Chapter: Mamma and Pappa's Morning Chaos
(Jay's POV)
I should have known better.
The moment Keifer walked out of the room to "handle things," I should have realized that handling things in this mansion meant something completely different.
Because ten minutes later, when I finally dragged myself downstairs, still wearing the same clothes from yesterday because apparently I had nothing else here—
I walked straight into an ambush.
Serina was sitting in the living room.
Kaizer was beside her.
And they were both staring at me.
Not normal staring.
The kind of staring that made me instantly check if my shirt was on inside out.
It wasn't.
But that didn't stop the panic.
"Good morning, sweetheart," Serina said sweetly.
Too sweetly.
Kaizer nodded slowly.
"Good morning, Jay."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Why are you both looking at me like that?"
Serina tilted her head innocently.
"Like what?"
"Like you're watching a documentary."
Kaizer smirked.
"An interesting documentary."
My suspicions skyrocketed.
"Where's Keifer?"
Serina waved her hand vaguely.
"Oh, he's somewhere."
"Somewhere?"
"Yes."
"Handling things."
That was exactly what Keifer had said.
Which meant—
"You sent him away on purpose, didn't you?"
Serina's eyes widened dramatically.
"Me? Never."
Kaizer nodded seriously.
"She would never do that."
They exchanged a glance.
A very suspicious glance.
I crossed my arms.
"What do you two want?"
Serina patted the seat beside her.
"Sit down, sweetheart."
"I'm scared."
"Don't be."
"Your face says 'be scared.'"
Kaizer chuckled.
"She's smart."
Serina nodded proudly.
"I know. That's why I like her."
I didn't move.
"I'm not sitting until you tell me what this is about."
Serina sighed dramatically.
"Fine."
She leaned forward.
"We just want to know one thing."
I braced myself.
"What?"
Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Did you two sleep in the same room last night?"
My face exploded.
"WH— WHAT?!"
Kaizer raised an eyebrow.
"That's a yes."
Serina clapped her hands excitedly.
"I KNEW IT!"
I waved my hands frantically.
"NO— WAIT— IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK—"
Serina wasn't listening.
She turned to Kaizer.
"Pay up."
Kaizer sighed and pulled out his wallet.
He handed her a crisp hundred dollar bill.
My jaw dropped.
"You two BET on us?!"
Serina grinned.
"Of course."
Kaizer nodded calmly.
"Your mother has been waiting for this moment for five years."
"She's not my— wait, that's not the point!"
Serina pocketed the money happily.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. This is just the beginning."
I stared at her in horror.
"The beginning of WHAT?"
Before she could answer—
The front door opened.
Keifer walked in.
Followed by—
Aries.
Percy.
Cin.
Rakki.
Denzel.
Grace.
And a very confused-looking Grazel in Grace's arms.
I froze.
"Why— why is everyone here?!"
Aries grinned wickedly.
"Mamma Serina sent a group chat."
Percy nodded.
"Subject: URGENT FAMILY MEETING."
Cin raised his phone.
"With multiple exclamation points."
Rakki added lazily,
"And crying emojis."
I slowly turned to Serina.
She smiled innocently.
"What? I wanted everyone to meet the newest member of the family."
Keifer pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Mom."
"Yes, son?"
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why is everyone here at 8 AM?"
Serina gasped dramatically.
"8 AM?! I thought it was 10!"
Kaizer shook his head.
"You definitely knew."
"Did not."
"You absolutely did."
I looked at Keifer helplessly.
He sighed.
"Just… go with it."
Aries immediately jumped in.
"GO WITH IT?! Oh no. We're not 'going with it.'"
Percy nodded.
"We're here for answers."
Cin crossed his arms.
"Details."
Rakki smirked.
"Drama."
Denzel shifted Grazel to his other arm.
"Honestly, I'm just here for the food."
Grace smacked his arm.
"Denzel!"
"What?! It's early!"
Grazel, oblivious to everything, pointed at me.
"Smol!"
The entire room went silent.
Then—
Aries exploded with laughter.
"THE BABY REMEMBERS!"
Percy fell onto the couch wheezing.
"THIS IS THE BEST DAY!"
I glared at the tiny traitor.
"Grazel. We were friends."
She clapped happily.
"Smol! Smol!"
Serina wiped tears from her eyes.
"Oh my god, I love this child."
Even Keifer cracked a smile.
I turned to him.
"Don't you dare laugh."
He held up his hands.
"I'm not laughing."
"You're smiling!"
"That's different."
Aries suddenly gasped dramatically.
"WAIT."
Everyone looked at him.
He pointed between me and Keifer.
"If they slept in the same room—"
Percy finished excitedly.
"—does that mean—"
Cin jumped in.
"—they're officially—"
Rakki smirked.
"—back together?"
The room went completely silent.
All eyes turned to us.
Keifer and I stood there.
Surrounded.
Trapped.
By a family of chaotic monsters.
Serina clasped her hands together.
"Well, children?"
Kaizer leaned back.
"The audience is waiting."
I looked at Keifer helplessly.
He looked at me.
Then he did something unexpected.
He smiled.
Took my hand.
And faced the chaos head-on.
"Yes."
The room erupted.
Aries screamed.
"FINALLY!"
Percy clapped.
"TOLD YOU!"
Cin jumped up.
"WE WON!"
Rakki raised an eyebrow.
"We weren't betting."
Cin waved his hand.
"Emotionally we won."
Denzel nodded seriously.
"Congratulations. Can we eat now?"
Grace sighed.
"I'm sorry about him."
Grazel pointed at me again.
"Smol!"
Aries pointed at her.
"THE BABY IS THE BEST PART OF THIS!"
I groaned.
But I was smiling.
Serina walked toward us.
Pulled both of us into a hug.
"My children," she whispered dramatically.
"Finally together."
Kaizer joined the hug.
"Took you five years."
Serina sniffed.
"Five long years."
I laughed softly.
"You two are ridiculous."
Serina pulled back and cupped my face.
"Ridiculously happy."
She looked at Keifer.
"If you break her heart again—"
Keifer sighed.
"Yes, Mom. You'll kill me."
"No."
She smiled sweetly.
"I'll make Kaizer handle it."
Kaizer cracked his knuckles.
"Gladly."
Aries shouted from the couch.
"THIS IS BETTER THAN TV!"
Percy nodded.
"Best season finale ever."
Cin raised his phone.
"I'm recording this for the group chat."
Rakki smirked.
"Keigan and Keiran are going to lose their minds."
As if on cue—
Aries' phone started ringing.
He answered immediately.
"KEIGAN! KEIRAN! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS—"
Keigan's voice screamed through the speaker.
"WE ALREADY SAW THE VIDEO!"
Keiran added calmly,
"Aries sent it five minutes ago."
I turned to Aries slowly.
"You sent ANOTHER video?!"
He grinned.
"Professional responsibility."
I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.
He dodged effortlessly.
"STILL GOT IT!"
Percy laughed.
"She's going to kill you one day."
Aries shrugged.
"Worth it."
Grazel, still watching everything, pointed at the chaos.
"Monke! Giraf! Smol!"
Denzel blinked.
"Did she just summarize our entire family?"
Grace nodded slowly.
"I think she did."
Serina laughed so hard she had to sit down.
Kaizer wiped his eyes.
"This is the most chaotic morning we've ever had."
I leaned against Keifer.
He wrapped his arm around me.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
I looked around the room.
At Aries still dodging pillows.
At Percy laughing on the couch.
At Cin and Rakki arguing about something stupid.
At Denzel still asking about food.
At Grace trying to calm Grazel.
At Serina and Kaizer watching everything with proud smiles.
And at Keifer.
Standing beside me.
Holding my hand.
Like he always should have been.
I smiled.
"Yeah."
"I'm okay."
"For the first time in five years…"
"I'm more than okay."
He kissed the top of my head.
"Good."
Aries suddenly shouted.
"OI! LOVE BIRDS! STOP BEING CUTE AND HELP US DECIDE WHERE TO EAT BREAKFAST!"
Percy nodded.
"Grazel is hungry."
Grazel pointed at me again.
"Smol eat too!"
I burst out laughing.
"FINE! Let's go!"
As everyone scrambled toward the door—
Serina pulled me aside for a second.
Her eyes were soft now.
Genuine.
"Jay."
"Yes, Mamma?"
She smiled.
"Welcome to the family."
My chest warmed.
"Technically, I've been here for months."
"Now it's official."
She hugged me tight.
"You're stuck with us."
I hugged her back.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
As we walked out to join the chaos—
I caught Keifer's eye.
He smiled.
That rare, genuine smile.
The one that made my heart skip even after all these years.
And for the first time…
I didn't look away.
I smiled back.
Because this—
This chaos.
This family.
This love.
Was exactly where I belonged.
---
Later – At the Restaurant
We took over an entire section of the restaurant.
Because apparently, that's what billionaires do.
Grazel sat in a high chair between me and Grace, happily smearing food on her face.
Aries and Percy argued about who got the last piece of bacon.
Cin and Rakki were being disgustingly cute.
Denzel was finally eating in peace.
And Serina and Kaizer sat at the head of the table, watching everything like proud monarchs observing their chaotic kingdom.
Keifer sat beside me, his hand never leaving mine.
Aries suddenly looked up.
"Hey, Jay."
"What?"
"Now that you're officially family…"
Percy grinned.
"We can bully you forever."
Cin nodded.
"Legally."
Rakki smirked.
"Contractually."
I raised an eyebrow.
"There's a contract?"
Serina nodded seriously.
"Chapter seven, subsection three."
Kaizer added,
"Eternal teasing clause."
I stared at them.
"You're all insane."
Aries grinned.
"And you're stuck with us."
I looked at Keifer.
"Did you know about this?"
He kissed my hand.
"Welcome to the family."
I groaned.
But I was smiling.
Because even with the chaos—
Even with the teasing—
Even with the five years of pain—
This felt right.
This felt like home.
Grazel suddenly pointed her messy spoon at me.
"Smol happy."
The table went quiet.
Then—
Aries gasped.
"THE BABY JUST SAID SOMETHING PROFOUND!"
Percy nodded.
"Smol happy."
Cin raised his glass.
"To Smol Happy!"
Rakki smirked.
"Best toast ever."
I buried my face in my hands, laughing.
"OH MY GOD."
Keifer pulled me closer.
"Smol happy," he whispered in my ear.
I hit his chest.
"Shut up."
He laughed.
"Never."
And surrounded by chaos—
By family—
By love—
I finally understood.
Some things are worth waiting five years for.
And Mark Keifer Watson?
He was definitely one of them.