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🌙 Chapter 46: Whispers
Jay's POV
The next morning felt strange.
Not wrong.
Not uncomfortable.
Just… different.
The black car rolled slowly through the iron gates of Higher Value International School while the morning crowd filled the courtyard. Students walked in groups, laughing loudly, arguing about homework, complaining about teachers, and acting like nothing in the world had changed.
For them, nothing had.
For me, everything had.
I stepped out of the car before the driver could even open the door. The sunlight hit the marble courtyard, reflecting off the tall glass windows of the main building. It was the same place I had walked through hundreds of times before.
Same architecture.
Same polished floors.
Same arrogant students wearing expensive uniforms like they owned the world.
But the moment my shoes touched the ground, I felt it.
Eyes.
Everywhere.
Students who had been talking suddenly stopped mid-sentence. A few whispered to each other. Others openly stared.
I wasn't surprised.
People at this school had always liked talking about other people's lives.
Especially when those lives were complicated.
Especially when those lives involved powerful families.
And especially when those lives involved broken engagements.
I closed the car door behind me and started walking toward the main building.
The whispers followed immediately.
"Is that Jay Jay?"
"She's back already?"
"I thought she was still in London."
"No, I heard she came back last week."
"But did you hear the news?"
"The engagement."
"Oh my god, yes."
I kept walking.
My steps were steady. Calm. Controlled.
But the voices continued.
"I heard Yuri's family cancelled it."
"No, Jay did."
"No way. Yuri wouldn't let that happen."
"Then why would they break it off?"
Someone behind me whispered something louder than the rest.
"I heard Keifer is the reason."
That made a few people gasp quietly.
I didn't turn around.
Rumors are like storms.
You can't stop them.
You just wait until they pass.
The glass doors of the main building opened automatically as I approached. Cool air from the air conditioning brushed against my face as I stepped inside the hallway.
The noise here was even worse.
Students stood near their lockers, talking loudly before class began. Some of them turned the moment they saw me.
A group of girls near the staircase immediately leaned closer together.
"That's her."
"She looks even prettier now."
"I swear she looks colder."
"Do you think she and Keifer are still…"
"Shh, he might hear."
Another group of boys wasn't exactly subtle either.
"If the engagement is cancelled…"
"Then she's single."
One of them laughed.
"Imagine dating Jay Jay."
Another boy shook his head.
"You'd probably die."
I ignored them.
Attention had never bothered me before.
But today it felt heavier.
Not because people were looking.
But because they thought they understood what was happening.
And none of them actually did.
I reached the corridor that led to Section E.
My footsteps echoed slightly against the polished floor.
For a moment, I slowed down.
Not because I was nervous.
Just because memories are annoying like that.
Section E had once felt like a place where everything was chaotic but safe at the same time.
Where laughter came easily.
Where fights ended quickly.
Where people somehow understood each other.
Now it felt like walking into unfinished business.
I pushed the classroom door open.
Inside, the usual noise filled the room.
Blaster was loudly complaining about something while Rory argued back.
Kit and Mayo were whispering about a video they were watching on a phone.
Drew was laughing at his own joke.
David had his head resting on his desk like he had already given up on the day.
Ci-N sat spinning a pen between his fingers while observing everyone around him.
And Keifer sat near the window.
Quiet.
The moment the door opened, the noise dropped slightly.
Not completely.
But enough.
Blaster noticed first.
"Well," he said, leaning back in his chair.
"Look who decided to show up again."
A few students chuckled quietly.
I walked to my seat without responding.
The chair beside Keifer.
The same place I had sat before everything went wrong.
I placed my bag on the desk and sat down calmly.
The room stayed quieter than usual.
David lifted his head slightly.
His hair looked like he had slept on it for hours.
"School gossip reached level ten this morning," he muttered sleepily.
Drew leaned forward immediately.
"Is it true?"
I looked at him.
"What?"
"The engagement," he said.
"Everyone's talking about it."
I opened my book.
"It's cancelled."
That was all.
Three simple words.
But they changed the atmosphere of the entire room.
Blaster blinked.
"Just like that?"
"Yes."
Ci-N slowly leaned back in his chair.
"Well," he said calmly.
"That explains a lot."
Drew looked between me and Keifer.
"So… that means…"
Blaster interrupted him.
"Don't finish that sentence."
The room went quiet again.
I turned a page in my book.
But I could still feel the tension.
Ci-N studied my expression carefully.
"You look very calm about it."
"I am calm."
"That engagement was a pretty big deal."
"Not to me."
Blaster whistled quietly.
"Damn."
David closed his eyes again.
"Wake me up when someone throws a chair," he mumbled.
A few people laughed.
But the tension remained.
Because there was one person in the room who hadn't said a word.
Keifer.
I could feel his presence beside me.
The way his silence filled the space.
The way his attention stayed focused.
Finally, I glanced sideways.
Just for a moment.
His eyes were already on me.
Dark.
Serious.
Trying to read something in my face.
I looked away immediately.
And turned another page.
Because if I kept looking—
I might start thinking about things I wasn't ready to deal with yet.
And right now…
Ignoring the storm was easier than standing in the middle of it.
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