Keifer POV
The plan was simple.
Make her fall for me.
Break her heart.
Use JayJay to get back at Aries — the golden boy, the upgrade, the one who walked into my life like he owned it and took everything I'd ever cared about.
I didn't care who got hurt. Not at first.
Section E knew. They didn't like her. She was loud, different, too honest. They called her names behind her back. Rolled their eyes when she spoke. Treated her like she didn't belong.
And I let it happen.
Because that was the plan.
But time moved on.
And something shifted.
She didn't shrink. She didn't break. She didn't play the game.
She stayed herself — messy, stubborn, brilliant. She helped people who didn't deserve it. She stood up when no one asked her to. She made jokes that didn't land and still laughed like they did.
And Section E started to see her.
Not as a pawn.
Not as a problem.
As their own.
They started calling her Mutya — the gem of Section E. The one who made the room brighter. The one who made the chaos feel like home.
And I started to fall.
Not because she was perfect.
Because she was real.
And I hated it.
Because I wasn't supposed to feel anything.
Because I wasn't built for softness.
Because I grew up in a house where love came with bruises and silence. Where my mother died too young and my father filled the space with fists and fury. Where I had to kick him out — physically, legally, emotionally — just to keep Keigan and Keiren safe.
I raised my brothers alone.
I learned how to survive.
I built walls so high no one could climb them.
And then JayJay walked in and didn't ask for permission.
She just… stayed.
And I didn't know what to do with that.
So I kept the mask on.
I let her believe it was still a game.
I let her believe I was still the villain.
Because if she knew the truth — that I cared, that I was scared, that I didn't know how to be loved without hurting someone — she'd come closer.