--: Author'd POV: --
The sun hit the penthouse floor at 7:00 AM, casting long, golden fingers across the marble. In the kitchen, the scene was frozen. Angelo, Aries, and Keifer had finally succumbed to exhaustion, slumped over the breakfast table like fallen statues.
Between them, Jay Jay was tucked perfectly into Keifer's side, her head resting in the hollow of his shoulder. Her hand was locked onto the fabric of his hoodie—a white-knuckled grip that didn't loosen even in the deepest sleep.
The silence was absolute until the rest of the household began to stir. Section E, the F4, and the girls drifted toward the kitchen. They gathered at the pathways and entrances to the dining area, a silent crowd of twenty people. But with so many people in one space, the quiet was fragile. A floorboard groaned under the weight of the crowd; a zipper on a jacket clinked against the marble countertop.
--: Angelo's POV: --
The muffled sound of footsteps and whispering at the kitchen entrance hit my brain like a physical jolt. My eyes snapped open, my heart hammering against my ribs before I even fully realized where I was. I didn't move my body, but my gaze immediately dropped to the center of our huddle.
I looked at my sister.
She was still asleep, her face buried against Keifer's chest. For the first time since we dragged her out of that hellhole, the sharp lines of terror on her face had smoothed out. I watched the way Keifer's arm was draped over her, his hand resting protectively on her back. I should have felt protective, but all I felt was a crushing sense of gratitude. Keifer was the anchor she was clinging to so she didn't drift back into the dark. Seeing her breathe like that—slow, steady, and safe—was the only thing that kept me from breaking apart myself.
--: Aries's POV: --
I jerked awake at the same time as Angelo, my jaw instantly tight. I felt the presence of the crowd gathered at the pathways of the kitchen, and my eyes scanned the room with a lethal, warning heat.
Then, I looked at Jay Jay. My heart squeezed in a way I'd never admit out loud. She was holding onto Keifer as if he were the only thing keeping her on this earth. She looked so small, so fragile, yet finally at peace in his arms. It was a sight that made the rage I felt toward her captor burn even hotter, but seeing her rest was a victory I hadn't expected to witness so soon. We both looked down, checking the perimeter we had spent the night building around this small stretch of the breakfast bar.
--: Keifer's POV: --
I felt the shift in the air before the noise even hit. The presence of so many people at the pathways triggered every survival instinct I had. I snapped awake, my head lifting sharply, my eyes red-rimmed and fierce.
But the noise of the gathering family had already done its work.
I felt Jay Jay flinch. A low, broken whimper escaped her throat. Her head began to toss against my chest, her eyelids flickering as the "ghost" started to claw its way back into her mind. The presence of the crowd was suffocating her even in her sleep.
I looked up at the group. My gaze landed on them. My expression wasn't one of friendship; it was a warning. I raised a single finger to my lips, my eyes burning with a silent, terrifying command: Not. One. More. Sound.
--: Author'S POV: --
The penthouse turned into a vacuum. Percy froze mid-step. Kaning clapped her hands over her mouth, muffling a sob. They all stood like statues, terrified that a single heartbeat would break the fragile peace Keifer had fought all night to build.
--: Keifer's POV: --
"Shhh," I breathed, the sound barely a vibration. I reached up, my hand shielding her face from the morning sun. I began to pet her hair—slow, steady strokes. "I'm here. It's just us. The wall is still standing, Jay Jay. Go back to sleep."
I didn't look at the others watching us. I kept petting her hair until I felt her muscles go slack again. Her head slumped back into my shoulder, and the panicked whimpering stopped. I looked at Angelo and Aries. They silently moved the barstools, clearing a wide path through the crowd.
I slid my arms under her, lifting her as if she were made of glass.
--: Author's POV: --
The crowd parted like the Red Sea. Keifer walked through the center of the living room, his footsteps making no sound. As he crossed the threshold of her bedroom, Jay Jay's hand moved blindly, her fingers hooking back into his shirt with a desperate, iron-tight grip.
--: Keifer's POV: --
I laid her down on the bed, but the moment I tried to stand up, her eyes snapped half-open. They were glassy and unfocused.
"Keifer..." she whispered, her voice a broken thread. "Don't leave. He said... he said he'd come back to touch me. Don't let him."
The rage I felt was enough to burn the city down, but I kept my face calm. I didn't leave. I sat on the edge of the bed and let her pull my arm into her chest like a lifeline.
"I'm right here," I promised. "I'm not moving. No one is getting past me."
She didn't let go. She crawled closer, resting her head on my lap and wrapping her arms around my waist. Within minutes, she was out again—only because she could feel the steady beat of my heart against her ear.
I looked toward the door. In the dim light of the hallway, I could see the shadows of Angelo, Aries, F4, and the others standing guard at the entrance. They weren't going anywhere.
--: Author's POV: --
The penthouse was trapped in a suffocating, artificial silence. Inside the master suite, Keifer remained on the edge of the mattress, a lone sentinel in the dim light. To anyone else, he looked like a statue of iron resolve. But his heart was beating a frantic, uneven rhythm. He had stayed in that exact spot for hours, his eyes locked on Jay Jay, terrified that if he so much as blinked, the "ghost" of the factory would take her again.
He was beyond exhaustion. He was in the "red zone," where the brain begins to shut down just to keep the heart beating.
--: Keifer's POV: --
My vision was starting to fracture at the edges. I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper, using the pain to stay grounded.
Don't close your eyes, I snarled at myself. The wall is standing because you're standing.
I looked down at her. She was stirring. Her eyes opened—slow and searching. When they landed on me, I saw that flicker of relief that made every second of this torture worth it.
"Keifer?" she whispered.
"I'm here," I tried to say. But my tongue felt like a lead weight. My lungs suddenly refused to expand. I tried to reach for her hand, but my arm felt like it belonged to someone else.
The room didn't just tilt; it inverted. The floor became the ceiling, and the sound of the blood rushing in my ears became a deafening roar.
--: Jay Jay's POV: --
I watched him. My anchor. My wall.
He looked at me, but then, his eyes went vacant. He tried to speak, but only a dry, rattling sound came out of his throat. And then, he just... went out.
He didn't try to catch himself. He just pitched forward, his heavy body crashing into the mattress before sliding off and hitting the marble floor with a thud so loud it felt like the entire building shook.
"KEIFER!"
The scream shattered the last three days of silence. I threw myself off the bed, the blankets tangling around my legs as I scrambled to him.
--: Author's POV: --
The door was nearly taken off its hinges. Angelo, Aries, and Yuri burst in, their faces masks of pure, unfiltered panic. They stopped dead at the sight of Keifer lying there like a fallen king, and Jay Jay on her knees beside him.
--: Angelo's POV: --
"Keifer!" I lunged forward, dropping to my knees. I checked his neck—his pulse was thready, jumping under my skin like a panicked bird.
"His pulse is all over the place," I rasped, my own heart hammering. I looked back at the doorway where Aries was standing, frozen. "Aries! Call the doctor! Tell him it's an emergency! Tell him to get here NOW!"
--: Jay Jay's POV: --
I didn't hear them. I only saw his pale, waxen skin. A cold, heavy stone settled in the pit of my stomach. He's broken. And I'm the one who broke him. I pulled his head into my lap, my fingers trembling as I smoothed his hair. I didn't cry out anymore. I didn't scream at the others. I just sat there, my mind a whirlwind of self-loathing. He stayed awake for me. He didn't eat for me. He died a little bit every hour just so I wouldn't have to be afraid. And I let him.
"I've got him," I whispered, though no one was trying to take him. I was shielding him, not with anger, but with a desperate, quiet penance.
--: Author's POV: --
The doctors arrived with terrifying speed, the elevator doors hissing open within minutes. They swarmed the room with equipment, the clinical smell of antiseptic cutting through the heavy air.
Angelo and Aries tried to move Jay Jay to the side to give the medics space, but she was like a statue. She moved just enough to let them reach Keifer's arm, but her hand remained locked in his. Her face was a mask of calm, but her eyes were dark with a guilt she was refusing to speak out loud.
"It's total physical and neurological collapse," he said, checking the monitor. "He's severely dehydrated, and his blood sugar is dangerously low. He's been running on adrenaline for far too long. His body has simply forced a shutdown to save his heart."
He looked at the Jay Jay who was holding his hand. "He needs rest. Absolute quiet. We'll start an IV, but he shouldn't be moved for a few hours. He needs to wake up on his own."
--: Jay Jay's POV: --
Forced a shutdown to save his heart. The words echoed in my head like a death sentence. I watched as they hooked up the clear plastic tube to his vein. Every time the needle touched him, I felt the sting in my own skin. I looked up at the circle of men in the room—my brothers, the F4, the boys of Section E. They were all looking at me with pity.
I hated it. I didn't want their pity. I wanted their blame. Why aren't you yelling at me? I thought, my knuckles turning white as I squeezed Keifer's hand. I'm the reason he's on the floor.
"You all go," I said, my voice flat and eerily steady. "He needs quiet. I'll stay. And you all also need rest, otherwise you all will just fall like him."
--: Angelo's POV: --
"Jay Jay, you need rest.." I started, reaching for her shoulder.
She didn't even look up. "I said I'll stay, Kuya. I'm not leaving him alone."
Aries looked at me and shook his head slightly. We knew that look. It wasn't the fear of the factory—it was the fierce, stubborn loyalty of a girl who felt she owed a debt she could never pay. We filed out of the room, leaving her in the dim light with the rhythmic hum of the heart monitor.
--: Jay Jay's POV: --
The silence of the room was heavy. I leaned forward, resting my forehead against his hand.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, the words finally breaking through the mask I was wearing for the others. "I was so busy being afraid of a dead man that I didn't see you dying right in front of me. Wake up, Keifer. Please. I'll be better. I won't make you worry anymore or not let you stay awake to watch me. I'll be the wall this time. Just open your eyes."
--: Keifer's POV: --
The darkness was fading, replaced by a dull, throbbing ache in my head. But through the fog, I felt a warmth on my hand. Something wet and hot hit my skin—tears.
I forced my eyes open, the light of the room feeling like needles. My gaze drifted down. My Jay was curled on the floor beside the bed, her head resting on the mattress, clutching my hand as if her life depended on it. She was whispering to herself—apologies, promises, words of guilt that made my chest tighten more than the exhaustion ever could.
"Jay..." I croaked.
She bolted upright, her eyes wide and bloodshot. The relief that flooded her face was so sharp it was almost painful to watch.
"Keifer!" she breathed, her hand flying to my cheek. She didn't let me speak. She was already reaching for the water the doctor had left, her movements frantic and caring. "Don't move. Don't try to talk. Just drink this. I've got you. I'm right here."
I took a sip of the water, my eyes never leaving hers. I could see the hidden blame in the depths of her pupils. She was caring for me like I was made of glass, but I knew she was bleeding inside from the guilt.
"It wasn't... your fault," I managed to say, my voice a dry rasp.
She looked away, her jaw tightening as she tucked the blanket tighter around my legs. "Just rest, Keifer. That's an order. I'm the one on guard now."
"But.. Jay.."
"Keifer please, don't say anything, just rest. You need rest" She interrupted me.
--: Author's POV: --
She didn't leave his side for the rest of the day. She sat there, a silent, watchful shadow, checking his IV, smoothing his hair, and watching every rise and fall of his chest. To the family outside the door, she looked like she was finally healing. But inside, Jay Jay was making a silent pact: the days of her being protected were over. From now on, she would be the one holding the sword. Even though she wasn't healed, the ghost of her stepfather was still there—but for now, it was transformed into a fierce, burning protection for her soulmate.
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Ik I got late uploading today!!
I'm sorry..
I was watching ep9, did you guys watched it??
Even if ik the story I can't help but cryy..Their acting is soo good ❤️🔥...
I can't wait till June😭😭