KEIFER POV
Forgive me, Jay. This is the only way, the only damn way I can keep you safe.
Just wait for me, baby. Just a little more time. Once I have that inheritance in my hands and once I've built enough power to shield you from my so-called family, I'm coming back for you. I'll burn every bridge just to get to you, and I'll make sure those fuckers can never touch you again.
I'll explain everything. I'll spend every single second of my life crawling back to you if I have to. I'll work until my last breath just to earn your forgiveness and win back the trust I just shattered.
So please, fuck... don't cry. Seeing your tears is a slow death for me. I know I've hurt you, and God knows I hate myself more than you ever could right now. But I don't have a choice. I'd rather have you hate me and be alive than lose you forever.
I sat in my usual seat, the silence in the classroom heavier than it had ever been. It's been one week. One week since the incident that turned me into the villain in their eyes.
I can feel their stares—cold, judging, and filled with a betrayal they don't think I deserve to live down.
"Wow, he really has the audacity to come here now," Mayo whispered. His voice was laced with a bitterness that I deserved, but it didn't make it any easier to hear.
"Shut up, don't talk to him like that," Edrix interjected
"Keifer," Felix called out, his voice solemn.
"What?" I replied, my tone flat, masking the turmoil inside me.
"Jay-jay... she hasn't come to school for almost a week," Felix explained, his eyes searching mine for a reaction I couldn't show. "Kuya Percy said she's been drinking a lot at King's Ground."
King's Ground.
Fuck. That woman is really out of her mind, but she's my woman. Even now, through the mess I've made, I love her for that reckless streak. I just hope her inner barakuda stays buried.
Most people are scary when they're drunk, but Jay-jay? She's a different breed. She's the type to burn down the entire place when she's had too much.
Tss. Barakuda.
"Keifer," Rory said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I kept my face like stone. I can't let the mask slip. I can't tell a single one of them the truth yet—not if I want this plan to work.
"What do you want me to do about it?" I asked coldly.
The boys looked at me. Some looked at me like I was a complete stranger, others didn't bother hiding the hatred in their eyes.
I don't blame them. Jay-jay is our Mutya. In a class full of sixteen rowdy, problematic boys, she was the only girl who stood her ground. She took care of us, meddled in our messes when we didn't ask, and stood up for us when no one else would. And now, I was the one destroying her.
The atmosphere shifted the moment she stepped through the door.
Jay-jay.
She didn't look at me—not really. Her eyes were cold, like ice that had been hardened by the fire I set to her life. She took a seat as far away from us as possible, rolling her eyes with a disdain that cut deeper than any blade.
I felt a smirk tugging at the corner of my lips. There's that old fire. She was still fighting. But I quickly masked it, keeping my face a blank slate of indifference.
Then, she pulled out her phone. Her thumbs were moving fast, a small smile playing on her lips that wasn't meant for me.
Don't text them. Whoever the fuck it is, stop.
The urge to march over there, rip that phone out of her hand, and break whoever was on the other end of that line was suffocating. I didn't want to be this person, the guy who stalks her every move, but I had to. I needed to know.
I pulled out my own phone, opening the interface. Edrix had planted a tracker and a mirror-app on her phone back when we realized Percy was still alive. At the time, we thought Percy was a threat because of what Aries did—we were trying to protect her from a ghost.
It turned out we were wrong. Percy is her step-brother. At least that idiot is looking after her, though I feel a pang of pity for her. Back when Percy and I were actually friends, he was obsessed with that "I'm the handsomest man in the world" bullshit. He's annoying as hell, but he's safe.
But I still needed to see. My grip tightened on my phone as I waited for the data to sync. I'm doing this for you, Jay. Even if you hate me for it, I won't let anyone else take my place while I'm playing the villain.
I opened the mirror app and waited for the messages to load. I didn't want to be a creep, but I couldn't help it. Then, a single sentence caught my eye and made my heart skip a beat.
Jay: "Tell me a way to cancel the engagement with Yuri."
I felt a ghost of a smile tugging at my lips. So, she doesn't want to be engaged to that rooster anymore. Good. Because no matter what kind of game I'm playing right now, she's mine.
I scrolled down to see how Percy responded. I wanted to see if that idiot actually had a decent brain in his head to give her a good idea. But of course, he didn't.
Percy: "Sorry sis, none."
I watched Jay-jay from across the room. She rolled her eyes at her screen, her frustration evident in the way she huffed. I couldn't help but smile again. She's cute when she's annoyed.
Jay: "I have an idea."
Percy: "What is it?"
I leaned in, curiosity getting the better of me. What could that crazy brain of hers be cooking up now?
Jay: "What if I turn into a NUN?"
My smile died instantly. My grip tightened on my phone until my knuckles turned white.
Hell to the no.
Like hell am I letting that happen. If she becomes a nun, there's no wedding. There are no children. There is no future where she belongs to me. She really is out of her mind. Over my dead body, Jay-jay. You're not going to any convent; you're staying right here where I can eventually take you back.
I gripped my phone, watching the exchange unfold. Percy might be a self-absorbed idiot, but at least he knows how to talk some sense into her.
Percy: "Fuck sis, don't do that."
Jay-jay: "Why? That's the only way I can see."
Percy: "If you turn into a nun, you won't be able to eat any of your favorite meat. No more steaks, Jay. No more Samgyup."
I looked up from my screen just in time to see Jay-jay's expression shift. Her eyes widened, and her face went pale with pure horror.
Good. My foodie queen finally realized it was a suicidal idea. There's no way she could survive a day without her cravings.
Jay-jay: "I almost forgot about that. I can't live without food."
Percy: "Trust me, sis. I think if you try to turn into a nun, a very obsessed and possessive idiot won't let you anyway."
Jay-jay raised an eyebrow at her phone, her eyes narrowing in confusion.
Jay-jay: "Who the hell are you talking about?"
Percy: "I don't know, sis. Just a very possessive idiot who can't live without you."
Fuck you, Percy.
He was talking about me. That was the problem with having a best friend who had been by my side since we were kids—he knew my every move. He knew that even if I was playing the villain, I would never let another man—or even a church—take her away from me. Even Yuri hasn't figured it out yet, but Percy? He sees right through the mask I'm wearing.
I leaned back, my eyes never leaving her. Percy was a goddamn loudmouth, but at least he was keeping her distracted. Then I saw the next message pop up on my screen.
Percy: "I know a way to cancel the engagement."
Jay-jay: "What is it?"
Percy: "I kill the red rooster."
I felt a vein throb in my temple. That idiot. He's talking about Yuri. As much as I want to rip that rooster's head off myself, Percy's "solutions" are always a goddamn mess.
Jay-jay: "Don't do that. Then I would have to stay in jail with you."
Percy: "How?"
Jay-jay: "Obviously, if you get caught, you will tell my name. I don't want to rot in jail. I'm too pretty for that."
I almost choked on my own breath, trying to keep my face straight. Fuck, Jay. You really got infected by Percy's virus. That narcissism of his is spreading like a plague.
But as much as I wanted to laugh, it stung. She's worried about going to jail, but she isn't even looking at me. She's right there, just a few feet away, acting like I don't exist while she jokes around with that fool.
Tss. Just keep her laughing, Percy.
Ci-N finally gathered the courage to walk over to her, probably trying to bridge the gap like he always does. But the moment he opened his mouth, Jay-jay snapped.
She wasn't in the mood for small talk or comfort. Her voice echoed through the room as she yelled at him, her frustration boiling over until she stormed out of the classroom, her footsteps heavy with a rage I knew all too well.
"Someone follow her. She looks like she's about to kill someone," Drew said, his voice a mix of concern and amusement.
A few chuckles broke the tension in Section E. Despite the mess we were in, they still knew her well enough. Most of the guys stood up to follow her, not wanting to miss the chaos she was likely to cause.
I stayed in my seat, my hands clenched into fists under the desk. I wanted to be the first one out that door. I wanted to be the one to catch her arm and pull her away from the edge. But I couldn't move. I forced myself to stay still, my face a mask of cold indifference while my heart was racing to keep up with her.
The door burst open and Ci-N came sprinting back in, his face pale and his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"KEIFER!" he screamed, his voice cracking with a terror that made my blood run cold.
"What is it?" I demanded. My heart hammered against my ribs, an ominous feeling clawing at my chest.
"Keifer… Jay-jay…" he choked out. I saw it then—the tears welling up in his eyes, the sheer panic in his expression.
The mask I had worked so hard to maintain shattered instantly. I lunged forward, grabbing him.
"What happened to her?!" I roared, my voice echoing like thunder in the silent room. I didn't care who was watching anymore. I didn't care about the plan to protect her.
"Gago, Ci-N! Just tell us what happened!" Calix shouted, slamming his hand on a desk.
"She… she got hit by a car," Ci-N finally sobbed out.
"What?" Yuri's voice was somewhere in the background, faint and shocked, but I was already gone.
The world turned into a blur of motion. I didn't hear the rest of their cries or the sound of chairs flipping over as the others scrambled. My legs were moving before my brain could even process the horror.
No. Not like this. Please, God, not like this.
I ran. I ran faster than I ever had in my life, the air burning in my lungs. My mind was screaming her name over and over. I was supposed to protect her. All of this—the lies, the distance, the pain—was supposed to keep her safe.
If I lose her now, I'll burn the entire world to the ground.
Jay-jay, hang on. Don't you dare leave me.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
KEIFER POV
I burst through the school gates, my lungs screaming for air, but the panic in my chest was louder.
"JAY-JAY!" I roared, my voice raw. I scanned the street, my eyes searching for any sign of her, any sign of life.
Felix stumbled toward me, his face a mess of tears and disbelief. He looked like he had just seen a ghost.
"We saw her, Keifer... we saw her get hit," Felix choked out, his voice trembling. "The impact... and then we couldn't see her anymore. She's just... gone."
My heart stopped. It felt like a physical blow to the gut, knocking the wind out of me. Gone? No. That's not possible. She can't just vanish into thin air after being hit.
"Fuck!" I growled, grabbing Felix by the collar of his uniform. "Search for her! She has to be around here somewhere! Look under the cars, look in the alleys—look everywhere!"
I pushed past him, my hands shaking as I started franticly checking the pavement. The world was spinning, and the smell of burnt rubber and asphalt was making me sick.
You can't do this to me, Jay-jay. You can't leave me in this hell alone.
"JAY-JAY! FUCK, JAY-JAY, ANSWER ME!"
I didn't care who was looking. I didn't care about my family or the inheritance or the fucking plan. If she was gone, none of it mattered. I would tear this city apart stone by stone until I found her. She had to be alive. She had to be.
Aries approached us, his face twisting in confusion as he took in the sight of Section E losing their minds in the middle of the street.
"What the fuck?" he spat, looking around. I didn't think he knew yet. He didn't have a clue that the world had just cracked open.
A car screeched to a halt nearby, and Percy scrambled out, his usual air of arrogance completely gone. His eyes were wide, darting around the pavement.
"Keifer, did you find her?" Percy asked, his voice tight.
I could only shake my head. The word was stuck in my throat, a suffocating weight that wouldn't let me speak.
"What happened?" Aries demanded, looking between us.
"Jay-jay... she got hit by a car, and now we can't find her," Yuri explained, his voice sounding hollow and defeated.
Aries froze. For a second, the world went silent. Then, his face darkened with a rage so sharp it felt like it could cut through the air.
"What?" Aries roared, his eyes flashing with a terrifying protective fire. "Then why the fuck are you just standing here? Search for my sister, damn it!"
"What do you think we're doing?!" I snapped back at him. My nerves were frayed to the point of snapping. Did he really think I was just standing here for the hell of it? Every second that passed felt like a drop of blood leaving my body.
"Enough!" Percy barked, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. He looked just as wrecked as the rest of us, but he was the only one trying to keep his head from exploding. "Let's go and search for her!"
He didn't have to tell me twice. I was already moving, my eyes scanning every inch of the road, every shadow, and every corner of the street. My heart was a frantic drum in my chest, a constant, painful reminder that while mine was still beating, I didn't know if hers was.
Jay... please. Don't do this. Don't hide from me now.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
JAY JAY POV
The sterile smell of disinfectant was the first thing that hit me, sharp and biting, making my head throb with a dull, rhythmic pain. I slowly blinked my eyes open, squinting against the harsh, blinding white light of the ceiling.
Where am I? I tried to sit up, but my body felt like it had been trampled by a stampede of elephants. I turned my head slightly, my vision blurry and unfocused.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" a voice asked.
I blinked again, waiting for the world to stop spinning. A man was standing by my bedside. He looked like he was in his late twenties, his expression hovering somewhere between concern and relief. He didn't look familiar, but then again, nothing did.
"Good... I'm sorry, but who are you?" I managed to croak out, my throat feeling like I'd swallowed sandpaper.
Before he could answer, the door swung open and a man in a white coat stepped in. A doctor. He checked the chart at the foot of my bed before looking up at me with a professional smile.
"Hi, Miss. How are you feeling?" he asked, mirroring the other man's question.
"I'm... I'm good," I replied, though the confusion in my chest was growing heavier by the second.
The doctor stepped closer, clicking his pen. "What is your name?"
I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out. I paused, waiting for the name to pop into my head. I waited for a second, then another. A minute passed in agonizing silence as I searched my brain, but it was like trying to grab smoke. Every corner of my mind was blank—a vast, empty white room with no doors and no windows.
"I'm sorry, but... I can't remember a thing," I whispered, my heart starting to race.
The doctor's eyebrows shot up, his gaze intensifying. "Nothing at all?"
I shook my head slowly, the cold realization sinking in. I didn't know who I was. I didn't know where I came from. My own name was a stranger to me, lost somewhere in the darkness behind my eyes.
"Luna Jay," the man said, his voice soft but firm, filling the empty silence of the room.
I repeated the name in my head, searching for any spark of recognition, any flicker of a memory attached to those syllables. But there was nothing. It was just a name, as foreign to me as the hospital gown I was wearing.
"That's your name, Luna," the man continued, leaning in slightly as if trying to help me bridge the gap. "Do you remember me? I'm your older brother."
I stared at him, taking in his features—the shape of his nose, the way his eyes softened when he looked at me. I searched for a connection, for that instinctive pull of family, but my mind remained a stubborn blank slate.
"My Kuya?" I asked, the word feeling strange on my tongue.
The man nodded, a look of relief crossing his face that he had finally given me a title to hold onto.
"Luan," the doctor interjected, his tone cautious as he looked at the man.
"She is my sister, Luke. Put it on the system," my supposed brother, Luan, commanded with an authority that left no room for argument.
The doctor lingered for a moment, his gaze shifting between us, before finally nodding and scribbling something down on his clipboard. In an instant, with just a few words, I had a name and a family—even if I felt like a ghost inhabiting someone else's life.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LUAN POV
Everything happened so fast. One second, I was cruising down the road, my mind focused on the high-stakes meeting I was already running late for, and the next—a sickening thud.
Oh, shit.
I slammed on the breaks, the smell of burnt rubber filling the cabin as my heart plummeted into my stomach. I scrambled out of the car, my breath hitching when I saw her lying there on the asphalt. She was just a kid, a student.
Before I could even process the shock, I heard the heavy sound of the school gates bursting open. A swarm of students started pouring out of the building like a restless tide. Panic flared in my chest. I couldn't stay here; I couldn't deal with the chaos and the questions, not when every second counted.
Without thinking, I scooped her up—she was surprisingly light, like a broken bird—and laid her across the backseat of my car. I got back behind the wheel and peeled away toward the nearest hospital, my knuckles white against the leather.
As I glanced at her through the rearview mirror, my heart did a painful somersault. She looked so much like her. She looked just like Luna.
I gripped the steering wheel so hard I thought it might snap under my hands. The familiar, bitter rage began to simmer in my gut, mixing with the guilt. If it wasn't for those bastards, my real sister would still be alive right now. If things had been different, maybe Luna would have been wearing that same uniform, going to that same school, and living the life she deserved.
I looked at the unconscious girl again. I didn't know who she was or who was looking for her, but in that moment, seeing Luna's ghost in her face, I knew I couldn't let her go. I wouldn't let another sister slip through my fingers.
As soon as I had her admitted and the doctors took over, I stepped into the hallway and dialed my assistant.
"Dan, I need everything on the girl I just brought in. Background, family, connections—don't leave a single stone unturned," I commanded, my voice dropping to a low, cold professional tone.
It didn't take long for the results to hit my inbox. I leaned against the hospital wall, scrolling through the digital file.
Jasper Jean Fernandez Mariano. Goes by Jay-jay.
My eyes narrowed as I read further. Engaged to Yuri Hanamitchi. It was the same old story I had seen a thousand times before—a calculated arrangement between the Fernandez and Hanamitchi families. The Hanamitchis provided the capital to prop up the failing Fernandez company, and in exchange, they got a bride.
I let out a sharp, mocking sigh. Classic Hanamitchi move. They were like vultures, always swooping in to get what they wanted, even if it meant destroying lives and selling off a young girl like a piece of property.
The file noted she attended HVIS, specifically Section E. I paused, memories of that school flickering in the back of my mind. I could have sworn Section E was a dumping ground exclusively for rowdy boys. What was a girl like her doing in the middle of that pack of wolves?
As I dug into her previous school records, a smirk began to tug at the corner of my lips. This Jay-jay was definitely no damsel in distress. Her disciplinary history was a damn battlefield: punched a boy, stabbed a classmate with a pencil, nearly sent another to the morgue. She didn't just survive; she fought back.
But then, I saw it. The link that made my blood run cold.
The report showed a heavy connection between her and Keifer, the future heir to the Watson empire. My smile died instantly, replaced by a grimace of pure disgust. I'd heard the rumors circulating in the upper circles—that Keifer Watson was playing some twisted game, using a girl as a pawn to get back at Aries Fernandez.
It all clicked into place. The pieces of the puzzle fit together with a sickening crunch. She wasn't just a victim of a car accident; she was the centerpiece of a war she probably didn't even understand.
I looked through the glass of the hospital room at the girl lying so still on the bed. If she stayed Jay-jay, she was nothing more than a target for the Hanamitchis and a tool for the Watsons. But if she stayed Luna... if she stayed with me... she wouldn't have to be either.
I saw her starting to stir, her eyes fluttering open as she tried to make sense of the room. I stepped inside, my heart hammering against my ribs, and asked her how she was feeling.
"Fine," she murmured, her voice small and airy.
I stood there, the weight of the file in my pocket felt like lead. I wanted to ask her about her life, about the Hanamitchis and the mess she was in. I wanted to know if she actually wanted to go back to that den of vipers. Deep down, I was praying for her to say no—to give me a reason to keep her.
Then Luke came in, clicking his pen and falling into his doctor persona. He started asking her the standard orientation questions, the kind designed to check for head trauma. My breath hitched when the silence stretched on.
She didn't remember. Not a single thing.
Good.
A wave of dark relief washed over me. The slate was clean. The girl who was a pawn for the Watsons and a prize for the Hanamitchis was gone, buried under the blunt force of my fender.
"Put her name down as Luna Jay," I told Luke, my voice leaving no room for a second opinion.
It was probably a stupid move to let her keep a piece of her old life—the Jay from a past that nearly killed her—and stitch it onto my sister's name. But I needed her to have something, a fragment of her identity that wasn't touched by the darkness of the Fernandez or Section E.
For now, that name would have to be enough. She wasn't Jasper Jean anymore. She was my sister. She was Luna.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
JAY JAY POV
After the doctor finished checking all my records and finally cleared me to leave, we made our way out of the hospital. Every step felt a little heavy, my body still protesting from the accident, but the prospect of going "home" felt like a lifeline I needed to grab onto.
Kuya Luan stepped aside to make a quick call, his tone low and authoritative. For a moment, I just watched him—the man who claimed to be my brother. I still didn't recognize his face, but there was a strange comfort in his presence that I couldn't explain.
He finished his call and walked back toward me with a soft expression.
"Shall we go home?" he asked, his voice gentle.
I nodded, a small smile tugging at my lips. Even if I didn't remember the house, I wanted to be somewhere that wasn't filled with the smell of medicine and white walls.
He reached out and ruffled my hair, a playful gesture that caught me off guard. I quickly batted his hand away and tried to smooth down the mess he'd made, pouting slightly as I fixed my hair.
He let out a genuine laugh at my reaction, the sound bright and warm. For a split second, the heavy cloud of my missing memories felt a little lighter.
We got into the car, and Kuya Luan started the engine. The smooth hum of the luxury vehicle filled the silence, and for a moment, I just stared out the window at the passing trees, trying to find something—anything—that looked familiar.
"Kuya," I called out, my voice small.
"Hmm?" he responded, keeping his eyes on the road.
"How old am I?" I asked. It was a basic question, but it felt like a massive piece of the puzzle I was missing.
He glanced at me, a mischievous glint dancing in his eyes as a smirk played on his lips.
"You're forty years old," he said, his tone perfectly serious.
"HUH?!" I shrieked, my heart nearly leaping out of my chest.
I scrambled to pull down the sun visor and stared at my reflection in the vanity mirror. I touched my face, looking for wrinkles or grey hairs, but all I saw was a young girl with smooth skin and wide, panicked eyes.
"I'm old! I'm ancient and I don't even remember anything!" I wailed, slumped back in the seat. "I've lived half a century and I've got nothing to show for it but a blank brain!"
Luan's shoulders shook as he tried to stifle a laugh, clearly enjoying the way I was losing my mind over his blatant lie.
"Relax, Jay," he managed to say between gasps of air. "You're only seventeen. You've still got plenty of time before you start worrying about being 'ancient.'"
I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest as I glared at him. My heart was still hammering against my ribs from the sheer shock of his joke.
"That's not funny, Kuya! I almost had a mid-life crisis!" I grumbled, though a small part of me felt a wave of relief wash over. Seventeen. I was just a teenager.
"I couldn't help it. Your face was priceless," he said, still wearing that annoying, playful smirk. He reached over and ruffled my hair again, seemingly more relaxed now than he had been in the hospital.
I swatted his hand away and focused on fixing my hair for the second time. I looked back into the vanity mirror, searching the face staring back at me. Seventeen.
"Seventeen..." I whispered to myself, testing the weight of the number. It didn't bring back any memories—no birthdays, no school dances, no friends—but at least it felt right.
I leaned my head against the cool glass of the car window, watching the city blur past us. If I was seventeen, I should be in school. I should have a favorite color, a favorite song, and a million little secrets tucked away in my head. But instead, there was just... silence.
"Kuya," I said after a long moment, my voice much quieter this time. "What kind of person am I? Was I... a good sister?"
Luan's grip on the steering wheel tightened for a fraction of a second, his knuckles turning slightly white before he relaxed his hand. He didn't answer immediately, his gaze fixed firmly on the road ahead.
"You're the best sister I could ever ask for," he finally said, his voice dropping to a low, sincere tone that made my chest tighten. "And from now on, I'm going to make sure you stay safe. No one is ever going to hurt you again, Jay. I promise."
I didn't know why, but the way he said it felt like he was making a vow to himself more than to me. I reached out and gave his arm a small, reassuring squeeze. I didn't remember him, but in that moment, I felt like I could trust him with my life.
"I believe you, Kuya," I murmured, closing my eyes.
As the car sped toward a home I didn't recognize, I tried to push away the fear of the unknown. I had a name, an age, and a brother who promised to protect me. For a girl who had woken up with nothing, it felt like a start.
We finally pulled up to a house—or rather, a massive estate that looked more like a fortress than a home. I stepped inside, my eyes roaming over the high ceilings and the expensive, minimalist decor. It was beautiful, but it felt cold, like a museum where no one was allowed to touch anything.
"Kuya," I said, my voice echoing slightly in the grand hallway. "Where are our parents?"
Luan didn't even flinch. He tossed his keys onto a marble console table with a sharp clack.
"Dead," he said flatly.
The word hit me like a physical weight. "Oh," I breathed, a sudden hollow feeling opening up in my chest. Even if I didn't remember them, the finality of it stung. I waited for a wave of grief to follow, but my heart remained stubbornly still.
Luan must have noticed the flicker of distress on my face because he turned to me, his expression softening just a fraction.
"Don't worry, Jay. You hated them anyway," he added, his tone laced with a bitterness that told me there was a long, ugly history behind that statement.
I blinked, surprised by his bluntness. If I hated them, then maybe that was why I didn't feel the urge to cry. I took a deep breath and nodded slowly, accepting his words as my new reality. If Luan said I hated them, then I must have had a damn good reason.
"I guess that makes things simpler then," I murmured, looking around at the empty, silent house.
"Much simpler," Luan agreed, though his eyes remained dark with secrets I wasn't sure I was ready to hear. "Come on. I'll show you to your room. It's exactly how you left it."
I followed him up the grand staircase, wondering what kind of girl the 'old me' had been—the kind of girl who hated her own parents and lived in a house that felt like a beautiful cage.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
KEIFER POV
It's been almost one week since Jay disappeared. One week of living in a nightmare where the world feels as hollow as my chest.
We've checked everything—every corner, every lead, every possible witness—nothing. It's like she vanished into thin air the moment that car hit her.
Angelo has tried everything. As Jay-jay's older brother, he is the living embodiment of power and intimidation.
He is the scarier, more refined version of everything I strive to be. He is my ideal—the kind of man who commands a room without saying a word, whose presence alone is enough to make the most dangerous men bow their heads.
I watched him now, standing by the window of the room, his silhouette sharp against the city lights. He didn't need a keyboard to find her; he had connections that reached into the darkest corners of the country. If anyone could track her down through sheer force of will and authority, it was him.
"Keifer," Blaster said, his voice hesitant.
"What?" I snapped, not moving my eyes from the window.
"We think Jay..." Drew started, but he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
"Jay what? Spit it out!" I demanded, my patience thin as a wire.
"Dead," Yuri finished for him. His voice was hollow, but the word hit the room like a grenade.
The world went red. Before I even realized I was moving, my fist connected with Yuri's jaw, sending him stumbling back.
"DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING SAY IT!" I roared, my chest heaving. "Don't you ever say that word in the same breath as her name!"
I wanted to hit him again. I wanted to hit everyone in the room until they took it back, until they told me she was just hiding or playing some sick joke. But then, a voice from the shadows stopped me cold.
"They're right, Keifer," Angelo said.
I turned to him, expecting him to defend his sister, to tell them they were wrong. But Jay's own brother—the man who was supposed to be her ultimate shield—looked me dead in the eye with a gaze that was terrifyingly vacant.
"We can't find a trace of her, and we saw the blood on that pavement. At that speed, with that much impact..." Angelo paused, his jaw tightening so hard I thought it might shatter. "That's the only logical conclusion."
"No," I whispered, shaking my head. "Logical? Fuck logic! This is Jay-jay we're talking about! She doesn't just die!"
I looked around at Section E. They were all looking at the floor, their silence confirming the horror I refused to accept. Even Angelo, my ideal, the man who was supposed to have all the answers, was giving up.
"I'm not stopping," I growled, backing toward the door. "Search every hospital again. Check every private clinic. If she's dead, I want a body. If there's no body, then she's alive. Do you hear me?!"
No one answered. The silence was the loudest thing in the room, a suffocating shroud that told me the one person who kept us all together was truly gone.
Hours went by with no news, the silence in the room becoming a physical weight that made it hard to breathe. Every tick of the clock felt like a hammer blow against my chest.
"Keifer," Ci-N said, his voice small and trembling.
"What?" I snapped, my head whipping toward him. I was on edge, my nerves frayed to the point of snapping. One more look of pity, one more suggestion that she was gone, and I was going to lose it completely.
"Maybe... maybe she really is dead," Ci-N choked out, the tears finally spilling over. "The car hit her so hard, Keifer. We saw it. There was so much blood, and then she just... she wasn't there anymore. What if someone just took her body to—"
"SHUT UP!" I roared, the sound tearing through my throat. I lunged at him, but Felix and Rory caught my arms, holding me back with everything they had. "Don't you dare finish that sentence, Ci-N! Not you! You're the one who's always following her around like a puppy! How can you just give up on her?!"
Ci-N sobbed, hiding his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with a grief that felt like a physical weight in the room.
I looked at the rest of them. They were all broken. These sixteen boys, the rowdiest, most problematic class in HVIS, were reduced to nothing because our Mutya was gone. The girl who hit them, scolded them, and protected them was missing, and they were ready to bury her.
"She's not dead," I whispered, my voice cracking despite my efforts to stay strong. I looked at Angelo
. "Tell them, Angelo. Tell them she's too stubborn to die. Tell them Jay-jay doesn't follow the rules, not even the rules of life and death."
Angelo didn't look at me. He kept his gaze fixed on the city below, his reflection in the glass looking like a man who had already started mourning.
"The blood on the pavement matched her type, Keifer," Angelo said, his voice devoid of any emotion. "The impact speed was fatal for a girl her size. We've checked every surgical ward in a fifty-mile radius. No one admitted a girl matching her description."
He turned to me then, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of something human in his cold eyes. Pain.
"I'm her brother," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "If there was a heartbeat left in her, I would feel it. But all I feel right now is... nothing."
I ripped my arms away from Felix and Rory, backing toward the door. I couldn't breathe in here. The air was thick with their surrender, and it was suffocating me.
"Then you're all fools," I spat, my eyes stinging with a fire I refused to let turn into tears. "I don't care about logic. I don't care about blood types or impact speeds. Jay-jay is alive. I can feel it. And if none of you are going to find her, then I'll do it myself."
I turned and stormed out of the room, the sound of my own footsteps echoing like a hollow promise. I didn't care if the whole world thought she was a ghost. To me, she was still the girl who rolled her eyes at my possessiveness, the girl who craved samgyupsal even when her life was a mess, and the girl I had promised to come back for.
I'm coming, Jay. I don't care if I have to search every inch of this world. I'm not letting you go.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
JAY JAY POV
6 months later
"Kuya!" I yelled happily, my voice echoing through the massive estate as I searched for him.
I finally spotted him in the garden, looking as serious as ever while talking to some of his business associates. He looked up, and his sharp expression instantly softened the moment he saw me running toward him.
"Kuya!" I said, slightly out of breath but unable to wipe the grin off my face.
"What happened? Why do you look so happy?" he asked, a small, curious smile tugging at his lips as his friends watched our interaction with silent interest.
"Kuya, I got into the college I wanted!" I squealed, practically shoving the application form into his hands before he could even properly excuse himself from his friends.
Luan took the paper, his eyes scanning the bold letterhead at the top. His usual stoic composure cracked, his eyebrows shooting up in genuine surprise.
"You got into Harvard," he said, his voice a mix of disbelief and overwhelming pride.
I nodded vigorously, my smile so wide it actually started to ache. All those months of tutoring, of staring at textbooks until my eyes blurred, and of trying to rebuild a future from the ashes of a forgotten past—it had finally paid off.
Luan didn't care about his audience anymore. He pulled me into a brief, firm hug before leaning down to kiss my forehead.
"I knew you could do it, future doctor," he murmured, his voice thick with an emotion he rarely let show.
I beamed up at him, feeling that familiar warmth of his approval.
"Go inside, I'll be in for a few minutes," Kuya said, his voice returning to that calm, steady tone he used when he was back in "boss" mode.
I nodded happily, clutching the Harvard acceptance letter to my chest like it was the most precious thing in the world. As I turned toward the massive glass doors of the estate, I couldn't resist one last skip in my step
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LUAN POV
The second the door clicked shut and I knew Luna was out of earshot, the air in the garden turned frigid. The warmth I had just shown her vanished, replaced by the cold, calculating mask I wore for the rest of the world.
"Luan, seriously? You brought a random girl into your house and you're taking care of her like she's your own sister?" Jose asked, his voice laced with a skepticism that grated on my nerves like sandpaper.
He didn't get it. None of them did.
In an instant, my hand shot out, fist bunching into the expensive fabric of his collar. I jerked him forward until we were inches apart, my eyes boring into his with a lethal intensity that made his breath hitch.
"She is my sister," I growled, my voice a low, dangerous vibration. "Do you understand that?"
I could feel the others tensed behind me, but I didn't care. Jose's eyes widened, the realization finally sinking in that this wasn't a game to me. This wasn't some charity case or a temporary distraction.
"Luan, take it easy—" one of the others started, but I silenced him with a single look.
"Her name is Luna Jay," I continued, tightening my grip on Jose until his face began to redden. "She is a member of this family. She is going to Harvard. She is going to be a doctor. And if I ever hear a single word suggesting otherwise—if I even catch a hint of doubt in your tone again—you'll find out exactly how far I'll go to protect my family."
I shoved him back, watching him stumble as he tried to regain his composure. He smoothed out his shirt, his hands shaking slightly, but he didn't dare meet my gaze again.
"Understood," Jose muttered, his voice barely a whisper.
"Luan, let's talk about why we're really here," James said, stepping forward. His face was granite, the playfulness of the previous minutes erased.
"Yeah, that's the real reason we're here," another added, crossing his arms.
"The underground... it's getting big," Jose said, his voice regaining its edge. "The power balance is shifting, and the noise is getting too loud to ignore."
I nodded slowly. That part, I already knew. The shadows of the city were restless.
"And we found a little bird lurking around in one of our dens," James said, his voice dropping into a dark, satisfied territorial growl. He stepped aside, shoving a boy forward. The kid hit the grass hard, his face a mess of blooming purple bruises and dried blood.
I watched him for a moment with detached interest before walking over. I knelt down, my expensive suit trousers brushing the grass as I got level with his terrified eyes.
"What is your name?" I asked, my voice smooth and deceptive.
Nothing. Of course, the little rat tried to play the silent martyr. My fist connected with his jaw before he could even blink, the crack of bone echoing through the quiet garden.
"Row," he choked out, spitting a glob of blood onto the manicured lawn.
The guys burst into laughter behind me. The name was pathetic.
"Row? What do you do, row-row your boat?" Jose mocked, leaning in with a cruel grin.
I didn't laugh. I leaned closer, my shadow completely swallowing the boy. "Who told you to do it?" I asked, my tone dropping to a whisper that promised a much slower death than a punch.
"Your enemy," Row rasped, his voice trembling despite his attempt at defiance. "The only person who wants the Mafia to end."
I felt a cold smirk spread across my lips.
"Keizar" I murmured, the name tasting like venom.
The name hung in the air, thick and suffocating. Keizar Watson.
"Keizar," James repeated, the name sounding like a death sentence in the cool evening air.
I nodded slowly, my gaze fixed on the broken boy at my feet. "Take him out of here," I commanded the bodyguards, my voice devoid of emotion. They grabbed Row by the arms, dragging him toward the shadows of the estate where the real interrogation would begin.
"Damn it, we should have known. Keizar is becoming a real threat to our work," Jose said, his hand straying to the holster hidden beneath his jacket
The underground was shifting. The old alliances were crumbling, and Keizar was the one holding the sledgehammer.
"Don't worry about that old rat; he's worse than us," I said, a cold, mocking smirk playing on my lips. "He hides behind his 'legitimate' empire, but his hands are stained deeper than mine will ever be."
I turned to my men, my expression hardening into a mask of grim authority. I needed them sharp. I needed them paranoid.
"Take care of yourselves," I warned, my voice dropping to a low, lethal silk. "You don't know when Keizar will strike. He's a viper; he doesn't bark before he bites. Double the guards on your perimeter."
The boys nodded, their expressions grim, and disappeared into the shadows of the estate.
I stood there for a moment, letting the cold air settle my nerves. Jay didn't know about any of this. I made damn sure of it. I wouldn't let her find out that the brother who brought her flowers and encouraged her medical dreams was the same man who ran a Mafia world.
If there was one thing I knew about the girl inside, it was that she couldn't stand this kind of life. She hated the blood, the fear, and the senseless violence.
To her, I had to remain the perfect Kuya. The provider. The protector who kept the monsters away, not the monster who kept other monsters at bay.
I looked down at my hands. Clean, for now. I adjusted my cuffs and fixed a warm, brotherly smile onto my face.
She was going to Harvard. She was going to be a doctor and save lives. My job was to make sure she never realized that those lives were being bought with the ones I took in the dark.
I stepped onto the porch and into the light.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Luna," I said, my voice smooth and untroubled. "I just had to finish some boring paperwork with the guys. Ready for that dinner?"
She beamed at me, her innocent eyes completely oblivious to the war starting at our gates. "Took you long enough! Let's go, I'm starving!"
I led her to the car, my hand resting protectively on the small of her back.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
JAY JAY POV
"Kuya, I've been cooped up in this house for six months. I haven't even gone out for more than a few minutes in so many days," I complained as we walked toward the car, my voice trailing off with a bit of a pout.
"You're going out now, Jay," he said, opening the passenger door for me with a small, indulgent smile.
"Yeah, finally! After so many months," I huffed, settling into the plush leather seat. It felt like I was a bird finally being allowed to stretch its wings, even if the cage was made of gold.
Kuya sighed, his hands gripping the steering wheel as he maneuvered the car down the long, private driveway. "When are you officially leaving for the U.S.?" he asked.
"In a few months," I replied, feeling a mix of excitement and a strange, lingering nervousness about being so far away from him.
He nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "I was thinking... maybe we should head over there earlier. You know, get settled in and explore the city before classes start."
I nodded enthusiastically. "That sounds amazing! I want to see everything."
The silence in the car was comfortable, the hum of the engine the only sound until a mischievous thought popped into my head.
"Kuya," I called out again.
"What now?" he asked, though I could hear the faint amusement in his voice.
"You're getting old," I teased, leaning closer to him. "You really should find yourself a girlfriend. Or... should I find one for you? I have Great taste, you know!"
Kuya immediately rolled his eyes, a mock-scowl forming on his face. Before I could react, his hand reached out and he playfully pinched and pulled on my ear.
"Ouch! Kuya, please! Let go of my ear!" I squealed, laughing even as I swatted at his hand. "I'm just looking out for your future! You can't be a bachelor forever!"
"Worry about your medical books, not my love life, brat," he grunted, finally letting go of my ear but giving my head a light shove.
I rubbed my ear, still grinning.
"I'm serious, Kuya. Once I'm a doctor, I'll be too busy to find you a wife," I joked, looking out at the city lights.
He didn't answer, but the tension in his shoulders seemed to bleed away.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++