Jayjay's POV. (Before going missing đ¤)
I woke up to a persistent buzzing sound. It turned out my phone was vibrating aggressively under my pillow. I always keep my phone on silent mode, but honestly, I really should have just put it on Do Not Disturb. Pulling it out, I checked the screen and saw an unknown number calling me. I didn't pick up right away. First, I needed to sneak out to the balcony because I didn't want the noise to wake Keifer. He was probably completely exhausted by me and all my antics from just a few hours ago.
Once I safely made it out to the balcony and shut the glass door quietly behind me, I finally answered the call and pressed the phone to my ear.
"Finally," a voice sighed heavily on the other end.
"Who is this?" I demanded.
"It's Freya. Jayjay, we are waiting for you. We need to meet up somewhere right now," she said, her voice dropping into an incredibly serious tone.
My brow furrowed. "And who exactly do you mean by we?"
"Honey, Ella, and Saki are all here with me," she replied.
"I can't. I'm going back to sleep," I stated flatly, still feeling tired.
"No, Jayjay, you don't understand. This is incredibly important for Saki and Yuri's relationship," Freya said, instantly making me freeze in confusion.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, my tone turning serious.
"I'll just text you the location. Come and meet us there immediately," she ordered, and then hung up right in my face. Wow. Typical Freya Hidalgo.
I crept back into the bedroom and looked over at Keifer, who was still sleeping like a baby. A part of me wondered if I should wake him up and tell him before leaving. No, definitely not, I thought. If I told him, he would insist on coming along, and the poor guy desperately needed his rest after what I did to him last night.
I quietly slipped into the bathroom, took a lightning-fast shower, and changed into a pair of regular jeans and a comfortable top. Stepping back out, I grabbed my purse, tossed my phone and some cash inside, and walked toward the bedroom door. I was just about to twist the doorknob when a sudden urge made me stop. I turned around, ran right back to the bed, and leaned down to press a soft kiss against Keifer's forehead. Smiling to myself, I finally slipped out of the room.
I headed downstairs, but I didn't even feel like eating breakfast. I had completely lost my appetite from the mystery of Freya's call. But as I reached the front doors and prepared to walk out of the mansion, the security guard on duty suddenly stepped forward, blocking my path. I glared at him, thoroughly annoyed.
"Get aside. And do not tell Keifer that I'm going anywhere," I warned him with a sharp look.
The guard bowed his head slightly, looking extremely nervous. "Ma'am, I really can't do that. Sir strictly gave orders not to let you leave the house before he wakes up."
"I'll handle Keifer and talk to him about it later. Just get out of my way and let me go," I commanded.
Seeing that I wasn't going to back down, the guard reluctantly nodded and stepped aside. I walked right past him, quickly booked a cab on my phone, and headed straight to the coordinates Freya had texted me.
When the cab finally pulled up to the location, I spotted the four of them sitting tightly around a table. I marched over to the group and slid into the empty seat, sandwiching myself right between Freya and Honey since it was the only spot left.
"Soâ" Freya started, leaning forward.
"Wait. I didn't get to eat any breakfast, so I am going to order food first, and then you can explain," I cut her off flatly.
The four of them let out a collective, synchronized sigh. I flagged down a waiter and proceeded to order a massive mountain of food. Call it a gut feeling, but who knew if I'd even get the chance to eat a single bite for the rest of the day?
Once the dishes arrived and I dug in, Freya cleared her throat to continue. "So, as I was trying to say... Yuri's mom actually called me and Ella. She's still under the impression that we absolutely despise you, and that you hate us right back. She told us that if we managed to setup a meeting and bring you to her, she would do both of us a massive favor."
I stopped chewing, my fork pausing mid-air. "And that's why you called me out here? To hand me over?" I asked, eyeing them suspiciously.
The girls all exchanged incredulous looks.
"Are you stupid, Jayjay? Of course we wouldn't do that!" Ella snapped, rolling her eyes. "That woman is completely clueless. She doesn't know about Saki, she doesn't know you literally got married to Keifer, and she has no idea that Section E and Section A are actually on good terms now. She is still stuck in the past, completely blind to the fact that everyone has moved on. She thinks you haven't forgiven Keifer, she thinks Yuri is still head-over-heels for you, and she doesn't have a single clue that Yuri and Saki are in a relationship."
I chewed slowly, nodding my head as everything started to make perfect sense. "Okay... so what exactly am I supposed to do about it?"
"We need you to help us," Honey spoke up, her expression tense.
"How am I supposed to help?"
"Please, Jayjay... just talk to her," Saki pleaded, her eyes filled with worry for her relationship.
"But why me?" I asked, wiping my mouth with a napkin.
"Because she firmly believes her son is still in love with you," Freya explained. "You're the only one she actually wants to see."
I nodded slowly, processing the strategy. "Okay, fine. But if I'm the one who needs to talk to her, then only me and Saki should go. Why are all five of us tagging along?"
"Because she casually mentioned that she's now married to some supreme leader or boss of a Yakuza gang," Ella dropped the bombshell calmly. "There is no way we are letting you walk into a den of gangsters without backup."
"A Yakuza boss?!" I choked slightly, immediately pulling my purse open to grab my device. "Well, in that case, I should definitely call Section E for some real backup."
Before I could even unlock the screen, Honey lunged across the table and snatched the phone straight out of my hand. "No! We are absolutely not telling any of the boys where we are going or what our mission is. We can handle this ourselves!"
I looked at my empty hands, then back at Honey's determined face, and slowly nodded. Fine. No boyfriends allowed. I quickly finished off the rest of my giant meal and looked around the table. "How much time is this whole thing going to take?"
"Probably half the day... or maybe the entire day," Saki answered quietly.
I breathed a silent sigh of relief. Thank goodness I had eaten enough to last me a full twenty-four hours.
We all stood up from the table and huddled close, carefully mapping out every single detail of our game plan for when we arrived. Once the strategy was locked in, we marched out of the cafe, skipped booking another cab, and headed straight for the metro station because Yuri's mom had specifically requested to meet completely out of the city limits.
We boarded the train and huddled into a tight circle in the corner of the carriage. As the metro sped along the tracks, we loudly went over everyone's individual tasks one last time to make sure nothing went wrong. A few commuters sitting near us were staring with wide, terrified eyes, completely convinced they were trapped on a train with a girl-gang planning a literal cartel murder. But we just completely ignored them. We had a much more important mission to finish.
Just as the metro was about to pull into our final stop, I decided I should probably call Keifer. Even if I couldn't give him details, I at least needed to let him know I wouldn't be home for a while. I dug my phone out of my purse and pressed the power button, but the screen remained completely black. It was totally dead.
"Hey, I need to make a quick call to Keifer," I announced, looking around the circle. "Can I borrow one of your phones?"
The girls immediately began rummaging through their bags to check their devices.
"I don't have any load," Ella and Saki chorused in perfect, defeated unison.
"Mine is completely dead too," Freya and Honey replied at the exact same time.
I let out a massive sigh, slapping my palm against my forehead. "Great. He is going to be absolutely worried to death."
"It's fine, Jayjay," Ella reassured me, patting my shoulder. "It's only going to take us a little while anyway."
I gave a tight nod as the train finally came to a halt. We stepped off the metro and looked around the unfamiliar city. Unlike our hometown, the atmosphere here felt completely tense and heavy. Wasting no time, we booked another cab and drove straight to the coordinates Yuri's mom had sent.
The taxi pulled up in front of a massive skyscraper that was easily twice the size of Yuri's family building. We marched inside, and a polite Japanese girl immediately approached me.
"Miss Mariano?" she asked in a low voice.
I gave a firm nod. She motioned for me to follow her, and I subtly signaled the rest of the girls to trail closely behind us. She led us down a long hallway to a pair of large double doors. Pushing them open, I stepped boldly into the room. There she wasâYuri's mother, standing by the window. She turned around, a sharp smile spreading across her face as her eyes locked onto me.
"Well, well, well... look who actually decided to show up," she sneered, stepping forward. "I want toâ"
"Just listen to me first," I cut her off instantly, crossing my arms defensively. "You are living completely in the past. It's a past that the rest of us have happily moved on from, but you are still miserably stuck in it. For your information, I have completely forgiven Keifer. Section E and Section A are on perfectly good terms now. And Yuri is living his life happily with his actual girlfriend, who happens to be Japanese."
I took a step closer, letting out a sharp breath. "And from what I know about the Hanamichi clan, they would never accept a non-Japanese girl as their one and only heir's girlfriend or wife. So you should be thrilled that Yuri found a Japanese girl who loves him with all her heart. Oh... but I completely forgot. You aren't even Mrs. Hanamichi anymore, are you? Mrs. Yakuza," I added, a mocking smirk playing on my lips.
To my surprise, she didn't flinch. Instead, she let out a cold chuckle. "Oh, Jayjay... I really thought you were smart enough to differentiate between a cheap rumor and the actual truth." My smirk vanished, a wave of confusion hitting me as she smiled triumphantly. "I am still very much Mrs. Hanamichi. The whole Yakuza story was just a little lie to confuse my enemies. And as for everything you just said? I don't believe a single word of it. Listen to me carefully: you are going to marry my son, and you cannot deny it. Because if you do, I will ensure the Fernandez Corporation is completely destroyed."
Hearing her threat, I didn't cry or panic. Instead, I burst into a loud, mocking laugh.
"Wow, nice joke," I said, my voice dripping with pure amusement as my smirk returned wider than before. "How exactly can I become someone else's bride when I am already legally married? I am Keifer's wife. I am Mrs. Watson. And as for the Fernandez Corporation? You can't touch a single brick of it. Keifer is personally backing them up, and your empty threats can't change that."
Her face went completely pale, her eyes widening in sheer shock. "W-what...? You're married to Keifer Watson?!"
I nodded proudly. Right on cue, I reached back and flung the double doors wide open. Ella, Freya, Honey, and Saki marched into the room in a solid, united line, with Saki stepping directly to the front and center.
"Are you seriously supposed to be a mother?" Ella demanded angrily, glaring at the woman. "Yuri has completely moved on from the past. He finally found a girl who truly loves him for who he is, and yet you still want to destroy his happiness?!"
"What is the meaning of this..." the woman stammered, completely blindsided.
"Whether you call yourself Mrs. Hanamichi or Mrs. Yakuza, you don't get to dictate our lives anymore!" Saki declared fiercely, stepping closer to her. "This is our future, and we have the right to decide it for ourselves. Yuri and I love each other, and we are absolutely never going to end this relationship."
Yuri's mom stared at Saki's fierce, unwavering expression for a long moment, the power completely draining from her posture. "Do you... do you really love my son that much?"
Saki didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. "Yes. I do."
The woman let out a defeated sigh, turning her back to us. "Fine. You all can leave."
"Wait a minute," Freya spoke up sharply before we could turn around. "First, you need to give us a definitive guarantee that you will never interfere in any of our lives ever again."
"And that includes Yuri's life too," Saki added firmly. "He never wants to see your face again."
"And especially leave Jayjay alone," Honey chimed in defensively, shielding me with her posture.
Backed into a corner by five furious girls, the woman quietly muttered, "Okay, fine."
We didn't wait around for her to say another syllable. We turned on our heels and walked out of that giant building, practically glowing with happiness. The heavy weight was completely gone. She was officially out of my life forever.
By the time we made it back to the crowded streets, the afternoon sun was already dipping below the horizon, painting the sky in evening shades.
"Wait, before we head back, let's do some shopping!" Freya cheered, her eyes lighting up as she pointed down the boulevard. "This city is known for having the absolute best malls!"
The rest of us instantly cheered, completely on board with celebrating our victory.
...
Three hours later, we were completely exhausted. We had been shopping nonstop, and our arms were heavily loaded down with dozens of glossy shopping bags. Realizing we literally couldn't carry another thing, we finally decided to call it a day. We lugged our treasures over to the metro station and boarded the train back home.
By the time the metro finally pulled back into our home city, the sky above had turned into a pitch-black blanket of night.
"Let's just head over to my place and have a giant dinner together," I suggested, my stomach letting out a familiar rumble.
The girls all nodded in enthusiastic agreement. We flagged down a nearby cab, piled all of our shopping bags into the trunk, and slid into the seats. I leaned forward and gave the taxi driver my home address, completely oblivious to the utter chaos waiting for us inside the mansion.
The cab finally pulled up to the mansion gates. We hopped out, giggling and chatting as we retrieved our massive mountain of shopping bags from the trunk. Still laughing and talking animatedly about our successful day, we pushed open the heavy front doors of the mansion and stepped inside.
The laughter instantly died in our throats.
Standing right there in the living room, keys in hand, were Edrix, Aries, Percy, Yuri, and Keifer. They looked completely exhausted, frustrated, and running on pure panic. The exact second their eyes landed on us, the room erupted. Percy, Yuri, Aries, and Edrix instantly bolted forward, rushing to their respective girlfriends and throwing their arms around them in pure relief.
My eyes, however, stayed locked entirely on Keifer. His intense glare met mine. He didn't run. Instead, he took slow, heavy, deliberate steps toward me. Before I could even utter a syllable, he lunged forward and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.
The sudden, forceful impact completely caught me off guard. My hands instantly lost their grip, and all of my glossy shopping bags fell to the floor, scattering everywhere. I didn't care. I wrapped my arms tightly around his broad back, gently rubbing it to soothe his trembling frame.
"Hoi, what happened?" I whispered against his shoulder.
He didn't answer right away. He just held onto me like I would disappear if he let go, burying his face into my hair. Finally, he pulled away just enough to look down into my eyes, his face etched with pure frustration.
"Where on earth were you, Jay?!" he demanded, the questions pouring out before I could even open my mouth. "Why didn't you tell me anything before leaving? Do you have any idea how worried I was? Do you know how much I looked for you today?! Is your absolute favorite hobby just making me worry myself to death?!"
I instinctively looked around the living room for backup, but the other couples had completely vanished, probably sneaking off to get some privacy.
"Look at me, Jay," Keifer commanded softly.
I shifted my gaze back to him, suddenly feeling a massive wave of guilt. "I'm sorry... I was just out shopping with the girls, and I completely forgot to check the time," I mumbled, lowering my gaze to the floor.
"You could have just called me and told me that," he said, his voice straining.
"Our phones were dead," I explained truthfully.
Keifer raised an eyebrow, completely skeptical. "All five of them?"
"Well, no... Saki and Ella didn't have any load on their SIMs," I muttered. I tried to look him in the eye, but the sheer guilt was too much, so I looked back down at my shoes. "I'm sorry," I whispered.
Keifer let out a long, heavy sigh. Reaching out, he gently placed his fingers under my chin, lifting my face up so I was forced to look directly into his eyes.
"It's okay," he murmured softly, the anger completely draining from his features. "Just... next time, please tell me before you leave the house."
I nodded quickly, promising him. Relief washed over his face, and he pulled me right back into his arms for another warm, tight hug. I hugged him back, completely melting into his chest.
"I'm really hungry now," I mumbled against his shirt.
Keifer burst into a soft, genuine laugh, shaking his head. He pulled away, giving me a tender look before turning around and heading straight toward the kitchen. Knowing he was about to whip up something for my empty stomach, I quickly hurried up to our bedroom to take a quick shower and freshen up.
When I finally came back downstairs, a fresh, delicious-looking meal was already perfectly settled on the dining table. I slid into a chair, and Keifer walked over, taking his usual seat right beside me.
"Oh wow... this looks absolutely delicious," I whispered, my eyes widening.
I immediately dug in, happily devouring the food. But as I ate, I couldn't help but steal a shy glance at Keifer from the corner of my eye. And every single time I did, I caught him doing the exact same thing, watching me with a quiet, loving smile.
"Oh! I just remembered," I said suddenly, pausing mid-chew to look over at him. "Yesterday, you got a phone call from some guy named Clyde... Wylde? Something like that. He said you completely missed a really important meeting."
Keifer shrugged casually, taking a sip of his drink. "Yeah, it's fine. Don't worry about it."
"Fine?!" I gasped, staring at him in disbelief. "You better get on a plane to London tomorrow morning and deal with whoever that Clyde guy is and whatever meeting you missed!"
Keifer opened his mouth, clearly about to object, but I pointed my fork directly at him before he could even start.
"And that is my official order," I declared, raising my chin proudly.
Keifer just stared at me, completely speechless, before letting out a helpless sigh and nodding his head in utter defeat. Yeah, he knew better than to argue with his queen.
The End đ¸.