Jayjay POV
We were outside Eman's restaurant.
Fresh air. Quiet. Finally—no teasing voices, no plates clattering, no Hex interrogations.
Just me and Keifer.
Which, honestly?
Was dangerous in its own way.
He leaned against his car, hands in his pockets, staring up at the sky like he was deciding whether to tell the truth or lie beautifully.
"My family is… complicated," he finally said.
Oh.
Here we go.
"How complicated?" I asked.
He exhaled. "Both my parents are alive. They're just… not together."
I nodded slowly.
"My mom—Serina Watson—remarried."
I blinked. "Wait."
He continued anyway. "She married Victor Soriano. It happened after a lot of conflicts with my dad. Kaizer Watson."
My brain started buffering.
" Mike Keiren Watson and my other younger brother, Mir Keigan Watson, accepted Victor."
I frowned. "And you?"
He shrugged. "I'm somewhere in between."
Then he added, very casually, like he was saying the weather is nice:
"My mom owns Watson Corp."
I stopped breathing.
"…What?"
He glanced at me. "Yeah."
WHAT.
"Wait—what?" I repeated, louder this time.
He smiled a little. "Yeah."
My brain screamed.
"Your MOM—Watson Corp—that Watson Corp??"
"The same one," he said calmly.
Oh.
So that's why the headmaster nearly fainted.
"And my parents separated because of the company," Keifer continued. "Money. Control. Different visions."
I stared at him like he had just casually admitted to owning the world.
"My mom helps a lot of schools. Orphanages too," he added.
I swallowed. "Okay. Wow."
He kept talking, but my attention drifted.
Which was bad.
Because I noticed his lips.
Oh no.
No, no, no.
They were moving as he spoke. Calm. Soft. Too close.
And my brain—my TRAITOR brain—went:
I wonder how they'd feel—
I shook my head sharply.
Stop it. Immediately.
"Jayjay?" Keifer paused. "You okay?"
I jumped. "Yeah! Sure. Totally fine. Continue. Please. With… words."
He narrowed his eyes but continued.
"Do you know something?"
"What?" I asked.
"My little brother," he said quietly, leaning in a bit, "is in the same class as Hex."
"…WHAT?"
He smirked. "Yeah."
"But—where is he?"
"He followed my mom on a trip."
"…Your mom took him on a trip?"
"Business trip," Keifer corrected.
"Where?"
"NYC."
"…WHAT?"
He laughed softly while my soul left my body.
After a moment, I asked, "So when will they be back?"
"Wednesday."
"And school?"
"Thursday."
I nodded. "Okay."
Then the question slipped out before I could stop it.
"So… why don't you accept Victor?"
Keifer opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Closed it.
I squinted. "You don't even know why, do you?"
"…Something like that."
I smacked the back of his head.
"Is something wrong with you?!" I said. "You don't like him and you don't even have a reason?"
"Ow," he said.
I raised my hand again—
—and suddenly my wrist was caught.
Keifer pulled me forward gently but firmly.
In one smooth motion, I was closer.
My hand pressed flat against his chest.
He leaned back against the car.
Very close.
Way too close.
"I can see you like violence," he said calmly.
"Let go of my hand," I said.
"You sure you want me to?"
I stopped breathing.
I looked up.
His eyes.
Then—
His lips.
Oh no.
Oh no no no.
I wanted to kiss him.
Badly.
"Please stop looking at me like that," I whispered.
"Like what?" he asked.
I couldn't answer.
He leaned closer.
Closer.
And then—
Boom.
Our lips touched.
Soft.
Warm.
Real.
My hand moved on its own, gripping his shirt.
His arm steadied me.
For a second, the world disappeared.
Then we pulled apart.
Keifer smiled.
"What?" I asked, flustered.
He chuckled. "You're turning red."
"I am not."
I turned around immediately and ran back into the restaurant.
Heart racing.
Face burning.
I am never stepping outside with this boy again.
(That was a lie. And I knew it.)