Keifer Watson leaned back in his chair, eyes fixed on the city lights stretching below him. No one had ever truly understood him—not fully. Not his colleagues, not the women who admired him, not even those who envied him.
Except… Jay.
Years ago, she had been everything. His first love. They had met under different circumstances, younger, braver, and oblivious to the world's judgments. They had fallen for each other mutually, effortlessly, completely. Keifer had trusted her, given his heart freely.
And then, one night, after a moment that sealed their bond in a way words could never explain… she left. Just like that.
No goodbyes. No note. No explanation.
He remembered the emptiness that followed—the quiet that stretched into days, weeks, months. The confusion. The anger. The heartbreak. And the one lesson he never forgot: people who leave without explanation were dangerous. People like that didn't deserve trust.
From that day on, Keifer made a rule for himself. He would never let anyone get close enough to hurt him again. He never dated. He never let anyone into his world. He buried his past and built walls—high, unscalable walls.
Yet, no matter how hard he tried, the memory of Jay lingered. The way she had laughed. The way she had challenged him. The way she had trusted him completely, even for a short while.
And now… after years of searching for perfection in work and control in every part of his life, fate had returned her to him—or at least, someone with her same brilliance and presence. Jay Mariano.
Keifer clenched his fists. The city below seemed smaller somehow, insignificant compared to the challenge and pull of this one name.
She left once without explanation, he reminded himself, jaw tight. But this time… if she is the one, I will not let her disappear again.
No one had ever mattered enough to break his rules.
No one had ever made him feel this restless, this determined.
Except Jay.
And he knew, without a shadow of doubt, that for her… everything else in his life would wait.