Aries's POV
I was currently watching my reflection inside the elevator.
Ella said I had changed a lot—the last time we talked.
Maybe because I keep coming back from the hospital. I just got out, but now I'm going back again, only to leave once more. I touched the side of my torso where my scar was.
She saw my scar.
But she didn't seem to have a clue. There wasn't even a hint of fear or concern in her eyes. She also didn't seem interested in knowing more since she didn't ask.
Maybe she really doesn't remember, or she just doesn't care at all. It was one of my nightmares that haunt me almost every night. I closed my eyes to erase the image of her from my mind.
Her lifeless eyes. Her bleeding fist, while the other was punching a glass wall. The sound of falling shards of glass. How she picked up a large piece of broken glass and used it as a weapon… against me.
The sound of the elevator bell brought me back to the present.
The doors opened, and I immediately stepped out.
I shouldn't be thinking about that incident anymore. But I couldn't help it, because every time I see Jay-jay, I remember how she pressed that shard of glass beneath my chest.
It hurt. A maddening pain.
I went straight to Kuya Angelo's office door. His secretary greeted me with a smile before standing up.
"Are you looking for Sir Angelo?" she asked.
I nodded, and she pressed a button on the intercom. She told Kuya that I was here.
"Let him in." I heard Kuya's response.
His secretary signaled me toward his office door. I thanked her before stepping inside.
The first thing I noticed was the mountain of papers. Not only were they on his executive table but also on the coffee table. Even the sofa set had some.
"Why are you here?" he asked authoritatively without looking at me.
I crossed my arms and took a few steps closer to him. I skipped my afternoon class just to talk to him. Good thing he didn't have a meeting.
"I just want to ask you something." He remained silent, waiting for me to continue. "...About the pictures." His hands stopped moving, but he still didn't look at me. "Why do you have them?" He looked at me without any reaction, but his eyes still held their intensity.
Terrifying.
"It's very simple, Aries. And I know that's exactly what you would have done." He answered and went back to his work.
He was right. I would've intercepted them, too, if I had seen them. Kuya must have seen their contents before they could reach Jay-jay.
"Have you taken any action?" I asked again.
He stopped what he was doing once more. He looked at me seriously. He let out a deep sigh before standing up and walking to a table where his belongings were placed.
He took something out of his briefcase. He handed it to me without moving closer, so I had to step forward to take it.
A manila envelope?
I opened it and checked its contents. Photos and a few sheets of paper.
"Ryosuke Sato. Only son of a very well-known Yakuza family in Japan. Rival of Yuri." He said, leaning against the table with his hands in his pockets.
I looked at the pictures. I had never seen him before.
"If Yuri is his enemy, why is he sending death threats to Jay-jay?"
"He probably knows how important Jay-jay is to Yuri."
So, this was technically his fault. But blaming him wouldn't solve anything. I looked at some of the papers. Information about Sato, but nothing crucial enough to truly identify him.
22 years old. Wanted in Japan, which is why he hid in the Philippines. Involved in multiple gambling cases in illegal casinos.
But there was no mention of how he crossed paths with Yuri. The details were too lacking. Far too lacking.
"Do you have any plan?" I asked Kuya.
"I tried having him tracked through my connections, but that guy is cunning."
I returned the papers and pictures to the brown envelope and placed it on the table with a thud. I ran my hands over my face in frustration. It was hard not having any idea what to do.
"I talked to Yuri." I said, making Kuya look at me. "...I told him what I found out."
"What did he say?"
"He said he's known about it for a long time. He's trying to protect Jay-jay as best as he can."
"But he can't be with Jay-jay all the time."
He was right. There would be times when they wouldn't be together. Those were the moments Sato could take action.
He also told me that the entire Section E knew what was happening, so they were helping, too. But it wasn't enough. Even their whole section wasn't enough.
Annoying!
I wasn't supposed to be this stressed, but I couldn't help it. I let out a deep sigh.
"You look worried." Kuya Angelo said.
I looked at him. The way he was looking at me was different. It was as if he was observing something about me.
"What?!" I asked, irritated.
"You're no longer mad at her?"
I immediately looked away. He knew I hated talking about this topic. I cleared my throat a few times, but I still felt a tension inside me.
Kuya moved away from leaning on the table and walked in front of the glass window of his office.
"You know, Aries..." he started. "...I always take care of you and Jayjay as if you're my own flesh and blood. I try my best to discipline both of you and provide you with your needs..." He loosened his necktie. "...I try to do many things like a real father would do. Because I don't want you to experience what I felt—growing up without a father."
I shook my head. "You didn't fail."
"I did." He answered quickly and smiled. "...because if I didn't, both of you would still love each other the same way you did before."
"It's a different story."
"I tried to reconcile you both, but you were both too stubborn. Tell me, Aries... what is the real reason for your hatred toward Jay-jay?"
I clenched my fists. I knew he would ask about it. I wasn't sure if this was the right time, but he would never stop asking.
I have to explain everything.
I slowly unbuttoned my polo from the bottom up. Then, I lifted my undershirt to show him the scar below my chest.
"What's with your scar?"
I took a deep breath. "She's the one..." I closed my eyes. "...she's the one who stabbed me."
I let go of the hem of my shirt and slowly opened my eyes. Shock was evident in Kuya's eyes.
I understand. I never told anyone the truth about what happened that day. Not even Keifer, Yuri, or Percy, who were my friends back then.
Everyone believed I got this scar when I tried to escape from the man who kidnapped Jay-jay and me.
From my own father.
"H-how?"
"She wasn't in her right mind. I called her name over and over, begged her to stop, but she couldn't hear me. She wouldn't listen."
He was clearly confused by what I said. His face was full of questions, struggling to understand my explanation.
"I don't get it."
"She wasn't in her right mind. I know you remember that incident. She doesn't remember anything about what she did."
He cursed and pinched the bridge of his nose. I knew he had been troubled by Jay-jay's condition for a long time. But she refused to see a doctor.
She was afraid... afraid of finding out that she was crazy.
"...because of her, there are so many things I can't do now. I always have to take medication before doing any activity." I sighed. "...because of her, I developed an illness."
"You can't blame Jay-jay like that."
"I have plenty of reasons to hate her."
He shook his head. "And she has plenty of reasons to be mad at you."
I froze. Kuya's gaze deepened as he looked at me. It was as if he was telling me that my reasons were shallow.
"...You're her older brother, but because of your resentment—you made her feel fvcked! Jay-jay came to me many times before, asking about you, but I couldn't give her an answer..." His eyebrows started to furrow. "...How many years did you ignore her? She feels alone! And you weren't there to comfort her."
I averted my gaze and lowered my head.
Was I wrong?! Was it wrong to feel angry after everything I had been through?!
"You let her suffer! Tell me, Aries... isn't that enough of a price for the pain she caused you?! Your sister needs you."
I tried to open my mouth to speak, but no words came out.
"Try to fix things between you... before it's too late." he added.
Can I do it? Can I really fix what we have? I wish it were that easy. But my anger toward her isn't just about that incident.
Can I really let go of all my resentment toward her?
Jay-jay's POV
Oh yeah?! Just you wait! You're gonna get it from me!
Go ahead... keep ignoring me.
"Hey! What?! You're just gonna keep acting like this?!" I said, annoyed at Yuri.
He glanced at me briefly before turning his back on me again. I wanted to smack him—hard.
Lunch ended, and everything else, but he still wouldn't acknowledge me.
After our first subject in the afternoon, the teachers suddenly had an emergency meeting. We had no class for an hour.
Out of nowhere, Yuri walked toward the side of our building where there were lots of trees. He sat on the bench we used to sit on back when... our first kiss happened.
Iihhkkk... Memory!
I shook my head to erase that thought. I don't want that to be the first thing I remember every time I come near this bench.
Whistling, I followed him before sitting down on the bench with a loud thud. He looked at me with furrowed brows.
"Do you need something?" he asked flatly.
"N-nothing. Just sitting. Why? Do I need a reason to sit and get some fresh air?"
One of his eyebrows rose. "Really now?"
"What? You think I'm trying to get your attention? No way!"
Yeah, sure. Keep lying to yourself, Jay.
"Fine, then." he muttered, but I still heard it.
"Exactly." I said, just loud enough for him to hear.
He didn't say anything else and just sat there. I even heard him sigh before he stood up, about to leave again.
I quickly grabbed the hem of his polo. "Where do you think you're going now?!"
"I'm moving to a different spot. You're embarrassing." he said, pulling his polo away from me.
Oh wow!
Irritated, I stood up and glared at him. "You're such an idiot!" I shouted at him.
He stopped and slowly turned to face me, his brows furrowed, clearly annoyed by what I said.
"I'm the idiot now?!" he shouted back at me.
"Aren't you?! I keep coming closer—you keep moving away!"
"Because I'm annoyed with you!"
"That's it?! Just because you're annoyed, you're acting like this?! I've punched you so many times before, and only now you're getting pissed off?!"
He suddenly grabbed his own hair in frustration and let out a deep sigh before answering me.
"I'm testing what you'll do! I'm waiting for you to make up with me, but you're too proud."
"Fine! Sorry!"
"Your sorry sounds so angry! Are you always like this?! Learn to humble yourself sometimes!"
Aww...
My brows met, but not because I was mad. I couldn't help but agree with what he said. Maybe my pride had gotten too high, to the point where I couldn't even sincerely say sorry to him.
I looked down. He quickly sensed that his words had hit me hard. He stepped closer and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"S-sorry. I didn't mean—."
"No. It's okay," I cut him off. "...to be honest, you're right. My pride is too high, it's not funny anymore."
I brushed away his hand from my shoulder. "...I'll go back inside so I won't disturb you."
I started walking away from him. I had only taken a few steps when suddenly, he grabbed my arm. I tried to shake him off, but his grip tightened.
"Jay... S-sorry." He spoke while slowly turning me to face him. "...I just wanted some attention from you. I didn't mean anything else by it."
I kept my head down, avoiding his gaze. He reached for my chin, trying to make me look at him, but I kept dodging.
"Jay-jay, come on."
He held my face with both hands, forcing me to face him. He succeeded, but I shut my eyes tightly.
"Open your eyes." He ordered.
I remained with my eyes closed.
"Don't make me count."
I didn't say a word.
"Jay-jay. One."
I tried to remove his hands from my face.
"You really won't? Two."
I pressed my eyes shut even tighter.
"You'll regret this. Three."
I counted the seconds before he moved. Before I knew it, my eyes flew open in shock. I held my breath, frozen in place.
He kissed me.
At first, my hands wouldn't respond, but when my senses finally returned, I pushed him away with all my strength.
We were both gasping for air when we separated. I wiped my lips, disbelief washing over me. He took advantage of the moment.
"Y-Yuri..." was all I could say.
I wanted to yell at him, to scold him. This was wrong! We had an agreement, so why did he do it?
"Jay... I'm—."
"Nice. Keifer disappears, and you're already making a move."
We both turned to the voice that spoke. One hand in his pocket, looking at us with a sharp glare—Edrix.
"E-Edrix..." I called his name.
"Ma'am is coming. Go inside." He said flatly before turning away.
Shit! Why do I feel so nervous?
I glanced at Yuri briefly before rushing after Edrix, but before I could stop him from entering the room, he turned to me.
He looked at me seriously. "If it's okay with you... I'd like to ask for some time to explain my side."
I could only nod. He was about to turn again, but I grabbed his arm.
"E-Edrix... A-about what you saw earlier—."
"Let's not talk about it." He cut me off and finally walked away.
I let him go inside first. I felt a presence behind me. I knew it was Yuri, so I quickly turned to face him.
"Why did you do that?!" I asked, irritated.
He looked down. "S-sorry. I just got carried away."
I was about to turn my back on him when he spoke again.
"...are you scared?"
There was no emotion in his voice. No accusation or mockery. He sounded dead serious, but there was no anger.
"W-what—."
"Are you afraid that he'll tell Keifer?" He asked directly, still not looking at me.
A-afraid?
I don't know, but the feeling was there—fear. Fear of what? Was I really afraid that Keifer would find out?
I turned away from him, confused. "I-I don't know."
I hurried into the room, taking my seat. Ci stared at me.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"H-huh?"
He narrowed his eyes at me, studying me closely. I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling tense. I tried to look away until suddenly...
'PPPRRRROOOUUUUTTTTTTT'
"THAT STINKS!"
"Damn! Who farted?!"
"Shit! It smells like someone hasn't pooped in a year!"
"This is disgusting!"
"Damn! It's like they let out all their grudges in one go!"
"Cancel the class!"
"Jay-jay is the one who farted!" Ci shouted while pointing at me.
Son of a—!
"N-no!" I denied.
"Seriously? It stinks! How long have you been carrying that?" David asked.
I quickly shot him a glare. And he really believed what that little rascal said.
"What the hell, Jay! That's so unladylike!" Eman said in annoyance.
"Are you trying to kill us?" Felix added.
"Enough! Just inhale it so it will disappear faster." Our teacher intervened while fanning herself.
Damn it!
They seriously think I'm the one who dropped the bomb. I was forced to fan the air to get rid of the smell quickly. I looked at Ci when I noticed he was secretly laughing.
I smacked him. "You're the one who farted!"
He rubbed the back of his head with one hand while making a peace sign with the other. So annoying!
This little rascal is really good at pointing fingers. And now, I'm the one getting blamed for his mischief. Meanwhile, I almost got poisoned by his doing. His fart was suffocating—it felt like my lungs were being strangled by the stench. I felt like the smell seeped into every atom of my body.
I stopped fanning when Yuri entered the room. He didn't even glance at me. He just walked straight to his seat.
His question popped back into my mind. Am I really scared?
Am I scared that Keifer will find out?