ᕙ༼Keifer's༽ᕗPOV
Angelo make a deal but suddenly...
I watched the blood drain from her face as she stood by the door, having heard every word of their "deal." She looked so small, the oversized hoodie hanging off her thin frame, her hand trembling as it clutched the doorframe. My chest tightened—she wasn't just breaking; it looked like she was shattering from the inside out.
Angelo stepped toward her, his voice softening but remaining firm. "Jay, it's for your own good. You need to clear your head, away from him, away from the pressure. Two weeks with us, and you'll see things clearly again."
Aries nodded, his scowl gone, replaced by a look of desperate concern. "We're just trying to protect you, Jay. He's... he's too much for you right now."
Jay Jay didn't move. She just stared at them, her big eyes swimming with tears that finally began to spill over. She looked at me, and I saw the reflection of my own agony in her gaze. I wanted to reach out, to tell her I'd wait forever, but my voice felt like it was trapped behind a wall of glass.
"For my own good?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "You think taking away the only person who makes me feel safe is for my good?"
"Jay Jay—" Angelo started, but she cut him off with a sharp, broken sob.
"No! I'm tired of everyone deciding what's best for me!" She stepped into the kitchen, the silk sheet she'd been using as a shield dragging on the floor behind her. She looked like a ghost, but her eyes were burning. "You want to talk about my life? My 'Ice Queen' reputation? My company? Fine. But this... this isn't a board meeting."
She turned to look at me, and for a second, the world narrowed down to just the two of us. "You agreed to it, Keifer? You were really going to let me wake up and find you gone for two weeks?"
"Jay Jay, I—" I started, my heart feeling like it was being squeezed in a vice. "They were going to take you right now. I just wanted you to sleep."
"I'm not a child!" she cried out, her breath hitching in that terrifying way again. "I'm the one who decides where I go. I'm the one who decides who I see."
She turned back to Angelo and Aries, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "If you take me home, I'm going because I choose to. Not because of some deal you made behind my back. And if I want to see Keifer, I will. Because it's my life... and it's my heart."
She stood there, heaving for air, looking like she might collapse at any moment, yet she had never looked more like the leader she was meant to be.
I saw the way her chest started to hitch—that sharp, terrifying whistle of air that meant the world was closing in on her again. I didn't care about Angelo's rules or Aries' glares anymore. I stepped forward, closing the distance in a second.
"Jay, look at me. Just look at me," I pleaded, my voice low and urgent. I tried to grab her hands to ground her, but she was already spiraling. Her eyes were wide, darting between her brothers and me, the weight of their control and my "betrayal" crashing down on her all at once.
"It's... it's my... life..." she gasped, her hands clawing at the fabric of my hoodie. Her knees buckled.
I caught her before she hit the floor, pulling her into my chest, but the panic attack was already in full swing. She wasn't just crying; she was fighting for every molecule of oxygen, her small frame convulsing in my arms.
"Jay Jay! Breathe!" Angelo shouted, his "strict" mask shattering as he lunged forward, but his sudden movement only made her flinch harder. She let out a choked, broken scream, burying her face into my neck, her fingers digging into my skin so hard they drew blood.
"Get back!" I roared at them, shielding her body with mine. "You're suffocating her! Just get back!"
Aries stood frozen, his face pale as he watched his little sister lose her grip on reality right in front of him. The "deal" they had just made felt like a death sentence now.
"I've got you, I've got you," I whispered into her ear, my own tears finally blurring my vision. "Ignore them. It's just you and me. Breathe with me, Jay Jay. Please, jay, just breath".
She was shaking so violently I thought her heart might give out. The kitchen, once a place of breakfast and laughter, had turned into a nightmare.
I didn't wait for their permission. I swept her into my arms, her body a frantic, shaking mess of jagged breaths and terrified whimpers.
"Out! Both of you, GET OUT!" I snarled over my shoulder, my voice echoing with a finality that brooked no argument. Angelo and Aries looked stunned, their faces pale as they realized their "protection" had nearly broken her. I didn't care if they hated me; I just needed them gone.
I kicked the balcony door open and stepped into the cool, biting night air. I sat on the lounge, tucking her small, shivering frame against my chest.
"They're gone, Jay Jay. It's just us," I whispered, pressing my lips to her temple. "The house is empty. It's silent. Just listen to the wind. Just listen to me."
Inside, I heard the heavy thud of the front door closing. They were finally gone. I held her tight, rocking her in the darkness, until the terrifying wheezing slowly turned into exhausted, rhythmic sobs.
"I'm not leaving you," I murmured into her hair, my heart still aching from the deal I'd almost made. "I don't care what they said. I'm right here."
As the silence of the empty house settled around us, the only sound left was the ragged rhythm of her breathing. I tucked her chin up, forcing her to look at me through her tear-blurred lashes.
"Look at my eyes, Jay Jay," I whispered, my voice thick with a raw, unshakable resolve. "I don't care about their rules. I don't care about their two-week sentence. I am not going anywhere. I'd rather face all three of them at once than spend a single hour knowing you feel abandoned. You are my world, do you hear me? I'm staying."
Her lips trembled, a small, broken sound escaping her throat. She didn't want words anymore; she needed proof. She reached up, her fingers trembling as she hooked them behind my neck, pulling me down.
When my lips met hers, it wasn't like the "medical kiss" from before. This was desperate and hungry—a silent pact made in the moonlight. She deepened the kiss with a sudden, fierce intensity, her tongue tangling with mine as if she were trying to breathe my very soul into her lungs. Every ounce of her fear, her panic, and her stubborn love was poured into that kiss. She was branding me, making sure I knew that she chose me over everything else.
Over her shoulder, through the glass, I saw Angelo and Aries standing by their car in the driveway. They were staring up at the balcony, their faces shadowed and grim, witnessing the exact thing they tried to forbid. I didn't pull away. I didn't flinch. I kept my eyes closed and held her tighter, ignoring their glares until I heard the distant roar of their engine as they finally drove away.
"They're gone," I murmured against her lips, the taste of her tears and her kiss lingering. "It's just us now. No more hiding."
She slumped against me, her forehead resting on my collarbone, her breathing finally deep and even. "Don't let them take me, Keifer," she whispered into my skin. "Please."