Jay's body felt heavy, like the weight of everything she had been holding inside was finally catching up to her.
She looked at Keifer, the city lights shining softly behind him, and she felt her heart open like it was ready to spill everything out.
Her voice came out shaky.
"Keifer…" she whispered.
He turned to her, his eyes attentive and calm, as if he was waiting for her to say what she needed to say.
Jay swallowed hard.
"I've never told anyone this," she said quietly. "Not even Jax."
Keifer didn't interrupt. He just waited, his gaze steady.
Jay's eyes began to sting.
"I was never touched by him the way a wife should be," she admitted, voice trembling. "He never looked at me like I existed."
Keifer's expression softened, and his jaw tightened slightly, like he was holding back something.
Jay's voice cracked.
"He never made me feel like I mattered," she continued. "I was just… a title. A name. A possession."
Tears began to fall down her cheeks.
"I tried to believe he cared," she whispered. "I tried to believe he loved me in his own way. But it never felt real."
Keifer's hand moved slowly, almost instinctively, and he reached out to gently touch her cheek.
Jay flinched at first, then relaxed when she realized it was a kind gesture, not a controlling one.
"I always felt invisible," Jay continued, her voice breaking. "Even when we were together. Even when I was standing right next to him."
Keifer's eyes darkened, and for a moment his face looked hurt—hurt for her, hurt for what she had been through.
Jay wiped her tears, trying to be strong.
"But you…" she whispered, looking up at him. "You're not like that."
Keifer's eyes softened.
Jay took a deep breath.
"I fell for you because you see me," she said, voice trembling. "You see me even when I don't say anything."
She swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice steady.
"You don't treat me like I'm just a person you own," she continued. "You treat me like I matter."
Jay's tears fell again, but this time they weren't only pain.
They were relief.
She continued, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I don't know what will happen next," she said. "But I know I fell for you because you made me feel like I'm real."
Keifer stared at her for a moment, his expression unreadable.
Then he pulled her into a gentle hug.
Jay rested her head on his chest, her body shaking with emotion.
Keifer's voice was low, and it was the first time he sounded truly vulnerable.
"You deserve to be seen," he whispered. "And I'm sorry it took so long for someone to see you."
Jay held him tighter.
"I don't want to be invisible anymore," she whispered.
Keifer's arms tightened around her.
"You won't be," he said softly. "Not with me."
Jay stayed in his arms for a long time, letting herself finally feel the warmth she had been missing for so long.
For the first time, she felt like she was more than a title.
More than a name.
More than a possession.
She felt like a person.
And she realized that she didn't just fall for Keifer because he was different.
She fell for him because he made her feel alive.