JAY JAY POV
I went to Tita Serina's house because I was bored out of my mind and the others were actually being productive for once. Everyone had homework, and Jare was distractedly trying to shoot his shot with Mia—not that it mattered, since she was still completely oblivious to his existence as anything other than "Jay-Jay's brother."
I walked into the massive living room and spotted the youngest Watson brother.
"Hey, Keiran, where is Tita?" I asked.
Keiran didn't even look up from his phone at first. "Depends. Do you have chocolate on you?"
"No, but I do have some punches with me. Want some?" I teased, raising a fist.
"Not funny, Jay-Jay," Keiran said, though he was clearly stifling a laugh. "Seriously, any chocolate?"
"Nope," I said, patting my pockets until I felt a familiar crinkle. "Wait, I have KitKats!"
"Ohhh! Give it to me!" Keiran's eyes doubled in size as he practically lunged for my pocket.
"No way! This is my favorite kind of chocolate," I said, dodging his grab and lifting the bar high above my head. "You have to earn it, kid. Information first. Where's your mom? And please tell me the King of the Assholes isn't lurking around here somewhere."
"Mom is in the backyard gardening," Keiran grumbled, still trying to jump for the chocolate. "And as for Kuya Keifer... he's in the game room with Yuri. But he's been in a foul mood all day. Probably because you didn't answer his last three annoying texts or something."
I felt my cheeks heat up at the mention of the texts. "I didn't answer because I was... busy."
"Busy looking at his profile picture?" Keiran teased, a mischievous glint in his eye that reminded me way too much of his older brother.
"That's it! No KitKat for you!" I said, playful-shoving him onto the velvet sofa.
I popped a piece of the chocolate into my mouth and started heading toward the backyard to find Tita Serina. But as I passed the hallway leading to the game room, the door swung open.
"I told you, Yuri, the plan was—"
Keifer stopped mid-sentence as his eyes landed on me. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt that made his messy hair look even more like a disaster I wanted to run my fingers through. He gripped the doorframe, his gaze traveling from my face down to the half-eaten KitKat in my hand.
"Jay Jay?" he muttered, his voice dropping into that low, slightly husky register. "What are you doing here? Come to apologize for ignoring me?"
"In your dreams, Keifer," I said, crunching on the chocolate loudly to mask the fact that my heart was currently doing a drum solo. "I came to see your mom. You know, the nice member of this family?"
Keifer stepped into the hallway, closing the gap between us. Yuri poked his head out behind him, grinning like he was watching a primetime drama.
"You're eating chocolate without sharing?" Keifer asked, leaning down until his face was inches from mine. He smelled like mint and that expensive cologne again. "That's a crime in this house"
"Well, arrest me then," I challenged, tilting my chin up.
Keifer didn't move. He just stared at my lips—which probably had chocolate on them, great job Jay—for a beat too long.
"Maybe I will," he whispered.
I felt my face heating up, but I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of seeing me flustered. I rolled my eyes, shoved the rest of the KitKat into my mouth, and brushed past him.
I ignored his low chuckle and marched straight out to the garden. The afternoon sun was starting to dip, casting long, golden shadows across the lawn. I spotted Tita Serina near a large flower bed, her sun hat tilted forward as she dug into the soil.
"Jay-Jay! What are you doing here, sweetheart?" Tita asked, looking up with a surprised but happy smile.
"I was bored," I admitted, shoving my hands into my pockets. "The guys were doing homework and Jare was being annoying. Do you want me to head back? I don't want to intrude."
"No," Tita said firmly, gesturing to a spare pair of floral gardening gloves sitting on a nearby bench. "Stay. Grab those gloves and help me plant these flowers. I need someone to talk to who doesn't answer in one-syllable grunts like my sons."
I laughed and sat down on the grass beside her, pulling the gloves on. The dirt felt cool under my fingers as I helped her arrange a row of vibrant petunias. It was peaceful out here
As I was busy digging into the soil to settle my second plant, Tita Serina's voice broke the comfortable silence.
"Jay," she called out softly.
"Hmm?" I hummed, not looking up from the patch of dirt I was clearing.
"If anything ever happens to me... please take care of my son. Take care of Keifer," she said.
The gravity in her voice made me freeze. I stopped digging and looked up at her, my brow furrowing. "Tita, why are you talking like that? What could possibly happen to you?"
"Jay, I'm being serious," she pressed, her eyes searching mine with an intensity that made my heart drop.
"I'm being serious, too, Tita. Nothing is going to happen to you," I insisted, trying to shake off the sudden chill in the air.
"Jay, things with Keifer's biological father—Keizar—they're getting bad," she explained, her voice dropping to a cautious whisper. "Now that Keifer is almost eighteen, Keizar is doing everything in his power to get to him. Victor is handling the legal side and protecting us, but..."
"But what?" I asked, feeling the weight of the Watson family secrets pressing down on me.
"Nothing, Jay. Just... just promise me," she pleaded, reaching out to touch my arm with her gloved hand.
"No," I said firmly.
She pulled back, looking at me with a confused and slightly hurt expression.
"If I promise to look after your son because you aren't there, then I'm admitting that something bad is actually going to happen to you," I told her, my voice steady despite the nerves fluttering in my stomach. "So no, I won't make that promise. Because you are going to be right here to look after him yourself."
Tita Serina stared at me for a long beat, her eyes misting over. She let out a shaky breath and gave a small, watery smile. "You really do have your father's spirit, don't you? You're just as stubborn."
"It's a Mariano trait," I muttered, going back to my plants to hide how much her request had actually rattled me. But as I dug into the earth, I couldn't stop thinking about that name. Keizar.
"Jay-Jay," Tita called out again.
"I already said no na, Tita," I told her, keep my focus on the dirt. I wasn't going to entertain the idea of her leaving.
"Then promise me this instead," Tita said, her voice dropping an octave, becoming even more serious.
I stopped and looked at her, leaning back on my heels. "What is it now?" I asked, feeling a bit exasperated.
"Promise me you will be with him," Tita asked.
I blinked, my heart doing a weird little flutter that I definitely didn't want to explain to anyone. "What is that even supposed to mean?"
"That you will stay with him. No matter how bad things get, no matter what kind of stupid things he does," Tita said, her gaze drifting toward the house where Keifer was. "Keifer can be... well, he can turn into a monster if his jealous side takes over. He's seen things no child should see, Jay. It's left scars."
Her eyes were so sad it made my chest ache. "If that happens, just... Jay, please be patient with him. Let him explain himself. Or better yet," she added with a small, bittersweet smile, "punch him or hit him. Do whatever you have to do to make him understand. Don't just walk away."
I gripped the gardening trowel tighter. This felt way too heavy for a Thursday afternoon. "I don't understand why you're telling me this, Tita. Why me?"
"Because I have a feeling that what I'm thinking is going to be true," Tita explained, her voice sounding almost prophetic. "I feel like the path for you two is full of needles. I feel like you two will need to fight just to get to your ending."
I stared at her, my London brain trying to process all this dramatic, mystical talk. It felt like I was in the middle of a Philippine telenovela.
"Do I look like a riddle to you?" I asked her, trying to break the tension with a bit of sass. "Because honestly, Tita, you're speaking in metaphors and I'm just trying to plant some petunias."
Tita Serina let out a genuine laugh, the shadows in her eyes clearing for a moment. She reached out and patted my cheek. "You'll understand soon enough, Jay-Jay. Just remember what I said."
I didn't answer. I couldn't. I just went back to the soil, but the needles Tita mentioned already felt like they were pricking at my heart. It was a lot to process—the hidden past, the threat of Keizar, and the idea that I was the one supposed to keep Keifer from falling apart.
After we were finished with the plants, we washed up and made our way inside. The quiet of the house was shattered the second we stepped into the foyer. High-pitched yelling and the sound of something heavy hitting the floor echoed from the direction of the gaming room.
"Assholes, what are they doing now?" I muttered, my London frustration bubbling up.
Tita Serina reached out and playfully tapped the back of my head. "Don't call my sons assholes in front of me, Jay-Jay," she scolded with a wink, though she looked worried.
We hurried toward the gaming room and found the Asshole Royalty in the middle of a full-blown brawl. Yuri and Keifer weren't just wrestling; they were fighting. The bean bags were tossed aside, and the screen was flicking with a 'Game Over' sign that nobody was looking at.
"KEIFER! YURI!" Tita yelled, her voice commanding enough to stop a train.
They froze. Keifer had Yuri by the collar, and Yuri's fist was half-cocked. They both turned to look at us, chests heaving, faces flushed with rage.
I didn't wait for Tita to intervene. I marched right into the middle of them. "Why were you two fighting?" I demanded
Yuri wiped a smudge of blood from his lip and shot me a look that was colder than a London winter. "Stay out of this, Jay-Jay," he snapped, his voice harsh. "This doesn't involve you."
The words had barely left his mouth when Keifer's fist connected with Yuri's jaw. THWACK.
"I already told you—don't talk to her like that!" Keifer roared, stepping forward to lunge again.
The air in the room turned electric.
I threw myself between them, putting my hands on Keifer's chest and shoving him back with all my strength.
"ENOUGH!" I yelled, my voice ringing through the room.
Keifer stumbled back, his eyes dark and dilated, looking like he didn't even recognize where he was for a second. He was shaking, his knuckles white, and that minty scent was overshadowed by the smell of adrenaline.
"Jay-Jay, move," Keifer growled, his voice a low, warning vibrate.
"No!" I shouted back, standing my ground. I looked at Yuri, who was clutching his face, and then back at Keifer. "Tita Serina is standing right there! Is this how you treat your best friend? Over a sentence? Over me?"
Keifer's gaze flicked to his mother, then back to me.
I didn't give him a chance to answer. I grabbed his hand and practically dragged him out of the gaming room, ignoring Yuri's stunned silence and Tita Serina's knowing look. My heart was pounding against my ribs like a trapped bird as I hauled the King of Assholes down the hallway toward his bedroom.
Once we were inside, I kicked the door shut and twisted the lock. I was so fueled by adrenaline and frustration that I didn't even realize I was still gripping his hand like a lifeline.
"What is wrong with you?!" I yelled, turning on him. "You can't just go around punching people because they—"
I gave him a hard, frustrated shove toward his bed. I wanted him to sit down and listen, but I forgot one crucial detail: Keifer is built like a tank, and his fingers were still tightly intertwined with mine.
As he stumbled backward and fell onto the mattress, he didn't let go. His weight acted like an anchor, pulling me right down with him.
THUD.
The world did a literal 180-degree flip. One second I was standing on my own two feet, and the next, I was sprawled directly on top of him. The soft mattress dipped under us, and for a heartbeat, the only sound in the room was the heavy, synchronized thudding of our hearts.
I was pinned between his arms, my chest pressing against his, and my face was so close to his that I could feel the heat radiating off his skin. Keifer's dark eyes were wide, the rage from earlier replaced by a stunned, breathless silence.
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