KEIFER'S POV —
Manila doesn't ease you back in.
It hits.
It's been two weeks since I saw her last on my birthday... And now I was back to beg for her forgiveness and to tell her everything and win her back...
The moment I step onto campus, chaos slams into me full force—shouting, lockers banging, someone running late, someone else laughing too loud for eight in the morning. Heat clings to skin. Noise piles on noise.
Normal.
Too normal.
Section E is exactly where it's always been—sprawled out like they own the place. Cin's halfway on the table. Felix is stealing someone's drink. Blaster's arguing with Rory about something useless. Yuri's sitting slightly apart, watching everything like always.
For a second—just one—I almost expect to see her there.
Leaning back in her chair. Boots crossed. That lazy, dangerous calm like the world exists on her terms.
I don't.
My jaw tightens before I even reach them.
Felix notices me first.
"Oh hell," he grins. "Look who crawled back from exile."
Cin's head snaps up. His face lights instantly. "You're back!"
Hands hit my shoulders. Someone whistles. Someone laughs. Someone makes a joke about London turning me soft.
It's loud. Messy. Familiar.
And wrong.
Because one voice is missing.
One presence isn't cutting through the noise.
I drop my bag beside the table and finally ask, casual—too casual—
"Jay still not back?"
The words land.
The reaction is immediate.
Felix's grin sharpens. "Ohhh. Still, he says."
Blaster laughs. "Man went to London and came back updated."
Cin squints at me. "You sound very informed for someone asking."
I exhale through my nose. "Answer the question."
Rory shrugs. "Nope. Haven't seen her."
"Not a text," Felix adds. "Not a threat. Not even a sarcastic emoji."
Cin leans closer. "You met her, didn't you?"
I don't answer fast enough.
That's all it takes.
"OHHH," Felix drags out. "You definitely met her."
Blaster grins. "So it's true?"
"True what," I mutter.
"I investigated and found that she's in London," Rory says. "And—" he pauses deliberately "—not alone."
I glance away.
"She is With her boyfriend," I say flatly.
My heart and hand both clenched....
Silence.
Then—
"BOYFRIEND?!" Cin yelps.
Felix slams a hand on the table. "EXCUSE ME?"
Blaster stares. "Jay? Our Jay?"
"With a boyfriend?" Rory adds.
I don't look at them. My fingers curl slowly.
"Yes."
Felix squints. "Alive boyfriend or future casualty?"
I shoot him a warning look.
He raises both hands. "Just checking."
Cin's teasing fades into something quieter. "She okay?"
I hesitate.
"She's… fine."
It's a lie.
Yuri finally speaks. "London didn't change her."
I look at him.
"She changed London," he continues calmly.
Felix snorts. "That sounds terrifying."
"It should," I say.
Cin tilts his head. "You're leaving something out.Tell me what is she doing in London?? "
I don't want to say it.
I say it anyway.
"She owns JJM Industries."
The chaos dies.
Completely.
Felix's mouth opens. Closes. "You're joking."
"I'm not."
Blaster blinks. "JJM as in—that JJM Industries that super rich rising in all the professional fields!!!!!?????"
"Yes."
Rory runs a hand through his hair. "So… she wasn't just rich."
"No," I say quietly. "She was restrained."
Cin stares at the empty chair beside him. "She didn't tell us."
"Well,for the record I knew..," Yuri says.
Sir Alvin's voice cuts through before anyone can respond.
"Settle down."
He steps into the room, presence steady, eyes flicking briefly to me before addressing the class.
"Welcome back, Mr. Watson."
"Sir."
Cin doesn't wait. "Sir—Do you know about Jay. When's she coming back?"
Sir Alvin adjusts his glasses. "Miss Mariano remains on leave."
My chest tightens.
"But," he adds evenly, "I've heard she'll be returning soon."
Soon.
The word sits heavy.
Class resumes. Noise crawls back into the room. Section E pretends to focus, but I can feel them glancing at me, at her empty seat.
London. JJM. Boyfriend.
I lean back in my chair, stare at the ceiling, jaw clenched so hard it aches.
Come back soon, Jay.
Not because I miss the chaos.
But because the quiet you left behind—
Is louder than anything this place can throw at me....
JAY'S POV — LONDON TAUGHT ME HOW TO BLEED QUIETLY
London looks beautiful at night.
That's the lie it sells.
From the balcony of my villa, the city stretches out in gold and shadow—lights glittering like nothing underneath them is rotten. Wind cuts through silk curtains. The air smells like rain, smoke, and old money.
I lean against the railing.
Cigarette between my fingers.
Gun heavy in my other hand.
Below, in the garden, two men kneel.
They were trusted once.
Once is all it takes to be stupid.
Their pleas don't reach me. The glass doors are shut. Soundproof. Designed that way for a reason.
I don't hesitate.
The first shot is clean.
Between the eyes.
The second man screams.
I tilt my head, annoyed.
The second bullet tears through his throat.
Silence drops like a curtain.
Blood stains the manicured grass. Tomorrow it will be gone. Like they never existed. Like most mistakes.
I exhale smoke slowly.
Behind me, footsteps approach—measured, familiar.
Damian.
He doesn't flinch. Never does. He steps beside me, takes the gun from my loose grip without asking, checks it, then casually sets it on the table. He lights his own cigar with the same calm he'd use to light a candle.
We lean there together, shoulder to shoulder, staring at a city that thinks it knows power.
"You're getting faster," he says quietly.
"I'm getting tired," I reply.
That's the truth.
I wasn't always like this.
Once, I laughed easily. Trusted recklessly. Loved without calculating the cost.
Now—
Now I count bodies the way other people count days.
Every betrayal has a name. Every name has a grave.
Ravens business is clean now. London knows who I am. Who we are. The elites whisper instead of challenge. Enemies don't threaten—they disappear.
Kaizer is dead.
His network dismantled.
His fear delivered in a coffin.
JJM stands untouchable.
By every metric—
I've won.
Damian studies me from the side. "So tell me," he says, voice low, careful. "What's stopping you?"
I don't answer immediately.
I take another drag. Let the smoke fill my lungs until it burns.
Then—
"You already know."
He exhales slowly. "Keifer."
The name lands like a bruise.
I don't look at him. My jaw tightens.
"He's back in Manila," Damian continues. "Section E. Campus. Same place you left behind."
"I know," I say quietly.
Because of course I know.
I know everything.
"I knew from the start," I add, my voice steady even as something sharp twists in my chest. "I knew his plan. I knew why he broke me. I knew about the Watsons."
Damian turns fully toward me now. "Then why does it still affect you?"
Because knowing doesn't stop feeling.
Because love doesn't care about logic.
Because at one point—
It was all too real.
I close my eyes.
Keifer's voice.
Keifer's hands.
Keifer looking at me like the world narrowed to my existence.
And then—
Cold eyes.
Cruel words.
"I used you."
I open my eyes again.
The city blurs.
"I can't go back there," I say. "Not like this. Not while he's there."
Damian's tone softens, but his words don't. "Jay, we have to go back."
I scoff. "There's nothing left for me there."
"There is," he counters. "Ram. Jason. Loose ends. Power gaps."
I laugh bitterly. "Always business with you."
"And survival with you," he shoots back. "You think London made you ruthless? Manila made you dangerous. And you can't outrun that forever."
Silence stretches.
Wind tugs at my hair.
Below us, my men are already cleaning the blood.
Damian steps closer. "You don't have to forgive him," he says. "You don't even have to face him. But you can't keep pretending you're not avoiding it."
I take one last drag.
Crush the cigarette out against the railing.
"You're going to keep nagging me, aren't you?" I mutter.
He smirks. "Relentlessly."
I sigh.
"Fine," I say at last. "Tomorrow."
Damian blinks. "Tomorrow?"
"We go back," I repeat. "Manila. Philippines. Whatever hell is waiting."
He nods once. Business mode already clicking in. "I'll make arrangements."
As he turns to leave, I pick up the gun again.
Not to shoot.
Just to feel its weight.
London didn't make me cold.
It taught me how to survive without warmth.
And Manila?
Manila is where ghosts breathe.
Where love and war share the same streets.
I stare into the night and whisper, not to the city—but to the memory that still owns too much of me.
"Brace yourself, Keifer."
Because this time—
I'm not the girl you broke.
I'm the woman who learned how to pull the trigger and not look back.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
HEYYY CUTIEEEE READERS.....
"GUESS WHO'S BACK, BACK AGAIN...
SHADY'S BACK HEHEHEHEHE😆😆"
Anywayysss yess so i am officially backkk you allll I misseddd you alll so muchhhh ahhhhh it was killing me to eb away from writing butt ahhh....
So yeah today was the EXAM it went great and for readers who are thinking yes it was JEE.... I am a proud JEE aspirant 🥲😭☠️
Anywaysss I am back and I'll give you one more chapter so brace yourself any special request will be considered in how you want then to reconcile or whatever so yeahh stay tunedd.....
I loveeeeeeeeeeee you all veryyy muchhhh😘😘😘😘💗💗💗💗
~nsaw