Chapter 146– Preparations & Our Chaos
Watson Mansion
New York
T - 7 Days Until The Wedding
The mansion was no longer a mansion.
It was a battlefield.
A war zone.
A disaster.
A psychological experiment.
Because somehow—
planning a wedding for Jasper Jean Mariano and Keifer Watson in one week had become everyone's problem.
---
Day One
The Planning Meeting
Everyone gathered.
Wedding planners.
Designers.
Security teams.
Photographers.
Florists.
Caterers.
And unfortunately—
Percy.
The head planner smiled nervously.
Planner: "Miss Mariano, what kind of wedding would you like?"
JJ thought seriously for a moment.
JJ: "Pretty."
The planner nodded.
Planner: "Any theme?"
JJ: "Pretty."
The planner froze.
Planner: "Color palette?"
JJ: "Pretty."
The planner looked like he was about to resign.
Meanwhile—
Keifer had already opened a seventy-six-page document.
JJ: "Why do you have seventy-six pages?"
Keifer: "Preparation."
Percy: "Psychological illness."
---
Day Two
Dress Shopping
Big mistake.
Huge mistake.
Catastrophic mistake.
JJ wanted simple.
Freya wanted dramatic.
Ash wanted iconic.
Honey wanted elegant.
Lyra wanted practical.
Result?
Three hours of arguing.
Seven dresses.
Two designers crying.
One model fainting.
And JJ hiding inside a changing room.
Outside—
Keifer sat patiently.
Waiting.
For six hours.
Without complaint.
Percy stared at him.
Percy: "He is so down bad."
Without looking up from his phone, Cole replied—
Cole: "Very."
---
Day Three
Guest List Disaster
JJ wanted everyone.
Keifer wanted everyone.
The result was almost six hundred guests.
Cole looked at the list.
Cole: "No."
Keifer: "Why?"
Cole: "Because you're getting married."
A pause.
Cole: "Not hosting the Olympics."
---
Day Four
Cake Testing
The worst day of Honey's life.
And the best day of Percy's.
Because every five minutes—
Honey: "Stop eating the samples."
Percy: "I'm helping."
Honey: "You're eating."
Percy: "Same thing."
By the end—
nobody knew which cake won.
Because Percy had eaten most of them.
---
Day Five
Security Planning
JJ entered the room and immediately saw files.
Lots of files.
JJ: "Why are there files?"
Keifer: "Security."
JJ: "How many pages?"
Keifer: "Three hundred."
The room fell silent.
Percy: "Are we invading a country?"
---
Day Six
Wedding Rehearsal
Everything went wrong.
Percy forgot where to stand.
Honey threatened him.
Freya laughed so hard she cried.
Ash laughed harder.
Yuri couldn't stop watching Ash.
Lyra walked the wrong direction.
Alex followed her.
Rhys somehow became the most competent person in the room.
And then—
JJ nearly tripped.
Before anyone could react—
Keifer caught her.
Automatically.
Like breathing.
Like instinct.
Like always.
The entire room immediately exploded.
Everyone: "AWWWW!"
JJ: "Stop."
Nobody stopped.
---
Day Seven
The Night Before
Finally.
Everything was ready.
The venue.
The flowers.
The decorations.
The guests.
The vows.
Everything.
For the first time all week—
the mansion was quiet.
JJ sat alone on the balcony.
Watching New York's lights.
Thinking.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow she would become Mrs. Watson.
The thought felt unreal.
A moment later—
someone sat beside her.
Keifer.
Of course.
JJ smiled softly.
JJ: "You planned this for eight months."
Keifer: "Yes."
JJ: "You're insane."
Keifer: "Probably."
She leaned against his shoulder.
For a moment—
everything felt peaceful.
The wars.
The grief.
The losses.
The pain.
All of it felt distant.
Just for tonight.
Keifer pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead.
Keifer: "Ready?"
JJ looked up at him.
The boy she met years ago.
The man she loved now.
Her best friend.
Her family.
Her forever.
And she smiled.
JJ: "Yeah."
A pause.
JJ: "I think I am."
---
Wedding Day
8:04 AM
Watson Mansion
Chaos.
---
Absolute chaos.
---
People running.
---
Makeup artists screaming.
---
Wedding planners crying.
---
Florists fixing flowers.
---
Security teams moving around.
---
And somehow—
everything was still on schedule.
---
A miracle.
---
Meanwhile
Keifer Watson was suffering.
---
Terribly.
---
Horribly.
---
Unfairly.
---
Because everyone had collectively decided—
the groom was not allowed to see the bride.
---
Not until the ceremony.
---
Keifer
Was currently standing outside a hallway.
---
Staring at the closed door.
---
JJ's room.
---
His room.
---
His fiancée.
---
His future wife.
---
And he wasn't allowed inside.
---
Percy
Standing beside him.
---
Eating chips.
---
For emotional support.
---
Keifer: "I hate all of you."
Percy: "Love you too."
Keifer: "Move."
Percy: "No."
---
Keifer tried walking forward.
---
Immediately—
three people blocked him.
---
Honey.
---
Ash.
---
Freya.
---
Like bodyguards.
---
Very dangerous bodyguards.
---
Keifer: "Move."
Freya: "No."
Keifer: "I'm literally marrying her."
Ash: "Later."
Keifer: "She's my fiancée."
Honey: "And currently under our protection."
---
Keifer looked ready to commit crimes.
---
Upstairs
JJ was getting ready.
---
The room felt strangely quiet.
---
Not because nobody was there.
---
There were plenty of people.
---
Ash.
---
Honey.
---
Lyra.
---
Freya.
---
Cin.
---
Ella.
---
Everyone.
---
But today felt different.
---
Because today wasn't just a wedding.
---
Today was proof.
---
Proof that after everything—
they survived.
---
JJ
Looked at herself in the mirror.
---
For a moment—
she couldn't speak.
---
The dress was beautiful.
---
Elegant.
---
Soft.
---
Perfect.
---
Exactly the kind of dress Keifer would've chosen.
---
Which was annoying.
---
Because he actually had.
---
Eight months ago.
---
Then
The door opened.
---
And everyone turned.
---
Cole Watson
Entered quietly.
---
The room instantly softened.
---
Because no matter how much time passed—
they all knew.
---
A piece of him never came back.
---
Not after Care.
---
JJ
Immediately smiled.
---
JJ: "Looking old, Watson."
---
A tiny smile appeared.
---
One of the rare ones.
---
Cole: "Looking dramatic, Mariano."
---
JJ: "Thank you."
---
Cole: "That wasn't a compliment."
---
JJ: "I know."
---
For a second—
everyone laughed.
---
Then silence returned.
---
Because suddenly—
Cole was looking at her.
---
Not as JJ.
---
Not as his future sister-in-law.
---
Not as the Mutya of Section E.
---
But as family.
---
The girl Care loved.
---
The girl who stayed.
---
The girl who helped everyone survive.
---
Cole
Walked closer.
---
Then placed a hand on her head.
---
Like he used to.
---
Cole: "She would've loved this."
---
Silence.
---
Immediate silence.
---
JJ's eyes filled.
---
So did Lyra's.
---
So did Ash's.
---
Because nobody needed to ask who "she" was.
---
They all knew.
---
Care.
---
Always Care.
---
Cole: "She would've spent the entire morning annoying everyone."
---
A laugh escaped JJ.
---
A broken one.
---
JJ: "And stealing food."
---
Lyra: "And bullying Percy."
---
Ash: "And threatening Keifer."
---
Everyone laughed.
---
And cried.
---
At the same time.
---
Cole
Looked toward the window.
---
For a second.
---
Then back at JJ.
---
Cole: "Be happy today."
---
His voice was soft.
---
Very soft.
---
Cole: "Someone should."
---
The room went silent again.
---
Because that sentence hurt.
---
A lot.
---
JJ
Suddenly stood.
---
Walked forward.
---
And hugged him.
---
Tightly.
---
Cole froze.
---
Then slowly hugged her back.
---
JJ
Whispered quietly.
---
JJ: "You deserve happiness too."
---
Cole didn't answer.
---
Because he couldn't.
---
Not yet.
---
Downstairs
Keifer was still suffering.
---
Keifer: "Has anyone seen JJ?"
---
Percy: "No."
---
Keifer: "Liar."
---
Percy: "Correct."
---
Keifer: "I'm serious."
---
Percy: "So am I."
---
Keifer grabbed him.
---
Percy screamed dramatically.
---
Honey recorded everything.
---
Then
Alex appeared.
---
Immediately laughing.
---
Alex: "He's trying to escape again."
---
Keifer: "I just want to see my fiancée."
---
Rhys: "No."
---
Keifer: "Why?"
---
Rhys: "Tradition."
---
Keifer: "I don't care."
---
Everyone: "We know."
---
Upstairs
The final touches were done.
---
The veil.
---
The jewelry.
---
Everything.
---
And finally—
everyone stepped back.
---
Looking at JJ.
---
The room became quiet.
---
Because suddenly—
it felt real.
---
Really real.
---
In a few hours—
she would walk down that aisle.
---
And Keifer Watson—
the boy who fell in love with her years ago—
would be waiting.
---
Exactly where he always was.
---
For her.
---
JJ
Took a deep breath.
---
Then smiled.
---
A genuine one.
---
A happy one.
---
And for the first time that morning—
she felt ready.
---
Chapter End
💍🖤✨