(Author's POV)
The door opened quietly.
Not rushed. Not hesitant.
Just… careful.
They stepped in one by one—Alex first, then Luna, Cora, and Daniel. The room stayed silent, but the moment they entered, they all saw it.
Jay was awake.
Lying still.
Facing the window.
And for a second—
no one said anything.
Because even from where they stood, it was obvious.
The tears.
Not loud. Not dramatic.
Just there.
Slipping silently down the side of her face as she stared outside like she wasn't even in the room.
She wasn't looking at them.
She wasn't looking at anything.
She was somewhere else.
Then she heard them.
The smallest shift in the air.
The quietest sound of movement.
And just like that—
she wiped her face.
Quick. Controlled.
Gone.
By the time she turned her head slightly—
there was nothing left.
Or at least—
nothing she wanted them to see.
"You're awake," Luna said softly, stepping closer.
Jay didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes moved across them once—quick, measuring—before settling back into that same calm expression she always used.
"Yeah," she said, voice steady.
Too steady.
Daniel let out a quiet breath, shaking his head slightly. "You always wake up like nothing happened."
Jay's lips pressed faintly. "Because nothing did."
That earned her a look.
Not angry.
Just… tired.
"Three stitches opened," Cora said calmly. "That counts as something."
Jay didn't respond to that.
Instead, her gaze shifted slightly away again.
Avoiding.
Alex noticed.
Of course he did.
"We're not doing this," he said, his voice calm
" But the thing are changing now jay"
The room didn't feel tense anymore.
It felt… real.
Heavy, yes—but not forced. Not dramatic. Just the kind of silence that happens when something important is about to be said.
Jay shifted slightly on the bed, her eyes moving from one to another. She wasn't confused anymore.
Just… trying to understand.
"You said things changed," she said, her voice calm but direct. "So say it properly."
Daniel let out a small breath, glancing at Alex. "She's not gonna let this go."
"Good," Cora replied.
Alex stepped a little closer, not too much. Just enough.
"We didn't stay where you left us," he said simply.
Jay held his gaze. "Clearly."
A small pause.
Luna spoke this time. "After you left… things didn't just stop."
"They got worse," Daniel added.
Jay's brows pulled slightly. "Worse how?"
Cora answered, straightforward as always. "People noticed. Gaps. Weakness. We weren't protected anymore."
"And we had two choices," Daniel continued, "either stay small and get crushed… or build something that couldn't be touched."
Jay didn't interrupt.
Didn't react loudly.
She just listened.
"So we built it," Alex said.
Silence.
Jay's fingers tightened slightly over the sheet. "Built what?"
"A company," Luna said.
Jay frowned faintly.
"And more than that," Cora added.
Daniel exhaled lightly. "It's called Jacaled."
The name settled in the room.
Jay repeated it under her breath, slower. "…Jacaled."
"It started small," Luna said. "Legal work. Contracts. Movement. Then it grew."
"Now it runs things," Daniel added. "Business on the surface. Control underneath."
Jay looked at him. "Control?"
Cora didn't soften it. "Information. Routes. People. Protection."
Jay's gaze shifted to Alex. "…so you became what you used to fight?"
Alex didn't look away. "No."
A pause.
"We became what survives."
That landed.
Not perfectly—but enough.
Jay leaned back slightly, her expression unreadable for a second.
"…and you're telling me this now because?"
No one rushed to answer.
Then Luna spoke, quieter this time. "Because you're part of it."
Jay's reaction was immediate. "No."
Daniel huffed lightly. "Here we go."
"I left," Jay said, firmer now. "I wasn't there. I didn't build anything with you. So no—I'm not part of it."
Cora didn't move. "That's not how it works."
"Yes, it is."
"No," Alex said.
That made her stop.
"There are two main seats in Jacaled," he continued. "Decision level. Control level."
Jay's eyes narrowed slightly.
"One is handled," Daniel said.
"And the other?" Jay asked.
Silence.
Then Luna answered.
"It's yours."
Jay blinked once.
"…what?"
"We never filled it," Cora said.
Jay let out a small, disbelieving breath. "That doesn't make sense."
"It does," Daniel replied. "We weren't going to give it to someone else."
"Why not?"
This time—
the answer didn't come immediately.
Then Alex said it.
Simple.
Clear.
"Because it's yours."
Jay shook her head slightly. "I wasn't there."
"You were the reason it started," Luna said.
That made her look up.
"…what?"
"We didn't build it without you," Luna continued. "We built it because of you."
Silence.
Jay's throat tightened just a little.
"I left," she said again, quieter now.
"And we didn't," Daniel replied.
Another pause.
Jay looked between them again.
Really looked this time.
"You waited?" she asked.
Cora answered.
"We didn't replace you."
Luna added softly,
"We just… left it open."
Jay didn't speak after that.
Didn't argue.
Didn't deny it again.
Because this—
this didn't feel like something they were saying to convince her.
It felt like something they had already decided a long time ago.
And for the first time since she woke up—
Jay didn't have a response ready.
The room didn't stay quiet for long after that. Jay leaned back against the headboard, her fingers loosely gripping the sheet, her mind somewhere far from the room even though she was sitting right in front of them. Alex watched her for a moment before speaking.
"We'll drop you home."
Jay blinked once, pulling herself back. "I'm fine."
Daniel let out a quiet scoff. "Yeah, we've seen your 'fine.'"
Jay looked away for a second before speaking again. "I don't want to go home."
That made them pause. Luna's voice softened. "Then where do you want to go?"
Jay hesitated, then said, "I'll stay at a hotel."
The reaction was immediate. Daniel stared at her. "You're kidding, right?"
"I'm not."
"You can barely sit up," he said. "And you think you'll manage alone?"
"I will."
"No, you won't," Cora said calmly.
Jay's jaw tightened. "I've handled worse."
"And that's the problem," Luna replied softly.
Alex stepped closer then, his tone firm enough to end it. "You're not going anywhere."
Jay looked at him. "I'm not staying here."
"Yes, you are."
"No."
"Yes."
The silence that followed wasn't loud, but it was final.
Jay's fingers tightened against the sheet again, her breathing shifting. Not because of the pain. She looked down for a second before speaking, her voice lower now.
"It's not because of the pain."
All of them focused on her.
She swallowed, trying to hold herself together, but the tears were already there again. "It's him."
No one needed clarification.
"Keifer," Cora said.
Jay nodded, her grip tightening. "I hurt him."
The words came out quiet, like something she had been holding in for too long. "I had to," she added quickly. "I didn't have a choice."
Daniel frowned slightly. "Breaking him was your solution?"
Jay flinched, shaking her head. "I didn't break him."
"You sure about that?"
"Daniel," Luna said softly.
Jay's voice dropped even more. "He loves me."
That changed the air in the room.
She closed her eyes for a moment, another tear slipping out. "And I still did that to him."
No one interrupted her now.
"I pushed him away," she continued, her voice unsteady. "Because if I didn't… he would get dragged into everything. My past, my mess… all of it."
Alex spoke after a moment, quieter but steady. "And you think leaving him like that protects him?"
Jay didn't answer.
Luna stepped closer. "You don't get to decide everything alone, Jay."
Jay let out a small, unsteady breath. "I know."
Silence settled again, softer this time but still heavy.
Daniel finally said, "Hotel's not happening."
This time, Jay didn't argue. She didn't push back. She just sat there quietly, because she didn't have the strength left to fight them anymore, and somewhere deep down, she knew they weren't going to let her walk away like that again.