JAY JAY POV
After dinner, my brothers and the rest of the Watson boys finally cleared out, giving us some actual peace and quiet. I walked into our bedroom, and for a second, I felt like I had stepped back in time.
I stopped at the edge of the bed, looking at the chair in the corner. Laying right there was the dress I had planned to wear the day I left—the one I'd set out before everything went to hell.
"You didn't change anything," I whispered, looking around the room. Everything was exactly where it was eight months ago. Even my favorite hair tie was still sitting on the nightstand.
Keifer walked up behind me, his presence warm and solid. He wrapped his arms around my waist, his large palms resting over my bump, and leaned down to snuggle his face into the crook of my neck.
"Couldn't," he murmured, his voice thick with a vulnerability he only ever showed me. He pressed a soft, lingering kiss to my skin. "Every time I thought about moving something, it felt like I was admitting you weren't coming back. I lived in this room like a museum of what I lost."
I leaned my head back against his shoulder, feeling a pang of guilt. "I'm sorry I let a coward like Jason scare me away. I just... I couldn't risk you. Or humanity's newest headache in here."
Keifer tightened his grip, his breath warm against my ear. "Jason is being handled. The Watsons don't forget, Jay. But right now, I don't want to think about him. I just want to feel you here."
He moved his hands slowly over the curve of my stomach, his thumbs tracing small circles. "How are you so big? It's like you're carrying a bowling ball."
"Gago! It's a baby!" I laughed, hitting his arm lightly. "And he—or she—is probably just as stubborn as you. They've been kicking me all day because they probably miss your voice."
"They miss their dad's authority," Keifer teased, his lips ghosting over my jawline. "See? My son is already showing signs of being a leader."
"He is a girl!" I turned around in his arms, which was a slow process these days, and poked his chest. "She's probably in there wondering why her dad is such a boastful boulder."
Keifer looked down at me, his eyes dark and full of a quiet fire. He didn't argue this time. He just cupped my face with both hands, his thumbs wiping away the stray tears I didn't even realize I was shedding.
"I don't care if it's a boy or a girl, Jay," he whispered, his forehead dropping to rest against mine. "As long as they have your appetite and your heart... and as long as I never have to spend another night wondering where you are."
I stood on my tiptoes—as much as my swollen ankles allowed—and kissed him. It felt like coming up for air after being underwater for nearly a year.
"I'm not going anywhere," I promised against his lips.
"Good," he murmured, picking me up and carrying me toward the bed. "Because I've already planned out the next fifty years, and they all involve you being exactly where you are right now. In my arms."
"Are snacks included in those fifty years? Because I'm still hungry," I said, ruining the romantic moment.
Keifer let out a frustrated but fond groan as he tucked me into the covers. "Always thinking about your stomach. Really, some things never change."
I made a pout that usually works on him, which made Keifer let out a soft, genuine laugh. He kissed me deeply—a welcome home kind of kiss—before reaching over to the bedside table. To my surprise, he pulled out a drawer that was literally overflowing with my favorite snacks. He had replenished the midnight stack as if he'd been waiting for this exact moment for eight months.
He handed me a bag of chips and some chocolates, and then, without a single shred of modesty, he started discarding his clothes again.
I sat there, propped up against the pillows with a chocolate bar in my hand, openly admiring him. Okay, fine, I was staring. Eight months hadn't changed the fact that Mark Keifer Watson looked like he was carved out of granite. His back was broad, his muscles rippling as he tossed his shirt onto the chair.
He caught me looking and a slow, wicked smirk spread across his face. He finally walked back to the bed, wearing nothing but his black boxers, looking way too smug for my own good.
He crawled back into the space beside me, but instead of lying down, he leaned in close. I could feel the heat radiating from his bare chest against my arm.
"Don't have to look, Jay. I'm all yours," Keifer whispered into my ear, his stubble grazing my skin. He pressed a warm, lingering kiss right on my earlobe that made my toes curl. "Every inch. From now until I'm old and gray."
"Gago," I breathed out, my face heating up even more than the summer air outside. I tried to focus on my snacks, but it was hard when he was hovering right there. "You're just lucky I'm too pregnant to do anything about that ego of yours."
"Is that so?" He chuckled, his hand sliding down to rest protectively over my stomach, feeling the baby move under his palm. "I think our son agrees with me. He's already kicking because he knows his dad is right."
"It's a girl!" I argued, though my voice lacked its usual bite because I was too busy leaning into his touch. "And she's kicking because she wants you to move so she can have some space for these chips."
Keifer didn't move. He just pulled me closer into his side, his large frame making me feel small and safe for the first time in a year.
"Eat your snacks, Jay-Jay," he murmured, resting his head on the pillow and watching me with eyes full of a terrifyingly deep devotion. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay right here and watch you eat until you fall asleep. And then I'm going to hold you until the sun comes up."
I finished my chocolate, feeling the heavy weight of the past eight months finally lift. The danger was still out there, Jason was still a threat, and the future was uncertain—but looking at Keifer, I knew he meant it.
He was my boulder. Bossy, possessive, and arrogant—but he was home.
"Fine," I whispered, leaning my head on his bare shoulder. "But if I wake up at 3 AM wanting ice cream, you're the one going to the kitchen."
"Deal," he said, kissing my forehead.
NEXT DAY
The next morning, the mansion was buzzing with energy. I was sitting on the couch, trying to find a comfortable position that didn't make me feel like a stranded whale, when Keiran sat down beside me.
"Ate… can I touch it?" he asked, looking at my bump with a mixture of awe and fear, like I was carrying a ticking time bomb.
I laughed and nodded. "Go ahead. Just be careful, they've been practicing their karate moves all morning."
Keiran reached out a trembling hand and rested it on my stomach. Right on cue, the baby let out a solid thump against his palm. Keiran's eyes went wide.
"Whoa! Okay, I think you're a boy," he said confidently, nodding to himself.
I made a face, crossing my arms over my chest. "Aray! What is it with you and your brother thinking the baby is going to be a boy? The baby is going to be a girl! I can feel it. She's going to be a little princess who puts both of you in your place."
"Sorry, Ate, but legend says it," Keiran said, looking at me with a mischievous grin. "The firstborn in every Watson generation is always a boy. It's like a family curse or something. We're born to be bosses."
I glared at him, picking up a decorative pillow and threatening to swat him with it. "Is that so? Well, I'm the one carrying this baby, and I say we're breaking the curse."
"Or a girl!" Keiran added quickly, backpedaling when he saw me raising the pillow. "A girl would be cool too! I'll teach her how to hide snacks from Kuya."
Just then, Keifer walked into the room, looking sharp in a tailored suit. He looked much more rested today
"Jay, I'm going out. Some urgent work came up at the office," Keifer said, walking over to me.
I nodded, feeling a little bit of that old anxiety prickle at the back of my neck. "Be careful, okay? Don't stay out too late."
He leaned down and kissed my forehead, his hand lingering on my cheek for a second. "I'll have a full security detail with me, and I've doubled the guards at the gate. No one gets in or out without me knowing. Just stay here and eat your snacks."
He looked at Keiran with a warning glare. "Watch her. If she trips over her own feet, you're grounded for life."
"I got it, Kuya! Go earn the diaper money!" Keiran joked.
Keifer gave me one last lingering look before heading out. I watched him leave, feeling a strange mix of peace and restlessness.
"So," Keiran said, turning back to me once the front door closed. "About those dirt bikes…"
"No dirt bikes, Keiran!"
"Fine, fine. How about a mini-Ferrari? We can keep it in the garage so Kuya doesn't see."
I rolled my eyes. Gago. These Watsons really are a handful. No wonder I was so tired.
KEIFER POV
The lie tasted like ash in my mouth, but it was necessary. I wouldn't have Jay-Jay looking at my hands today knowing what I was about to do with them.
As soon as I was out of her sight
My face went cold, my eyes turning into shards of ice. I stripped off my suit jacket, tossing it into the passenger seat of the SUV, and rolled up my sleeves.
"Drive," I commanded the security team. "The warehouse. Now."
Ten minutes later, the heavy iron doors of an abandoned industrial site groaned open. The smell of damp concrete and old rust filled the air, but there was another scent: fear.
Jason was tied to a steel chair in the center of the room, his face already bruised from the "greeting" my men had given him. When he saw me, he tried to spit on the floor, but his breath was shallow.
I didn't waste a second. I stepped into his space, my shadow looming over him like the reaper.
"Son of a bitch," I growled, the fury I'd been suppressing for eight months finally exploding. "How dare you threaten my wife. How dare you make her run."
I didn't wait for an answer. I put my entire weight behind a solid punch to his jaw. The crack echoed in the empty space. Jason's head snapped back, and he coughed, spraying thick, crimson blood across the floor.
"Already, Jason?" I asked, grabbing a handful of his hair and forcing him to look at me. "We've only just started. I have eight months of interest to collect on the hell you put us through."
He let out a wheezing laugh, his teeth stained red. "She ran... like a coward... because she knew I'd start with your brothers."
I slammed my fist into his gut, doubling him over. The chair screeched against the concrete. I leaned down, my voice a deadly whisper right against his ear.
"You mentioned Keigan and Keiran. You mentioned my empire. But you made one fatal mistake, Jason." I grabbed his throat, squeezing just enough to see his eyes bulge. "You made the mother of my child cry. You made her live in fear for two hundred and forty days."
I backed off for a second, picking up a heavy lead pipe leaning against a crate. I weighed it in my hand, my expression completely flat.
"Keifer... wait..." he choked out, the bravado finally breaking.
"No more waiting," I said, my voice devoid of any mercy. "You told her you were giving her a choice. Now I'm giving you one. You can tell me who else was helping you, or I can see how many of your bones break before you lose consciousness. Choose fast."
I swung the pipe into his ribs. The sound of snapping bone was sickening, but I felt nothing but a cold, dark satisfaction. Every bruise on him was a tear Jay-Jay had shed. Every groan was for the nights I spent staring at an empty bed.
"I'm a Watson," I hissed, standing over his broken form as he slumped in the chair. "I don't play by the rules when someone touches my heart. And you, Jason? You didn't just touch it. You tried to break it."
I looked at my watch. I had to be back in two hours. I had to wash the scent of blood and iron off my skin before Jay-Jay realized I wasn't at a board meeting.
"Again," I told my men, stepping back and nodding toward Jason. "Don't let him die yet. I'm not finished."
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Sorry I didn't upload yesterday — I went to a house‑warming party and came back around 12 AM 😭💀 So yeah… that's why I couldn't upload. BUT here are the chapters now 💙✨
GUYSSSS did you see the pictures where Sir Aga — OUR PRESIDENT — liked an all‑Ashdres video 😭🔥🔥🔥 AHHHHH I'M SCREAMING, this was literally the first thing on my feed and I almost passed out 😭🧡
Keep the hope alive, okay? Our president is BACK 😌👑✨