(A/N: OH guys!
been a long time since I wrote this book.
And I just wanted to let you know that I making a small change.
Ezra will come a bit late into the book.
He won’t love Jay!
Yes!
You heard me!
He won’t love Jay.
I personally got tired by writing love triangle for Jay.
I am following the original story of Jay’s ex being Gay.
One more thing!
I plan on making this book upto 100+ chapters with ofc!
TRAUMA.
So be ready after the plan reveal and for the rollercoaster of ride.) – – – Keifer’s POV There were exactly two reasons I regretted agreeing to this trip.
The first…
Cin.
The second…
Everyone else.
“We’re eating first!” “No!” “We’re shopping first!” “I’M STARVING!” “We literally ate breakfast!” “That was three hours ago!” “Exactly!” I rubbed my temples as twelve idiots argued in the middle of the mall entrance, earning confused stares from nearly everyone walking past us.
“We’re going to the food court!” Felix declared dramatically, pointing toward the escalator like he was leading soldiers into battle.
Blaster immediately disagreed.
“No.
We need clothes.” “For what?” “So I look rich.” “You still won’t.” “I’ll look emotionally rich.” David sighed.
“I don’t think that’s a thing.” “It is if you believe.” “It isn’t.” “It is.” Yuri silently walked past the argument.
“I vote we split up.” “No!” Cin immediately protested.
“If we split up, someone will eat without me.” “That’s…
exactly why we want to split up,” Rory muttered.
Before another argument could begin…
A familiar voice interrupted us.
“Why are you all yelling?” I turned.
Jay.
She stood a few feet away, one hand tucked into the pocket of her oversized hoodie, her other hand lazily holding a cup of iced coffee.
who looked as though she was already regretting coming.
Jay looked from Felix…
…to Cin…
…to the rest of us.
Then she let out the smallest sigh.
“You’ve been here for thirty seconds.” Cin grinned proudly.
“We’re making memories.” “You’re making a disturbance.” “Same thing.” She shook her head.
“I disagree.” For some reason…
Watching her roll her eyes almost made me smile.
Almost.
Felix clapped his hands together.
“Jay!” “What?” “Come with us.” “No.” “Please.” “No.” “We’ll buy you food.” “I have money.” “We’ll buy you more food.” “…Continue.” Cin gasped.
“I knew food would work!” Jay deadpanned.
“It didn’t.” “So…
you’re coming?” Jay sighed dramatically.
Chaos officially began.
Within ten minutes…
The food court looked like it had been invaded.
“I WANT FRIED CHICKEN!” “WHO TOOK MY FRIES?” “DENZEL!” “I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!” “YOU’RE LITERALLY EATING THEM!” “They’re evidence.” “OF WHAT?” “That they tasted good.” Jay blinked.
“You guys eat like you’ve escaped prison.” Felix pointed at his burger.
“This is art.” “That’s cholesterol.” “It can be both.” Blaster reached across the table and stole three onion rings from Rory.
“HEY!” “They looked lonely.” “They were on my plate!” “Exactly.” Jay laughed.
Actually laughed.
Not the sarcastic little huff she usually gave.
A real laugh.
It caught me off guard.
For a second…
I forgot where I was.
Forgot everyone else.
Forgot the ridiculous argument over onion rings.
I simply…
Watched her.
She looked happier than she had in days.
Maybe weeks.
“…Keifer.” I blinked.
“Hm?” Yuri smirked.
“You’ve been staring.” “I haven’t.” “You have.” “I was thinking.” “About?” “…The fries.” Jay raised one eyebrow.
“The fries?” “Very philosophical fries.” She looked unconvinced.
After nearly emptying half the food court…
Somehow…
They still wanted dessert.
“Ice cream!” “Bubble tea!” “Donuts!” “Cake!” “I’m buying everything,” Cin declared.
Felix looked shocked.
“You have money?” “No.” “…Then how?” “I’ll convince Jay.” He turned toward her dramatically.
“Jay.” “No.” “I didn’t even ask.” “The answer is still no.” “…You’re no fun.” The noise of the mall seemed strangely distant once we stepped away from the endless shouting of Section E.
From where we stood beside the glass railing overlooking the lower floor, the crowds below blurred into an endless stream of unfamiliar faces, their conversations blending together until they became nothing more than background noise.
For the first time that afternoon, there was silence—real silence—and neither of us seemed particularly eager to break it.
Jay rested both hands around the cold paper cup she had been carrying since we arrived, watching the people below with an expression that was unusually calm.
Then, almost absentmindedly, she glanced in my direction.
“…Your brothers are alright now, aren’t they?” The question caught me off guard.
For a brief moment, I simply looked at her, wondering why she had remembered them at all.
Keigan and Keiran had never occupied much space in conversations at school, yet somehow she had remembered their names, remembered the anxiety that had lingered on my face after that phone call outside her mansion.
I found myself nodding before I even realized it.
“They’re doing better,” I answered quietly.
“Things eventually settled down.” She released a breath I hadn’t noticed she had been holding, and the faint smile that appeared on her face was so small that most people would’ve missed it entirely.
There was no curiosity behind her expression, no attempt to pry into matters that weren’t hers.
She simply seemed…
relieved.
“I’m glad,” she murmured, returning her attention to the bustling crowd below.
“No matter how complicated family becomes, you never really stop worrying about the people you care about.” Her words lingered between us, and before I could stop myself, I found my thoughts drifting elsewhere.
“…Marcus,” I said after a moment.
“Is he still angry?” A quiet laugh escaped her lips, carrying neither embarrassment nor frustration, only the kind of understanding that belonged to someone who had spent years learning another person’s heart.
“Marcus has never known how to forgive quickly.
Whenever he believes someone has hurt the people he loves, he holds onto that anger far longer than he should.
Or….
when…
nevermind.” She smiled to herself.
“But that’s just who he is.” There was unmistakable affection in her voice despite everything she had said.
The conversation slowed again, yet this silence felt different from the previous one.
It no longer felt awkward; instead, it carried the quiet comfort of two people who had somehow stopped feeling the need to fill every passing second with meaningless words.
Eventually, curiosity got the better of me.
“What about your family?” For the first time since we’d walked away from the others, the smile faded from her face.
She lowered her gaze to the cup in her hands, absentmindedly tracing the edge of its lid before answering, each sentence arriving only after a thoughtful pause, as though she were carefully deciding which pieces of her life could be spoken aloud and which ones would remain locked away.
“My mother…” she began softly.
“She remarried a long time ago.” She mmbled something.
She offered nothing more than that.
There was no bitterness in her voice, yet there wasn’t any warmth either.
It sounded less like a painful memory and more like a chapter she had quietly accepted could never be rewritten.
“And your father?” A nearly invisible tension crossed her expression.
“I hate him.” Just three words.
No explanation followed them.
She didn’t elaborate, and I understood almost immediately that asking another question would only push her somewhere she clearly didn’t want to go.
Instead, after another stretch of silence, she continued on her own.
“As for Angelo and Aries…” She let out a quiet breath that almost resembled a laugh, though there wasn’t any amusement behind it.
“They’re my cousins.” I waited.
“I hate them.” The certainty in her voice surprised me.
It wasn’t spoken out of anger.
Nor resentment.
It sounded like the conclusion of a story that had already exhausted every possible second chance.
Whatever had happened between them remained unspoken, and although countless questions surfaced in my mind, I found myself swallowing every one of them.
Some people carried burdens that weren’t ready to be shared.
Jay, I realized, was one of those people.
Before the silence could become too heavy, a familiar yell erupted from somewhere inside the clothing store.
“KEIFER!
CIN STOLE MY WALLET!” The peaceful atmosphere shattered instantly.
Jay closed her eyes for a brief moment before letting out a soft laugh, the sound far quieter than the chaos echoing through the mall.
“It seems your friends have managed to create another disaster.” I couldn’t stop the faint smile that appeared on my face.
“…I’m beginning to think they consider that a hobby.” Together, we turned toward the unmistakable commotion waiting for us, the brief pocket of tranquility disappearing as quickly as it had arrived, swallowed once again by the wonderfully exhausting chaos that somehow followed Section E wherever they went.
I was smiling.
I was happy but my eyes moved landing on Yuri who was in intense focus.
Few minutes ago he was smirking at me, teasing me…
Now?
He looked at me disappointed.
A question in his eyes lingered is it still a plan?
I looked at Jay…
to be honest even I didn’t know if it was anymore.
Also I posted on my book When revenge sparks with love!
Check it out.
The flashback might end soon in 6 more chapters.