Jay‑jay
I hadn't planned to tell them.
They didn't deserve to know.
But secrets have a way of crawling out into the sunlight — especially in HVIS, a building that thrived on gossip even more than midterms.
It started harmlessly. Mia couldn't stop flashing her phone across the courtyard, snapping pictures of me and Drake after the presentation.
Drake caught her mid‑laugh. "Mia, please, not while Jay's pretending to be serious."
"Relax!" she replied. "The lighting's perfect for the engagement post."
It only took five seconds for the entire courtyard to freeze.
Sixteen boys.
Every single one of them stopped mid‑step, mid‑joke, mid‑breath.
The word engagement hit like glass shattering on tile.
Keifer
Engaged.
It shouldn't have felt like a punch, but it did.
I stared across the courtyard as Jay‑jay smiled politely for the photo, that diamond glinting on her hand.
I'd seen the ring before — smaller, delicate — but I hadn't believed it until now.
Blaster whispered, "She's engaged?"
Yuri cursed under his breath. "Well, there goes your redemption arc, Keif."
Ci‑N's face fell completely.
David's voice was low, calm, but cracked. "We can't blame her for moving on."
Mayo kicked a pebble so hard it ricocheted off a post. "Still hurts, though."
Eman muttered, "Hurts? Try dying inside."
Sixteen boys stood there with nothing left to say.
Nothing could cover the fact that the girl we used to call our gem had chosen someone else — a man who hadn't broken her heart just to keep her safe.
Jay‑jay
The silence that followed Mia's outburst was deafening.
Everywhere I turned, someone was staring — classmates whispering, teachers smiling politely, and them.
Keifer and the boys stood on the far side of the courtyard.
For a moment, every memory hit at once — the fights, the laughter, the betrayals — and I knew none of us would ever fit into the same picture again.
Ci‑N looked like he wanted to come over. His lips parted, but he didn't move.
Keifer didn't move either. He just watched, face carved from iron, eyes giving away nothing.
Drake noticed. "Are those your old friends?"
"Just classmates," I said quickly.
He took my hand, thumb brushing over the ring.
"You okay?"
"I am now."
Another lie I was getting better at telling.
Keifer
The boys didn't talk much that afternoon. We just… sat around the old classroom pretending to be busy.
Felix flopped onto a desk. "So, she's really getting married."
Mayo slumped beside him. "To that guy. The one who's actually nice."
Blaster forced a laugh. "Figures. The universe has humor."
Ci‑N kept staring at a single spot on the bulletin board, whispering the same thing under his breath.
"She's actually engaged."
I said nothing.
Because if I said a single word, I'd break something in me that might never fix again.
David finally spoke. "We can't hate him, you know. Or her. She deserves the peace we couldn't give her."
"Doesn't mean it doesn't bleed," Eman murmured.
He was right.
It did.
Jay‑jay
By evening, the news had spread through the whole school.
Students congratulated me in hallways. Even Sir Alvin smiled knowingly.
"Seems love found you beyond HVIS, Miss Mariano."
If only he knew.
Every time someone mentioned love, I felt that version of me — the one who'd fought, forgiven, and gotten betrayed — claw her way back, only to be locked down again.
I caught sight of Section E through the window in the library. Sixteen boys sitting quietly, an unnatural sight for a group that once filled rooms with chaos.
Ci‑N wiped his eyes when he thought no one saw. David patted his shoulder. And Keifer? He just stared out the window, still as stone.
I should've felt triumphant. Vindicated. Free.
But instead, my chest ached in a way I couldn't explain to Drake — because he wasn't part of the storm I'd left behind.
Keifer
Later that night, Ci‑N found me on the rooftop.
He looked exhausted, eyes red from crying.
"Keif… did you know?"
"No."
He nodded quietly. "She looked happy."
"Yeah."
"You think it's real?"
That question hung between us like fog.
I thought about her smile — polite, practiced, safe.
And I thought about the one from years ago, unguarded and full of fire.
"I hope it is," I said finally.
Ci‑N gave a shaky laugh. "You're the only guy who'd pray for the happiness of the girl who hates him."
"That's what you do when it's love, isn't it?"
He didn't answer. He didn't need to.
We both just sat there — two fools staring at a city that didn't care if our world had just ended.
Jay‑jay
When I got home, Drake was waiting with dinner and that soft smile he always wore.
I smiled back, forcing the words to sound true. "I'm lucky, aren't I?"
He kissed my forehead. "No. I am."
And for a split second, my chest finally stilled.
Then I saw the ring glint in the light and remembered sixteen faces that once called me family.
I blew out a shaky breath.
"You're right," I whispered. "You are."
But somewhere beneath that lie, a pulse of regret wouldn't stop beating.