Keifer's POV
For a few seconds, I forgot how to breathe.
She was standing right in front of me.
Jay.
Alive.
Not a photograph.
Not a name on a report.
Not a voice I had been desperately hoping to hear.
Her.
She looked different.
There was tiredness in her eyes that hadn't been there before. Her movements were a little slower, and I could see the faint evidence of the injuries she'd been hiding.
But it was still Jay.
The same person who had somehow managed to become the first thought in my mind every morning and the last one before I slept.
Our eyes met.
Neither of us moved.
The entire world seemed to become strangely distant.
I took one step toward her.
She didn't move away.
Another step.
Her eyes became glassy.
Her lips parted slightly.
"…You're really here."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
I swallowed.
"I'm here."
That was all it took.
She stepped forward.
And suddenly—
She was in my arms.
I froze for half a second.
Then my arms instinctively wrapped around her.
Tightly.
Carefully.
Like I had spent months waiting for this exact moment without even knowing how badly I needed it.
She fit against me with a familiarity that made the months apart feel unreal.
Not because everything was suddenly fixed.
It wasn't.
There were too many unanswered questions.
Too many wounds.
Too many things waiting to be said.
But for that one moment…
None of them mattered.
She was safe.
She was here.
And I finally had her back in my arms.
I closed my eyes.
For months, I'd imagined what it would feel like to see her again.
Every version had been different.
None of them had prepared me for this.
She didn't say anything.
Neither did I.
We simply stood there.
Holding on.
Her hands tightened slightly against the back of my jacket.
I could feel her trying to stay composed.
Then I heard it.
A tiny, broken breath.
She was crying.
Quietly.
The kind of crying someone does when they've been holding everything inside for far too long.
I tightened my arms around her just a little.
Not enough to hurt her.
Just enough to remind her—
I was there.
I wasn't disappearing.
Not again.
And somewhere in my mind, words began forming.
The poem I couldn't say aloud
Months passed like winters without an end,
Yet every road still led to you.
I searched through crowds, through sleepless nights,
Through every sky I ever knew.
I thought distance meant letting go,
But distance only proved one thing—
Some people leave your sight for a while,
Yet never leave the heart they bring.
And now you're standing here again,
No photograph, no fading voice.
Just you, just me, this quiet moment,
And somehow breathing feels like a choice.
So if tomorrow brings another storm,
I'll face it when tomorrow comes.
Tonight, I only need to know—
You're here.
And I'm not letting this moment run.
I didn't say any of it.
I didn't need to.
She was already crying against my shoulder.
And for once…
Silence said enough.
A few moments later, Jay slowly pulled back.
Her eyes were still wet.
She quickly wiped them.
I almost smiled.
Still pretending she was fine.
Some things really hadn't changed.
Before I could say anything—
"Jayjay."
She turned.
Angelo stood a few steps away.
His expression was softer than usual.
Jay stared at him for a second.
Then walked straight toward him.
Angelo opened his arms.
She immediately hugged him.
The difference was obvious.
There was something completely different about the way Angelo held her.
Like a brother.
Protective.
Familiar.
Safe.
Jay's composure finally disappeared.
She buried her face against his shoulder and cried.
Angelo wrapped one arm around her and gently ran his hand over her hair.
"Hey…"
His voice was quiet.
"I'm here."
Jay didn't answer.
She simply held onto him.
Angelo continued stroking her hair.
"You don't have to explain anything right now."
Her shoulders shook slightly.
"Just breathe, Jayjay."
She nodded against him.
Angelo glanced toward the rest of us.
Nobody said anything.
Percy looked away, giving them privacy.
Aries quietly folded his arms.
Cora's eyes were already wet.
Luna stood beside her, watching silently.
Even Deniel had stopped joking.
For once…
Nobody had anything funny to say.
After a little while, Jay finally pulled away.
Angelo gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face.
"You okay?"
Jay nodded.
"…Better."
Angelo gave her a small smile.
"Good."
He squeezed her shoulder once before stepping back.
Jay looked around at everyone.
Her eyes stopped on me again.
This time…
She didn't look away.
A few minutes later
We moved into the strategy room.
Everyone took their places around the large table.
Jay sat beside Cora.
I sat across from her.
I couldn't stop noticing the small things.
The way she kept adjusting her sleeve.
The way she occasionally looked down when someone mentioned Kyle.
The way she was sitting carefully, as if certain movements still hurt.
I finally couldn't ignore it.
"Jay."
She looked at me.
"Your injuries…"
Her expression immediately became guarded.
"They're healing."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
I looked at her for another moment.
I knew that answer wasn't the whole story.
But I didn't push.
Not yet.
Alex placed a folder on the table.
"Kyle knows you're here, Keifer."
My attention shifted.
"He knows?"
"We believe so."
Luna turned the laptop toward me.
"We tracked several suspicious movements after your flight was identified."
I looked at the screen.
Everything suddenly made sense.
They hadn't brought me here because they wanted to control me.
They had brought me here because Kyle knew I was in New York.
And if I had gone searching for Jay alone…
I would've walked straight into whatever trap Kyle had prepared.
I leaned back.
"So you kidnapped me to protect me."
Deniel raised a finger.
"Technically—"
Cora immediately looked at him.
"Don't."
He lowered his hand.
"…Protective custody."
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Then my eyes returned to Jay.
She was quiet.
Too quiet.
And suddenly, the question I'd been carrying since the moment I saw her became impossible to ignore.
I looked directly at her.
"Jay…"
She lifted her eyes.
"Why did you leave me?"
The room went completely silent.
Jay didn't answer.
She simply looked at me.
And for the first time since I'd arrived…
I saw something behind her eyes that I couldn't understand.
Something she had been carrying alone.
Her lips parted.
But no words came.
And I realized…
The months between us weren't over.
They were only finally beginning to be spoken about.
End of Chapter.