Keifer'sPOV
Her words echoed in my head, sharper than any blade. I climbed into my car and gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. Outside, the sky finally broke, and the rain began to pour.
Does she really think that poorly of me?
How could she believe my care was fake? But as I stared through the blurred windshield, a cold realization hit me. It was my own fault. I was rushing her, pushing for a closeness she wasn't ready for. And in the past, whenever I had shown her I cared, I would always cover it up by mocking her or saying I was just "pretending" for the sake of our families. I had built this wall of doubt myself. I needed to fix this. I needed to give her the space she clearly craved.
When I reached home, I barely managed to greet my mom before disappearing into my room. I didn't even bother showering. I just collapsed onto my bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out how to make her believe that every look, every touch, and every word was real.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. It was a message from a classmate who worked in the university's security office.
"Bro, I saw this on the CCTV cameras," the message read.
I opened the attached file. It was a video, sped up to 2x, covering an hour of footage. My heart dropped as the video played. After I had walked away, Jayjay didn't leave. She collapsed to her knees right there in the mud. Even through the grainy footage, I could see her shoulders shaking. The sky was weeping with her, the flashes of thunder mirroring the silent screams I knew were escaping her lips.
I watched, frozen, for what felt like forever. After fifteen minutes of footage—which meant thirty minutes in real time—her body finally gave in, and she fainted in the middle of the storm. Liam appeared on screen first, frantically calling for help, and then Percy arrived. My heart twisted as I watched Percy lift her limp, soaking body and carry her away.
She had cried for thirty minutes. Because of me. My queen, my life, my everything had broken down because of my arrogance and my rush to claim her.
I didn't think twice. I grabbed my keys and bolted for the door.
"Keifer? Where are you going in this weather?" my mom called out, startled.
"I'm going to see Jayjay," I shouted back, already halfway to the garage.
I didn't just drive; I drove like a maniac. Every red light felt like an eternity. I had to get to her. I had to make sure she was okay, even if she never wanted to see my face again.
As the rain lashed against the car, my thoughts spiraled into a dark pit of regret. It was all my fault. She was right—every word she threw at me was the truth. I'm a jerk. An arrogant, mean, and rude jerk. I rushed everything, wanting her to be mine so badly that I didn't stop to think if I was breaking her in the process.
Seeing her collapse on that screen broke me into a million pieces. I've always said that I would kill anyone who dared to make my queen cry... and now, I want to kill myself. Because the person who hurt her most was me.
Liam'sPOV (after keifer left)
Forty-five minutes had passed since Keifer dragged Jayjay away, and she still hadn't come back. I felt a knot of worry tighten in my chest. I knew I was just a friend—and a new one at that—but I couldn't just sit there. I headed toward the corner where I'd last seen them.
The sight that met me made my blood run cold. Jayjay was slumped on the ground, completely unconscious, with the rain soaking her to the bone. My first instinct was to pick her up and take her home myself, but I hesitated. The entire university labeled me a flirt; if anyone saw me carrying an unconscious Jayjay into a car, the rumors would ruin her. I couldn't do that to her.
Then I remembered her mentioning her brother, Percy—the one older than Aries. I'd managed to get his number during a group project once, so I dialed it immediately, my hands shaking.
"Hello?" a deep voice answered.
"Hello, this is Liam, a friend of Jayjay's. Is this Percy?"
"Yes, this is Percy. What happened?" He sounded alert, his protective brother instincts clearly kicking in.
"I found Jayjay fainted on the ground. You need to come get her. I'm staying with her, but I don't want to be the one to drive her home—people in this school have the wrong idea about me, and I don't want them getting the wrong idea about her," I explained quickly.
"I'm coming," he said, and the line went dead.
A few minutes later, a guy with striking blue eyes came sprinting through the rain. He didn't say a word at first, just scooped Jayjay up into his arms.
"I'm Percy," he said, looking at me. I nodded. "Can you drive my car? I need to stay in the back with her to make sure she's breathing okay."
"Of course," I said.
We ran to his car. I took the wheel while Percy sat in the back, holding Jayjay's head in his lap and looking more worried than I'd ever seen a person look. When we arrived at their house—which was massive, by the way—he carried her inside and signaled for me to follow.
Once he had her settled in her bed, we headed downstairs.
"What exactly happened to her, Liam?" he asked, his blue eyes searching mine for answers.
"Honestly, I don't know," I told him truthfully. "I just found her like that after she'd been talking to Keifer."
We talked for a few more minutes until I was sure she was in good hands. I excused myself, knowing my own mom would be worried about me being out in this storm. As I drove away, I couldn't help but hope that whatever happened between her and Keifer could be fixed.
Percy'sPOV
"You know, you're the best brother," Liam said, breaking the heavy silence in the living room.
I snapped out of my dark thoughts and looked at him. "No, I'm not. If I were, my sister wouldn't be in this condition."
"It's not your fault, Percy," Liam replied softly. "I'm sure it's something else—studies, stress, anything." He glanced at his watch. "It's getting late; my mom will be worried. I should get going."
I nodded, watching him leave. A moment later, a sound from upstairs caught my attention. I bolted up the steps and pushed open Jayjay's door. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes red and swimming with fresh tears.
"Kuya," she whispered.
My heart shattered. Jayjay only calls me Kuya when she is at her absolute peak of happiness or the depths of her sadness. I crossed the room and pulled her into a hug. The dam broke; she began to sob into my shoulder, her small frame shaking.
"Hey, it's alright. Everything is going to be okay," I murmured, though internally, I was making a list of everyone I was going to kill for making her cry.
After a few minutes, I pulled back and forced her to look at me. "Tell me what happened. Did Keifer do something?" She stayed silent, looking away. "Jayjay," I said, my voice dropping into a tone of authority.
She finally crumbled and told me everything—every single word that was exchanged in the rain. My blood was boiling. I didn't care that Keifer was my friend. Jayjay is our diamond, our family's heart. We would give our lives just to see her smile, and he had treated her like she was disposable.
"Jayjay, you didn't react like this when you were kids," I said, and she looked up at me, confused. "The reason it hurts you so much to call his care 'fake' is because you're falling for him."
"Am I?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Yes, you are," I said firmly. I stood up and tucked her in. "Now, get some rest. I called the doctor; he said you fainted from stress and exhaustion. Sleep." I kissed her forehead and walked out, closing the door softly.
I was barely down the stairs when the front door swung open. The very jerk I was thinking about stepped inside.
"What are you doing here, Keifer?" I asked, stepping directly in his path.
"I came to see Jayjay. Is she in her room?" He tried to brush past me, but I shoved him back. "What?" he snapped.
"Do you want to make her cry again?" I demanded.
"Listen—"
"No, you listen, Keifer," I cut him off, my voice cold. "I don't care how long we've been friends. I will end this friendship right now because you hurt our heart. I want to kill you right now, and the only thing stopping me is her."
"I never wanted to hurt her," Keifer said, his voice cracking with a raw honesty I'd never heard from him. "I got jealous, and I regret every word, every action. It's killing me that I made her cry because, Percy... I've fallen for her. I can't bear to lose her. Please, just let me see her."
I stared at him for a long beat. I saw the desperation in his eyes—the same desperation I felt for my sister's happiness. I stepped aside and let him pass.
Keifer'sPOV
After the tense standoff with Percy, I made my way upstairs. My heart was pounding against my ribs as I pushed open the door to Jayjay's room. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring at the wall with a blank expression, as if she were miles away. She was still in her hoodie and pants, though someone must have cleaned the mud off of them while she was unconscious.
I sat down beside her, the mattress sinking under my weight. She didn't flinch. She didn't even glance at me. The silence in the room felt heavy, suffocating.
"Jayjay... are you okay?" I asked softly.
No response. She didn't even blink.
"Jayjay, I am so sorry," I started again, my voice trembling. "You have every right to doubt me. I know I've spent years showing you I care only to tell you I was 'pretending' afterward. It's all my fault. I built that doubt."
I waited, hoping for a look, a word—anything.
"But I swear to you now, my care and my affection for you are real. Please, just don't ignore me. Your silence is breaking me into pieces."
Still, nothing. Without a word, she slowly lay down on the bed and turned her back to me, pulling the blanket up. The rejection stung more than any argument we'd ever had.
"I just hope you can forgive me," I whispered.
I stood up and walked out, my chest feeling tight. Percy was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, his arms crossed.
"What happened?" he asked, his blue eyes searching my face.
I just shook my head. "She didn't say a word. I didn't want to push her or rush her like before. I can't be the reason she gets hurt again."
I left the house and drove home through the fading rain. By the time I got back, the house was silent and everyone was in their rooms. I collapsed onto my bed, finally letting the wall I'd built around my emotions crumble. A single tear escaped my right eye, followed by a steady stream I couldn't stop. I didn't even change my clothes; I just drifted into a heavy, exhausted sleep.
Jayjay's POV
Am I really falling for him?
The question Percy left me with was a dull ache in my chest. Why would I? His care, his affection... it's always been fake. It was never real then, and it won't be real now. So why does the thought of him feel like it's pulling me under?
I was staring at the wall, lost in the shadows of my own thoughts, when the door creaked open. I didn't have to look; I could tell by the heavy, electric presence in the air that it was him. He sat on the edge of my bed, but I remained frozen. I didn't want to speak. I knew if I opened my mouth, I would only say things that would cut him deep, and despite everything, I didn't want to hurt him again.
"Jayjay, are you okay?" he asked. His voice was so soft, so different from the growl I'd heard in the cafeteria.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to yell that I wasn't okay—that I was drowning. But the words wouldn't come.
"Jayjay, I'm so sorry," he started, his voice trembling with a raw emotion that sounded terrifyingly real. I wanted to tell him that a single "sorry" couldn't fix the storm inside me. "You have every right to doubt me. I know I've spent years showing you I care only to tell you I was 'pretending' afterward. It's all my fault. I built that doubt."
He was right. He did build this wall between us, brick by brick, childhood memory by childhood memory.
"But I swear to you now, my care and my affection for you are real," he whispered. "Please, just don't ignore me. Your silence is breaking me into pieces."
Into pieces? I thought bitterly. As if your silence didn't break me into a million pieces years ago. Pieces that can't be put back together now.
I felt the tears stinging my eyes and knew I couldn't hold them back much longer. Knowing my words would only be poison, I didn't say a word. I simply lay down, turning my back to him and pulling the blanket up to my chin. I couldn't let him see me cry. I didn't want him to know he still had that much power over me, even if it was the truth.
I heard his heavy sigh, then the sound of his footsteps leaving the room. He was gone, but the ghost of his words stayed behind. I lay there in the dark, my silent tears soaking into the pillow, until the exhaustion of the day finally dragged me into a dreamless sleep.
The End 🌸