JAY JAY POV
FEW MONTHS LATER
The morning sun was streaming through our bedroom window, hitting the stack of textbooks on my nightstand. Today was the day. No more uniforms, no more high school drama, and thankfully, no more underground kidnappings—at least for now. Today, we were officially starting our freshman year at college.
I looked at myself in the full-length mirror, smoothing out my outfit.
Jare and Keifer had both enrolled in the Business Department. It made sense; they were born to lead, and between the Mariano and Watson empires, they had a lot of assets to manage. I, on the other hand, had decided to take a slightly different path. I wanted to be a Business Lawyer. The idea of being the one to tear apart contracts and handle the legal side of the family battles sounded perfect. It's a lot of work—mountains of reading and endless cases—but I've never been one to shy away from a fight.
Keifer walked into the room, adjusting his watch. He looked effortlessly sharp in a dark polo and slacks
"Ready, Mrs. Watson?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe with that familiar, heart-melting smirk.
"As ready as I'll ever be for a three-hour lecture on Torts," I groaned, grabbing my bag.
He walked over, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and kissing the top of my head. "Just keep your eyes on the prize. Once we're done with these four years, you're coming straight to Watson Enterprises. I've already got the floor plan for your office right next to mine."
"Oh, really?" I teased, leaning back into him. "You're not worried I'll sue the company for something just to keep you on your toes?"
"I'm counting on it," he chuckled, his grip tightening. "Keeps things interesting."
We headed downstairs, where the house was already a whirlwind of chaos. Keigan and Keiran were in the middle of a heated argument near the breakfast nook.
"What is it now?" I asked them. If there was one thing I'd learned being a sister-in-law to these two—especially Keiran—it's that their drama is always unpredictable.
"Ate, Kuya Keigan is not giving me my phone back!" Keiran complained, looking at me with his best 'victim' face.
I turned my gaze to Keigan, who looked completely unbothered. "What? Jay, he's been on his phone the entire time during school hours last week. He needs to focus!"
I sighed, rubbing my temples. Dealing with these three Watson brothers was sometimes harder than dealing with a gang war.
"Keiran won't do that again, right Keiran?" I asked, giving him a meaningful look that said 'don't make me a liar.'
Keiran nodded vigorously, looking hopeful.
"Keigan, please give your brother back his phone," I said, using my 'voice of authority.'
"Jay, I swear you're spoiling him," Keigan muttered, but he reached into his pocket and tossed the phone toward Keiran, who caught it like it was a gold medal.
I leaned over and kissed Keiran's hair as he sat down. "Good. He needs to be spoiled. He definitely needs to act like a normal kid his age instead of trying to be a mini-version of your eldest brother," I said, gesturing toward Keifer.
Keifer, who had been pouring himself coffee, just raised an eyebrow. "Hey, what's wrong with acting like me?"
"You're a workaholic who spent his teenage years brooding and fighting," I retorted, taking my seat and starting to eat my breakfast. "Keiran deserves to be a brat for a little longer."
"She's right, Kuya. I'm just a baby," Keiran grinned
Keifer moved to sit directly across from me. I thought it was a bit strange since he usually sits right next to me to steal bites of my fruit, but I didn't think much of it at first. I was hungry and focused on my eggs.
Then, just as I lifted my fork, I felt something warm and solid brush against my calf under the table.
I froze for a split second, then narrowed my eyes. This idiot was using his foot to poke me. I shot him a sharp glare over the rim of my coffee cup, one that clearly said 'We have an audience, cut it out.'
Keifer didn't even flinch. He just took a calm sip of his black coffee, looking entirely innocent as he checked an email on his phone with his left hand. But beneath the table, his foot didn't stop. In fact, it started traveling higher, his toes dragging slowly and intentionally up my knee to my mid-thigh.
My breath hitched, and I nearly dropped my fork.
"Jay? You okay? Your face is getting red," Keigan asked, completely oblivious as he reached for the juice.
"I'm... fine," I managed to say, my voice a pitch higher than usual. "Just... hot coffee."
I glared at Keifer again, but he just leaned back in his chair, a tiny, smug smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. He was enjoying this way too much. He knew the boys were right here, which meant I couldn't exactly scream at him or kick him back without causing a scene.
His foot continued its journey, wandering dangerously close to the hem of my skirt. He was testing me, pushing the boundaries just like he always did.
"So, Keifer," I said, my voice dripping with sweet, fake politeness as I gripped the edge of the table. "Since you're so focused on your 'work' this morning, maybe you can help Keiran with his math homework later? I'm sure your legs aren't too tired for that."
I punctuated the sentence by slamming my own heel down onto his foot with a sharp thud.
Keifer's eyes widened, and he let out a muffled "Oof!" nearly choking on his coffee.
"You okay, Kuya?" Keiran asked, looking up.
"Fine," Keifer rasped, his eyes snapping to mine, burning with a mix of pain and a challenge. "Just... a cramp. Jay-Jay is right, I should definitely stretch more."
"Good idea," I smirked, finally taking a victorious bite of my breakfast. "Eat up, everyone. We don't want to be late for the first day of the rest of our lives."
The drive to the university felt shorter than usual, mostly because I spent half of it lecturing Keifer on public or breakfast-table etiquette. As soon as he parked the SUV in the student lot, I grabbed my bag and shot him a final warning glare.
"If you ever do that again in the kitchen—with your brothers sitting right there—I will kill you. I'm taking Law, Keifer, I'll know exactly how to hide the body," I threatened, though the blush was still lingering on my cheeks.
Keifer just laughed, leaning over to steal a quick, firm kiss before I could hop out. "Whatever you say, Counselor. Just stay focused in class and try not to think about me too much."
"Asshole," I muttered, but I couldn't help the smile tugging at my lips as I stepped out into the crisp morning air.
The campus was huge, buzzing with the energy of thousands of students. I headed toward the main entrance of the Law and Business building, and my heart raced with excitement when I spotted two familiar faces standing by the massive glass doors.
"Mia! Amy!" I called out, waving my hand.
The three of us had coordinated our schedules weeks ago. It turned out we were all aiming for the same goal: Business Law. It was the perfect fit for us
Mia looked chic as always, her eyes sharp and ready for a challenge, while Amy had a stack of highlighters already visible in her bag, looking like she was prepared to ace every exam.
"Jay! Over here!" Amy shouted, pulling me into a quick group hug. "Can you believe we're actually here? No more cafeteria food or detention."
"Speak for yourself," Mia joked, glancing over my shoulder. "Look who's arriving to join the 'other side.'"
I turned to see the three of them—Jare, Aries, and Keifer—walking toward us in a pack. They looked less like freshmen and more like they were coming to take over the school. Jare and Aries were already bickering about which Business 101 section was going to be the easiest, while Keifer just looked at me, that possessive, steady gaze never wavering.
"Lawyers on one side, Business moguls on the other," Jare noted as they reached us. He looked at Mia, then at me. "Try not to bankrupt us in the mock trials, okay? We still need to have a future."
"No promises, Jare," I smirked, adjusting my bag. "If your contracts aren't solid, that's on you."
Keifer stepped up beside me, dropping a heavy arm over my shoulders. "Don't worry, Jare. I've got the best legal counsel in the city right here. She's domesticating me, one ear-pull at a time."
"Ready to go in?" I asked the girls, ignoring Keifer's teasing. "Let's go," Mia said, her eyes glinting with ambition.
We parted ways with the boys at the hall, throwing them some casual waves before heading toward the lecture wing. We barely made it into the classroom when Amy turned to Mia with a wicked, teasing grin.
"So Mia, spill. I heard there was a lot of screaming at your house yesterday," Amy said, nudging her with her shoulder.
I immediately made a face, already feeling the secondhand embarrassment. "Oh, gross. Please no."
"Who told you that?!" Mia asked, her face turning a shade of red that matched her lipstick.
"Percy, who else?" Amy laughed. "He said that after you and Jare went into the room, he completely forgot the definition of sleep. He also mentioned he wanted to pour bleach into his ears. So... was it that good?"
Mia opened her mouth to reply, her eyes wide, but I held up both hands like I was trying to stop a high-speed train.
"EWWWWW, STOP!" I shrieked, making a few other law students turn and look at us. "As his twin sister, I have some very strict rules! I don't want to know if he's a good kisser! I don't want to know about his stamina! And I definitely, definitely do not want to hear about my twin brother's sexual performance!"
Amy was doubled over laughing, while Mia looked like she wanted to melt into the floor.
"It's not my fault Percy has the ears of a bat!" Mia hissed, though she couldn't hide the shy smile on her face.
"I'm traumatized," I groaned one last time, hiding my face in my hands until the professor finally walked in.
The first day was a blur of syllabuses, case law definitions, and the daunting realization that Business Law was going to be even more intense than I thought. By the time the final lecture ended, my brain felt like it had been through a blender.
We met the boys in the courtyard afterward. Keifer looked like he'd spent the day in his element, while Jare and Aries were already complaining about the amount of reading they had. We all split up, heading back to our respective homes.
The second we stepped inside our room, I didn't even bother taking off my shoes. I just face-planted directly onto the bed, the mattress muffled my groan of relief.
"Tired?" Keifer asked. I heard the soft thud of his bag hitting the floor and then the sound of his footsteps approaching the bed.
I just nodded into the pillow, letting out a weak "Mmhmm."
I felt the bed dip as he sat down beside me. His large hand found the small of my back, rubbing soothing circles through my shirt. "First day jitters, or is the 'Future Lawyer' realizing she has to actually study now?"
"Both," I mumbled, finally turning my head to look at him. "My brain is fried. And Amy spent the first half of the morning telling me things about Jare and Mia that I can never un-hear."
Keifer chuckled, leaning down to press a kiss to my temple. "I told you Jare was a loud-mouth. Literally, apparently."
"Don't start," I warned, reaching up to tug at his shirt. "Just stay here. No talking about law, no talking about business, and definitely no talking about my brother."
"Deal," he whispered. He kicked off his shoes and stretched out next to me, pulling me into his side so my head rested on his chest. "Just us. Finally."
I closed my eyes, the steady thrum of his heartbeat acting like a lullaby. The stress of the new classes and the chaos of the morning faded away. We were officially college students, starting a life that didn't involve hiding from shadows or fighting for our lives every night.
"I'm proud of you, Jay," he murmured, his voice laced with sleepiness.
"I'm proud of us," I replied, drifting off.
It was the start of a long four years, but lying there with Keifer, I knew there was no other place I'd rather be. Even if he did poke me under the table at breakfast.