my sister. Not you."
"Why did you drag her into this?"
"You were angry at me. So why involve her?"
He stayed silent.
Just staring at me.
"Answer me!"
I grabbed his collar.
"Why did you do that?"
He pushed my hands away.
I laughed bitterly.
"Let me tell you why."
"Because you thought I pushed Percy that night."
"Because you thought I killed him."
"Because Ella is my girlfriend."
"So you were jealous, right?"
I shook my head.
"You're a fool."
"Percy is alive."
The whole room went silent.
"And if you want to know what really happened that night… go ask him."
"He'll tell you the truth."
Then I looked at the rest of the section.
"You all are monsters."
"I should have never let her stay in this section."
"She trusted you."
"She helped you."
"She was always there for you."
"But what did you do?"
"You used her."
No one said anything.
I stepped back.
"Congratulations."
"Your plan succeeded."
"You hurt her."
"You hurt me."
"But from now on… stay away from her."
"If I find out you hurt her again…"
"You all will regret it."
"Trust me."
"I mean every word."
Then I walked out.
I waited for her the next day.
And the next.
But she didn't come to school.
A week passed.
And when she finally came…
She didn't even talk to me.
She walked past me like I was a stranger.
She was angry at me.
And honestly…
I deserved it.
PRESENT
Today she called me.
For a moment I thought I was hallucinating.
But I wasn't.
She really called me.
She said she wanted to talk.
Maybe I can apologize now.
Maybe we can fix things.
Maybe…
She can forgive me.