Clyden (POV)
I reached London. After landing at the airport, I freshened up and headed straight to the main Watson mansion to meet Grandfather.
The walls of the mansion were tall, like the hearts of the people living inside it.
They were not built to protect people from the outside world.
They were built to keep everyone inside from getting hurt.
I had been alone since I was ten years old, raised by elders who always expected more from me.
As I walked toward the main hall, I heard voices.
"What are you doing?" Grandfather asked coldly. "Kiefer already has half of the shareholders on his side."
"Cedric, you worked so hard to get this far," another elder said. "And now you're going to throw everything away for someone worthless like him?"
I stayed quiet.
Not one of them wished me a happy birthday.
Not one of them even remembered.
All they cared about was money.
"I'll find a way," I said quietly.
Then I walked out.
The second I stepped outside, my phone vibrated.
It was a message from Jay Jay.
When are you coming back?? It's so boring here.
Without realizing it, I smiled.
"What are you smiling at?"
I looked up.
Kiefer was walking toward me.
He looked half dead.
Maybe it was because of Jay Jay.
Maybe it was because of the inheritance.
Or maybe it was both.
But I could not tell him the truth.
Grandfather had already tried to kill her once in a car accident.
Even in the hospital, she had not been safe.
That was why I brought her to the island lucky I heard when they talk on phone.
Maybe I had been selfish, too.
At first, I only wanted to use her to take back what was mine.
But I was not cruel enough to let her die.
I already knew what it felt like to lose people.
After Kiefer's birthday, I would tell him everything.
That he was the one who held her heart.
Even when she forgot everything else, she still whispered his name in her sleep.
Like he was the only thing left connecting her to her past.
He was lucky to have someone like her in his life.
"Come with me," I said.
He frowned, but followed me.
I handed him the files from the project we were working on.
"If you want to survive as a Watson," I said coldly, "then at least learn how to handle this."
Then I walked away.
I did not want to help him.
But if he succeeded, Jay could be happy.
At least she could be with the person she loved.
Unlike me.
I could not protect the woman I loved.
Even when she died in front of me, I could not do anything.
I finished my work and closed a few projects.
A few hours later, I returned to Manlia.
By the time I reached the private island, it was already late.
She was probably asleep.
When I walked into the house, I saw her lying on the couch.
She must have been waiting for me.
For a second, I remembered the doctor's words.
"She has probably gone through too much trauma in the past. Her body is used to pain. A normal person would need at least two or three weeks to walk properly, but she was already walking in the first week.
"And her memory loss is temporary. If she finds the right trigger, she will remember everything. But right now… her mind is trying very hard not to remember."
I looked at her sleeping face.
Then slowly, I touched her hair.
Her eyes opened immediately.
"You're here," she said sleepily. "You took so long. I almost thought you weren't coming back."
Before I could answer, she suddenly stood up.
"Wait here," she said.
She ran toward the refrigerator and came back carrying a small cake.
"Come here," she said proudly. "Happy birthday, Clyden."
I froze.
For a second, I could not even speak.
No one remembered.
But she did.
Then suddenly, she stumbled.
The cake slipped from her hands and fell upside down onto the floor.
"Holy shit," she said.
I looked at the ruined cake.
"It's okay," I said quietly. "It's not important."
"Why?" she asked.
Then she picked up the part of the cake that was still fine, put a candle on top of it, and smiled.
"Let's just eat the part that didn't touch the floor," she said. "Now make a wish, birthday boy."
She started singing a birthday song.
I looked at her.
I wanted to tell her the truth.
That she was the first person who ever made me feel like I mattered.
That she was the first person who made me want to come home.
Instead, I stayed quiet.
I closed my eyes.
I hope you stay in my life forever.
Then I blew out the candle.
"Thanks for being born," she said. "Now eat it and tell me how it is."
"Is this going to be my last day on earth?" I teased. "After eating this, am I going to survive?"
"Isn't it your luck that you get to eat this?" Jay said proudly. "You only get to eat it once in a lifetime."
I took a bite.
"It's too sweet," I said. Then I looked at her. "But it's good."
"Then why is your face so grumpy?" she asked. "Can't you say it's nice with a smile?"
So I smiled.
The next day, she spent most of the morning rolling around on the couch.
She watched TV.
Then she played video games.
She looked bored out of her mind.
Finally, she dropped face-first onto the couch.
"I'm bored," she said dramatically. "You're such a boring company."
"What do you want to do?" I asked.
"We're at the beach," she said. "When people think of beaches, they think of two things. Swimming and sandcastles."
She pointed at herself.
"I can't swim right now, so we're doing the second one."
I stared at her.
"You want me to build a sandcastle?"
"Yes," she said immediately. "I'll get bored if I do it alone."
I looked down at the papers in my hand.
"You've been working nonstop," she said softly. "You need a break. You look tired."
So I went with her.
We sat on the sand together.
She taught me how to build walls, towers, and tiny stairs.
And somehow…
I was actually good at it.
"You're really good," she said with a grin.
I looked at the sandcastle.
No one had ever said something like that to me before.
No one had ever cared if I was tired.
No one had ever wanted anything from me except money, power, or success.
But with her…
For the first time in years…
I was not Acting CEO Clyden Watson.
I was just Clyden.
Just a normal person.
Later that evening, she asked me about my childhood.
I looked away.
"My childhood wasn't happy," I admitted quietly. "I lost my parents when I was young. In college, I found someone I loved, but she died in an accident.
"After that, I became scared to love anyone.
"I became cold and distant.
"I started running a company while I was still in college.
"And now, the company I built feels like it belongs to someone else.
"I don't even know what I want anymore.
"I like talking to people, but I never let anyone get close to me because they always want something from my name or my money.
"To be honest… I never wanted the Watson name."
She stayed quiet and listened.
"But it's all I have," I said. "If I lose it, then I lose everything. People will leave. They'll look down on me. They'll treat me differently."
"No, they won't," she said immediately.
I looked at her.
"I won't," she said softly. "You're still the same Clyden. I don't care if you have the Watson name or not."
I stared at her.
"You're wrong, Clyden," she continued. "Don't say you're nothing without it. I see how hard you work. I see how much pressure you're under.
"You act like you have to carry everything alone."
I looked down.
"You're not weak," she said. "You're strong. You're patient with me."
Then she smiled.
"I want you to be happy like a normal person. I want you to live a life you won't regret.
"We can't satisfy everyone in life. People will always judge us.
"So don't live by what they say.
"Believe in yourself.
"Show them your success.
"Make them shut up.
"And prove yourself.
"It's okay to be selfish for your happiness.
"We're human."
"Then can I ask you something?" I asked.
She nodded.
"Can you call me Kuya?
"I don't have a sister.
"When I'm with you, I feel like I have family.
"So can I be selfish?
"And even after you get your memory back… can you stay?"
She blinked.
"I thought you were going to ask me something serious."
Then she smiled.
"Okay, Kuya. I promise I will stay no matter what."
A few days later, I slipped in the bathroom.
"What the hell?" I cursed.
"Kuya, I forgot to tell you to be careful in the bathroom," she shouted.
"You need to tell me before I go inside," I shouted back.
"I can hear you," she said between laughs.
"If I get out of here, you're dead," I warned.
I ended up hurting my leg.
A few minutes later, I was sitting in the hall with a bandage wrapped around my ankle.
Jay Jay sat beside me.
She had a bandage on, too.
Then suddenly, she lightly kicked my injured leg.
I looked at her in shock.
She immediately started giggling.
"Why would you do that?" I asked.
"We're the same now," she said proudly.
"What?"
"I wanted a bubble bath," she said. "But I put in three bottles of soap, and the whole bathroom turned into foam."
I stared at her.
"That is definitely your fault."
"No," she said seriously. "It's the foam's fault." We both laughed
A few minutes later, she found a marker on the table.
"Can I write something?" she asked.
Before I could answer, she grabbed my leg and started writing on the bandage.
I looked down.
Let's be selfish for our happiness.
The last two weeks were filled with chaotic happiness.
Messy days.
Laughter.
For the first time in years, I felt alive.
Tomorrow was Kiefer's birthday.
Tomorrow, I could finally leave the Watson Group behind.
And tomorrow, she could finally find her past, too.
We sat on the beach, drinking milk tea together.
Then I looked at her.
"Jay," I said softly, "let's go to London together."