Jayjay's POV~
I stirred as morning light spilled across my face, warm and unapologetic.
Keifer's arm was still draped over my waist, his breathing slow and even against my neck
. The room smelled like us — faint traces of last night's perfume and his cologne.
For a second, everything was quiet. No texts, no knocks, no interruptions.
Just sunlight, tangled sheets, and the weight of his hand holding me like he wasn't ready to let go.
I shifted, and he mumbled, half-asleep, "Too early." His grip tightened. "Stay."
I froze, barely breathing, listening to the steady rhythm of Keifer's chest. I waited until his breathing deepened again — that soft, heavy sound that meant he was gone.
Slowly, I slipped out from under his arm, untangling myself from the sheets and him. My clothes were a quiet mess on the floor. I pulled them on piece by piece, careful not to rustle fabric or creak the floorboards.
I cracked the door, slipped out, and padded down the hall. Percy's door was ajar.
Inside, the morning light cut a pale line across the bed. Percy was fast asleep, shirt rumpled, one arm wrapped protectively around Ari. She was sprawled across his chest, tiny fist clutching his tee, her breathing soft and even. Her hair was a mess, cheek smushed against him.
For a second I just stood there, watching them — the two of them safe, untouched by last night.
I smiled.
Something in my chest eased just seeing them like that — Percy dead to the world, Ari curled up on his chest like he was the safest place she knew. Her tiny hand still fisted in his shirt, his arm curved around her without even thinking.
All the chaos of last night felt far away. In here, it was just quiet breathing and morning light through the curtains.
I leaned against the doorframe for a second, letting myself have that moment.
I tiptoed closer, keeping my steps light on the wooden floor. Ari's eyelashes fluttered, but she didn't wake. Percy's brow was relaxed for once — no tension, no scowl, just sleep.
I pulled the blanket up a little higher over both of them. It smelled faintly like baby shampoo and his laundry detergent. My fingers brushed Ari's curls back from her forehead, and she sighed, nuzzling closer into Percy's chest.
The room felt like a pocket of peace. Nothing from last night could touch them here.
Relief hit me all at once, seeing Percy like that with her.
I'd been so sure he'd resent Ari. He never hid how pissed he was that I got pregnant at 21 — and with Keifer's baby, of all people. I thought that anger would spill onto her. That he'd keep his distance, treat her like a reminder of everything he hated about what happened.
But here he was, holding her like she was the most important thing in the room. Her whole tiny body rising and falling with his breath.
I'm glad. Glad that Mom — Reycee — and Dad and Percy love Ariella. Maybe they love her even more than they love me. And weirdly, that doesn't sting.
It feels right.
She deserved that. To be the center of something good, instead of the reason for whispered arguments and slammed doors.
Percy shifted in his sleep, and his arm tightened around her like she might slip away. Ari didn't even stir. She trusted him completely.
I swallowed hard. The guilt I'd been carrying since I found out I was pregnant — the fear that I'd ruined her life before it started — loosened just a little.
My phone buzzed once in my pocket. I flinched, shoved my hand down to silence it before it could wake them. The screen lit up: Adrian
My assistant as the CEO of Mariano enterprises
Adrian. 6:12 AM.
He never texted this early unless something was wrong at Mariano Enterprises.
I swiped the notification away without opening it and slipped back out of the room, easing the door shut until it clicked. The hallway was colder than Percy's room. More real.
I leaned against the wall for a second, phone tight in my hand, Ari's sleeping face still burned into my head. The quiet I'd felt watching them was already cracking.
Work didn't care that I'd just had five minutes of peace.
Adrian: the Steel's people have been found roaming around the Hotel
(*A/N - The steels are Mariano's enemies*)
Me: send more security, and if anything happens I will fire every single employee here i don't care whatever happened
Adrian: aye aye captain😆😉😉
My eyes automatically rolled and I look up and see Percy standing out of his room looking at me amused
I was about to scream out in suprise when he came infront of me in two strides and kept a hand on my mouth to stop me from screaming
And says in a hot deep low voice which may sound like a growl
"Ari's asleep don't shout and besides I am way too handsome to hear a scream the first thing in my morning as a goodmorning"
I calm down and hit him hard on the shoulder and say
"You scared the hell out of me and besides can you stop talking about your handsomeness atleast right now!!!!"
He rolled his eyes and mummered
"Everyone is jealous of this beauty"
And I rolled my eyes so hard that i swear I saw my brain
A stupid grin appears on his face as he asks
"So what happened last night , I think I may have heard some screaming last night"
My cheeks turn red and i say
"Why does it have to be my screams , they are a lot of couples in this suite and all of the boys are perverts"
When I finish my sentence I hear a very sexy deep and low growl which sent a shiver through my spine
"Is that so?"
It's Keifer