JAY'S POV —
The park is quiet in that fragile way mornings get before the city remembers itself.
Keifer sits across from me, hands folded tight on the table like he's bracing for impact. His eyes keep flicking to my face, like he's trying to read the ending before I speak it out loud.
I inhale.
Once.
Slow.
"Before you say anything else," I begin, my voice steady even though my chest feels split open, "I need you to know something."
He nods. Doesn't interrupt.
"I know everything," I say. "About the Watsons. The elders. The pressure. The inheritance. The way your entire life was already decided before you ever got to choose."
His jaw tightens.
"I know why you stepped back,and chose to push him away" I continue. "Why you chose your family. Your brother. Why you thought letting me go was the only way to keep me alive."
I meet his eyes fully now.
"And Keifer… thank you."
That breaks something in him.
His brows knit together, confusion flashing across his face. "Jay—"
"No," I say quietly. "Let me finish."
I straighten my spine.
"What you did hurt me," I admit. "It shattered me. But it was also the right choice. You didn't abandon me. You chose responsibility over desire. You chose blood over comfort."
My voice drops. "That mattered."
His throat works as he swallows.
"I didn't tell you this before," I go on, "because I didn't want you carrying guilt that was never yours."
I pause.
Then I say it.
"There are parts of my life you were never meant to see."
His eyes search mine now, wary.
"As you know I am the owner of JJM.
"JJM wasn't just a company," I say. "It started as one. I built it when I was younger than I should've been, after everything fell apart. At first, it was survival. Then control. Then reach."
I exhale slowly.
"It grew fast. Too fast. Money. Influence. Networks that don't exist on paper."
His hands loosen slightly, then tighten again.
"And then there are the Ravens."
The name hangs between us.
"The Ravens are a myth Jay! ". He spoke
"They're not rumors," I say. "They're not myth. They're mine."
His breath hitches.
"I lead them," I continue calmly. "Not from the shadows. Not by accident. I give orders. I decide who lives and who doesn't get to hurt anyone ever again."
I don't soften it.
"There are guns in my world," I say. "Blood. Deals that don't get undone. Lines that, once crossed, don't let you go back."
His face has gone pale now.
"Damian isn't my boyfriend," I add. "He never was. He's my right hand. My strategist. My shield. He stands where things get ugly so I don't have to pretend they aren't."
I watch him struggle to fit this version of me over the girl he loved.
"I didn't choose this life because I wanted power," I say. "I chose it because the alternative was dying quietly and that's the one thing I can't tolerate. "
Silence stretches.
Then I take the final breath.
"There's one more thing," I say.
His eyes lift to mine again. Slowly.
"Your father is dead," I say.
The words land heavy. Final.
"I didn't plan on telling you," I admit. "I thought… maybe this was one truth you didn't need."
His lips part, but no sound comes out.
"But you deserve to know," I say, voice firm. "He was the one who orchestrated the accident that killed my parents years ago just because of his ego. It wasn't random. It wasn't fate."
His hands shake now.
"Me and brother were left as orphans because of him,So I killed him,he died with my name engraved on the bullet that was aimed at him. " I say simply.
"Because if I didn't, he would've kept destroying lives."
I don't justify it.
I don't apologize.
"So yeah, the mystery death of Kaizer Watson is not a mystery for you to solve anymore, so tell you're people to back off"
"I'm telling you everything because love doesn't survive lies," I finish. "Even merciful ones."
The silence afterward is unbearable.
The birds start again. The wind moves the trees. The world dares to keep breathing.
Keifer stares at the table.
At his hands.
At nothing.
When he finally looks up, his eyes are wrecked — not angry, not accusing. Just… overwhelmed.
"I love you,Keifer,more than I could say or feel" I say quietly, because it needs to be said.
"That never stopped being true."
My voice cracks just once.
"But we can't be together."
He flinches.
"My world is too dark," I say. "And you don't belong in it. You were never meant to learn how to survive the way I did."
He pushes his chair back slowly and stands.
For a moment, I think he'll say something.
Fight.
Beg.
Argue.
But he doesn't.
He looks at me one last time — really looks — like he's memorizing the girl he loved and burying her alive at the same time.
Then he turns.
And walks away.
Each step feels like a knife pressed deeper into my ribs.
I don't stop him.
I don't call his name.
I don't chase.
Because loving him means letting him leave whole.
I don't realize I'm crying until the bench across from me blurs completely.
A presence moves behind me.
Warm.
Familiar.
Percy.
He stops beside me, not touching at first.
"I'm proud of you," he says softly.
That's when I break.
I fold forward, hands gripping my knees, sobbing the kind of cry that only comes when you choose right and lose anyway.
Percy kneels in front of me, pulling me into his chest without a word.
"You told him the truth," he murmurs. "That took more strength than any weapon you've ever held."
The sun crests the horizon then.
Gold spilling over the trees.
Light touching everything it shouldn't forgive.
Percy helps me stand.
We walk away together.
Behind us, the old spot fades into morning.
Ahead of us, the world waits.
And I walk into it knowing this—
I didn't lose love.
I protected it.
Even if it meant letting it go.