Chapter: The Truth I Wasn't Meant to Know
Keifer's POV
I didn't remember deciding to run.
One second I was standing in front of her desk, my heart in my throat, asking her why she was doing this to us again… and the next second I was out of the classroom.
Her words chased me down the corridor.
"Stop acting like we're something."
"You're annoying."
"I don't love you, Keifer."
That last sentence kept repeating in my head like a broken record.
I don't love you.
Jay had said many cruel things these past few days. Things that didn't sound like her. Things that didn't match the girl who used to hold my hand like I was her entire world.
But today… today felt different.
Today, she looked scared.
And that scared me more than her words.
I ran past the lockers of Section E. The hallway felt longer than usual. Every step echoed too loudly, like the whole school was watching me fall apart. I didn't stop. I didn't think.
I just needed air.
I pushed open the main doors and stepped outside. The sun hit my face, too bright, too warm for the storm building inside me. Students were laughing somewhere near the canteen. Someone was playing music on their phone.
How could everything look so normal?
How could the world continue when mine was cracking?
"Keifer!"
I froze.
I knew that voice.
I turned slowly.
Aries.
He was jogging toward me from the corridor. His uniform slightly messy like he had rushed out. Section A had free period, I remembered vaguely.
He stopped in front of me, breathing a little hard, his eyes searching my face.
"You look like you just got hit by a truck," he muttered.
I let out a humorless laugh. "Feels like it."
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
Aries and I weren't exactly best friends. We tolerated each other. For Jay's sake. For the chaos of Section E. But in this moment, he wasn't teasing. He wasn't smirking.
He looked… serious.
"What happened?" he asked quietly.
I clenched my jaw. "Ask your cousin."
He didn't reply immediately.
Instead, he looked around the empty courtyard, then grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the side of the building, near the staircase that led to the old storage rooms. It was quiet there. No students. No noise.
"Don't go back inside yet," he said.
I pulled my arm away. "Why do you care?"
His eyes flashed. "Because she cares."
I scoffed. "Does she?"
Aries stepped closer.
"Keifer, listen to me carefully."
Something in his tone made my chest tighten.
"She doesn't hate you."
I looked away. "That's not what she said."
"She's lying."
The word hit me like a slap.
I turned back to him. "Why?"
He hesitated.
And that hesitation made my heart start pounding.
"Aries."
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Damn it. I promised."
"Promised who?"
He didn't answer directly.
Instead, he lowered his voice. "Did you notice anything strange today?"
"Everything is strange."
"Before she came to class."
I frowned. "What about it?"
"She was pale."
I swallowed. I had noticed. But I thought it was because of our fight yesterday.
Aries' jaw tightened. "Yuri talked to her."
My entire body went still.
"What did you say?"
"He warned her."
The air suddenly felt too thin.
"Warned her about what?"
Aries looked at me straight in the eyes.
"He told her if she talks to you today… he'll kill you."
For a second, I genuinely thought I misheard him.
"…What?"
"He showed her a gun."
The world tilted.
A gun.
Jay saw a gun.
Because of me.
My first reaction wasn't fear.
It was anger.
Hot. Violent. Blinding.
"That bastard—"
I stepped forward, but Aries grabbed my collar and slammed me lightly against the wall.
"Use your brain!" he hissed. "If you storm in there right now, you're proving him right!"
My fists clenched so tight my knuckles hurt.
"She fought with you to protect you," Aries continued. "She's been pushing you away on purpose. Every harsh word? Every cold look? It's all because she thinks that's the only way to keep you alive."
My heart felt like it was being crushed and stitched back together at the same time.
She didn't mean it.
She was protecting me.
And I was angry at her.
I slid down the wall slightly, dragging my hand over my face.
"She could've told me," I muttered.
"No, she couldn't."
I looked up.
"Yuri told her that if she says anything… if you even suspect something… he'll pull the trigger," Aries said quietly.
Silence fell between us.
The kind of silence that feels heavy.
"She values your life more than her happiness," he added. "That's the kind of stupid she is."
A shaky breath left my chest.
Jay…
You idiot.
Why would you carry this alone?
"She cried last night," Aries said softly. "Like really cried. The kind where you can't breathe."
My chest tightened painfully.
"She told us everything. But she made us promise not to tell you."
"Then why are you telling me?" I asked hoarsely.
Aries looked away for a second before meeting my gaze again.
"Because I'd rather you be angry at me than watch both of you destroy yourselves."
I stared at him.
For the first time, I wasn't looking at Jay's cousin.
I was looking at someone who genuinely cared about her.
And maybe about me too.
"I don't want her to know I told you," he said firmly. "She'll feel guilty. She'll think she failed."
I nodded slowly.
"I won't tell her."
Aries stepped back.
"So what are you going to do?"
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Yuri.
My best friend.
Or at least… the person I thought was my best friend.
The guy who laughed with me. Ate with me. Trusted me.
And now he was threatening Jay.
Threatening me.
Because of a contract.
Because of power.
Because of pride.
When I opened my eyes, something inside me had shifted.
"I won't let him scare her," I said quietly.
Aries raised a brow. "And how exactly?"
"I don't know yet."
But I knew one thing.
I wasn't going to walk away.
Not again.
Not when she was fighting alone.
"I'll act like I don't know," I continued. "I'll let her push me. I'll play along."
Aries studied me carefully.
"But?"
"But I'll watch him."
My voice dropped.
"Every move. Every step. If he thinks he can threaten her and get away with it, he's wrong."
For the first time since the morning, Aries smirked slightly.
"There's the Keifer I know."
I pushed myself off the wall.
"Take care of her when I can't," I said.
He nodded. "Always."
I started walking back toward the building.
Each step felt heavier than before — not because I was heartbroken anymore.
But because now I knew the truth.
Jay wasn't rejecting me.
She was sacrificing herself.
And that hurt more than any insult.
As I reached the entrance, I paused.
Through the classroom window, I could see her.
Sitting at her desk.
Looking down.
Her fingers were clenched around her pen so tightly they were trembling.
Even from this distance, I could see it.
Fear.
And guilt.
Because she thought she was hurting me.
"Stupid girl," I whispered under my breath.
You think I'd let you carry this alone?
Fine.
If you want to fight quietly, I'll fight quietly too.
But Yuri?
You just crossed a line.
And I promise you…
You will regret it.
I walked back into the building.
Not as the broken guy who ran out.
But as someone who finally understood the battlefield.
And I was ready.