JAY-JAY POV
"WHAT THE FUCK—" I yelled, clutching my head because it felt like someone was playing drums inside my skull.
Percy burst into the room like I'd summoned him with a demon ritual.
"What? What happened? Did trolls try to take you again?" he asked, eyes wide, hair sticking up like he'd sprinted here.
I blinked at him.
…Trolls?
Why the hell would trolls try to take me?
Is he out of his damn mind?
I squinted harder. "Percy… what the hell are you talking about? Why would trolls take me? Do I look like a limited‑edition Barbie to you?"
He gasped dramatically. "Jay, please. If trolls saw you last night? They would've returned you for a refund."
I swear, one day I'm going to strangle this man with his own shoelaces.
"Asshole, why does my head hurt like this," I groaned, pressing my palm to my forehead like I could physically hold my brain together.
Percy sat on the edge of the bed with the most offended expression.
"Oh, I don't know," he said, waving his hands around like a sarcastic weather reporter. "Maybe because you drank enough alcohol to power a small rocket. Maybe because you fought three guys. Maybe because you slapped me TEN TIMES. Maybe because you kicked me in the ribs while I was carrying your unconscious body up the stairs."
Then it hit me.
Everything.
The fight.
The yelling.
The crying.
Keifer.
Section E.
Me grabbing collars like a feral cat.
And then—
Kuya Angelo.
Oh, hell no.
That demon is going to kill me for not coming home last night.
"Kuya will kill me," I groaned, trying to sit up even though my head felt like it was splitting in half.
Percy pushed me back down with one finger. "Don't worry. I called Boss and told him you'll stay here for one week."
I blinked at him.
"And… he agreed?" I asked, suspicious because Angelo agreeing to anything is already a red flag.
Percy puffed out his chest like a proud peacock. "Yeah. I convinced him with my beautiful mind."
I stared at him.
"…Your what?"
"My beautiful mind," he repeated, tapping his forehead like he had a PhD in manipulation.
I snorted. "Percy, the only thing beautiful about you is your delusion."
He gasped like I stabbed him. "Wow. Wow. After everything I did for you last night? I carried you. I suffered. I lost weight. I almost died."
"You didn't almost die," I muttered.
"I DID," he insisted. "You slapped me ten times. TEN. My face is traumatized."
I rolled my eyes so hard I swear I saw my brain.
I pushed the blanket off, stood up, and dragged myself to the bathroom.
Every step felt like walking through wet cement.
My head was pounding, my throat was dry, and my soul was probably still drunk.
I stared at myself in the mirror.
Hair a mess.
Eyes swollen.
A bruise blooming faintly on my arm.
My head pounding like a marching band lived inside it.
And then the thought slipped out before I could stop it.
Who the hell even am I?
The girl in the reflection didn't look like me.
She looked like someone who'd been fighting too long, too hard, for too many things she never asked for.
I touched the mirror lightly, like maybe the girl on the other side would explain herself.
I wasn't the same girl like 5 years ago
That girl died somewhere along the way — piece by piece — every time someone lied, used her, left her, or broke something inside her they never bothered to fix.
I shook of that feeling
Then I went to shower
The water helped a little. Not enough. But a little.
When I stepped out, I wrapped myself in a towel, dried my hair, and put on clean clothes. Something simple.
I walked out and sank onto the sofa, still feeling the dull throb behind my eyes.
"When will Jare come?" I asked Percy.
Silence.
I looked up.
Percy was standing there, arms crossed, lips pressed into a thin line. Not joking. Not smirking. Not being his usual annoying self.
"Will he come or not?" I snapped, anger bubbling up before I could stop it.
Percy opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
That silence was enough.
I stood up so fast the sofa creaked. "Fine. Tell him I don't care if he shows up or not."
I just grabbed the doorknob, yanked it open, and slammed it behind me
My head was pounding, so I walked straight toward the mini‑market.
Every step felt like my skull was bouncing inside my brain.
I grabbed the first painkillers I saw, a bottle of water, and a pack of mints because my mouth tasted like regret.
I went to the cashier and placed everything on the counter.
"Is this all you will have, ma'am?" he asked politely.
I stared at him.
"Well… can I have medicine for heartbreakers?" I asked, dead serious.
He blinked. Confused. Alarmed.
Probably reconsidering his entire career choice.
"Medicine for… what?" he asked.
"Something for people who got their heart broken," I said, rubbing my temples like the painkillers were already late.
He shook his head slowly. "Uh… we don't… sell that."
I sighed, defeated. "Then this is all I want."
He nodded quickly and scanned everything like he was scared I'd ask for something even weirder next.
I grabbed the bag, muttered a tired "thanks," and walked out of the store.
I glanced at the couple walking past the mini‑market — laughing, chatting, holding hands like the world was soft and simple.
Tsk.
He is just using you, girl. Leave him,
I sat on the plastic chair outside the mini‑market
I opened the medicine packet, ready to swallow the painkillers
Then someone sat across from me.
I didn't even look. I just stood up immediately, ready to walk away from whoever decided to ruin my peace.
But a hand wrapped around my wrist.
"Please, Jay," David said quietly.
I froze.
Of all people… why him?
I yanked my hand out of his grip like it burned. "David, my head already hurts. I don't really want to say something I'll regret."
He flinched a little, like the words hit harder than I meant them to.
"Jay… I'm not here to fight," he said, voice soft, almost pleading. "I just want to explain myself and Ci‑n."
I let out a slow breath through my nose.
Of course. Of course that's why he came.
I sat back down on the chair, crossing my arms.
"I'm giving you ten minutes to explain yourself," I said flatly.
David sat across from me, and I made sure to glare at him with every ounce of disappointment, anger, and emotional damage I had left in my body.
Feel it, David. Feel every bit of it.
He swallowed hard.
"Jay, look… me and Ci‑n got dragged into it," David started, voice low. "After the incident with you and Freya, he called the whole Section E and made this plan. And at first, we all wanted revenge because of what Aries was doing to us, but… me and Ci‑n… we didn't really want any part of it."
My eyes started to water a bit — not enough to fall, just enough to burn.
He kept going.
"But Keifer had turned into a devil, and you know how he is. When he wants something, he gets it."
I let out a shaky laugh.
Not the funny kind. The tired, broken kind.
"You had an option to tell me," I said, voice low, "but you didn't."
David looked up, startled by the edge in my voice — like he didn't expect me to still have any sharpness left after last night.
"He wanted revenge," I continued, staring at the ground because looking at him hurt. "So he used me. And you're here to explain you and Ci‑n?"
"Jay, I'm sorry," he whispered.
I ignored that.
"Tell me, David… did they make some kind of bet?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. I could feel it in my bones.
David didn't say anything.
My jaw tightened.
"They did, right? 'If she cries in front of us, I win and get 2,000,' something like that?" I pushed, my voice cracking.
Still nothing.
"Please," I said, slamming my hand on the table so hard the sound echoed. "I want to know."
David flinched.
"Yes," he finally said, voice barely audible. "They made a bet to see if you would give in to Keifer or not."
I smiled.
The ugly, broken, I‑knew‑it kind.
I sat on the chair that was next to me and I started to cry maybe started to sobbing"To see if I'm going to have sex with him or not," I said, my voice hollow.
David nodded.
Something inside me snapped.
I clenched my hand so hard my nails dug into my palm.
I laughed again, but this time it sounded like it belonged to someone else.
"Wow," I whispered. "I really am stupid."
David's eyes widened. "Jay—no, don't say that—"
"Why not?" I snapped, tears finally spilling. "It's true. I fell for it. Again. I let him close. Again. And he used me. Again."
David reached out, but I jerked away like his touch burned.
"Don't," I said, voice shaking. "Don't touch me. Don't comfort me."
He froze.
I wiped my face with the back of my hand, breathing hard.
"Tell Keifer," I said quietly, "that he won."
David swallowed. "Jay—"
"He won," I repeated, standing up. "He got what he wanted. He broke me."
I stood up and walked away.
David didn't try to stop me, I just kept going… until I found myself somewhere quiet, and the tears finally came.
I sat on the chair next to me, and the moment I touched the seat, everything I'd been holding in just… cracked.
Tears slipped out first, quiet and shaky, but then the sobs came — the kind that make your chest tighten and your breath stutter.
Then someone hugged me.
Warm arms wrapped around my shoulders out of nowhere, and for a second I froze — too tired, too broken to even push them away.
I didn't see who it was at first.
My vision was blurry, my breath uneven, my hands shaking.
But when I finally lifted my head…
It was Robin.
His brows were furrowed, eyes wide with worry, like he'd just found a wounded animal instead of me.
"Hey… why are you crying?" he asked softly.
I started crying even harder, the words barely making it out between the sobs.
"They made a bet on me, Robin… to see if I would give in to that asshole," I choked out, gripping his shirt like it was the only thing keeping me upright.
Robin's arms tightened around me instantly, his whole body going tense with anger.
Before he could say anything, I heard footsteps — quick, worried ones.
Mia.
Ben.
They both froze when they saw me crying in Robin's arms.
"Those assholes," Ben muttered, jaw clenched so tight I could hear his teeth grind.
I wiped my face with the back of my hand, but the tears kept coming anyway.
"They made a bet," I said again, voice breaking. "They made a bet to see if I would give in to Keifer or not."
Mia's eyes widened
"Jay, let's go somewhere," Mia said gently as she helped me stand.
I didn't argue.
I just let her pull me up, my legs feeling heavier than my whole body.
Ben and Robin stayed close behind us, like they were afraid I'd fall apart again if they stepped too far away.
Mia unlocked her car, slid into the driver's seat, and I climbed in beside her without thinking.
Ben and Robin got in the back, quiet, tense, protective.
The ride wasn't long, but it felt like forever — the kind of silence that isn't awkward, just heavy.
Like everyone was holding their breath for me.
When we finally pulled up to her house, I blinked.
I hadn't been here in so long.
A place that used to feel like home before everything got complicated.
Mia glanced at me, her expression softening.
"Come on," she said quietly. "You're safe here."