Jay-jay's POV
"Grazel Jay?" I asked. "Didn't we tell you we'd use your name?" Denzel asked, and I nodded when I remembered. Oh, right. When they visited my house with the other snakes out of concern, they mentioned it.
"Where did Grazel come from?" I asked again.
"Grace and Denzel," Grace answered as she adjusted the baby in her arms.
"How fancy," I commented. I peeked at the baby in her arms. She looked much cleaner now compared to earlier when she was covered in some kind of fluid and a few stains. Her complexion looked better, too.
"Do you want to hold her?" Grace offered, but I hesitated. What if I drop her? Or what if I accidentally hurt her? She looked so fragile, like one wrong move could harm her. I really don't like crying babies.
"It's okay, Jay. Hold her. You should start practicing," Denzel teased, and I shot him a glare.
"What? What did you say?"
He just shook his head, laughing. I focused back on the baby and slowly took her from Grace's arms. Grace taught me how to hold her properly. She was so tiny. I gently rocked her while adjusting my stance. I smiled when I saw her lips move.
"You look good with her. Looks like Grazel's going to have a playmate soon," Denzel teased again, but
I ignored him. I was busy with the baby, talking to her softly.
"Hello, baby. I'm your godmother," I said, and Grace reacted immediately.
"Who said you're her godmother?" she teased.
After everything I went through? I'm not the godmother? They really were perfect for each other—they both loved teasing me. If she hadn't just given birth, I would've already fired back with some savage comebacks and curses. But I couldn't say bad words now. What if the baby hears and that's the first thing she learns?
"Denzel did."
"I said godfather, not godmother. That's Kit," Denzel corrected.
I glared at him. "Do you want me to teach your baby how to fly?" I threatened, moving toward the window.
"Hey! I was just kidding!" Denzel quickly backtracked and approached me.
"Just try it!" Grace warned. He was about to take the baby from me, but I refused. I was still enjoying holding her. As long as she didn't cry—because if she did, I might really throw her.
I didn't notice the time because I was having fun while holding Grazel. I also didn't realize that some people had already entered the room. I only stopped when I heard someone sobbing.
"Jay-jay already had a baby. I'm not her baby anymore," Ci-N said while wiping fake tears.
Who had a baby?
Calix smacked her on the head. "How could Jay-jay have a baby when she hasn't even been pregnant?"
I winced. The Snakes were already here, and they were complete. Yuri was with them, and he seemed fine.
I glanced at Keifer, who was smiling at me simply, though he seemed deep in thought. I rolled my eyes at him and quickly looked at Yuri, who was leaning against the wall. He just gave me a small, reserved smile.
I couldn't help but worry about that smile. I really wanted to talk to him for a longer time.
I turned to the Snakes next. I could see the excitement in their faces as they stared at the baby I was holding, but I had to put her down because my arms were getting tired. I placed her back in the crib under the lamp. Her future godfathers immediately gathered around her.
"She looks like Denzel. Case closed!" Eren commented, and we all laughed.
"Baby! Don't grow up to be mean," Mayo said, and Grace threw a pillow at him.
"When you start walking, let's play. I have lots of toys," Ci said.
"Where's your bet, Drew? I won! Their baby's a girl!" Rory declared, and Drew disappeared like a bubble.
"She looks more like Grace," Josh said calmly.
"I can't tell yet; her face is still all wrinkly," Edrix replied, and the others chuckled softly.
"I hope our future baby is this cute too," Calix said sweetly.
"Then go ahead and make one," Eman teased, earning a smack from Calix.
After their teasing, they turned their attention back to Grazel Jay and started talking to her.
"When you start talking, don't curse," Felix instructed the baby, and then they all looked at me.
My earlier smile faded as I stared at them. I just rolled my eyes in response, making them laugh even more.
"And don't be gluttonous," Eman added, which made their laughter even louder.
"Hey! I'm not her mom, so why are all your warnings directed at me?" I said irritably.
"She might pick up your habits. You held her for too long," Blaster replied, and I raised a hand as if to smack him.
What was supposed to be their visit to see the mother and baby ended up turning into playful banter. They had to leave shortly after because the nurse prohibited too many visitors. Besides, Grace needed to feed Grazel, so they all ran out quickly.
"We'll step out for a bit," Keifer and Yuri excused themselves.
I didn't stay long either and soon said my goodbyes. I apologized again for what happened, but they kept thanking me over and over.
When the door closed, I let out a deep breath. At least the ordeal with Grace's delivery was over. I really thought Denzel was going to kill me.
But I shouldn't get too comfortable. Next time, I really need to be more careful. Grace and the baby's lives were put at risk because of my stubbornness.
"What are you thinking about?" someone suddenly asked, startling me.
For crying out loud!
I clutched my chest and stepped back. When I recognized the King of the Snakes, I raised a fist at him.
"You scared me!" I snapped.
"Scared of what? My love?" he teased with a mischievous smile.
I glared at him. "You know, sometimes I wonder how I can punch you."
"Punch me with a kiss," he replied, and I almost took off my shoe to throw it at him.
He just laughed loudly. I rolled my eyes repeatedly at him until I noticed that Yuri was no longer with him.
The other Snakes were chatting with the nurses, obviously flirting with them. The others, looking bored, had already left.
"Where's Yuri?" I asked Keifer.
"He said he had to go somewhere," he replied casually, his hands in his pockets.
"Is he coming back?" I asked again, noticing the change in his expression.
"I don't know," he answered softly, but I could sense the emotion behind it. "You should stop worrying about him. Yuri's grown up; he can take care of himself."
"But he's still human, and he gets tired. You should consider your friend's well-being," I said with a hint of annoyance.
He laughed bitterly. "Why do I feel scared every time you worry about Yuri like this?"
What did he mean by that?
"Can you stop being jealous right now? This is about our friend. Our friend."
He looked at me seriously. "This is more than jealousy, Jay. And how I wish it was really just jealousy like you think," he said, taking a deep breath. "Because if it's not, I'm going to go crazy."
I wanted to plead with him. I didn't like what he was thinking. It hurt me. I really thought he had changed, but why did it seem like he still didn't trust me? Why did he still get jealous and think so little of me so easily?
He was about to take my hand, but I pulled away.
"I'll just go look for Yuri. I need to ask him something," I said and turned my back on him.
I immediately noticed David's gaze on me, but I chose to ignore him.
I did as I said and searched for Yuri. I figured the ground floor was the best place to start since that's where the hospital's exit was.
I wasn't wrong — I saw him walking out with Freya.
They were together. This wasn't good.
I quickly followed them. Fortunately, they didn't go far from the building. They were clearly arguing, and Yuri was trying to grab a large white envelope from Freya, who clearly didn't want to hand it over.
I wanted to hear what they were talking about. And when there's a will, there's a way. I looked around for an excuse to get closer without being obvious.
I smiled when I saw an old woman in a wheelchair. She didn't have a companion, which made this the perfect opportunity. Plus, she didn't seem able to speak.
I pushed the wheelchair toward them, pretending to be the old lady's attendant. I positioned myself near Yuri and Freya but turned my back to them, pretending to chat with the elderly woman, who was clearly terrified of me.
I'm really sorry, ma'am!
"Stop this! This isn't you!" Freya said angrily.
"Do you think I have a choice? If I don't follow them, where will I end up?" Yuri replied almost pleadingly.
"Fvck your family honor!"
"This isn't just about honor! This is also about my mother."
"That's still not you!" Freya's voice was almost breaking.
"What's the point? What if I throw my life away? And don't scold me about my life when you threw your own life away."
I covered my mouth in shock at Yuri's words, and I even heard the old lady react. We looked at each other, both clearly not okay with what we had just heard. This old lady's a gossip too.
"Yes, I did throw my life away. For you!" Freya shot back. "That's why I'm always here for you — because I know that fvcked up feeling. I'm trying to save the little part of you, even when I'm completely drained." She took a deep breath. "But obviously, I'm just wasting my life, myself, and my time trying to save someone who doesn't even want to be saved."
"Stop using me as an excuse, Freya," Yuri replied calmly. "You chose to be like this. After our breakup, Keifer tried to save you, and all he ever asked for was your love in return. But you denied him that."
"How dare you—"
"You ended up ruining your life because you wanted to. So how can you save me when you're broken beyond repair?"
I wanted to intervene. What Yuri was saying might be true, but I didn't understand why it had to hurt this much.
I was hurting for Freya.
"You're right. You're wasting your time with me. Because you should've focused on saving yourself from this misery."
I heard Freya sniff and cry softly. I really wanted to step in, but I kept glancing at the old woman who was clearly still listening.
She might get mad if the scene got interrupted.
"I'm done with you," Freya said.
I almost wanted to applaud her. She did the most painful yet bravest thing to do in a relationship where they only hurt each other — even though they didn't really seem to have a relationship.
"You should be. While you still can, save yourself."
Freya took a deep breath and coughed slightly. "I did all those things before because I thought you would care, but it turned out that I wasted my life for nothing."
"I always cared for you. I just didn't want you to know," Yuri said calmly.
"But not the same way you care about her?" Freya began to cry softly again.
"Jay-jay is different."
What? Why am I getting dragged into this?
My ears perked up when I heard my name. I was this close to sticking my face right into their conversation.
"Why—?"
"We've already talked about this. Just hand over the envelope."
The old woman tapped me. When I looked at her, she pointed to a woman who seemed to be looking for someone. It looked like she was the old woman's caretaker.
"I wish you wouldn't regret this," Freya said, and I heard the sound of paper and plastic hitting something.
It sounded like she threw the envelope they had been fighting over earlier. No one responded after that — only heavy footsteps walking away.
I glanced at them and saw Freya walking away. I was about to leave and return the old woman to her previous spot when I heard Yuri whisper.
"I'm really sorry, Freya," he said before quickly heading into the hospital.
I just stared at his back. Did he really hurt Freya just to push her away? And what exactly was inside that envelope they were fighting over? It even looked like one of those packages from online shopping.
"Hey! What are you doing with my grandma?!" a girl scolded me.
My eyes widened, and I quickly let go of the wheelchair.
"Is she your grandma? I thought she was mine. That's why we don't look alike," I said and walked off quickly as she approached the old woman.
I was about to go back inside when I heard someone calling my name. I turned and saw a group of students approaching. I immediately recognized them and went to meet them.
"Jay-jay," Mica greeted me. "How's Grace?"
I smiled. "She's okay. And so is the baby."
"What's the gender?" one of their classmates asked.
"It's a girl," I said, and I saw their excitement.
Some of them wanted to visit Grace right away, but Ella objected.
The boss had spoken.
"Let's wait for Aries. He just went to park the car," she said with her usual attitude, but her phone soon rang.
I saw her frown while reading the message. Whatever was in that message didn't seem good. It felt like she was about to breathe fire at any moment.
"Let's go. He said he'll just follow," she said and walked ahead of us.
Moody.
Mica and I exchanged glances but followed along. We went straight to the elevator. Luckily, no one else got on, so we had it to ourselves. As we waited for it to reach the right floor, they kept asking Ella questions, clearly annoying her.
"I think I saw Freya earlier. Do you think Aries saw her?" one of them said.
"So what if they did?" another replied.
"Nothing… It's just that Aries always takes care of Freya, right?"
"They do seem like there's something going on," someone behind us suddenly said.
"Shut up!" Ella snapped, making everyone fall silent.
Is that jealousy?
I wanted to laugh. I call that karma. I always get annoyed when she steals glances at the King of Snakes. So now, I'm enjoying this.
When the elevator doors opened, Ella stormed out first.
The Snakes raised their eyebrows the moment they saw her.
"Baby!" Calix greeted Mica.
Annoying.
Mica immediately ran into her boyfriend's arms. I wanted to be bitter about it, but I was more entertained by Ella's jealousy.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Ci-N asked me.
"Nothing… I just saw something funny," I replied, and she looked at me like I was losing my mind.
I just ignored him and leaned against the wall next to him. We let Grace's former classmates enter the room first.
I glanced down the hall and noticed Keifer and Yuri talking seriously. I didn't see the white envelope Yuri had earlier.
"They seem busy," Ci-N said, noticing my gaze.
"They've been like that since Yuri came back."
"Do you think it's serious?"
"Yeah, they even moved away. Must be something important," he answered innocently.
Something important?
My eyes shifted to Kit and Mayo, who looked like they were about to argue.
"I really want a baby," Mayo insisted.
"Study first. Do you even think you can support a child?" Kit snapped.
That kind of something?
"Oh no!" I protested quickly.
Ci-N and Felix both turned toward me in surprise. Even the other Snakes stared.
"W-why?" Kit asked when she noticed I was looking at them.
I glanced around at everyone. I didn't know how to answer. I couldn't exactly tell them I was thinking something suspicious about Yuri and Keifer.
Think of an answer, quick!
"Y-you can't have kids yet. Focus on your studies first," I said, and Mayo raised an eyebrow.
"Wow, thanks for the concern," he replied sarcastically.
I just nodded even though they were clearly weirded out by me.
I went back to leaning on the wall next to Ci-N. His eyes were still wide as he stared at me.
"Jay-jay? Are you okay?" he asked, clearly worried.
I pretended to punch him lightly. "Get it together."
He laughed softly. I turned my attention back to Keifer and Yuri. Their conversation seemed far from over. Keifer eventually glanced my way and met my eyes. His expression turned sad before he faced Yuri again.
I had a feeling it was still about what he said earlier. I bit my lower lip.
He still doesn't trust me.
Not long after, Mica and the others came out of the room. Ella stayed behind, which gave the others the courage to talk about her.
"She's so moody," one of them laughed. "She's definitely jealous of Freya."
"She just can't accept that even though she's with Aries, Freya is still the queen," another added as they walked away.
"Bitter," someone commented before they disappeared down the hall.
If I was amused by Ella's jealousy earlier, now I wasn't.
I really didn't like their classmates' attitude.
I looked at Mica, who was still hugging Calix. I knew she felt uncomfortable hearing their comments about Ella. She just wasn't the type to speak badly about others, but I could tell she wanted to.
Ella was strong, so I knew she could handle her classmates. I really was lucky to end up in Section E. Even if they teased me a lot, they always made me feel like they were there for me.