Jay-Jay (POV)
I was still sitting in the car, staring blankly through the windshield.
I had no idea what to do.
If I went home now, I would have to face Kiefer.
And I wasn't sure I could survive that.
Not after the dream.
Not after spending the entire day replaying it in my head like some cursed movie that refused to end.
I groaned and dropped my forehead against the steering wheel.
This was a disaster.
A complete disaster.
The worst part?
While I was having a full emotional crisis, he was probably at home feeding the baby and minding his own business.
Meanwhile, I was out here fighting for my life.
I groaned into the steering wheel.
At this rate, I wasn't going to survive the day.
Forget heart attacks.
I was going to die from frustration.
The only logical solution was escape.
So instead of driving home, I turned the car toward the Fernandez mansion.
Maybe spending time with Ion would distract me.
Maybe she'd give me tea.
Maybe she'd magically solve all my problems.
At this point, I was willing to try anything.
A few minutes later, I pulled into the driveway and walked inside.
The moment I stepped through the front door—
I heard yelling.
I froze.
"...What now?"
The voices were coming from the living room.
One belonged to Aries.
The other belonged to Ella.
I immediately recognized both.
In fact, maybe I should leave right now.
Then my curiosity kicked in.
Unfortunately, curiosity had always been my greatest weakness.
I watched as Ella thrust her phone toward Aries.
She looked upset.
Really upset.
Aries frowned at whatever was on the screen.
They exchanged a few words too quietly for me to hear.
Then suddenly, Ella's eyes filled with tears.
Before I could process what was happening, she turned and walked away.
I blinked.
Then blinked again.
Well.
That didn't look good.
The moment she disappeared around the corner, I walked toward Aries.
He looked exhausted.
Which only made me more suspicious.
I stopped in front of him and crossed my arms.
"Are you cheating on her?"
Aries nearly choked.
"What?"
"Are you cheating on Ella?"
"Where did that come from?"
"The crying."
"What crying?"
"The crying I literally just witnessed."
Aries stared at me.
I stared back.
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"No. I'm not cheating on her."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Promise?"
"Jay-Jay."
"That's not an answer."
Aries looked like he was questioning every life decision that had led to this conversation.
"I'm not cheating."
I narrowed my eyes.
He narrowed his eyes right back.
The standoff lasted several seconds.
Finally, Aries sighed.
"What are you doing here anyway?"
I immediately straightened.
"Visiting."
"Visiting?"
"Yes."
He gave me a look.
A very specific look.
The kind that said he wasn't buying it.
I looked away.
Aries' eyes narrowed.
"...What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything."
"Then why do you look guilty?"
"I don't look guilty."
"You absolutely look guilty."
I clicked my tongue.
Why was everyone interrogating me today?
First Kiegen.
Now Aries.
I hadn't committed a crime.
Meanwhile, Aries suddenly smirked.
A very dangerous smirk.
"Did you and Kiefer fight?"
I nearly choked.
"No!"
The answer came out much too quickly.
Aries' smirk widened.
"Oh."
I immediately pointed a finger at him.
"Unlike you, Kiefer would never cheat on me."
The words came out with so much confidence that even I was impressed.
Aries looked offended.
"Jay, I'm not cheating on anyone. It's just a misunderstanding."
"Hmm."
The sound alone carried all my suspicions.
Aries rolled his eyes.
"Believe whatever you want."
"I will."
"You're impossible."
"And you're suspicious."
He looked seconds away from throwing me out of the mansion.
Deciding to save my life, I changed the subject.
"Where's Tita?"
I looked around the massive living room.
No sign of her.
Aries frowned.
"Didn't Mom tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"She went to visit Grandmother."
"Oh."
"With IonAte with kids."
I blinked.
Then blinked again.
"Oh."
A pause.
Then realization hit.
"Oh."
Aries stared at me.
"You forgot, didn't you?"
He sighed heavily.
I smiled sheepishly.
"With your IQ, it's honestly impressive you remember your own name."
My jaw dropped.
"What did you just say?"
I was already rolling up my sleeves.
Then my phone rang.
Both of us looked down.
The screen lit up.
King of Ulupong Calling...
My entire body froze.
Immediately.
Aries noticed.
Of course, he noticed.
The traitor noticed everything.
His eyes slowly moved from the phone to my face.
Then back to the phone.
Then back to my face.
A slow grin appeared.
Oh no.
"No," I said immediately.
Aries hadn't even spoken yet.
His grin widened.
"It's True. You're avoiding Kiefer."
"Aries."
"You drove all the way here."
"To visit Tita."
"Who isn't even home?"
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
Aries folded his arms triumphantly.
"Exactly."
I hated him.
I truly hated him.
The phone continued ringing.
Aries pointed dramatically at the screen.
"Answer your husband."
"I will," I grumbled.
I walked outside before answering the call.
The second I pressed the button and lifted the phone to my ear—
"Why the hell aren't you answering my calls?"
I winced.
"And why are you still not home?"
Well.
Someone sounded annoyed.
"I'm coming home," I said quickly.
There was a brief silence.
"Good."
Then he hung up.
Just like that.
I stared at my phone.
"Rude."
After saying goodbye to Aries—and threatening to punch him if he told anyone about today—I headed home.
The moment I walked through the front door, I found Kiefer waiting in the living room.
One leg crossed over the other.
One arm stretched across the back of the couch.
Looking entirely too comfortable.
Like he had been waiting for me.
The thought alone made my heart do something weird.
"So you're finally here."
I ignored the strange feeling and walked over.
Then calmly sat beside him.
Very calmly.
Extremely calmly.
Definitely not overthinking anything.
Kiefer looked at me for a moment.
Then—
"Wife."
"Hm?"
"Let's go on a date."
I blinked.
A date?
A real date?
My brain immediately started imagining all kinds of things.
A walk.
A movie.
Maybe somewhere romantic.
Then reality kicked in.
"The baby?"
"You don't need to worry about anything."
His answer came immediately.
"I already talked to Kiegen and Kiran."
I stared at him.
"When?"
"I called them."
Of course, he had.
"Everything's taken care of."
Then his expression softened slightly.
"Today, let's just be Jay and Kiefer."
For some reason, that simple sentence made my chest tighten.
So I nodded.
"...Okay."
And just like that, we left.
The problem was—
I forgot who my husband was.
I had expected something romantic.
Maybe flowers.
Maybe a walk.
Maybe a peaceful dinner.
Instead—
Kiefer took me to eat.
Then eat again.
Then eat somewhere else.
And then somewhere else.
At first, I was excited.
Then surprised.
Then confused.
Then concerned.
"Kiefer."
"Hm?"
"We just ate."
"I know."
"So why are we here?"
"The desserts are good."
And somehow that logic made perfect sense to him.
The entire day felt less like a romantic date and more like we were filming a food-review channel.
Every time I thought we were done—
Another restaurant appeared.
Another café.
Another snack stand.
Another dessert.
I wasn't complaining.
The food was amazing.
But there was only so much one person could eat.
By evening, I felt full.
My stomach had officially surrendered.
I leaned back in my seat.
"Kiefer."
"Hm?"
"If you buy me one more meal, I'm going to explode."
His lips twitched.
"Noted."
That was the last thing I remembered.
The combination of a full stomach, a long day, and finally relaxing around him caught up to me.
My eyelids grew heavy.
Very heavy.
I meant to stay awake.
I really did.
But sometimes during the drive—
I fell asleep without even realizing it.
The last thing I vaguely felt was someone adjusting a jacket around my shoulders.
And a familiar hand brushing gently through my hair.
Then everything faded into comfortable darkness.
When I finally opened my eyes, I heard the distant sound of waves.
For a moment, I just blinked in confusion.
Waves?
I pushed myself upright.
The air smelled different.
Fresh.
Salty.
My eyes widened.
Slowly, I opened the car door.
A cool breeze immediately brushed against my face.
I stepped out and froze.
A beach.
In front of me, Kiefer was adjusting a blanket on the sand.
"Kiefer," I whispered.
He looked up.
The moment our eyes met, he smiled.
"There you are."
My heart did that stupid thing again.
"You're finally awake."
He walked toward me and extended his hand.
"Come here."
I took it without thinking.
Then he suddenly stopped.
"Close your eyes."
"What?"
"Close them."
"Why?"
"Because I said so."
I finally obeyed.
The next thing I knew, Kiefer lifted me into his arms.
"Kiefer!"
"Just stay."
I could hear the amusement in his voice.
A few moments later, he carefully put me down.
The instant my feet touched the ground, cool water rushed over my ankles.
I gasped.
"Open your eyes."
His voice was soft.
Close.
Very close.
I slowly opened them.
And forgot how to breathe.
The ocean stretched endlessly before me.
The dark water shimmered with tiny blue lights.
Every wave carried thousands of glowing sparks.
The shoreline looked like it had been covered in stars.
I stared.
Then stared some more.
"It's beautiful..."
The glowing blue lights danced around my feet whenever the water moved.
I crouched down immediately.
My fingers brushed against the water.
The blue light swirled around them.
I laughed.
Actually laughed.
A bright, uncontrollable laugh.
"Kiefer!"
"What?"
"Did you do something?"
He looked offended.
"Why would I do something?"
I pointed dramatically at the ocean.
"It's glowing!"
He sighed.
I immediately straightened and placed a hand over my chest.
Then, in my deepest, most dramatic voice, I announced—
"Who are you, Mark Kiefer Watson?"
Kiefer's eyebrows rose instantly.
I pointed accusingly at him.
"You can do anything."
For three whole seconds, I maintained a serious expression.
Then Kiefer burst out laughing.
I laughed too.
Soon, we were splashing water at each other like children.
Every splash created another burst of glowing blue light.
The ocean sparkled around us.
The waves sparkled.
Even our footprints sparkled.
For the first time all day, I forgot about the dream.
Forgot about being embarrassed.
Forgot about avoiding him.
I was just...
Happy.
Genuinely happy.
A little later, we settled onto the sand.
I was still smiling when Kiefer suddenly spoke.
"Finally."
I looked at him.
"Hm?"
"You're laughing again."
"What does that mean?"
He looked toward the ocean.
"You've been acting strange since this morning."
My smile faltered slightly.
"You kept avoiding eye contact."
I froze.
"You barely looked at me."
My chest tightened.
"I thought I did something wrong."
The words hit harder than they should have.
I turned toward him.
Kiefer wasn't joking.
He genuinely looked concerned.
"I spent the whole day trying to figure out what happened."
I blinked.
The food.
The cafés.
The random stops.
The beach.
The date.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
I had spent the entire day convinced he was accidentally making my life difficult.
Meanwhile—
He had spent the entire day trying to make me smile.
Trying to fix a problem he didn't even understand.
Because he thought he had hurt me somehow.
Guilt immediately washed over me.
All because of a stupid dream.
A stupid dream that only existed inside my head.
And somehow Kiefer had been the one worrying.
I looked down at the glowing water around my feet.
Then back at him.
My heart felt impossibly full.
"Kiefer..."
For once, I didn't look away.
I held his gaze.
All day, I had been avoiding him.
Avoiding his eyes.
Avoiding his touch.
Avoid being alone with him.
But deep down, I already knew the truth.
I missed him.
More than I wanted to admit.
I missed the way he casually reached for my hand.
The way he pulled me close without thinking.
The way his touch always made me feel safe.
Comforted.
Loved.
And maybe that was why the dream had affected me so much.
Because it wasn't really about the dream.
It was about him.
About how much I had missed him.
How much I wanted to be close to him again.
I want to stop running from what I was feeling.
"Kiss me," I whispered.
His eyebrows lifted in surprise.
"What?"
Before he could say anything else, I climbed onto his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck.
And kissed him.
Not softly.
Not shyly.
Desperately, Hunger.
Like I had been holding myself back for far too long.
For a second, Kiefer froze.
Then his arms slid around my waist, adjusting his position to make me comfortable before pulling me closer.
And he kissed me back.
The world disappeared.
The ocean.
The breeze.
The endless noise inside my head.
Everything faded until there was only him.
My fingers curled into his shirt, clutching the fabric as though letting go would make him disappear.
His hold on me tightened.
The cool sea wind brushed against my skin, but it did nothing to calm the heat rushing through me.
Nothing could.
Only him.
Only his touch.
When the kiss finally broke, we were both breathless.
Forehead resting against his, I closed my eyes.
"I just wanted you," I confessed quietly.
My voice was barely more than a whisper.
"I wanted to feel your touch. I missed it."
I opened my eyes and met his gaze.
"Nothing is wrong with you, Kiefer."
Then I leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.
For a moment, he stared at me.
Then a familiar smirk slowly appeared.
Dangerous.
Beautiful.
The kind that always made my heart lose control.
"You know how hard I've been trying to behave myself," he murmured, his voice rough.
His hand brushed against my cheek.
"And yet you keep finding new ways to drive me crazy."
Heat rushed straight to my face.
His laugh was soft.
Affectionate.
Full of relief.
Then his gaze dropped.
From my eyes...
To my lips.
Back to my eyes again.
The look in them made my heart stumble.
It wasn't teasing anymore.
It wasn't amusement.
It was wanted.
The same want that had been building between us all day.
Slowly, he lifted his hand and cupped my cheek.
His skin was cool from the ocean water.
The contrast made me shiver.
"Kiefer..." I breathed.
His eyes darkened slightly at the sound of his name.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
The distance between us felt impossibly small.
Yet somehow still too much.
His thumb brushed lightly across my cheek.
Such a simple touch.
Yet it made my pulse race.
Made me want him closer.
Made me want to stay in this moment forever.
Then he leaned in.
And kissed me.
The kiss stole every coherent thought from my head.
Not rushed.
Not desperate.
Just deep.
Certain.
Like he was trying to tell me everything he couldn't put into words.
I tangled my fingers in his shirt, pulling myself closer.
His hand slid from my cheek to my wrist, holding it gently.
The coolness of his skin should have calmed me.
Instead, it only made me more aware of every place he touched.
Every place he didn't.
The world outside disappeared.
The waves.
The wind.
The fading sunlight.
None of it mattered.
There was only him.
Only the way he looked at me as though I was the most precious thing he had ever found.
Only the way he held me like he never wanted to let go.
And for the first time all day, I felt completely understood.
Completely wanted.
Completely loved.
When the kiss finally broke, my knees felt weak.
It was ridiculous.
His kisses.
His touch.
And somehow, he had turned my entire world upside down.
I immediately buried my face against his shoulder because there was absolutely no way I could look at him right now.
Not after that.
Not when my heart was racing so hard I was sure he could hear it.
Completely wanted.
Completely loved.
When the kiss finally broke, my knees felt weak.
It was ridiculous.
One kiss.
One touch.
And somehow, he had turned my entire world upside down.
I immediately buried my face against his shoulder because there was absolutely no way I could look at him right now.
Not after that.
Not when my heart was racing so hard I was sure he could hear it.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
The ocean waves crashed around us, cold water splashing against our legs as the tide kept trying to reach us.
Neither of us moved.
Neither of us cared.
I was still wrapped securely in Kiefer's arms, my face buried against his shoulder.
The salty wind tangled my hair.
Around us, the glowing blue water shimmered like scattered stars drifting across the surface of the ocean.
Every wave that touched the shore left behind trails of light, turning the beach into something almost magical.
The entire world seemed to glow beneath the night sky.
And somehow, even with the endless roar of the ocean surrounding us, I could hear it.
His heartbeat.
Fast.
Strong.
Unsteady.
I froze.
Then smiled.
Because Kiefer's heart was racing just as much as mine.
Even through the sound of the waves.
Even through the wind.
I could hear it.
Feel it.
The realization made warmth spread through my chest.
For someone who always looked calm and in control, his heartbeat was exposing every feeling he was trying to hide.
The kind he took whenever he was trying very hard to keep himself together.
"I can't do this," he said quietly.
Then he stood, lifting me effortlessly into his arms.
A startled sound escaped me as I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck.
My legs tightened around his waist while his arms settled securely around me, holding me as though letting go wasn't even an option.
For a moment, I froze.
The position was far too intimate.
Far too distracting.
Especially after everything that had happened.
Heat immediately rushed to my face.
I lowered my head and buried my face against his shoulder.
Only then did I notice the small beach house sitting not far from the shore.
I blinked.
Had that always been there?
Apparently, I had been far too distracted to notice.
The ocean water had soaked us both completely.
My clothes clung to me.
His hair was damp from the waves.
Yet neither of us seemed to care.
Kiefer carried me up the steps and into the house.
The moment we stepped inside, the distant roar of the ocean softened, becoming a gentle rhythm beyond the walls.
He carefully set me down.
Water dripped from our clothes onto the wooden floor.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
We simply looked at each other.
The moonlight spilled through the windows, bathing the room in silver light.
It felt almost unreal.
As if the night itself had paused to witness this moment.
As if the entire world had gone silent around us.
Kiefer's gaze never left mine.
There was a question in his eyes.
A vulnerability he rarely showed anyone.
No walls.
No masks.
Just him.
My heart tightened.
Slowly, I reached for him.
My fingers found the front of his shirt, gripping the damp fabric as I pulled him closer.
Close enough to feel the warmth between us.
Close enough to hear the unsteady breath he tried—and failed—to hide.
For the first time that day, the tension between us had finally disappeared.
There was no awkwardness.
No confusion.
No distance.
Only understanding.
Only relief.
Only the quiet certainty that we had found our way back to each other.
Outside, the waves continued their endless song beneath the moonlit sky.
Inside, time seemed to slow.
The worries of the day melted away one by one.
Leaving behind only two hearts that had missed each other more than either was willing to admit.
And standing there together in the silver glow of the moonlight, nothing else mattered.
Not the ocean.
Not the world beyond the shore.
Just us.
Exactly where we wanted to be...