Keifer POV
It's been a week since I last saw Jay.
Seven days of silence.
Seven days of rehearsing apologies she never asked for.
I was supposed to be heading to London tomorrow — meetings, strategy, distraction. But none of it mattered if she didn't look at me before I left.
I walked into the classroom, half-expecting her not to be there.
She was.
Seated near the window, legs crossed, phone in hand, lipgloss catching the light like it had something to prove.
She didn't look up.
Didn't flinch.
Just scrolled — calm, lethal, untouchable.
Her eyeliner was sharp enough to cut glass. Her posture screamed control. And her silence?
It was louder than anything I'd ever heard.
I took the seat two rows behind her, heart thudding like it wanted out.
I watched her thumb flick across the screen, watched her eyes narrow slightly, watched her ignore me like it was a skill she'd mastered.
I wanted to speak.
To say something stupid and honest like You look good or I'm sorry or Please don't leave before I do.
But I didn't.
Because she wasn't just ignoring me.
She was choosing not to see me.
And maybe that was worse.
Still in class — scene shifts
I was packing up my notebook when I noticed Yuri walking toward her.
He leaned in, said something low.
I didn't hear it.
I didn't need to.
I watched her expression — flat, unimpressed, sharp.
She didn't smile.
Didn't soften.
Just said something that made him blink and back off.
I smirked.
She didn't like the engagement.
She didn't like Yuri.
I was stupidly happy.
Then Ci-n walked in.
He looked wrecked.
She didn't look at him.
Not at first.
But when she did — it was like watching a storm form behind her eyes.
I couldn't hear what he said.
But I saw the way her jaw locked. The way her fingers curled around her phone. The way she didn't flinch when he looked like he might cry.
I feel bad for him.
Because of the mess I created, he's stuck in the middle.
He looked at Jay like she was his sister.
And I ruined that.
Because I thought strategy meant silence.
Because I thought loyalty meant control.
Because I didn't think she'd bleed for it.
But she did.
And now?
She's sitting three feet away from me.
And I'm the ghost she refuses to see.