KEIFER'S POV —
The door barely survives the way I slam it open, rage burning so violently through my veins it feels like my skin can't contain it, and by the time I reach the car my fist collides with metal hard enough to dent it—pain shooting up my arm but not nearly enough to drown out the echo in my head.
I love him—her voice, steady, choosing someone else—and I hit it again, breath ragged, vision red, until Rory grabs my shoulder,
"Keifer, stop—" and Edrix tries to pull me back, "This isn't helping—"
but it's useless because I can still see her walking away, hand in his, like I never existed, like I was just a phase she outgrew.
"Get off me!" I snap, shoving them away, chest heaving, the anger mutating into something uglier—
Something hollow and violent—and I swear I could tear the world apart just to get that image out of my head, but it won't leave, it won't stop...
David's there, watching me like he's already calculated the breaking point, and when I lunge forward again, ready to smash my fist into something else—his punch lands clean across my jaw, sharp and precise, sending me stumbling back against the car.
"What the hell—" I growl, tasting blood, fury snapping back into focus as I glare at him.
"Calm down,Keifer" David says, voice cold, controlled. "Or you'll lose her for real this time."
That—
That hits harder than the punch.
Silence crashes in, thick, suffocating, and I drag a hand down my face, breathing hard, forcing myself to steady because he's right—I can't afford to lose control, not now, not when she's right there within reach again.
"She's lying," I mutter, more to myself than them, shaking my head slowly, jaw tightening. "I know she doesn't love him."
Rory exhales. "Keifer—"
"I know her," I cut in, sharper now, eyes burning with something colder, more focused. "She didn't even hesitate—but she felt it. I saw it. She felt something when I said I loved her."
Edrix watches me carefully. "That doesn't mean—"
"It means she's scared," I interrupt, voice dropping, dangerous now. "And she's hiding behind him."
David crosses his arms slightly. "If you know this then stop reacting like you already lost."
A beat.
Then another.
And something inside me… shifts.
The rage doesn't disappear—it settles. Hardens. Becomes something controlled, something sharper.
"I'm not losing her again,I'm not letting her make me leave again..." I say quietly.
Because I didn't believe her not for a second.
Not even when she said it.
I love him.
Bullshit.Pure. Absolute bullshit and I'm going to prove it.
---------
I've seen power before.
Built it. Broken it. Controlled rooms full of men twice my age without raising my voice.
But nothing—nothing—prepared me for the moment she walked in.
The doors open, the noise dulls, the entire room still pretending to breathe—and then she steps in like she owns the oxygen itself, emerald silk catching every damn light in the hall, draping her like it was designed to ruin people, to make them forget where they are, who they are—and for a second?
I forget too.
My fingers tighten around the glass in my hand, the burn of it grounding me, barely.
"…shit," Rory exhales under his breath.
No one disagrees.
Because she doesn't just look beautiful—she looks untouchable.
Hair falling in soft waves like she didn't even try, heels clicking against the marble with a rhythm that feels like a countdown, spine straight, chin slightly lifted—not arrogance, not insecurity—just control.
Pure, lethal control.And her face—No smile.No softness.Nothing.
Just that cold, composed expression that says you don't get to reach me anymore.
My jaw tightens.
Because I remember the girl who used to smile at me like I was something worth choosing.
And this?
This version of her—
She looks like she'd burn the world before letting anyone close again.
Then—He steps out.
Chris.
And before I can even process it—she moves.
Her arm slips into his like it belongs there.Like it's always belonged there.
Something inside me goes completely still.
Not loud.Not explosive.
Just… cold.
Dangerously cold.
"Keifer," Edrix says low, warning laced in his tone, because he can see it—the way my entire posture shifts, the way my grip tightens, the way my eyes don't move from them.
I don't answer.Because I can't.I'm watching the way she walks beside him.
Perfectly in sync.Like this is natural.
Like he gets to stand where I used to.
The flashes go insane—cameras screaming their names, people calling out to them—and she doesn't even flinch, doesn't even look affected.
She just walks.And him?
He leans slightly toward her, says something—I don't hear it, but I see it—
That small shift in her lips.Not a smile.But close enough.Close enough to feel like a knife sliding between my ribs.
Felix lets out a low breath. "You've got to be kidding me."
Ci-n's jaw tightens. "She did that on purpose."
"She's performing," David says calmly—but his eyes don't leave her either. "Every step. Every movement."
Yeah.
I know.
That's what makes it worse because she's not doing this accidentally.
She's choosing it.Choosing him.
Choosing to stand there, in front of all of us, and show us exactly where we don't belong anymore.
My fingers curl tighter because I see everything.The way her hand rests on his arm—light, but intentional.The way she leans just slightly when he opens the door for her.
The way she doesn't look at us not even once like we're not even worth acknowledging.
This totally got me off guard because I know her and I know that distance isn't indifference.
It's defense.
"She looks…" Mayo starts, then stops.
"Untouchable," Kit finishes quietly.
My gaze tracks her as she moves through the hall, every step calculated, every interaction smooth, effortless—talking to investors, nodding, speaking like she owns the conversation, owns the space, owns herself in a way she didn't back then.
And God—
I should be proud.
I should look at her and think she made it.
But all I can think is—She did it without me.
And then—She pauses.Just for a second and her eyes flick across the room.
They land on us.
On me and suddenly, everything inside me sharpens again.
Because she felt it.She felt me watching.
Good.
Because I'm not looking away.
Not when she turns back like nothing happened.Not when she continues like she didn't just shake something loose inside me again and definitely not when he leans closer to her—
Too close—
Like he has a right.
My jaw clenches, something violent rising again, slower this time, more controlled.
More dangerous.
"Stand still Watson,there are eyes hawking you at every corner of this room." David mutters under his breath.
"I am," I reply.
And I am.
On the outside.
But inside?
Inside I'm memorizing everything about her and only about her.
The dress.
The way it moves with her.The way it fits her like it was made for her.The way every man in that room is looking at her like she's something they want.
And the way she doesn't care because she's not here for them.
She's here to make a point.
To make me see it and I do.
I see it loud and clear.The distance the anger.
The wall she built so high I can't reach her anymore.
But here's the thing she forgot—Walls don't scare me anymore.
Not when I know what's behind them.
My gaze hardens, locking onto her again as she laughs softly at something he says—fake or not, I don't care.
Because if this is her way of pushing me away—Then she just made the biggest mistake she could've made.
Because now?
Now I want her more.Not the old version.Not the girl who trusted me.
This version.
The one who fights.
The one who thinks she can stand there, look me in the eye, and pretend there's nothing left between us.
A slow, dangerous smirk tugs at my lips.
"Keep pretending, Jay," I murmur under my breath.
Because the more she pushes—The more she proves one thing.She's not over me and I'm definitely not done with her.
Not tonight.Not ever.
The gala itself is worse..
My jaw tightens instantly, something dark snapping into place so fast it almost feels like instinct, and I don't move—not outwardly—but inside?
Inside, everything goes cold.
"Keifer," Rory mutters under his breath, already seeing it, already bracing.
"I'm fine," I say.
I'm not.
Because she laughs at something he says—soft, effortless, like she never laughed like that with me—and something ugly twists in my chest, sharp enough to hurt.
Ci-n leans forward slightly, jaw tight. "Tell me you're not just going to stand around here."
Felix scoffs under his breath. "That guy—who the hell even is he?"
"Christian Willow," David answers calmly, eyes still on her. "The one she apparently 'loves'.."
That pulls a low, humorless huff out of me.
"Tell me about it."
Because I'm watching her.
Every movement.
Every glance.
And I see it—the control, the precision, the way she never lets herself linger too long, never lets anything show.
She's acting and that makes it worse because it means she's doing this on purpose.
Drew shifts beside me, cracking his knuckles quietly. "Say the word and I'll take him down right now.."
"Don't," Edrix cuts in immediately. "Not here."
But it's not just Drew.
Eren's posture is rigid, Mayo's eyes dark, Blaster unusually still, Denzel watching like he's waiting for a signal—every single one of them locked onto her like something territorial, something unresolved, something dangerous.
And then—Angelo moves.
I watch him walk up to her, something tight coiling in my chest, but I don't stop him.
I want to see.I want to know.
Her reaction is immediate.
Cold. Sharp. Dismissive.
"Excuse me, Mr. Fernandez… please don't."
Angelo freezes.
Aries tries next—and she cuts him off just as brutally.
"It's Miss Mariano."
That—
That does something to me because she's not just distant.
She's angry and she walks away from them like they mean nothing.
Like we meant nothing.My hands curl into fists.
But I stay still because then—He comes back.
Chris.
That asshole.
Sliding in beside her like he belongs there, like he has a right to touch her, to stand that close, to make her laugh—and when he leans down, close to her ear, whispering something—
Something inside me snaps so violently I almost stand up.
"Keifer," Angelo says sharply, grabbing my arm.
I hadn't even realized I moved.My eyes don't leave them.Not for a second.
Because he's too close.
Too comfortable and too familiar.
His hand brushes hers she doesn't pull away and suddenly I can't hear anything else.
Not the auction.Not the room.Not the voices.
Just that.
Just them.
"Sit down," David says quietly, but there's an edge to it now.
I don't respond because all I can think is—
He's touching her.He's looking at her like that and she's letting him.
" Stop staring at them Keifer," David adds, sharper now. "Think and look around you."
"I am thinking and looking worry for yourself Braselton," I say, my voice low, dangerous, controlled in a way that scares even me.
Because this isn't just anger anymore.
This is something colder.Something deliberate across the room, she leans closer to him this time.
And her eyes—
Her eyes flick to me for half a second.Just one.But it's enough.Enough to confirm it.
A slow, humorless smile tugs at my lips.
"Careful, Jay," I murmur under my breath, eyes locked on her like I can see straight through the act.
Because if this is a game—Then she just reminded me exactly how to play it.
And this time?
I'm not the one being controlled.
I lean back slightly, jaw tight, gaze never leaving her as the rest of the boys shift around me, restless, tense, waiting—
Because none of us are done.
Not even close and neither is she but if she thinks hiding behind him will keep me away—
She's wrong.
Because no matter how close he stands…No matter how much she pretends…No matter how hard she pushes me away—
I know her.
And I know this isn't over.
Not for me.
Not for her.
Not for any of us.
And tonight?
This is just the beginning.....