Keifer stayed frozen against the stone wall, the warmth of her lips still burning on his cheek.
For a man who could stare down a boardroom of billionaire investors without blinking, he was currently completely short-circuited by a single, shy kiss.
Jay didn't give him a second to recover.
Before he could process the sensation or reach out to pull her back, she ducked under his outstretched arm with a quick, agile movement.
"See you at lunch, Mr. Watson!" she called out over her shoulder.
She didn't just walk away—she practically skipped, her light, melodic laughter floating back toward him like a taunt.
Keifer stood there in the quiet alcove, his hand still pressed against the ivy-covered wall, watching her white dress flutter as she disappeared around the corner of the terrace and back into the house.
He slowly raised his fingers, touching the exact spot on his cheek.
"She... kissed me,"
he whispered to the ivy-covered stone.
He blinked, his brain finally rebooting after the sudden shock.
"Huh?"
A small, disbelieving breath escaped him.
"Hmmm. She really... kissed me."
The realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. The "CEO" persona shattered completely, replaced by a man whose heart was suddenly racing at a speed no board meeting had ever achieved.
His eyes widened, and he muttered again, this time with solid, undeniable certainty:
"She kissed me. Yes."
A slow, boyish grin spread across his face—the kind of lopsided, genuine smile that he usually kept hidden from the world.
He reached up and scratched the back of his head, looking down at the grass where her small feet had just been standing.
He felt a surge of adrenaline, his chest feeling light and heavy all at the same time.
Then, his eyes narrowed playfully.
He looked toward the house where Jay had disappeared, her shy laughter still echoing in the garden air.
"Jay..." he muttered, his voice dropping into a low, mock-threatening growl.
"You're going to pay for this. You don't get to just freeze me like that and run away."
He straightened his shirt, his thumb once more grazing his cheek as he started walking toward the house with a newfound purpose.
If she thought she could start a fire and then leave him to deal with the smoke, she had another thing coming.
Keifer strode into the house with an uncharacteristic bounce in his step, his usual stiff "CEO" posture replaced by a relaxed, boyish energy.
He was on a mission to find the little thief who had stolen his composure, but as he moved toward the kitchen, he started to notice something strange.
It wasn't just the maids this time.
Even the senior male servants were pausing in their work, their eyes darting to him before they quickly looked away, hands over their mouths to hide growing smiles.
"What is wrong with everyone today?"
Keifer muttered, ignoring them as he pushed through the kitchen doors.
He scanned the room, but instead of Jay's petite frame, he found his mother, Mrs. Watson, expertly overseeing the final touches on tomorrow's hors d'oeuvres.
"Mom..." he said, stopping at the marble counter.
"Yes, dear?" she replied, her back still turned as she checked a tray of garnishes.
"Mom... where's Jay?"
His voice came out a bit more breathless and exhausted than he intended, like a man who had just run a marathon—or been hit by a lightning bolt.
The sheer "help me find her" tone made his mother pause.
She turned around, raising a perfectly groomed brow as she looked at him.
From her angle, she could only see the right side of his face.
"What happened to you? You look... different. Did the flower arrangements stress you out that much?"
Keifer instinctively reached up to scratch the back of his neck, his lopsided smile betraying every bit of his "cool" act.
"Umm... no. I don't think so. I'm fine."
Mrs. Watson didn't buy it for a second.
She wiped her hands on her apron and stepped directly in front of him, a knowing, motherly smile spreading across her face.
"Kiddo, you are really, really bad at lying. Let me guess... did your wife give you a kiss and you got frozen again?"
Keifer's heart skipped.
"Umm... no... wh... why would you think something like that?"
His mother let out a soft, delighted laugh that echoed in the high-ceilinged kitchen.
"Keifer, my son,"
she said, gently taking him by the shoulders.
She didn't say another word; she simply turned him around to face the large, ornate mirror hanging near the pantry.
"You've got the evidence right there."
Keifer leaned in, his eyes widening in total shock.
There, on his cheek, was a perfectly shaped, soft pink smudge.
It was a clear, undeniable lipstick mark from Jay's favorite tinted balm .
It stood out against his skin like a bright neon sign of his "defeat."
Keifer stood there for a long second, caught in a tug-of-war between his reputation as a golden boy and the fluttering feeling in his chest.
He felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him, but right beneath it was a stubborn, glowing sense of happiness.
"I'll be back," he muttered to his mom, already turning toward the hallway with his head held high.
"Keifer!" his mother called out, her voice trailing off into a fresh fit of giggles.
"Are you really going out like that again? You'll give the butler a heart attack!"
"Oh—right." He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening.
He pivoted back to the mirror, raising his hand to finally wipe away the pink smudge.
But as his fingers reached his cheek, his hand froze in mid-air.
He stared at the mark in the glass. It actually looked... nice.
It was a soft, perfect stamp of her affection.
More than that, his heart felt a sudden pang of protest—this was his wife's first kiss.
If he erased it, it felt like he was erasing the moment itself.
His mom leaned against the counter, watching the inner conflict play out on his face.
"It really suits you, you know," she teased, her eyes twinkling.
"It looks perfect on my son's fair skin. I think Jay deliberately chose that color just to mark her territory."
Keifer's ears turned a shade of red that almost matched the lipstick.
He bit his lip, his hand still hovering. He really didn't want to wipe it off. He wanted to keep this little trophy of her love a bit longer.
But then, the sharp, energetic voice of the Family Spy echoed from the hallway.
"MOOOOOOOM! Have you seen my—"
Instinct took over. Keifer's hand moved like lightning.
Before Sophia could even round the corner, he had scrubbed his cheek with the back of his hand so hard it left a faint red friction mark.
He let out a long, shaky exhale of relief just as the door swung open.
He had cleared the evidence just in time.
His mother burst into another round of laughter, clutching her stomach at how fast her son had crumbled at the mere sound of his sister's voice.
Sophia strutted into the kitchen, her "annoying sister" radar pinging at maximum frequency.
Keifer immediately snapped into a rigid, military-straight posture, looking like a soldier standing at attention for an inspection.
"What is up with you?" Sophia asked, giving him a long, suspicious side-eye.
Before he could even open his mouth to offer a dry excuse, her eyes locked onto the faint, scrubbed-red patch on his face.
"And what... is on your cheek?"
"Wh—what? Nothing is on my cheek,"
Keifer stammered, his hand flying up to cover the spot like he was shielding a state secret.
"There's something pink,"
she pushed, leaning in closer with a predatory grin.
"It's definitely more than a natural blush any boy should have. It looks suspiciously like... pigment."
"No... there's nothing. I'm going. I have work,"
Keifer snapped, his voice tight.
He stormed out of the kitchen before she could grab a magnifying glass, exhaling a breath he felt like he'd been holding for an hour as he headed toward their wing of the house.
Meanwhile, back in their room, Jay was pacing the length of the rug, her heart still performing a frantic drum solo.
She was in total shock at her own boldness.
She touched her lips, a small, involuntary smile breaking through her panic, only to be replaced by a frantic face-palm a second later.
"What now? What did you just do, Jay?"
she muttered to herself, biting her lip so hard it stung.
"How am I supposed to face him? I can't stay in this room forever... but the moment I step out, he'll be there."
She took a deep, shaky breath, straightened her sweater, and slowly cracked the door open.
She peered left, then right, and began to tiptoe down the hallway like a secret agent.
She had only managed four or five steps when she rounded the corner and saw him.
Keifer.
Her heart didn't just skip a beat; it stopped entirely. Oh my god... what do I do?
She looked around wildly. The hallway felt miles long.
No escape.
If I run back to the room, he'll just follow me in and I'll be trapped for sure. I have to pass him. Just be normal, Jay. Just walk.
She tucked her chin down, staring intensely at the floorboards as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.
She took one step, then two, trying to look like she was in a hurry.
But her eyes betrayed her—they flicked upward for just a millisecond, only to find him standing there, perfectly still, looking directly at her.
His gaze was intense, dark, and filled with the silent promise that her payment was due.
The hallway was draped in the quiet, golden light of the afternoon, but for Jay, the air had suddenly turned thick and suffocating.
She tried to bolt, her gaze fixed firmly on the polished floorboards, but she was too slow.
Before she could pass him, a solid, warm barrier blocked her path.
In one fluid motion, Keifer stepped into her space, his arm bracing against the wall with a dull thud.
Jay gasped, her back hitting the wall as she found herself caged between the wall and the radiating heat of his body.
"Running away again, Mrs. Watson?" his voice was a low, velvet purr that vibrated right through her.
Her heart was thundering, a frantic bird trapped in her chest. but she still try to be normal,.she coughed fake.
"Oh... Keifer. I—I didn't see you."
He leaned in closer, his shadow completely enveloping her, the scent of his expensive sandalwood cologne swirling around her senses.
She gulp.
He raised a playful, skeptical brow.
"Didn't see me? Or didn't want to see the man you marked ?"
Jay bit her lower lip, her head tucked low.
She knew if she met his eyes, she would lose the tiny shred of composure she had left.
She stared intensely at the second button of his shirt, her breath coming in short, shallow hitches.
"Jay... you kissed me," he whispered, the words heavy with a new, charged energy.
The hallway felt like it was shrinking.
Her lips parted slightly, her eyes fluttering as the memory of the garden flashed through her mind. "Keifer..."
"Jay, look at me."
She shook her head, her chin pressed against her chest.
"Jay..." his voice dropped, losing its teasing edge and turning into something dangerous, something commanding.
It was the tone that usually brought boardrooms to a standstill, and it made her skin tingle with a sudden, electric heat.
Slowly, almost painfully, she lifted her head.
Her eyes were glassy and wide, reflecting a mixture of her natural shyness and a sudden, deep intensity that hit Keifer like a physical blow.
He felt himself melting on the spot.
All his plans to tease her, to make her blush, evaporated.
He reached out, his fingers trembling ever so slightly as he brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, his palm coming to rest half on her cheek and half under her ear.
He lowered his face to her level, his eyes dropping to her lips before snapping back to hers.
He bit his own lip, his voice a husky murmur.
"Want a return gift....Jay?"
As jay tried to look down again her eyes stop somewhere.
Her eyes went somewhere else, she wasn't listening to his words anymore.
As he spoke, her gaze had drifted lower, locking onto the sharp line of his throat.
His Adam's apple moved as he spoke, so close to her mouth, so incredibly tempting.
Something shifted deep inside her—the shy student vanished, replaced by a dizzying, primal impulse she didn't recognize.
Keifer felt the shift. He saw her eyes, dark, intense, looking somewhere without even blinking.
He was usually the one in control, the one leading the dance, the one holding the power.
But something happens that make him lose his control in air.
Jay again did something unexpected.
He felt her hands moving from his chest, her hands came up.
He felt shiver in his backbone, she saw her eyes still locked to his throat.
He felt her hands move to the back of his head.
"Jay", he calls her but she, she was not listening, she just couldn't, her eyes were focused.
Her fingers tangling firmly into the dark hair at the nape of his neck, his own breath hitched.
She gripped his hair, tilting her head with a predatory focus.
She was not the jay anymore, she couldn't recognise herself but her more focus was on something more intresting than recognising herself.
Keifer's hold on her waist tightened instinctively, his knuckles turning white as he watched her eyes darken.
He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, and she followed the movement with an intensity that made his blood run hot.
He was scared. Not of her, but of how easily she was dismantling him.
Jay rose on her tiptoes, her lips parting as she leaned into the curve of his neck.
Keifer's eyes flew shut, his head falling back as he surrendered.
He felt the soft, searing heat of her breath against his skin, then the light, electrifying touch of her lips against his Adam's apple.
The tip of her teeth touched his throat, sending a violent shiver through his entire frame.
He was completely at her mercy, his heart thundering in his ears, his world reduced to the feel of her lips against his throat.
She can feel the heat of his neck against her lips.
She was just about to sink her teeth in, to leave a mark that would last longer than any lipstick—
Ok hello buddies, I know, u might curse me again but, believe me it was the best place I can end it, maybe u can guess it too why.
So bye ❤️
Love u 😘