JAY JAY POV
Before I could even process what was happening, Keifer twisted the handle of the nearest private lounge, shoved me inside, and kicked the heavy mahogany door shut with his foot.
The lock clicked in the quiet room.
“Keifer, let me go!” I argued, planting my free hand against his chest to shove him back.
He didn’t listen to a single word.
Instead of answering, he crowded me back against the door, dipped his head down, and pressed his hot, soft lips straight against the side of my neck.
A sharp shiver shot down my spine, making my knees wobble.
“Keifer!” I gasped, turning my head to the side, my heart going completely haywire.
“Let me,” he murmured against my heated skin, his breath tickling my throat as his lips trailed up toward my jaw.
“I missed you so damn much, Jay.”
The sound of his voice—so needy, desperate, and broken—almost made me forget where we were.
But then his fingers shifted, squeezing down hard right over my throbbing wrist, and a bolt of pure, stinging pain shot up my entire arm.
“Keifer, stop! Let go of my hand!” I cried out, wincing as I tried to yank my arm away from his grip.
He let go of my hand, but before I could yank it behind my back, he caught the edge of my fingers and lifted my arm toward the dim light.
His entire body froze.
The heavy waterproof concealer I had frantically layered over the skin before putting on my dress had completely rubbed off against his palm.
Right there on my pale wrist was an ugly, mottled dark purple and red bruise—the unmistakable outline of a man’s violent fingers dug deep into my flesh.
“Who did this to you?” Keifer asked, his voice suddenly terrifyingly quiet.
He cradled my wrist with gentleness now, like it was made of thin glass, but the muscles along his neck and jaw corded so hard they looked ready to snap.
His dark eyes were bloodshot, practically bleeding red with pure, unhinged fury.
“Nobody! I—maybe I was carrying heavy blueprint cases at the office, or I held onto it too hard while sleeping—” I babbled frantically, trying to twist away.
“You think I’m a fucking idiot, Jay?!”
“Keifer, please, just let it go—” I begged, my chest heaving as I reached out to grab his lapel.
“Answer me, dammit!” he roared, slamming his fist against the solid oak door beside my head so hard the entire frame rattled.
“Who the fuck touched you?!”
“Keifer, please, just listen to me! No one touched me, I swear!” I stammered, my voice trembling as genuine fear crept up my throat.
I wasn’t just scared of him right now I was terrified of what he was going to do to whoever was responsible.
His large hand suddenly reached out, his long fingers cupping my jaw and tilting my face up so forcefully that my eyes had nowhere else to run.
“I don’t want to hear another single excuse, Jasper Jean,” he whispered, leaning down until his lips brushed against my ear.
His breath was scorching hot, but his tone was pure, lethal ice.
“I am going to ask you only one more time, and you are going to answer me. If you don’t, do not make me rip this entire ballroom apart to find out myself.”
He was dead serious.
If I stayed silent, he would drag every man outside through the mud until someone bled the truth out.
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes.
“Yuri,” I choked out, squeezing my eyes shut tight because I couldn’t bear to look at the monster staring back at me.
His hand on my jaw went completely rigid.
The air in the room felt like it was sucked out into a vacuum.
“Open your eyes,” Keifer demanded, his voice dropping into a deadly, vibrating growl against my cheek.
“Look at me, Jay. Now explain to me exactly what that bastard did to you.”
I slowly opened my eyes, my vision swimming with unshed tears.
Keifer was staring down at me, his pupils were blown wide, black and hollow, the veins along his temples throbbing with pure murder.
“Talk, Jay,” he ordered, his thumb brushing over my jawline with terrifying, unnatural gentleness.
“What did he do?”
“4 days ago, after work,” I whispered, my voice shaking as I gripped his lapels with both hands, trying to keep him anchored, trying to stop the explosion.
“I was heading to my car. He was waiting outside my office building. He… he tried to offer me a ride, said his car ran out of gas. I told him no and called a cab for him instead.”
Keifer’s jaw clenched so hard I heard the click of his teeth.
“And?”
“I turned around to get into my car, and he….he grabbed my wrist to stop me from walking away,” I hurried to explain, swallowing down the lump in my throat.
“He called me Jay and begged me to listen. I yelled at him, I told him to back off, and I yanked my arm away. That’s it, Keifer! That’s all that happened! He just held on too tight for two seconds, I swear!”
Silence hung in the air, thick and toxic.
Keifer didn’t yell.
He didn’t slam the wall again.
He just stood there, looking down at the dark purple bruises marking my skin, his chest rising and falling in slow, measured, chilling breaths.
“Two seconds,” Keifer repeated, the words tasting like venom on his tongue.
He lifted my bruised wrist to his mouth, his dark eyes never leaving mine as he pressed a slow, reverent kiss against the injured skin.
His lips were burning hot, but the cold promise in his eyes made my blood run backwards.
“Two seconds too long for a dead man,” he whispered against my wrist.
“Keifer, no don’t do anything stupid, please! The media is outside, our families are here—” I begged, grabbing his arms.
He gently, effortlessly peeled my fingers off his velvet jacket.
He didn’t even look angry anymore; he looked completely, terrifyingly at peace with what he was about to do.
“Fix your makeup, Jasper Jean,” he said smoothly, stepping back toward the door and adjusting his cufflinks.
“Wait five minutes, then walk back out to your brothers.”
“Keifer, stop! Don’t go out there!”
He turned the handle, opened the door, and looked back at me over his shoulder with a cold, hollow smirk that promised absolute bloodshed.
“Nadie le pone un dedo encima a mi esposa y se queda con sus manos, Jay.
Nadie
(Nobody leaves a mark on my wife and keeps his hands, Jay. Nobody.)
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I have next chapter ready but target is big
50 comments
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You all need to check out Operation: Break Her Heart (JayFer) by always_bored!
The plot is seriously amazing.
Let’s show her some love and support!