The mansion was quiet, the only sound the soft hum of the air conditioning and the distant ticking of an ornate clock in the hallway. Keifer sat in the study, reviewing some documents he had brought back from the office, but his mind wasn't on work at all.
Across the hall, Jay's room was dark, the faint glow from the window painting her silhouette on the floor. He couldn't stop himself from glancing toward her door, and for the first time in a long while, he felt… unsettled.
She was untouchable. Not in the sense of being unapproachable, but in a way that made him realize just how much she had grown—how far she had come. The youngest surgeon in the hospital, respected by doctors who had decades more experience than her, admired for her skill, her precision, her dedication… and yet, she carried it all with grace.
Keifer leaned back in his chair, jaw tightening. Her accomplishments alone demanded respect, but there was more. Her figure, the way she moved, the quiet confidence she exuded even when she tried to hide it—it was undeniable. She wasn't a girl to be underestimated anymore. She had worked for every bit of who she was, and now, standing before him—figuratively, if not literally—she radiated a kind of strength that made him… uneasy.
He hated that she had this effect on him. He hated that her presence could make his chest tighten, his thoughts scatter, and his control slip even for a second. And yet… he couldn't deny it. Jay was undeniable.
Keifer ran a hand over his face, his usual composure flickering just slightly. She was too capable, too smart, too… perfect in ways he couldn't ignore. And he realized something else, something dangerous: this was more than admiration. More than respect. He was drawn to her, in ways he didn't want to admit, and the idea that she had the power to unsettle him like this both frustrated and intrigued him.
Silent, in the quiet of the mansion, Keifer finally muttered under his breath, more to himself than anyone else:
"She's… too much. Too high… and yet, I can't stop thinking about her."
And in that late-night stillness, he knew one thing with chilling clarity—Jay wasn't just going to be part of his life because of their parents' arrangements. She was going to occupy his mind, his focus, and… eventually, his heart, whether he wanted it or not.