Jayjay'sPOV
I woke up to the harsh sunlight beaming directly onto my face through the window. Honestly, it felt like it was burning my skin. But wait a minute... had he really put his arm around my waist again?
He definitely had.
I turned around and saw him sleeping peacefully. Wow. The nerve of this guy—giving me the silent treatment and then sleeping like a baby while clinging to my waist. Just wow. He did look incredibly handsome and peaceful, though. But I didn't care. I was determined to give him the silent treatment all day today. Plus, tomorrow we had school, which meant I had to head back to my house today anyway. That was actually great news because it meant I wouldn't have to deal with ignoring this idiot 24/7—just during school hours.
Without saying a word, I aggressively yanked his arm off me. The sudden movement woke him up, and he stared at me with his eyes half-closed and half-open, looking completely confused as if asking why I was being so harsh. I just rolled my eyes at him, climbed out of bed, and marched into the bathroom.
I took a quick shower and changed into another set of his oversized clothes. I didn't really have any other choice; I hadn't brought a suitcase of my own clothes here yet, so I was forced to swim in his massive hoodies. I made a mental note that I wouldn't be coming back here next weekend if I didn't bring my own wardrobe first.
Walking out of the bathroom, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and headed straight downstairs.
In the dining room, Keigan and Keiran were already sitting at the table eating breakfast. My plate was already set up for me too, so I walked over and joined them.
"Hi, Ate Jay!" they both greeted me in unison, flashing genuine smiles.
"Hi!" I replied, smiling back. "Why are you guys up so early today?" I asked, curious as to why they were awake at dawn on a Sunday when they didn't even have school.
"Well, I was up early reviewing my notes," Keigan explained, a wide grin suddenly breaking across his face. "And as for Keiran... he was probably up early talking to Yoichi."
"Shut up!" Keiran snapped, his face instantly turning red.
"What? Isn't she your crush?" Keigan teased mercilessly.
"Kuya! Kuya Keigan is teasing me!" Keiran yelled out toward the stairs, and both Keigan and I burst into loud laughter at his dramatic reaction.
"Okay, Keigan, stop teasing the kid now," I chimed in, giggling. "Let's just let him daydream about his crush in peace." Keiran turned a bright shade of crimson while Keigan chuckled into his juice.
A few minutes later, Keifer walked into the dining room and took the seat right next to me. The maid immediately approached the table with his breakfast plate, but he didn't even touch it. Meanwhile, I had already finished eating mine. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. What on earth was his deal now?
"Sir—" the maid started.
"Jayjay will make my breakfast today," Keifer cut her off coldly.
I glared at him. "Am I your servant?" I asked sarcastically.
"No, you're my wife," he shot back in the exact same mocking tone.
"Well, I'm not making anything for you. So just eat what's there quietly," I said, pointing a finger at the perfectly fine plate sitting in front of him.
"If you're not the one making it, then I'm not eating it," he declared stubbornly.
Sensing the heavy tension and realizing that we had gotten into a massive fight, the two kids quickly excused themselves and slipped away from the table.
"Then don't eat," I snapped. I stood up from my chair and marched right back upstairs to the bedroom.
I flopped onto the bed and started mindlessly scrolling through my phone to cool off when a sudden buzz vibrated in my hand. It was a text message from the exact same unknown number from yesterday.
Unknown: > Make him breakfast or he won't eat.
My breath caught in my throat. My heart started racing in pure panic. H-how did they know that?! How could someone know exactly what we were arguing about inside the privacy of our own dining room?
I immediately rushed back downstairs to the kitchen. Trying to hide my shaking hands, I poured a cold glass of milk, quickly sliced up some fresh fruits, and popped two pieces of toast onto a plate.
I carried the tray into the living room. Keifer had moved from the dining table and was now sitting on the couch, staring blankly ahead without saying a word. Without looking at him, I placed the plate on the coffee table right in front of him.
The moment the tray left my hands, I turned on my heel and went straight back upstairs to lock myself in the room, my mind spinning with fear.
Keifer'sPOV
She set the plate down right in front of me on the coffee table, but as she did, I noticed her hands were visibly shaking. What on earth just happened? Before I could even ask, she turned on her heel and sprinted back upstairs.
Growing worried, I ran up the stairs right after her. I grabbed the doorknob of our bedroom and tried to turn it, but the door was locked from the inside.
"Jay," I called out, knocking firmly.
"Hmm?" she answered from the other side. She was clearly trying her best to sound normal, but I could hear the slight tremble in her voice. She wasn't okay.
"Open the door, Jay," I insisted.
After a few tense moments, the lock clicked, and she slowly opened the door. The moment I looked at her, I could see she was shaking violently. Without a second thought, I grabbed her hand, pulled her gently back into the privacy of the room, and closed the door firmly behind us.
"What happened?" I asked, looking into her panicked eyes. She didn't answer. "Jay, please tell me," I coaxed softly.
Instead of speaking, she unlocked her phone with trembling fingers and turned the screen toward me. I read the text from the unknown number, and my chest tightened. I looked up at her face, and without saying a single word, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a fierce, tight hug.
Jayjay didn't resist. She wrapped her arms around me just as tightly, burying her face into my chest.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Jay," I whispered into her hair, kissing the top of her head as guilt washed over me for playing that stupid silent game earlier.
After a little while, the panic finally left her body, and we both pulled back slightly from the hug to look at each other. A sweet, relieved smile broke across her face.
"Apology accepted," she said softly.
I smiled right back, a massive weight lifting off my shoulders.
"Give me your phone," I said gently. She handed it over without a word. I opened the messaging app, immediately blocked that creepy unknown number, and handed the phone back to her. "Just promise me you won't unblock it," I said, looking into her eyes.
She nodded reassuringly. "I won't."
"Drop me home," she suddenly requested.
I blinked, caught off guard. "Why so early?"
"Are you forgetting that today is already Sunday?" she asked calmly, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, yeah," I muttered, reality hitting me. "Can't you just stay here for a little while longer?" I asked, completely unwilling to let her go yet.
"No way. If I'm late, Kuya Angelo will literally skin me alive," she joked. I nodded in defeat because I knew her brother wasn't someone to mess with. Since she hadn't brought a suitcase with her, she didn't have much to pack—just her phone and herself.
I headed downstairs first, where my younger brothers were now hanging out in the living room. After a few minutes, Jayjay walked down the stairs to join us.
"Ate, are you going somewhere?" Keigan asked, noticing she was ready to leave.
"Yeah, I'm heading back to my house," she said, giving him a warm smile.
"Why?" Keiran chimed in, looking a bit disappointed.
"Because my Kuya said I have to," she explained. The two boys exchanged a quick look before turning back to face her.
"So... you won't be coming back here at all?" Keigan asked, his voice trailing off.
"Of course I will! I'll be back every weekend," she promised, her smile widening.
"Well, that's fine then," Keiran muttered, looking relieved.
"Okay, I'm going to head out now. Bye-bye!" she said, waving at them.
"Bye, Ate!" they both replied, nodding.
Jayjay and I walked out of the house together and headed over to my car. We got into our seats, and I started up the engine. As I drove down the familiar streets, I kept glancing over at her from the corner of my eye. Every single time I looked, she was already staring right back at me.
"Do you have something on your mind?" I asked, turning the steering wheel.
She let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah."
"What is it?" I asked.
"That unknown number... who do you honestly think it belongs to?" she asked, her tone turning serious.
I kept my eyes on the road, thinking it through. "I don't want to make assumptions without proof, but in my gut, I feel like it's either Yuri's mom... or my dad," I admitted honestly.
She nodded silently, processing my words. Before we knew it, we pulled up right in front of her house. She unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out of the car.
"Bye," I said, looking at her through the window.
"Bye," she replied softly.
I waited patiently by the curb, watching her walk up the path. The exact moment she safely crossed the threshold and went inside, I turned the car around and started driving back toward my place. When I finally parked and walked through my front door, the entire house felt weirdly, completely quiet.
It made sense, though. My queen had just gone back to her own castle, so of course this entire place felt empty without her.
I walked up to my bedroom and just dropped heavily onto the mattress. It was crazy how empty the space felt now. When she was here, even this room looked completely full. It wasn't just the room, though—she had truly completed our entire family.
"Kuya! Kuya! Kuya! Kuya!" Keigan yelled, suddenly sprinting into my room completely out of breath.
I sat up instantly. "What the hell happened?!"
"You..." Keigan gasped, unable to form a sentence.
Keiran walked in right behind him, calmly crossing his arms over his chest. "He is totally overreacting. You just need to be in London. Tomorrow."
Keiran said it so casually, as if he hadn't just dropped a massive bomb on me. Tomorrow?! What the hell! I hadn't even talked to Jay about this yet.
"Did you talk to Ate about it?" Keigan asked, finally catching his breath.
"I haven't. I knew she would get upset," I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck.
Keigan and I looked at each other at the exact same time. "Kuya, she will be way more upset if you leave without telling her first," he reasoned. I nodded because, unfortunately, he was completely right. Meanwhile, that little rascal Keiran had already sauntered back to his own room after ruining my peace.
"Should I talk to her over the phone?" I asked, looking to Keigan for a suggestion.
"Hell yeah, Kuya," Keigan replied instantly.
I raised my hand, threateningly aiming it at his head. "I am going to smack you if you keep using that kind of language."
"If you hit me, I'll tell Ate," he threatened with a grin.
I smirked back, feeling confident. "How? You don't even have her number."
"Actually, I do. Your youngest classmate sent it to me," Keigan said, tapping his chin. "What was his name again... ah, yeah, Ci-N!"
I immediately smacked my own forehead. Of course Ci-N had it.
"Are you literally just going to sit here comfortably?!" Keigan snapped, seeing me pause.
"Don't tell me what to do!" I shot back.
"Fine, then I'm just going to text Ate myself," he said, dramatically pulling out his phone.
"Don't you dare. Get out, I'll talk to her," I ordered. Keigan nodded victoriously and finally walked out of my room, closing the door behind him.
My chest tightened. I knew she was going to be so upset about this sudden trip. Deciding it was best to check if she was alone first, I pulled out my phone and typed out a text.
To: My Mrs. Watson
Free? Call?
I hit send. A few moments later, her reply flashed across the screen.
From: My Mrs. Watson
Yeah.
Without wasting another second, I hit the dial button, and she picked up the call almost instantly.
"Jay, actually..." I started, but the words caught in my throat. I had no idea how to break the news to her.
"What is it?" she asked from the other end.
"I have to go to London tomorrow," I blurted out. The line went completely quiet for a second, and I could practically feel her freezing on the spot.
"Oh... okay," she finally said. She was trying so hard to sound completely normal, but I knew her too well. I could easily tell she was deeply upset.
"It's an urgent business trip," I explained softly, trying to soften the blow. "It will be for at least fifteen days, maybe even a little more."
She let out a heavy sigh. "Okay. So, where will Keigan and Keiran be staying while you're gone?"
I blinked, caught off guard. Wait a minute... she wasn't asking about me or my schedule at all; her immediate concern was for my younger brothers! It made me smile slightly to see how quickly those two had carved out a special place in her heart.
"They'll be staying here at the house," I replied.
"You're seriously leaving them completely alone?" she asked, her tone turning protective.
"Yeah, but the head butler and the staff will be checking on them constantly. They'll give me every single detail about what they're doing," I reassured her.
"Okay, then. I'll hang up now, I have some work to do," she said.
"You have work?" I asked, a little surprised by her sudden rush.
"Yeah, I'm going to the mini-mart with Aries. Bye," she said.
"Bye. Take care of yourself, Jay," I said.
"You too," she reminded me softly before the line went completely dead.
I took a deep breath and tossed my phone onto the bed. That definitely wasn't as easy as it looked. Dang, my heart was racing so incredibly fast the entire time I was telling her!
Jayjay's Pov.
The moment the call disconnected, a heavy wave of sadness washed over me. He was going to London. Again. I let out a long sigh and just stared blankly at my dark phone screen.
"JAYJAY! DO YOU EVEN WANT TO GO TO THE STORE?!" Aries shouted from downstairs, his voice echoing up the stairwell.
Oh, crap! I snapped out of my thoughts and grabbed my mini purse. Honestly, I only took the purse to hold my phone, because let's be real—I was going there to buy things using his money anyway. I ran down the stairs so fast that I almost tripped and fell face-first, but I managed to catch my balance at the last second. I hurried out of the house and found an incredibly impatient Aries waiting for me in the driver's seat. I hopped into the passenger side, and he immediately hit the gas.
"Why do you seem so off?" Aries asked suddenly halfway through the ride.
"M-me?" I blinked, caught off guard. He nodded firmly. I let out another sigh, deciding to just tell him. "Keifer is going back to London tomorrow. He said it's for fifteen days... maybe even more."
Aries' grip tightened on the steering wheel, and he groaned. "I swear, if he takes forever to come back this time, I am literally going to kill him."
I couldn't help but let out a soft laugh at his dramatic threat. "Let's just see what happens," I said. He nodded in agreement as we pulled up to the mini-mart.
The moment we walked inside, a brand-new machine immediately caught my eye. It was a custom noodle-making station! Intrigued, I walked over, and the staff member standing there explained that I could mix and match absolutely any ingredients I wanted to create my own custom ramen bowl.
Challenge accepted. I eagerly grabbed a basket and started hoarding random ingredients: peppers, instant ramen packets, extra spices, a generous amount of cheese, eggs, bacon, and even a bag of potato chips. A few people shopping in the aisle were staring at me like I was a total weirdo, but I didn't care. I was just trying out some creative food combinations!
I dumped everything into the machine, and the staff guy told me my custom creation would be ready in about ten minutes. To pass the time, I decided to go hunt for some snacks. I basically grabbed almost every single junk food item available on the shelves. Aries just stood behind me, shaking his head in pure disbelief, probably deeply worried about the survival of his wallet.
"Bro, look at that girl. She is so awesome and cute," a guy suddenly whispered to his friend a few feet away, blatantly pointing right at me.
Aries instantly snapped his head toward them, delivering a terrifying death glare. Obviously, no big brother is going to tolerate random guys talking about his sister like that.
"Yeah, she is," his friend replied in a hushed voice. Then he pointed at Aries. "Wait, is that guy her boyfriend?"
"The way he's giving us a literal death stare? Yeah, definitely," the first guy muttered.
That was the final straw. Aries marched right up to them and aggressively grabbed the first guy by his collar.
"Aries!" I called out, moving forward, but he held up a hand, signaling me to stay back and let him handle it.
"Boyfriend?" Aries asked, a dangerous smirk spreading across his face. "I'm her brother."
With a powerful shove, Aries pushed the guy backward, sending him crashing straight to the floor. The second guy looked absolutely terrified, his eyes widening as he prepared to turn tail and run. But Aries was faster. He lunged forward, grabbed the second guy's collar, and landed a clean, hard punch right across his jaw, knocking him flat onto the ground next to his friend.
Furious, both of the guys scrambled back to their feet, looking like they were about to charge at Aries together. Before the first guy could even take a step, Aries delivered a swift, brutal kick directly to his stomach.
Realizing this was getting way too out of hand, I rushed into the space between them, tightly wrapping my arms around Aries to hold him back. "Aries! Bro, let's just go. Please!" I begged.
He locked eyes with the two groaning guys, breathing heavily. Before finally agreeing to leave the aisle, he lunged forward one last time and punched the second guy right in the face for good measure. While Aries walked over to the registers to pay for my mountain of snacks, I hurried back to the noodle machine to grab my food.
Unfortunately, those two jerks were already standing near the counter. The staff member handed me my steaming bowl of custom noodles, and the moment I turned around to leave, one of the guys let out a loud, obnoxious whistle right at me.
A wave of discomfort hit me, and I tried to quickly brush past them. But suddenly, a tight grip clamped down around my wrist. I looked down, then up. It was the second guy.
Without wasting a single second on words, I swung my free arm and punched him square in the face with everything I had. The force of the punch sent him staggering backward until he hit the floor for the third time today.
I aggressively pointed a finger at the first guy, who was staring at me in total shock. "Get some shame! I am literally married!" I snapped.
The first guy burst into a mocking laugh. "Are you kidding me? Married? You look like a kid!"
I clenched my fist, fully prepared to break his nose next, when a heavy arm suddenly draped securely over my shoulders. I looked up and saw Aries standing right beside me, holding our shopping bags.
"Yeah, she is married," Aries said coldly, his voice dripping with malice as he stared them down. "And if you two don't want to get beaten to a pulp by me, her, and her husband, I suggest you run for your lives right now."
Sensing that they were completely outmatched, the two guys quickly scrambled to their feet and sprinted into a completely different aisle to hide. I grabbed my custom noodle bowl, and we finally walked out of the mini-mart.
We hopped back into the car, and Aries started up the engine. While he drove us back, I ate my creation in complete, comforting silence. The second we reached home, I ran straight up to my bedroom, threw my purse on the desk, and collapsed heavily onto my bed. Exhaustion completely took over. Between the stressful news about London and dealing with those two absolute jerks at the store, my brain was totally fried. Before I even realized it, my eyes grew heavy, and I drifted off to sleep.
The End 🌸.