✦ CHAPTER — "The Phone Call"
Jay's POV
The evening was peaceful.
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Rarely peaceful.
🥺🤍
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Alina was asleep upstairs.
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The house was quiet.
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Warm.
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Comfortable.
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And unfortunately...
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Keifer was being clingy again.
😭💀
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I was sitting on the couch.
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Or at least trying to.
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Because somehow...
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I had ended up trapped in his lap.
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Again.
💀
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"Keifer."
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"Hm?"
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"Move."
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"No."
😭💖
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I sighed.
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His arms immediately tightened around my waist.
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Like he expected me to vanish.
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"You're impossible."
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"You love me."
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"Unfortunately."
💀
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He grinned.
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Completely unbothered.
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Author's POV
The room was filled with soft laughter.
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Comfort.
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Home.
🥺🫶🏻
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And then—
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A phone rang.
📱
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Everything changed.
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Jay's POV
I noticed it immediately.
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The second Keifer looked at the screen.
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His smile disappeared.
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Gone.
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Just like that.
💔
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I had seen many versions of Keifer.
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The clingy one.
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The jealous one.
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The sleepy one.
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The husband.
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The father.
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But this...
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This was different.
😳🍷
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The air shifted.
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The warmth disappeared.
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And suddenly...
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The man beside me felt dangerous.
🖤
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Author's POV
Keifer answered.
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Slowly.
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Calmly.
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Too calmly.
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Keifer's POV
"Talk."
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Silence.
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Listening.
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One minute.
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Two.
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Then—
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"Handle it."
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His voice was cold.
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Sharp.
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Final.
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Nothing like before.
🍷
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Jay's POV
I felt a chill.
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Not because I was afraid.
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Because I wasn't.
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But sometimes...
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I forgot.
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Forgot who Keifer really was.
💔
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Then moments like this happened.
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And I remembered.
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Author's POV
The call ended.
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Silence followed.
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Heavy silence.
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The kind that settled over a room.
🖤
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Jay's POV
I looked at him.
---
He was staring at nothing.
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Thinking.
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Calculating.
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The softness gone from his face.
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The warmth gone from his eyes.
😳
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And for a moment...
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He looked like a stranger.
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Not my husband.
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Not Alina's father.
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Just...
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Keifer.
🍷🖤
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Author's POV
A knock interrupted the silence.
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One of Keifer's men entered.
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Holding a black envelope.
😳
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Jay's POV
The envelope looked expensive.
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Important.
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Dangerous.
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I watched as Keifer opened it.
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His eyes scanned the contents.
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Once.
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Twice.
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Then he looked at me.
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Really looked at me.
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And suddenly...
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The coldness softened.
🥺
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Only slightly.
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But enough.
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Keifer's POV
"There is a gala next week."
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Jay blinked.
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"A gala?"
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I nodded.
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"Business."
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Which was only half the truth.
🍷
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Jay's POV
Something about his tone made me suspicious.
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Very suspicious.
💀
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Keifer's POV
"It will be attended by investors."
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Pause.
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"Politicians."
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Pause.
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"People who matter."
😳🖤
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Jay's POV
Oh.
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One of those events.
😭💀
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Keifer's POV
Then I looked directly at her.
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And for the first time that evening...
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A small smile appeared.
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"You are coming with me."
🥺🫶🏻
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Jay's POV
I immediately knew.
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This wasn't a question.
💀
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Author's POV
And somewhere deep inside...
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Jay had a feeling.
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This gala wasn't going to be a normal night.
✦ CHAPTER — "The Gala" ✦
Jay's POV
For a moment, I simply stared at my reflection.
The woman looking back at me felt unfamiliar.
Not because I didn't recognize her.
Because I wasn't used to seeing myself like this.
💙✨
The powder-blue gown flowed around me like water. The strapless design highlighted its elegance, while the dramatic skirt and cascading waist bow added a timeless charm that felt almost unreal.🩵🫶🏻
Soft waves framed my face.
Diamond earrings caught the light every time I moved.
For the first time that evening, I understood why people called certain dresses breathtaking.
🥺🦋
A quiet whistle sounded from behind me.
I turned.
And immediately forgot how to breathe.
😭
Keifer stood in the doorway, dressed in a perfectly tailored midnight-blue suit.
The dark fabric contrasted sharply against his white shirt. A powder-blue pocket square rested neatly in his blazer, matching my dress almost perfectly.
💙✨️🍷
He looked dangerous.
Elegant🖤
Like the kind of man people crossed the street to avoid.
😳🖤
For several seconds, he said nothing.
His gaze moved slowly over me.
Not rushed.
Not subtle.
Just... staring.
My stomach flipped.
"Keifer?"
Nothing.
I tried again.
"Hubby?"
A slow breath escaped him.
Then he crossed the room.
Fast.
Purposefully.
Before I could react, his arms slid around my waist from behind.
🥺🫶🏻
His chin rested lightly on my shoulder 🤍.
I felt his grip tighten.
"You're not wearing that."
I blinked.
"What?"
"No."
I laughed despite myself.
"Keifer."
"No."
"Why?"
His eyes met mine through the mirror.
The answer came quietly.
Too honestly.
"Because every person in that room is going to look at you."
😭💙
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I smiled.
And his expression softened just enough to remind me that beneath the sharp suits and cold stares...
He was still my husband.
🫀
---
Unfortunately...
Alina had other plans.
😭💔
The second she saw me dressed up, her little face crumpled.
"Mama..."
The tiny word hit harder than it should have.
Within seconds she had wrapped herself around my leg.
Refusing to let go.
🥺
"Mama stay."
I crouched down immediately.
My heart aching.
"Baby..."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
Then another.
And suddenly leaving didn't feel nearly as easy as it had five minutes ago.
💔
It took matching pajamas, a sleepover with Liana, unlimited snacks, and the promise of staying up late before she finally agreed.
Even then, she looked suspicious.
😭🤣
---
The gala was already in full swing when we arrived.
Luxury vehicles lined the entrance.
Men in expensive suits stood beneath crystal lights.
Conversations worth millions flowed through the room.
Power.
Influence.
Money.
🍷🖤
The moment Keifer stepped from the car, something shifted.
I felt it immediately.
The warmth disappeared.
The teasing husband vanished.
Even his posture changed.
His expression became unreadable.
Cold.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
Bodyguards moved behind us in perfect silence.
Watching.
Observing.
Calculating.
No one questioned their presence.
No one dared.
😳
Inside, heads turned.
Not toward me.
Toward him.
Some people nodded respectfully.
Others avoided eye contact entirely.
A few looked nervous.
As though they were afraid of saying the wrong thing.
And perhaps they were.
Without looking at me, Keifer placed a hand against my lower back.
Firm.
Protective.
Possessive.
"Stay close."
My heart betrayed me immediately.
😭🫶🏻
---
The businessman who approached me later seemed harmless enough.
Polite.
Friendly.
Easy to talk to.
He complimented my dress.
Asked how I was enjoying the evening.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing inappropriate.
But halfway through the conversation, I felt it.
A stare.
😳
Across the room, Keifer was watching.
His expression never changed.
But his jaw tightened slightly.
And somehow...
That felt far more dangerous.
🍷🖤
The businessman noticed him too.
Everyone eventually noticed him.
A few minutes later, Keifer appeared beside me.
As if he'd materialized from thin air.
His arm immediately wrapped around my waist.
The movement looked casual.
It wasn't.
"Having fun?"
His voice was calm.
The businessman looked nervous instantly.
😭💀
---
The real problem arrived later.
A man who clearly didn't know when to stop talking.
His gaze swept over me before a smirk appeared.
"Interesting choice bringing her here."
The room fell silent.
Immediately.
💀
I watched the color drain from his face as Keifer turned toward him.
Not angry.
Not shouting.
Worse.
Calm.
Dead calm.
🖤
"Repeat that."
His voice was quiet.
Controlled.
The kind of quiet that made people nervous.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
The entire room watched.
The man swallowed.
Hard.
Keifer took one step forward.
Only one.
But somehow it felt like a threat.
"You will show my wife respect."
Silence.
"Or you will leave."
The apology came instantly.
Rushed.
Panicked.
Embarrassed.
The man backed away so quickly it was almost pathetic.
And nobody stopped him.
Because everyone in that room understood one thing.
You could challenge Keifer if you were foolish enough.
But disrespecting his wife?
That was a mistake few people made twice 🍷🤫