💜 Percy’s POV The drive became completely quiet after that.
Not awkward quiet.
Not peaceful quiet.
The kind of quiet where everyone was thinking about something.
But my mind wasn’t on the threat anymore.
It was on Jay.
That one sentence kept replaying in my head.
em na samjis me nathi joyu to mane khabr nahi mari najar badhe che aane ene e je hoi hu sodhi kadis.
I swallowed.
Honestly?
I was scared.
Not for myself.
For her.
Because whoever was behind those messages had already started looking for Jay.
But at the same time…
I was proud.
So damn proud.
How did she notice?
I hadn’t said anything.
I hadn’t looked at her for more than a second.
I hadn’t even changed my expression intentionally.
But somehow…
She knew.
She always knew.
That was Jay.
Everyone thought she was careless.
Everyone thought she was playful.
Everyone thought she was just seventeen.
But I knew better.
She noticed everything.
Every movement.
Every silence.
Every change in someone’s breathing.
And somehow…
She had noticed me hiding a threat in seconds.
I looked at her again.
She was still looking outside the window.
Completely calm.
As if nothing had happened.
I smiled faintly.
That’s my Jay.
The rest of the drive passed without another word.
Eventually, we reached home.
Everyone got out of the cars and slowly went inside.
I followed them.
But my mind was still somewhere else.
Those messages.
Do you really think the person behind will save you every time?
Do you think she will save you everytime.
We will find her soon.
I clenched my jaw.
They weren’t threatening me anymore.
They were threatening her.
And that changed everything.
Evening By evening, everyone was sitting around the dining table.
Food had already been served.
Everyone was eating.
Everyone…
Except Jay.
I looked toward the stairs.
Still nothing.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
She didn’t come.
I knew she would eventually.
She always did.
A few minutes later, footsteps came from upstairs.
I looked up.
Jay walked into the dining room.
Her expression was normal.
She looked around the table.
Then stopped.
There was only one seat left.
The seat between Keifer…
And me.
She looked at it.
Then looked at everyone.
I immediately sensed the tension.
So did everyone else.
Jay’s eyes moved between Keifer and me.
For a second, nobody spoke.
Then she calmly said, Jay: “I am not hungry I will eat later” Before anyone else could react— Keifer and I spoke at exactly the same time.
Keifer & Percy: “No, come and eat.” Silence.
Everyone froze.
Aris slowly looked at us.
Angelo’s eyebrows went up.
Someone actually stopped chewing.
I glanced at Keifer.
Keifer glanced at me.
And I knew exactly what everyone was thinking.
Competition.
They probably thought Keifer and I were fighting over Jay.
They had no idea.
No idea that the person sitting beside her wasn’t her competition.
I am her brother.
Her protector.
The one person who would burn everything down before letting anything happen to her.
Jay looked between us.
Then sighed.
She pulled out the chair.
And sat down.
Right between us.
I immediately started making her plate.
A little rice.
The vegetables she liked.
Something else.
I added everything she usually ate without even asking.
Jay watched me for a second.
She didn’t say anything.
She simply started eating.
I smiled slightly.
For a few minutes, everything seemed normal.
Everyone was talking.
Eating.
Laughing occasionally.
And then— My phone buzzed.
I froze.
My hand immediately moved toward it.
I looked down.
Unknown number.
Another message.
My stomach dropped.
Do you think she will save you everytime My expression changed.
I could feel my face becoming serious.
Before I could process it— Another message appeared.
We will find her soon My heart stopped.
Her.
They weren’t talking about me.
They were talking about Jay.
I quickly turned my phone face down on the table.
I took a breath.
Slowly.
Calmly.
Act normal.
I picked up my spoon.
Started eating.
Pretended nothing had happened.
But then— Across from me, Jay’s spoon stopped halfway to her mouth.
I didn’t look at her.
I couldn’t.
Because I knew her.
If I looked into her eyes…
She would know everything.
And I didn’t want everyone else to notice.
So I kept my eyes on my plate.
But I could feel her watching me.
Her eyes moved toward my phone.
Then toward me.
She had noticed.
Of course she had.
I knew it.
I suddenly stood up.
Everyone looked at me.
Aris frowned.
Angelo stopped eating.
Keifer immediately looked at me.
I was about to take one step away from the table when— Jay spoke.
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
Dangerously calm.
Jay: “Sit.” I froze.
My entire body stopped.
I slowly looked at her.
Her expression hadn’t changed.
Her voice wasn’t loud.
She wasn’t angry.
But there was something in it.
Something that made even me stop.
My legs felt frozen.
I had heard Jay angry before.
I had heard her threatening people before.
But this?
This calmness was different.
It was dangerous.
She looked directly at me.
Then spoke again.
Same tone.
Same calmness.
Jay: “Eat.” I didn’t argue.
I didn’t ask questions.
I simply sat back down.
Picked up my spoon.
And started eating.
The entire table was staring at us.
Aris finally couldn’t hold himself back.
Aris: “What the hell was that?” I didn’t answer.
Angelo looked at Jay.
Angelo: “Why did you tell Percy to sit like that?” Jay continued eating.
Completely normal.
As if she hadn’t just ordered me back into my seat with two words.
Keifer looked between us.
His eyes narrowed.
Keifer: “What happened?” I kept eating.
Nobody believed me.
Of course they didn’t.
They could see something was wrong.
Then Jay looked toward me.
Her eyes briefly dropped to the phone in my hand.
Then she spoke.
Jay: “Eat properly without thinking much.” I stared at her.
She knew.
She knew exactly what was happening.
And then— She added quietly, Jay: “Let them find.” My hand stopped.
I looked at her.
For the first time that evening, I understood.
She wasn’t scared.
She wasn’t going to hide.
She wasn’t going to run.
She was letting them come.
Because she wanted to find them too.
Jay stood up.
She placed her spoon down.
Then looked at all of us.
Nobody said anything.
She simply turned around…
And walked upstairs.
I watched her disappear.
The moment she was gone, everyone started talking at once.
Aris: “What does she mean by ‘let them find’?” Angelo: “Percy, what happened?” Keifer: “Why was Jay talking like that?” I stayed silent for a few seconds.
My eyes remained on the staircase.
I knew I couldn’t hide it anymore.
Not completely.
So I finally looked at everyone.
My voice was quiet.
Percy: “Someone is threatening me and Jay knew.” Silence.
Complete silence.
Everyone stared at me.
Aris’s expression changed first.
Angelo’s smile disappeared.
Keifer became completely still.
Nobody spoke.
But I knew what they were thinking.
Who was threatening me?
Why did Jay know?
Why was she so calm?
And most importantly…
Why did Percy and Jay understand each other without even speaking?
I didn’t answer any of those questions.
Because there were some things they still weren’t allowed to know.
Especially the biggest one.
They still didn’t know…
Why Jay’s fear always became my fear.
Why her danger felt personal.
Why one message about her could make my entire world stop.
They thought I was her competition.
They had no idea.
I wasn’t competing for Jay.
I was protecting my sister.
And whoever had decided to find her…
Had just made the biggest mistake of their life.
I looked toward the stairs again.
My fear was still there.
But something else had replaced it.
Determination.
Because Jay had already made her decision.
Let them find her.
And now…
I was going to make sure they regretted finding her.