Jay's POV
I was asleep when I woke up to the sound of knocking on the door.
I got up and opened it.
Papa was standing in front of me, holding a tray with breakfast.
(Yes, I chose you, Papa… but I'm still with my Keifer.)
"Now get up, sweetie. Have your breakfast — today's your first day of college," Papa said gently.
"You'll be late if you don't hurry, so eat and take a quick bath."
"Okay, Papa," I said, taking the tray from his hands.
I sat back on the bed and started eating breakfast. After finishing, I took a bath.
Then I put on my clothes, applied a little blush on my cheeks, some lip tint on my lips, and got ready.
Then I got a call on my phone. I picked it up.
"Are you ready, babe?" the person on the other end asked.
"Yes, I'm already ready," I replied.
"I'm near your house. Come down quickly," he said.
"Yes, I'm coming," I said, and ended the call.
Before leaving, I wore the pendant Keifer gave me on my birthday, before I came to London.
I picked up my things, hugged Papa, said "bye," and then went downstairs.
When I stepped outside, I saw him standing there, waiting for me.
"Hey, baby, I really missed you," he said, hugging me tightly.
"I missed you too," I replied, returning his hug.
We both got into the car.
When we arrived at the college, he parked the car, and we walked in together.
Inside, we saw some familiar faces. A few people were sitting in a circle, chatting and laughing.
As we got closer, I realised they were Drew, Felix, Eman, Ci-n, Rory, Yuri, Mayo, Kit, Blaster, Calix, David, Edrix, Eran, and Josh — our old classmates.
As soon as they saw us, Ci-n jumped up and ran toward me, wrapping me in a hug.
"I thought I'd never see you again!" he said, then turned to hug Keifer too.
Everyone greeted and hugged us. It felt so good to meet everyone again after so long.
"We're all in different sections now, but let's meet in person every day, okay?" Ci-n said cheerfully.
Triiiiiiingggg...
Suddenly, the bell rang. We all said our goodbyes and left for our respective sections.
Keifer's POV
Jay and I were in the same section, so we walked to class together.
As soon as we entered, everyone's eyes turned toward us. I could hear whispers spreading across the room.
"Looks like they're new students."
"Wow, that boy is so handsome."
"That girl's body is so slim — I wish I looked like that."
"Are they a couple?"
Their murmurs filled the classroom as we took our seats quietly.
"How hot is that girl?"I wish he were my boyfriend…"
I could hear the whispers around me, and I was about to say something when Jay gently stopped me.
"So, students, these are our new classmates," the teacher announced. "I'm Mr Benn." He smiled and introduced himself.
"You may go ahead and take your seats," he added.
Jay's POV
I walked toward an empty seat and sat down. A moment later, a boy approached me.
"Hey, can I sit with you?" he asked with a grin.
Before I could even respond, Keifer spoke up sharply.
"No. She will not."
The boy frowned. "Who are you to say that?"
"I'm her fiancé. Now go," Keifer said, raising his voice slightly. The boy blinked in surprise and backed away, while Keifer took the seat beside me instead.
After the lecture ended, we both headed to the cafeteria for lunch. A few of our friends joined us there, laughing and chatting like old times.
We all sat together on the benches for lunch. Everyone shared funny stories and jokes — it felt so good to laugh together again after so many days.
We ended up missing the lecture, but no one minded. It was worth it, just being together.
Then I asked, "Why did Denzel come here for college studies?"
Yuri replied, "Now that he's become a father, he has to look after Grace and Grazel too. That's why."
I nodded slowly. "Hmm…"
David leaned forward curiously. "By the way, Jay — your kuya Angelo once told you to choose between your dad and Keifer. So… how did you end up here?"
Flashback
"Look," Keifer said, "go to London with your father. I'll finish my work here and come back in a few days."
He took my hand gently. "If your kuya changes your number, I'll give you a secret phone — it'll have my number saved. You can contact me through that."
He smiled softly. "And your kuya won't even know about it."
"Okay, deal", I said happily, wiping my tears
"Deal, Mrs Watson, he said and kissed my forehead.
Flashback ends
"So, that's what happened ", I explained
"Your cousin doesn't know about this?" Felix asked
"No", I replied, and he nodded
Then the bell rang and we all went back to our sections.