Jay's POV (Alone in her room at night):
The mansion was quiet now. Everyone had gone to their rooms, the laughter and chatter from earlier replaced by the soft hum of the night. I slipped out of the oversized gown I'd tried on earlier and sat on the edge of my bed, staring out the wide window at the gardens bathed in moonlight.
It should have been perfect. My own place, everything I could ever want, people who loved me beyond measure… and yet, a hollow ache lingered in my chest.
I thought of Keifer...
Of how he had looked at me — really looked — when he admitted the truth: that it had all been a plan..
I clenched my fists, whispering his name under my breath. "Keifer…"
The longing felt like a weight pressing down, heavy and impossible to shake. I missed him — his voice, his touch, the warmth that had once made my chest ache in a way no one else could. The way he teased me everything .....
Tears slid down my cheeks. I hugged my knees to my chest, letting the sobs come quietly. Part of me wanted to run to him, to throw myself into the arms of the one person who had always had a claim on my heart, even if the world said it was impossible.
And yet… I knew. I knew that pushing him away, keeping him distant, was for my safety. I would survive, I would thrive, but the longing… the longing for Kiefer's love… that would stay with me, quiet but constant, like a shadow in the moonlight.
I lay back on my bed, staring at the ceiling, imagining his face in the darkness. "I wish… I wish things could be different," I whispered. "I wish you could just… love me...."
And as the mansion slept around me, filled with warmth and the promise of safety, I let myself sink into the ache, holding onto the hope that someday, somehow… maybe we could find our way back to each other.
Just Maybe...