Keifer's POV
I knew the moment she walked out.
Not because she slammed the door or shouted—Jay didn't need noise to announce pain. It was the way the air changed, like something precious had been torn apart and the world hadn't caught up yet.
She looked at me.
Not with anger.
Not with hatred.
But with disappointment.
And that was worse.
I had said the words. Filthy. Cruel. Deliberate. Each one chosen like a blade because that was the plan. Section A. Humiliation. Distance. Break her before she could break me.
That was what I told myself.
But when Jay stormed out of the classroom, something inside my chest twisted violently, like I had miscalculated a move in a game I thought I controlled.
I stood there, frozen, while whispers erupted around me.
"Kiefer, what was that?" Yuri muttered under his breath.
I didn't answer.
My eyes were fixed on the door she had disappeared through.
I had loved her.
That part wasn't a lie.
But love was a weakness I couldn't afford.
Or so I believed.
Minutes later, Aries' voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"What the hell is going on outside?" he said, irritated. "The parking lot's blocked."
The bell rang, and students flooded out like a tide. We followed, curiosity dragging us forward.
Then I heard it.
A horn.
Low. Deep. Commanding.
I felt it before I saw it.
My heart stuttered.
Because I knew that sound.
Impossible.
I moved faster, pushing through the crowd, until the parking lot came into view—and then everything stopped.
A Mercedes-Maybach S680.
Limited edition. Polished. Untouchable.
The kind of car that didn't belong to students. The kind that belonged to people who ruled rooms without raising their voices.
Whispers exploded around us.
"Is that Kiefer's?"
"Maybe Yuri's?"
I clenched my jaw.
"No," I said automatically. "That's not mine."
Yuri shook his head. "I don't own that kind of car."
Aries scoffed. "Then whose is it? Move it so I can get mine out."
I barely heard him.
Because my eyes were locked on the security guard arguing with the bodyguard standing beside the car.
That bodyguard wasn't school-hired.
He was private.
Military-trained.
My stomach dropped.
Five minutes passed. Questions. Verification.
Then the guard stepped aside.
The gates opened.
And the car rolled in.
That was when I saw her.
Jay.
Standing quietly to the side.
Unnoticed.
Unassuming.
The same girl everyone thought they understood.
My heart slammed violently against my ribs.
No.
She pulled out a key.
The car unlocked with a soft, lethal click.
The world went silent.
I swear, I couldn't breathe.
Aries' voice cut through the shock. "Wait—what? That's yours?"
Jay nodded.
"Yes."
One word.
And it shattered everything.
The crowd gasped as she walked toward the car, every step measured, controlled, elegant. Sunlight caught the curves of the Maybach, reflecting off glass and steel like it was bowing to her presence.
She wasn't pretending anymore.
And I realized, far too late—
Jay had never been weak.
She looked toward Section E.
Toward us.
Her gaze swept over faces filled with awe, guilt, disbelief.
Ci-N was crying.
David looked like he'd been punched in the gut.
Yuri stared at her, stunned.
And me?
She didn't look at me.
That hurt more than if she had screamed.
Because it meant I no longer mattered.
But I mattered enough to be crushed by the truth.
She got into the car.
The door closed with a sound that felt final.
The engine purred.
And then she drove away.
Taking my control with her.
The parking lot slowly returned to noise, but I stood there, numb.
I had underestimated her.
No—worse.
I had misunderstood her completely.
Jay wasn't just some girl from Section E.
She was power.
Hidden.
Watching.
Waiting.
And I had betrayed her before she revealed herself.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
A message.
Unknown Number.
"you moved too soon ."
I froze.
Another message followed.
"She was never meamt to be distracted .She was meant to be feared ."
My blood ran cold.
I knew who that was.
And I hated him.
My father.
The monster who killed my mother.
The man whose shadow followed me everywhere.
I typed back with shaking fingers.
"Stay out of this."
The reply came instantly.
"You involved yourself the moment you touched what was never yours."
I clenched my fist so hard my nails dug into my palm.
Jay.
She wasn't just collateral.
She was now a variable.
And variables destroyed plans.
London loomed ahead—inheritance, war, blood, ghosts of five generations clawing at my name.
And now Jay stood on the opposite side of the board.
Unrevealed.
Uncrowned.
But awakening.
I had thought I was the hunter.
Standing there, watching the space where her car had disappeared, I realized the truth.
I had just provoked a queen.
And when Jay struck back—
She wouldn't miss.
....