It's 19th May - Our mutya's birthday 🎂 🥳
(Keifer's POV)
The hospital room smelled like sharp soap and clean sheets. It was a smell I hated. It reminded me of how close I came to losing Jay.
For three long days, that smell filled my nose. Now, I was finally helping Jay leave St. Jude's Hospital. I held her small bags in one hand. My other hand guided her arm. The air outside in London felt cold and wet. A soft rain started to fall.
But the worst thing was the silence between us.
Jay did not look at me. She did not look at me once since she woke up from that terrible night. When her eyes opened after the strong medicine wore off, she looked right through me. Her violent alter ego—the angry side of her that bit my shoulder and scratched my face—went back deep into her mind. It left behind a quiet, broken girl.
"Watch your step, wifey ," I said. My voice sounded rough and tired.
I felt a deep ache in my bones. I opened the door of big black car for her. We booked taxi to home as my car was gone for repairs after the day I drove harshly Jay to the hospital nearly getting all the roads crashed.
She did not even look at my hand. I kept my hand over her head so she would not bump it. She slid into the leather seat very slowly. Her body was stiff. Her stitches from the big surgery still hurt.
Every time she moved, it reminded me of how close she came to dying. It reminded me of how much she was hurting.
I climbed into the seat next to her. I shut the heavy door. The loud noises of the city went away. I wanted to hold her hand so badly. My fingers twitched because I wanted to feel her warm skin. But then I remembered her screams. I remembered the red blood on her hand when the tube ripped out.
I froze. I could not scare her again. I could not let her think I was a monster.
The car started to move through the London streets. I looked at her from the side. She stared out the window. She watched the raindrops run down the glass. Her jaw was tight. Her fingers twisted together in her lap. Her knuckles turned white.
I knew what she was doing. She was thinking too much. Her mind was in a big storm. She was remembering Vanessa on top of me in the lobby. She was thinking about a fake lie. She was also scared of her own mind breaking.
I had to stop it. I had to break this cold wall between us.
Trying to Make Her Smile
"You know," I said out loud. I let out a very big, fake sigh. "The driver keeps looking at me in the mirror, Jay. He thinks I am a bad guy who kidnapped you. If you keep ignoring me, I will have to do something crazy."
Jay did not move. She did not even blink.I moved a little bit closer to her. I rested my elbow on the seat between us. I put my chin in my hand. I made a sad, pathetic little sound.
"Jay. Jaybird. My beautiful, quiet queen. Please look at me for one second. I practiced my sad face in the mirror for three hours. It is a very good face. My lips are sticking out. My eyes look like a sad puppy. You are missing a great view."
Nothing happened. She just kept looking at the rainy roads.
"Wow, you are a tough crowd," I said. I shook my head, but I did not give up. If she wanted to be silent, I would act like a total clown to make her happy.
"What if I do the chicken dance? Right here in the car? The leather seats are slippery. It would look amazing. I will flap my arms and make loud bird sounds. The driver will not mind. Right, Arthur?"
From the front seat, the driver cleared his throat softly. He kept his eyes on the road.
"See? Arthur wants to see the chicken dance," I said. I nudged her shoulder gently with mine. "Come on, Jay. Just give me a tiny blink. Or a small sigh. Give me an angry grunt. I will take an angry grunt. If you grunt at me, I will buy you that cake shop down the street."
Then, I saw it. It was very small. But the corner of her lip moved. She bit the inside of her cheek so she would not smile. A big feeling of joy hit my chest. She was in there. She was listening to me. She was just hurt and scared. I could work with that. I could take her silence for a hundred years if I could see that tiny smile sometimes.
"I saw that," I whispered. My voice became low and very soft. The funny act dropped for a second. "I know you are mad at me. I know your mind is telling you bad stories right now. But I am not going away, Jay. You can ignore me until we are old and have white hair. I will still be right here, acting like a fool to win you back."
The car turned a corner. It stopped in front of our big house in London. The tires made a loud crunching sound on the small rocks.
Before the guards could open her door, I jumped out into the rain. I walked fast and opened her door wide. Jay was trying to move her feet out of the car. Her hands pressed against the seat to help her body stand up.
"No, no, no," I said. I stepped right in front of her. "What did the doctor tell us? You cannot strain your stomach muscles. And since you are treating me like your helper, I must do my job perfectly."
Before she could say no or push me away, I bent down. I put one arm behind her back. I put my other arm under her knees. I lifted her up into the air. She let out a small breath of surprise. Her hands flew up and grabbed my shoulders so she would not fall. Her grip was tight. For a split second, her dark eyes looked right into mine. They looked wide and sad.
"See? You are holding onto me," I whispered. I gave her a sweet, teasing smile as I carried her up the stone steps of our house. "It is a start. I like it."
The Quiet House
The warmth of the house hit us as soon as the big wooden doors shut. It blocked out the cold London rain. The rooms were dark and warm. The lamps cast soft yellow light on the wood floors. This house was supposed to be our safe place. But right now, it felt like a place where I had to fight to save my wife's heart.
I carried her into the living room. I took slow, careful steps so I would not hurt her stitches. I laid her down very gently on the big, soft couch. I grabbed a warm blue blanket from a chair. I spread it over her legs. I tucked it around her feet so she would not feel any cold air.
"Do not move," I said. I tapped the tip of her nose with my finger. "I am going to get your magic water. Well, it is just your boring pain pills, but let us call it magic water. It sounds more fun."
I walked into the kitchen. My body moved fast, but my mind was spinning. The happy act I put on was hard work. Deep down, my heart was beating like a trapped bird. I could still feel her small hands punching my chest from that night. I could still hear her loud, painful screams. She was a woman broken by a bad trick. I felt a hot flash of anger inside me.
Vanessa. The name felt like dirt in my mouth. My assistant, Benjamin told me the news this morning.
The "final card"—all the secret papers, cheating records, and illegal bank files about Vanessa's family—were now with the police and the news stations. The crash happened in one minute.
The Christopher family business was not just falling; it was completely gone. They had no money left. They were going to jail.
I took a deep breath. I forced the angry feelings deep down inside me. I could not let Jay see that cold side of me. She needed love. She needed to feel safe.
I picked up the glass of water and the small tray with her pills. I walked back into the living room. Jay did not move at all. She sat right where I left her against the big soft pillows. Her hands were tight on top of the blanket. She stared at the hot fire in the fireplace. But her eyes looked empty, like she was lost in a dark maze.
The shadows from the fire danced on her pale face. I could see the purple marks under her eyes. I walked up quietly. I dropped down on my knees on the hard floor right next to the couch. I held up the water and the pills. I showed them to her like a prize.
"Medicine time, my queen," I said. I made my voice sound bright and happy. It echoed in the high room. "Look at me. I am on my knees at your feet. Kneeling on hard wood hurts my knees, you know. They are crying for help, just like my soul. Please forgive your silly, good-looking husband? I promise no annoying girls will ever come near me again. I will hire an old man with a big beard to be my helper. Would that make you happy?"
Jay did not look at the pills. She did not look at my sad face. She just reached out her small, white hand. It still had a white bandage on it from the ripped needle. She took the pills from my hand. Her fingers touched mine for one second. Her skin felt so cold it made me shiver.
She swallowed the pills. She took a few drinks of water. She set the glass down on the table. Then, slowly, she turned her head back to the fire.
She was shutting me out completely.My heart fell into a dark, empty hole. The funny words died in my mouth. I stayed on my knees, watching her. The silence grew big and heavy between us. It felt like a stone wall. I wanted to scream. I wanted to beg her to yell at me, to cry, or to hit me. Anything was better than this total lack of sound.
What are you thinking, Jay? I thought. My chest hurt with a real pain that felt worse than her cuts. Do you think I do not love you? Do you think I liked that girl touching me? Are you going to leave me when you feel better?
I reached out my hand. My fingers shook a little bit. I took her bandaged hand in mine. She did not pull away. But she did not squeeze my hand back either. Her hand felt light and limp in mine.
"Jay..." I whispered. The funny clown was gone now. Only the scared, desperate man was left. I loved her more than anything. "Please. Talk to me. Just say one word."
Vanessa Comes Begging
Suddenly, the big front doors of the house burst open with a loud crash. The sound banged against the walls like a gun.
I jumped up fast. My body automatically moved in front of Jay to hide her. My eyes became small and sharp. The nice husband disappeared. The cold, dangerous man came out. I was the man who built a huge business by breaking my enemies.
"Keifer! Please! You have to listen to me!"
A loud, crying voice came from the front hall. It sounded high, scared, and totally broken.
Vanessa ran into the living room. She looked terrible. The proud, rich girl from the hospital lobby was gone. Her expensive silk shirt was dirty and wrinkled. She had no shoes on. She was walking in her socks, and they were torn and black from the ground. Her hair looked like a wild bush. Her face was covered in black lines from her makeup mixing with her tears.
Behind her, two of my big guards ran in. Their faces looked stressed. "Sir, we are sorry. She jumped in front of the food truck to get past the gate—"
I raised my hand. I stopped the guard from talking without even looking at him. "Go outside," I said. My voice was very low and freezing cold. It felt like the room lost all its heat. "Wait by the door."
The guards bowed their heads and left. They shut the heavy doors behind them.
Vanessa fell down on her knees the second the door shut. She did not care about her pride. She did not care about her dirty clothes. She crawled on her hands and knees across the wood floor. Her chest moved up and down as she cried hard.
"Keifer, please! You have to stop them!" she screamed. Her hands reached toward my shoes, but she was too scared to touch them. "The police are at my house! They locked every single bank account! They are taking our houses, our cars, everything! My dad... my dad had a bad heart attack when the men showed up with the papers! He is with the police at the hospital right now!"
I stood very still. My arms were crossed over my chest. My face looked like a block of grey stone. I felt nothing when I looked at her. No pity. No sadness. Just disgust.
"You did this to yourself, Vanessa," I said. Each word sounded like a piece of ice hitting the floor. "I told you before. I told you what would happen if you touched my wife. You thought you could use cheap tricks and a fake scene to break my engagement? You thought you could make my Jay want to die and just walk away?"
"I was wrong! I was crazy!" she shrieked. She rubbed her hands together until her bones clicked. "I did it all! I made up those papers! I forced that meeting in the lobby! I saw Jay coming out of the elevator. Keifer! I saw her, so I threw myself on top of you. I wanted her to think... I wanted her to think you were with me! It was a big lie! A total lie!"
Behind me, I heard a small, sharp gasp of air. It was Jay.
I did not turn around. I kept my eyes on the crying girl at my feet. But the muscles in my back went tight. Hear it, Jay, I thought. Hear the truth from her own mouth.
"Please, Keifer," Vanessa wept. Black tears ran down her face. "I will leave the country. I will go far away to South America or Asia! I will never come back to London again! Just take back the papers you gave to the police! Do not take all our money. Do not send me to jail! I cannot live in a cell, Keifer, please! Look at me! I am begging you on my knees!"
She reached out and touched the bottom of my pants. I stepped back fast. My face twisted in anger.
"Do not touch me," I said. "Your family has no money left. The Christopher name is dead. By tomorrow, your company will be sold to pay for your crimes. And as for jail... I think a grey jumpsuit will look great on you."
"No! No, please!" Vanessa screamed. She looked around the room like a wild animal. She looked past my shoulder. She saw Jay sitting on the couch.Vanessa scrambled across the floor toward the couch. She put her hands on the pillows near Jay's feet.
"Jay! Jay, please! You are a woman! You have a good heart! Talk to him! He loves you! He will do anything you say! I know I tried to hurt you. I know I am a bad person. But please do not let him ruin my family! Tell him to stop! Tell him to forgive me! Please, Jay! I am begging you!"
I moved fast. I reached out my hand to grab Vanessa by the shirt and drag her away from my Jay —
"Keifer."
The Beautiful Sound
The whole world stopped. The birds
outside , the fire, the sound of Vanessa crying—everything went totally quiet.
I froze. My hand stayed in the air, right above Vanessa's jacket. I turned my head very slowly. My eyes went wide as I looked at the couch. Jay was looking at me. She was really looking at me. The empty, blank look was completely gone. Her dark eyes were bright and clear. They were fixed right on my face. Her lips were open. That single word was still in the air like a beautiful song.
In two long days... forty-eight hours of hell... that was the first time she spoke to me. She called my name.
A huge wave of feeling hit my chest so hard I almost fell. My throat felt tight. Hot tears came to my eyes. She was talking to me. She did not hate me. She did not lock me out forever.
"Keifer," she said again. Her voice was soft, but it was steady. "Forgive her. Let it go."
A big, happy smile broke across my face. The cold, mean businessman vanished in one second. I forgot about Vanessa. I forgot about her company. I forgot about everything outside this room. I dropped down on my knees next to the couch again.
My hands reached out and held Jay's face. My thumbs moved softly on her cheeks."You talked to me," I breathed. My voice shook because I was so happy. "You said my name. Oh my god, Jay... you actually called me."
"Keifer, please," she said softly. Her eyes looked very sweet as she saw my face. A real smile came to her lips. "Listen to me."
"I am listening. I will always listen to you," I whispered. My heart was beating like crazy. I felt so happy I was dizzy. She could have told me to burn down the city of London, and I would have done it with a smile.
But then, I remembered the dirty girl still crying on our floor. The warmth in my eyes went away fast as I looked back at Vanessa. My face became cold and mean again, like a dark cloud over the sun. I did not look at her with anger. I looked at her like she was nothing.
"You heard my wife," I said. My voice was smooth, quiet, and dangerous. "She is letting you go. The police charges will stay—I will not stop the law. But I will leave your family's small house alone. You will have a place to live."
Vanessa let out a ragged breath. She nodded her head fast. "Thank you... thank you, Jay... thank you—"
"Do not speak to her," I snapped. My sharp voice made her jump. "You will leave this house right now. You will leave this city. If I ever see your face near my wife again, if I ever hear your name near hers, I will make your life a living hell. Do you understand me?"
"Yes... yes, I understand," Vanessa whispered. She moved backward away from the couch like a scared dog. She stood up, her dirty socks slipping on the wood, and ran out of the room. The big front doors opened and shut in the distance. She was gone from our lives forever.
The Ice Melts
The silence now felt completely different. The heavy, bad feeling was gone. The room felt clean and open. It felt full of life.
I stayed on my knees by the couch. My hands were still holding Jay's face. She did not look away this time. She watched me. Her dark eyes had tears of relief and sorrow. She heard Vanessa say the truth. She knew now that I never hurt her. The bad scene was just a mean trick.
"I am sorry, Keifer," she whispered. Her voice broke as a clear tear ran down her cheek.I wiped it away fast with my thumb.
My heart felt a sweet ache. "Hey... no crying. Honey, please do not cry."
"No, I need to say it," she said. She put her hand over my wrist. She held my hand against her cheek. "I should have trusted you. When I saw her... I let my old fears take over. I let my past make me think you would hurt me. I ignored you for two days. I made you think I hated you. Will you... can you ever forgive me for being so cold?"
I let out a soft laugh. It felt so good to laugh. I moved my body from the floor and sat on the soft cushion right next to her. I wrapped my arms around her waist. I pulled her carefully against my chest. I made sure her back was soft against the pillows. I put my face in her neck. I smelled her sweet skin. It washed away the bad hospital smell completely.
"Forgive you?" I said in a dramatic voice. I pulled back to look at her blushing face. A funny spark came back into my eyes. "Jay, I forgave you before you even spoke. Now, I have the right as your loving husband to make up for lost time. Do you know how much pain I suffered?"
Jay blinked. Her neck turned a pretty pink color. "Pain?"
"Total pain," I said, nodding my head. "Forty-eight hours with no sound from your beautiful mouth. Forty-eight hours with no kisses from these perfect lips. I was a saint, Jay. A real saint. But now? The saint is gone. The loving, helpful husband is here. You are stuck with me."
Jay let out a soft gasp, then a real laugh came out of her chest. It was the best sound in the world. "Keifer, what are you saying?"
"I am talking about your recovery rules," I said. My voice became a low, funny whisper. I moved close to her ear. "The doctor said you cannot lift one finger. No hard work. So, that means I have to carry you everywhere. Want to go to the kitchen? I carry you. Want to go upstairs? I carry you. Want to take a bath?"
I stopped. I gave her a slow, cheeky smile that made her eyes go wide. "Well, since I am a helpful gentleman, I will have to wash you myself. To make sure your stitches do not get wet, of course. I am very nice like that."
Jay's face turned as red as a bright rose. She used her good hand to push my chest, but she did not really want me to move. "Keifer! You are crazy! Is that what a gentleman does?"
"Yes, the best kind of gentleman," I said with a laugh. I caught her hand in the air. I pressed a warm kiss on her palm, right over her fast heart. "I am just taking care of my patient. If that means I get to look at my pretty wife in a tub of bubbles... well, that is a hard job, but I will do it."
"You are silly," she whispered. But her eyes were full of so much love it made me happy. She leaned her head forward. She rested her forehead against my chest. Her shoulders dropped as her stress went away completely.
"I love you, Keifer," she whispered into my shirt. Her fingers grabbed my jacket tight.I wrapped my arms around her. I squeezed her gently. I held her against my heart so she could feel how fast it beat for her. I leaned down and kissed the top of her soft hair.
"I love you more, Jaybird," I whispered into the quiet room. "Always. No matter what bad things happen, I have you."
The Helpful Husband
An hour later, the rain was coming down very hard outside. It made a loud, steady tapping sound against the big glass windows. Inside, the living room was warm and safe. The fire was bright. It cast an orange glow on the walls. Soft music played quietly from the speakers.
Jay fell asleep for a little bit against my chest. Her breath was deep and slow. I did not move at all. I was happy to be her bed for the rest of time if she needed it. My left arm felt a little numb from her weight, but I did not care. I would let my arm fall off before I woke her up.
When her long eyelashes moved open, she blinked up at me. Her face looked soft and calm. "How long did I sleep?"
"Just long enough for me to get very hungry," I said with a smile. "Which means you must be hungry too. And since my helper job is a twenty-four-hour service, I already talked to the cook. Dinner is ready in the dining room. Or, if the queen wants, I can bring a tray and feed you right here like a little bird."
Jay rolled her eyes, but her eyes looked bright and happy again. "I can sit at a table, Keifer. I am not a baby."
"Ah, but you are a recovering patient, and I am the boss," I said. I slid my arms under her before she could try to stand up. "So, walking is not allowed."
With a smooth lift, I picked her up off the couch again. She let out a small cry of surprise. Her arms looped around my neck fast. "Keifer! I can walk ten feet to the dining room!"
"No way," I said. I carried her out of the room and down the wide hall. "The floor is too slippery, Jay. It is dangerous. Plus, I need to keep my muscles big if I am going to carry you for the next few weeks. This is my exercise."
"You are impossible," she laughed. She rested her head on my shoulder as I walked.
The dining room had small candles lit. A nice meal of warm soup, chicken, and green vegetables was on the table. It was good food for her stomach after surgery. I did not put her down in her own chair. Instead, I sat down in the big main chair at the head of the table. I kept her sitting right on my lap.
"Keifer, really? There are six empty chairs," she said. Her cheeks were a pretty pink color.
"But none of those chairs are as warm as me," I said. I picked up a silver spoon. I dipped it into the warm soup. I blew on it gently so it was not too hot. "Now, open your mouth, queen . The little plane is coming into the house."
Jay looked at the spoon, then up at my face. Her eyes were full of so much love it made me smile. She bit her lip, trying to look mad, but she failed. She opened her mouth and took the soup from the spoon.
"Good girl," I whispered. My voice was soft and sweet. I used a cloth napkin to wipe a tiny drop of soup from her lip. "See? Is this not better than doing it yourself?"
"It is silly, but the service is very good," she said. She leaned back against my chest as she ate.
We spent the next half hour like that. I gave her bites of food. I told her funny, flirty jokes. She laughed, and her beautiful smile filled the whole room. Every time she laughed, a piece of the bad memory from the hospital went away. The red blood, the loud screams—it was all gone. Her laughter was the only sound I wanted to hear.
A Promise in the Bed
When dinner was over, the big clock in the hall struck nine. Jay's eyes were getting heavy again. The medicine and the long, emotional day made her very tired. Her body was still weak.
"Time for bed, wifey ," I whispered. I shifted her in my arms. She did not argue this time. She just nodded her head. She hid her face in my neck as I stood up from the chair. I carried her out of the room. I walked up the big stairs to our bedroom on the second floor. Each step felt like a win. We were walking away from the dark days.
I carried her into our bedroom. The blankets on the huge bed were already turned down for us. I laid her down on the soft white sheets with great care. I made sure her stomach did not twist or hurt.
I knelt by the side of the bed. I took her small shoes off her feet. Then, I pulled the big, warm blanket up over her shoulders. She looked so small in the middle of the giant bed. Her dark hair was spread out on the white pillow like a beautiful circle.
"Do not leave," she whispered. Her hand came out from under the blanket. Her fingers looked for mine.
"Never," I promised. My voice felt thick with love.I walked around to the other side of the bed. I took off my shoes and my watch. I slid under the warm blanket next to her. I turned on my side. I put my head in my hand so I could look at her face. I reached out my other hand. I held her small, bandaged hand tight. I wanted her to know I was there.
Jay moved closer to me. She tucked her body right against my side. Her head rested on my chest, right over my heart. She let out a long, happy sigh. Her eyes shut as she felt the steady beat under her cheek.
"Thank you, Keifer," she whispered. She was drifting off to sleep. "For saving me. For not letting go."
I looked down at her in the quiet light of the room. My chest felt so full of love it felt like it would burst. I thought about the broken girl in the hospital room. I thought about the bad trick and the mean people who tried to hurt her.
I will spend my whole life being your shield, Jay, I thought. My fingers held hers gently. I will be the clown that makes you laugh. I will be the tough guy that breaks your enemies. And I will be the gentleman that holds you in the dark. You will never face a storm alone again. I leaned down.
I kissed the top of her head as her breath became slow and deep. She was fast asleep. The London rain kept falling against the window, but inside our room, the storm was finally over....