Keifer stood frozen in the doorway, his heart hammering against his ribs.
He had expected Sophia with a list of questions, but instead, he found Jay.
She looked like a cute, sleepy little girl in her oversized pajamas.
Without a word of explanation, she didn't wait for an invite or act shy.
She simply stepped into the room, walked straight into his space, and wrapped her arms around his waist.
She pressed her face firmly against his chest, letting her eyes flutter shut.
With her face squished against his shirt, her cheeks looked slightly chubby and incredibly soft, hanging there with total trust.
Keifer looked down at her, a genuine smile breaking across his tired face.
He tilted his head in slight confusion at her sudden act, but he didn't waste a second before wrapping his large hands around her, pulling her into the solid embrace he had been dreaming about all night.
"I missed it,"
Jay whispered innocently into his chest, her voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt.
"Huh?" Keifer asked, his voice low and vibrating.
"I missed your warm chest... and arms,"
she murmured, tightening her hold as if she were trying to merge into him.
Keifer couldn't help but chuckle, the sound rumbled in his chest right where her ear was pressed.
He leaned down slightly, a playful glint returning to his eyes.
"Just my chest and arms? Don't you miss me?"
Jay didn't open her eyes.
She just slowly shook her head in denial, her face still buried deep against him.
"Huh?" Keifer laughed, genuinely surprised.
"You don't miss your husband at all? Just his warmth?"
She gave a tiny, stubborn nod, her squished cheeks making her look more adorable than he could handle.
She hadn't moved an inch, her face still squished against his shirt, her long, messy hair spilling over her shoulders and hiding her soft, chubby cheeks.
"And besides,"
Jay added, her voice a tiny, muffled squeak from the fabric of his shirt.
"Why would I miss a husband?
I'm not even married."
Keifer's eyebrows shot up.
He looked down at the top of her head, his heart doing a little dance at the sheer cuteness of her tone.
"Oh? So you're not married?"
"No," she said firmly, eyes squeezed shut.
"Well then,"
Keifer teased, his voice dropping into a playful, suspicious tone.
"If you aren't married, why are you here... in a man's room... hugging him like your life depends on it?"
She paused for a bit.
"Since I'm not married, I'm not accountable to any husband,"
she whispered innocently.
"So I can hug you as much as I want."
Keifer burst out laughing, the sound vibrating through his ribs and into her cheek.
"Jay... you are behaving so differently tonight.
Really, really different."
"Huh? I don't know what 'different' is,"
she mumbled, her nose rubbing against his shirt as she adjusted her face.
"And I don't care."
Keifer shook his head, a massive grin plastered on his face.
"So, if I'm not your husband, who am I? Just a random guy with a warm chest?"
"Mhm..... My personal heater," she hummed.
"And what if your 'personal heater' wants to walk to the bed?"
"Then the heater carries me," she answered simply.
Keifer chuckled, his heart swelling. "You're being very bossy for a non-wife."
"Stickers don't talk, they just stick," she whispered, tightening her hold.
"Are you a sticker now?"
"Yes."
Keifer leaned his head against hers, completely enchanted.
"And what happens if I try to unstick you?"
"You can't. ,"
she murmured, her voice becoming even sleepier.
"Jay..." he whispered, his voice full of affection. "You're incredible."
"I'm sleepy," she corrected him.
"Now be a good pillow and stay still."
He didn't argue.
He just held her closer, amazed by how she could turn a day of such heavy tragedy into a night of such light, sweet magic.
The soft weight against his chest vanished as Jay abruptly opened her eyes and pushed him away.
He tried to keep his arms around her—mostly out of instinct because he didn't want the warmth to end—but Jay was surprisingly firm.
She stumbled back a step, her brow furrowed in a deep, serious pout.
Her messy hair was everywhere, falling over her eyes and tangled around her shoulders, making her look like a very grumpy, very adorable forest spirit.
"Jay?" Keifer asked, his voice full of confusion.
She didn't hesitate.
She squeezed the pillow she had brought from Sophia's room tightly against her chest, adjusting it like a shield, and looked at him with pure accusation.
"Why are you hugging me?"
she asked, her voice flat and serious.
Keifer's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.
He let out a breathless, disbelieving laugh.
"What? I was hugging you?"
Jay nodded slowly, her face hanging a little as she peered at him through her hair.
She looked entirely convinced that he was the one who had started the whole thing.
He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Jay, you are driving me crazy. Seriously."
She didn't answer.
She just ignored his frustration and started adjusting her pillow again, tucking the corners under her arms like a little kid settling in for a long nap.
She looked completely unbothered by the fact that she had just been the one clinging to him like a sticker five seconds ago.
"Okay, fine," Keifer said, leaning against the bedpost with a smirk.
"Then tell me, who was the one who just walked into this man's room and wrapped her hands around him?"
Jay tilted her head, her expression blank and innocent.
"How do I know?" she whispered simply.
"You don't know?" Keifer laughed, stepping closer.
"It was you, Jay! You were the sticker!"
"Maybe it was a ghost,"
she murmured, her eyes already starting to drift shut again as she hugged her pillow.
"A very clingy ghost that looks like me."
"A ghost in pajamas?"
"Mhm. They have a dress code," she answered, not even cracking a smile.
Keifer shook his head, his heart melting all over again.
He was trying to figure out if he was being pranked or if the trauma of the day had simply rewired her brain into "Toddler Mode."
"You talk too much," Jay said, her expression incredibly flat and bored.
Her eyes were half-lidded, making her look like a tiny, unimpressed judge.
"What?" Keifer blinked.
"You talk too much,"
she repeated, hugging her pillow tighter with one arm while her messy hair continued to defy gravity.
"Jay-jay, you are getting to be a bit much now,"
he said, half-laughing, half-confused.
"I'm just trying to follow the conversation—"
"You're again talking," she interrupted, her voice a soft but firm monotone.
"Huh?"
"Don't talk."
Before he could respond, she reached out and grabbed his wrist.
Her grip was small but surprisingly insistent.
She started tugging him toward the door, her oversized pajama sleeves flopping around her hands.
"Let's go," she muttered.
"Where?" Keifer asked, stumbling slightly as he followed her lead.
"Ice cream," she said, not even looking back at him.
"Ice cream? Jay, it's the middle of the night. Whe..."
She stopped in her tracks, spun around, and looked at him with the most "done" expression he had ever seen on her face.
"See?" she whispered, shaking her head. "You talk too much."
He chuckled again like he's watching a little kid throwing tantrums.
Jay didn't even look back as she tossed her pillow onto a nearby couch with a careless flick of her wrist.
She didn't need the pillow anymore; she had Keifer's wrist, and she wasn't letting go.
Keifer was a total goner.
He was completely melted, his heart turned into a puddle of mush.
He didn't even care that he was being dragged through his own house like a giant teddy bear.
He just walked behind her, one hand buried deep in his pocket and the other held firmly in Jay's small, determined grasp.
He watched her messy hair bounce with every step she took, two steps ahead of him, her pajama pants dragging slightly on the floor.
He couldn't stop the massive, adoring smile from stretching across his face.
As they reached the grand lobby, Keifer noticed she was heading straight past the archway leading to the dining area.
"Jay, the kitchen is that way," he whispered, pointing toward the back of the house.
She stopped and looked back at him, her eyes wide with a look of pure, mock disbelief.
"Who told you we are eating here?"
Keifer blinked.
"Huh? Then... where?"
She didn't give a straight answer.
Instead, she leaned in slightly and gave him a mischievous, dimpled smile that made his knees weak.
She rolled her eyes toward the massive wooden main door, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
"Truck. Outside."
That was it.
That was the final blow.
Keifer felt like he was going to explode from the sheer cuteness of it all.
This girl—who had been a hollow shell of herself just hours ago—was now planning a midnight heist to find an ice cream truck in her pajamas.
His eyes widened in a mix of shock and pure joy.
He couldn't even find words anymore.
He just shook his head "yes" with a helpless grin, ready to follow his "non-married" wife anywhere, even if it meant chasing a truck down the street in his slippers.
The cool air of the lobby hit them as they neared the entrance, but Keifer barely felt it.
He was too busy staring at the back of Jay's head, his heart doing backflips.
She looked so tiny and determined, marching toward the front door as if she were on a top-secret mission for the most important ice cream in the world.
"Jay, wait," Keifer whispered, finally finding his voice as they reached the heavy oak doors.
"It's midnight. Are you sure there's a truck out there?"
Jay stopped, her hand already on the handle.
She slowly turned her head, looking at him over her shoulder with an expression that said he was clearly the most confused person she had ever met.
"Ice cream doesn't sleep, Keifer," she said simply.
"Right. My mistake. Silly me," he chuckled, raising his hands in surrender.
She pulled the door open, the night breeze rustling her messy hair.
Without a hint of hesitation, she stepped out onto the porch, still dragging him by the wrist.
The mansion's outdoor lights cast long shadows on the driveway, and for a second, it was perfectly still.
Then, from a few blocks away, the faint, tinny jingle of an ice cream truck drifted through the air.
Jay's eyes lit up like stars. She didn't say "I told you so," but the triumphant look she gave him was enough.
"Truck," she whispered, her voice full of awe.
"Truck," Keifer repeated, grinning like an idiot.
He was a billionaire's son, a "Golden Boy" with everything at his fingertips, yet here he was, standing in the middle of the night, about to chase a neon-lit van because his wife—the "non-wife" sticker—wanted a cold treat.
"Run?" Jay asked, looking at his feet.
"In these slippers?
Absolutely,"
Keifer replied, stepping up beside her and finally interlocking his fingers with hers.
She didn't wait.
She took off down the driveway, her pajama pants fluttering, and Keifer ran with her, his laughter echoing into the night.
.
.
.
The jingle of the truck faded into the background as Jay stood on her tiptoes, leaning over the counter.
"One vanilla, please!"
she chirped, her grin so wide it made her eyes crinkle.
Keifer just leaned against a nearby lamp post, his hand in his pocket, watching her with a gaze that could only be described as pure adoration.
The bright neon lights of the truck turned her messy hair into a halo of pinks and blues.
She turned around, clutching her cone like a trophy.
"Are you not having any?"
"No,"
Keifer said softly, stepping closer.
"We can share yours."
"No," Jay replied instantly, her voice firm.
She pulled the ice cream back toward her chest.
"I'm not sharing."
Keifer let out a low chuckle, mocking her seriousness.
"Okay, okay," He turned to the seller and grabbed a second cone.
"I'll take my own, then."
They didn't head back to the mansion.
Instead, they walked over to the edge of a nearby park and sat right on the pavement, their legs stretched out toward the empty street.
"Umm!" Jay's eyes lit up the second she took a bite.
She looked like she had just discovered a new planet.
Keifer didn't even look at his own ice cream.
He was too busy watching the way she looked so peaceful and happy.
"Jay?"
"Hmm?"
"I want to taste that."
She looked at him, then at his hand.
"You have yours. It's the same flavor, Keifer."
He didn't wait for an invitation.
He leaned over, his face inches from hers, and took a quick bite right from her cone.
He pulled back, licking his lip slowly.
"It's sweeter," he murmured, his voice dropping an octave.
Jay's mouth hung open in total surprise.
Her brows furrowed as she looked at her "violated" ice cream, then back at him.
Keifer braced himself for her to complain or push him away, but the look in her eyes shifted.
She took another bite, maintaining intense, mocking eye contact with him.
The way she looked at him was so captivating that Keifer felt his heart physically melt in his chest.
"You want more?"
she asked.
Her voice had changed—it was soft, almost flirtatious, as she slowly extended her ice cream toward his lips.
Keifer was genuinely shocked.
He had been expecting a toddler-style tantrum, not this.
He felt a rush of heat to his face as he smiled and nodded, leaning in to take another bite, completely mesmerized by her.
Just as he got close, Jay gave a quick, mischievous flick of her wrist.
A cold, white dollop of vanilla ice cream landed right on the tip of his nose.
Keifer froze, his eyes crossing to look at the white blur on his face.
He blinked, stunned into silence.
"Jay-jay," he said, trying to sound serious and stern, but his voice lacked any real bite.
She didn't care.
She let out a loud, melodic laugh, pointing at his face as she rocked back on the pavement.
"You should see your face! You look like a very sad clown!"
Keifer's eyes darkened with a playful, dangerous glint.
He didn't reach for a napkin; instead, his hand shot out, catching Jay by the waist and yanking her forward until she was pulled flush against him.
Jay gasped, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
The sudden proximity sent a crimson flush crawling up her neck and staining her cheeks.
Their faces were inches apart, their breaths mingling in the cool night air.
Keifer smirked, his eyes locked on hers.
"You think you're pretty clever, don't you?"
Without breaking eye contact, he leaned in and rubbed the tip of his nose—ice cream and all—right against her soft cheek.
"Keifer! Nooo!"
Jay burst out into a fit of giggles, trying to squirm away, but he wasn't letting her go.
He laughed, a deep, rich sound that vibrated against her chest as he caged her completely in his arms.
He began to tickle her sides, knowing exactly where she was most sensitive.
Jay was a mess of tangled hair and helpless laughter, her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to fight him off.
He didn't stop there.
He leaned down, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck, his nose rubbing against her skin and making the tickling sensation even more intense.
"Keifer... stop! Please... stop!"
she managed to choke out between hysterical giggles, her hands clutching at his shoulders.
"Oh, so now you want me to stop?"
he teased, his voice muffled against her skin.
He nuzzled even deeper, his breath warm on her neck, sending fresh waves of laughter through her.
"I thought stickers were supposed to be quiet."
"I'm unsticking! I'm unsticking!"
she shrieked, laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
In the middle of their laughter, wrapped in that tight, ice-cream-smudged embrace, a soft voice drifted through the night air.
"Wow, how cute..."
Jay practically jumped out of her skin, scrambling to her feet.
Standing a few feet away was an elderly couple, their faces lined with years of shared smiles.
The old lady beamed at them, clutching her husband's arm.
"I want a boyfriend like him, too," she teased, nudging her partner.
The old man chuckled, pulling her closer.
"You're not going to get one. You have me, and you'll have only me for the rest of your life."
Jay stood there, frozen.
Her hair was a wild nest falling over her face, her pajamas were rumpled, and she was blushing so hard she felt like she might actually catch fire.
The couple shared one last sweet look at the youngsters and wandered off into the park, their quiet laughter trailing behind them.
Keifer smirked, casually pushing himself up from the pavement.
The moment he was within reach, Jay smacked his shoulder.
"You embarrassed me!"
"Huh? I embarrassed you?" he asked, his voice thick with a playful chuckle.
Jay nodded emphatically, avoiding his gaze.
But Keifer wasn't done.
He stepped toward her, his eyes locking onto hers with an intensity that made her breath hitch.
"If that was embarrassing," he whispered,
"then tell me what this is..."
In one swift, fluid motion, he scooped her up in a bridal carry.
Jay let out a sharp gasp, her hands flying around his neck to keep her balance.
"Keifer..!"
she squeaked, her face turning a deep, vivid red.
"Tell me," he whispered again, his smirk widening as he leaned down.
Before she could process a single thought, he began nuzzling his nose into the crook of her neck again, the tickling sensation making her burst into fresh giggles.
"Keifer... please!" she laughed, trying to push his chest away with one hand while her other arm remained locked around his shoulder for support.
He didn't stop.
He pulled back just enough to watch her.
Her eyes were squeezed shut, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, but that beautiful, genuine smile was still there.
"Even if it costs me everything, your smile is worth it."
He wisper to himself.
Before she could open her eyes, he leaned in again.
He pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead.
When she finally opened her eyes, looking into his with a soft, dazed expression, he kept going.
He kissed her right cheek, then her left, then the tip of her nose.
He moved to her chin, her jawline, and even her eyelids, raining tiny, affectionate kisses all over her face until she was giggling all over again.
"Keifer... please! Please stop!"
she said, shutting her eyes tight and squirming in his arms, her voice full of lighthearted joy.
Even though she told him to stop, she didn't pull away.
She stayed right there, cradled against his heart, loving the way they finally belonged to each other in the quiet of the night.
The playful atmosphere shifted in a heartbeat.
Keifer's laughter suddenly cut off, and his expression flattened into something unreadable and grave.
The air between them cooled as he gently set Jay back on her feet.
Jay's smile, which had been bright enough to light up the dark park, vanished.
Her heart gave a painful, sharp tug in her chest.
She watched him turn his back on her and start walking toward the edge of the pavement, his silhouette tall and distant.
"Keifer...?" she called out, her voice small.
He didn't stop.
He didn't even glance back.
Panic started to bubble up in her throat.
She followed him with quick, hesitant steps, her oversized pajama pants sweeping against the ground.
"Keifer... wait."
When he still didn't respond, her mind began to race.
Did I go too far? Did I hurt him? Was I too childish?
She watched him reach the edge of the road and slowly sink down, sitting with his back toward her.
He looked so solitary, so silent. Jay felt a lump form in her throat as she reached him.
"Keifer..." she whispered, her hand hovering near his shoulder, trembling.
Suddenly, he turned his head over his shoulder.
A slow, gentle smile spread across his face—not the teasing smirk from before, but something deep and warm.
"Don't you want to go home?"
"Huh?" Jay blinked, her fear evaporating into pure confusion.
He didn't say anything.
He just looked at her, his eyes twinkling with a secret warmth, and gestured toward his broad back.
Jay's brows shot up. "You... you want to carry me?"
"Jay," he said softly, his voice like a velvet caress in the night air.
"Come here."
She moved toward him, her movements slow and dazed.
Keifer reached back, grabbing her hands and guiding them over his shoulders, pulling her forward until her chest was pressed firmly against his back.
"Keifer... how?" she whispered, her heart swelling. "You're tired too. We walked so much."
"Shut up, Jay," he chuckled, his voice vibrating through his spine and into her.
"Just think of yourself as the same little girl who dragged me out here for ice cream.
A sticker doesn't walk, remember?"
Jay smiled.
With a grunt of effort, he stood up.
Jay instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms locking tight around his neck.
The height difference made the world look different from up here.
As he began to walk with a steady, rhythmic pace, Jay felt a wave of absolute peace wash over her.
She leaned forward, resting her cheek against the back of his neck, her eyes fluttering shut.
The scent of his cologne, mixed with the faint sweetness of vanilla ice cream, was the most comforting thing she had ever known.
She felt so safe, so protected, that she felt she could stay exactly like this for the rest of eternity.
But then, a spark of that earlier mischief returned.
She opened her eyes, tilting her head to the side to catch a glimpse of his profile.
He was focused on the road, a small, content smile on his lips.
Jay leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his right cheek.
Keifer stumbled for a fraction of a second, his breath catching.
He stopped walking, his grip on her legs tightening, but then he let out a soft laugh and continued.
Jay didn't stop.
She shifted her head to the other side, leaning over his shoulder to press another kiss on his left cheek.
"Jay-jay..." he warned, his voice thick with a chuckle.
"I'm trying to walk here."
She didn't listen.
She was far too gone in the magic of the moment.
She leaned in again, and again, peppering his cheeks with soft, butterfly-light kisses, her giggles muffled against his skin.
"Jay, stop, I'm going to drop you,"
he teased, though they both knew he'd never let her fall.
"No," she whispered against his ear, followed by another kiss.
"The Human Pillow is also a Human Taxi now. And I'm paying the fare."
Under the glow of the moon, Keifer carried his "non-wife" home, his heart feeling lighter than air, while Jay stayed tucked against his back, marking every step with a kiss.
___________________________________
Hey buddies, how are u?
So iffff....this chapter bought even a small smile on your face, don't forget to show your that smile in comments.