Chapter One Hundred Twenty Five: The Jewelry Shopping (Pregnancy Mood Swings Edition)
The morning of jewelry shopping dawned bright and chaotic.
Today was the day.
Akshi and Shreya needed jewelry for their double wedding. Earrings. Necklaces. Bangles. All the sparkly things.
The entire female population of the mansion was going.
Akshi. Shreya. Jay. Ella. Rakii. Mica. Freya. Bridget. Honey. Even Tita Gemma.
And, of course, Keiran. Because he refused to be left behind. Rex and Ganesha came too.
The men wisely stayed home.
---
Jay woke up feeling... strange.
Not sick. Not tired.
Just... off.
Hormonal.
Very hormonal.
Keifer noticed immediately. "You okay?"
"I'm fine."
"You have that look."
"What look?"
"The 'I'm about to cause chaos' look."
She smiled sweetly. "I would never."
"You would absolutely."
She kissed his cheek. "Love you."
"Love you too. Try not to terrorize the jewelers."
"No promises."
---
The car ride was chaos.
Akshi was bouncing. "JEWELRY! SPARKLY THINGS! I CAN'T WAIT!"
Shreya was calmer but equally excited. "We need to coordinate. Make sure everything matches."
Ella, three months pregnant and glowing, nodded. "I'll help."
Mica was already planning. "I want to try on everything!"
Freya patted her arm. "We're here for the brides, not you."
"BUT SPARKLY!"
Rakii had her camera ready. "Documenting everything."
Honey sat beside Percy, who had somehow convinced her to let him come. "I'll be good," he promised.
"You're never good."
"TODAY I WILL BE!"
---
Jay sat in the back, Keiran on her lap, Rex and Ganesha on either side.
"Mamma, are we getting sparkly things?"
"Yes, baby. For Auntie Akshi and Auntie Shreya."
"Rex wants sparkly things too."
"Rex can have sparkly things."
"GANESHA TOO?"
"Ganesha too."
Keiran nodded solemnly. "Rex says thank you."
---
They arrived at the jewelry store.
It was beautiful.
Glass cases everywhere. Diamonds. Gold. Silver. Gems in every color.
Akshi gasped. "IT'S LIKE A DREAM!"
Shreya grabbed her hand. "Let's find everything!"
The saleswomen smiled nervously. They'd been warned about this group.
---
The chaos began immediately.
Akshi tried on seventeen necklaces in the first five minutes.
Shreya was more methodical, comparing each piece carefully.
Mica tried to climb a display case to see the top shelf. Calix wasn't there to stop her.
Freya gently pulled her down.
Rakii photographed everything.
Honey helped Percy behave. Mostly.
Tita Gemma directed traffic like a general.
Ella sat in a comfortable chair, watching the chaos, one hand on her belly.
And Jay—
Jay was fine.
For the first hour.
---
Then she saw it.
A necklace.
Beautiful. Delicate. Perfect.
She pointed. "I want that."
The saleswoman smiled. "Of course, ma'am. Would you like to try it on?"
"Yes."
She tried it on.
It was stunning.
But then—
She saw the price tag.
Her face fell.
---
"What's wrong?" Akshi asked.
"It's too expensive."
"It's your money. You can buy it if you want."
"I KNOW but—" Her eyes filled with tears. "It's just so beautiful and I can't—"
Shreya rushed over. "Jay? What's wrong?"
"IT'S TOO EXPENSIVE AND I LOVE IT AND I CAN'T—"
The tears spilled over.
Full-on crying.
In the middle of the jewelry store.
---
Akshi stared. "Is she—"
"Pregnancy hormones," Ella said calmly. "It happens."
Shreya grabbed Jay's hand. "Jay, if you want it, buy it. Keifer won't mind."
"BUT WHAT IF HE MINDS?"
"He won't mind!"
"HOW DO YOU KNOW?"
"Because he loves you!"
"BUT—"
More crying.
Loud crying.
The saleswomen looked concerned.
---
Percy whispered to Honey. "Is she okay?"
Honey whispered back. "Pregnancy. Just go with it."
"I've never seen this before."
"You will. Many times."
---
Jay cried for five more minutes.
Then stopped.
Abruptly.
"Actually, you're right. I'll buy it."
She wiped her tears.
Smiled.
"Next!"
---
The group blinked.
Mica whispered, "That was... fast."
Freya nodded. "Pregnancy hormones are wild."
Rakii lowered her camera. "I got all of it."
"All of it?"
"The crying. The stopping. Everything."
"This is going in the family album."
"Obviously."
---
The shopping continued.
Akshi found her earrings. Delicate gold with pink stones.
Shreya found her necklace. Simple ivory with pearls.
Everyone cheered.
Jay bought her necklace.
And then another one.
And then some bangles.
And then—
"I want ice cream."
Akshi blinked. "What?"
"Ice cream. Now."
"It's 10 AM."
"I DON'T CARE."
---
The group looked at each other.
Shreya shrugged. "There's a café next door."
"GOOD."
Jay marched out of the jewelry store.
Toward ice cream.
Everyone followed.
---
At the café, Jay ordered a massive sundae.
Chocolate. Caramel. Whipped cream. Cherries.
She ate it happily.
Then she started crying again.
"It's so good," she sobbed.
Akshi patted her back. "It is good."
"SO GOOD."
"Yes."
"I love ice cream."
"We know."
"I love you all."
"We love you too."
---
Percy whispered to Honey. "Is this normal?"
Honey whispered back. "For pregnancy? Yes."
"For Jay?"
"For Jay, especially."
---
Jay finished her ice cream.
Wiped her tears.
Smiled.
"That was perfect. Let's go home."
They went home.
---
That night, Jay curled against Keifer.
"I bought a necklace."
"I know. You texted me seventeen times about it."
"Did I?"
"Each time with increasing numbers of exclamation points."
She laughed. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Even when I'm hormonal?"
"Especially when you're hormonal."
"Even when I cried over ice cream?"
He blinked. "You cried over ice cream?"
"It was really good ice cream."
He kissed her forehead. "You're perfect."
"I know."
---
End of Chapter One Hundred Twenty Five